“Modernism” as we know it today, obviously has evolved with the course of human life,

century after century. However the particular time period which had the most impact on modern

lifestyle was the 1920’s. It was indeed America’s first modern decade. Revolutionary economic

reforms led to prosperity in the American life. And the consequences of the prosperity led to

revolutionized changes in everyday life. With the mass media growing, people were eventually

starting to get informed and knew what the challenges of the times were throughout the country.

Mass media helped the Women Rights Movement to no limit. The Women Rights Movement

brought various changes in women life and their social status. These various cause and effect or

rather chain reaction events have shaped the way we live our lives today in the 21st century.

The economic boom from 1922-1929 had the biggest hand in the prosperity of the people

and the Nation as a whole as well. In the 1920’s, the federal government started enforcing the

antitrust laws which were enacted around the 1900s. As a result, the industries were headed

towards Economies of Scale, which means that as the quantity of production increases, the cost

per unit to produce the goods decreases. As a result the prices of the consumer goods started to

decline. With the second wave of mergers, the market as a whole became less competitive and

the cost of production decreased substantially. Various small companied merged together to form

one big company, and few big companies were running the whole market, which is known as

oligopoly. People’s fear of big businesses had subsided, and in the 1920’s big companies were

seen as good things. The leaders of these big companies became admiral public figures, most

famous of them all- Henry Ford.

Henry Ford’s contribution to the manufacturing industry has been unmatched. His

success was not in inventing the automobile but to make the production of cars so cheap, that it

was within the reach of the masses. Ford’s greatest invention was the introduction of the
Assembly Lines. As a result of the Assembly lines, the prices of the Ford Model- T cars were

slashed down to $920 from almost $3000 and a car was produced in every 15s seconds compared

to 12 hrs. Ford also raised the wages of his factory workers so that buying a car was well within

their reach. With the emergence of GM, for those who weren’t lucky enough to be employed at

Ford had the option of using credit to make the cars more affordable. By 1929, America owned

80% of the world’s cars with GM, Ford, and Chrysler- the three companies which controlled the

automobile industry at the time. The employees of these companies had very high wages and

benefits such as retirement pensions, accident insurance or worker’s compensation, health care,

stock shares, etc. These packages forced the loyalty of the employees and helped them stay away

from labor unions. With the rise in automobile industry, ancillary industries such as gasoline,

rubber, steel, etc rose as well. The boom had a multiplier effect, it led to the rise of housing

construction, real estate industry, trucking industry, federal highways, motels, electrical etc.

However the affluence did not reach all the sectors. The sick industries at the time where

workers were not making good money were railroads, coalmines, cotton textile, and farming.

The farmers who were one third of the workforce started to get in debt because of

overproduction of food and falling prices. Their equipments cost way more than the returns they

could ever get.

By 1929, four out of five households owned a car. It changed the way people live

connecting them to each other. In rural areas, with schools few and far, school buses made

schools more accessible and teachers could specialize. Automobiles also helped in leisure

activities such as visiting friends, going to parks and etc. Cars also changed dating, from front

porch to back seats.

 The middle class changed dramatically due to the economical boom and revolutionary

inventions in electrical commodities. Even though the exact definition for middle class depends,

they are characterized by their discretionary income, having free time lifestyles, etc. Items

purchased by the middle class people served as a status indicators and due to the bandwagon

effect, they usually had washers, refrigerators, cars, etc. With the affordability of consumer

goods, new mentality arose- people preferred to spend more rather than save seeking immediate

gratification.

The 19th century Victorian values took a hard blow with the rise of the 20th century New

Morality and the first Sex Revolution. With more money in people’s hands, buying and owning

on a regular basis promoted materialism as positive thing. People started seeking personal

emotional satisfaction and living in the moment rather than saving for the future. The women

started dressing in a more stylish way, exposing more of their bodies, showing arms and legs.

Make ups and cosmetics was no longer only for the prostitutes. Women also started drinking and

smoking in public.

With a growing population of college students often living away from their parent, they started to

engage in new behaviors. The students started the concept of dating multiple partners as opposed

to earlier when one got into one serious final relationship. Dating became a huge success with

the help of the cars, and people started making out and touching in public. Since sex was no

longer a taboo, use of contraceptives like condoms, diaphragms, etc. removed the fear of

pregnancy. The rise of Jazz music promoted dancing which gradually became faster and more

sensuous. However jazz music was only one of the influence which drove the people, the other

heavy influences came with the rise of the mass media such as movies and radio.
 The Mass Media helped in creating a mass culture and eventually shifted people towards

an entertainment and consumer culture. The radio, movies, and advertisements promoted the new

social values and helped assimilate immigrants and people who moved from rural to urban areas.

By the end of 1920’s, there were 800 radio stations. Unlike their European counterparts, the

contents of the American radio programs were mass entertainment catering to the middle class

taste. Jazz got national exposure due the radio. The radio also played classical and country. All

people from different classes and ethnicities were listening to the same shows, information,

commercials and etc. So it helped create a national culture and led to the breakdown of the rural

isolation. The advertising persuaded people to buy things they didn’t need targeting their

emotions, anxieties, insecurities about physical appearances and popularity, hygiene etc. These

advertisings helped create a brand name loyalty. However the most influential of the media was

the movies. In 1920s, majority of the working and middle class started going to the movies pretty

frequently. The movies in America, catered to the middle class as a form of escapism and genre

of the movies were same as the radio programs- crime drama, horror, westerns, etc. The movies

allowed people of different classes and races to learn similar ways of talking, dressing, etc.

Movies helped stimulate the consumer culture and allowed people to learn about the world

beyond their own communities.

The particular part of the society which saw drastic changes in their lives and social status were

the women. Earlier women were considered less rational, driven by emotion, morally superior

and more religious. However such views started to degrade once the women marched into the

territory of education and professionalism. With the great advances in techonology, and

introduction of home appliances such as washing machines, electric or gas ovens, regrigerators,

etc., women had more free time on their hands. Some starting going for higher education- by
1920s half the undergrads were women. College educateion made women better mothers and

they started working in professions such as nursing, public school teaching, social workers,

library sciences, etc. However they were excluded from law, medical, business schools and other

male dominated industries. Even though women were not paid as well, it brought them to the

workforce and allowed them to earn their own incomes. It created a sense of liberation. In the

1920’s, motherhood was still the final destination. Women quit working once they were married.

In 1920, with ratification of the 19th Amendment, women got the right to vote. Women became

more visible and started making political advancements. Women earned and created more work

opportunities.

With each decade, social lifestyles have eventually changed , some gradually , some abruptly.

However the start of the modern lifestyle will always said to have its origin from the decade of

1920.