Social Impact of the Roaring Twenties

Question 1

1.4 How did the Leisure industry develop?

Answer 1

As a result of the economic boom of the 1920’s, Americans had more money to spend and more time to spend it. Average incomes rose and work hours declined.

Question 2

1.4 What are five examples of leisure activities that Americans enjoyed during the 1920’s?

Answer 2

1. The Cinema
2. Jazz and Dancing
3. Sporting events
4. Motoring
5. Listening to the radio

Question 3

1.4 How popular were movies in the 1920’s, and why?

Answer 3

In 1924, 40 million movie tickets were sold every week. By 1929, 80 million tickets were being bought each week.

Movies became so popular, because the movie industry worked hard to attract viewers

1. Films were produced in color.
2. Sound was introduced.
3. Animation techniques were developed by Walt Disney.

Question 4

What is Jazz, and where did it develop?

Answer 4

Jazz is a mixture of black and white American folk music that developed in U.S. cities such as New Orleans, where many races lived together.

Question 5

1.4 Why was Jazz popular and why did some oppose it?

Answer 5

Jazz became popular because of world famous black and white performers such as Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong and Paul Whiteman. However, some people did not like Jazz because they were worried that it would lead to immoral behavior among young people.

Question 6

What were the music and dance crazes?

Answer 6

Jazz and the Charleston were trendy and came from Voodoo dances and more conservative people didn’t like it as dancing were “divorce-feeders” and it was linked to sexual excess.

Question 7

1.4 How did the leisure industry connect people with sports?

Answer 7

In the 1920s, leisure time on holidays and weekends found people watching their favorite sports and cheering on their favorite athletes. Babe Ruth became the most famous baseball player. The excitement about baseball and other sports in the 1920’s created a large number of sports idols in the U.S.

Question 8

1.4 How did newly affordable cars affect how Americans spent their leisure time?

Answer 8

1. Easier to go on vacations and day trips: In 1930, 2.7 million people visited American national parks.
2. Shoppers in search of bargains could travel so Suburban shopping centers were developed.
3. Now people in rural areas felt less remote, because they could drive to the major cities if they wanted.

Question 9

1.4 How did consumerism help driving become a leisure activity?

Answer 9

When Henry Ford’s competitors General Motors advertised a variety of models and colors for their more expensive cars, driving became more of a status symbol and fashion statement, rather than simply a way to get from one place to another.

Question 10

1.4 What are three areas of society in which women made advancements during the 1920’s ?

Answer 10

1. Jobs -
   
   1. 2 million women got jobs during the 1920’s (appx 20% of the total workforce)
   2. Women got different types of jobs
   3. More married women worked
2. Rights - In 1920, Congress passed the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution, which gave women the right to vote.
3. Lifestyle - The divorce rate rose; birth rate fell; new electrical applieances came to market; Many women became flappers.

Question 11

1.4 What limitations showed that the progress made on women’s rights in the 1920’s still had far to go?

Answer 11

Limitations

1. Jobs:
   
   • most women still remained in traditionally female jobs such as secretaries or bookkeepers
   • very few married women had jobs by the end of the 1920’s
   • racial minority women had lowest paying jobs (domestic help)
2. Rights:
   
   • Most women voted like their husbands
   • Only two women were in Congress
   • Women did not get equal pay
3. Lifestyle:
   
   • Women were still expected to keep house and raise children
   • Fewer women went to college as compared to men.

Question 12

1.4 Who were Flappers?

Answer 12

Flappers were women who rebelled against their parents’ values and challenged the traditional image of a woman. They cut their hair, wore short skirts, drove cars, danced and smoked.

Flappers encouraged women to behave more independently than before:

• they

Question 13

1.4 How did Flappers help change the role of women?

Answer 13

Flappers encouraged women to challenge traditional attitudes and behave more independently than before:

• they now dated without chaperones
• they now focused more on appearance and spent money on make-up and perfume

BUT: Not all women could afford the Flapper lifestyle (ex. ethnic and racial minority women.)

Question 14

1.5 What were five causes of the drop in demand for U.S. agricultural goods in the 1920’s, despite the increase in production of those goods?

Answer 14

1. New Materials - New man-made materials created less demand for cotton.
2. Prohibition - Prohibition significantly reduced the demand for wheat, (used in the brewing process)
3. Mechanization - Mechanization caused farmers to use more tractors instead of horses. So farmers needed fuel for their tractors, instead of grain, for their horses.
4. Tariffs - The Emergency Tariff Act in 1921 made foreign imports more expensive, and Foreign countries imposed similar tariffs on US goods. So American goods became more expensive abroad, and this led to lower demand of American goods.
5. Europe’s Recovery - Europe’s recovery from WWI, enabled European farmers to grow their own crops again, and therefore, demand for American goods in Europe declined.

Question 15

1.5 Why did farmers produce almost 9% MORE in the 1920’s even though demand for agricultural goods dropped? (FOUR reasons)

Answer 15

1. WWI had encouraged farmers to increase production.
2. Access to credit - Agricultural Credit Act 1923
3. Mechanisation - 10x more tractors in 1920 than 1915
4. Scientific advances in seeds, fertilizers and pesticides.

Question 16

1.5 Why did the coal industry decline?

Answer 16

Many coal mines closed in the 1920s as demand fell. By 1929 the average miner’s wage was $100 a month compared to NYC bricklayer’s $350 a month.

1. Oil and gas were used more to heat homes. in 1929, over 500,000 homes were heated by oil.
2. Trains, which were fueled by coal, were used less as cars replaced them.

Question 17

1.5 Why did textile production decline after the War and during the 1920’s?

Answer 17

1. New Materials - Producers of textiles faced competition as Rayon and Silk replaced many cotton and wool textiles as it was cheaper.
2. Changing Fashions - dresses were shorter after WWI so less materials were needed.

Question 18

1.5 Why did the railroad industry decline?

Answer 18

1. Rise in Car Ownership - Henry Ford’s assembly lines made cars more cheaply and more quickly, by 1925 - 50% of the world’s cars were Ford Model Ts so people used the trains less.
2. Increase in Roads - More commercial goods were being transported on roads, so commercial train usage declined.

Question 19

1.5 What were four effects of the decline of older industries during the 1920’s?

Answer 19

1. Wages were cut
2. Jobs were lost.
3. Employment was not secure
4. Workers demonstrated in violent protests