Positive Changes In The 1920s

It is difficult to conceptualize how fast the 1920's changed society, technology, culture, and artistic values. The economy boomed grew to dizzying heights, people became rich, and buisnesses boomed! Unfortunately, not everyone was able to jump on the bandwagon of success and prosperity. Despite these positive changes of the Twenties, there were much more pressing matters and problems. These problems overall made the 1920's an awful time, so what made the Twenties such a rough time? The Spanish flu, also known today as influenza peaked during this period of rapid change. The disease killed enormous amounts of people and incapacitated everyday living. The Chinese, blacks, First Nations people, and minorities were discriminated against. They …show more content…
The Spanish flu, or more commonly known today as influenza. The Spanish flu managed to encompass nearly all of Earth. It infected around five hundred million people, a third of the entire human population at the time. With a mortality rate of roughly 10% to 20%, Deaths due to the Spanish flu are estimated to have killed fifty million to a hundred million. These deaths devestated work production, service and entertainment industries tanked, and the global economy. The most intriging part about the Spanish flu is that young, healthy adults were most often killed by the disease. Industries such as manual labour for factories and farming, education, and entertainment industries suffered from the deaths and lack of young adults. Naturally, what came after an epidemic disease were quarantines, the shut down of public services and buisnesses, grinded everyday life to a halt. The introduction of quarantines prevented people from moving around freely and were subjected to screening, as if they were under a strict dictator regime. Public services and buisnesses such as theaters, libraries, churches, schools and stores being closed down were detrimental to society. People could no longer learn, shop and be entertained while the flu took its toll. The deaths of tens of millions of people around the world, mainly young people's lives …show more content…
Most of the working class had to work in factories with precarious conditions that threatened the safety of the workers. It was also required that they worked for elongated hours that exhausted them. In return, they were paid in meager wages. With tiring bodies, that had no time to relax or enjoy any luxury with what little money they poessessed, the working class surely suffered. At the time of the 1920's there were no social programs such as pension plans to protect workers. The working class did not have a guaranteed retired future. they would have to work very hard and long to be able to save, possibly until they perished. Of course, the working class was aware of the inequality they faced and held protests and strikes to bring alert of how they felt. Unfortunately, some of these protests become violent and futile, such as "Bloody Sunday." Two people were shot and killed by the millitary during the Winnipeg General Strike. In Vancouver, sixteen Chinese seamen protested, they were sent to jail for six weeks and then deported immedietly. The common worker in Canada did their job in squalid conditions for little pay and long hours. There was no safety net to back them up in an emergency due to no social welfare programs, and when they protested this, they were beaten down. The 1920's were not kind to the common worker and for many