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Frederick Lewis Allen’s Only Yesterday is the first book that I have read about history. I really learned a lot of historical events from the author during the decade of the 1920s. Frederick Lewis Allen was an editor of Harper’s Magazine, and he was also an American historian of the first half of the twentieth century. In particular, he wrote about recent and popular history. Allen’s most famous book is the popular Only Yesterday, which recorded historical events that occurred in the United States in the 1920s. According to an author of a collection of art criticism Brian A. Oard in his review, “Originally published in 1931, Only Yesterday has aged remarkably well. This cultural portrait of manic Twenties America as seen from the depressive early Thirties remains an essential text for anyone who wants to understand the texture of life among (mostly white, mostly middle-class) Americans in the 1920s.” This book is indeed essential for people who are interested in the 1920s. In my opinion, there are two important issues in Allen’s Only Yesterday Americans’ Life and the Big Crash.
There were so many things that happened in the 1920s that people at that time had a rise and fall with society. After the First World War, society was undergoing change and the economy was beginning to grow; the city had developed and people’s consumption levels had gradually improved. According to the editors of History.com, “The nation’s total wealth more than doubled between 1920 and 1929, and this economic growth swept many Americans into an affluent but unfamiliar ‘consumer society.’” Economic development changed people’s lives, people began to enjoy a luxurious life, and even some of them lost themselves in it. The rapid economic growth also made the stock market develop rapidly. At the end of the 1920s, when the economic system was not perfect, the Big Crash occurred.
The 1920s, shortly after the First World War, was called the first modern era in many ways in American history. The most obvious of these ways was the change in Americans’ life. Before this period, Americans did not have money to spend on other things, and most people’s lives were surrounded by their jobs and housework. However, after World War One, the American society of the 1920s is completely different from the past. More people were moving from rural to urban areas to live, and the country’s main economic development had shifted from agriculture to mechanized industries. Radio and cars were becoming more and more popular in people’s lives, and the film industry was developing rapidly. First of all, the popularity of radio promoted the development of broadcasters and brought huge economic benefits. In the 1920s, about five hundred radio stations in the United States increased. Secondly, the popularity of cars and movies had enriched people’s lives. Better life made people start to enjoy life; however, people were lost in this life. As F. L. Allen said in his book Only Yesterday, “But no, this must be an exaggerated account of the misconduct of some especially depraved group.” (79) I agree with Allen’s statement. I think people were beginning to enjoy life because they were looking for happiness after their hard life before. However, some of them lost themselves in it, and their behavior was exaggerated. The better life depended on the rapid growth of the United States economy at that time, and Americans’ expectations for the future economy were reflected in the stock.
In the 1920s, whether it was a businessman or a civilian, wealth had grown; but the great crash happened at the end of the 1920s. The increase in the economy brought the stock market to an unprecedented level of prosperity. The stock market was steadily rising, with few fluctuations. Therefore, with the stock prices increased, stocks attracted more and more people to invest in them. Many people used all their money to invest in stocks and even invested in it with loans. A large number of new people got into the stock market, and this was a typical symbol of the bubble economy. Stocks began to show great fluctuations. In the end, the bubble economy was overwhelmed, causing people’s asset value to fall. The great crash had started, and stocks began to fall sharply without warning. The sudden decrease in stock prices caused panic among many investors who failed in the stock market. As F. L. Allen said in his book Only Yesterday, “Even this sudden decline in values might not have been utterly terrifying if people could have known precisely what was happening at any moment. It is the unknown which causes real panic.” (284) The US economy suffered a severe blow when the financial system was not perfect and stocks were not perfect as well. I think that the great crash which people have experienced is a good experience, because financial investment has always been a risk, and it can inspire and help people today.
Nowadays, stocks are still popular, but the people who invest are not crazy like the 1920s. In 2008, people around the world experienced another financial crisis. The economic crisis of the 1920s is the most serious crisis experienced by Americans, so people had enough plans and experience to handle the 2008 financial crisis. Although the economy was going down at that time, many governments implemented their plans, and people passed this economic crisis. The reason why people study history is that people need to know more about what happened in the past and learn the methods and experiences of seniors to solve things that we meet today.
In Only Yesterday, author F. L. Allen wrote a lot of things that happened in the 1920s, including the Americans’ life, and the Big Crash. I highly recommend this book to people who are interested in history because the author put many interesting details between 1920 to 1930. The reader can understand many things that happened in the 1920s. I really wanted to go to that era when I finished reading this book because people not only experienced hardships but also experienced happiness. In my opinion, the ups and downs of life are meaningful. After all, the rainbow only appeared after the storm.
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