1. Chapter 23 – “The Roaring Twenties”

2. 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

3. 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.

4. 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

5. 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