Cited: Wheeler, William, and Susan Becker. Discovering The American Past. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2002.…
In Lynn Dumenil's account of the era commonly referred to as the "roaring twenties" in The Modern Temper: American Culture and Society in the 1920s there is an intentional emphasis placed on the effort to dispel the popular notion that the new, revolutionary transformations in culture and society that took place at this time in history were direct results of the First World War. In the stead of this less insightful means of analyzing the 1920's in America by assuming that the post war era was a direct creation and consequence from the war, the author offers the suggestion that the seeds of the twenties were planted much earlier during the industrial revolution and through the effects of a culture rapidly industrializing in a capitalist society. The war period simply served to expedite the process by contributing to the economic boom that created the prosperity of the twenties, sparking the migration of the rural population of African Americans and whites into urban areas, and by increasing opportunities for women in the work force.…
With the arrival of the 1920’s, new battles fought between traditionalist rural society and modernist urban civilization arose in the postwar United States. These urban-rural culture wars of this time period represent the everlasting conflict between conservatives and liberals. The 1920 census demonstrated to traditionalists that their views were under attack by the modernists who gradually came to outnumber them. Traditionalists were disturbed that they were losing a battle against immigrants who didn’t understand or appreciate “old American values” and against their own children, a new generation of rebellious youth who brought about sexual revolution, materialism, and skepticism.…
Findling, John E., and Frank W. Thackeray. Events That Changed America in the Nineteenth Century. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1997. Print.…
"New York City has a global reputation as a dynamic, wealthy, and prosperous magnet for immigrants for several centuries. Horatio Alger’s Ragged Dick exhibits a 19th century metropolis where street children—uncared for by the general public and without a safety net—struggled mightily to earn enough money for food and temporary lodging with the help of the right attributes of the possibility to achieve a modicum of success (Gerling)." It is evident that New York is an ideal center of freedom, rapid urban expansion, natural harbor and multi-cultural society. Ragged Dick further solidifies the above argument by showing that New York is a suitable playground to the visionary and ambitious irrespective of socioeconomic and racial backgrounds. In Ragged Dick, New York is as an origin of virtuous and dedicated role models who in turn provide the motivation to inculcate others in their pathways. Ragged Dick also illustrates the freedom to work, the freedom to acquire property, the freedom to study, and freedoms of all sorts were explicitly respected in New York back in the 1800’s. Ragged Dick also proves the prevalence of the principle of egalitarianism in New York, where one’s background has no effect on his or her fortune. The history of Ragged dick serves as a mirror image to the famous writer’s Caleb Carr’s belief that, “What happens in New York happens to the rest of the country....If the American society is going to succeed, it is going to find the way to do what New York has always done which is to take incredibly diverse human elements, put them together and find a way for them to tolerate each other.... (Burns)"…
iwcutieth centuries, the image of American society as an extension ofEngiiuthors wish to acknowledge the support provided to the second author by the Vilas…
Written in 1925, F. Scott Fitzgerald 's, The Great Gatsby ' is often referred to as The Great American Novel ' and as the quintessential work, which captures the mood of the Jazz Age '. In this paper I will examine how class is an articulation of insecurities felt by the American people in the years following the First World War. I will also be writing about the idea of the American dream and corruption of this dream by avarice. The roaring twenties ' is the collective name for these significant years, which would ultimately culminate in The Great Depression (the great depression refers to the collapse of the American economy in 1929. It was an event whose reverberations were felt the world over.) America, which had just returned from the war, was quite shaken up by what it had witnessed on the war front. Therefore on returning home, people gave themselves up to a culture of decadence and revelry to compensate for the hardships undergone. They could well afford to do so. Unlike its allies, America had entered the First World War towards the end and did not suffer much economic loss. Americans had also sold costly war supplies to its allies. The European economy was in shambles and in the wake of the disruption of its industries; America became the leading exporter of goods. The dizzying rise of the stock market, government policies, low taxes, Prohibition and easy credit led to a consumer culture. Public demand increased for things like cars, electrical products, and domestic goods. This lead to the setting up of industries on a massive scale, which in turn created more jobs and opportunities. Clearly the 1920s was a time of unprecedented economic prosperity for the U.S.…
