Why Is Prohibition So Important In The 1920s

The 1920’s consisted of a lot of things. Such as the 18th amendment, 19th amendment, and self expression. The 18th amendment was the ban of alcohol, known as prohibition. The 19th amendment involved women’s suffrage. Where women did not have the right to vote, or do just about anything for that matter. The 1920’s was an interesting, yet powerful era to live through.

One major factor that took a part in the 1920’s was prohibition. Prohibition brought two major gangsters to the surface. One major gangster that played a part in the situation was Alphonse Gabriel. Who was and is still widely known as Al Capone. Al Capone gave Chicago the reputation of a “lawless city” because of the crimes he committed and got away with. Capone dropped

The 19th amendment had to do with women’s suffrage. On election day in 1920, millions of American women used their right to vote for the first time. The struggle for women to have the right to vote originally started in 1848. In 1848, the first women’s rights convention took place in Seneca Falls, New York. In the following 50 years after that, people that were part of the women’s suffrage worked to tell the public about the validity of women’s suffrage. In the 20th century, the suffrage movement passed 2 organizations. Those were “National American Woman Suffrage Association” and “National Women’s Party”.

The leader of the NAWSA was Carrie Chapman Catt. By the 1910’s, the membership numbered in the millions. The second group, NWP, was under the leadership of Alice Paul. The NWP was a more militant organization. They took more radical actions. Which included picketing the White House. That was one way they tried to convince Wilson to pass a women’s suffrage

Because of the combined effort from the 2 organizations, it worked out in their favor. But, not only did women’s suffrage and prohibition take place, there were also “behind the scenes” taking place as well. People could express theirself more freely with dancing, art, culture, and many other things. The 1920’s was also known as the “jazz age”. The Dancing Times reported that people "apparently cannot take a meal or watch a play through without breaking off for a round or two of dancing." Expressing oneself was a very important part to most participating in the 1920’s era. Most individuals enjoyed syncopated music with African American influences. The popular dances throughout the decade were the foxtrot, waltz, and American tango. Dancing gave women a way to break free from the “isolated” way of life. Women could dress more comfortable. However; to people in an older age group, young and rebellious women that would participate in their “free way of life”, were known as “flappers”. Women often wore corsets and other clothing that exposed their arms and legs. At that time, cosmetics, were not accepted into American society because of the association with prostitution that which later on became very