Citizens wanted normality to return to America. The 1920s was also known as an era of social transformation for women and American society. America was changing fast between War World I ending, and women testing new boundaries. The twenties was a positive and negative change for America. The 1920 had a paved a path which leads women towards social independents, and the twenties was also a decade that gave American a new view on their government. The prohibition movement had also made a huge impact on American society as a whole. The crime rates were rising fast in the cities, and citizens were illegally consuming alcohol. During the twenties between both events; women changing fashion and social norms for future generation, and the government making alcohol illegal. Had changed the view American citizens had on their society as a whole.
Before War World I ended, ladies in the United States were still living the same principles as the Victorian Era, but during the 1920s American women got to taste a forbidden fruit called independents. Independents were gradually given to females during the war. When the men were fighting, females got to taste independents which men had before the war. By the time the men returned home America women were slowly transforming out of their cage. When someone hears the phrase Flappers three words normally comes to mind. Partying, drinking, and dancing; these are the most commonly associated words citizens’ think of when they hear the term. It is true, that those three words explains a Flapper woman, but what most people do not know is how they changed the fashion and social world women during the 1920s. During the twenties Flappers were also known as the ‘’rebellious women’’ (Swartz, Dennis K."Fla...
... middle of paper ...
...that decade.
Works Cited
"An Overview of the 18th Amendment." 18th Amendment. laws.com, n.d. Web. 1 May 2014. .
Hanson, Erica. "Chapter Two: Prohibition, Chapter Three: Women and the Younger Generation break with tradition." A Cultural History of the United States through the Decades: The 1920s’’. San Diego, California, 1999. . Print.
Jennings, Peter, and Todd Brewster. "Boom to Bust 1920-1929. The century’’. New York: Doubleday, 1998. . Print.
Sagert, Kelly Boyer. ‘’Flappers: A Guide to an American Subculture’’. Santa Barbara, Calif: Greenwood Press, 2010. EBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 3 May 2014.
Swartz, Dennis K."Flappers. The Dandy’ ’N.P., n.d. Web. 5 May 2014. .
Time-Lifebook. “Prohibition." Our American Century: The jazz age: the 20s. Alexandria, Va.: Time-Life Books, 1998...Print.
January 1920, the opening year of the 18th Amendment that sought banning “the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors” within the United States and its US territories. Many Americans relate this era with speakeasy, public law breaking, and a public disregard for the establishment of prohibition. The 18th Amendment was the first constitutional amendment that sought to limit the rights of citizens and their rights to drink. This would become an attempt that many would soon come to realize as one of the greatest failures in law enforcement in American History. For if an American wants to drink, those with the American spirit for rebellion will surly offer him one.
On Jan. 17, 1920, America went completely dry. The 18th Amendment of the United States Constitution had been ratified a year earlier, banning “the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors” within the United States and its territories. This began the era of Prohibition, a 14-year time period of law-breaking unlike any other in our country’s history fueled by bootleggers, gangs, speak easies and mafias. The 18th Amendment was a rarity in that it limited the rights of the individual rather than the activities of the government, thereby guaranteeing an unfavorable reception and reaction. “Last Call” The Rise and Fall of Prohibition was written by Daniel Okrent and published in May 2010 and is a historical explanation of the Prohibition era. Prohibition through the 18th Amendment holds the distinction of being the only constitutional amendment ever to be repealed. This fact leads one to ask: How did this even occur? Why would Americans sacrifice their precious right to drink?
From coast to coast people were reading the exploits of a new type of woman called flapper. Prior to World War 1 Victorian ideals still dictated the behavior of American women and girls. Frederick Lewis Allen describes the traditional role of women. Women were the guardians of morality. They were made of finer stuff than men. They were expected to act accordingly. Young girls must look forward in innocence to a romantic love match which would lead them to the altar and to living happily ever after. Until the right man came along they must allow no male to kiss them. Flappers did the opposite. Flappers danced the Charleston, kissed their boyfriends while they played golf and sat behind the wheels of fast cars. The liberated usually young female disdained the traditions of her mother and grandmother before her. Flappers would smoke and drink alcohol, she cut her hair and wore short dresses. They also changed their views on courtship rituals, marriage, and child rearing. With these they could have the same freedom as men could. The time period also saw a highly physical change in women’s lives like how they dressed and looked. For the first time in American history women could choose to be free from long hair and voluminous clothing. Before the women changed they wore very restrictive clothing consisting of long skirts with layers of petticoats over tightly laced corsets that produced an hourglass figure with wide hips and a narrow waist.
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
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.
The 1920s was a time of conservatism and it was a time of great social change. From the world of fashion to the world of politics, forces clashed to produce the most explosive decade of the century. It was the age of prohibition, it was the age of prosperity, and it was the age of downfall.
In the 1920's women's roles were soon starting to change. After World War One it was called the "Jazz Age", known for new music and dancing styles. It was also known as the "Golden Twenties" or "Roaring Twenties" and everyone seemed to have money. Both single and married women we earning higher- paying jobs. Women were much more than just staying home with their kids and doing house work. They become independent both financially and literally. Women also earned the right to vote in 1920 after the Nineteenth Amendment was adopted. They worked hard for the same or greater equality as men and while all this was going on they also brought out a new style known as the flapper. All this brought them much much closer to their goal.
Prohibition in the 1920s America sits for its portrait through an era of wonderful nonsense as stated in the book, This Fabulous Century 1920-1930, describes the Roaring 20s, which was a frivolous, free wheeling decade when ladies. wore flapper gowns and bobbed their hair. Men started to engage in business affairs, such as the Stock Market and many sports events. held like a derbie. Many new dances like the Charleston were invented.
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...
"The Prohibition Era." The Prohibition Era. Historic Patterson, 22 Mar. 2013. Web. 26 Feb. 2014.
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 consumer goods industry 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.
The 1920’s were a time of revival for the country. They successfully ended World War l and rapid changes began emerging for businesses and citizens as they attempted to improve their lifestyles. The old methods prevalent in America were altering and people tried to change their regular customs. However, despite the success of the era, many began blaming their problems and hardships such as crime, death and poverty, on alcohol and the immigrants coming to America for an improve life. Many cultural conflicts including prohibition, the KKK, nativism, the Harlem Renaissance and bootlegging, emerged, which altered conditions in the country and resulted in various positive and negative outcomes.
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
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.
...aid attention to it. Liquor was sold behind closed doors, and speak easys became very common. The 19th Amendment was also ratified during the twenties. After 81 years of campaigning, woman had the right to vote. During this time the Klu Klux Klan, which gained popularity, seized political control of seven states. A very famous case during the 1920’s was the Scopes Monkey Trial. In 1925 teacher John Scopes went on trial for teaching evolution. This raised a countrywide debate on whether people believed in evolution or creationism. Overall there were a couple important Amendments passed during the 1920’s and few political arguments.