The Roaring Twenties Flashcards
List the key elements of the Roaring Twenties
Wealth- more money made, more money spent
Novelty- new things were seen as interesting and fashionable e.g. jazz music and record players
Mobility- cars meant more people could travel and work further afield, this included jobs such as travelling salesmen
Leisure- more money and free time led to people doing activities they enjoyed such as playing sport and listening to the radio
Changing morals and values- law abiding people broke the law and the image of women was revolutionised
What is consumerism and why did it work?
- More money to spend
- Prices were low
- Advertising the glamorous lifestyle the goods could give you
What was the Jazz Age?
Jazz music swept from the South to the North in the 1920’s because more black people moved northwards.
It was seen as wild and the dances that sprang up in these clubs such as the Charleston, were wild too. For many people it symbolised a new era, with more freedom.
What was the most important leisure activity of the 1920’s?
The movies
Movie making exploded after WW1.
The firs movies didn’t have sound, theatres would hire anything from a single pianist to orchestras to play music that matched the climate of movie. They were massively popular with ordinary people wanting their homes, cars and clothes to match that of the movie stars.
What were the ‘talkies’?
1927- speech to go with the movies. Some movie stars did not have a good speaking voice and because of this their careers failed.
Why did some people believe it was an immoral age?
Some people believed that jazz and the movies encouraged immorality because they were too sexual. They worried about how the movies made women look; drinking and smoking.
Some of the wild lifestyles the film stars led, which was documented in newspapers and magazines, fuelled this negative image.
In 1930 the Hays Code was published, which set out rules for movies, ensuring that no film would be made ‘that could lower the moral standards of those the see it’.
What were the effects of war on women?
- Women had been given the opportunity to show what they were capable of doing.
- It gave them independence and an opportunity to earn wages. For all the wages were lower than mens it was still a victory.
- 19th Amendment was passed granting women the tight to equal suffrage (the right to vote)
Not all good- most women after the war were expected to give up their job, for the returning soldiers. Most young women worked but this was only until they married.
Who were the ‘flappers’?
Young women in the 1920’s, who did not depend on men.
Appearance- Silk stockings, short dresses, short hair (bob) and make-up
Hobbies- They smoke and drank, they worked, they went to racecourses, boxing matches and clubs.
They did things that previously only men had done, they did not conform to the traditional ‘women’ image who were housewives and mothers.
