Prohibition

Prohibition- to be, or not to be? As of today, it is not to be, but in the 1920's Prohibition was in full force. Some people were happy about it, and some were not. It was in the Progressive Era that Prohibition came to be a consideration among Americans; it is estimated that the movement began in the 1870's. It was mainly pushed by progressive women. Prohibition called for a ban on making, selling, or distributing alcoholic beverages. Why was this? Reformers during this time believed that alcohol was the leading cause of crime, poverty, and violence against women and children. They also argued that ridding of alcohol would promote stability in families. The Anti-Saloon League and the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, or WCTU, were two groups that organized the fight to get alcohol banned from the United States. In 1919, the Congress answered the cries of the Americans pushing the Prohibition Movement. Congress ratified the Eighteenth Amendment, which prohibited the sale, manufacture, and distribution of alcoholic beverages. However, many people were not so pleased by the Eighteenth Amendment.

Prohibition really became the law of the land in the 1920's. Most people were against the idea of Prohibition, so they fought back in many ways. Prohibition gave a rise to smuggling operations, for one. Large amounts of alcohol came into America through many seaports and through Canada. The people that smuggled liquor into America were eventually known as bootleggers; these bootleggers were very difficult for the police to capture. Additionally, some people even made their own liquor at home with their own equipment! In the 1920's doctors were allowed to prescribe alcohol to the patients that needed it, so some people would pretend to be sick in order to receive alcohol "legally". Gangsters were born in the 1920's due to Prohibition. Al Capone, the most infamous gangster of the 1920's, used the alcohol trade to build a business that earned millions of dollars a year. In addition, speakeasies, illegal bars where alcohol was served, were formed all across America in the 1920's. This shows how prohibition had started to become a failed attempt in the 1920's; it also shows how most people didn't support the Prohibition Movement and fought against it. Consequently, the Eighteenth Amendment was repealed on December 5, 1933 for it's lack of popularity.


Sources:
Rosenberg, Jennifer. "Prohibition." 20th Century History. 2010. Web. 14 May 2010. .

Flappers

"She's not what Grandma used to be." Dorothy Parker comments on the flappers of the 1920's in a way that shows historians and the citizens of America how different the people of the 1920's were from the older generation of Americans. Flappers were the beginning of the changes in society that led to the modern day culture. Flappers were a major sign of the cultural times in the 1920's. Flappers inherited their name from the tendency of younger women in the late 1910's and early 1920's to leave their galoshes untied, which would make a "flapping" noise as they walked. In the 1920's, the term "flappers" meant young women of the 1920's who defied traditional ideas of proper dress and behavior. Flappers shocked society entirely with their cropped haircuts, raised hemlines, makeup, cigarette using, alcoholism, and attendance at multiple night clubs. Rebellious women found the dress of flappers to be particularly popular in that era. The flapper represented a lifestyle of independence and freedom, thus rebellious women grasped the principles of being a flapper very willingly. Flappers represented some of the most important cultural shifts in American society, but not all women in the 1920's were flappers.

In towns and rural areas in the United States, the common woman would only read about flappers in magazines and newspapers. Flappers were uncommon in towns and rural areas; they were found mainly in urban cities. Most women in rural areas highly disapproved of the flappers. Others were not flappers because they didn't wish to be as bold or reckless as flappers were. Women's rights activists were some of the many women that disapproved of flappers. They would claim that flappers were more concerned with having fun versus gaining further rights for women. So, although flappers were important to cultural shifts in the U.S., not every woman in America was a flapper, and not every woman approved of them. Much to the happiness of the disapproving women, the style of the flapper started to disintegrate in 1928. The flapper style was replaced with a more subtle and polished style. Nevertheless, without the flapper, America wouldn't have had the cultural advances that it has had.

Sources:

"The Flapper- A 1920's Phenomenon." 2005. Web. 12 May 2010. http://www.1920-30.com/fashion/flapper.html.

