The Role Of Modernity In The 1920's
In America’s 1920’s there was a huge clash of beliefs and opinions. A new modern outlook had appeared and many peopled followed it. There were many conflicts between these new viewpoints like the famed, Scopes “Monkey” Trial and the 18th Amendment which prohibited the manufacture, sale, transport, import, or export of alcoholic beverages. The 1920’s was a decade of reform in almost every aspect of society; life was modernizing. Americans experienced a differentiating of opinions throughout the decade of the 1920's traditionally such as the Ku Klux Klan; however, modernity was more successful in its appeal to Americans in the 1920's and ultimately changed American values because of new technologies like washing machines and flashy, showy actions like jazz that lured
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people into the modernist culture.
Modernists were also able to appeal to the public because of flashy, showy actions that caught the eyes of both children and adults. Jazz was one of those flashy and showy actions. Jazz was born in the early 20th Century in New Orleans, where musicians blended instrumental ragtime and vocal blues into an exuberant new sound. Jazz was brought to the north by Joe Oliver and his Creole Jazz Band through the great migration. Later, the famous Louis Armstrong would join them. Louis Armstrong was known for his trumpet playing skills, but was most famous for his astounding sense of rhythm and his incredible ability to improvise. Louis made personal expression a key part of jazz. Another famous jazz musician was Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington. He was a jazz pianist and one of the greatest composers of the 20th century. Jazz quickly spread to such cities as Kansas city, Memphis, and New York City and it became the most popular music around. Furthermore, new dances such as the wild Charleston lured the public in. The Charleston was a fast-paced, energetic dance that had fast jazz music along with it; it usually involved the crazy, random swinging of arms and limbs. During the 1920’s, many nightclubs blared with the sound of jazz and other music, which learned people of all races into the dance clubs there, including the famed Cotton Club. Dancing was a major part of peoples entertainment and an important part of every party. Schools taught dancing to small children, while churches used dances to attract young people. Tangos, Foxtrots, Camel Walks, even Square dances, which were heavily promoted by Henry Ford, were popular. These fine arts were able to spark the eye of many people and urge them into modernists. More catchy act included the speakeasies. Speakeasies were underground secret bars created after the 18th amendment was made that prohibited the distribution of alcohol.
When many people still wanted a drink, they quietly rebelled and created saloons where people were able to go only if they had a passcode. These speakeasies were a modernist idea because they broke the law and sold alcohol. Where traditionalists thought that alcohol ruined the minds of many, modernists believed that alcohol was necessary in life. People also silently bootlegged; this meant that they would often carry alcoholic products in pouches on their legs but cover them up with larger jackets or just that they sold alcohol illegally. On of the less silent bootleggers was the criminal, Al Capone. By age 26, Al Capone managed a whole criminal empire in Chicago, which he controlled through the use of bribes and violence. From 1925 to 1931, Capone bootlegged whiskey from Canada, operated illegal breweries in Chicago, and ran a network of ten thousand speakeasies. In 1927, Al Capone was worth an estimated one hundred million dollars. Finally, flamboyant feats and stunts such as flagpole sitting ensnared many people with the net of modernism. Flagpole sitting was a publicity stunt to attract viewers to movie theaters. The most
famous flagpole sitter was “Shipwreck” Kelly. In 1929, “Shipwreck” Kelly climbed up and sat on many various flagpoles in the country for a total of 145 days in a row. This was an act of modernization not only because of the wild feats she did that would never have been accepted in a traditionalist culture, but also because of what she was advertising. Because of the new amount of technology, better “movies” along with other media like radio had been made and modernized. These amazing actions would never have been accepted in a traditionalist culture. However, with the modernist society of the 1920's, these people were not shamed, they were role-models! This shows that the modern society, however different it may look and sound, was able to overpower the traditional thoughts and take over the 20s life.
One of the main reasons that modern ideas became more dominant was because of the new technologies like inventions and electricity that changed women drastically. For example, the washing machine that all of us even use today. When Alva J. Fisher first opened the Hurley Machine Company in 1908, he created one of the first ever washing machines. At first this machine was not popular and was too expensive to buy, but as installment plans were made, everybody, even the lower classes could afford them. These washing machines gave the women of the household some extra free time to spend outside while the machine worked for them. This would lead to the rebellious and assertive flappers, who would embrace new fashions such as close fitting hats, bright waistless dresses an inch above the knees, skin toned silk stockings, and sleek pumps, fashions styles that would have been shamed and disgraced in the past decades. Also, the invention of the electric sewing machines helped speed up to process of cloth-making, thus making the lives of housewives easier, freeing them for other community and leisure activities and coinciding with a growing trend of women enjoying life outside the home. This caused the women to feel more power and freedom. Women started acting more freely and even started trying to get equal status with men. According to the textbook, The Americans: Reconstruction to the 21st Century, “... some began smoking cigarettes, drinking in public, and talking openly about sex--actions that would have ruined their reputations not many years before. They danced the foxtrot, camel walk, tango, Charleston, and shimmy with abandon” (Danzer, 441). With many inventions like the washing machine which cleaned the clothes for the women and the sewing machine which sped up the process of cloth-making, women were able to spend time outdoors, changing their actions and thoughts into the flapper. Additionally, the new increase of inventions and technology led to a large amount of available jobs outside the household. Also, many larger businesses started to require extensive correspondence and record keeping, creating a great demand for clerical workers such as typists, filing clerks, secretaries, stenographers, and office-machine operators. Others even started taking up more masculine jobs such as flying airplanes, driving taxis, and drilling oil wells! By 1930, nearly ten million women had jobs and earned wages; however, most did not earn as much as men did. On page 442 of the textbook, The Americans: Reconstruction to the 21st Century, the graph showed that women in clerical jobs rose from 7.3% to 18.5% in twenty years while agricultural jobs declined from 22.4% to 8.5%. Lastly, new social and technological innovations simplified household labor and family life. Clinics filled with the sick and the elderly and workers’ compensation assisted those who could no longer work. Stores overflowed with already made clothes, canned foods, and sliced bread. These innovations and institutions had the effect of freeing housewives from their traditional family responsibilities and they started focusing their attention of their homes, husbands, children, outdoor activities, and pastimes. This increased the social life of American women and led them to learn more defiant habits like drinking and smuggling alcohol. The increase in women in jobs led to the increase in products already-made giving women plenty of time to get out of the house and focus their attention on family and activities instead on their own responsibilities. This shows that while the technology increases, women will grow more independent and self-confident; the newer innovations will change the women into a different kind of person, the flapper.
The modernist of the 1920's were able to appeal to the Americans than the traditionalists through new technologies and flashy, showy actions. The United States during the 1920's was in a battle between two different belief, one modern, one traditional. However, through many technological improvements, the women changed completely, and through eye-catching actions, our whole community changed, thus leading us on to a modernizing America.
people into the modernist culture.
Modernists were also able to appeal to the public because of flashy, showy actions that caught the eyes of both children and adults. Jazz was one of those flashy and showy actions. Jazz was born in the early 20th Century in New Orleans, where musicians blended instrumental ragtime and vocal blues into an exuberant new sound. Jazz was brought to the north by Joe Oliver and his Creole Jazz Band through the great migration. Later, the famous Louis Armstrong would join them. Louis Armstrong was known for his trumpet playing skills, but was most famous for his astounding sense of rhythm and his incredible ability to improvise. Louis made personal expression a key part of jazz. Another famous jazz musician was Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington. He was a jazz pianist and one of the greatest composers of the 20th century. Jazz quickly spread to such cities as Kansas city, Memphis, and New York City and it became the most popular music around. Furthermore, new dances such as the wild Charleston lured the public in. The Charleston was a fast-paced, energetic dance that had fast jazz music along with it; it usually involved the crazy, random swinging of arms and limbs. During the 1920’s, many nightclubs blared with the sound of jazz and other music, which learned people of all races into the dance clubs there, including the famed Cotton Club. Dancing was a major part of peoples entertainment and an important part of every party. Schools taught dancing to small children, while churches used dances to attract young people. Tangos, Foxtrots, Camel Walks, even Square dances, which were heavily promoted by Henry Ford, were popular. These fine arts were able to spark the eye of many people and urge them into modernists. More catchy act included the speakeasies. Speakeasies were underground secret bars created after the 18th amendment was made that prohibited the distribution of alcohol.
When many people still wanted a drink, they quietly rebelled and created saloons where people were able to go only if they had a passcode. These speakeasies were a modernist idea because they broke the law and sold alcohol. Where traditionalists thought that alcohol ruined the minds of many, modernists believed that alcohol was necessary in life. People also silently bootlegged; this meant that they would often carry alcoholic products in pouches on their legs but cover them up with larger jackets or just that they sold alcohol illegally. On of the less silent bootleggers was the criminal, Al Capone. By age 26, Al Capone managed a whole criminal empire in Chicago, which he controlled through the use of bribes and violence. From 1925 to 1931, Capone bootlegged whiskey from Canada, operated illegal breweries in Chicago, and ran a network of ten thousand speakeasies. In 1927, Al Capone was worth an estimated one hundred million dollars. Finally, flamboyant feats and stunts such as flagpole sitting ensnared many people with the net of modernism. Flagpole sitting was a publicity stunt to attract viewers to movie theaters. The most
famous flagpole sitter was “Shipwreck” Kelly. In 1929, “Shipwreck” Kelly climbed up and sat on many various flagpoles in the country for a total of 145 days in a row. This was an act of modernization not only because of the wild feats she did that would never have been accepted in a traditionalist culture, but also because of what she was advertising. Because of the new amount of technology, better “movies” along with other media like radio had been made and modernized. These amazing actions would never have been accepted in a traditionalist culture. However, with the modernist society of the 1920's, these people were not shamed, they were role-models! This shows that the modern society, however different it may look and sound, was able to overpower the traditional thoughts and take over the 20s life.
One of the main reasons that modern ideas became more dominant was because of the new technologies like inventions and electricity that changed women drastically. For example, the washing machine that all of us even use today. When Alva J. Fisher first opened the Hurley Machine Company in 1908, he created one of the first ever washing machines. At first this machine was not popular and was too expensive to buy, but as installment plans were made, everybody, even the lower classes could afford them. These washing machines gave the women of the household some extra free time to spend outside while the machine worked for them. This would lead to the rebellious and assertive flappers, who would embrace new fashions such as close fitting hats, bright waistless dresses an inch above the knees, skin toned silk stockings, and sleek pumps, fashions styles that would have been shamed and disgraced in the past decades. Also, the invention of the electric sewing machines helped speed up to process of cloth-making, thus making the lives of housewives easier, freeing them for other community and leisure activities and coinciding with a growing trend of women enjoying life outside the home. This caused the women to feel more power and freedom. Women started acting more freely and even started trying to get equal status with men. According to the textbook, The Americans: Reconstruction to the 21st Century, “... some began smoking cigarettes, drinking in public, and talking openly about sex--actions that would have ruined their reputations not many years before. They danced the foxtrot, camel walk, tango, Charleston, and shimmy with abandon” (Danzer, 441). With many inventions like the washing machine which cleaned the clothes for the women and the sewing machine which sped up the process of cloth-making, women were able to spend time outdoors, changing their actions and thoughts into the flapper. Additionally, the new increase of inventions and technology led to a large amount of available jobs outside the household. Also, many larger businesses started to require extensive correspondence and record keeping, creating a great demand for clerical workers such as typists, filing clerks, secretaries, stenographers, and office-machine operators. Others even started taking up more masculine jobs such as flying airplanes, driving taxis, and drilling oil wells! By 1930, nearly ten million women had jobs and earned wages; however, most did not earn as much as men did. On page 442 of the textbook, The Americans: Reconstruction to the 21st Century, the graph showed that women in clerical jobs rose from 7.3% to 18.5% in twenty years while agricultural jobs declined from 22.4% to 8.5%. Lastly, new social and technological innovations simplified household labor and family life. Clinics filled with the sick and the elderly and workers’ compensation assisted those who could no longer work. Stores overflowed with already made clothes, canned foods, and sliced bread. These innovations and institutions had the effect of freeing housewives from their traditional family responsibilities and they started focusing their attention of their homes, husbands, children, outdoor activities, and pastimes. This increased the social life of American women and led them to learn more defiant habits like drinking and smuggling alcohol. The increase in women in jobs led to the increase in products already-made giving women plenty of time to get out of the house and focus their attention on family and activities instead on their own responsibilities. This shows that while the technology increases, women will grow more independent and self-confident; the newer innovations will change the women into a different kind of person, the flapper.
The modernist of the 1920's were able to appeal to the Americans than the traditionalists through new technologies and flashy, showy actions. The United States during the 1920's was in a battle between two different belief, one modern, one traditional. However, through many technological improvements, the women changed completely, and through eye-catching actions, our whole community changed, thus leading us on to a modernizing America.