In 1920, the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which granted women in the United States the right to vote, began a period of enforced prohibition, as well as an extensive Temperance Movement following the American Revolution. However, the restrictions these laws and organizations placed on alcohol seemed to directly oppose society’s newly redefined ideals. With the prohibition boom of the roaring twenties also came a surge in anti-prohibition movements, a social response to government regulations. Social movements were prompted by economic concern as well, the need for money from the sale and distribution of alcohol during the later Stock Market Crash of 1929 and the emerging Great Depression. Finally, in 1933, past the end of the Flapper …show more content…
Individuals on both sides did not hesitate to voice their opinions on flapper life to the public, mainly in the form of letters to magazines that reported, and oftentimes promoted, the chic, and exhilarating flapper lifestyle. In an open letter to the editor of the Chicago Daily Tribune, a popular newspaper founded in 1847, a woman by the name of Mrs. Smith addresses the changing standards for young women in the newly renovated society. She refers to flapper women as the most “appalling women” she has ever laid her eyes on, condemning flapper culture, and applauding traditional temperance. Written in 1920, directly after the passing of the 19th amendment, Mrs. Smith admits that while she is “content with the progression of [women’s] legal rights,” she, herself, “would not dare to vote,” as she associates this with “prancing around like these young adults are.” Here, we see the motive behind traditionalists seeking to inhibit evolution in society merely as a result of their distaste for a certain group of women. Any prospect of equality among people with this view was been replaced by a petty judgment of the current trend, therefore trivializing the recent, major progress in regard to women’s …show more content…
Those who saw deeper meaning behind the glamorous bob cut and flapper skirts, recognized, as Colleen Moore put it, that women of the time period had a “determination to free themselves of the Victorian shackles of the pre-World War I era and find out for themselves what life was all about.” One public figure to draw attention to the flapper movement was F. Scott Fitzgerald. In his book, Gatsby Girls, a compilation of eight short stories from his column in the Saturday Evening Post, he highlights the themes of dispute surrounding the flapper era. He, like many other men during the time period, celebrated their culture, as he admitted proudly that all of his stories drew inspiration from his wife. Some of the most memorable sayings from his book include: “It's all life is. Just going 'round kissing people.” And: “I'll drink your champagne. I'll drink every drop of it, I don't care if it kills me.” In his book, Fitzgerald highlighted the most enticing aspects of the flapper lifestyle and most likely sought to turn its skeptics into supporters. Joshua Zeitz supported flapper culture as well, and summed up many of its positive features in Flapper: A Madcap Story of Sex, Style, Celebrity, and the Women Who Made America Modern: “The New Woman of the 1920s boldly asserted her right to dance, drink, smoke, and date—to work her own property, to live free of the
A Flapper is “a young woman in the 1920s who dressed and behaved in a way that was considered very modern” (Merriam-Webster). There was many opinions on how young women should act in the 1920s, but the ladies listened to the voices in their head. They set an example for the future women to dress and act the way they want, men could no longer tell women how to dress and act. The new era of young women opened many doors for all females.
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
Imagine walking in the streets where all other women and girls are dressed in long dresses, look modest, and have long hair with hats. Then, there is a girl with a short skirt and bobbed hair smoking a cigarette. This girl makes a statement and is critically judged by many people for dressing this way. Women during the 1920s were not to look “boyish” in any way, so when short hair and short skirt were introduced, it was seen as shameful. The girls wearing this new style were known as flappers. Their style was introduced in the early 1910s but did not spark until the 1920s. The style was said to be more comfortable, but was not appealing to the more conservative. Before the change of style, most women were dressed modestly; however, women's
Prohibition was the eighteenth amendment. It prohibited the production and consumption of alcoholic beverages. People would have never thought of “excoriating” alcohol until the 19th century (Tyrrell 16). During this time widespread crime and dismay arose. Some beneficial things did come out of this period of chaos such as women were able to prove themselves as people their temperance movements. During this time many things happened that led to Prohibition’s strongest point and to its fall. Prohibition proved to be a failure from the start,. Prohibition was scarcely adhered to and also widely defied but out of this women had a chance to voice their opinions and prove themselves.
Serving as the symbol of a heroine during the Roaring 20s, young women strived to obtain the flapper image while youth culture was on the rise due to urbanization. Although this concept was a highly popularized ideal during this era, it is not entirely clear where the term “flapper” originated from. According to the book The Damned and the Beautiful: American Youth in the 1920s written by Paula Fass, “In Great Britain at the end of the nineteenth century, [a flapper] meant a woman of loose morals, possibly a prostitute.” Reflecting this newfound sense of maturity and sexual independence openly expressed by females who adopted the desired lifestyle of a flapper, women emerged from the restricting societal norms of the early to mid-19th century and engaged in more scandalous activities, such as smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol
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.
