To what extent could the culture of the 1920s be characteriz
The 1920s were a remarkable culturally influential era in United States history. A main reason this decade is seen as modern is because most of today’s culture and innovations stemmed from ideas and products which first appeared in the 1920s. After World War I, there was now almost 1 million less people in the armed forces. People were tired of all the bloodshed and hostility and wanted to carry on with their lives. They wanted to be happy and most importantly, be free. The war took its toll on a lot of Americans and the Volstead Act in 1920 made matters worse. Now people couldn’t have any drink containing as much as one half-ounce of alcohol…legally. Americans felt that they were being treated unfairly. After all, this was supposed to be the land of the free. Prohibition was definitely one of the main factors leading to the cultural outcry in the 20s. Since people could not drink alcohol legally, they drank it illegally at speakeasies. The 1920s brought forth the idea of organized crime which is also still going on present day. Dutch Schultz and Al Capone were some of the main suppliers of the product. Crime was rampant and they became some of the most famous gangsters of
In conclusion, the 1920s is possibly the most culturally influential decade to date. Technologically, fast communications and transportation (automobile, aircraft) already existed. Socially, over 50 percent of the US population had moved off farms and were living in cities. Artistically, modern architecture, abstract painting and dissonant music were already being done. Very few true innovations have appeared since - most changes are merely improvements. Another milestone for this decade was the amazing accomplishments in the field of architecture. Art Deco was a prominent theme and was used to create some of the America was rapidly evolving and women were rapidly changing. These same strong women who fought the ban on bathing suits, helped to get the 19th Amendment passed. Women were given the right to vote in 1920 and this was a huge step in the women’s suffrage movement. Another big change for women was the way they began to dress. Some skirts worn in the 20s were just as short as today’s, if not shorter. By 1925, the short skirt was popular and this period was referred to as the Flapper Age. ‘Flappers’ as they were called, wore straight dresses with no cleavage, no waistline, and hair either cut short in a ‘bob’ or neatly hidden under a hat. They did not want their sexuality to define them and so they did not show the shapes and curves of their bodies. They also did the era. Unlike earlier times in America’s history, people were speak
Some topics in this essay:
Annette Kellerman,
Flapper Age,
Henry Ford,
Al Capone,
John Storer,
Volstead Act,
Wild Flapper,
World War,
Lloyd Wright,
Duke Ellington,
bathing suits,
one-piece bathing,
one-piece bathing suits,
radio networks,
empire building,
modern architecture,
culturally influential,
dress themselves,
bathing suits women,
suits women,
Join now to see the rest of the essay!
Approximate Word count = 993
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
|