Was Gangsterism the Most Important Problem in 1920s America? Essay Example
Was Gangsterism the Most Important Problem In America in the 1920s?
The Roaring Twenties was a dramatic time of change for America. Many industries grew largely such as entertainment, as well as radical changes taking place for instance, the new rights and cultural expectation changes for women. However, this period also brought its fair share of problems, one of which was gangsterism. This essay will explore various possible viewpoints of different aspects of American society that were considered to be problems like, prohibition, intolerance and racism, women’s behaviour and of course, gangsterism. This will then lead to a conclusion on whether gangsterism was the most important problem overall.
Some people could argue that gangsterism was by far not the most important problem in the 1920s as there were numerous other problems which affected America; one of which was intolerance. Intolerance was already present in America but as many more immigrants from Germany, Britain, Poland, Russia, Italy, etc., came to America, its attitude towards them turned sour. Immigrants were faced with contempt and discrimination from Americans. They met many prejudices including that immigrants were from poor backgrounds and were unskilled, that they did not bother to even learn the language and added to the crime. From the perspective of American’s, immigration was an unwanted burden and due to this, immigrants who had only wished to settle in the “land of hope and dreams” were met with intolerance and discrimination.
Another group which faced much intolerance and discrimination were black Americans. The reformation of Christian cults such as the Ku Klux Klan after the war came back stronger and posed a huge threat to any blacks. Blacks were beaten savagely by the likes of the KKK and American’s acted as if they were far superior. The Southern states were slightly more racist than Northern ones, nonetheless, blacks were always expected to stay segregated and except the
The Roaring Twenties was a dramatic time of change for America. Many industries grew largely such as entertainment, as well as radical changes taking place for instance, the new rights and cultural expectation changes for women. However, this period also brought its fair share of problems, one of which was gangsterism. This essay will explore various possible viewpoints of different aspects of American society that were considered to be problems like, prohibition, intolerance and racism, women’s behaviour and of course, gangsterism. This will then lead to a conclusion on whether gangsterism was the most important problem overall.
Some people could argue that gangsterism was by far not the most important problem in the 1920s as there were numerous other problems which affected America; one of which was intolerance. Intolerance was already present in America but as many more immigrants from Germany, Britain, Poland, Russia, Italy, etc., came to America, its attitude towards them turned sour. Immigrants were faced with contempt and discrimination from Americans. They met many prejudices including that immigrants were from poor backgrounds and were unskilled, that they did not bother to even learn the language and added to the crime. From the perspective of American’s, immigration was an unwanted burden and due to this, immigrants who had only wished to settle in the “land of hope and dreams” were met with intolerance and discrimination.
Another group which faced much intolerance and discrimination were black Americans. The reformation of Christian cults such as the Ku Klux Klan after the war came back stronger and posed a huge threat to any blacks. Blacks were beaten savagely by the likes of the KKK and American’s acted as if they were far superior. The Southern states were slightly more racist than Northern ones, nonetheless, blacks were always expected to stay segregated and except the