Change In The 1920s Essay

Change. It is a natural process that occurs in society over time. However, in the 1920s, it occurred at a much faster pace and affected society in a much larger way than other decades. America began welcoming more and more immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe, which often frightened white Americans. In addition, African-Americans began to develop their own identity within America and formed groups like the NAACP and the UNIA to advocate for change in society. Finally, women and gender roles began to change as well-informed women began ignoring the societal preconceptions of the “woman.” Immigration, African-American culture, and flapper girls were all great areas of change in the 1920s, all receiving a wide variety of reactions from

Americans.
In the 1920s, America began allowing more and more immigrants to immigrate to the United States through the gate to heaven known as “Ellis Island.” Even though most of the population of America had an ancestor that was an immigrant, it still frightened them to the core.

They needed a way to fight back and reclaim their land from foreigners who refused to immigrate into society. Thus, the KKK was reformed. On the surface, the KKK was a group for family-oriented Americans who believed that the “constructive patriotic program” of the KKK was beneficial for society. Supposedly, the KKK was successful in transforming cities, which were often hostile towards women, to collectively respect women. However, if you were to look deeper into the true desires of the KKK, you would see their true motives: hate of Jews, African-Americans, Catholics, and Immigrants. Through their extensive membership, which generated massive revenue for the Klan, they were able to promote support for the National Origins

Immigration Act, which put quotas on immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe. White America was not afraid of Europeans in general; they were afraid of Europeans who refused to immigrate into society, “A dispatch from Warsaw declares that the resolution is part of an effort to stop the “systematic Americanization of the poles”! Nevertheless, as the News declares, if we are to permit any Poles to come here in the future, “the systematic Americanization” of them must continue.” The Klan was not a minor group; they had a major say in American society and 40,000 Klansmen even marched past the White House. The Klan helped white protestant Americans feel secure about their future and prevented the mass migration of Eastern and Southern Europeans to America.
Additionally, White America began to grow discontent with “The Great Migration.” Millions of blacks migrated from the South to the North during World War I to fill jobs, however, they remained there after the war.

This inevitably led to violence between White people and African-Americans. Often members of the KKK, white people began to lynch blacks during the night to send a message to Blacks that their presence was not desired. However, these strings of violence towards Black people eventually lead to the creation of the NAACP, or the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, by W.E.B DuBois and Ida B. Wells. The NAACP was a group with the sole purpose of uplifting African-Americans in society and promoting integration. Their first instance of victory was when they were able to successfully deter and eventually defeat the nomination of John Jay Parker for the Supreme Court of the United States, due to his extremely racist comments towards Black people in the past. On the contrary, Marcus Garvey formed the UNIA, or Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League, with the goal of “reclaiming Africa”. His movement began to amass a very large following because African-Americans began to feel disenfranchised by the white man, so it made sense to form their own society. Out of the UNIA birthed the Harlem Renaissance, which was a time of the production of rich culture for African Americans. They began to form their own identity as

African-American writers, musicians, and artists. However, some still felt American, as Langston Hughes said, “I too, sing America.” In response to horrific violence towards African-Americans, they did not choose to respond with violence, instead they chose to uplift themselves in society.
Before the Roaring Twenties, women were often not treated the best and additionally they were expected to perform domestic tasks such as caring for the children, cooking, and laundry. As Mencken describes “But in America, as I say, she is nameless, for Chicken will never, never do. Her mother, at her age, was a Young Miss; her grandmother was a Young Female. But SHe herself is no Young Miss, no Young Female. Oh dear no! …” Women reacted to this strict definition of their gender role with the flapper movement. Loosely, the Flapper is a woman who is fun-loving and also ignore the gender roles set by society. Women began to do the opposite of what society expected. “Sex should be saved until marriage”: the Flapper treated sex very casually. “You should wear traditional clothing”: the Flapper wore unconventional dresses and shirts. “You should marry and start a family”: the Flapper sometimes refused to start a family and enjoyed their sexual liberty. The Flapper movement was a time of liberation for women. A time in which they were able to more freely express their own feelings and desires, instead of being bound by the domestic sphere. Women began to appear in Hollywood movies, although they were underpaid, such as Clara Bow. Women took risks, inspired other Women, and helped redefine the gender role of the Woman.
White people, African-Americans, and Women all reacted to change in one way or another during the 1920s. White people reacted to mounting pressure by foreigners, African-Americans reacted to racist violence initiated by white people, and Women reacted to societal pressure concerning the gender role of the Woman. Each group in society were able to realize their true “American” identity and also help refine the definition of “American.” The 1920s was a massive time of change for all groups of society and would both positively and negatively influence the ever-changing country known as the United States of America.