Social Norms In The 1920s

Throughout the 1920s, or the Roaring 20s, there were many cultural clashes that that stemmed from debates and disagreements over modern values. Politically, America turned away from the past progressive values and began a more conservative approach. Religiously, there was a strong clash between Fundamentalists and Modernists about how significant the bible should impact daily life. Most significantly, society turned away from the past Fundamentalist views. Thus, the ideas of Modernism and Fundamentalism clashed and brought disagreements. Firstly, America turned away from the past progressive values and looked to more conservative ones. This was exhibited by the Prohibition. Conservatives were in favor of this, while liberals mainly despised

There were many examples of new social norms introduced to American society in the 1920s. These included gender roles and racial views, both of which were opposed by Fundamentalists. Women known as flappers were socially liberated from the past restraints of staying within their social sphere. “Blithely, she smoked and drank illegal alcoholic beverages. Indeed, she sometimes drank enough that it visibly affected her behavior. She bobbed her hair, flattened her breasts, threw away her corsets and petticoats, and shortened her skirts” (The “New” Woman as a Symbol of Modern Ways). This is an accurate description of the emerging image of the new women of the time. Leaders of women wanting to expand respect and rights for women included Margaret Sanger, “she published birth control manual, gave public lectures on birth control, and opened family planning centers (The “New” Woman as a Symbol of Modern Ways). Fundamentalists were opposed to birth control. However, modernists saw it as a powerful new technology that would add to the rights and respectability of a woman. With this came dating, which made the acceptance of birth control important. Women had the role of contributing her company, while the man needed to do that and pay for all of the expenses. There were certain guidelines for how the business of dating was supposed to operate. However, Fundamentalists saw this

American blacks were discriminated against by the whites. However, the Harlem Renaissance led to new contributions by blacks that made their way into white society. “The Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and early 1930s was the first time that music, art and literature of African Americans was widely noticed and adopted by non-Black America” (The Harlem Renaissance). Jazz music became an icon of the Roaring 20s. Whites would go to dances where jazz music would be playing. While the blacks made this contribution, they didn’t get to participate in the Roaring 20s like the whites. They continued to live in poverty while the white’s prospered (The American Pageant). Marcus Garvey saw how terrible the lives of African Americans was and wanted to help them while he was part of the Universal Negro Improvement Association. The blacks contributed to white society, but the whites still didn’t want them around. In his letter to his fellow blacks, Garvery discusses this ongoing issue and that it needed to be addressed. “...The Negro peoples of the western world were not interested in Africa and could not live in Africa” (Garvey). The Anglos wanted the blacks to stop interrupting white lifestyle. Langston Hughes wrote a poem to convey the meaning that just because he wasn’t white doesn’t mean he wasn’t American. “I too, sing America. I am the darker brother. They send me