The 1920's

The 1920's were notorious for the flappers, the jazz music, the economic prosperity, and the newly found freedom that was presented in the American lifestyle. The 1920's was nicknamed "the Roaring Twenties" because it was a time of exceptional economic and social well-being. America's total wealth practically doubled between 1920 and 1929, leading to the citizens of America to feel the economic prosperity. There was a large advertising industry in the 1920's as well, stimulating consumption of goods, which, in turn, stimulated the economy. The stock market sky rocketed, which also gave Americans the feeling that the 1920's were economically stable and successful. The 1920's seemed to be all about getting rich as quickly as possible. Money and big spending led to the glamorous and luxurious lifestyle that the 1920's is famous for today. Urbanization happened when most of America's population moved to urban cities in the 1920's; over 50% of Americans lived in urban cities now that the industries ans cities were booming.

Radios were very popular among the younger and older generations that lived in the 1920's; about 12 million radios were bought within the 1920's alone! Jazz music was one of the most popular types of music in the 1920's; some of the iconic jazz musicians of the 1920's were Louis Armstrong, King Oliver, Duke Ellington, and Willie Smith. Along with jazz being introduced to the popular culture of America, many movies influenced the 1920's as well. Like radios, movies were a form of mass entertainment that came in to major popularity in the 1920's. One of the most well-known movies of the 1920's was The Jazz Singer, a movie which greatly reflected the lifestyle of the American citizens. Another popular film was an animated film directed by Walt Disney called Steamboat Willie; thus, in the 1920's, Mickey Mouse was born and has stayed in the hearts of Americans throughout the generations. Along with the birth of Mickey Mouse, new roles for women were born. The Ninteenth Amendment, which was ratified in 1920, gave women the right to vote. This changed the way that women acted, as well. Women began to abandon the traditional values that their previous generation held; they also changed their wardrobes. The flapper represents this type of change in women during the 1920's. Flappers were young women in the 1920's who defied the traditional ideas of proper dress and behavior; the flapper also represented a lifestyle of independence and freedom. This image became popularly associated with the Roaring Twenties.

In the classic novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the 1920's is the setting of the fictional work. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald expresses his disillusionment in the prosperity of the 1920's through the use of symbolism and the personalities of his characters. They all want one thing. Money. Thus, Fitzgerald portrays that the American Dream was disintegrating through the material excess of the 1920's. F. Scott Fitzgerald was not the only American that thought the Roaring Twenties weren't very "roaring". Some Americans, like Sinclair Lewis, found that the 1920's caused many people to "conform to society". Some Americans, usually the Americans of the older generation, felt that the 1920's was the "Lost Generation" because they had lost their morals and traditional values. Also, Prohibition slandered the greatness of the 1920's; Prohibition was widely unpopular because it led to organized crime, violence, and illegal acts, such as bootlegging and creating speakeasies. Thus, the Roaring Twenties was impressive to some and disappointing to others.

Sources:

Schultz, Stanley K., and William P. Tishler. "H102 Lecture 15: The Politics of Prosperity: The 1920s." American History 102: Oldest American History Site on the Internet -- Established in 1996 --. 1999. Web. 12 May 2010. http://us.history.wisc.edu/hist102/lectures/lecture15.html.

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was born in St. Paul, Minnesota on September 24, 1896. He was an American writer who wrote a lot about the social climate of the 1920's which he called "The Jazz Age". His most famous works are "The Great Gatsby" and Tender is the Night. He met Zelda Sayre when he was stationed at Camp Sheridan but she broke up with him when she realized that he had a small salary. He was in huge debt because Zelda had a mental condition and she lived in mental institutions while he lived his with his lover Sheilah Graham. He earned a great deal of money because he was a screenwriter. By 1939 he began his novel The Love of the Last Tycoon. Fitzgerald lived a tough life. Since his college days he was an alcoholic and that severely damaged his health. He had two heart attacks in the late 40’s. On December 21, 1940 he died of a heart attack, he died at age 44. F. Scott Fitzgerald will always be remembered as one of the greatest authors.

Sources:

"A Brief Life of Fitzgerald." University of South Carolina. Web. 11 May 2010.