Who Started the Jazz Age?
Several events lead to the Jazz Age, between the end of World War 1 (1918) and The Great Depression (1929).
Jazz didn’t start the Jazz Age, but it was there at its inception. It started in the 1890s in New Orleans, went up the Mississippi River, and from there, spread to Memphis, St. Louis, Chicago, and beyond. Because of radio, jazz spread rapidly. Because it was popular in so many clubs, it became associated with drinking, dancing, and other socially unacceptable activities.
Jazz has elements of blues, marching band music, ragtime, and folk music, especially from Africa. Major elements in jazz include improvisation, partly because many musicians could not read music, and the saxophone, whose sound added to the disdain of the older generation.
Post War America
After World War One, Americans struggled to regain normalcy in their lives and adjust to the world being at peace. Many were disillusioned about the war, so they turned their focus inward, not being as concerned with foreign affairs as they were during the war.
All the government’s restrictions during the war were lifted, and businesses turned to making products for peacetime. Wages were high and with the new prosperity, people had money to enjoy life. When you think about who started the jazz age, remember that it was mostly the attitudes of the people of the era that caused it, but many other things added their contributions as well.
Technology
Up until the 1920s, cars were very expensive. When Henry Ford mass produced them with his assembly line, cars became affordable for many Americans. Soon, cars were being driven everywhere, on very bad roads. Thusly, roads had to be built to accommodate this huge increase.
The Federal Aid Highway Act of 1921 gave money to the states to build an interstate highway system. Because of these new roads, new businesses began to crop up, including gas stations, places to eat, and places to sleep. Now, people could live in the suburbs, businesses did not have to be built by railways any longer, and it was easier to visit friends and families. Also, vacations could be taken to explore the country. Americans love affair with the car had begun.
In 1920 the first radio station was started in Pennsylvania. By the 1930s, there were hundreds of stations and millions of radio receivers. Not only did radio entertain, with plays, music, and other programs, but it also informed, by broadcasting news.
Because of this, radio united us as a people. This came about because we were sharing the same experiences, such as listening to the president address the nation. It also allowed businesses to advertise the new products which were being developed.
The Roaring Twenties
Who started the jazz age is more a “what” than a “who.” People adopted a lifestyle that was flamboyant and daring. No one worried about money; in fact, being stingy with your money was considered unfriendly.
Every generation has to act differently that the preceding one and this one was no exception. They did whatever they wanted to do. Young women, called “flappers” expressed their freedom by bobbing their hair, raising their hemlines, and listening to jazz. They drank, smoked, drove cars, and did whatever they pleased.
Art and Culture
F. Scott Fitzgerald is responsible for the phrase, "the Jazz Age.” He was very critical of this new trend of relaxed morals, as can be seen in his novel, The Great Gatsby.
In the 1920s, Art Deco was all the rage. It gets its name from an exposition in France, organized by several French artists, the International Exposition of Modern Industrial and Decorative Art, but actually started in Belgium. Its style consists of shapes and includes zigzagged lines and mixed-up geometric shapes. The Art Deco style could be seen in things from railroad stations to the Golden Gate Bridge. According to F. Scott Fitzgerald, the Art Deco style was shaped by “all the nervous energy stored up and expended in the War.”