The 1920s were marked as a period of change in the United States. The social changes started happening in the United States after the World War I ended in 1919, with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles and arose many social conflicts. The end of World War I caused a recession, a temporary slump in the economy. Since the war was over, the United States was no longer a wartime economy. Instead, it became a consumer economy. The soldiers came home, but had trouble working because some had shell shock, a psychiatric illness, some went through physical changes and there were fewer jobs. To cope with the depression caused by the war, men started drinking alcohol. Women prior to World War I were housewives. They were not respected and did not …show more content…
work. During the World War I, the women worked, some were recruited into the army but all of them got a little or no respect. But when the war ended, the women were replaced by men and were forced to go back to their old lives.
This all leads to women's suffrage which leads to the women’s right movement. The African Americans were also recruited in the World War I army. They were not treated respectfully even though they fought for the nation. There was a lot of World War I military discrimination. As the World War I ended, the African Americans tried to find jobs, but there was job discrimination. Then came the 1920s and gave the United States a perfect opportunity to resolve the conflicts of the World War I. Prohibition and social change altered the mass culture of the United States and marked social change and social conflict during the 1920s.
One of the most important and vivid impressions of the 1920s was prohibition. It all started with the Temperance Movement. The Temperance Movement was the first attempt to stop alcohol abuse and the problems it caused during the mid-1800s. Women were the inventors of the movement because it was widely used by men in the United States. Moreover, some women wanted prohibition because their husbands and fathers were abusing them and their children. Due to women's efforts, nine states passed the
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Prohibition law in the 1850s but when the Civil War broke out, it ended the Temperance Movement and the Prohibition. Support for Prohibition developed again after the World War I. Many people thought that growing grains would be more beneficial than producing alcohol because there were many problems with the soldiers that led to alcohol which made it harder for them to adapt the new environment. When soldiers returned from the war, they were depressed and many were physically changed or diagnosed with mental conditions like shell shock. In order to cope with their situations, they started consuming alcohol excessively and it led to accidents, family abuse, and gambling. Prohibition again comes into play in the 1920s. There were three goals of prohibition. The first goal was to cut down on drunkenness and family abuse. The second goal was to stop accidents at work and the third goal of Prohibition was to get rid of bars to strip them from gambling, prostitution, and bad behaviors. The goals of Prohibition led to the effects of Prohibition. The major effect of the goals of Prohibition was the passing of the Eighteenth Amendment in 1919. The Eighteenth Amendment was Prohibition. The government closed the bars and arrested them which led to Bootlegging, secretly making or transporting alcohol illegally. This was mostly transported from Canada and the Caribbean. The bootleggers made a lot of profit from bootlegging. The illegal alcohol was usually transported to a speakeasy. Speakeasies were illegal drinking clubs. Every major city had speakeasies. Alcohol also led to the growth of organized crime. Gangsters started doing the business of bootlegging to make a profit. They encouraged prostitution and gambling and organized to sell alcohol. Sometimes, to protect their business of bootlegging and crimes, gangsters bribed the police officers in exchange for money like one of the most famous and rich gangsters of the 1920s named, Al Capone. He was also called Chicago’s “Scarface”. Eventually, Prohibition failed but it did reduce the consumption of alcohol and related deaths. In 1933, the Twenty-first Amendment was passed, which reversed Prohibition. The federal government gave control of alcohol to the states. There were many other important social issues during the 1920s. During World War I, there was military discrimination and discrimination in the workforce which led to the Great Migration. When the African Americans returned from the war, they hoped to gain equality and respect but they did not. During the 1920s, the south was more towards discrimination than the north. The African Americans decided to migrate from the South to the northern United States, in an attempt to gain equality, hence called the Great Migration. There was a lot going on in the North during that time. Chicago Race Riots broke out in the North, killing thirty-eight people and injuring 500 in thirteen days. The Ku Klux Klan returned and quickly spread to the West. Many government associates were also involved in the Ku Klux Klan. The Ku Klux Klan were not only after the African Americans but others too. Lynching, killing somebody because of hatred, was one of the most violent and most commonly used ways that the Ku Klux Klan used during the 1920s. Because the African-Americans were being treated brutally, Marcus Garvey, from Jamaica, came to New York and established the UNIA (Universal Negro Improvement Association). He promoted black pride and black unity. He suggested the African Americans to return to Africa because they would never be treated equally