Social and cultural developments

The prosperity of the 1920s enabled new forms of cultural expression and entertainment to flourish. People had more and more free time to spend their money on entertainment and leisure. There were also changes to the law and social standards.

Cinema

By 1929, Hollywood’s film studios were making more than 500 films each year. Going to the cinema had become a popular activity and ticket sales increased. Actors such as Charlie Chaplin and Clara Bow became popular icons. The first full-length film featuring sequences of spoken dialogue, known as a ‘talkie’, was released in 1927.

During the 1920s, movie attendance soared. By the middle of the decade, 50 million people a week went to the movies - the equivalent of half the nation’s population.

Jazz

Jazz was largely the creation of black musicians. It began in New Orleans in the American South. Jazz spread to urban cities around the nation as African Americans migrated north. They did this in ever-increasing numbers in what became known as the

Jazz’s rhythmic style and upbeat tempo appealed to young people across society, many of whom enjoyed listening to jazz in bars and nightclubs. New dances such as the Charleston, the tango and the black bottom also added to the excitement of the jazz age.

The position of women in society

Many American women experienced important changes in the 1920s. Women had contributed to the war effort in World War One by taking over jobs traditionally done by men while men were away fighting in the war. After the war, women were also given the right to vote with the passage of the 19th

Flappers

Fashion reflected the new loosening of social standards that some women experienced. In 1919, fashionable women’s skirts were commonly around six inches from the ground, and by 1927 they were at the knee. This was mainly the style of the

Flappers were women who broke many traditional boundaries of femininity as defined by society.
They were also heavily influenced by the fashion seen in many Hollywood films at the time.
Flappers were known for their bobbed, short hair and for wearing lipstick, and also for their enjoyment of dancing, smoking and drinking in jazz clubs.
They were mainly middle- and upper-class women from cities in the North.

Key changes and continuity in the position of women during the 1920s

Type of change	Key details	Extent of the changes
Political	The 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote in 1920.	There were many barriers to voting (such as literacy tests), which meant that many women from disadvantaged groups such as black and Native American were not able to vote. Women played a relatively minor role in national politics.
Social	Birth control, a form of contraception, was increasingly used. Women could get divorced more easily.	Birth control, however, was heavily restricted by the Catholic Church and even made illegal in some states. Divorce rates doubled from those at the turn of the century.
Economic	The number of women who were employed rose by 25 per cent over the course of the 1920s.	Most women worked in lower-paying jobs and were paid less for doing the same job as men. Women who were classed as ‘professionals’ worked in roles deemed at that time to be ‘female jobs’, such as nursing.

Type of change	Political
Key details	The 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote in 1920.
Extent of the changes	There were many barriers to voting (such as literacy tests), which meant that many women from disadvantaged groups such as black and Native American were not able to vote. Women played a relatively minor role in national politics.

Type of change	Social
Key details	Birth control, a form of contraception, was increasingly used. Women could get divorced more easily.
Extent of the changes	Birth control, however, was heavily restricted by the Catholic Church and even made illegal in some states. Divorce rates doubled from those at the turn of the century.

Type of change	Economic
Key details	The number of women who were employed rose by 25 per cent over the course of the 1920s.
Extent of the changes	Most women worked in lower-paying jobs and were paid less for doing the same job as men. Women who were classed as ‘professionals’ worked in roles deemed at that time to be ‘female jobs’, such as nursing.

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America and the boom - AQASocial and cultural developments