Chapter 23 – “The Roaring Twenties”
Postwar Prosperity and Its Price Harding’s call for a “return to normalcy” masked the profound changes that American experienced during and after World War I Production and wealth boomed However, the benefits were spread unevenly, foreshadowing the Crash & Great Depression
The Second Industrial Revolution Technological innovations results: Made it possible to increase industrial output without expanding the labor force Efficiency became the watchword in all areas of economic life Driven by electricity and automated machinery, industry concentrated on producing consumer goods.
The New Mass Culture New media shaped the 1920s: Movies, radio and sound recording all increased Americans’ access to entertainment However, redefining the “good life” undermined traditional values and cultural distinctiveness in ethnic and rural communities
Modernity and Traditionalism The cultural changes of the Twenties provoked a backlash: Prohibition Immigration restrictions Ku Klux Klan Religious fundamentalism All reminders that the era’s culture was not embraced enthusiastically by everyone