in the United States, especially because of the Ku Klux Klan. A few associations helped the African Americans live their life. One of the main associations was the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), which helped the African Americans to fight discrimination and increase their rights in voting, jobs, and housing. The main religion in the United States was Christianity during the early twentieth century. Scientific, medical, and technological changes of the society started to challenge the religious beliefs of the people. Due to these changes, people began to question their religion, especially Christianity, God, and the truth of The Holy Bible. It created a split in Christianity. One became Biblical and one became Scientific. Some people became modernists, believed science and religion exist together, and fundamentalist, people who believed a hundred percent in The Holy Bible and the God. This split in Christianity led to the Scopes Trial. In 1925, Tennessee passed a law that prohibited teaching the evolution in public school, called the Butler Act. John Scope, a Tennessean biology teacher, was accused of teaching the Theory of Evolution in school. He knew he was not supposed to teach the theory because twenty-three states, including Tennessee, did not allow to teach the Theory of Evolution. This case went to the United States Supreme Court. Scopes was convicted and as a result, he lost his job. After the trial was over, the laws remained but never enforced. By the end of the 1920s, the Butler Act, and other laws were canceled in most states. Racial Violence, Religion vs. Science, and the Scopes Trial were the major social issues of the United States during the 1920s, but women, silent films, and heroes were the major change in the society. Women during the World War I were forced to work and raise their children and home, but when the soldiers were replaced, women were discouraged to work and have any freedom.
They did not have any rights to do anything. They could not vote, they could not drink, smoke, dance, wear short skirts, or cut their hair either. However, they started to change their attitude at the end of World War I, reflecting their freedom. Their courage paid off when in 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment was passed, which gave the women the right to vote. Some women started taking over jobs in the government. In 1924, the first women governor was elected named, Jeannette Rankin, and became the first female in the House of Representatives. Some women became known as the Flappers, a group of liberal women. The Flappers were not interested in rebelling for the women’s rights. Instead, the Flappers rebelled against the traditional ways. The Flappers usually wore short skirts, they cut their hair, drank, smoke, and danced. They soon became a symbol of women during the 1920s. Women also faced discrimination during this time period. Most of the businessmen discriminated against women. They still wanted the women to quit work and be a housewife and raise their children. Some colleges did not allow women to be admitted into their universities. Moreover, the states did not allow women to serve on juries and they also did not allow to let women keep their earnings if they were married. They gave their paychecks
to their husbands. Even after all the hard work that women did in this era, they still did not get their freedom completely. The 1920s produced a cultural change in the United States. Some people became famous over time and some became famous overnight. Sports heroes and everyday heroes were the most famous types of heroes. Some of the sports heroes were Jim Thorpe, Bobby Jones, and George Herman Ruth (Babe Ruth), especially him because he played for the New York Yankees, and made sixty home runs in 154 games in 1927. Some of the examples of everyday heroes were Charles Lindbergh, the first man to fly over the Atlantic Ocean nonstop, Amelia Earhart, the first woman to fly nonstop across the Atlantic Ocean, and Gertrude Ederle, the first woman to swim across the English Channel. Before the 1920s, Silent films were the biggest source of entertainment during the 1920s. This also led to the growth of the celebrities. So with silent films, came the celebrities. One of the most famous actors of silent films was Charlie Chaplin, nicknamed the “Tramp”, and was also famous for the “penguin walk”. The culture changed tremendously during the 1920s. Talkies, movies with sounds were invented. The Jazz Singer was the first talkie starring the actor named, Al Jolson. Movies became the fourth largest industry due to the fact that eighty million movie tickets were sold each week. In 1924, the Hollywood sign was built, which reflected the success of the movie industry. “Steamboat Willie”, the first Mickey Mouse cartoon, was released in 1928. Prohibition and social change altered the mass culture of the United States and marked social change and social conflict during the 1920s. In order to reach the goal of Prohibition, Eighteenth Amendment was passed, which led to bootlegging, speakeasies, and growth of organized crimes. These events steered us to the creation of the Twenty-First Amendment, and the cancellation of the Eighteenth Amendment but it reduced alcoholism and related deaths. Racial violence, Science vs. Religion, and the Scopes Trial were the main social issues of the 1920s. The racial violence led to the Great Migration and Chicago Race Riots break out in the North and Ku Klux Klan returns and starts spreading violence again. In order to save African Americans from the violence, Marcus Garvey, a Jamaican, established UNIA and associations like NAACP helped the African Americans achieve what they deserved, which was equality and