Decade Of The 1920s: The Social State Before 1920s (Essay Sample)

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Decade of the 1920s
INTRODUCTION
The United States experienced great social and cultural changes in the 1920’s as the older social and cultural values clashed with the newer values triggered by the new attitude to such social aspects as race relations, the role and the place of a woman in the society and the sexual revolution. It was a period of great social progress which contributed to the rise of consumer-driven economy and the emergence of the need for mass entertainment. The old moral values slowly began to be discarded by the youth and new moral values were adopted. Young Americans who had returned from war felt that they could not be restrained by the life in the small rural towns. The people living in urban centers viewed this as a form of freedom from former “Victorian pressures” (Malkmes. 49). The new social trends were characterized by the flapper girl; who had the freedom to attend parties and wear relatively short skirts, the urban youth with a taste to new haircuts and fashions and boom of economy which could afford most urban population with a reasonable living (Malkmes. 49).
Despite the social progress which was being witnessed in the 1920s in US, there were people who were against it. Most of these people were the middle aged who lived in small rural towns and still valued the strict moral values of the late 19th century. To them the United States was sinking into a moral decadence and prompt measures needed to be taken. Unfortunately for them, the US social values were on a runaway course and no effort could stop it from following this course.
THE SOCIAL STATE BEFORE 1920S’
Before the 1920s the males constituted the large chunk of the workforce. Most women stayed at home doing housekeeping chores. Due to this, most women did not have any income and they ended up depending on men for provisions. The culture dictated that women present themselves as innocent and obedient to their husbands. Thus the economic success or failure of the American families at that time depended entirely on the men heading such families.
Before 1920s issues to do with sex were viewed as private and could not be discussed in public (Szereter, 111). People were not supposed to express their sexual desires publicly. Virginity among the unmarried was highly valued.
Before 1920s racism was still prevalent. African Americans were discriminated and their lives threatened (Boyer, 647). There was less racism activists since most of those who attempted to campaign for equal rights were forced to abandon their campaigns by arrest, economic suppression and threats of murder (Boyer, 647).
THE SEXUAL REVOLUTION
The 1920s witnessed the rise of well-to-do and defiant youth to whom premarital sex was a non-issue. It was no longer imperative for the youth to wait until marriage in order to start engaging in sex. This period which culminated the First World War was marked by immense sexual revolution. Young soldiers who had returned from war engaged in new leisure opportunities, were eager to experiment with new ideas and felt that they were not obliged by taboo to keep the old moral practices. This led to the emergence of new recreational getaways, dances and cinemas which to the old conservative folks where unacceptable (Szreter and Fisher, 114).
A major trigger to the sexual revolution of the 1920s was the invention of the diaphragm. This new device was used to protect oneself from accidental pregnancies. The young females now had a way of protecting themselves from unwanted pregnancies and the shame of premarital pregnancy. This led to advent of such terms as flapper girl, a term used then to describe a carefree young lady who had been liberated from the old social system and was ready to explore the world of freedom.
THE NEW WOMAN
The new woman in the 1920s referred to woman who was self-sufficient, had new attitudes, interest and behavior (Hill, 73). The 1920s was characterized by new changes to gender roles, more women finding white color jobs, the advent of machines such as washing machine which reduced home-keeping work freeing the 1920s woman for more manly cores.
The dawn of the new woman was made possible by a number of factors interacting together in favor of women. First World War took most American men of fighting age (20s and 30s) to battles all over the world. Since the man was the sole breadwinner of the family- according to the old family order- and had been taken away, women who usually remained at home found it difficult to maintain the family and often suffered lack. The result was that most women found jobs in factories both blue and white color jobs to fend for their families. When their husbands returned from war, the women were reluctant to let go of the jobs. This provided women with some level of economic independence (Hill, 73). The women emancipation campaigns which led to such democratic feats as the right of women to vote inspired women to rise to higher altitudes of self-esteem. The new attitude enabled women to participate in civic duties and the courage to voice their opinions on the issues affecting them.
RACE RELATIONS
Before the 1920s, race relations had not been as big issue as it proved in the 1920s. This was not because there was no systematic racism but because there was no brave figures to rise and condemn the vice. The few who rose in late 19th century had been oppressed and condemned to intolerable treatment. As a result, a state of indifference ensued with no one to break the silence.
The First World War which ended in 1919 triggered excessive patriotism among the nationals of US. There was a general feeling among the people living in America that their country needed to be remade into culturally homogenous society. Following this the Immigration Act of 1924 was enforced in 1924 to restrict yearly immigration to 2% from any given country (Boyer et al. 672). As a result those people who were not originally American felt discriminated. This law adversely affected Americans from African origin. They were made to feel rejected and unwanted in a land they had been born in. The courts worsened the situation by making rulings which favored the whites when the cases were cross-racial in nature (Boyer et al. 6...