Cultural Changes In The 1920s

When the term “The Roaring Twenties” is thrown out into conversation, glittering views of Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby fill the heads of many, and rightfully so. The 1920s were ultimately an iconic, defining era in American history. Before this period, many traditional, Victorian values were continuously instilled in the population for generations. Then, the way people dressed, spoke, and behaved took a drastic turn that can even be traced back to the enactment of Prohibition throughout the United States. Ironically, certain beliefs of race and ethnic superiority deeply flavored this period of forward looking and higher tolerance. That being said, because of these vast cultural changes, the 1920s were a glittering, yet somber, era defined

The time period was a great point for these young people. Young women adopted the flapper culture. Women, such as Lois Long, provided a real life embodiment of precisely what a flapper should be, and many young girls followed in the culture that was being broadcast to them. Female empowerment also began to take center stage as women presented their strength and radicalism to gain more respect and equality. It is important to note, however, that many women, especially those apart of the NAWSA never particularly like the liquor industry due to the fact that it never assisted their cause. While these two groups had a lot of success in the 1920s, it can be argued that those selling bootlegged alcohol had the best time in the 1920s. Those involved with the selling of illicit alcohol were making a ton of money and therefore wielded a lot of power throughout many cities in the country. Most often their operations were being covered by drugstores in which they would sell medicinal alcohol to the masses. This alcohol would not come cheap though, a pint of “medicinal whiskey” went for $40 to $60 in inflation-adjusted dollars. Despite the new atmosphere in the 1920s that was noted with newfound toleration, there were still many anti-immigration and anti-African American sentiments. It is true that anti-liquor crusaders and Victorian era social justice warriors had a bad time during the 1920s, but their shortcomings cannot nearly match those of African Americans or immigrants. The reawakening of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s attributed to harsh feelings to be sprinkled radically throughout the country. A lot of times, the black community was seen as a bunch of barbaric animals who all together were criminals. These feelings were deeply evident throughout the South. The participation of African Americans in the world of drink had a disproportionate likelihood of arrest and punishment.