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- Women that didn't meet the standard
- Women that decided to step out of the norms
- Women that wanted to be different and make a change

This affects how women are now. Women can now stand up for themselves and women have some control over decisions

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FIGHTING FOR WOMEN'S RIGHTS

-Fighting for rights became more popular
- Riots
- Peaceful protest

Women stuck together to get the right to vote and that was a social change because it changed the history of women. We wouldn't be where we are now without the women that fought in the 1920s.

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INCREASES IN TECHNOLOGY

-Increases in vehicles
-Increases in phones
-Increases in radios

Changed the way technology is formed now

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"Pop culture" has changed a lot since from 1920's to 2020 because of evolution, change and America becoming more modern with the times.

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by Barrett A. Silverstein
Reprinted with permission from the Tar Heel Junior Historian. Spring 2004.
Tar Heel Junior Historian Association, NC Museum of History
Related Entry: How the Twenties Roared in North Carolina
Have you ever heard the phrase "the roaring twenties?" Also known as the Jazz Age, the decade of the 1920s featured economic prosperity and carefree living for many. The decade began with a roar and ended with a crash.

To paraphrase Charles Dickens in A Tale of Two Cities, "It was the best of times, and sometimes it was the worst of times."

The 1920s was a decade of change, when many Americans owned cars, radios, and telephones for the first time. The cars brought the need for good roads. The radio brought the world closer to home. The telephone connected families and friends. Prosperity was on the rise in cities and towns, and social change flavored the air. A substantial growth of industry occurred in North Carolina, especially in the areas of tobacco, textiles, and furniture. Some rural farmers were leaving their farms in order to receive a regular paycheck in the factories. Unions were on the rise. Women shortened, or "bobbed," their hair, flappers danced and wore short fancy dresses, and men shaved off their beards.

In 1920 the average life span in the United States was about fifty-four years, whereas today it's about seventy-seven years. In 1920 the average time a student spent in school each year was 75 days, and today it's about 180 days.

In 1920 the Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was passed, creating the era of Prohibition. The amendment forbade the manufacture, sale, or transportation of alcoholic beverages. Many people ignored the ban, however. In 1933 the amendment was abolished, and it became the only Constitutional amendment to be repealed.

The 1920s began with the last American troops returning from Europe after World War I. They were coming back to their families, friends, and jobs. Most of the soldiers had never been far from home before the war, and their experiences had changed their perspective of life around them. After seeing Europe, they wanted some of the finer things in life for themselves and their families.

Two events in 1920 kicked off the era of change that Americans experienced. On August 18 the Nineteenth Amendment was passed, giving women the right to vote. And on November 2 the first commercially licensed radio broadcast was heard, from KDKA in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In North Carolina, women voted for better roads and better education for their children. And radio became a family experience. Everyone would gather around the radio and listen to the news, the comedy shows, and the music. The first North Carolina radio station, WBT, started broadcasting in Charlotte in 1922.

Musical styles were also changing in the 1920s. In 1922 Louis Armstrong started improvising and adding personal musical variations with his trumpet, playing in a style known as jazz. In 1925 the flappers found a new dance craze, called the Charleston. In 1927 The Jazz Singer became the first successful "talking picture." Before that time, motion pictures had been silent. In 1928 Mickey Mouse first appeared in the cartoon Steamboat Willie, and in 1929 Popeye first appeared in the comic strip Thimble Theater.

Aviation represented another area in which things were changing quite rapidly, helped by advances and improvements in aircraft during World War I. Up to this time only a few daredevils and barnstormers had flown. In 1924 the United States Air Service circumnavigated the world in airplanes, just twenty-one years after Orville Wright flew the first powered plane for only forty yards here in North Carolina. On May 20-21, 1927, Charles Lindbergh flew solo from New York to Paris, and on June 17, 1928, Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean. Before the decade was over, commercial passenger air travel had begun.

In 1924 Congress passed a law that made all American Indians citizens of the United States. The Fourteenth Amendment had already given African Americans citizenship in 1866. Yet segregation, or separation of the races, continued to be practiced in North Carolina and in the South. Modern civil rights laws for minorities were still many years away.

