Freedom In The 1920s Essay

During the 20th century, the people of America had to adjust to new desires, lifestyles, and the new materialistic economy. After entering World War I, the aftermath included false positives that in the end, turned out to be complete negatives. Citizens of America possessed materialistic beliefs that led to disappointments. African Americans were confronted by atrocious social conditions. The frustrations faced by many Americans living in the 1920s, included the desires for materialistic possessions in hopes of contentment, the aspirations for freedom and the dignified need for racial equality, are all elucidated in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s short story, “Winter Dreams”, and both poems, “Democracy” by Langston Hughes and “The White House” by Claude Mckay.

Many innovations throughout history have been met with backlash from people who felt that innovations hurt society as a whole. The 1920s were no exception since it was one of the biggest decades of innovation in the United States’ history. Although conservatism gained a little ground during the 1920s, it was greatly overshadowed by the innovations of technology, social norms, and entertainment that still affect America today.

The 1920s are remembered as lively time, sometimes referred to as the Jazz Age, Roaring Twenties, or the decade of prosperity. The 1920s, had many social trends that developed as a result of fear, one of the most shameful, the Ku Klux Klan. This trend did not emerge just once but twice, it was rebranded and improved because its members fed off fear and racism. Due to the Red Scare (reaching its peak in the early 1920s), Americans became obsessed with one hundred percent “Americanism”. This led to “a decade of citizenship education programs in public schools, legally sanctioned visits to immigrants’ homes to investigate their household arrangements, and vigorous efforts by employers to instill appreciation for 'American values' ” (Give Me

In the 19th century, there were many issues in America which needed to be addressed. Some people stood up for what they believed needed to be done to reform the country. Prominent examples of these radicals are Harriet Tubman and Dorothea Dix. Tubman fought to abolish slavery while Dix fought for better treatment of the mentally ill. These two individuals had a significant impact on American life.

In every era of American history, there is progress of multiple sorts. The 1920s paradoxical existence and polarizing contributions to the development of American culture exemplify this to the greatest degree. The 1920s can be categorized as a thriving, enlightened period of history as much as it demonstrates intolerance and fear of change. There are many different viewpoints one may take when analyzing the hypocritical nature of the 1920s. Was change an effect of a natural progression and evolution of ideals or was it caused by a destruction of morality and proper values?

During this period, there was a widespread of social activism and political reform throughout the United States, that lasted from the 1890s to the 1920s. During that time, Theodore Roosevelt served his term as president. The Era was dominated by social reform issues relating to working conditions, woman, cities, and the government. The progressive moment started because the progressives believed the government should be more involved in restoring the problems in society. They believed it was important to protect the welfare of Americans by environmental reforms.

The 1920s was a drastic shift for young people’s choices and future consequences. The years of the 1920s represented a new type of freedom for women, young adults, African Americans, and immigrants. A group of people support dogmatic, old-slow rural life, religious belief, and did not care for education, while the others embraced modernism and preferred urban living, contributing to technology, continuing education, urban development, science, and a brighter future.

The 1920s were a time of great change in all countries, particularly in the United States of America. America however also saw mass unrest, particularly economical, political and social unrest. All of these issues were influential on the American pubic. The 1920’s began with a massive political change – women were given the right to vote, by the 19th Amendment of the Constitution.

Sharon Smith is the established author of Subterranean Fire: A History of Working-Class Radicalism in the United States (Haymarket, 2006) and Women and Socialism: Class, Race, and Capital (revised and updated, Haymarket, 2015). Within this article, Smith explores the concept of Intersectionality throughout history. Intersectionality means to be oppressed in various forms. This is a form of discrimination that African American females encounter, as they are constantly confronted with judgment for both their race and gender. Furthermore, as a population, there is no prescribed legal category, which results in injustice when dealing with social mistreatment. Overall, this double oppression can be equivalently faced from both the oppressed and

During the 1920s the American people started to lose the conservative behavior and values that the Victorian era had left imprinted in them during the past years. After the war the people began to lose hope with millions dead and dislocation of war, they began to feel profound disillusionment. After a few years were they found themselves lost and felt like life did not had a purpose they began to reject this values and revolt. It was a time of great social change characterized by apparent prosperity, new ideas, and personal freedom.

The 1920s stand as a monumental decade in American history with radical shifts in the values and practices of many Americans due to the revelations in science and the birth of the Modernist movement that spurred societal reformation. However, these progressive ideals and values were met with fierce opposition in many regards that created a polarity in America between proponents of this new religion and advocates for the traditional old religion of Christianity and conservative principles. The 1920s served to utterly alter the values of American society with the genesis of unprecedented scientific knowledge and an end to World War I, both of which served to create a sharp divide between the new religion of Americans who sought to modernize culture and education and the old religion of Americans who advocated for a return to the archaic forms of living.

America experienced a cultural rise and shift during the nineteen twenties fueled by the spread of transformational new technologies such as the automobiles, radios, movies, electrical appliances, sports, and music (pgs.783-784). This may have signaled a “New Era” of improvement for American living; however, some would say it was a reshaping of American culture (pg.784). Although, economically things were booming, things were not necessarily for the moral fabric of America. The 1920s became a “revolution in manners and morals.” The economy was witnessing a revolutionary change with the onset of new technological advancements in the way people were living.

From the late 19th century to the early 20th century, the western world started transforming into an international powerhouse of technology and innovation. During this time, however, mankind utilized its newfound mechanics and turned them into deadly weapons, introducing them in World War I. After the violence came relative peace, and as Americans settled down in a changing society, many people started drifting away from the traditional customs of the past. As Americans looked for a “new normal”, fresh ways and attitudes popped up during the “Roaring 20s”. These new attitudes affected the way people acted, the way they dressed, the way they lived, and so on. The cultural changes that made an effect on American life included the popularization of alcohol, the relaxing of societal expectations, and the recognition of civil rights in the arts.

The movement in the 1920s compared their welfare to women. They were the foundation for the 2nd generation Klan and helped to ensure the balance within the Klan. It is a sad thing to admit, but it is a fact that without women the Ku Klux Klan might not have been as successful as is it was and still is. Thanks to the female Klanmembers children were educated in their beliefs and worldviews. The Klanswomen were the key to the female emancipation in the United States. They might have had different roles compared to their male comrades, but they were important, and essential roles.

Dadaism, closely followed by the Surrealist Movement, in the late 19th and the early 20th century, signify pivotal periods of artwork. Dadaism arose after WWI as a result of the nationalism that many people believed led to the war. Influenced by Cubism, Futurism, Constructivism and Expressionism, it aesthetically it marked ‘a mockery of materialistic and nationalistic attitudes’. Challenging conventional art which was meticulously planned and completed, Dada pieces incorporated the idea of chance, ‘making works that often upended bourgeois sensibilities and that generated difficult questions about society.’ Dada artists were well-known for their use of readymade objects which could be bought and adapted into new pieces of artwork,