1920s Labor Grievances

The 1920s was an era of great cultural, technological, and economic expansion. It was a prosperous time for the upper and middle classes. This time period named the “New Era” because the United States seemed to be on the cusp of great change and fortune. The 1920s seemed to be a prosperous time for America but looks can be deceiving.
Despite the phenomenal economic growth many American laborers lived at or below the poverty level. While some advances were made like welfare capitalism, which raised wages, shortened the work week, and instituted paid vacations. Modest company made labor unions emerged in many industries, these unions gave some help to solving labor grievances. But in the end welfare capitalism was only adopted by a few employers and workers still had no control over their fates. Most employers tried to keep their labor costs low and with a nearly endless supply of unskilled workers there were an endless supply of people to fill jobs.
In the 1920s the American agricultural complex embraced the new technologies being developed. The internal combustion engine brought about new tractors and more sophisticated combines and harvesters. These new machines made it possible for

farmers to produce more crops and hire fewer workers. The advances in agricultural research led to hybridized crops and chemical fertilizers and pesticides helped to increase productivity. This caused a large surplus of crops which was followed by a drop in food prices. Because of this many farmers lost their farms and had to rent land from banks and other landowners.
The minorities in the United States had to deal with many hardships as well.

African Americans that had migrated from the South to the North during the Great Migration mostly found jobs as dishwashers, janitors, garbage collectors, domestics and other service jobs. Japanese immigrants began to replace the Chinese in menial jobs in California after the Chinese Exclusion Acts were put in place. They worked in low-paying jobs such as construction, farms and on railroads. As they became economically successful laws were passed to stunt their growth. Mexican immigrants made up large part of the unskilled workforce of the American Southwest. Most of these Mexican immigrants lived in cities, they worked in factories and shops, while others worked in mines and as migratory workers on

farms.
The 1920s was an interesting time for the American woman. A growing interest in birth control began to take hold in America. Many women began to think of sex as not only as a means of procreation but as a way to express love. Victorian morals were shed and women began to smoke, drink, dance, and wear risqué clothing and makeup. This “flapper” lifestyle took hold with lower-middle-class and working-class single women.
The 1920s was a seemingly prosperous time for the United States. While parts of the country did prosper not all of it did. Much of the lower-class and working-class of America still lived at or below the poverty level. The prosperity of this time is considered largely a mirage and it soon all came crashing down with the arrival of the Great Depression.