As mentioned in the beginning of this article, the decade also represented the worst of times. In 1921 a revival of the white supremacist group the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) took place. The KKK was targeting Catholics, blacks, and Jews with its terrorism.

Here in North Carolina, Thomas W. Bickett was the governor until 1921. He was followed by Cameron Morrison, the "Good Roads governor," whose efforts in transportation had a lasting impact on the state.

In the mid-1920s, citizens debated Charles Darwin's controversial evolution theory, as did most people throughout the nation. The Scopes "monkey trial" in Tennessee gained national attention in 1925.

That same year, Edna Ferber was living in Bath when she wrote her Pulitzer Prizewinning book, So Big. The following year, she wrote Show Boat, a story about people she met at the John Adams Floating Theater on the Pamlico River. Show Boat became the basis for the popular musical of the same name. North Carolina native Paul Green won a Pulitzer Prize in 1927 for his play In Abraham's Bosom. And Asheville's Thomas Wolfe published his book Look Homeward, Angel in 1929.

Toward the end of the decade in October 1929, the stock market crashed, and America's invested wealth suddenly lost $26 billion in value. Prosperity had ended. The economic boom and the Jazz Age were over, and America began the period called the Great Depression.
Barrett A. Silverstein, a retiree of IBM Corporation, volunteers for both the North Carolina Museum of History and the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. He is also a volunteer instructor for classes in popular music and radio at North Carolina State University's Encore Center.
The 1920s represented an era of change and growth. The decade was one of learning and exploration. America had become a world power and was no longer considered just another former British colony. American culture, such as books, movies, and Broadway theater, was now being exported to the rest of the world. World War I had left Europe on the decline and America on the rise. The decade of the 1920s helped to establish America's position in respect to the rest of the world, through its industry, its inventions, and its creativity.

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by Barrett A. Silverstein
Reprinted with permission from the Tar Heel Junior Historian. Spring 2004.
Tar Heel Junior Historian Association, NC Museum of History

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GENDER ROLE
- Because there were women that were changing their style changing socially and becoming free gender roles changed
- Women went out more
- Women didn't settle down as fast
- Women were in more groups with other women
- Women were free to do as they pleased
- Women's clothing became shorter and lighter

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Sports have changed a little bit since the 1920's, some aren't very popular anymore and some new ones have become popular.
Sports that are popular now-
-Football
-Volleyball
-Basketball
-Hockey
-Soccer
-Lacross
-Track and Field
-Tennis
-Swimming/ dividing
etc.

Sports that are not popular anymore-
-Flag pole sitting
-Dance marathons

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1920s popular music was shared through sheet music, piano rolls, and live shows

Prior to the creation of the recorded music industry, popular music was shared through sheet music, piano rolls, and live shows. The second influential technology that helped to create the modern music industry was commercial radio. The first radio was created by Guglielmo Marconi in 1894 and by the 1910s the first commercial public radio stations begin broadcasting in the United States. Many of the first radio stations were owned by newspapers, radio manufacturers, and department stores and did not use the advertising and sponsorship that is familiar to audiences today. Once radio became widespread and popular, the worlds of radio and recorded music began to merge. The music recording industry's profits dropped with the proliferation of commercial radio during the Twenties. Beginning in 1923, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) required licensing fees to play their music on the radio. A final influence on the music industry came near the end of the decade when silent movies turned into "talkies," incorporating recorded sounds and creating a whole new venue for the distribution of popular music. Movie versions of Broadway musicals became extremely popular and introduced different types of music to audiences across the world. What we all know as the modern music industry began in the 1920s with all of these new technologies that were created and used to make and distribute music. The music world was wide open making way for the popularization of genres like Jazz, Blues, Broadway and Dance Bands..

