Did the 1920’s Roar?

The 1920’s experienced a roaring time, in terms of economy, culture, and technology. Everyone was having a good time and people became worry-free. Jobs were becoming more available, and pay increased. People were buying more luxury items. Also, they were going out and having fun. The 1920’s brought happiness to many people and families because of the overall boom.

The 1920’s experienced an economic boom because of foreign investment, expanding industries, and consumerism. Before the 1920’s the biggest foreign investors in Canada were British, however because of WWI, British investment fell and Americans moved in as Canada’s number one investor. This foreign investment made much of the expansion in Canada possible. Expanding industries such as farming, mining, the auto industry, and energy production provided economic growth in Canada. There was high demand for these industries, which lead to more production, money, and jobs for Canadians. Also, consumerism had a large impact in the upwards economic cycle in Canada. People were buying more, which lead to higher production rates, more jobs, and higher wages. Higher wages meant people could buy more, and the process of the upwards economic cycle repeated. Overall, foreign investment, expanding industries, and consumerism lead to an economic boom in the roaring twenties.

Culture in the 1920’s changed immensely in response to the 20’s roar; these changes were in sports, fashion, and entertainment. In sports, baseball was the most popular summer sport. Babe Ruth, Fanny “Bobbie” Rosenfeld, and Lionel Conacher were big names in these times. The NHL was established and grew in the 1920’s, as in 1924, the Boston Bruins were the first American team. Hockey Night in Canada became popular and brought families’ happy memories together. In fashion, there were flappers. Flappers revealed a shocking amount of skin. This look was affordable to middle class women and included bobs and cloche hats. Flappers were a result of good times, because they always seemed to be dancing and having a good time. In entertainment, there was jazz music and lots of dancing. Youth headed to dance halls in the evening. The music was high energy, and so was the dancing. The Charleston was a dance craze in the 1920’s, and people were all having fun learning and dancing it. Changes in sports, fashion, and entertainment were all the result of a roaring time.

Production of new technology in the 20’s was a good reflection on the roaring times. These technologies included the radio, automobiles, and insulin. Before 1925, radios were large expensive and required batteries to operate. Ted Rogers invented a radio that could be plugged in, which lead to it becoming more popular. People listened to the radio with their families and they made great memories together. Automobiles revolutionized Canadian society, they could travel places much faster. They could do more travelling, visit family, go to cottages, altogether cars made life in Canada better. Insulin was discovered by Banting and Macleod, who won the Nobel Prize. They sold the patent to U of T for 1 dollar for all people to benefit. People were healthier and there were fewer deaths because of this discovery of insulin. Production of new technology greatly benefited Canada and resulted in good times in the 20’s.

To conclude, economy, culture, and technology were all improved in the 1920’s, which makes is a good indication that they really roared. Overall, this decade brought temporary fortune to middle class Canadians. The average person was much better off financially, therefore the overall mood of the Canadian people as a whole was lifted. The 20’s were a glimpse of happiness between two dark decades. In conclusion, the 20’s did in fact roar.