In The Modern Temper: American Culture and Society in the 1920s, Author Lynn Dumenil identifies the vast array of changes that occurred in American culture in the years immediately following the First World War and the factors that led to these changes in the years prior to the war. Dumenil addresses the changes of the period from just about every possible angle including changes politically, economically, and socially especially when mentioning changes that affected women and social minorities such as African Americans and certain groups of immigrants. The Twenties were a period of great change the likes of which had never been seen before in the history United States. These changes helped the nation progress in some aspects of American life …show more content…
The 1920s saw a strong rise in the feminist movement. During this time women challenged their place in society and in doing so completely changed the definition of the common woman from that of the Victorian Era only a few years prior. Women became more independent joining the workforce. In 1930 over twenty-five percent of women over the age of sixteen were part of the workforce. For women who were not members of the workforce and instead were playing the traditional role for women at that time they found their own ways to become independent and change the ways that women were to be viewed nationwide. Thanks to the introduction of electricity in houses and advances in technology that allowed for housework to be completed quicker than ever women found began their fight for equality by becoming politically active in the community. Groups such as the National Women’s Party (NWP) and National American Women’s Suffrage Association (NAWSA) began to form and helped to create and pass the Nineteenth Amendment granting women’s suffrage (Dumenil 129-130). At the same time women were starting to become independent and free thinking. They began to ditch the Victorian traditions of etiquette and properness and adopted their own way of living, a way that emphasized expressing themselves in a way that is the complete opposite of Victorian code. Women began to express themselves sexually, and became less and less religious. …show more content…
Groups were more divided about just about every subject imaginable. But the issue that can be used to best describe the feelings of the period is religion. The 1920s saw a rise in science with names like Freud and Einstein becoming household names. These very advances in science tore apart the religious community. Those who had deep religious roots clung harder to their faith citing the science as nonsense, and those who were on the fence about religion or nonreligious used science to point out the flaws that they believed existed within the bible. At the center of this battle between science and religion was Creationism vs Darwinism also known as Evolution and which of the two topics should be taught to children in school. This debate would lead to what is now known as the “Scopes Monkey Trial”. The Scopes Monkey trial helped to further the debate thanks to the vast amounts of information about Evolution that was being exposed to the national spotlight causing more and more people to question their religious upbringings (Dumenil,
“Even in the modern day world, women struggle against discriminatory stigmas based on their sex. However, the beginnings of the feminist movement in the early 20th century set in motion the lasting and continuing expansion of women's rights” (Open Websites). One such organization that pushed for women’s rights was the National American Women Suffrage Association (NAWSA) established in 1890. The NAWSA was the largest suffrage organization and worked toward securing the right to vote. The NAWSA however was split into two, the NAWSA and the National Women’s Party (NWP), when suffragists were disagreeing on how to achieve their goal.
America as a Divided Society in the 1920s America was born from immigrants and during the 1920's it was called a. melting pot due to the increase in social, political and economic. differences from all these new races. During the 1920's, America went. through a number of test cases to determine to what extent America was. divided.
Women were not encouraged to get a job or go to school women were taught pretty much that they were just property owned by men women stayed home and cleaned while men went out and worked, went to school, also went to college. Women were not allowed to have custody of her kids or own land all of it went to the man women were not even allowed to vote Can you imagine life being told your just there to serve men and carry your kids for nine months just to get told they are not yours they are your husbands . So women decided they were done with that and put there foot down and some women created some kind of groups which are the NAWSA (National Woman Suffrage Association).
They formed the National Women's Party, which called for an amendment for equal rights. Even though there were technological and social advancements during this time, including the assembly line and more rights for women, anxiety and intolerance still dominated the playing field in 1920’s America.
After the war, the American people made the change from "old" ways to "new" ways. Many factors, such as new technology, fundamentalism, new looks and church led to tension between the old and the new. The 1920s were a time of conflicting viewpoints between traditional behaviors and new and changing attitudes.
