The Roaring Twenties moved America out of the Victorian Age and well into the Twentieth Century. It was an age in which old values and outmoded ideas were replaced by a new cultural awareness, triggered by new inventions—radio, movies, automobiles, telephones and household appliances.

The decade ended with a crash and was followed by a time of painful awakenings and hard labor—when labor of any kind was often very hard to find. The government faced unprecedented challenges and responded with unheard of solutions, as the relationships between the American people and their elected leaders were transformed. Wealthy people suddenly found themselves penniless, and the poor had to discover new means of survival. Despite the best efforts of FDR and his New Deal, many did not survive.