Historians have long argued over the significance of the 1920s. Initially most concluded that the decade represented a sharp break from the past as well as from the future. Wedged between two eras of reform, bounded by a world war at one end and a world depression at the other, the 1920s was depicted as a frivolous and irresponsible era that represented a period of decline in the history of the nation. Prevailing institutions and standards began to disintegrate as an orgy of consumption and speculation fueled a society bent on pleasure. Government fell into the hands of conservatives who reflected the narrow interests of business, retreated from progressive activism, and ignored danger signals in the economy.

Other historians see the 1920s as more continuous with the past, more complicated, and more important. Business historians have pointed to the trade association movement as an innovative attempt to achieve the old progressive goals of efficiency and equity in the modern industrial economy. Political historians have emphasized the remnant progressives who continued to fight for social justice and social welfare in the form of such legislation as the Sheppard-Towner Act for maternal and infant care.

Some social historians, interested in examining complex social structures, have stressed the search for continuity amid change by fastening on the theme of shared anxiety over the future and nostalgia for a mythic past. Cultural historians also have emphasized the importance of both change and continuity. Some see the origins of the intellectual revolt of the 1920s a decade earlier, while others have highlighted the emergence of a new American culture radiating outward from "mongrel Manhattan," with its hybrid mix of ethnicities, races, and sexes.

1			Read the Introduction to this website on the prosperity of the 1920s. Do the authors perceive this bounty as a continuation of developments that had occurred over previous decades or as something new? How do they support their opinion? http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/coolhtml/ccpres00.html Now examine The Lawless Decade, another site on the 1920s that features mostly visual evidence. Why do they perceive the 1920s as "lawless"? Do you agree with their assessment? How persuasive do you find this "pictorial history" in comparison to more traditional texts? Why? Finally, what does the fact that the 1920s is generally the first decade that students of American culture perceive as an era unto itself tell you about traditional perceptions about whether the decade represented a sharp break with the American past? http://www.paulsann.org/thelawlessdecade/index.html