American Culture In The 1920s Essay

The 1920s was an era in which major cultural and political changes collided into a contrast of conflict and celebration. The mixture of adventurous young adults and cultural tension marked this decade as anything but normal. The “flapper” was the symbol of the twenties with her bob-cut, bright lips, and flappy skirt, this image encompassed the freedom and eccentricity that the young adults of the age embraced. Yet this decade, however party-filled it may have been, didn’t slide by untouched by conflict and hardship. Although American culture was making significant strides, many immigrants – specifically African-Americans – were receiving the back-hand of cultural discrimination.

American culture in the twenties established itself as free,

embracive, successful, and daring. The financial boom supported Americans rising consumption and infected them with a new-found love for spending. Energy was fueled into new sensations like automobiles, which enhanced the amount of freedom given to young adults, and home appliances such as the refrigerator that made every-day-life easier, especially for house-wives who spent hours trudging through chores around the house. Women experienced freedom and independence to an extent that they hadn’t before. The Smithsonian Magazine published an article by Emily Spivack titled, “The History of a Flapper, Part 1: A Call for Freedom”. Spivack states that, “. . . for women, personal fulfillment and independence became priorities—a more modern, carefree spirit where anything seemed possible.”

The dawn of the movie industry and an increased audience in professional sports created the “celebrity”.

History.com published an article titled “The Roaring Twenties”, which explains the growing popularity of movies. It quotes, “Historians estimate that, by the end of the decade, three-quarters of the American population visited a movie theater every week.” This witnesses to the spread of the flapper culture seeing as movie stars were often decorated in loose clothes and carried eccentric attitudes. This decade popularized professional sports as well; the American Yawp textbook explains, “The 1920s also witnessed the maturation of professional sports. Play-by-play radio broadcasts of major collegiate and professional sporting events marked a new era for sports, despite the institutionalization of racial segregation in most.” Many of these athletes including Babe Ruth, Jack Dempsey, and Red Grange earned the title of “celebrity” and were even esteemed as

hero’s.
Although the 1920s was the beginning of new and prosperous things, it was still plagued by conflict of views and beliefs which would drive a dent into the dream of a seamless era.

It was during this decade that the Ku Kux Klan (KKK) was revived and organized crime evolved into corrupt dictatorships. African-Americans received acceptation, to an extent, through their creation of jazz music, but the fight for equal rights was still a long and bleak battle. As the spirited sound of jazz quickly spread across America, African-American musicians were given a chance to do what they love; yet there was still a cultural divide. The American Yawp states that movie theaters held no restrictions on seating, with-the-exception of African Americans who “were either excluded or segregated.” For many African Americans of the twenties, the KKK was a haunting presence which performed cruel practices such as lynching. Not only was the persona of fun marred by forces such as the KKK, but organized crime in the hands of men like Al Capone became a huge threat in big cities, this is partly due to the prohibition act ratified in 1919 which called for a black-market deal of alcohol. In Chicago it is said that as much 50% of Chicago’s police force was working for

Capone.
This decade goes down in history because of the drastic surge into the modern era. Generally-speaking, the twenties was a riveting and adventurous era when parties and enthusiasm for change filled the personality of all Americans; however, the truth of the matter is that the entire nation wasn’t completely unified over any big or small matter, and to say that this was a normal decade would be to mislead.