Compare And Contrast World War 1 And The 1920s

Unit 9 DBQ The United States, for most of its history, was an egalitarian nation composed of mainly rural and mostly self-sufficient people. A place with limited views on roles of women and less-than-positive views on immigrants and minorities. This could be seen through the Chinese exclusion act, and a variety of set immigration quotas throughout the 19th century targeting immigrants, or through the strongly segregated and very racist south. However, both World War 1 and the 1920s brought about changes in both the American way of life, and American society as a whole. The 1920s were a time of change in the United States, change demarcated by the rise of consumerism and progressive feelings about minority groups; however, certain aspects

during this time period, one that was both cultural and economic, was the rise of consumerism. With wages rising due to positive economic trends of the era, and the all-new availability to finance everyday items, the consumer goods markets exploded. The introduction of new innovations, and new forms of mass media to sell these innovations, created a world where everyone without the latest items were left by the wayside. As seen in document D, from 1921 - 1929 consumer spending for recreation almost tripled, from 1.1 billion dollars to 3.2 billion dollars. However, all this rampant spending came at a cost. During the same time period consumer debt increased from 3 billion dollars to almost 7 billion dollars, as going into debt became socially acceptable many people did to fund their new consumerist lifestyle. Sinclair Lewis remarked on their alarm clock in Babbit, “Babbitt was proud of being awakened by such a rich device. Socially it was almost as credible as buying expensive cord tires”. New and improved things defined the era, as even John Dewey said, “The movie, radio, cheap reading and motor car with all they stand for have come here to stay”. This rise of consumerism was a sharp change from what Americans had known previously, gone was the time where Americans created what they needed for themselves and bought little, and this new consumerism greatly affected American society as a

Americans had been very against immigration for a while, as can be seen in the short reign of the know-nothing party, the variety of race riots against asian immigrants on the west coast, the rampant anti-semitism, and the smoldering of anti-immigration laws. And unfortunately, the 1920’s, and certainly World War One, made these feelings worse. The Bolshivik revolution abroad brought about the first red scare, and many eastern europeans were immediately feared of being communist. Additionally, fighting a war against the Germans brought about a very strong anti-German sentiment to the country (to add to all the other ethnicities the Americans didn’t like). As can be seen in the cartoon from the Chicago Tribune, many Americans wanted to kick out the “time bomb” undesirables and slam the door on them with immigration restrictions. This idea was especially prevalent after anarchist immigrants Sacco and Vanzetti were sentenced to death for their actions. And as Thorstein Veblen put it in the “Dementia Praecox”, The U.S. had “a system of passports, deportations, and restricted immigration”. And unfortunately, the very strong anti-immigration sentiment within the American public would not be weakened until half a century down the line. Showing that despite many changes that the country underwent in the 1920’s a change to its stance on