Cultural Changes during the 1920's
For decades prior, people began to abandon and move away from the traditional rural life style and began to flock towards the allure of the growing cities. For the first time, the Census of 1920 reported that more than half of the American population now were indulging in urban life. The culture of the cities was based a loosening of morals, ideas of hedonism, and habits of mass consumption that were at odds with the strict religious and moral codes of rural America.
Women:
During the 1920's, many women found employment working low paying jobs in cities, including retail clerking,office typing, nursing and teaching, which were soon classified as "women's work". An organized birth control movement led by feminist Margret Sanger, challenged old traditional values while only supported the use of contraceptives. At the same time Alice Paul's national Woman Party campaigned for an Equal Right amendment to the Constitution, felling angered that the passing of the 19th Amendment did not change women's lives or effect American politics as much as had been expected. As a result of women suffrage, state lawmakers were now forced to listen to angry feminists, who demanded changes in the divorce laws to permit women to escape abusive husbands. This resulted in the number of divorces to drastically increase in the roaring twenties.
A Change in Morals:
Urban life was loosening the morals of the people even before the war, as it was said the the clocks had struck "sex o' clock in america". To the older generations, the 1920's were seen as a erotic eruption. this time was characterized by rejection of tradition, and the revolt of young men and women against sexual taboos. Writings of the Austrian psychiatrist Sigmund Freud, offered and explanation and a justification Americas new morality, as he argued that sexual repression was a leading cause for a assortment of mental and emotional illnesses. The concluded that indulging was necessary. Others, unfamiliar with Freud, saw Americas sexual frankness as just another aspect of the modern age, along with the radio and jazz music. Movies, automobiles, and new dances such as the fox-trot and the Charleston also encouraged greater promiscuity.
A brand new fashion emerged in american society, that that exemplifies the attitude of the decade, was the flapper look. Influenced by movie actresses and their need for independence, young women shocked prior generations by wearing short skirts and heavy makeup, by smoking, drinking, and by treating sex in a casual manner. they flaunted their disdain for what was considered acceptable behavior and broke social and sexual norms.
Fundamentalist V.S. Modernists:
Division among the Protestants shadowed the pressure between the old values of rural America and the modernizing forces of urban cites. During this time, Fundamentalist, who believed in a strict interpretation of the bible, where losing support to the Modernist, whose religion who believed they could accept Darwin's theory of evolution with abandoning their religious faith. The fundamentalists blames the liberal modernist for the decline in Americas morals.
Jazz Music:
The youth o the 1920's was able to express their rejection for the prior generations culture by listening and dancing to jazz music. This brand new style was developed and brought north by African American musicians, and quickly became the face the of new and modern culture of big cities. Jazz music created as African Americans such as Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong combined European form and harmony elements with with the already existing African based melodies.
The Harlem Renaissance
After the war, racial pride was blossoming in northern black communities. African Americans still faced discrimination in housing and jobs, but for the most part, there was at least some improvement in their standard of living. The biggest of these communities was located in Harlem as its vibrant and creative environment attracted over 100,000 African Americans. Harlem became famous for its concentration of talented artist, actors, musicians and writers including poet Langston Hughes . The city also spawned Marcus Garvey, a charismatic political leader, advocated individual and racial pride for African Americans and developed political ideas of black nationalism. He also established the United Negro Improvement association that supported black separatism, economic self sufficiency and promoted the resettlement of African Americans back to their native homeland.