The 1920's Represented Social, Economic, and Cultural Discord among the Citizens of America

The early twentieth century “The Roaring Twenties” was a complete rebirth in cultural novelty for the people of America. Various minorities in the United States of America were able to achieve extreme success. The strides Women and African-Americans made during the early 1900’s were drastic, and still live on to this day. The Harlem Renaissance presented Blacks with their first of many opportunities to contribute to modern-day society. As Langston Hughes states in his essay “When Blacks were in Vogue” Blacks were looked at as “animals in a zoo” they were able to take that first step to greatness. Women on the other hand made one of the greatest achievements a group during that time could possible obtain. The nineteenth amendment (the right to vote) that women had been fighting for, for the last three decades had finally come to fruition. This major surge in cultural alteration did not come without its own drawbacks. Tensions rose between radicals and trade unions and even within the doors of the White House! Before the death of Warren G. Harding, this change within the American borders had lured some of Hardin’s cabinet into corruption. The 1920’s represented social, economic, and cultural discord among Americans via the red scare, wide-spread immigration debate, how religion should be taught, and mass consumerism.



The years following WW1, the nation was geared and ready for the next world war. During the 1920’s the prequel to WW2, the red scare embraced America with full force. It all started with a bomb outside of the Attorney general Palmer’s abode. This massive disruption was blamed on the communists trying to invade American borders. Trying to stop another world war, the government took extreme offense in trying to eliminate the foreign threat. Most of the laws passed by the government of the United States violated the First Amendment outright. This action in turn completely devastated the cultural changes the American people had worked so hard to enact. Most of the changes brought forth by the American people during the 20’s, the American government set out to erase. With every one decent contribution made to American society there is always going to be someone who does not want change, and that’s just what the red scare represented.



The American Dream had brought people to America every since the days of Tammany Hall and the 1920’s was no different. The rush in immigrants did not sit well with the bulk of America. Although immigrants brought grand contributions to American society, many natives decided to stop the threat once and for all. Some believed they were just taking their jobs, while others thought it was just another reincarnation of the communist threat. The contributions the 20’s had made to society were again squashed by extreme nativist sentiment. Literacy Tests and Immigration Acts were just some of the attempts by the federal government to continue its white-wash of America. The citizens of America were not willing to stand by and watch as the corporate swindlers did their dirty work. The American people formed groups such as the KKK and “The Hundred Percenters” to make the government’s job rather easy. The White House seemed to stand idle on both fronts, as the 1920’s dissension influenced their better judgment.



“Man evolve from monkeys, say it isn’t so?” was the phrase on the tip of every lip as teachers across America began to teach science where religious values once inhabited and vice versa. Although citizens during the 20’s could fathom the drastic change in artistic style and Black genius, they could not see this come to execution. This case was so controversial that it reached the Supreme Court in “the Scopes Monkey Trial”. Even though there are countless amounts of scientific proof, to this day this topic is still controversial.



The economic influence by the 1920’s came in full force, as the depression reared its ugly head. The unequal distribution of wealth, underconsumption, and various other consumer actions had not yet come as American citizens flooded the markets with their wallets in tow. The automobile and radio were some of the items spurred by America’s dramatic fluctuation in creativity. This spending spree however was not without its ramifications. Debt had engulfed the once great country and would soon become what people really remembered about the “Roaring Twenties”.



The 1920’s represented social, economic, and cultural discord as a result of many joint actions by the government and its people. Today’s current society is destined to be what the 1920’s had made of itself. Not only because history repeats itself, but because this technological renaissance will spark ideas and cast aside other ones, thus creating its own cultural turmoil. Many of the things American’s relied on, religion, consumer protection, and the right to be American was being stripped away during the 1920’s. The 20’s might have been America’s final breath of air as it plummeted head-first into the behemoth that was the Great Depression.