Life Changes of Americans in the 1920's In the 1920's many American lives were improved greatly, but some lives were as bad as they had been before. The economy was booming, with cars being mass produced, and many other consumer goods such as radios, were widely available. Also more jobs became available, and many people recieved a par rise. However there were bad things such as racism about. Many ethnic minority groups were treated poorly. The most racist group around was the Ku Klux Klan. During the 1920's there was an economic boom in America. With the new system of mass production there was plenty being made, and then sold. Particularly cars. When the Model T Ford was first being produced, it would have costed $850 to buy one.But then when mass production was introduced, the price was reduced to $290. This meant that practically everyone that worked, could afford a car. There were also many consumer goods, such as radios, hoovers and washing machines, being produced. Another reason why people could afford to buy these luxuries, was that wages rose to over 50cents and hour. Then in the 'Roaring Twenties' many american lives were changed, particularly those of women. This period also became known as the 'Jazz Age'. People started going to the cinema, and going out to night clubs. People also started dancing the charleston and other 'exotic' dances. The lives of women were those that changed the most. One crucial factor was, when in 1919 women won the right to vote. During the war period, the women took on the jobs, that the men at war had previously done. Then when the war was over, and the men returned, many women still wante... ... middle of paper ... ... of their 'punishments was to pour boiling tar onto a person, and then stick feathers to them. The KKK believed that America belonged to the descendants of the white protestant englishmen. There was also a period in the 1920's called the red scare. This was when there was a fear, that there would be a communist uprising. Life did not change for the better for all Americans in the 1920's. The two main benefactors were the women, and the people that worked. Also industries such as the car industry prospered. But then, there were the farmers who lost their farms because they could not afford to pay off debts. Also the black people had a very hard time. Prohibition was possibly one of the worst things in America in the 1920's. The 1920's were prosperous for many people, but for others the 1920's may have brought the end.
During the early 1920s the Great Depression took place. The Great Depression affected many people's lives. The immigrants caught the worst of it. They had just come from another country and were trying to start their new lives when the depression hit. They had to struggle once more with poverty and desperation in taking care of their families, the main reason they had left their old countries was to escape the same epidemic that was now overtaking ?the land of the free?. Immigrants, such as the Jewish immigrants, had to live in poverty-stricken ghettos without the necessities they needed to live healthy lives. The 1920s was the time of rapid change, it was the time of risque fashion, it was the time of which that if you were rich and had all the latest fashions then you were ?in? but if you did not then you were an outcast.
The 1920s were a time of change for the United States. Following the First World War there was a rush of new cultural, social, and artistic dynamism, partly fuelled by the Progressivism movement that was cut short when American entered the Great War. This decade was defined by a change from more rural farm life to industrialism in big cities. The shift from the frugality and traditional family values or previous generations to the happy-go-lucky consumerism and metropolitan life occurred more rapidly than any other social shift in living memory. These swiftly changing tides caused cultural clashes and confrontations throughout the decade as America struggled to define for itself a fresh national identity in the wake of its new position as a world power.
Republicans dominated the 1920's political scene. During this time period, many changes occurred in the United States. Both culturally and economically. This period is known as the roaring twenties.
Even though the economy was on the move, the 1920s was an important time in regards to anxiety and intolerance. The KKK and gangs were causing a lot of disruption in America. The KKK was upset because of the new times in America. They were not accustomed to the change that was going in America. They were deeply upset and they lashed out in opposition by holding marches and cross burnings. Gangs were also a major problem
The decade of the 1920's was an era of intolerance. Labor strife, government repression of political radicals, anti-foreign paranoia, intensified by war and legalized in the racial quotas of the 1924 Immigration Act, were only a few examples of this intolerance. For American blacks, it was axiomatic that any measurable shift to the right in social and political opinion, would bring with it increased difficulties for their race. The 20's were no exception.