Styles of Music Popular in the Twenties

Popular Dance Bands

Paul Whiteman, Nat Shilkret, Ben Bernie, Ben Selvin, Isham Jones, Fletcher Henderson, Leo Reisman, Ted Lewis, Rudy Vallee, Vincent Lopez

Popular Jazz Musicians

Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Jelly Roll Morton, Red Hot Poppers, Bix Beiderbecke, Benny Goodman, Fats Waller, Marion Harris, Adelaide Hall, Count Basie, King Oliver

Popular Blues Musicians

Mamie Smith, Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, Lonnie Johnson, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Jimmie Rodgers, Victoria Spivey, Sara Martin

Popular Broadway Stars

Eddie Cantor, Sophie Tucker, Fanny Brice, Helen Morgan, Ethel Waters, Florence Mills, Marilyn Miller, Al Jolson

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1920s Music History including Twenties Styles, Bands And Artists

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Popular Music from the 1920s, Genres including Dance Bands, Jazz, Blues and Broadway Musicals, top songs and artists from each year

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18TH AMENDMENT-
-The 18th amendment was the law against selling, manufacturing, and transporting alcohol
-A ban on alcohol
HOW IS THIS A SOCIAL CHANGE-
-This is a social change because this is making it so no one can drink alcohol and
-It will take a toll on the people that drink
-People will be angry and fight the amendment

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Fashion in the 1920s consisted of-

Women's
-Dropped hemline
-Short dresses
-Looser clothes
-Lighter and easier-to-wear pieces
-More activewear

Girls
-Straight skirts
-Flared skirts
-More casual look
-Decorated with bows and ribbons

Men's
-Banded fedoras hats
-Knickerbockers
-Longer plus-fours
-Patterns like argyle
-More activewear
-Fancy suits

Boy's
-Short pants with matching shirts
-Hats
Older boys
-Knickers
-Long pants
-Button-down shirts

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IMMIGRATION

- More people were trying to get into the US
- Most people from Europe would try to move
- Only 3% would get it
- There was a fear of communism

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1920s-
CARS-
-More roads were being made
-Easier way to get places
-Not many people owned them
RADIOS-
-Broadcasting
-Listening to music
-"The radio brought the world closer to home"
TELEPHONES-
-Communication became more common
-Contacting people from your home
-Phones were attached to the walls
2020's
CARS-
-Many models of cars
-Many people have them
-Safer
-Stable roads
- Expensive
RADIOS-
-Not used as much
-Used in the car
TELEPHONES-
-Very common
-Smaller easier to carry around
-Used for entertainment
-A lot of people have them

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1920s-
-Electrical process
-Bands
-Radio
-Genres
-Jazz
-Blue
-Broadway
-Dance bands

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1920s music compilation a song for every year 1921-1929

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When you think of Western fashions in the 1920s, glamorous flapper dresses may come to mind. But there was much more to 1920s clothing than the "Roaring 20s" style of the flappers.

The 1920s brought prosperity and opportunity to many, though not all. More people purchased consumer goods such as automobiles and ready-to-wear clothing. They went on more outings. They wanted everyday wardrobes that were more simple, casual, and practical than the previous decade. Women's styles changed the most, as they enjoyed newfound freedoms and greater participation in public life.

The simpler styles of the 1920s meant that even those who sewed their own clothes could copy the day's fashions. Here's what you may see people wearing in pictures from the 1920s.

What Did Women Wear in the 1920s?

The classic 1920s female silhouette reflected the era's new sense of freedom. It was loose, straight, and slender, with dropped waists and shorter hemlines.

Women's Dresses: They Weren't All Flappers

Everyday dress for most women was a casual cotton housedress, sometimes homemade. Housedresses were loose pullover styles in colorful gingham, plaid, vertical stripes, or solids. The use of aprons and labor-saving appliances at home-and the enlargement of women's life outside the home-meant that by the end of the 1920s, women were wearing more sophisticated day dresses all day long.

Women donned fancier dresses for special occasions. For warm-weather parties, ladies wore elegant afternoon or tea dresses of sheer, layered fabrics in white or pastel colors. The iconic flapper dress-sleeveless, knee-length, and often beaded, embroidered, or sequined-was a more flamboyant choice for a night on the town, especially for those who lived the lifestyle of the Lost Generation.

