Role Of Morality In The 1920's

During the 1920’s, a period of exciting change occurred in America. It was a decade where America saw a shift toward business expansion. The economy prospered and it was driven by recovery from wartime devastation. This was a time where Americans were living the American dream. The 1920’s were also referred to as “the roaring 1920s” because it was the first time in American history that people could afford to buy in abundance of things that they pleased. The production of the Model T’s, Baseball, Fashion and Prohibition affected the 1920s; Americans were learning how to live the life. The Roaring Twenties was a decade of great economic growth and widespread prosperity; however this led to a decade of great depression.

The 1920s was an era

that prospered due to its new mass-consumption economy. A Ford Model T in every driveway made transportation a lot better. Meaning, people could get to places a lot quicker. This also affected trains because everyone wanted a car, so less people used the railroads as a source of transportation. Babe Ruth was often referred to as the best baseball player of all time. Over his career, he had accomplished so much and had broken so many records. Baseball hero Babe Ruth in the ballpark gave sports fans a role model to look up to. A sense of Fashion flowed mainly amongst flappers due to the fact that they were lasting images of the youth in the roaring 1920s. Prohibition was an era where many criminals were becoming rich by illegally selling alcohol. For example, Al Capone and George Remus were two successful individuals during the Prohibition era. They both became extremely successful for doing something that was extremely illegal. The 1920s was a time for fun and adventure – drinking illegally in speakeasies, listening to jazz music and cruising down the streets with the newest car. These were all components that helped to make the 1920s a great time to be alive.
Many Americans went wild in the 1920s investing beyond their needs, often with money they did not have. People believed that the stock markets in the 1920s could continue to rise and they were not the only ones. Many banks were speculating in the stock markets and betting that the share prices would continue to go up. In the autumn of 1929, the Stock Market crashed and hundreds of banks lost a lot of money. When people become aware that the money that they invested or the money they used to loan was gone, they became terrified. The financial crisis left many people hopeless and hungry. Depression officially ruled the era and left many filled with despair. When Theodore Roosevelt became president of the United States, a sense of hope became more of a possibility. He took steps to re-new confidence in American banking systems. He declared a bank holiday so the federal government could assess the banks to determine which were worth saving. Roosevelt’s actions restored Americans confidence and in mid-1933 and the bank runs were over.
What is Morality?

According to study.com, “Morality is the human attempt to define what is right and wrong about our actions and thoughts, and what is good and bad.” When it comes to Morality, the 1920s was a decade where things such as prohibition, race and gender had a giant impact on the morals of America; and the way Americans see the world today. The birth of Morality evolved in the 1920s, some say if it wasn’t for the 1920s and its morality movement we would not be where we are today in terms of morality. When it comes to prohibition, hundreds of thousands of people lost their jobs. People in the alcohol business had two options: to find lower-paying work or to continue being criminals. Prohibition was commonly referred to as the “devil’s work” (Patheos.com). This encouraged people to break the law even if it was just to support their families. Morally this just is not right. Back then, people did what they had to do to support their families and to sustain a suitable life-style. I would be lying, if I were to say that people no longer break the laws today, in modern American society. However, people do tend to think twice before breaking the law and that distinguishes people who have the right morals. When speaking of gender, the biggest thing we can mention was the 19th Amendment. This was when the Constitution of the United States provided men and women with equal voting rights. After protests and rallies, this gave women the right to vote. In the 1920s, this

changed the scene of American politics. In modern American society, women continue to have the equal right to vote and morally that’s the way it should be. It is about time that women have the ability to the same things as men; whether that’s in terms of occupation, politics or even in the financial world. Over the years, people had to come to the realization that women were not put on this earth just for sexual intentions and to please whomever. Putting gender aside, the new morality of the 1920s also brought advancements in racial equality. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) spent much of the 1920s fighting against unfair law suits and the harsh treatments of African Americans. Nowadays, in modern American society, we have come a long way morally with racial equality. We have come to a society, where people of color are able to attend the same schools and churches as white people; although back then that option was not even considered a thought. African Americans were treated horrifically and that is morally wrong. Everyone should be treated with the same amount of respect no matter what; therefore people should have equal rights. Most of us, Americans, are looking towards the day where the world can accept anyone no matter what they believe in, what their race is or what gender they are. There is just one question that we all need to ask ourselves and that is, “How long will it take for the world, modern society, to become one?”
In conclusion, I believe that in the 1920s American life was changing for both the better and for the worse. It changed for the better in the sense that its new mass-consumption economy allowed this particular era to prosper. However, I also believe that it changed for the worse due to the fact that all the spending that occurred in the 1920s led to the stock markets crashing in the early 1930s. In terms of advancement in Morality, I believe that we wouldn’t be where we are today if it wasn’t for the past and the history of our country.