And/Or: 1920’s

In response to:  Roaring 20’s or The Lost Generation?

The 1920s was a time in America where many things changed. Sometimes those changes were for the good of the American people and sometimes they were not. There's arguments that the roaring 20s or the lost generation were a time of regression for American Society, and that may be true for some parts but overall the 20s was a time of progression, even if it was in the slightest way. In the 1920s many things were going on, for example there were the Women Suffrage Acts, Prohibition, and everything that was happening with the African-American people and how they accomplished so much during the Harlem Renaissance.

In 1918 the 19th amendment (women’s suffrage) was being addressed by the Senate. At the time women were not treated equally (and still aren't fully) according to document 2 Woodrow Wilson address the Senate about these issues brought up points like “We have made partners of the women in this war; shall we admit them only to a partnership of suffering and sacrifice and toil and not to a partnership a privilege and right?”(document 2), “The tasks of the women lie at the very heart of the war, and they know how much stronger that heart will be if you do this just thing and show our women that you trust them as much as you in fact and necessity depend upon them.”(document 2). The women's suffrage movement was an example of a huge progression in American society.

Another example would be prohibition, the war on alcohol, although this plan didn't fall through to today the reasoning behind it is in favor of the American people. Congressman Richard P Hobson argued for prohibition and document number 3, he brings up points on how alcohol is “ A habit-forming drug” That keeps undermining people's willpower, keeps people tied to a metaphorical ball and chain, can bend a person's judgement, and make them do/act on things they wouldn't usually do. Hobson brings up that alcohol is a poison, not only literally, but in a way that it's poisoning America; he believes that by eliminating alcohol from America, one generation of the time that it will make America become better one generation at a time. Prohibition didn't succeed, alcohol is still prevalent part of our culture, but the movement for it was a step in the right direction, it was an attempt to try and better America although the way they went about it wasn't the necessarily best.

The 1920s was a time of major accomplishment for the African-American people of America, they made a huge impact in music that lasts all the way to today. In document 5 you see examples of this with the performances put on at the Apollo theater and the cotton club where black music and culture were celebrated by both African-Americans and whites alike. Although there are many points of regression for African-Americans during this time, there were also points that were giant steps forward for those persecuted by racism. For example later in document five it shows an advertisement for “The Back to Africa” campaign where members of the Universal Negro Improvement Association were given the chance to go to “Liberia and west Africa to settle to help the industrial, commercial, and cultural development of the country” (document 5), this was put on by Marcus Garvey, an African-American and active contributor to the Harlem Renaissance. It was things like this that persuade people to think of the 20’s as a Progressive time in history.

As stated earlier many things changed in the 1920s some not for the best, but some things changed for the right reasons, and shaped America into what it is today. Some of those things being women suffrage and how the 19th amendment change the way women are treated, or the attempt at Prohibition when they had good intentions in mind even if they didn't go through, and the Harlem Renaissance, with The advancements that happened for African-American people in that time. All of these things combined are an example of why the roaring 20s was a time of progression.