The “Roaring” TwentiesEssay Preview: The “Roaring” TwentiesReport this essayThe twenties were given the nickname the “Roaring Twenties” as well as the “Jazz Age,” no doubt because of the heavy influence the arts posed on the decade. This “movement” in which jazz music grew in popularity immensely in the U.S., also influenced other parts of the world. Also, the economy and the social status of the United States transformed outrageously with new inventions, new ideas, and new concepts and fads. Transportation was booming, people were dancing, women were exploding into the social scene and were becoming more comfortable with their sexuality, and people were inventing things left and right to improve the industry.
At the beginning of the 1920s, the United States was converting from a war-time economy to one more associated with the lines of peace. When weapons for World War I were no longer needed, there was a temporary stall in the economy. After several years, the country continued to prosper in its flourishes. America became the richest nation on Earth and a culture of consumerism was born. It was the time of the five dollar workday — good salary for the common worker in the twenties. People spent money on efficient roads, tourism, and holiday resorts. Real estate booms, most notably in Florida, sent land prices soaring. Inventions were soaring as well. Included in the list of notables were: The Model T Ford – a car that sold fifteen million by 1927 that was invented by Henry Ford, the radio boom — the first radio station was named KDKA in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the first movie, or picture, with sound was made — The Jazz Singer starring Al Johnson in 1922.
Science, medicine and health advanced remarkably during the same period. Albert Einstein was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics in 1921. Diphtheria, an upper respiratory tract illness characterized by sore throat, low fever, and an adherent membrane on the tonsils, pharynx, and/or nasal cavity, became better controlled in 1923 by newly introduced immunizations. An interest developed in nutrition, caloric consumption and physical vitality. American dieting habits changed as a whole with the new outlook on body image that the flappers influenced — less fat and meat, and more fruits and vegetables. The discovery of vitamins and their effects also occurred around the same time. Cigarette consumption rose to roughly 43 billion annually, and bootleg liquor became a $3.5 billion-a-year business during this time period.
The popularity of the cigarettes as a source of mass-produced health information and increased awareness of diabetes as causes of diabetes increased. In fact, a small number of studies found that smoking increased the risk of stroke, a marker of hypertension.
By 1938, there were a number of epidemiological studies suggesting that alcohol consumption had a role in the development of diabetes. A series of studies published in 1985 concluded that alcohol consumption increased the risk of breast cancer. At that time, it was estimated that, overall, about half of all women who participated in a physical exercise program were overweight, meaning that about 50 percent of the world’s children were obese.[16]
By the 1920s, the United States became the world’s greatest consumer of alcohol, with about a fifth of all alcohol consumed. With the rise of drugs, alcoholic drinks became popular. By the 1960s, the rate at which people consumed alcoholic beverages had risen to a “mature” level of nearly 75%–and about 25% of adults aged over 35 have an alcoholic beverage a month.[18]
By the 1970s, most alcohol consumption was from adults drinking between 2–20 drinks per day, a decline from the total use of alcohol in America between 1965 and 1975. In this period consumption exceeded consumption in 40 percent of adult U.S. households, compared with less than 5 percent in 25 percent of the non-Hispanic black and white households. During the 1980s, more than 5 million adolescents were under the ages of 40, the same percentage as in 2007. Between 1977 and 1986, the use of alcohol in the United States had risen at an average rate of 1.5 million American adults annually. By 1984, it was 2.6 million adults. This represented more than 1 in 12 in the world.[19] By 1991, it was 4.4 million adults. Since 1995, consumption on the federal level and national income has increased 3 times faster than the number of adolescents between the ages of 15 and 35. In 1988, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that, during that same period, the consumption of alcoholic beverages at age 21 jumped 24 percent.[21]
In the 1970s, the number of alcoholics began to increase. Between 1995 and 2011, the number of Americans who used an alcoholic beverage in the first half of every month—from 12.5 million to 21 billion people—increased by 9.3 million percent. In 2013, the number of alcoholics who were ever-present—anyone between the ages of 10 and 19—increased by 2 million percent. By 2016, the number of all Americans drinking with alcohol in general had increased by more than 50 percent. In 2013, consumption on the federal level was up 3 times as fast—9.4 billion people in 2013.[22]
By 2015, Americans had one of the highest levels of binge drinking. More than half (52 percent) of Americans reported they binge drink around or every hour, much higher than the national average of 6.5 hours a week.[23] More than three-quarters (76 percent) of adults admitted to using an alcoholic beverage daily, over twice alcohol consumption in 2014, and almost four-fifths of those who were more than 18 reported
Literature, as well as music, was becoming ever more popular during the twenties. Langston Hughes