Comparative HistoryArticle Readings

Hannah Houze

Cultural Change in the Twenties

• Because of the trauma and disappointment of WWI, Americans strived for a more conservative political lifestyle that didn’t dabble over seas

• However, America also began to modernize in ways that gave way to a looser lifestyle, rather than the old Victorian values of before

Cultural Change in the Twenties

• Shorter skirts, cigarettes, and jazz were the gateway to the modern world

• Mass production of automobiles and other things changed the working environment drastically

• Some people however, were more conservative in their beliefs and values and did not appreciate the changes that were coming about

Cultural Change in the Twenties

• The tension between the looser crowd vs. the conservatives led to conflicts over immigration, race, and Prohibition

• The popularity of jazz suggested that there was an alluring yet troubling view of “foreignness”

• The image of the “Roaring Twenties” is one of leisure, expense, and beauty

• The clubs, bars, and theaters were portrayed as almost palace like and there was a man to great you at your car and escort you to the door everywhere you went

Cultural Change in the Twenties

• Films that came out in the twenties were more “out there” so to speak than films before WWI. For example, women were more seductive and less concealed in the films

• The films were more sexual, but most still held to the moral standards of resisting temptation

• However, some films displayed women in a more loving, outward way that had not been portrayed before

Cultural Change in the Twenties

• Jazz, beginning with ragtime, became a popular favorite

• Flapper girls became a main state in clubs and were the entertainment of the time

• Because of prohibition, which occurred in 1919, speakeasies became popular

• Speakeasies were hidden in places that fronted as other stores or abandoned building so as not to cause suspicion of alcohol use

World War Two

• Beginning in 1939 in Europe, WWII reached America in 1941

• Because of the mobilization of war, the Great Depression ended

• The Nazis tried to “purify” the world, but Ally success stopped them

• This war also signified the crushing of American dreams of isolation, of not have to “deal” with overseas conflict

World War Two

• Unfortunately, it is believed that if America and Europe had stood up to the dictators in the 1930s, the war would not have happened

• Roosevelt broke the trend of isolationism because he believed that if he did not intervene, the war would spread like a disease

• However congress did not want to break the isolationist mold so easily

World War Two

• Roosevelt attempted a peace treaty, but it failed

• Britain issued an ultimatum to Hitler, but he ignored it and invaded Poland in 1939

• This caused Britain and France to declare war

• Roosevelt pleaded with America to hold an open mind in spite their desire to remain neutral

World War Two

• In 1940, Winston Churchill came into office

• In 1940, America agreed to aid the allies

• In response to Britain’s request for aid Roosevelt said "The best immediate defense of the United States is the success of Great Britain in defending itself"

World War Two

• Because of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Americans rose behind the President in support of the war

• American declared war on Japan, and on Hitler

• Because of this, Churchill was ecstatic. After 19 months, America finally joined the fight