Roaring 20s (1 ene 1920 año – 31 dic 1929 año)

Descripción:

Business booms and consumerism increases. Lots of opportunity, high quality of living, technology from industrialization. Expansion of assembly line system (Taylorism). Big boom in automobiles and associated industries (steel, gas, asphalt) led by Ford. By the end of the 20s, US supplies 85% of the worlds' cars. Cars create increase in leisure travel, so more drive-in theaters, motels, billboards etc. People embrace more economic risk. Middle class Americans start to get in on the stock market thanks to great PR from Wall Street. Literally hired the people who made war propaganda. Anyway, all of these factors lead to a big economic boom, which ofc causes a lot of societal change.

Of course, only certain people experience this affluence. Rural, POC, and poor communities don't benefit as much, or at all. Record number of foreclosures. Business running rampant leads to abuses. Rich get richer, poor get poorer. 40% of Americans lived below the poverty line. Many people lose their jobs as new tech replaces them. Lots of mergers and monopolies so a couple people get very powerful. Not quite to the same extent that it was in the Gilden Age, but still bad. Not a lot of competition in the market. For example, 3 auto companies (Ford, GM, Chrysler) control 80% of the industry.

Rising consumerism in the US led to more acceptance of pursuing individual pleasure. New tech allowed women to spend less time on chores Thus, women went out more and more. Styles changed to include shorter skirts, shorter hair, makeup, cigarettes. Women had greater independence, both socially and economically. They went to dance halls, cabarets, and speakeasies. Although only 10% of married women worked outside the home, about half of unmarried women did. Overall, more professional women, but still barred from many fields like law and medicine. Mostly in lower level positions like clerks and secretaries. Keep in mind this was not true for all women; only white, wealthy ones.

Gay men could live more openly, especially in cities where there was a huge underground culture. For lesbians it was quite the opposite. The increased sexualization of women brought new scrutiny to same-sex female relationships previously dismissed as harmless.

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