Urbanization In The 1920s

The Roaring Twenties was certainly a decade of excitement and buoyancy for some. People are driving in their Tin Lizzies, attending parties after parties, drinking although it is banned, singing and dancing, enjoying their lives in the city. But that was not the lifestyle of others. The new way of living created tension between modernists and traditionalists. Industrialization, Urbanization, and homogenization of American culture contributed to the change in lifestyle of the urbanites.

One of the changes that happened in the 1920s was Industrialization. Assembly line was invented and rocketed the production of cars and other products; radios were used more often; more factories began to open. Industrialization opened up more job opportunities

As cities advanced and developed economically due to Industrialization, more people moved out of suburban areas and rural areas to find a job in the cities. It was the first time in American history when cities had a larger population than that of country sides. People of different cultural backgrounds, ethnicity, and race lived in the cities, making people in the cities more accepting and liberal. In contrast, Americans living in the rural South, mostly white conservatives, remained biased toward people different from them. Conflict was manifested in racial issues. During the 1920s, a great amount of African Americans moved to big cities including New York City, and that is where the Harlem Renaissance happened. African Americans began to express themselves through art forms, music, literature, etc, and this is when they started to call themselves the “New Negroes.” The New Negroes reused to conform to Jim Crow laws and advocates for their dignity as African Americans. Langston Hughes wrote “‘Why should I want to be white? I am Negro--and beautiful,” inspiring other artists to create art that empowers their fellow African Americans(Document E). Southern conservatives did not accept the “racial harmony” in the cities, however. Hiram Wesley Evans wrote “The Klan’s Fight for Americanism” to respond to city’s becoming liberal. He wrote, “Our member and leaders are all of this class--the opposition of the intellectuals and liberals who held the leadership, betrayed Americanism, and from whom we expect to wrest control, is almost automatic,” expressing his strong opposition to people who are not of “the old pioneer stock”(Document