The Roaring 20’s

Do you know why the 20’s were roaring? Well, let me tell you!

In 1919, soldiers arrive home from WWII. In the next couple of years, only half of those 2 million soldiers will get a job. In 1920, a new model t was made every 2 hours thanks to Henry Ford’s assembly line. He gives his workers a five-day workweek, for the first time workers have weekends off. Later in 1920 alcohol was prohibited, but people can still party and drink because the law says that you can drink an existing supply at your house. So naturally, people bring the party to their house. Criminals called bootleggers illegally sold alcohol to these partiers and made hundreds of millions of dollars. 

Race is an issue because many of America’s biggest businesses favor whites. Black people see plentiful jobs in the north and racial discrimination in the south. This leads to the great migration. The great migration was when 1.6 million colored families moved to the north to start a new life. A group called the Ku Klux Klan is rising to power. They believe in what they call 100% Americanism and they do not like anyone that isn’t white. By 1924, its membership will reach over 4 million.

A new invention called the radio lets people listen to live sports, concerts. 50 million people listen to a boxing match between Jack Dempsey and Jean Tunning. Dempsey is 26 he believes in relentless attack and no defense. The match between Dempsey and Tunning is the first million-dollar match.

In 1927 a man named Charles Lindbergh attempts flying from New York to Paris. He is flying 10,000 custom-built model plane named “The Spirit of St. Louis”. The prize is $25,000, 6 pilots have already attempted this feat all of them died. Lindbergh lands safely in Paris. He is in the air for 33 hours. He shows that planes are the future of travel.

By 1929, 20 million cars roam the streets of America. There is no driver’s test, which means many crashes occur. A new invention is needed. The traffic light has already been around but now is becoming more popular in big cities. Car accidents drop at a very high rate. 

The market is at its highest. The Dow Jones has tripled in the last 3 years. On Thursday, October 24 1929 there were no buyers, only sellers. Over the next couple of days 25 billion dollars is lost and this leads to the great depression. In 1930 the Empire State Building was finished. It will take 2 decades to bring in a profit. The Roaring 20’s ended and on brought the Great Depression.