World War I and the 1920s Essay

Historical events such as wars, economic downturns, and political reconstruction have a high impact on the behavior of people and their preferences. In this case, American citizens went from industry workers and soldiers during the World War I (1917-1918) to the explorers, who discover different forms of entertainment in the 1920s (1920-1929) because of stabilization of the politics in the country and the abundance of free time. Consequently, the goal of this essay is to understand the primary causes of the development of this trend in the American society. At the same time, it is critical to see the how the behavior of people changed before and after World War I. Finally, the conclusions will highlight the primary findings of the paper.

In the era of World War I, a significant share of the American society was represented by the active participants of the battlefield. It remains apparent that World War I plays a momentous role in the world’s history and global development. Thus, the United States of America pursued the “overseas following” of the military actions.¹ This decision required the country to devote a noteworthy portion of resources to support their allies in the war.

It could be said that these changes in the political orientation and desire to help the country confront the enemy had driven the American population to the battlefield and the industry production.

In the era of 1920s, the United States of America minimized its military involvement, stabilized its politics, and offered more freedoms to its citizens. When the last troopers rebounded to the homeland, Warren G. Harding “was promising the return to normalcy”.² Therefore, people were receiving more liberties and rights while leading to the subsequent development of “The liberty of the democracy” and the movement of “progressive democrats”.^{3, 4} It was a start of a novel era for the United States of America with innovative political standards and more free time for entertainment.

In the era of 1920s, due to the stabilization of American politics and increased percentage of leisure time among the regular workers, American population became the explorer of the different forms of entertainment. Since the last troopers returned from the distant lands, the country was slowly adapting to its new regime. The time of scarcity was left in the past and replaced by the “culture of abundance”.⁵

Dissimilar politics, more free time, and no need to invest in the war led the development of a new generation of American entertainment. Nowadays, this epoch is often recalled as the “cultural experimentation mixed with political conservatism”.⁶ Thus, it contributed to the development of the music movements such as jazz and discovering new possibilities of the ordinary lifestyle.

In the end, it could be said that the changes in politics of the country might affect the behavior of the citizens and cause the development of new forms of entertainment and culture. In this case, the World War I defined the population of the United States of America as an active participant of the war. The majority of the civilians were facing the enemies on the battlefield and working in the industrial segment, and a weighty part of the governmental budget was devoted to supporting military actions. The ending of the war helped America stabilize its politics and offer more leisure time to its citizens. Thus, this aspect was the primary cause of the development of novel forms of entertainment and associated lifestyles.

Footnotes

1. “Untold Story of US: Episode B,” Dailymotion. Web.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. Erik Foner, Give Me Liberty! An American History (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2005), 828.
5. “Untold Story of US: Episode B,” 2014.
6. Ibid.