The Roaring 20’s

Why is it called the “roaring 20’s”?• The hard times that followed World War 1 disappeared by 1923 in most parts of

Canada. The economic boom allowed most people to forget about the horrors of World War 1.

• Immigrants were settling the rest of the West

• The price of wheat rose, farmers grew bumper crops

• Increased trade with the United States (became Canada’s trading partner after 1922)

• The automobile industry provided a range of vehicles from luxury autos to affordable cars

• Became the 4th largest manufacturing industry in Canada

• Mines doubled their production (demands for iron ore, nickel, zinc, copper, and other metals)

• Pulp and paper mills turned out great quantities of paper products

Social Attitudes• The 1920’s were years of contrasts, conflict, and change

• In the burgeoning cities, members of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union lobbied to ban gambling, drinking, theatre attendance, and public dancing

• Down the street, young people would be drinking and dancing to the wild new sounds…..

• After the postwar recession, Canada’s economy appeared to boom

• New inventions and new forms of popular entertainment swept the country

• They challenged old values and led to bold – often defiant – attitudes and outlooks

New Inventions and Innovations

• Radios

• Cars

• Electric refrigerators

• Stoves

Industrial Development

• In central Canada, manufacturing was concentrated in Montreal and Toronto

• Some cities became specialized in particular industries:

• Hamilton –centre for iron and steel production

• Kitchener – rubber products and furniture

• Windsor (and Detroit in the U.S.) – cars, trucks, and automotive parts

• American automotive producers wanted to build cars in Canada to avoid paying a 35% tax on imported ‘carriages’

• They could also then ship from Canada to the rest of the British Empire with preferential tariff advantages (lower taxes within a certain group)

• Farmers

• Not all farmers shared in the prosperity – many left their farms for the cities

• Wheat farmers were most successful, but even they were affected by the high cost of farm machinery; many went into heavy debt

• The Maritimes

• After 1927, construction and tourism boom; growth of pulp and paper industries

• Concentrated in a few areas: Annapolis Valley, Halifax, Saint John; everywhere else, the economy was in decline

• The coal mining industry was hurt by the shift from coal to oil and electricity – miners laid off and wages cut.

Flapper Culture

• Flappers scandalized the public by abandoning the padded clothes of the Victorian era

• At nightclubs they would dance the newest dance crazes in beaded dresses that went only to the knee – and they didn’t always wear stockings

• Flappers also cut their hair into “boyish” bobs, smoked in public, drank alcohol, and drove their own cars

• They shaved, used chest depressors,

1920S MUSIC, MOVIES & DANCING

MUSIC• The music of the day was Jazz, which had moved north from the

southern states.

• The most popular musicians of the time included Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Bessie Smith, and Miles Davis.

• Because Jazz was performed mostly by African Americans, many parents would not allow their children to listen to it. Teenagers hid the records of their favourite artists under their beds.

Louis Armstrong Charlie Parker and Miles Davis

1920s Jazz

DANCING

• The dance craze of the 1920s was known as the Charleston.

• It was a fast paced dance that quickly caught on with the younger generation.

• Some City Councils tried to have the dance banned, but they were unsuccessful.

• The Charleston

MOVIESIn the early 1920s, films were silent. The most popular silent film star

of the day was Charlie Chaplin.Movies with modern sound did not appear in Canada until 1927 and

were called “talkies.”

Charlie Chaplin - The Circus

Charlie Chaplin

Mary Pickford • America’s Sweetheart (from Toronto)

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGdN9cG0Ybw Flapper pics and music 6 min

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3svvCj4yhYc Music – so rebellious

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-V2D2YU488 1920 flappers and culture

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfw0KapQ3qw

• Charlie in factory (with sound) 15 min

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxWhaFrBz64

• Boxing 6 Min

• CHC2P reade 86-89 #1-3