Part of The Student Room Group

  • Join over 1.2 million students every month
  • Accelerate your learning by 29%
  • Unlimited access from just £6.99 per month

"The lives of American women changed completely in the 1920s" - How much do you agree with this statement?

Extracts from this document...

Introduction

"The lives of American women changed completely in the 1920s" - How much do you agree with this statement? Women in the 1920s lives did change, but only for some women. In this essay I will be comparing the lives of different women and explaining how their lives may or may not have changed. By the end of the 1920s, American society had changed beyond recognition in comparison with how it was before World War One. America had grown rich and the American people had reflected this in the way they spent their money. Entertainment took up much more of their time and generated a lot of money. Before the war, people had seen thriftiness as a virtue but in the 1920s people spent money even before they had earned it. ...read more.

Middle

It meant that people were independent and young couples could escape from their parents. Young women in the cities began to behave differently. They smoked and drank in public with men, wore more daring and revealing clothes and went out with men on their own, often in motor cars. Women were also allowed to divorce; the number of divorcees doubled in 15 years as women were less likely to stay in unhappy marriages. Role models in films, books and the media gave women, especially young women, someone to look up to. But There were still disadvantages for women. They were less highly paid in general and few women were elected as political candidates. The mass availability of the car helped to ?fuel? the economic boom, making travel much easier and more flexible and it also allowed the American people to go further and see more. ...read more.

Conclusion

These women were left to get on with their lives as normal. Working extremely hard for very little pay, while the wealthy women in the cities partied and lead luxurious lives. Black women?s lives in the 1920s also did not change much, as these women did not share in the economic boom at this time. These women were forced to work hard for poor wages, as most of the decent jobs were given priority to the white women. The Ku Klux Klan continued to make their lives worse, by rasist movement such as burning black schools and such like. Black womens only options for earning good wages was dancing or singing in clubs, which was entertainment for white people. Most aspects of American culture and society changed for Women in the 1920s due largely to the new state of mind that resulted from America?s wealth. By Caitlin Watson 10X ...read more.

The above preview is unformatted text

This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE USA 1919-1941 section.

Found what you're looking for?

  • Start learning 29% faster today
  • 150,000+ documents available
  • Just £6.99 a month

or


Not the one? Search for your essay title...
  • Join over 1.2 million students every month
  • Accelerate your learning by 29%
  • Unlimited access from just £6.99 per month

See related essaysSee related essays

Related GCSE USA 1919-1941 essays

  1. ''The boom of the 1920's did not benefit all Americans''. Explain how far you ...

    Sharecroppers had no land and no fixed job. Their families would just go onto the farms to help harvest the crop at harvest time. They were not paid anything but were given a share of the wheat to live off.

  2. To what extent did America roar in the 1920s?

    By 1926, the standard of living in the USA was the highest it had ever been in the country's history and America was officially the richest nation in the world. Natural resources such as oil were abundant and this gave the USA an advantage that no other country enjoyed at that level.

  1. (Q1) Describe some of the key features of Americn society in the 1920's?

    Fertilisers and farming machines were in such demand that these products were very expensive which made it very hard for many farmers to afford and resulted them to loose a lot of money. Many of the farmers were becoming bankrupt. America's society in the 1920's was more confident to spend.

  2. How did Americans lives change during the 1920s?

    One crucial factor was, when in 1919 women won the right to vote. During the war period, the women took on the jobs that the men at war had previously done. Then when the war was over, and the men returned, many women still wanted to keep their job.

  1. Explain the key features of the ‘Roaring Twenties’ in American during the 1920s

    Women had been given the vote, but their rights were still not exactly the same as men's. For instance their work wages were lower and more often than not in clerical jobs, more women were hired as it was cheaper for the company concerned yet the woman could still do the job the same as any man.

  2. America in the 1920s

    Over half the police force took bribes from him. Even through Capone was 'Public Enemy Number One' , judges and police chiefs socialised with him at cocktail parties and called him Al. It was the federal government that finally dealt with Capone.

  1. What Impact did the Great Depression have on the lives of American People?

    Of the few aristocracy around at the time, they managed to avoid most of the pit-falls that were synonymous with the great depression. This group of well-off individuals also tended to have mansions, large tracts of land, and other possessions, which meant that they too were able to remain mostly unaffected by the depression.

  2. Revision Notes - the USA in the 1920s and 30s.

    Failure as it was only for interstate companies, with most being unaffected To improve conditions for ordinary people Social Security Act Established pension benefits for elderly over the age of 65, gave unemployment benefits, and orphan benefits, making it the most important reform.

  • Over 160,000 pieces
    of student written work
  • Annotated by
    experienced teachers
  • Ideas and feedback to
    improve your own work