The twenties was a very unusual time period in American History. This is probably the reason it is called the Roaring Twenties. In the twenties, industry took a very big step. The automotive industry was the largest industry there was. The assembly line made mass production possible, and the industry boomed. .
Henry Ford's assembly line, located in Detroit, Michigan, was the largest one in the country and possibly in the world. When Ford first started making cars, the only car he made was a black Model-T. Almost everybody in the United States had a car. Three-out-of-four families owned one or more cars. With the assembly line they made a lot more cars in one day than they did before. Instead of paying for the cars with cash, people could now use credit to purchase items. Since most families didn't have the money, they would buy the car with credit and pay off the debt later.
The new credit law was a wonderful idea. It allowed people to purchase items like a television or radio. The invention of the radio united the nation. The news that was heard on the radio was heard by everyone that had a radio. It was the best form of entertainment of its time. .
In the twenties, people had parties all of the time. Everybody in America was keeping themselves busy. Hunting and camping were very popular, but there were also many other outside events to do. Movies and horse races were the best forms of entertainment for some. .
However, this seemingly great time period had an ugly underbelly. This facade of the "roaring twenties" covered up some terrible things that were happening at the same time. One of these terrible things was discrimination against the many immigrants living in the US at the time. .
These immigrants were used by organized industries as a source of cheap labor. As labor unions began to form and push for better pay, shorter hours, and improved working conditions, industries saw that it was not as easy to exploit these immigrants as it had been before.