Women's Casual 1920s Clothing for Sports and Leisure

An active lifestyle became more popular for women. A sun-tanned appearance for those with pale skin became more popular. Some women wore sleeveless tennis dresses both on and off the court. Toward the end of the decade, sailor-inspired "middy" style and menswear-inspired button-down blouses were popular. Women wore these with pleated skirts or-more daringly-wide-legged chiffon trousers.

Women's Hats and Hairstyles

Women wore hats in public. Straw hats with wide brims, trimmed with ribbon and flowers, were popular for outdoor life. Turbans, berets, and Tam O'Shanter hats were also perched confidently on many women's heads. The close-fitting, narrow-brimmed cloche hat is the most iconic women's hat of the decade. Cloche hats were often banded with large ribbons or decorated with bows or embroidery.

Women's hairstyles had to accommodate these tight-fitting hats. In the early 1920s, many women still wore their hair long, but styled it to look short, with curls on the side and the rest in a bun. The decade's most famous women's hairstyle was the daring bob cut, with earlobe-length locks styled straight or curly.

What Did Men Wear in the 1920s?

Men's fashions didn't change so dramatically. Overall, their dressed-up, buttoned-down look became more casual.

Men's Suits

Unless working or playing, men wore suits in public. Slim-fitting "jazz suits" complemented the trim physiques of Great War veterans at the outset of the 1920s. As the decade progressed, suits became looser and wider. British menswear, which set Western trends, was well tailored; the typical lounge suit was wide in the shoulder, with a loose-fitting, double-breasted jacket, matching vest, and high-waisted trousers, worn with a white shirt.

In the United States, suits were generally looser and longer, with flashier ties and stripes in both the shirt and suit fabric. Suit colors were fairly conservative; African American men sometimes wore bolder colors.

The 1920s saw several menswear fads. College students popularized the "Ivy League" look, with a slimmer fit, and longer, single-breasted jacket. Jazz Age culture produced the super-baggy "zoot suit." Traditional suspenders generally gave way to belts, but some young men preferred flashy suspenders. Toward the end of the decade, mismatched vests were trendy.

Men's Casual 1920s Clothing and Sportswear

Men appeared more frequently in public in sportswear. The popularity of golf fueled a fad for wearing knickerbockers, longer plus-fours, and wide-legged oxford bag pants. Sweaters and sweater vests, especially in Argyle patterns, became a sporty, casual alternative to wearing a suit jacket. Men sometimes donned white or light-colored flannel suits during the summer.

Men's Hats and Hairstyles

Men with straight hair often wore it longer on the top and shorter on the sides. Whether slicked straight back or parted on the side, it was often combed into place with a greasy hair product. A variety of hats topped their look. Formal occasions called for bowler hats or similar-looking Homburgs. Banded fedoras were a popular everyday choice; the wide brim could be shaped to the owner's preference.

What Did Children Wear in the 1920s?

Until toddlerhood, both boys and girls wore white gowns, which shortened to knee-length once they could walk. Young girls' dress styles included baby doll, drop-waist, and sailor-style dresses. Older girls more closely copied women's styles, with the straight, drop-waist dress a popular choice. Little boys wore short pants with matching jackets or short overalls and shirts. Older boys ' clothing more closely matched that of men: knickers, long pants, and button-down shirts.

Fashion in Your Family History

What did your family wear during the 1920s? Look for photos of them in FamilySearch Memories. Or upload your own family photos to share these treasures with others.

Related Articles

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1920s Clothing: Fashions from 1920-1929 * FamilySearch

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When you think of Western fashions in the 1920s, glamorous flapper dresses may come to mind. But there was much more to 1920s clothing than the "Roaring 20s" style of the flappers. The 1920s brought prosperity and opportunity to many, though not all. More people purchased consumer goods such as automobiles and ready-to-wear clothing.

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In the 1920's popular sports were-
-Baseball
-Tennis
-Swimming
-Flag pole sitting
-Dance marathons

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Entertainment of the art was what people looked forward to.
-Movies
-Plays
-Concerts
-Paintings
-Literature