African American Culture In The 1920's

The tensions seen between the Americans holding traditional values and those adapting to the new ideas and new lifestyle of the 1920s were largely produced by the changing face of America, by the changing morality, and by cultural shifts within the country. Americans began to oppose the immigrants in the country, despite the fact that they had been steadily flowing into the U.S. since before the 20th century. Old guard citizens also clashed with the new morals and beliefs of the new generation. Another major shock for traditional Americans was the emergence of a new kind of popular genre, one heavily rooted in African American culture.
Following WWI a sort of eye-opening was had in America. Citizens were suddenly shocked by the ethnically

There was a definite strain between traditional Americans and more contemporary people. Points of tension revolved especially around matters of religion. With the widespread teaching of evolution in schools came vehement opposition from Fundamentalists, arguing that the teachings of Darwinism in school were destroying faith in God. Many southern states passed laws that prohibited teaching evolution in schools, ultimately leading to the “Monkey Trial”, although the trial proved to be a loss for both sides due to the ridicule revolving around the case. Similarly, the invention of the automobile created a new kind of moral question for people. Condemning cars for the privacy they offered young people, elders viewed these machines as yet another opportunity for their children to be side-swept away from their values. To extend the controversy caused by the revolutionary automobile, many were in disbelief of the liberties women were taking with them, with some ladies even daring to drive these cars themselves. Old fashioned Americans were in shock of the role women were beginning to take in society, as more and more women adapted the flapper mentality of the ‘20s that claimed, “If men can do it, so can we”. Flappers drank like men, smoked like men, and drove like them, all the while adorned by the short hemlines and hair popularized in the decade. The largest trademark of the flappers was not their dress, however, but their dance. Jazz music swept the country as the upbeat tune that blared in clubs for the swaying flappers. Jazz, carried to the north during the Great Migration, was a type of music that originated in slave culture. The fact of origin of jazz, added to the types of people that enjoyed it, was a shell shock for old-fashioned