African American Women In The 1920s

The eighteenth amendment was adopted in 1919 and took effect in 1920. During Prohibition, rival gangs in many gig cities tried to control the illegal sale of alcohol. Al ?Scarface? Capone and George ?Bugs? Moran were known as the 20th Century Gangsters. In 1929, on Valentines Day, Al Capone?s men dressed up in police uniforms and shot members of the Moran gang. Prohibition during the Roaring Twenties was one of many changes that American Society encountered.

The 1930’s were hard times for the entire working class, but as usual in history, minorities were hit the hardest. Especially the African American society had to suffer the most under the effects of the great economic depression; they were the first to be discharged from their jobs and the last to be hired. African Americans were even pushed out of jobs, which were previously scorned out by whites. Even if they were allowed to keep their jobs, they still had to face daily racism. Compared to the white folks, the wages of African American workers were at least 30% below white’s wages, even when performing the same job; considering, that even the normal wage of a white American was not enough to cover the subsistent level of expanses of a household.

After World War One, the United States went through a decade full of industrial, economical, and social growth. This decade is known as the Roaring 20s. The 1920s was a time of important historical events and technological advancement. The development of consumer goods, such as fridges, typewriters, radios, and cars, created jobs and helped the American economy grow. However, not everyone was able to enjoy the advancement that the boom had assured. Although there were many wealthy people, there were still many people who could not afford to live luxurious lives. Many immigrants were not welcome into to United Stats. Prejudice and racism were spread throughout the country. In spite of the prosperity of the 1920s, the

During the first World War I women were left at home to try and figure out how they were going to care for their families. Their husband, father, and brothers were sent off to war. Many companies around the United States were left with production needs and little to no employees to do the job. In a time period, where women are expected to be confident and independent, they had to also realize they had little to no power in society. They had societal rules that they must stay at home to cook, clean, and care for the children. With the men who were prominent in their lives coming and going from war. These factors caused the birth of a new era. This is the era where women were emerging. Women were changing by being more independent sexually and expressing their emotions through music, poetry, and movies.

The Roaring Twenties of America, which was from 1920-1929, saw a great social and economic prosperity. People were happy, and were celebrating the victory of World War 1. The gasoline price was lowered, right to vote for women was granted, and America was climbing towards a great success. In 1929, Herbert Hoover became the president of the United States of America, and he said, “ Given a chance to go forward with the policies of the last eight years, we shall soon with the help of God be in sight of the day when poverty will be banished from this nation”(Roark, Pg. 703). After few months of his inauguration, his words contradicted, the Roaring Twenties halted. During the Roaring Twenties, the stock market prices increased steeply. The rapid

In the 1920’s, blues was a very popular and dominating genre in the music industry. Generally, the blues was sung by African American women because according to the book entitled, “Blues Legacies and Black Feminism” by Angela Davis, “…The most widely heard individual purveyors of the blues—were women.” (Davis 4) The blues delivers certain emotions such as sadness, loneliness, love, sex, and feelings about the certain circumstances the artist may be going through at the time. Two women who dominate this style of music are Gertrude “Ma” Rainey and Bessie Smith. As stated by “Gay & Lesbian Biography”, “The careers of Rainey and Smith are closely interwoven.” Ma Rainey is a woman who is admired for both her amazing vocals and her ability to entertain. Bessie Smith is a woman who started off as a background dancer for her peer Ma Rainey, but then went on to emulate her by outdoing her success. Both women are very talented musicians who can not only sing and entertain, but they also create an impact as two of the most influential feminists during the 1920’s who helped shape the blues into what it is today.

The women of the 1920’s were first introduced to society as a generation that spent most of their time cleaning, cooking, and nurturing their children. However, as the “Roaring 20s” came to impact the

In 1860’s, women were not allowed to join the war, although they could become nurses instead. Women in the North mostly belonged to the Sanitary Commission. It was an organization that traveled to battle to get supplies to soldiers. In my opinion, the sanitary commission was not a good experience since ailments (diseases) could spread in the camps easily. In 1863, Lincoln passed the Emancipation Proclamation, which stated Confederates had to let African Americans out or slavery. Later on, they were acquiesced (accepted) to join the North’s army. Although, if they were captured by the South, they would be killed, but this did not stop their perseverance. I believe this law passed by Lincoln was an excellent idea because African Americans are the same as us, we are all the same human creatures, just a different color; and equality for them should be accepted no matter what. There were spies like Elizabeth Van Lew that would tell others (the North) about what the Confederates were scheduling. She pretended to suffer from a dainty mental illness in order to muster (gather) information. I think that was very sneeky to do, but kids at school do the same concept: act like spies to ahold of rumors and etc. In the book, “Civil War” it states, “Sadly, two of their four sons died before Lincoln’s assassination in 1865…” This shows that Lincoln wasn’t having a peaceful life like people meant have thought, he was also afflicted from family losses too. General Lee sent a note to General Grant while surrounded by Union troops. They met at a house near Hamlet, and Grant approved the surrender of the Confederate Army.

