Emerging from the destruction of World War II, America advanced into a time of prosperity and growth. Heroes established themselves as household names, while new technology gave rise to a culture with a vibrant night life. Despite these advancements, many new values were challenged by the old in clashes that shaped the future of the nation. The 1920’s were altogether a time of breaking barriers and clashing values.
The first broken barrier was in transportation. The invention of the automobile at the end of the 19th century didn’t change the landscape until the late 1910’s, when Henry Ford started using assembly lines to manufacture his Model T. The price of automobiles plummeted, and soon almost every home in America had a car. This opened up the way for day trips to the city or out into the country. It also led the way to a bustling nightlife, with people from miles around going to the city for a night of entertainment.
The entertainment in the city would also not be available to people without the added inventions of labor saving devices, such as the vacuum cleaner, washing machine, refrigerator, and store bought clothes and food. This myriad of inventions resulted in a surge of free time, which was then used to enjoy a vibrant party culture.
The party culture was also spurred by the rise of advertising. Radio and newspapers meant that for the first time the whole country was participating in the same fads, such as flagpole sitting and certain dances like the Charleston. Nationwide magazines like Time or Reader’s Digest caused the same stories to be on everyone’s mind.
New heroes also were household names, with sports giants like Babe Ruth providing models for young kids. The most famous hero was Charles Lindbergh, who flew across the Atlantic Ocean solo from New York to Paris.
Many changes were at opposition to the values of the past. The era of teenagers and flappers was at odds with the previous era of young marriage. The rampant drinking, smoking, and promiscuity was viewed as a rejection of the christian values of the years past, while evolution was seen as a rejection of the Bible.
The right to vote in 1919 also led to a reimagining of young women. These so-called “flappers” were young and single women who, with the right to vote, took their life into their own hands. They held a steady job and enjoyed a raucous nightlife. They would smoke, dance, and drink like their male counterparts. They wore shorter hair and shorter dresses. Flappers also experimented sexually, just like the new generation of teenagers.
The teenage years had changed dramatically with the lengthening of the education system and the push to get married pushed back till the early twenties. The automobile led to a new culture of freedom and personal expression, with revolutions in the places you could go and the people you could date. Dating was no longer limited to one town under parent’s supervision, and the new freedom led to an era of sexual experimentation.
School made the front page in 1925 with the Scopes Monkey Trial. John Thomas Scopes was accused of teaching Darwinian Evolution in a local high school when the law prohibited it. The sleepy town of Dayton, Tennessee, was flooded with media covering the trial. William Jenning Bryan, the three-time presidential candidate, was the prosecuting lawyer, while Clarence Darrow defended. The trial turned into verbal fencing between the two lawyers, who fired questions and rebuttals back and forth. Despite the lengthy trial (over a week long), in the end John Scopes was convicted and fined $100, though the the fine was later dropped. Overall it was still seen as a victory for evolutionists, a change that would culminate years later in evolution being taught instead of creationism.
There was a new governmental system evolving in Asia. Following the Bolshevik revolution during World War I, Lenin lead Russia to become a Communist country. Communism, with everyone the same and no possibility for personal advancement, was seen as the antithesis of the American Dream and Capitalism as a whole. The influx of immigrants had led to a wider array of ideas, and the labor unions of Reconstruction had grown in size. The idea of labor unions were considered Socialism by many people, and the threat of anarchists led to a “Red Scare”, a time of fear and distrust of immigrants and unionists. This was exemplified by the trial of Sacco and Vanzetti and the Palmer Raids.
In the trial of Sacco and Vanzetti, Sacco and Vanzetti were two known Italian radicals who were convicted of armed robbery. Despite evidence to the contrary and obvious contradictions in the testimony of witnesses, they were convicted and sentenced to death by electric chair. All appeals were denied, both at regional and statewide court, despite worldwide protests. 50 years later, the Massachusetts governor issued a statement that Sacco and Vanzetti were innocent.
The Palmer Raids were a series of arrests, trials, and deportations of people suspected of supporting communism, socialism, anarchism, or labor unions. Led by A. Mitchell Palmer, the U.S. Attorney General, they resulted in thousands arrested and hundreds deported from 1919 to 1920. These raids were protested by many, including Emma Goldman, an anarchist and socialist who was deported during the raids. She protested the infringement on free speech, saying:
“I wish to register my protest against these proceedings, whose very spirit is nothing less than a revival of the ancient days of the Spanish Inquisition or Czarist Russia… The object of the deportations and of the anti-anarchist law is to stifle the voice of the people…”
In this statement she gave at her hearing, Emma Goldman was comparing the Palmer Raids to old systems of government and control, where all disagreement was silenced by deportation or death.
I am struck by the similarities between the 1920’s and today. The Red Scare is frighteningly similar to the mass hysteria and Islamophobia induced by terrorist attacks and compounded on by Donald Trump. The internet, cell phones, and social media have knit American culture together across the country more fully than radio or magazines could ever have done. Social media and YouTube propagates fads like the ice bucket challenge, while airplanes have reinvented the travel landscape once again. Teenagers are still challenging values with continued sexual experimentation and drug use at odds with parental values. It will be interesting to see if the pattern continues and we plunge into another depression or world war.