In the 1920's women's roles were soon starting to change. After World War One it was called the "Jazz Age", known for new music and dancing styles. It was also known as the "Golden Twenties" or "Roaring Twenties" and everyone seemed to have money. Both single and married women we earning higher- paying jobs. Women were much more than just staying home with their kids and doing house work. They become independent both financially and literally. Women also earned the right to vote in 1920 after the Nineteenth Amendment was adopted. They worked hard for the same or greater equality as men and while all this was going on they also brought out a new style known as the flapper. All this brought them much much closer to their goal.
The 1950s seemed like a perfect decade. The rise of suburbs outside cities led to an expansion of the middle class, thus allowing more Americans to enjoy the luxuries of life. The rise of these suburbs also allowed the middle class to buy houses with land that used to only be owned by more wealthy inhabitants. Towns like Levittown-one of the first suburbs- were divided in such a way that every house looked the same (“Family Structures”). Any imperfections were looked upon as unfavorable to the community as a whole. Due to these values, people today think of the 1950s as a clean cut and model decade. This is a simplistic perception because underneath the surface, events that took place outside the United States actually had a direct effect on our own country’s history. The rise of Communism in Russia struck fear into the hearts of the American people because it seemed to challenge their supposedly superior way of life.
Before the 1920's, life for women was very different. Women were unable to enjoy the privileges that men had and they were looked down upon and known merely as domestic workers. Now, during the 20's, life for women changed drastically. With new technology and appliances being created, women were left with a lot of free time to spare. They began seeking personal pleasure and expressing their individual and sexual freedom. Many took on the title as a "flapper;" dressing provocatively, smoking and drinking in public, and practicing birth control methods. Even better, on August 26th, 1920, Amendment 19 was passed giving women the right to vote. The 1920's truly allowed women to be looked at like human beings, rather than slaves to men like they had been in the past.
in the twenties when a man by the name of Walt "Elias" Disney (1901-66) a
In 1918 when World War I ended, American society and culture changed immediately after. World War I resulted in the death of nine million soldiers and twenty one million wounded. Families were left mourning the loss of their relatives and people titled World War I as a “war to end all war.” With the nation going through such tragedy, change was bound to happen. During the 1920s there was a change in consumer culture, art, music and literature. So much changed happened during the 1920s that it’s referred to as the roaring twenties. Entertainment was on a rise and the way that Americans were used to living started to change. Along with that came immigration laws that changed American culture as well.
During the years between 1920 and 1960, America saw change in many aspects of life. The United States was a part of two major wars and a crash of the banking system that crippled the economy greater than ever seen in this country’s history. Also the country had new insecurities to tackle such as immigration and poor treatment of workers. These events led to the change of America lives socially, economically, and politically. The people of America changed their ideas of what the country’s place in the world should be. The issues challenging America led the country to change from isolation to war, depression to prosperity, and social change. The threats to American way of life, foreign and domestic, were the changing forces to the country in the twenties to the sixties.
In the 1920fs, because of the separation of the rich and the poor, there were separate social classes and with that came conflict between the classes.
The automobile was only used by less than ten million Americans and by the end of this post-war decade that number had climbed to over thirty million. Many new inventions were coming through, making life for Americans much more comfortable. Radios, vacuum cleaners, irons, washing machines, and refrigerators were among the new necessities Americans just had to have. Refrigerators allow for better production and transportation of food products. This allowed for the ability to keep food cold and fresh, thus making exporting of food a valuable agricultural economy.
The twenties were a time of economic boom, but this boom would end in a crash. It was a good time to be an American, but it only lasted so long. The stock market crash was a blow to the American economy that would not easily be healed.
In 1932 Roughly 25 percent of the national workforce was unemployed, while the national unemployment average for blacks stood at 48 percent ( "The 1930s: Lifestyles and Social Trends: Overview”). Within the lower class African Americans had it the worst because of the racism during this time. People who lost their homes often lived in what were called Hoovervilles (Lehnardt). Hoovervilles were towns built on the edge of the city by the unemployed and consisted of huts and shacks. As well as living in Hoovervilles they used flimsy newspapers as blankets because many could not afford to buy real ones. The unemployed held street demonstrations to ask the government for jobs