In the 1920s many people just wanted to have fun This couple is dancing the Charleston a popular dance of the period
Youth culture is born There was a sense of rebellion among many young people in the 1920s This spirit was expressed in a culture that was very different from that of the older generation The 1920s saw the birth of a youth culture with young people wearing different clothes listening to different music and doing different dances than their parents had done The Roaring Twenties In the 10 years following World War I the economy boomed especially in the United States There was a growing demand for consumer goods and people had more money to spend on enjoying themselves The 1920s are sometimes known as the Roaring Twenties because some businesses roared ahead and some fortunate people had a roaring good time
Even though alcohol was officially banned between 1920 and 1933 people still gathered at speakeasies like this bar in New York Prohibition and speakeasies In 1920 the U S government decided to take action to solve the many social problems caused by alcohol They passed a national law known as Prohibition that put a total ban on making and selling alcohol Prohibition lasted until 1933 1 During this period gangsters known as bootleggers smuggled alcohol into the United States and illegal bars sprang up everywhere The bars were known as speakeasies
and they became very popular with young people Jazz musicians played in the speakeasies while people drank smoked and danced to the music Life in the 1930s During the 1930s life became much harder for many people In 1929 countries all over the world plunged into the Great Depression This was a period of widespread poverty when banks and businesses failed and millions of people lost their jobs The Great Depression lasted for most of the 1930s However by the end of the decade there were signs of recovery especially in the United States 2 By the late 1930s the United States had become the dominant world economy It also set trends in popular culture with people all over the world listening to American jazz and watching American films A dangerous world The 1930s saw a growing threat from Germany By 1933 Adolf Hitler and his Nazi party had gained control of Germany 3 Hitler began to make plans to create a Greater Germany by invading neighboring countries He also launched a campaign to persecute Jews gypsies and disabled people By the late 1930s it was clear that the only way to stop Hitler from achieving his aims was to go to war with Germany
