23 Comments
Arjana Begzati
3/28/2014 01:45:09 am
With changes, like the economic recession, increase in immigrants and racial tension, the 1920's was also subject to great cultural tension. A general point of conflict between the traditional and modern culture was the "new mortality", or sense of personal freedom felt by the youth and other parts of the society. The components of marriage, like love, emotion, romance and care, were some ideas that became popular but were different from the ideas of the traditional culture. Women began to define a new culture for themselves as well. Working for women became the establishment of a personal identity besides being a need. The youth also began to embrace aspects that conflicted with the traditional culture. Owning a car (which was a much more common thing by that time) and being able to be independent in life allowed them to shape their social life as they pleased. Prohibition of alcohol had been a widely supported change at the beginning of 1920. Not very much later, though, the initial middle-class supporters did not see the prohibition as a standard needed to be carried on. Others, like many Protestants, held to older, traditional believes that drinking was not good and moral. This was one way how the opinions of people holding to the more traditional culture conflicted with the opinions of people willing to move to the modern and secular culture. The continuous move of immigrants into the United States, seemed to include foreign people into the new trend or culture of the time. This increase in communities of foreigners was perceived as a threat to people holding to the traditional culture. For that reason, acts, like the National Origins Act of 1924, and movements, like the the Ku Klux Klan, were established to restrict immigration.
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Elayna Muller
3/28/2014 06:52:12 am
Go Arjana! Are we still seeing the affects of the 1920s today? I will answer for you and say yes because drinking is much more tolerable, women are supportive of wearing perhaps too revealing clothes or just being more free and independent, old traditions are widely ignored, don't 40% of Americans go to Church nowadays? That could be viewed as sad or as expanding, but it's definitely a change. And this change has been occurring since the 1920s.
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Maddy Vogel
3/28/2014 07:42:48 am
Elayna, great comment! I definitely agree that the 1920s acted as a sort of doorway to the modern culture of today. Women are independent, we drink alcohol, and religion oftentimes takes a backseat to the trials of our modern lifestyle. Nice job tying the 20s into our lives today.
Arjana Begzati
3/28/2014 08:59:37 am
I agree with both of you. Tolerance to new and different things is a big part of today's society. This is mostly a good thing according to my opinion, but I do agree that certain nice traditional attitudes have been neglected completely.
Timmi Keisel
3/30/2014 08:24:14 am
Elayna, great question!!! And I completely agree with your answer, especially the fact that old traditions are definitely ignored! Good job!
Rachel Frantz
3/30/2014 11:30:54 am
Elayna, your questions were awesome... and your responses were great too! I like to take the optimistic approach and say its mostly expanding; however, I do tend to find it somewhat sad.
Sabrina Lousberg
3/30/2014 02:37:19 pm
Great points Elayna! I agree that traditions are being widely ignored nowadays. I think it's sad that only 40% of Americans attend church.
Kirsten Comstock
3/31/2014 02:26:02 am
Elayna this is a great comment. You asked great questions! I like how you brought in the fact that only 40% of Americans go to church. Great job!
kunisha
3/23/2016 06:16:44 pm
go elayna chicka
Elizabeth klan
6/8/2017 01:33:32 pm
Hehehehehe
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Maddy Vogel
3/28/2014 07:36:52 am
The 1920s were a time of technological innovation and societal changes. People were feeling liberated in their sexuality and personal wants. Not all of these changes were greeted with open arms, however, and some Americans fought to defend traditional values. Major points of conflict between the modern, secular culture of this time and traditional cultures included prohibition, immigration, and religion. When the prohibition of the sale and production of alcohol initially emerged, it was supported by many progressive members of the middle class. It was soon clear that the outlaw of alcohol had made the substance even more accessible while also increasing crime rates. Many supporters eventually grew to dislike prohibition; however, Protestants continued to defend prohibition as a moral standard in the protection of traditional values. Immigration had long been a concern of the United States, but in the 1920s growing nationalism aided both the National Origins Act of 1924 and the second rise of the Ku Klux Klan. The National Origins Act of 1924 greatly restricted migration from both Europe and Asia, and the Klan became a major advocate of traditional values in America. Klan members were concerned with the status of African Americans and also had issues with Catholics, Jews, and foreigners in general. Klansmen were oftentimes brutal and merciless against groups they opposed, and would do just about anything to preserve traditional values. Religious fundamentalists believed that modern, secular culture was tarnishing the core values of religion. They had clear disagreements with Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution, and disliked the way modernists were adapting religion to their urban way of life. With all the technological, economic, and scientific advancements of the 1920s many people felt the need to defend their traditional values, especially in the areas of prohibition, immigration, and religion.