In John Kasson’s 1978 novel “Amusing the Million”, he presents Coney Island as a revolutionary tool used as an escape from the post-World War One industrialized society. He demonstrates how the genteel culture strived to keep society in control and in order, but was overtaken by the likes Coney Island and other culture shocks. In my opinion, Coney Island was much more than just an amusement park or just an escape for pleasure. It was a symbol for a new cultural order. This paved the way for centuries to come. This is shown by how Coney Island reflected this emerging industrial society, in the differences and similarities in social structure, and how Coney Island represented an escape for all citizens.…
The cultural positions between America and the rest of the Western nations have completely switched. Rather than being in a position where America could become overrun by other Western cultures, the other Western cultures are in a position where they must fear being overrun by American culture. Coming from a period of incredible vulnerability after its emergence into a postcolonial state, authors like Sedgwick that promoted the idea for a truly independent and distinct American culture, and led the way for America to come into the cultural dominance that it enjoys…
In the first chapters of “Amusing the Million” by John F. Kasson, he discusses how American culture was before Coney Island and how it changed once Coney was developed. The culture before the idea of amusement parks, some would say is very strict. American apostles of culture believed that every action has to have a purpose. Kasson describes it as, “all activities both in work and in leisure should be ultimately constructive. Hard work improved the individual as well as society...Leisure,too, should be spent not on idleness but in edifying activities”( Kasson 4). This means that this…
It was a business that could bring in anyone and come together in enjoyment and leisure, he also “measured the cost not only in the most obvious “social failures”: the swelling ranks of criminals and prostitutes, of the alcoholic, insane, diseased, and the poor” (14). Being able to relax and escape from routine life is great to anyone, and transforming from a strict Victorian order to being able to express oneself more clearly because they are able to escape somewhere such as Coney Island and stimulate their mind other than school and…
Many consider The 1893 Chicago’s World Fair as a day that paved the way out of traditional life into modernization. It was considered one of the first cases in history where communication technologies, marketing strategies, and urban planning all interplayed at once. The Ashcan School marked the beginning of when artists began looking past any social constraints in a stylistic manner. They were encouraged to do this by getting out of their comfort zone and venturing into urban areas in order to capture the diversity in neighborhoods that exist.…
Puritan mentality as well as pillars and determinants of the American society must be defined at the beginning. The topic of this thesis reflects social and cultural issues and changes in the U.S. during the 1920s and 1930s, including organized crime. It concerns American identity and cultural changes, however not in general. It focuses on one of U.S. cities: Atlantic City, which has been a focal point in mass culture, new cultural trends which determined the archetype of leisure. The new trend in culture was very different from previous culture. Identity and morality of American people were shaped under various circumstances.…
Most people take for granted the fact that Americans live in a world of comfort and leisure. They don’t stop to consider that a hundred years ago, many of the modern conveniences that we enjoy now weren’t even around. Television, for instance, has consumed a vast amount of time in the every day American life. The average person watches around four hours of TV every day.…
At the end of the nineteenth century, there were more working class people than ever before in America. As the demand for more industrialized products became greater, the need for workers also increased. While the upper class had various forms of entertainment, the middle and lower classes were not able to enjoy the same luxury. “For many middle-class writers, Coney represented a loss of deference to older genteel standards, a vulgar and disorderly pursuit of sensation rather than the cultivation of sensibility they stood for.” (Kasson, 108). People in the middle class wanted a form of entertainment that was not so rigid and uptight, but was also a good balance between fun and affordable. Because of strict work schedules during the week, people had a desire to break free on the weekends. More people began taking weekend trips out of town and cutting loose after the workweek. Coney Island served as the perfect gateway to this world of carefree excitement. “By the turn of the century commercial entertainments were sweeping the urban middle class and even penetrating the lives of working class . . . A wide range of attractions was increasingly available,…