Some people hated this idea of the Flapper and they blamed the war for these women’s new behaviors. After World War I, young women and young girls started to act free and go against their families. “Some people in society blamed the war for triggering this rebellion of youth and they claimed it had upset the balance of the sexes and, in particular, confuse women of their role in society and where they truly belonged” (Grouley 63). Some people hated the idea of the flappers and these women had become. These women, the flappers, in the 1920s felt free after the 19th amendment was passed. “Since the early twentieth century, the sexual habits of these American women had changed in profound ways” (Zeitz 21). Flappers drank, partied, and had romantic evenings with men. All of which were illegal for women. In addition, they were an embarrassment to society and they were able to get away with anything. “Flappers were a disgrace to society because they were lazy-pleasure seekers who were only interested in drinking, partying, and flirting” (Dipalo 1). For instance, Flappers went to clubs, drank, and hung out with men and were too lazy to do anything. Therefore, one consequence of the war was the creation of a new woman and this led to a movement like no other.
Although the temperance movement was concerned with the habitual drunk, its primary goal was total abstinence and the elimination of liquor. With the ratification of the 18th Amendment to the Constitution, the well-organized and powerful political organizations, utilizing no holds barred political tactics, successfully accomplished their goal. Prohibition became the law of the land on January 16, 1920; the manufacturing, importation, and sale of alcohol was no longer legal in the United States. Through prohibition, America embarked on what became labeled “the Nobel Experiment.” However, instead of having social redeeming values as ordained, prohibition had the opposite effect of its intended purpose, becoming a catastrophic failure.
Many flappers were working, single, white, middle-class women. They held jobs in the post-World War I era’s booming economy as clerks, telephone operators, and sales people. However, it was these women’s activities once the work day was over that the flapper lifestyle became famous for. These young and vibrant women were determined to have a good time; they frequented jazz clubs and speakeasies (prohibition was in full swing during the flapper’s era). The flapper participated in activities more commonly associated with men at the time, such as smoking and drinking. This exciting nightlife led women to seek for the elimination of double standards in regards to gender; therefore, they began to experiment more in their sexuality than did previous generations.
In the 1920s, a new woman was born. She smoked, drank, danced, and voted. She cut her hair, wore make-up, and went to petting parties. She was giddy and took risks. She was a flapper.
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...
During the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, many saw alcohol as a cause of instability among communities. To counteract the effects of alcohol on American society, The Temperance Movement, Prohibition Party and many others sought to enact anti-liquor laws that would prohibit the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol. On January 19, 1920, the Eighteenth Amendment had taken effect and a nationwide ban on alcohol was enacted. This was thought of as a solution to the many problems that America had at the time, but it only made matters worse. The American society had been greatly affected by the Eighteenth Amendment in many negative aspects such as increasing crime and violence, worsening the economy, and much more.
Contrary to popular belief, the 1920’s “flapper”, wasn’t as short as it’s depicted in the media and was usually calf length (Thomas). Woman in the 1920’s did experience a change in more risky attire though and became comfortable with showing more skin than ever before.The 1920’s was the beginning of a fashion revolution and broke the conservative barriers in women’s attire. The influences of the 1920’s produced a major shift in fashion causing woman to take on more masculine and rebellious attire.
“Prohibition did not achieve its goals. Instead, it added to the problems it was intended to solve.” On 16th January 1920, one of the most common personal habits and customs of American society came to a halt. The eighteenth amendment was implemented, making all importing, exporting, transporting, selling and manufacturing of intoxicating liquors absolutely prohibited. This law was created in the hope of achieving the reduction of alcohol consumption, which in turn would reduce: crime, poverty, death rates, and improve both the economy, and the quality of life for all Americans. These goals were far from achieved. The prohibition amendment of the 1920's was ineffective because it was unenforceable. Instead, it caused various social problems such as: the explosive growth of organized crime, increased liquor consumption, massive murder rates and corruption among city officials. Prohibition also hurt the economy because the government wasn’t collecting taxes on the multi-billion dollar a year industry.
As we look around at our women in today’s era, we might ask how did she become so independent, successful, and confidant? Even when I look at my own my mom, she was hired as the first woman to work as a manager at a fortune 500 business, and then created her own business. As well as my friends’ mom, who also has her own business in psychology; accomplishments like these must have originated from somewhere. The answer lies in the 1920’s. A couple years earlier, World War I was waging havoc, killing many men, while allowing women more freedom. The effects of World War I gave birth to the new women, also known as the Flappers, and inspiration for the 19th amendment. The flappers stirred up traditions and launched a new way of living. It soon became very apparent that the new women of the 1920’s helped redefine the social norms of society.