Flappers In The 1920s Research Paper

Life in the 1920s was a time of great change in North America. This great change became known as the Roaring Twenties. For almost one hundred years this time period has become a staple for modern day life. From this time emerged women called Flappers, the new age of Jazz, and the Prohibition. This trio created a revolutionary decade that developed new standards of manners in morals in the life we live today. The Roaring Twenties created many new types of people. Perhaps the most famous kind of person was the Flapper Woman. Flappers were an up-and-coming breed of women who were, “Northern, urban, young, middle-class women” (Flappers). This sounds typical of women during this time, but there is more than meets the eye. Flappers were no strangers

Part of the new style was the use of makeup. Wearing makeup before the 1920s was almost unheard of because the specific tools needed to apply makeup had not been invented yet. This made applying makeup very difficult to do, so many did not even bother with it. The movie scene was largely responsible for the uprising in makeup-wearing women. 1920s women wanted to look like the movie stars they grew to love. Popular women during this time were Joan Crawford, Mae Murray, and Clara Bow. Perhaps the most timeless woman of the time was Coco Chanel (Alchin). The style these movie stars expressed inspired the Flapper movement during the 1920s (Spivack). The momentum that the Flapper age brought was taking America by storm. No one in America had ever seen such a revolutionary change. The Flapper will forever be remembered as the women who changed the way women were

“The Revolution was accelerated also by the growing independence of the American woman” (Allen). Some say that this decade was the first major step towards gender equality. Jones states that, “Before the 1920s, the crinolines women wore visually and physically reinforced a political order that denied most women the right to hold property, vote, file for divorce, or sit as juror in criminal and civil courts (Jones). The life in the United States remained stagnant in the years prior to the 1920’s. Not much had changed and life was simply ordinary, “Then the 1920s hit and things changed rapidly. The 19th Amendment passed in 1920 giving women the right to vote. Women began attending college. The Equal Rights Amendment was proposed by Alice Paul in 1923” (Spivack). The battle for gender equality was at the highest peak that it has ever been. After a seventy-two year battle, woman had gained the right to become voters in the United States of America in 1920 (Roaring Twenties). This great success was largely credited to the brave women’s suffrage leaders who rose above adversity despite the popular opinion. This has become one of the most fought for amendments ever to become in American History. “The 19th Amendment was passed by Congress on June 4th, 1919 and was ratified on August 18, 1920 and the Women’s Suffrage Clause gave the right of women to vote: (Alchin). Famous female political figure during the time named