How Women Shaped The 1920s

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The 1920s catapulted us into modern society. Advances in music, art and science brought a new era. However, there was a dark side to this time period such as bootlegging, racism and violence in the workplace, but fashion, jazz, and Women’s Suffrage are one of the many things that brought progress to the nation. Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States from 1856 to 1924 lead America through World War I. Wilson wanted to remain neutral, but after Germany tried to lure Mexico into an alliance against them, America attacked Germany on April 2, 1917. World War I shaped the 1920s in numerous ways - politically, socially, and economically. When the U.S. joined the war, American industries produced more than double of what they were producing …show more content…

The economy boomed and as industries were producing more, people became wealthier and the wealthy bought more things. In addition, women and minorities accepted jobs while soldiers were off at war. The war caused a shortage of workers, and the number of working women increased by 25%. Women became teachers, nurses, social workers, librarians, and even worked in factories. The standard of life that we enjoy today is rooted in advancements of the 1920s and we don’t even know it. The 1920s brought a new mentality into the world, especially for women. On August 18, 1920, women won the right to vote in America. Before this some men were against Women’s Suffrage because they thought that women would make prohibition a top priority, but by 1920 men didn’t care anymore because alcohol had already been made illegal. “The women of this generation grew up when the rapidly growing industry was glorifying the slender, long-limbed, small-breasted female figure adopted by girls and young women known as flappers” says Penny Colman, author of A History of Growing up Females in America. The flapper look started off with a dramatic change in hair from long to extremely short, know as the bob. A flapper put on bright lipstick, tweezed her eyebrows, and

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