After the Great War and a short, sharp slump in 1920 and 1921, the economy boomed. Cities grew, and for the first time more Americans lived in urban areas than rural ones (the 1920 census). A new way of life, built on cars, radios, movies and buying on credit, spread across the country. Many of the migrants from the South helped make the new culture.
Key idea
| Change | Example | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| The car | Ford's Model T (1908 to 1927), made on a moving assembly line from 1913; over 15 million built | Suburbs, roads, gas stations, motels; car makers became the biggest industry |
| Radio | KDKA in Pittsburgh began regular broadcasts in 1920 | The same news, music and ads reached the whole country at once |
| Movies | The first feature film with spoken dialogue, The Jazz Singer (1927) | Shared stars and styles; millions went every week |
| Credit | "Buy now, pay later": installment plans for cars, radios and appliances | More spending, but also more household debt |
Why it works
In Harlem, a neighborhood of New York, Black writers, artists and musicians created a burst of work now called the Harlem Renaissance. Langston Hughes wrote poems in the rhythms of jazz and blues; Zora Neale Hurston collected folklore and wrote novels; Duke Ellington led his orchestra at the Cotton Club; Louis Armstrong carried jazz from New Orleans to Chicago and beyond. Marcus Garvey's Universal Negro Improvement Association drew hundreds of thousands with a message of Black pride and self-reliance.
Work it through
Worked example: Who was left out?
- Farm prices fell after the war, when Europe's farms recovered, and stayed low; many farmers lost their land.
- Wealth and income grew fastest at the top; wages in coal and textiles lagged.
- Many families bought on credit, so spending rested partly on debt.
Answer: Farmers, workers in "sick" industries and much of the rural South did not share the boom.
Common mistake