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Arjana Begzati
3/28/2014 09:04:23 am
Good answer Maddy! I really like your introduction, since it gives a good insight to the topic. It is also great that you mention the exact conflicting areas (prohibition, immigration and religion).
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Timmi Keisel
3/30/2014 12:29:05 pm
In my opinion, the new morality people developed during the 1920’s was a foundation for the ethics and principles held by many in today’s culture, whether this is good or bad. This new care free culture that established was much more secular and driven by consumerism than generations past. Novels like The Great Gatsby portrayed America’s obsession with having more riches beyond imagine. The new term of buying on credit was introduced and rather than just buying what could be afforded, people could now buy whatever they wanted now and worry about it later. Bruce Barton, an advertising executive, noticed this consumerism undertone in society and used it to spread religion. He depicted Jesus Christ as a “super salesman,” saying that men and women of the day’s society should be more concerned with living a fulfilling life like Jesus had. Women were also being “liberated” from their once very reserved roles. Many expressed that their relationship with their husbands wasn’t only for having children, but for pleasure. This idea led to the growing idea of birth control, and that women had the right to choose whether or not they wanted to be a mother. There were now also “flappers” who wore makeup, revealing clothes, drank, and smoked.
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Zane Boerner
3/30/2014 12:41:05 pm
Great answer Timmi! I definitely agree that the 1920s was the foundation for today's ethics and principles.
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Zane Boerner
3/30/2014 12:38:09 pm
During this time the modern, secular culture did not go unchallenged by the older more traditional culture. In January of 1920 the sale and manufacturing of alcohol became prohibited. This movement was mainly supported by the middle class and progressives. In the beginning it looked like this movement would work since alcohol consumption did drop substantially, but it gave rise to the illegal alcohol market that eventually made it just as easy to acquire as before. This extremely prosperous market was now entirely run by organized crime figures instead of legitimate business men. Support for this idea now came from rural Protestant Americans who associated drinking with the modern cities and immigrants who were displacing them. Immigration at this time was drastically reduced because of this fear from the prohibitionists. Soon this fear caused the rebirth of the KKK who opposed people of color and immigrants. Religion was also a point of conflict between the modernists who wanted to adapt religion to the modern society and the fundamentalists who believed that religious teachings should be taken literally and not change. The fundamentalists were particularly opposed to Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. They were eventually quieted to an extent. In a trial Clarence Darrow made fundamentalists look a bit foolish and even tricked his opposition into admitting that there could be different interpretations of religious dogma. Not only was the economy changing in the 1920s but culture did too, and whenever culture changes or changes are proposed, there will be conflict.
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Keeya Marquez
3/31/2014 12:20:24 am
Good answer! Do you think that the 1920s has any effect on our society today?
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Megan Chintala
3/31/2014 12:50:50 am
Good answer Zane. You did a good job supporting your conflicts you brought up. What do you think would have happened if the fundamentalists would have got their way? Would religion be in schools today?
