Radical Changes During the Roaring Twenties

The Roaring Twenties was a period of intense tension towards the numerous barriers of tradition. Unlike the gradual fluctuations in modern day society which lead tension in its wake, the 1920’s was a bombardment of radical change ranging from societal norms to economic consumption. The end of World War I led to the end of idealism, and evolving values began to escalate towards the 1920’s. The surge of immigrants allowed for greater and greater economic booms, including the use of credit and involvement in the stock market. Thus, increasing racial tensions surfaced, heightening as economic booms amplified. Such a deep shift in American culture conflicted with traditional mentalities. The rising tension between new and changing attitudes was led by emerging racial tensions, economic shifts, radical religious beliefs, and the divergence of the role of women in society.
America’s attitude towards immigrants began to transform from somewhat cautious towards growing hostility as racial tensions surged. The rebirth of the KKK to protect Americanism and “old-stock Americans”, being anti-immigration, reflected the fear of non-white’s entering the US and arrogating jobs. The KKK’s revived influence, being not isolated just in the South, suggested the influx of immigrants was not welcomed by many citizens and that the “old America” was yearned for (D). The Red Scare ensued after the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, spurring the fear of anarchists, communists, and socialists. Armed robbery by Italian Anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti in 1920 only aided the rising tension from the Red Scare. The Immigration Acts of 1921, 1924, and 1927 also represent the will of Congress to limit the apparent mass number of immigrants from entering the country wit...

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...ight to vote further reflects social change during 1919. Also, despite marriage rates peaking at 1920 and decreasing to 1930, divorce rates still gradually increased despite the drop in marriage rates (H). This statistic suggests the increase in independence from men as the traditional patriarch of the family and the rise of the matriarch.
The 1920’s reflected a period of mass cultural change despite outcries by traditionalists. Rapid progress through industrialization seemed to only aid America’s division religiously, politically, and mainly socially. New ethics began to challenge the old as the economic gap heightened between production and wages, spurring an economic bubble which peaked during the Stock Market Crash of 1929. Devastation by these feuding variances in American mentality will lead to the only solution to escaping the downward spiral: World War II.