American society in the 1920s has always grabbed the attention of historians and the public at large because of the changes that took place during the decade, but there has been an even greater focus on this period in recent years. This is partly because of the subsequent economic collapse and, inevitably, parallels have been drawn between the causes of the
Great Depression and the current economic crisis. Here are a selection of resources which might help you gain a better understanding of this period in which new liberties and greater independence were combined with excess, consumerism, speculation, unequal distribution of wealth and prejudice to create a period known as the
Roaring Twenties.
Have a look at the first part of this three-part documentary on 1920s as a good introduction to the period; you can find the rest of the series on this site's
You Tube channel.
The
History Learning Site has a good introduction to the topic, while the BBC Bitesize webpage has sections on the
Roaring Twenties and other aspects of the
1920s in the USA as well as on
racism and intolerance.