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Sabrina Lousberg
3/30/2014 02:34:56 pm
In January of 1920 the sale and manufacturing of alcohol became illegal. The middle class and progressives mainly supported this decision. Alcohol consumption drop and many began to believe that the movement to make alcohol illegal would work but this was not the case. Making the production and consumption of alcohol illegal opened doors to the illegal alcohol market. This illegal market would make it just as easy to acquire alcohol as before. The market of alcohol was now run by organized crime figures rather than business men. Immigration during this time was dramatically reduced. The prohibitionist fears of immigrants lead to the rebirth of the KKK. The KKK opposed people of color and immigrants. Modernists wanted to adapt religion to the modern society while the fundamentalist believed that religious teaching should be taken literally and not changed. The economy and culture the 1920s were both drastically changing and whenever change arouses so does conflict.
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McCall Etl
3/30/2014 05:01:46 pm
Conflict was bound to occur between the modern secular culture and the traditional culture of the 1920s. In the new culture, things were changing so quickly. We saw the change from conservative women to women openly and freely expressing themselves - cutting their hair, drinking, wearing much looser clothing, questioning the rationale for sex. We also saw that all kinds of new things were being introduced, like radio! The radio could be used to fool people because they knew no better. We saw people enjoying this newfound luxury and leisure that wasn't anywhere close the old traditional ways. People were going out without a purpose in mind. Call the police! I think this led to quite a few conflicts of cultures.
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Keeya Marquez
3/31/2014 12:18:34 am
The 1920s were certainly a time for change in United States history.
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Megan Chintala
3/31/2014 12:48:56 am
The modern, secular culture did not stand alone in the 1920;s. Even though there was still some traditions, there was little twists here and there that caused a lot of conflicts. In January of 1920, prohibition of the sale and manufacture of alcohol was mainly supported by the middle class and progressives. Prohibition was in effect to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed. But with this comes a major supply of violations from people. Prohibition was becoming known as a failure. Many people were able to take in illegal alcohol as easy as taking in legal alcohol. Many also thought prohibition was a problem because it was beginning to displace their Catholic immigrants. Many also had fears which caused the rise of the "Klan." The KKK had opposed all people of color and immigrants as well. This was a major conflict that modernists had. They also had conflict with religions. On one side of the war was the modernists, middle-class people who were attempting to adapt religion back to their society. On the other side was the fundamentalists who were trying to preserve traditional faith. These people opposed the Charles Darwin theory and it's teachings. Their feelings were eventually somewhat quieted by Clarence Darrow. He had tricked them into admitting there could be ways to interpret the bible. There are always conflicts in this world. In the 1920's, not only was the economy causing havoc, but also the social part of things. There was a lot of culture changes and conflicts during the 1920's.
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Kirsten Comstock
3/31/2014 02:22:56 am
Conflict was bound to happen in the cultures of the 1920's. In January of 1920 prohibition of the sale and manufacture of alcohol was for the most part only supported by the progressivist and the middle class. The prohibition of this was happening to reduce the amount of alcohol that was being consumed. At the beginning this looked promising, but it only opened the door for illegal alcohol market and it was just as easy to get the illegal alcohol as before when it wasn't illegal. This was a very prosperous market for these men who were in it. Another factor was due to immigration. Supporters of the traditional society were finding the immigrants to be threatening to their traditional ways of life, even though there were regulations for immigrants. The KKK got back involved because of these issues. They imposed all people of color and the immigrants also. This caused a conflict with the modernists. Religions also brought in conflicts. One side was the fundamentalists who were trying to preserve traditional faith and one was the modernists who were middle class people who were trying to get religion back to their society. There were many things changing in the 1920's not only with the conflict of cultures but with the economy.
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becca
3/31/2014 02:47:46 am
"The roaring 1920's" that I believe says alot. The 1920s contained the real change of the econmic recession went to spending or gambling most if not all there money. (like on, the great Gatsby he explained his boss gambled every penny away at thr party but always came back with more) Immigration became new and big it was a large increase. The raging of the 1920s there was a racial and culture tension,because there was no finish line to agree mutually on much. The nw mortality has been agd it similarity from then and now is not much different. drinking is tolerable; women wearing goddy and revealing clothing is a trend; freedom and independency is the way of every day life. Traditions are used oe carried on much inless its supperstion like wearing.something old nd something blue on a wedding day ect.
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