American History Series: Movies Become Big Business in 1920s

01 December 2010

A movie theater in New Orleans, Louisiana

ANNOUNCER: Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION -- American history in VOA Special English.

In the years after World War One, new technologies changed America. Technology made it possible for millions of people to improve their lives. It also brought great changes in American society.

This week in our series, Harry Monroe and Kay Gallant tell more about the technological and social changes that took place in the United States in the early nineteen twenties.

HARRY MONROE: Some of the most important changes came as a result of the automobile and the radio.

Automobiles began to be mass-produced. They were low enough in cost so many Americans could buy them. Gasoline was low in cost, too. Together, these developments put America on the move as never before.

Automobiles made it easy for Americans to travel. Trucks made it easy for goods to be transported. Many people and businesses moved out of crowded, noisy cities. They moved to open areas outside cities: suburbs.

Traffic jam in Detroit, Michigan

KAY GALLANT: As automobiles helped Americans spread out, the radio helped bring them closer together. Large networks could broadcast the same radio program to many stations at the same time. Soon, Americans everywhere were listening to the same programs. They laughed at the same jokes, sang the same songs, heard the same news.