1920's
I choose a picture of a flapper because this was a new and up coming thing in the 1920s. Women standing for what they wanted and dressing however they felt they wanted to. Short hair, and hem lines defined the fashion. These girls began drinking and smoking, challenging the morals of society and the older generation.
Political
1.)During the 1920's, the 18th amendment was passed. The 18th amendment states that the consumption, manufacture, and selling of alcohol is now illegal. A lot of people decided that alcohol was their way of life so through the desire of the boos they bootlegged, or became bootleggers. Bootleggers were people who made and distributed their own homemade alcohol or illegal alcohol. There were private, illegal bars created, too, that sold alcohol.
2.) The 19th amendment was also passed. This amendment states that any one of any race, gender, religion, and more, can vote. The fight to have this amendment passed had been brewing for decades but finally it was over, and the result was and still is great. A growing fear of communism continued during this time, because the war was over.
The evolution debate, or the Scopes Trial, was a big issue during this time. It was a debate over whether or not schools should teach the theory of evolution or creation, a debate that can be traced back to Charles Darwin and his theory of Darwinism.
Economic
1.)Social security was first introduced during this time. Social security is a form of security created to help the elderly and retired people who could not necessarily financially take care of themselves. After working their whole life, elders of society were able to just kick back and relax until they kicked the bucket.
2.)Henry Ford first introduced the idea of the assembly line. The Model T car was the first car to be mass produced on an assembly line. The assembly line was more efficient because it utilized machinery, and broke down the task of building a car into smaller, easier tasks, tasks that even an incompetent baboon could do.
3.)Credit cards were first introduced during this time period. A credit card follows the concept of "buy now, pay later". This card is an easy way to pay for things, without having to have actual cash or change, but you do have to pay for what you buy with the card later on. Banks and stock markets became a phenom during this era.
Social
1.)The KKK (Ku Klux Klan) was a very discriminatory group toward African American men particularly. The purpose of this group was to keep the Caucasian women pure and not let black men "infect" them.
2.)The radio was invented and around during this time. Broadcasts were sent out to update everyone on news, and fun radio shows were created for more entertainment during this time.
Jazz music was a new type of fun, upbeat music introduced during this time period. It showed off the talents of many musicians.
3.)Flappers became the "new woman" of this time. Women finally had some freedoms and they wanted to take advantage of it, so they cut their hair short, wore shorter dresses, started drinking and smoking, and doing whatever they wanted to. All of this happened because of the war ending and because they simply could do this, wanted to do this, and did do this. Flappers challenged the morals of society and defined a generation of good times.
Progress?
The 1920's was a time of progress.Some sought out to preserve fading values, while others embraced the new values. There was definitely a freer lifestyle that supported individual goals. There were new writers and artists that arose during this time, creating a new form of music known as Jazz. Leading the Jazz revolution was Louis Armstrong, a New Orleanian who could play the trumpet as good if not better than anyone during the 20's. Armstrong, a black American, was and still is an idol for all those who believe that they can push the envelope of society, and change it. Along with Louis the Harlem Renaissance gave African Americans new found pride, and even Bessie Smith, one of the best blues pianists ever, gave women a new found pride. Although farmers were going through economic depression, many people still thought positively in hopes of a good economy hopefully in the near future. The middle class was consumed into the credit and new products available, such as the car, radio, even day to day appliances such as the washer machine and iron made life that much easier.
How The 1920's Lead Into The Great Depression
The 1920's lead into the Great Depression and New Deal after middle class Americans began investing into the stock market. Overproduction and agricultural problems also added to the economic crash. As many Americans seemed to be optimistic that the economy would get better when the farmers were facing this economic depression, it just got worse. Credit card debt began to build up, sending the economy into a down spin.