Conflicts during the 1920s. The contrast between new and changing attitudes and traditional values was unmistakably present during the 1920s. This clash between the old and the new had many roots and was inevitable.
A new sense of awareness washed over minorities in our nation, especially blacks, who began to realize that they were entitled to their own subculture, pursuit of success, and a share of the American dream. This ideal was expressed by Langston Hughes in The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain.” They were supported by a growing number of young, financially well-to-do liberals who formed the new intelligentsia. Each group sought to use logic and rational reasoning in their reevaluation of society’s current status. Still, they constituted a minority, and their reformist views were not well-received by the majority of the population who had become accustomed to a certain way of thinking and were not willing to budge, thus keeping the radicals silent. Individualism was also partially suppressed by the succession of three traditionalist Republican presidents whose partiality to the strong was displayed by their strong backing of big business while discouraging the Labor Union movement.
Literature was one medium by which the new intelligentsia could express their views on the impracticality and injustice of the social system and government in the 1920s. Sinclair Lewis was one such author who used his writing to condemn the stale and outdated ways of thinking that were so widely popular in our nation during the 1920s. In addition to exposing the poor working conditions of most factory labor, particularly the meat-packing industry, he criticized the common man who could not think or act individually in his novel, Babbitt, published in 1922. His description from the novel of the common man portrayed a person who acted in a manner that was socially acceptable and who also strived for success based on society’s definition of purchasing material goods. In essence, he was a man defined by the society in which he lived. Religion was also a topic of controversy during the twenties.
Traditionalists, who were usually older and less intelligent than the rising young class of liberal intellectuals, were primarily Christian and would only accept literal interpretations of the Bible. The liberals were not so quick to take the Bible at face value and came up with their own interpretations. The tension between the old and the new regarding religion was perhaps most obviously prevalent at the Tennessee Evolution Court Case of 1925. In this time where individual thinking was a rarity, public misconception and ignorance ran abound. People looked to scapegoats to account for society’s problems.
Often, minorities such as Black individuals, in addition to young liberals, were used as scapegoats. This is why the Ku Klux Klan experienced widespread popularity during the 1920s. The KKK relieved the majority of white, conservative America of any responsibility for the shortcomings of society. It also gave them a sense of security by forming a large alliance against minorities. The conflict between supporters of the KKK and the rising group of intellectual liberals was quite evident. The younger generation continued to take more liberties and adhere less to society’s standards than the preceding generation.
They sought self-satisfaction rather than living in harmony with the rest of society. As a result, many non-traditional trends began to appear in the lives of the young liberals in the 1920s. Women began to feel more sexually liberated and realized that they also had needs aside from existing only to accommodate their male counterparts. Many women also took up smoking, an activity previously delegated exclusively to men. Additionally, more and more women pursued jobs outside of the home.
The rate of divorce rose during these times. The younger generation had stopped living their lives according to traditional societal values and had inserted their own sets of desires, goals, and values to live by instead.
