Themes in American History

During the 1920’s one of the most innovative creations of the time was the radio. This invention transformed society overnight and brought forth many social gatherings to join in with a common interest. Channels would broadcast news reports, different sporting events, music stations and religious practices all available to those who could afford a receiver, which was relatively cheap. It brought people from much greater distances together within in the comfort of their own home. The invention of the radio gave way to many more modernized versions of it such as television and the internet, which have the same objectives and concepts, to connect the world to your home.

Considering its’ success, the radio enabled an access point into majority of American homes.  By doing so, it spawned many new jobs and created new ways to advertise products, which in turn leads to higher production. It also enabled society to stay current with news stories, but also gave them the option to enjoy an outlet of entertainment as well. The radio then is very much comparable to the television today, whereas people would come together for certain show programming or sporting events.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6I52Of-po8

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVE5IWCHLF0

In my opinion, one of the greatest examples that represent modernity during 1920s was changing role of women in the society. The beginning of this revolution was caused by passing the 19^th Amendment to U.S Constitution which finally gave a women right to vote. Since then mentalities of women began to change. They started to engage in their career life, with concentration in female occupations like teachers, nurses and office workers. They also demanded for equal rights and higher wages in order to become economically and socially equal of men. The number of educated women increased. The marriage started to be perceived as an equal partnership and casual dating became increasingly accepted. What’s more women changed their appearance. They started to wear less conservative clothes. Shorter above their knees gave women the chance to manifest their freedom. Women’s haircut went shorter to a “bob” and they become more comfortable with smoking cigarettes. Visual icons of modernity were flappers – young emancipated women interested in fashion and makeup, embracing new attitude toward everyday life. They listened to jazz music and were symbols of new generation. I found a video, which presents a lot of interesting pictures of women who were livening in 1920’s .

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At the beginning of the century the automobile entered the transportation market as a toy for the rich. However, it became increasingly popular among the general population because it gave travelers the freedom to travel when they wanted to and where they wanted. As a result, in North America and Europe the automobile became cheaper and more accessible to the middle class. This was facilitated by Henry Ford who did two important things. First he priced his car to be as affordable as possible and second, he paid his workers enough to be able to purchase the cars they were manufacturing. This helped push wages and auto sales upward. The convenience of the automobile freed people from the need to live near rail lines or stations; they could choose locations almost anywhere in an urban area, as long as roads were available to connect them to other places. Many states in the US established motor fuel taxes that were used only to build and maintain highways helping the auto highway system become self-supporting.
Affecting not only American culture during the 1920s, the automobile also helped American industries. The sharp demand for automobile sparked the creation of a whole new industry in the 20s, the automobile industry. Ford had to provide for his clients somehow, so he expanded his factories, creating more jobs, more revenues, and improving the American economy in virtually every way. Automobiles that drove around a lot found it hard to drive on the poor dirt roads that were common back then, and they required a lot of fuel to run also. So nation wide road construction took place, which created even more jobs, and strengthened the economy even further.As a result of the automobile, Americans and America itself benefited greatly from the advantages it brought to them. Improved transportation and an improved economy made the automobile one of the most important inventions of the 1920s.

This youtube video shows a documentary about the assembly line in Ford’s Company in Detroit. It explains the life of people who worked at this assembly line. Even though the automobile brought many benefits to Ford and the people in America at the end of the video shows somehow an isolation of these workers in society. The workers there, later on, were prohibited to talk to each other, or walk around , or even refrain to go to the bathroom. As one of the people interviewed in this video states: “to see them, they were like marionettes….. human machines.”

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1) Complete reading

2) Write a post that features a video or still image that represents an aspect of modernity (social, cultural, political, technological, etc.) achieved during the 1920s that has not yet been covered on our blog.  Include at least one paragraph explaining how and why this change contributed to modernity.  You may consult the Chudacoff reading for topic ideas.

(I will demonstrate for you in class how to post a video.  You may also consult the “blog support” tab on the site).

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