Among both contemporary and modern historians, there is a common consensus that the middle and upper echelons of 1920s Americans evidenced a phase of substantial increment in wealth, resulting in an economic boom that is referred to as the "Age of Excess." The culmination of a web of causation incorporating factors, such as the post-war economy, strides in the industrial/manufacturing sector, and social attitudes as well as government fiscal policy, resulted in America being at the crux of the world economy.

Yet, the validity of Maldwyn Jones' description of 1920s USA as "An era of unparalleled prosperity" is subject to intellectual debate. Whilst tertiary sector industries profited, agro-based businesses noticeably declined. Social stereotypes and constitutional inequality rendered the "American Dream" impossible to be universally realised. Despite the apparent economic growth, prevalent underlying weaknesses such as crime, poverty, and the influence of popular culture may have been detrimental in the long term.

Subsequent historiographic interpretations represent a full spectrum of views. On one hand, Paul Kennedy states "The USA seemed to have all the economic advantages which some other powers possessed in part, but none of their disadvantages," thus enabling a "spirit of optimism that made investment and even greater prosperity possible."

Conversely, Lewis Corey and John Chamberlain condemned the country as revelling under "monopolistic capitalism," which Lewis Mumford believed "represent the spiritual poverty of its inhabitants." Hence, to reach a satisfactory conclusion, it is necessary to separate fact from fiction, and with the benefit of hindsight, objectively analyse the successes and failings of the true state of American society.

Affluence in America grew significantly in the post WWI yearsa statement best illustrated statistically by a rise in GNP: $74bn to $104.4bn from 1921-29. Contextualising this with the crippling effect of the Great War on European industry, their high interest loan repayments to the American government, and the deadly Spanish influenza outbreak, America capitalised on its own assets, enabling the Federal Reserve to extend its credit from $45.3bn to $73bn in this time. Weakening European industries created widespread scope for entrepreneurs to relocate in America, which became the

"Land of Opportunity."

America seemed ideal for the entrepreneur due to its geographical location, size and ample natural resources: oil, natural gases, metals. Like today, thriving business became the centrepoint of American enterprise culture, with the Republican President Calvin Coolidge himself declaring: "The chief business of America is business," and paving the way for the world's first billionaire, John D. Rockefeller. Increased materialistic comforts in American citizens' lives from 1920 to 1929 were facilitated by mass production of Ford cars, revolutionising the manufacturing sector, whilst clothing sales increasing by 427%, and the Empire State Building was constructed to epitomize the prosperous times.

Following a deregulated free-market model, occupation-related income rose sharply, unemployment fell to a record low of 3.2%, and real wages increased by 11% above inflation. Large-scale advertising created wants for the affluent American, and promoters utilised new forms of mainstream media, such as the radio, to encourage Americans to spend their disposable income on new commodities. Moreover, with banks introducing hire-purchase schemes, the turnover of a multitude of industries rocketed, as did share prices, as novices began to "buy on the margin." With high confidence in the bull market, it was felt nothing could go wrong.

The Republican presidents of the 1920s (Harding, Coolidge and Hoover) did not, however, forebode the consequences of their protectionist policies: foreign governments responded to the Fordney-McCumber and Hawley-Smoot tariffs with retaliatory taxes, which isolated America and closed doors that could have facilitated the establishment of free enterprise. The presidents adopted the laissez-faire policy of "rugged individualism"meaning little was done to eradicate poverty and prevent exploitation at the hands of corporations. In fact, 42% of citizens (6 million families) lived below the $1,000 a year bread-line, whilst the Brooking Survey (1929) revealed that 18 million lived in poverty, with 78% of the money generated from industry being distributed to the wealthiest 0.3% of the population. With limited social welfare, rifts amongst social classes deepened; the economic historian George Soule claimed that "the rich were getting richer and the poor were also getting richer, but at a much slower rate."

Economists such as Roger Babson predicted an "inevitable" crash as the domestic market for luxury consumer goods became saturated, and unable to export products due to retaliatory tariffs, businesses witnessed losses of millions of dollars as ever-rising production created stockpiles of surplus. Unstable share prices forced businesses to make redundancies; the increase in unemployment foretelling the imminent economic catastrophe: recession. The share bubble of speculation burst by the latter stages of 1929, resulting in the Wall Street Crash on October 29th, ending the prosperity of the decade.

Undoubtedly, the 1920s was a crucial period in American history. From "boom to bust" it hosted a mix of the affluent and the poor, and from it stemmed a distinctive social and cultural life. Though prosperity increased, the abundance of wealth created numerous problems, and itself was not a recipe for happiness, as the spectacular boom gave rise to the most spectacular crash. Despite the axiom: "we learn from history that men never learn anything from history"if any lessons for the present day can be learnt from the 1920s, that governments must formulate well-founded and ethically-driven fiscal policies that sustain economic growth, to prevent a repeat of the Great Depression.

Promit Anwar is a freelance contributor to The Daily Star.