America in the Twenties

By Geoffrey Perrett

The main thesis of the book is that the decade of the Twenties was, in fact, the real beginning of the Twentieth Century.  The Nineteenth Century ended with World War I.  This book will provide the Homestead docent with good background material for a discussion of topics in the 1920’s.

The author covers many of the important topics of the decade, including the peace treaty concluding Word War I, the influenza pandemic, the rise of unions and workers’’ rights, the popularization of radio, impact of spectator sports, issues of race and racism, the great black migration, the presidency of Calvin Coolidge and the resurrection of fundamentalist religion.

Economics was a major topic during the Twenties.  The U.S. became an international power and creditor nation as Europe laid in ruins and was preparing for another self-immolation.  The modern economy was born as major industries developed and America became more urbanized.  The stock market boomed as more folks “played the market”.  Optimism was boundless as heroes such as Babe Ruth and Charles Lindbergh demonstrated skill, ingenuity and the American can-do attitude.


The author, not surprisingly, devotes a great deal of the book to a discussion of the economic run-up to the Great Depression, the seminal event of the decade.  Herbert Hoover is shown in a somewhat favorable light, given that “no president had ever assumed responsibility for managing the American economy.  The business of government since 1776 had been limited to war, diplomacy, and foreign trade.  It was not expected to create prosperity.”  The author concludes that Hoover could be considered both the last president of the 19th Century and first president of the 20th Century, tackling an unprecedented task with tools from the previous century.