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This view of the bustling downtown of Greenfield, Massachusetts, in 1923, conveys the prosperity and optimism that buoyed Americans in this period. The "Great War" (World War I) had ended, and the Great Depression was still a decade away. Those who could, spent more and more on products and services new technology made available. For example, by the end of the 1920s, over two thirds of all Americans had access to electricity in their dwellings. As a result, the demand for electrical appliances skyrocketed as more people were able to use them. Transportation options also improved and expanded in this period. There were over 106 automobile manufactures by 1926. For those who could not or chose not to own a car, the trolley offered cheap and easy transportation, linking once-isolated communities to larger towns such as Greenfield.

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