The Roaring Twenties: progress report and annotated bibliography

Roaring Twenties & the Prohibition

The Life of the Working Class in the Roaring Twenties

The term 'Roaring Twenties' in American history captures a time when, during the 1920s, American society experienced unprecedented economic prosperity and social freedom despite having recently experienced the First World War. The unprecedented affluence that society experienced found its way through everyone, increasing each individual's social mobility -- going up or down the social class ranks.

It was during this period that the middle, or working, class became more powerful socially. Particularly, it was during the period 1923 to 1929 that "the real earnings of workers "shot up at an astonishing rate" and "unemployment largely disappeared" (Hawley, 1979 as cited in Stricker, 1983:5). These descriptions of the economic status of the working or middle class reflect the life condition of majority of the Americans at that time -- affluent workers who, with the aid of a booming economy, became socially, even fluidly, mobile through the years.

In addition, the prevailing culture of the Roaring Twenties is attributed to the dominant middle class. The middle class, enjoying their economic success, also yearned for social freedom, which Price (1999) described as a "social revolution," wherein Americans felt the "desire to enjoy life," whatever their status or place in the society was. Indeed, as the Roaring Twenties culture showed, it was a time for "scantily clad women called flappers, illegal saloons called speakeasies, notorious gangsters like Al Capone, silent movies…a wild, new music called jazz" and "the good life" (ibid.).

Clearly, the power that the middle, working class held in the Roaring Twenties was not only because of its economic (consumption) power, but also because it dominated American society, being the only class with the most number of people, when compared against the upper or lower social classes. This being the case, it is worthy to note how they lived their life during the 1920s, to determine the social climate or environment of the working class at the time when consumption and affluence prevailed.

In revisiting the middle class in America during the Roaring Twenties, it is critical to look at two major groups that best illustrate the shift in people's social values, lifestyle and culture at that time: men and women who dictated the prevailing social norms in the society. By looking at the male and female populations of the middle class society, the audience will also be exposed to the different issues that prevailed and were considered both significant and controversial during their time.

Exploring the Roaring Twenties through a documentary material could start with the previous discussion and introduction to the middle/working class during this time. It is important to include the context where the middle class found itself in, most especially before it achieved social mobility and economic prosperity in the 1920s. Thus, the documentary must cover and use as a backdrop the First World War as a contradicting and surprising precedent to the flourishing economy of the 1920s. Moving forward to 1920s, the documentary will then talk about the social, cultural, and technological developments that influenced American society and culture during this period. Special focus must be given to the working class, relating their social mobility to their economic success and consumption lifestyle.

To illustrate the men and women of the Roaring Twenties, each group would be discussed in relation to a specific social issue that is considered significant and controversial to American society during that time.

For the women, a controversial would be the emergence of 'women empowerment' in the form of through sexual awareness and education. This issue can be discussed two-fold: one side asserting that sexual education is empowering to women of the '20s, while the other side opposing this position, claiming that sex education can actually lead to obscene thoughts and acts (Wheeler, 2000:180). Middle class women were especially active in pursuing or contradicting the campaign for sex education among women, a reflection of their newfound social freedom as a result of their society's economic prosperity.