Social Conflicts In The 1920's

Although the decade of the 1920s is often seen as a time of prosperity and increased leisure, the period actually was characterized by significant social, cultural and economic conflicts. The most important conflicts of the Twenties can be seen through the age of the new woman, prohibition, introduction of mass production, and nativism. These particular conflicts were significant because as a result of these conflicts, American life was forever changed.
The ratification of the 19th amendment was a cause of social conflict during the 1920s through the introduction of the new woman. Women’s suffrage introduced a new found freedom to women as women moved away from traditional patriarchal roles through the gain of economic, political, and social independence from men. Economic independence was a cause for conflict as some believed that a woman’s place was in the home. In his book, Anxious Decades, America in Prosperity and Depression, 1920-1941, author Michael E. Parrish notes men’s views on women in the workplace as he writes, “The AFL complained instead that women diluted the standards in many trades and expressed hope that they would go back to homemaking as soon as possible” (Parrish 141). In other words, men such as Samuel Gompers believed that women could not possibly produce the same quality of work that men did in positions that were traditionally held by them and that they should be taking care …show more content…
These conflicts were important because they were all effects of the Great War. The consequences of these struggles resulted in America as we know it today. The price of the Great War was far more than causalities on the battlefield. The economy and the population were both affected greatly but so to was the notion that common thought was actually common. This age signaled a shift in thought of Americans as a