During the 1920’s America thrived. The emergence of new technologies and innovations provoked the economic growth that caused many changes in society. The most remarkable innovation was electricity that made the mass production available. The productivity increased accordingly, and because of that, the changes in the work management were required.
For making the working process more efficient, the supervision became more strict and controlling. Nevertheless, the management tightening didn’t have only bad implications for the workers. With the increase in working efficiency, the wages also became higher, and the leisure hours expanded (Boydston et al. 693).
The rapid urbanization and the establishment of large corporations induced a decline in agriculture. Most of the farmers couldn’t stay competitive on the market because they couldn’t afford the new technologies. Most of the countryside residents moved to the cities in search of profit. Along with the decrease in the rural population, the urban population experienced growth.
The officials of the mass production organizations encouraged consumerism. The demand increased not only in the consumption of products but also in services and entertainment. The advertisement had a great impact on the products’ promotion, and the credit buying made the desired things more affordable. The period of the 1920s is also marked by multiple cultural innovations.
With the development of new technologies, the movie industry began to attract attention. The movies were the most popular type of entertainment, the number of movie studios expanded. American citizens also relished listening to music, and especially jazz. The new technologies also influenced the music industry positively, and radio made it widespread.
The cultural changes provoked the emergence of new concepts and the shifts in public views and opinions. The attitude towards sex was changed; the boundaries of feminine and masculine began to become more loosened.
Even though women still faced discrimination, and “most people continued to believe that a woman’s place was in the home,” the movement for emancipation started to gather momentum (Boydston et al. 691). The feminist movement relatively equaled men and women in society. The value of individuality was emphasized.
Nevertheless, many people regarded the new culture as an “unwelcome abandonment of old values” (Boydston et al. 700). Since most of the American citizens couldn’t afford the products of mass production that were widely promoted at that time, the division of the society into working and business classes took place.
The artists and intellectuals attempted to separate themselves from the modern culture that exalted consumption. Outraged by the multiple liberating movements, the fundamentalists claimed for a return to the biblical truths. And the increase of immigrants in the country provoked the rebirth of the Ku Klux Klan that continued to terrorize the African American population (Boydston et al. 703).
The regulation of immigration became stricter because the government didn’t want any anarchist movement to penetrate the country. Despite those restrictions, the number of Mexican immigrants increased. Along with Africans, the Mexican immigrants faced the issues of national identity in America. However, the sense of unity was strong among the members of the Mexican community, and together they started to fight for equal civil rights.
The liberating movements that occurred in the 1920s are laid at the heart of modern democracy. The technological and economic development that started to gain pace helped the USA to take a leading part in the international business and allowed influencing the global economy.
Works Cited
Boydston, Jeanne, Nick Cullather, Jan Ellen Lewis, Michael McGerr, James Oakes, Mark Summers, and Camilla Townsend. Of the People: A Concise History of the United States, Volume II: Since 1865, Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2010. Print.