American Society and Culture: From the Jazz Age to the New Deal

American Culture in the 1920s: The Jazz Age

The 1920s ushered in an era of mass entertainment, often dubbed the “Jazz Age,” characterized by the widespread adoption of radio in nearly every home. Popular music genres included jazz, blues, and hillbilly.

Regarding the film industry, most movies remained silent until 1927, and the actors were often considered more important than the stories themselves. Sports also became a mass spectacle, particularly baseball, football, and basketball. Dance crazes of the era included the Charleston and the Fox-Trot.

Culture was often categorized into three levels:

• Highbrow: Elite culture.
• Middlebrow: Entertainment for the masses.
• Lowbrow: Culture that required little thought, often associated with popular music.

This period also saw the rise of nationalist classical music.

The Lost Generation and Counter-Cultural Movements

The emergence of The Lost Generation marked the first significant movement against mainstream American culture and mores. Other counter-cultural movements opposing popular or mainstream culture included the “Beat” Generation and the “X” Generation.

Intellectuals and artists often became expatriates, driven by a profound disillusionment with America and a perceived loss of traditional values. Paris became the intellectual capital of the Western world, offering a cheaper lifestyle for many Americans seeking refuge. The feeling that the world made little sense led to a tendency toward heavy drinking and freer sexual relations.

The Great Depression in the USA

The Stock Market Crash and Unemployment

The Stock Market Crash occurred, notably marked by “Black Thursday.” The economic bubble had burst.

With the onset of the Great Depression, there was virtually no safety net. If people lost their jobs, they were left with nothing. Unemployment soared, affecting 25% of the population. This period also highlighted the severe wage gap, where women earned significantly less than men for performing the same job.

President Herbert Hoover famously spoke about “the final triumph over poverty,” a statement that would go down in posterity as a lie. During this time, people referred to the shanty towns that sprang up across the country as “Hoovervilles.”

The New Deal and Roosevelt's Reforms

The 1932 election served as a watershed moment (elección divisoria), marking both a beginning and an end. Franklin D. Roosevelt won by a landslide, effectively wiping out the vote for his opponent. Following his presidency, an amendment was eventually passed limiting future presidents to being elected no more than twice.

Roosevelt initiated the New Deal, involving significant government intervention:

• Banks were reopened under new regulations.
• The Federal Reserve Board was empowered to define interest rates.
• The Social Security Act was passed (a concept that had existed in Britain for a long time), providing crucial support such as unemployment benefits, food stamps, and welfare.
• The Works Projects Authority (WPA) was established, through which the government gave people jobs in building and infrastructure projects.

During this era of hardship and reform, music remained the most popular form of art.