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Differences Between 1920 And The 1920s

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Freedom has long since been defined by those who hold to most prosperous and advantageous positions in society. With changing definitions representing changing social, political and economic policy, it is no surprise that freedom and prosperity exclude different groups of people, such as immigrants and African Americans during both the 1920s and the 1950s. While both of these periods saw great changes to policies and increased prosperity under these times, the shadows of war and discrimination still left many behind. During the 1920s, freedom was defined by economic freedoms based on a hands-off government and increased freedom of expression due to the sexual revolution that was similarly seen during the 1950s where freedom was defined as …show more content…

During the decade, “business lobbyists dominated national conventions of the Republican Party” calling for lower taxes, high tariffs and decreased regulations that impeded profits (621). No longer was the federal government focused on a Progressive government, but rather a laissez-faire one. Freedom during the 1920s was defined more heavily by the lack of economic regulations, the beginnings of a capitalistic country and the start of civil liberties as portrayed by the flapper women and the Harlem Renaissance.
While thirty years apart, the definition of freedom during the 1950s was very similar to the definition of freedom in the 1920s. As the circumstances were similar, the definitions of freedom were also quite similar. After World War II, Americans were tasked with recovering economically, politically and socially from the war. The 1950s were the last decade of industrialization and the number of white-collar workers out numbered blue-collar workers. After the war, the definition of freedom was heavily focused on capitalism and the freedom from communism. Even though during the war, the Soviet Union and the United States were allies, after the war that relationship became extremely strained resulting in the Cold War, a conflict between the United States and Eastern Europe. This conflict, caused by the underlying fear of a communist invasion in the United States, pushed American’s definition of

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