The Roaring Twenties: 1920 to 1929

Flamboyant, excessive, and full of changes, the 1920s fell between the two great wars of the 20th century. Characterized in America by the trends of Prohibition, bootleggers, the Harlem Renaissance, Art Deco design, and the Jazz Age, this period witnessed a shift in gender relations and moral values as well as the first generation gap. While rural life became marked by religious fundamentalism, urban life tended to an eager acceptance of modernity, a difference highlighted by the 1925 Scopes Trial in Dayton, Tennessee. The 1920s were a time of great transition that is often regarded as a period of carefree indulgence by the post - World War II generation.