roaring twenties essay topics

For other topics using this term, see Roaring Twenties (disambiguation) The Roaring Twenties is a term for the 1920s in the Western world. It was a period of sustained economic prosperity with a distinctive cultural edge in the United States, Canada, and Western Europe, particularly in major cities such as New York, Montreal, Chicago, Detroit, Paris, Berlin, London, and Los Angeles. In France it was known as the années folles ( Crazy Years ),[1] emphasizing the era's social, artistic and cultural dynamism. Normalcy returned to politics in the wake of hyper-emotional patriotism after World War I, jazz music blossomed, the flapper redefined modern womanhood and Art Deco peaked. The era saw the large-scale use of automobiles, telephones, motion pictures, radio, electricity, refrigeration, air conditioning; commercial, passenger, and freight aviation; unprecedented industrial growth, accelerated consumer demand and aspirations, plus significant changes in lifestyle and culture. The media focused on celebrities, especially sports heroes and movie stars, as cities rooted for their home teams and filled the new palatial cinemas and gigantic sports stadiums. In most major countries women won the right to vote. The Wall Street Crash of 1929 ended the era, as the Great Depression set in bringing years of worldwide gloom and hardship.[2] The social and cultural features known as the Roaring Twenties began in leading metropolitan centers, especially Chicago, New Orleans, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, Paris, Berlin and London; then spread widely in the aftermath of World War I. The United States gained dominance in world finance. Thus, when Germany could no longer afford war reparations to Britain, France and other Allies, the Americans came up with the Dawes Plan and Wall Street invested heavily in Germany, which repaid its reparations to nations that in turn used.
Enter Your Search Terms to Get Started! The Roaring Twenties The decade of the 1920’s was a time of tremendous economic change. The end of the First World War signaled and the beginning of a new era, and a decade that came to be known as “roaring”. The retreat from progressivism during this time was evident in how the business world gained top priority over social issues. Government policy was intended encourage growth in business and promote the American economy. New methods, procedures, and technology improved efficiency and output in industry. Paramount in the progress of industry and the economy, as well as society and culture, was the automobile. On the opposite end of the spectrum however, not all groups shared in the prosperity of the twenties. Laborers, and unions, did not share the same amount of success proportionally that corporations did. Farmers also did not succeed the same way that businesses did. During this time, business boomed, real wages rose, and unemployment declined. The sum of all of these factors is that for some the twenties were an economic dirge, but more than anything else were a business person’s paradise. One of the most important factors in the success of industry was government policy. Warren G. Harding’s presidential inaugural address and Calvin Coolidge’s statement that “the business of America is business” were indicative of the type of government policy during the twenties. The retreat from progressivism allowed business interests to come to the forefront in public concern. The hands off, laissez-faire attitude of the government was a stark contrast to the previous decades where business became hampered by regulations and standards. The Federal Reserve Board kept interest rates low during this decade, which is an overall economic stimulus. The protection of American commerce was also promoted by a series of raises in tariffs.
If the term 'roaring twenties' applies to anything, it applies to entertainment, in which area there were many exciting developments: a.  Films: ●   movie actors such as Charlie Chaplin, Rudolf Valentino and Mary Pickford became 'stars'. ●   in 1927,The Jazz Singer starring Al Jolson, was the first 'talkie'.   ●   a well-known early two-colour film was The Toll of the Sea (1922) and two-colour films were common by the end of the 1920s; after 1932, films were produced in three-colour technicolour. ●   Mickey Mouse was created by Walt Disney in 1928 (who released Snow White in colour in 1937). ●   by 1930, 100 million Americans went to the movies every week. ●   companies like United Artists and MGM produced hundreds of films a year. ●   films taught people new fashions (e.g. smoking) and new ways to behave - many girls wanted to be like It' girl, Clara Bow. b.  Jazz: ●   Jazz was first played in New Orleans by black musicians such as Louis Armstrong and Jelly Roll Morton.   After 1917, racist violence forced many of them to leave New Orleans, so they went north to play in the night clubs of towns like Chicago and New York. ●   The invention of radio and the phonograph (record player) made it available in people's homes.   The first jazz record was made in 1917 by the Dixieland Jazz Band.   They were called 'race records', because they were recorded by black musicians. ●   Because it was often played in speakeasies, by black musicians, it was seen as wild and exciting - which soon made it very popular. ●   Jazz music contributed to many of the social developments of the age - baggy trousers and short skirts, wild dancing such as the Black Bottom, and a new kind of convention-free poetry called 'jazz poetry' (poets such as TS Eliot and ee cummings).   It was part of the Harlem Renaissance, and the growth of black pride (see below). ●   The dances scandalised many.
Skip to navigation Skip to content © 2016 Shmoop University, Inc. All rights reserved. Discussion & Essay QuestionsAvailable to teachers only as part of the Teaching The Roaring TwentiesTeacher Pass Teaching The Roaring Twenties Teacher Pass includes: Assignments & Activities Reading Quizzes Current Events & Pop Culture articles Discussion & Essay Questions Challenges & Opportunities Related Readings in Literature & History Sample of Discussion & Essay Questions Politics in the Roaring TwentiesWhy did the Republican Party dominate national politics during the decade? What was attractive about normalcy ?What was wrong with the Democrats?What lesson might political parties learn from their dysfunction?Why do political parties periodically find it difficult to avoid this sort of internal division?What were the positives and negatives of the pro-business policies pursued by the decade’s republican presidents?What statistics support these conclusions?Must “pro-business” policies always lead to these sorts of divergent results? (economic growth, maldistribution of income)What led to the corruption of the decade?Was it the fault of Harding or of his pro-business policies? Site Map Help Advertisers Jobs Partners Terms of Use Privacy © 2016 Shmoop University. All rights reserved. We speak tech Site Map Help Advertisers Jobs Partners Terms of Use Privacy We speak tech © 2016 Shmoop University. All rights reserved.
Simply enter your paper topic to get started! The Great Gatsby and the Roaring 20s 3 Pages 790 Words January 2015 Saved essays Save your essays here so you can locate them quickly! Topics in this paper Popular topics The roaring twenties, was a decade of affluence and prosperity where an entire generation was focused on celebrating the ending of the Great War and everyone was making money. Prohibition also was a factor of this decade at a time where women were gaining rights quickly, wearing shorter hair, less clothes and one thing that was on everyone’s mind was partying. This book was written during and also takes place during the Jazz age therefore it makes sense that, especially with Fitzgerald’s brilliantly symbolic writing, the time period is reflected perfectly by the characters and happenings of the novel. One thing that allowed Gatsby to succeed and also set the scene for the roaring twenties was the Great War. WWI was the first war where all of the worlds great powers were really affected. This coupled with stalemate and recent rapid industrial revolution combined to create one of the deadliest wars the world has ever seen. No wonder the entire country had reason to want to party for the entire decade that followed and this is very well represented by Gatsby who was a soldier himself and his lavish lifestyle and parties. People literally flock to his house to celebrate for no real reason except to just have a great time. Gatsby’s service in the war also allowed him to go to Oxford, a school that he never could have attended if he didn’t have the army’s help, and which at first sparked Wolfsheim’s interest in him. After Gatsby passes away Wolfsheim reveals the time he first met Gatsby in a bar where he bought the starving young Gatsby something to eat he then remembers “when he told me he was an Oggsford I knew I could use him good,” (Pg. 171). Before the.