Social Changes In The 1920s

Superior Essays
The 1920’s was the decade many raved about. Exciting new social changes and cultural differences began. During this decade there were clashes over alcohol, manners, morals, and over the rise of cities and evolution. It was all a matter of political and social change. Many people began moving into cities rather than living on farms. (History.com staff; “The Roaring Twenties”). Although many young people chose to celebrate and make the twenties roar, the 1920’s brought more conflict than celebration. After the recession of 1921 and 1922, the U.S went into a time of economic expansion. The technology, organization and economic growth all made a change for the people during this time. The shortwave radio was a way for people to communicate …show more content…
These new ways lead to the image of a Flapper, a modern day woman who liberated her lifestyle found in expression in dress, hairstyle, speech, and behavior. Flappers played a major role during this decade.(BBC; Roaring Twenties) Flappers were urban, single, northern, young, middle-class women who held steady jobs during the day but by the night, they interacted in the active and extravagant nightlife. Artists and novelists started to show discontent in their works, including F. Scott Fitzgerald, his example with his attack on American obsession material success in The Great Gatsby, which exemplified flappers and the economy of the 1920’s. Soon the new and improved culture did not replace the old one; it simply ran alongside each other and would compete. The 18th amendment that passed in 1919 and started January of 1920 banned alcohol. Prohibition supported by churches and women, was one of the last ripples in the progressive reform. Prohibitionists were naïve in that federal authorities had never been able to establish a law where majority of the people were against it. Speakeasies soon replaced saloons. Many would purchase stock amounts of liquor before the prohibition and would drink after the prohibition in …show more content…
The other side was fundamentalist; regional largely rural men and women fighting to preserve traditional faith to maintain the significance of religion in the American life. The fundamentalists insisted that the Bible be interpreted and be completely opposed to all teachings of Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution. In the middle of the 1920’s, the fundamentalists began to forbid the teachings of evolution in public schools. This caused problems for

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    The 1930s decade would be a really difficult decade for the United States. The decade of 1920s was definitely a decade of change because there were many innovations that also caused the general mentality of the society to change and promoted the people’s desire to improve. It was called the roaring 20s. The 1920s gave the United States things such as jazz, movies, radio, different ethics, automobile, secrecy on alcohol trade (gangsters), prosperity, credit, immigrants, economic crisis, freedom, dancing and a lot more. Hollywood was settled after World War I, and many celebrities started to rise.…

    • 1442 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    After reading this you now have just a glimpse of what life was back in that era. The 1920s has been remembered as the "Roaring Twenties," an era that featured the famous slicked back hair, vibrant flappers, and marathon dances. The 20s were an age of dramatic, social, and political change. And for the first time ever, more Americans lived in cities than on farms. The 1920s was a very thrilling and fascinating time in American history and is remembered by several people.…

    • 672 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Jesse Riordan Mrs. Murphy US History II Period 8 October 25, 2014 Rising Tension During the 1920’s in America The inability to agree to disagree has always been a factor of incoherence in the United States. Arguably the most developmental decade in the history of this country, the 1920’s brought about new social and political change never seen before, and people were not equipped to handle it. Every aspect of life was being to change. Automobiles were becoming commercially available, allowing people to travel more efficiently. People were migrating to cities to take advantage of the industrial jobs available, changing the dynamic of the country as a whole.…

    • 1246 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Late nineteenth century marked a new era for America. Because of the country’s rapid economic growth and industrial revolution, millions of immigrants from all around the world made the long journey to the United States. The “land of opportunity” as they called it, offered them a greater chance to have a better life. However, the vast majority of the “new” Americans faced an uphill battle for survival. Low wages, awful living conditions and racial discrimination took a toll on many of the immigrants.…

    • 392 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The 1920’s was a time of major change, both politically and socially, for America. People such as Babe Ruth, Henry Ford, and Charles Lindbergh greatly impacted America and were treated as heroes.This economic and social change occurred as a result of World War One. It brought hope and enlightenment, the role of women changed, and sports and entertainment stars were celebrated. Often named the roaring twenties, the 1920’s changed the way America is today. Henry Ford played a major role in the economic changes in the 1920’s.…

    • 581 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    This was, in part, because of the structural change of newspapers. Newspapers changed structurally because they changed as a business. Popular journalism began to include many new departments as owners would find new more profitable ways to run their business. Ralph calls popular journalism, commercial journalism because of this commercial change. Notwithstanding, the most significant change is the increase in literacy rates in this period.…

    • 2298 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In addition, flappers played a major role in fashion during this time being that, ”1920s flapper fashions were a new-found byproduct of a changing world, with many social elements merging together all at once in the fashion and the flapper culture itself” (1920s Flapper: Brash & Beautiful). Flappers did what society did not expect from them as they were a generation of young western women in the 1920s who wore short skirts, bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and displayed what was then considered unacceptable behavior. They were young, liberated, and scandalous; they rejected the old ways and became enthusiastic over jazz and popular culture. 1920s fashion reflects society's rapid movement and…

    • 737 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    He was a strong supporter of strict separation between the church and state. He criticized the Massachusetts Bay system for mixing church and state; he argued that the separation would benefit not only the church, but the government as well. He believed the churches should tolerate other Christian denominations; Saying that people should be able to worship God as they choose to or not to do, without the fear of being punished by the civil government. He has “4 extreme positions” that undermined the government of mass bay colony. He first argued that Massachusetts did not have proper title to the land, explaining that King Charles I could not give away something that wasn’t his to begin with.…

    • 648 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The 1920s, or the “roaring 20’s” as it is often called, were home to dramatic socioeconomic changes. Job production grew, women found independence; America was changing rapidly. However, this change also brought about various critiques, and resistance to these changes. The change to the economy was widely accepted, however. Production in factories increased by 60% during the 1920s in assembly lines building all of the newly developed technology of the time, such as home appliances and automobiles.…

    • 450 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Elizabeth Stevenson shows their significance to the audience throughout her passage from “Babbitts and Bohemians: The American 1920s” by using juxtaposition, diction, and syntax. Stevenson informs, the audience with her strong use of these three rhetoric tools. The insight she gives on the culture of the twenties shows the importance of the new rebellion. Even though they were only here for a short period of time, most people can say that the flapper had an extensive impact on style and attitude of women today. The flapper girls were new because they were much more bold and brave.…

    • 1121 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays