Consequences of Wwi on Us Society

Consequences of WWI on USA Society

The 1920s is often called the decade of extremes or the Roaring Twenties. The economy was booming, which made mass-produced goods available to people in lots of ways that they weren’t before. WWI made USA the richest country in the world. The 1920s was the age of cars, radio, cinemas and high living standards, which brought major changes to the American way of life. Women had gained the right to vote and were starting to rebel against the social norms of their original gender role stereotypes. However, African Americans were still being heavily discriminated against and the rise of the Ku Klux Klan. Prohibition was also introduced as the Eighteenth amendment to the constitution. The 1920s was a decade of change in many perspectives and due to the consequences of World War One (WWI).

WWI made USA the richest country in the world. The US economy grew rapidly in the early 1920s, after having sold lots of military goods to different countries during the War and giving loans to the same countries that were in need. During the 1920s, in 1926 the US government announced that the standard of living was so high, that they were officially the richest people in the world. For this reason the decade was called the Roaring Twenties. The boom was also said to have been due to ‘new’ industries, such as cars, chemicals, electricity, car and electrical products. Cars were definitely the industry leading the way. Due to the cars being mass-produced so cheaply, most Americans could afford them. The increase in the number of cars also required a new demand for industries such as steel, glass and rubber, so all of these industries also boomed. This is one reason why the US economy boomed during the 1920s.

After WWI living standards increased for most citizens of the USA, especially for women. The stereotypical female gender roles were changing and the war had brought two of these changes – women had been given the vote in 1920 and women had been working in wartime factories. Lots of social restrictions that women had to face before the war were lifted. Fashion changed, women no longer had to wear clothes that hid their bodies, they could wear knee-length light dresses, which gave them greater freedom of movement as well as being daring. Women were no longer expected to have long hair and instead short hair become a sign of liberation. Make-up industries also boomed during the period and women were allowed to drive cars. Henry Ford supposedly banned his ‘black only’ policy because women preferred coloured cars. Women were also smoking in public and attending movies at cinemas. All of this before the war would have been frowned upon. Women’s gender roles changed dramatically during the 1920s.

The Roaring Twenties was not so roaring for everyone, especially the African Americans. The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) was a group of all white Anglo-Saxon men and women who were anti-communist, anti-Jew, anti-Catholic, anti-foreigners and most importantly anti-‘negro’. In the south the KKK focused especially on African Americans, seeking them out and terrorising them into submission. Some powerful men in government were KKK members; the Governor of Alabama and a Senator from Texas were both members. Many states passed laws of segregation of African American schools, parks, swimming pools, libraries and most public places. These were called Jim Crow. There was lots of African Americans who were wrongly accused of murder and other crimes and they would often be lynched by large groups of white people. Slavery had ended after the American Civil War but whites, especially the KKK members, were still discriminating against African Americans.

Prohibition was introduced to the USA during the 1920s, as the eighteenth amendment. Prohibition is to ban something from society; in this case it was the selling and transporting of alcohol. During the 1920s there was lots of revolutionary social changes, people were being influenced by what they saw in movies and what they heard on the radio. Prohibition encouraged wild parties where alcohol could be consumed. The fact that prohibition was a law made it all more exciting to drink. Prohibition also encouraged a new subculture, bootleggers. Bootleggers would smuggle alcohol across state lines and into cities. A lot of big business men got involved in the illegal transport of alcohol. Joseph Kennedy, the father of the future president John F. Kennedy, was involved and made a large sum of money of the illegal trade. Bootleggers would organise themselves into gangs so it was easier to transport themselves. These gangs would become extremely rich and powerful. The 1920s in the USA was often referred to as the Roaring Twenties, due to the social, political and economic changes. Women were gaining more independence, being allowed to vote and drive, mass-production meant more consumer goods were available for practically anyone, if you were white, African Americans were still being discriminated against, due to the re-birth of the Ku Klux Klan and prohibition was introduced which brought on a whole new sub-culture. The 1920s was a decade of change and prosperity due to the war making USA a super power.