The Prohibition further intensified and contributed to the quick disintegration of the morals of the society. Alcohol consumption, highly occurring among males, led them to patronize saloons, which, in turn, promoted not only excessive alcohol consumption, but also socialization and 'establishing' intimate relationships with women, married or otherwise (McBee, 1999:86)
Alcohol consumption, highly occurring among males, led them to patronize saloons, which, in turn, promoted not only excessive alcohol consumption, but also socialization and 'establishing' intimate relationships with women, married or otherwise (McBee, 1999:86). After showing thee 'highs' (economic prosperity and social freedom) and 'lows' (moral disintegration) of the Roaring Twenties, it is also important to put the audience again into yet another context that would establish the period's place in American history as a "social revolution," happening after the First World War and acting as the precedent for the Great Depression (Price, 1999)
For the women, a controversial would be the emergence of 'women empowerment' in the form of through sexual awareness and education. This issue can be discussed two-fold: one side asserting that sexual education is empowering to women of the '20s, while the other side opposing this position, claiming that sex education can actually lead to obscene thoughts and acts (Wheeler, 2000:180)
This change was not only marked by stark contrast, it also laid the foundations of modern feminism. According to the prevailing research in this area, women underwent a sexual liberation in the 1920s that was sparked by the work of Sigmund Freud and others, which made it acceptable for women to embrace their sexuality (Best 4)
Sports were the forum for larger than life personalities Babe Ruth and Jack Dempsey and football began to develop an enormous following, as well, though the college game was the popular version and professional football was quite fledgling in the 1920s. Jazz, a purely American style of music became popular in the 1920s as a form of entertainment available to nearly everyone via commercial radio stations, another invention of the decade (Brown 3)
Aside from an acceptance of an increased social and professional for women, as already discussed above, the 1920s saw a greater acceptance of independence and liberty for African-Americans, especially men and especially in the north. The 1920s saw a great migration of African-Americans away from southern subsistence farming and share-cropping and towards the northern industrial and manufacturing centers (Gibson and Jung)
American farmers were perhaps the hardest hit economically in the 1920s. Advances in machinery decreased the demand for manual laborers at the same time that food prices dropped (McDean 79)
Prohibition, Speakeasies and Bootlegging The issue of prohibition illustrates the polarity of sentiment felt by many Americans during the Twenties. Many believed that alcohol was the cause of a significant number of social evils and that its eradication would permanently erase those evils (Rumbarger 11)
As a result, the 1920s saw women wearing more risque clothing (by the standards of that day), sporting sexier haircuts and engaging in frequenting the dance halls until the early morning hours (these women were termed 'flappers'). This, in a sense, was an extension of the female embrace of the capitalism of the era, where women for the first time had the opportunity to live life on their terms (Simmons 17)
Further, prevailing sentiment in this country was that the United States was essentially drawn into the war that resulted from European nations' entering into alliances and competing for imperial dominance. Thus, the American role in the world during the 1920s was foreshadowed by Congress' refusal to ratify the Treaty of Versailles or to enter into the League of Nations, and the imposition of high tariffs (Schultz, Prosperity 1)
Further, prevailing sentiment in this country was that the United States was essentially drawn into the war that resulted from European nations' entering into alliances and competing for imperial dominance. Thus, the American role in the world during the 1920s was foreshadowed by Congress' refusal to ratify the Treaty of Versailles or to enter into the League of Nations, and the imposition of high tariffs (Schultz, Prosperity 1)
In the south, however, the attitude towards African-Americans was decidedly different. Advances by African Americas during and after the War created a strong sense of intolerance among conservative white southerners, which in turn led to a revival of the Ku Klux Klan (Zinn Chapter 15)