Returning To Normalcy In The 1920's

During the 1920s, the United States witnessed substantial changes in society and government that challenged conventions. Many Americans, however, also tried to lessen the effects of these changes through emphasizing the importance of customs and long held beliefs. This era consisted of conflicting progressive and traditional ideas, which influenced American government at the time.

Many changes in the 1920s in day to day life happened. In the 1920s most of it was under President Woodrow Wilson. During this time many Americans challenged past traditions and created their own. Many people became interested in new popular culture. New traditions such as listening to the radio, and watching film brought new thrills about news, sports, and made party’s better.

Three ways society changed in the 1920’s are through culture, economy, and social norms like fashion and women's rights. The 1920’s was a time of change. The United States had just won the war and after the war the United States just wanted to “return to normalcy”. But nothing was normal after the war; the 1920s was a time where the United States was at a peak prosperity. But this can be countered with organized gang violence, increased rate of murder, and countless robberies. Even though prosperity in the 1920s can be counter argued. Overall the 1920s was a time of change; a time for a change in culture, for a change in the economy, and for a change in social norms.

The 1920s was described as “the roaring twenties”, where life was great for every American. But with an increase in economic prosperity in America in the 1920s, numerous social conflicts also arose, including organized crime due to prohibition laws, racism, and the fight between Fundamentalism and Modernism. Many things were introduced in the 1920s, such as jazz, prohibition, and mass production. Even though it benefited some, it didn’t benefit all. People like African Americans wanted equality and slowly rose up to meet it.

The 1920’s should be considered a time of prosperity in American history. America was introduced to new a modern identity. There was many cultural norms in the 1920’s. The decade also saw an economic boom, through new modern industries and the automotive age. The government went back to a hands off, “Laissez-Faire”, government. The government and politics were going for the return to normalcy type of outlook.

After WWI, the United States entered an era of conservative values and a supposed “return to normalcy.” The 1920s were marked by a desire to return to the way of life before the left-leaning reforms of the Progressive Era and WWI. However, the nation was not unified during the decade. Many rifts began to form in American society and economy. The 1920s were marked by discord among many Americans in the areas of immigration, religion, and with the issue of socialism, marked especially by the Red Scare.

The 1920’s was a time of mixed feelings. There were moments of bliss and moments of despair that impacted society tremendously. After the victory of WWI a lot of tension in the United States arose. The overwhelming change post-war, was the main cause of this tension that divided society in half. It was divided amongst those who could accept change and those who wouldn’t.

The 1920’s was a great and important decade for the United States. After World War I, the United States went through events and changes that, overall, made the United States a much better place to live. New advances in technology and industry improved American life in more ways than just one. Americans had better wages during this time, more leisure time, and overall, had a better life than ever before. In addition, the 1920’s advocated social and cultural change as well. During this time period, the United States did not return to Normalcy, and instead developed attitudes that changed the life of the people of the United States forever thanks to social changes, cultural changes and changes in technology.

During the “roaring twenties,” there were many different events that went on that either caused revolutionary or traditional changes. However, from information of occurrences during the 1920’s, we learn that revolutionary events were more beneficial than traditional changes were. The KKK, Birth of a Nation, Aimee Semple McPherson, and the Scopes Trial all present examples as to why our country in the 1920’s should’ve focused on revolutionary changes to progress our society and homeland. Henry Ford, Harlem Renaissance, Charles Lindbergh, and Flappers are all examples as to why revolutionary events were more beneficial in progressing the country. Traditional values are less advantageous because they do not help progress and traditional ideas often lack innovation.

Following World War I in the 1920s was a drastic rise in numerous industries such as, automotive, film, radio, and more. Although there were substantial political and social changes, many Americans continued to dwell in the past discouraging progressive reforms. Essentially, the 1920s was a conservative era where many Americans advocated restrictions on immigration, prohibition on drugs, and support for anti-evolution. A considerable amount of Americans at this time suspected that immigrants were seen undesirable in the country, the immigrants were also to blame for many unfavorable issues, and many did not settle for teaching new concepts. The 1920s were clearly a reactionary movement as many individuals remained in this time period supporting

“I’ll drink your champagne. I’ll drink every drop of it, I don’t care if it kills me,” (Fitzgerald). The 1920’s were a changing period for all of America. The nation faced political, as well as social changes, both good and bad. Although the 1920’s had wonderful outcomes such as women’s rights and reputable sports leaders, it also had bad and even worse outcomes, such as the effects of prohibition and the rise of the Klu Klux Klan.

Between 1929 to 1939, one of the most important economic events in American history created an economic slump that occurred in North America, Europe, and other areas around the world - the Great Depression. It would have been prevented if enough responsible people would have had prior experience with the economic situation, fixing the problems in their minor state rather than waiting for them to escalate. The credit structure of the economy, the debt structure, and the international trade were the causes.

The 1920s was a huge time period for the United States. Modern technology such as automobiles, radios, and advertisement had taken America by storm. Rural areas were on the decline. American cities had attracted not only rural and urban citizens, but also people from all over the world. In America during the 1920s, citizens struggled with accepting other races and ethnicities into their widely populated country.

Many people speculate that the stock market crash of 1929 was the main cause of The Great Depression. In fact, The Great Depression was caused by a series of factors, and the effects of the depression were felt for many years after the stock market crash of 1929. By looking at the stock market crash of 1929, bank failures, reduction of purchasing, American economic policy with Europe, and drought conditions, it becomes apparent that The Great Depression was caused by more than just the stock market crash. The effects were detrimental beyond the financial crisis experienced during this time period.

The great depression of 1929-1939 was the longest economic slowdown in most of the developed western countries (Hall & j, 09). In the US, it started in late 1929 after the American stock market crashed. The crashing of the stock market had serious ramifications in the US since most investors lost huge amounts of cash. Consequently, there was a reduction in consumer and investment spending this, in turn, led to a decline in output and high unemployment (Hall & j, 09). This paper critically discuss the most important factor that led to the end of the great depression.