The Roaring Twenties and Its Effect on American Culture

In 1918 when World War I ended, American society and culture changed immediately after. World War I resulted in the death of nine million soldiers and twenty one million wounded. Families were left mourning the loss of their relatives and people titled World War I as a “war to end all war.” With the nation going through such tragedy, change was bound to happen. During the 1920s there was a change in consumer culture, art, music and literature. So much changed happened during the 1920s that it’s referred to as the roaring twenties. Entertainment was on a rise and the way that Americans were used to living started to change. Along with that came immigration laws that changed American culture as well.

In the 1920s welfare capitalism took place and this was good news for the working class because working conditions began to improve. Wages started to increase and the hours in a work day were shortened. Instead of working ten hours a day employees worked eight hours and if they wished to work more than eight hours that day they received pay for working overtime. Also they now worked five days a week instead of six and there were benefits available. There was this belief in the workforce that if employers made their workers happy then things will be better for everyone. Meaning no labor unrest or raids, however the wages that the workers were getting were not enough to keep with the rising prices of goods. A lot of the time employers wanted their workers to buy from their stores, which had prices that were unreasonably higher than other places.

The economy was booming during this time. There were more job opportunities than ever before because of new technologies and new industries, such as aluminum. The radio was develo...

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... 1925 in the state of Tennessee and it prohibited teachers from teaching their students that anyone other than God created man. Then there became a problem of religion versus evolution. The Scopes Monkey trial affected Americans so much because it happened at a time when people were trying to find themselves and their beliefs. They had to decide whether they wanted to live in the past of accept the future. The trial revealed the conflicting views that were happening in the 1920s. People started to question how much of an influence society how and how much society could control. The 1920s started with the end of a war and evolved into a culture shock. The aftermath of World War I left fear in many Americans but the roaring twenties is a prime example that change can either be good or bad and it’s a person’s decision on whether they want to welcome change or deny it.