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The Roaring 20's

This essay I wrote for U.S. History. We had to write about "The Roaring 20's". (Written 1/22/01)


Ah, the Roaring 20s. Can’t you just feel it in the air? Everything is new again, and growing prosperously. You can’t deny the excitement you feel, can you? But what has created this new decade? Well, I’ll tell you. It has been the people, the times, and the cities. But who and what were these? Let’s take a look.

The people of this time have fought for change most of their lives and are now finally receiving it. Women are beginning to vote, and obtain jobs formerly occupied by men. They have defined themselves anew, with their unique styles of dress and fashion. But not only women’s roles are altering, but also the African Americans are gaining more jobs across the country as well. Times are certainly changing.

Then we have our heroes. Who could ever forget Charles Lindbergh, AKA “Lucky Lindy”? Being the first man to fly from New York to Paris non-stop, he will always be in our minds as one of the great American pilots. Inspired by Lucky Lindy, Amelia Earhart was known for being the first woman pilot to fly solo from Hawaii to California, and across the Atlantic, as well. It was only in her attempt to fly around the world was she lost at sea and never heard from again. Not just pilots, however, have become our heroes, but sports stars, too. There’s the great Jack Dempsey, a heavyweight boxing champion. Good ol’ Babe Ruth, a baseball player that has set hitting, pitching, and outfielding records. Gertrude Ederle, who broke many records in women’s freestyle swimming, and was also the first women to swim the English Channel. And also tennis star Helen Wills.

Cities have been a growing priority in this new decade. They have been expanding further and further horizontally, instead of the previous vertical ascent. This is due mostly to the fact that many more people own their own automobiles, now, and public transportation has become far more available than ever before. This has allowed for people and families to move further away from the workplace, thus the growing need for the creation of city suburbs. In a time when anything is possible, people have only just begun to realize the potential of themselves and the country they live in.


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