Cultural Changes In The 1920s

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The early 20th century was a time of great change for America. World War One brought a whole new meaning to warfare and challenged politicians and government officials to set the tone for America’s presence on the world stage. Twenty years later, America was again involved in a war, this time with a powerful Nazi Regime. Nestled in between these times of calamity lies the 1920’s. Although there was no combat or soldiers being deployed overseas; America was definitely at war. This was a culture war, full of battles against alcohol, censorship, and the role of the church in politics and in everyday life. Although there were no casualties, the aftermath of these culture wars changed the lives of many Americans and even set the stage for the culture …show more content…

Saloons acted as places of fellowship and were in every town making alcohol more accessible. Alcohol became an all day event, some businesses even provided spirits to their workers during the day. Many fundamentalists saw the rise of drinking as a threat to the family structure and the demise of morality. Some progressives believed that alcohol diminished the ability for humans to be productive, so they also considered it a threat. In the late 1800’s, parties and organizations supporting prohibition helped pass legislation within the states and supported local dry laws. By 1917, twenty - six states, which was more than half of the U.S. population at the time, were considered dry states (Hankins 2010, 25). Prohibition was a major topic that was difficult to contain to only some states. Prohibitionist worked tirelessly to promote the outlawing of alcohol nationwide. World War One aided in the social reform as the government influenced cities to close saloons near military training camps as it was too big of a distraction for the soldiers. “ Moreover, Prohibitionists lined German breweries with the German enemy in the war, turning Prohibition into patriotism” (Hankins 2010, 26). With the help of World War One and the work of prohibitionist, the eighteenth amendment passed signaling prohibition …show more content…

“Prohibitionists believed they had the right to outlaw the saloon if it threatened the family and any other institution on which a free society had been built. Many on the other side favored a new version of freedom. They believed that individual rights came from the community or even family. The family was merely the unit in which the individual found self-expression (Hankins 2010, 39). Those opposed to prohibition believed outlawing saloons was encouraging bootlegged liquor which caused thousands of deaths due to poisoning. Another proposed argument stated that prohibition was corrupting women. They believed that alcohol continued to dominate social functions because it was cool to defy the law and the sneaking of alcohol fit with the risqué lifestyle. Prohibitionist wanted to protect the family structure and saw alcohol and saloons as a poor substitute. Prohibition succeeded in the fact that is was able to reduce the influence of the saloon and the drinking in general. It also brought attention to the relationship between community values and individual

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