The Revolutionary Events of 1920s: Model T, Red Scare

The 1920’s was a decade of change that roared throughout the country but ended with one of the worst economic crisis the United States had ever seen. For the first time most Americans owned cars, radios, and telephones and in addition more citizens lived in cities then on the farms. Factory jobs were taking over farms attracting people from all over to adopt the modern city lifestyle. The 1920’s helped impact America today with Henry Ford's “Model T” car along with the assembly line which helped speed up production as well as aviation with Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart greatly impacting flight travel today.

Music but more specifically jazz music in the 1920’s had greatly impacted music heard and danced to today. One transformation that the 1920’s created was the new appearance and responsibilities that women were given known as “The New Woman”. Women who wore bobbed hair, short skirts, drank, smoke, and where “unlady like” as well as “sexually free’ were known as “flappers” which become one of the popular symbols of the 1920’s. Women gained a new freedom on both their appearance and civic responsibilities such as gaining the 19th Amendment allowing them to vote and millions of women now worked in white collar jobs. This transformation was positive in terms of how people saw the role of women. People now saw women as people who are work worthy and are able to contribute more to society with help of the 19th Amendment. The symbol of this “New Woman” greatly affected equal rights and the power that a woman can hold. The transformation seen in women during the 1920’s positively impacted on how women were seen then and now. Women were given equal opportunity and given freedom on how they can create an image for themselves that makes them unique.

The 1920’s decade brought about the fear of communism and how it would take over America known as the “red scare”. The red scare created a sense of fear in America because citizens feared that communism would take over the U.S as it did with Russia and so people who were thought to be communists were arrested. World War 1 led many citizens to embrace a strong nationalistic and anti-immigrant viewpoints which helped lead this political change. The red scare impacted both politics and citizens on a personal level. For politics it lead to different viewpoints on immigrants as thousands of aliens were being deported and in terms of personal lifes people lives were being disrupted as thousands were being threatened by law enforcement, taken from their families and fired from their jobs. One social change brought about from the 1920’s was jazz music and the age of jazz. The birth of this age of jazz was given to African Americans as a large number of musicians migrated from New Orleans to cities and brought the music with them. Along with jazz dance clubs and dance halls sprang up in these cities for people such as flappers and others to come and just dance. Dances started to become popular as well such as the charleston and the cake walk.

All these helped inspire this massive social change created by jazz music such as the “flapper girl” which became a staple of pop culture along with the introduction of dance clubs and halls. In the 1920’s America's economy was doing the best the U.S had ever seen it and it stayed like this until the stock market crash to end the decade in 1929 which negatively impacted America in terms of jobs, debt, and power. The economics of the 1920’s were doing very well as a large number of people were going to work and owning cars and kitchen/cleaning appliances. America was in a time of prosperity in the early and middle years of the decade. Cars came more easily thanks to Henry Ford and his Model T car. It was to first affordable car for the common man and with his assembly line gave jobs to those in needs.

These cars could go up the 45 mph and could hold 10 gallons of gas which allowed for easy commutes. Everything seemed in great shape for the 1920’s until October 24, 1929 to October 29, 1929 where the U.S experienced a major stock market crash where billions of dollars were lost and many went into debt. This stock market crash was so impactful that the U.S economy couldn’t recover and lead the U.S into a Great Depression. The U.S were unable to avoid this depression because around nine thousand banks closed and were operating without guarantees to their customers. The impact of this stock market crash left many out of jobs, homeless, led to thousands of banks closing, and ultimately got rid of the flappers and jazz age as everyone was in such a panic leading to the great depression. In the 1920’s pop culture was all about the flappers, nightclubs, cars, music, and movies that all had a lasting impact on American culture. Lifestyle in the decade started to pick up pace along with a sense of freedom after the end of the first World War. The flapper lifestyle created a new image for these women as they created a new style with bobbed hair and short skirts and looked at as free spirited and up beat women who went to dance clubs to listen to music and dance.

Along with the flapper came this new age of jazz as people started to migrate from New Orleans to cities bringing along their love of music creating this new musical lifestyle. Movies also started to become popular as Hollywood began to produce these silver screen movies These movies help connect to the culture that valued beauty and fashion and sparked the fashion industries to create new styles. This pop culture positively affected society because it effectively brought people together in ways such as going to dance clubs to listen to music and going to movies to see these new beautiful hollywood actresses and actors work and act together on the big screen where people can watch and laugh. The pop culture fashion trends also connected people as different styles came out which everyone would follow and just allowed for society to feel more connected as the U.S was in a time of prosperity. Major technological innovations helped shape a new way of living such as the creation of washing machines, radios, vacuum cleaners, and Henry Ford's assembly line which helped speed up the production of Model T cars letting Ford sell the vehicles for a much more affordable price.

Radios helped every part of the U.S connect as people would tune in to see what was happening around the country such as news, farming, and sports. Machines such as vacuum cleaners and washing machines made it easier for home life with cleaning clothes and floors. Henry Ford made one of the most major technological innovations of the decade with his assembly line which made it way more efficient to produce cars which lowered the price of cars allowing for more people to own them and with Ford’s assembly line came new jobs for people. These advancements created a positive impact on society as they were able to connect more of the country together with the advancements in radios which still help us connect and listen to music today. The roaring twenties was a decade that the U.S had yet to see in terms of economics and societal movements. The pace of lifestyle got much faster with new innovations being created as the U.S was in a time of prosperity.

The 1920’s has impacted what America is today with societal movements such as the flappers creating the image of “the new woman” and fashion trends letting the decade keep up with the latest and greatest trends. Also, the age of jazz greatly influenced society as dance clubs started to become popular where musicians could play their music and people could dance and be free. Great technological machines also helped impact America today as aviation started advancing with the help from Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart and people were now able to fly faster and further than ever before. Henry Ford also created a lasting impacting with his Model T car which was the first car to be affordable to most of society. Along with his Model T Ford developed the assembly line which enabled food to produce cars quicker letting them sell the cars for less while also giving thousands of jobs in his factories. All these things and more are what made the decade create a lasting roar in American society. The 1920’s was the decade of change, some good some bad, but the decade made a lasting impact that implemented societal change that has helped develop what America is today.