freedom. The early twentieth century brought a split in Christianity with it. People began to question Christianity, God, and the truth of The Holy Bible. People became either modernist or fundamentalists. The theory of Evolution was created and brought the Scopes Trial with it. In the Scopes Trial, John Scopes, a Tennessee Biology teacher, taught the theory even though it was illegals due to the Butler Act. As the result of the Scopes Trial, the Supreme Court favored against John Scope and he lost his job. By the end of the 1920s, all the laws and acts, including the Butler Act, were canceled in most states. All these changes and issues affected the mass culture of the United States. Lives for the women changed. They stood up for themselves and got the right to vote, the Nineteenth Amendment, and some became the Flappers. The flappers were the liberal women. Even after this, women faced discrimination at work, colleges, and juries. The American Heroes were a really big deal during this time. Especially sports heroes, and everyday heroes. Some of the sports heroes were Jim Thorpe, George Herman Ruth, and Bobby Jones. Some of the everyday heroes were Charles Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart, and Gertrude Ederle. American heroes led the celebrities. Actors started becoming popular, just like the American heroes. Eventually, the movie industry became the fourth largest industry and talkies, movies with sounds which made the actors like Charlie Chaplin, and Al Johnson became really famous and the Hollywood sign was built in honor of the fourth largest industry. The excessive increasing of the population and industrialism eventually leads to a rise in prices, which leads to the crashing of the stock market, called the Great Depression.
One of the main reasons that Prohibition began is because “in the 1820s and ’30s, a wave of religious revivalism swept the United States, leading to increased calls for temperance.”(History Staff). Another major reason was because of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union. The union was one of the most supported women’s
As a nation coming out of a devastating war, America faced many changes in the 1920s. It was a decade of growth and improvements. It was also a decade of great economic and political confidence. However, with all the changes comes opposition. Social and cultural fears still caused dichotomous rifts in American society.
The United States and our government has been shaped entirely from its past. We have learned right from wrong, what has worked and what has failed. The 1920s was a time in our country where the government created a law that upset the people. This decade is often referred to as The Roaring 20’s, The Jazz Age, The Prohibition Era, The Cocktail Era, etc. All these names perfectly describe this time, but it was also a time to learn from the mistake of creating a law that prohibited alcohol. This law played such a huge role in the decade, and has been forever remembered. The Great Gatsby is a romance novel that also hints on the time of prohibition. F. Scott Fitzgerald talked greatly about alcohol and the part it took in The Roaring 20 's. Though
The real reason the Prohibition Act was passed is not because the Legislation had voted for it, but rather the large amount of supporters it had. 33 out of 48 states had already passed the laws within 1920. The direct support was mainly coming from the South, which the number grew from 1820’s to 1840’s. These groups mainly campaigned against the outcome of drinking alcohol. Woman’s groups were behind many temperance movements for they were targets of abuse due to drunken husbands. Many times drinking was blamed upon the economics and the changes it has undergone.
Technology played an important role in the daily lives of Americans in the 1920s. Many inventions and new developments occurred during this time. A large number of items that are used today were invented by individuals and teams in research laboratories. This technology brought many conveniences such as electrical power and indoor plumbing into the home. Radios gave people access to the news and provided entertainment. Mass culture was also born and the automobile became the largest consumer product of the decade. By 1929, one in five Americans had an automobile on the road. America experienced a decade of economic growth due to the impact of technology in the 1920s.
The 1920’s was a period of extremely economic growth and personal wealth. America was a striving nation and the American people had the potential to access products never manufactured before. Automobile were being made on an assembly line and were priced so that not just the rich had access to these vehicles, as well as, payment plans were made which gave the American people to purchase over time if they couldn't pay it all up front. Women during the First World War went to work in place of the men who went off to fight. When the men return the women did not give up their positions in the work force.
In the 1920's women's roles were soon starting to change. After World War One it was called the "Jazz Age", known for new music and dancing styles. It was also known as the "Golden Twenties" or "Roaring Twenties" and everyone seemed to have money. Both single and married women we earning higher- paying jobs. Women were much more than just staying home with their kids and doing house work. They become independent both financially and literally. Women also earned the right to vote in 1920 after the Nineteenth Amendment was adopted. They worked hard for the same or greater equality as men and while all this was going on they also brought out a new style known as the flapper. All this brought them much much closer to their goal.
