The 1920’s: A Decade of American Food Revolution

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The thought of being an American citizen can be rather freeing. American citizens have the right to do many things that other countries cannot. To name a few, Americans have the right to vote, to pronounce a religion or political view, to express ideas, and so on. As a citizen of the United States, having these rights has been the case for many decades. In the same way, diet and food culture, too, has played an important role in America. From Thanksgiving traditions to fad diets, Americans obsess over and plan their day around food. However, decades ago the food culture Americans were living in was interestingly different and actually affected the food culture today. Specifically, Prohibition and the changing industry were two of some of these main influences. Why, perhaps, did American food and drink drastically change? During the 1920’s, many interconnecting factors led to a cultural change in America: prohibition gave alcohol a new meaning, race-relations emerged, women began new methods of preparing food, and the industry changed American diet forever. Prohibition was a time of imposed limitations of alcohol in the United States. Likewise, many people were in opposition Prohibition. Once the law went into effect, people knew drinking would become more difficult as it would be illegal to produce or sell it. However, a lot of women in the 1920’s, mostly reformers, were for prohibition as alcohol seemed to be the cause of a lot of household issues, including wife beating and child abuse (Mintz & McNeil, Digital History). Simply put, women during this time did not wish for their husbands drunken; if they had been drinking, it could very well have led to domestic violence. In addition, women encouraged practicing sobriety by sta... ... middle of paper ... ... a major impact on the average American diet seen in today’s food culture. Works Cited "1900s Food." The British Library Board. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. Editorial. Prohibition Repeal Ratified at 5:32 P.M.; Roosevelt Asks Nation to Bar the Saloon; New York Celebrates With Quiet Restraint 5 Dec. 1933. On This Day. The New York Times Company, 2010. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. Mintz, S., & McNeil, S. Digital History. 2013. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. Mintz, S. "Food in America." Digital History. 2013. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. Scott, Robert. "1920's Food." 2013. Web. 25 Nov. 2013. United States. Cong. The Charters of Freedom. Cong XVIII. The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. Web. 19 Nov. 2013. Washington D.C. The Moderation League, Inc. U.S. Government Printing Office. A National Survey of Conditions Under Prohibition 1928. Wisconsin Historical Society, 2005. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.

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