Flappers, Dappers, & Dons Letting Loose In The Age of Ballyhoo ... or Ain't We Got Fun!! A Return To Normalcy ... Or Was It??

An Integrated, Interdisciplinary, Thematic 8th Grade Unit on the Roaring Twenties The twenties have been stylized and simplified. The essence of these prosperous years is thought of simply as the "Jazz Age" -- a time of flappers and hedonism. But this decade had other features that were contrary to this essence. These grew out of the bitter disillusionment of WOW. A consumer-oriented economy boomed, but the older industries began to decline. By 1920, over half of the American population lived in cities and the automobile simulated freedom of movement and freedom of behavior. While mass entertainment was provided by Hollywood, there was a widespread fear of anything deemed "unAmerican." It was a time of conformism and self-righteous intolerance. The twenties had not one, but countless faces.