The desire to control alcohol consumption, or advocate temperance, has been a goal of humanity throughout countless periods of history. Many countries have organized temperance movements, including Australia, Canada, Britain, Denmark, Poland, and of course, the United States. The American temperance movement was the most widespread reform movement of the 19th century, culminating in laws that completely banned the sale of all alcoholic beverages. The movement progressed from its humble local roots to nationwide organizations with millions of members and large amounts of political power. The growth of the temperance movement resulted from the changes in society between the original American settlers and the post-Revolutionary War citizens.
Prohibition in the 1920s America sits for its portrait through an era of wonderful nonsense as stated in the book, This Fabulous Century 1920-1930, describes the Roaring 20s, which was a frivolous, free wheeling decade when ladies. wore flapper gowns and bobbed their hair. Men started to engage in business affairs, such as the Stock Market and many sports events. held like a derbie. Many new dances like the Charleston were invented.
Prohibition originated in the nineteenth century but fully gained recognition in the twentieth century. The Prohibition was originally known as the Temperance Movement. In the 1820s and 1830s, a wave of religious revivalism developed in the United States, leading to increased calls for temperance, as well as other reform movements such as the abolition of slavery (“Prohibition”). These reforms were often led by middle class women. The abolition of slavery became a more important topic of debate until after the Civil War. By the turn of the century, temperance societies were a common thing throughout the communities in the United States (“Prohibition”). Women advocated the unity of the family, and they believed alcohol prevented such a thing. Drunken husbands only brought about negativity to the home, and women could not support that behavior. Suffragists, in their pursuit for voting rights, also sought to eliminate alcohol from the home. Small-scale legislation had been passed in several states, but no national laws had been enacted. On January 29, 1919, the Eighteenth Amendment was ratified by Congress; it banned t...
The 1920s were greatly influenced by prohibition. The prohibition law restricted the manufacturing, consumption, transportation, and sale of alcohol. The law was put into effect to lower the crime and corruption rates in the United States in the 1920s. It was also said to reduce social problems and lower taxes. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald examines the negative repercussions of prohibition on the economy, characters in the Great Gatsby, and on the different social classes of the 1920s.
The Prohibition was started in the 1920s when the 18th Amendment was ratified. This leads to many disruptions in America. The 18th Amendment caused many people to become upset with the government. The 18th Amendment was the prohibition of alcohol but was this Prohibition really good for this country? This research paper will tell the positives and negatives of the Prohibition and the overall effect on the country. There are many arguments to both oppositions. This paper will be focusing more on the negative points of the argument. The Prohibition was put into effect on January 16 1920. There was very few people that supported The Prohibition. US leader and temperance movement groups supported it. Many People opposed the Prohibition including, the average citizen, teenagers, and the mafia.
By the turn of the century, temperance societies were a common fixture in communities across the United States. Women played a strong role in the temperance movement, as alcohol was seen as a destructive force in families and marriages. In 1906, a new wave of attacks began on the sale of liquor, led by the Anti-Saloon League (established in 1893) and driven by a reaction to urban growth, as well as the rise of evangelical Protestantism and its view of saloon culture as corrupt and ungodly. In addition, many factory owners supported prohibition in their desire to prevent accidents and increase the efficiency of their workers in an era of increased industrial production and extended working hours. (History.com Staff)
America’s prosperity in the 1920’s was caused mostly by mass production, new technologies, and the change of women behavior. Prosperity is a situation in which a person or a group is doing well; thriving in their finances. So, what caused Americans to be prosperous? There are many examples of prosperity from the 1920’s in America, like the development of mass production.
Prohibition in the United States lasted about 14 years from 1920 to 1933. “Prohibition was the period in United States history in which the manufacture, sale, and transportation of intoxicating liquors was outlawed.” . Intoxicating liquors were beginning to ruin the lives of some Americans and it became banned. “Prohibition, members of the Temperance movement urged, would stop husbands from spending all the family income on alcohol and prevent accidents in the workplace caused by workers who drank during lunch” . Alcohol was beginning to tear families apart and some wanted to finally outlaw all of the alcohol which would make life easier. In the beginning organizations pushed moderation, but after some decades the organizations’ focus’ turned into the idea of complete prohibition . Although the idea of total prohibition was far-fetched it eventually began. The 18th amendment brought about complete prohibition to all of the United States, with this amendment prohibition in the United States was finally established.