The 1920s were known as the Lawless Decade, the Flapper Era, and the Jazz Age. They were a period of extremes— a time of Prohibition, Al Capone, flagpole sitters, and marathon dance contests. Everyone talked about a "return to normalcy" after the horrors of World War I (1914-1918), but what they got was ten years of growth, modernization, revelry, and rebellion such as the United States had never seen before. Writer F. Scott Fitzgerald captured the essence of the period when he wrote, "The restlessness approached hysteria. The parties were bigger. The pace was faster, the shows were broader, the buildings were higher, the morals were looser, and the liquor was cheaper."

The Dollar Decade

The "Dollar Decade"—another nickname for the '20s—was a time of exceptional prosperity. Businesses expanded. The stock market soared. Bankers made housing loans and...