Conformity In The 1920s Essay

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The 1920's was a time of major change in every area of life for people in the United States. America's once conservative society started to become more and more liberal as political and economic changes were being made. The dramatic switch from one way of living to another caused most people to experience what felt like culture shock, while some people celebrated the new ways. The types of music, dancing, and other forms of entertainment were much different than what they had ever been. The major shifts in economics, politics, and social norms were revolutionary. American's had a difficult time adjusting to the new ways, causing an eruption of chaos and conflict and only some conformity. Between 1920 and 1929, there were three different …show more content…

They put their actions on display and exhibited their sexuality more publicly to show that they were liberated and no longer going to live the lifestyle that they were originally expected to live. In these years, the 19th amendment was passed and women also gained the right to vote in the presidential elections. Even though the majority of women chose to live more conventionally as housewives and stay-at-home mothers, many women took advantage of their new rights and chose to follow their own dreams instead of conforming to the norms at that time. Women no longer had to go through as much trouble to get a divorce, even though it was still highly looked down upon. The "New Woman" was able to attend college and graduate with a degree of their choosing, which resulted in many women making a name for themselves in many fields, such as in medicine and law. They were typically worked white collar jobs, but started to work their way up in the workforce and began receiving better pay than ever before. These changes were just the beginning for women working towards equality and women are unfortunately still having to fight for …show more content…

Quite obviously, jazz music was hugely popular during the 20's and influenced a lot of the ways that people entertained themselves during this time. Because of the technological advancements that had taken place in the 20's, music was much easier to access and listen to. They were now able to tune in to their favorite music station on the radio and listen to whatever music they would like. The black culture introduced to jazz music to America, which meant that there were a large number of black jazz artists. Some of the most famous jazz musicians, such as Louis Armstrong, were black, which was a big pill to swallow at such time of discrimination. The fact that there were people of color gaining recognition for their music and making the style popular was pretty much unheard of before the 1920's. This sensual style of music created a speakeasy culture and new way of dance. America's well-known dances like the "Charleston," were made popular at this time. A lot of people were offended by this style of entertainment because they thought it looked and sounded vulgar and was much too sexual to be appropriate. This meant that all of the people who enjoyed this style of music and dance were labeled as trashy and said to have not class. Even though those claims are far from true about jazz lovers, it took time for the conventional American's to see this style of entertainment as

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