The economy grew rapidly in the 1920s. The automobile had great impact. Through model changes and advertising, sales were stimulated. New consumer goods such as steel, gasoline, and road construction increased the growth of other businesses. Of all steel output in the 1920s, one seventh was used toward the manufacturing of automobiles. A nationwide search for oil deposits brought workers and money to the Southwest. A numbered highway system supported the rapid appearance of service stations, diners, and motels. As the economy grew, so did technology. The radio brought distant events into millions of homes. The washing machine, vacuum cleaners, and irons made household chores more efficient. With the growing economy, consumer credit allowed

In the 1920’s women did not have very many rights. They had just started to work outside of their homes and in the factories. These women wanted to help support their husbands and sons that were away at war during World War I. This gave them a sense of power and led them to wanting more respect than they were receiving from the men. Being a woman was not the only problem that some faced in America, but being an African American woman in America was extremely difficult. This made it hard to find jobs and this affected the black males as well, but the females were hit with a double slam when it came to being a minority. Elizabeth “Bessie” Coleman was an African American woman. She was the first African American woman to receive an aviation license.

The Roaring Twenties were also known the Jazz Age and the Golden Twenties. The 1920s were an age of dramatic economic prosperity, social and political changes. This was the first time that more Americans lived in the cities than on farms. The nation’s wealth more than doubled in the 1920s and this economic boom swept many Americans into an affluent but unfamiliar “consumer society.” During the 20s it seemed as though everyone had money and people began to break from the traditional set-up in America. In the 20s there were technological advancements, new freedoms, mass production, mass consumption and new American writers. All of these changes made life a little better for most Americans in the United States.

The experience of American women during the Roosevelt year, had taken a massive leap. Before the 1920s, most American women were traditional housewife. But, during the 1920, many American women begin to join the workforce, some women had to balance managing between working and their homes. However, majority of the married American women during the 1920s remained in their homes as housewives. I believe the reason this was possible in the 1920s, was because, during the Second World War, majority of males had joined the military and the females had to support their families and also their sons, brothers, fathers and husbands overseas by providing

The Women's role in society during the 1920’s changed all the time. The result of the Women’s role was the work that the women did during the war. While all the roles were changing the number of women working increased by 25 per cent. This change made a big leap by letting the women have a right to vote. Some of the women had specific roles that varied like the “New Women” which were the traditionalists and the older generation. The “New Women” included the flappers, which were women with new fashions, new ideas and personal freedoms. The flappers changed the traditional role in women’s society. These traditionalists feared that the new morality of the era was threatening family values and the standard role of the women in the homes. All the

The roaring twenties was a time filled with hope and change. President Warren G. Harding promised a “return to normalcy”, which reflected his own conservative values and the voters’ wants for stability and order. Americans felt that they had been through more than enough, and desired prosperity. During the years 1919 and 1920 the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Amendments were passed; the outlaw of alcoholic beverages and the right for women to vote, which ones of the many reasons society was turning their backs on Progressivism. Republicans were beginning to return to their previous dominance. The 1920’s was an economic boom for America, including everything from an increase in jobs, a rise in plentiful goods, new consumer products, and the reduction of taxes. The country was filled with jazz music, dance, and what appeared to be a brighter future. The 1929 crash of stock market was the beginning of a downward spiral leading in to the Great Depression. The stock market crash is often to be confused as the cause of the Great Depression, although that is false. A few of the issues that lead to the Great Depression included; farming (which decreased in demand as farms increased through the states during World War I), banking, and mass unemployment. Capitalism took shape as what was once the individualistic Protestant work ethic was reshaped into industrial work on a grand scale. Each worker contributed to the greater good, and the workers were presided over by a boss

In the 1920s the role of women was now increasing. The number of working women were now increasing by 25 percent, women were now given the right to vote, instead of wearing long skirts, they started to wear clothing that was more suitable for their daily activities, also getting a divorce was more simple and so the number of divorces doubled.