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. Women being giving the responsibility outside the home gave them a more independent mindset, including the change of women's wardrobe, mainly in the shortening of their skirts.
The years following World War I were very different than the ones leading up to it. Between the years of 1920 and 1953, America was undergoing many different changes in its society. Beginning with the Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression, moving into the New Deal Era, and finally the wartimes, the meaning of freedom changed frequently for the people living on the American land. The boundaries of peoples' freedoms changed as well. For the better or for the worse, due to changes in the American society and ways of life, people living in America during these 33 years experienced living differently than they had lived years prior to these.
The 1920's was a time of change in the United States. “The Roaring Twenties” had an outstanding impact on the economy, social standards and everyday life. It was a time for positive results in the industry of consumer goods and American families, because of higher wages, shorter working hours, and manufacturing was up 60% in consumer goods. But it was also a time of adversity and opposition for others, such as immigrants and farmers. Immigrants had lots of competition when they were looking for work and they weren't treated fairly by Americans, depending on where they came from and what they believed. Farmers were paid very little because the price of food kept going down, they also had the Dust Bowl to worry about. African Americans became further infused with mainstream America during the Harlem Renaissance. They were also able to organize and elect officials who would make life better for them. The Roaring Twenties was a very exciting time to live in and we can all learn what the real world is like, and how we can prepare to be ready for it, today and in the future.
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.
The 1920’s is a period that defines the United States. Conflict and opposing values were increasingly prevalent in the American society. The country was torn between new political practices, views on the role of women, religion, social and artistic trends, science and more traditional beliefs. These were ideologies that were surfacing during the 1920’s. Much tension between the 'new America' and the 'old America' was caused by a number of wars and outbreaks (Lyndon).
In the 19th century women began to take action to change their rights and way of life. Women in most states were incapable to control their own wages, legally operate their own property, or sign legal documents such as wills. Although demoted towards their own private domain and quite powerless, some women took edge and became involved in parts of reform such as temperance and abolition. Therefore this ultimately opened the way for women to come together in an organized movement to battle for their own rights in such ways as equal education, labor, legal reform, and the occupations. As stated in the nineteenth amendment, a constitutional revision that established women’s citizen rights to vote.
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.
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of production, it was the age of destruction, it was the epoch of nativism, it was the epoch of racism, it was the season of skepticism, it was the season of anti-communism, it was the spring of gain, it was the winter of loss – in short, it was the 1920's. Indeed, the decade of the 1920s was a truly “roaring” and prosperous time, but at the same time, it was a period of chaos and conflict. The events that happened during this decade influenced the world as we know it today. More importantly, the thought that the 1920’s was an era of major change in the United States, both positive and negative, is indeed fascinating and it deserves thorough examination.
Women’s role in society changed quite a bit during WWI and throughout the 1920s. During the 1910s women were very short or liberty and equality, life was like an endless rulebook. Women were expected to behave modestly and wear long dresses. Long hair was obligatory, however it always had to be up. It was unacceptable for them to smoke and they were expected to always be accompanied by an older woman or a married woman when outing. Women were usually employed with jobs that were usually associated with their genders, such as servants, seamstresses, secretaries and nursing. However during the war, women started becoming employed in different types of jobs such as factory work, replacing the men who had gone to fight in the war in Europe. In the late 1910s The National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) had been fighting for decades to get the vote for women. As women had contributed so much to the war effort, it was difficult to refuse their demands for political equality. As a result, the Nineteenth Amendment to the constitution became law in 19...
World War 1 was a time filled with trauma, despair, and hardship. Women had limited freedoms such as being able to vote, being confined at home, and having less than half of the rights men were able to have. Time flew by and as the war ended in 1918, the 1920’s decade of change soon approached. The year was famously known as “The Jazz Age” and “The Roaring 20’s” because of the newly found freedom, social and political changes, and the time of prohibition. Among these powerful new changes was the freedom that women were finally able to vote and enjoy what was about to come.