Every time period has its peaks and perks. It is only natural that many changes can come around, even during a short period of ten or so years. There have been many examples of such prominent changes, but by far the most incredible of these time periods was the Roaring 20's, which brought about many changes to life as people of that time period knew it. From commercial music to Women gaining the right to vote, to the beginning of Prohibition and the Lost Generation, the 1920's had a lot to show for itself as far as changing the way people lived.
It is not like the banning of a certain substance had not been tried before - and the American government should know that when something is banned, it only becomes more sought after. The banning of alcohol could essentially be considered the rise of the mafia, in the sense that it gave them business and a way to become rich quite easily - thus influencing other, ordinary people to get involved in it. Many people with wealth also enjoyed having parties, in which alcohol was abundant, and thus the people who were in charge of these shady businesses were able to make a huge profit, and were also smart enough not to be caught by the government.
Other industries that popped up during this time period were commercial music groups. Jazz became a prominent musical genre in the 1920's, and in an effort to make it more popular, record companies began to come to life, giving this music a way to be heard by everyone else. Radio broadcasts were heard for the first time by the people of the country, a way to just listen and get away from everything else that was going on in their lives at that time. Jazz essentially started the movement that is modern music nowadays, creating ways of displaying music that nobody had ever even thought of using before.
Music wasn't the only new innovation that the 1920's brought about. Women's rights sprang up, and people began fighting for their rights as women and equal citizens of the United States. For the first time, women were standing up for equality and rights that were normally only reserved for men - the right to work, the right to be free from the prisons that were their households, and most importantly, the right to vote. This was an important movement because, before this, men were basically the dominant species and women had no say in anything that went on in the country, at all. (unless they got the STICK OF JUSTICE.)
Despite all these advancements, though, the Roaring Twenties was still known as the Lost Generation. The Roaring Twenties came right after World War I, known then as the Great War, and advancements made in technology, like aircraft, which were originally to carry people from place to place, were suddenly used to carry bombs from country to country. This sudden shell shock once the war was over - the "What do we do now?" mainframe that came afterward - was what gave the Roaring Twenties the nickname the Lost Generation. Despite all of the advances made during that time, people were still lost, and clueless as to where the future would take them. It's not that hard to believe, really - If you thought these essays were to be turned in for grades, and then Randy used them in a history novel and gave you no credit for the writing whatsoever, you'd be lost too.
Source:
http://history1900s.about.com/od/timelines/tp/1920timeline.htm
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