A look at life in this diverse decade.

Covers American history from 1920 until 1929 with an emphasis on social history. Includes 100 or more black-and-white photographs, fact boxes, box features/sidebars, margin quotations, a glossary, further reading list, and an index. Annotation. The decade nicknamed the Roaring Twenties was a time when the nation was at peace and the standard of living was, for the most part, rising. This time witnessed the birth of jazz and of uninhibited dance crazes such as the Charleston. It was an era of such industrial giants as Henry Ford and of big-city gangsters such as Al Capone. However, in October 1929, the stock market crashed, the economy began to collapse, and the Great Depression of the 1930s began. America in the 1920s describes how a seemingly carefree decade began with dashed hopes for future world peace and ended with dark fears of economic ruin. With the help of more than 100 photographs, interesting box features, and pull-out quotations and facts, this book traces the history of a rapidly changing decade.