The 1920s in the American society was a unique moment in history. The nation of America did experience modernization, change in the entertainment industry, the rate of spending changed and mobility was just on another level. There was high levels of separation between those in the villages and those in the cities. Natives saw immigrants as threats to their culture, country and their economic freedom. There were new cultures coming up, people found new ways and religious methods to life, social reforms were all over the place and due to agricultural depression many farmers no longer found farming viable. Prohibition came into the fore but unfortunately many found it interesting to engage on that which the law prohibited, the Ku Klux Klan reemerged to reclaim the place of the Native Americans, evolution theory and the relationship with the monkeys came into being as many began to embrace science as realism in the society, there was also mass consumerism with massive spending and free flow of money in the country and it was also during this period that issues of gender, sex and women’s rights did begin to gain momentum in the country. This paper will therefore highlight some of the issues that did make the 1920s roaring twenties as is normally known in America.
On the issue of prohibition, it was during the 1920s that many states in a bid to eradicate crime, create social equity, reduce corruption, improve on health and hygiene and at the same time create a society that is moral in the eyes of many began to create laws to prohibit negativities in the country. It was illegal to transport, make or even drink alcohol and with this many found the activities to be exciting and even glamorous in the society and in the process many illegal drinking dens and bars sprang up across the country. The fight the states did up against alcohol was a ticket for fighting immigrants in the twenties as many did portray them as alcoholics. Fundamentalists and Protestants in the country did highly support the alcoholic ban holding that alcohol contributes to the evils and sins in the society especially in the cities. This was a crossroads argument as tradition was fighting innovation in the American society. Bootlegging would soon take over in the country as prohibition did give rise to high levels of smuggling in the country. The smuggling soon did give rise to gangs and mobsters thus creating violence in the process as each fight for the control of different smuggling routes in the process. Organized crime thus did become a common phenomenon in the country. Organized crime did become profitable and the leaders did manage to infiltrate the unions, politics, and even government as they even killed hundreds in the process to keep their business afloat. Prohibition thus did not do much to create a moral society, in fact it gave rise to crime and made Americans disregard the law in many ways. The beneficiaries were smugglers and yet many Americans did suffer from poisoning of the illegal alcohol as some even did suffer blindness.
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Prominent in the reconstruction era in the South, Ku Klux Klan did emerge in the 1920s strongly as a force to fight for the racial hierarchy and cement white supremacy. In the roaring twenties, the organization did manage to spread its wings across the entire country amassing a following of 100,000 people in just ten months. The group whose main composition was the middle-aged whites professing the Protestants faith did use the allure of religion and morals in the society to advance their ideologies across the nation. They were actually a vigilante group in the society using violence, intimidation and threats to limit African Americans, the Jews, the Catholics and even the Liberals from attaining any political power or wealth in the country. According to their principle, those who are immigrants did not deserve any social status in America and in fact these immigrants were causing loss to the American culture. Lynching and assassinations were a common feature of their activities as a group. Most of the meetings and rallies did occur at night with the members wearing hoodies to hide their identities. This reemergence was a reflection of the struggle of industrialization, immigration and urbanization. The argument therefore is that the immigrants did take away the jobs of the natives and were diluting the American culture which was pure. It is important to note that America as a nation did have so many immigrants prior to 1920s and so the whole idea of immigrants affecting the daily lives of the whites was a pure myth with no basis save for the advancement of racism. The Ku Klux Klan did not succeed though because there were many who did rise up at the time to educate the American society on the atrocities of the group and with time the group did lose grip in the nation.
During the roaring twenties many Americans were concerned by the immoral lifestyles that a vast majority of their neighbors did live. It was these fundamentalists and religious citizens who did hold the Bible as the ultimate truth that did take a teacher to court in Tennessee for teaching about evolution of man from a lesser being by the name monkey instead of teaching creationism as is in the Bible. The teacher in question was John Scope and this is what did lead to the famous Scope Monkey Trial in 1925. In Tennessee it was against the law to teach any other origin of man apart from the creation story as is in the Bible however John Scope contravened this law and did teach about evolution in the state. The case did attract so many people especially Ohioans whom did follow because the defense attorney was from the place. In fact they also did start a campaign to ban evolution but this debate did not get far. This debate of creationism and evolution continues to hit headlines every now and then but as it stands the Unite States in most states allow for the teaching of multiple theories on the origin of man.
With the emergence of technology and innovation in the country in the 1920s, there was huge prosperity in the country and the ability to acquire goods and services in the country was on an all-time high. Mass consumerism has to do with the ability to acquire goods and services in an accumulative manner in an increasing manner. Communication during this period was top notch in comparison to the earlier methods, transportation was well enhanced, and the nation’s manufacturing the sector was doing well. Therefore many people had the ability to acquire goods and services without debts. Easy consumer credit did come in handy as mass advertisings took place in the newspapers of the time. People were acquiring many quantities of products like washing machines, locomotives, and radios and paying the same monthly on installments. It is estimated that during this period, 80% of Americans did not have any saving and this is the reason why the country did suffer great depression as consumer debt was quite high in the country.
A new woman was born in the roaring twenties. For the first time in America, a woman did have the power to vote, she was never a domestic person, she could wear short skirts, have some dramatic make-up, and even cut the hair if need be. The woman in the roaring twenties did flaunt her sexuality without fear, she could drink alcohol and smoke without a second thought. The roaring twenties woman did have the privilege to even dance in clubs. Initially make-ups did make one look scandalous in the society but the woman in the roaring twenties did use make-ups as a way of expressing the fact that one’s external style has nothing to do with character. It was during this period that the ‘Bob’ hair cut did come into the play with shorter hems on their skirts and flamboyant dressing a distance opposite to the traditional long dresses and skirts. The backseat of the cars did become a spot for the women to express and flaunt their sexuality.
The roaring twenties thus did present so many opportunities and lessons for the great nation of America. The prohibition did give room for rebellion and rise in crime and thus making the leaders know that there are possibilities of gangs taking over a system without proper supervision. The reemergence of the Ku Klux Klan was yet another way of exhibiting just how the nation did manage to deal with issues of innovation, industrialization and urbanization against a backdrop of agrarian history and beliefs. The issue of evolution and the trial as well as the outcome shows that the nation was struggling with independence of individuals and beliefs that people hold dear in their lives as at some point the nation did act like control agents rather than moderating agents. Mass consumerism did show the prosperity of the country but at the same it led to a nation without a saving power plunging into the great depression as there were no financial shields for the country. Finally the place of women and the growth into being equals with men in terms of rights and gender roles assert that as a nation America has no gender bias. All these factors combined do explicitly explain the roaring twenties as these are some of the things that continue to define American society even today.
