Jeffrey Scott Johnson

Heraclitus said, “There is nothing permanent except change.”[1]  The 1920s are a very good example that this quote is true for the 1920s were a period of dramatic change.  Americans were trying to adjust to the social, technological, and demographic changes of this country.  There were various reactions to the changes of this decade.  Many Americans tried to cling to the traditional moral values.  Some of these changes are still having a lasting impact on America today.

Reactions to change in the United States

            First, during the twenties the government had different immigration policies for different ethnic groups.  The government did this in order to counteract the changes that were occurring in the twenties.  The People wanted to return to the past.  They wanted to limit the types of people coming into the country.  According to the President’s Research Committee on Social Trends the government favored people who came from northwestern Europe on immigration policies.  They did this because this group of people closely resembled the majority of the American people living during the twenties (#1, pgs. 4).  The Klan was in favor of restrictions of people who were not like them.  They blamed all of the social problems on new immigrants to the country (#12).  From the debate on the National Origins Act, some senators were in favor of limits because they were afraid of immigrants being Communists and forming communities based on languages.  Senator Heflin said, “I am appealing to the Senate of the United States to close the gates, close them now while we can” (#13).  The National Origin Act states that “The annual quota of any nationality shall be two per centum of the number of foreign-born individuals of such nationality resident in the continental United States as determined by the United States census of 1890, but the minimum quota of any nationality shall be 100” (#14, pg. 48).  Many people still do not like immigration into this country.  They want to close the American border with Mexico.  Therefore, you can still see people who speak like Senator Heflin from Alabama.  Our biggest trading partner is Canada so we can not close our border.  The Klan is not as active to spread their message of non-tolerance of people or ideas.

            Second, sport hero worship as an example for the need to return to our pioneer past.  Nash states that by the twenties everyone knew that the pioneering of the West was gone.  The technological advances made their values in a state of cultural lag.  Americans saw sport heroes as the pioneers of the twenties.  In sports the person with the best talent won.  It was up to the individual to win.  Many people went to the games.  The following is an idea on sport by Brill: “Sports were contrived as substitutes for actual fighting, mock struggles that satisfied the urge to conquer.”  Nash states that the fan saw themselves as the players scoring as they watch the athlete scoring on the field.  When the people saw the nation beat the rest of the world, they saw it as an example that the nation would be the strongest in the theory of Social Darwinism.  Nash said, “[Babe Ruth’s] home runs … gave him a heroic stature comparable to that of legendary demigods like Odysseus, Beowulf, or Daniel Boone.”  This quote supports the psychological theory of Brill on athletes as warriors.  However, Nash points out that the 1919 World Series reduced the idea of players as pioneers for a very short period.  “Like the boys of the ‘say it ain’t so’ episode, they begged for evidence that the old standards and values still applied.  …  The fans in the courtroom, however, and, presumably, many elsewhere were on the side of the players regardless, and viewed the verdict as a vindication” (#9, pp. 32-35).  The people did not want to admit that the players were just like them.  They wanted someone to look up to.  The athlete is still seen as a hero today.

            Third, the prohibition movement was a reaction to the change in morals and change in whom was using alcohol.  This was evident in the following quote from a government commission on prohibition: “It is reflected in a different way of regarding drunken youth, in a change in the class of excessive drinkers, and in the increased use of distilled liquor in places and connections where formerly it was banned.  It is evident that, taking the country as a whole, people of wealth, business men and professional men, and their families, and, perhaps, the higher paid workingmen and their families, and drinking in large numbers in quite frank disregard of the declared policy of the National Prohibition Act” (#11, p. 43).  Alcohol was having a bad effect on the American society.  The following quotes from article ten shows some negative byproduct of saloons: “Drunken men were the commonest sight on the streets, as were haggard women and ragged, undernourished children.”  Article ten also notes that prohibition was a byproduct of the movement for women to get the right to vote.  The poll workers went from drunk to sober.  Prohibition had some positive effects including children going to school because they have adequate clothes and shoes to wear.  Women could go to meeting because they had the proper dress to wear to the meetings in their neighborhood.  However, the following quote shows the essential positive effect of prohibition.  “Men who had never been seen publicly with their wives and children escorted them occasionally to Roadside parties.”  The author of this article blames the failure of prohibition on the law not being enforced (#10, pgs. 42-43).  The debate of temperance and prohibition continues today.  In order to be successful you need to compromise.  A good example of compromise is the laws of the state of Georgia.  Alcohol can not be sold at Grocery Stores, Liquor stores, restaurants, or bars in this state on Sunday.  This is the legacy of the prohibition movement.

            Fourth, some people did not want the changes brought by the car.  They wanted to return to the slow pace of society that existed before the car replaced the horse.  According to “My Town and the Motor,” he sees motors instead of horses.  The stables for the horses are gone.  Horse traders are out of a job.  Horse related businesses are being replaced by car related businesses.  “My Town and the Motor” also says, “It is a noisy place.  And it used to be so restful.”  Furthermore, “My Town and the Motor Car” continued by saying that the slow pace of the horse is replaced by the fast pace of the car (#3, pgs. 8-10).  The fast pace of life continues today.  The Amish is a good example of a community who continues to hold on to their tradition values and refuse to use the car.

            Fifth, the debate of creationism versus Darwinism is a good example of Americans trying to return to traditional values.  Bryan saw the theory of evolution as an assault on God.  Bryan said, “It is better to trust in the Rock of Ages, than to know the age of the rocks.”  Bryan wanted scientist to respect people who put their trust in God.  Bryan then asks the following question: “If it be true, as Paul declares, that ‘the things that are seen are temporal’ while ‘the things that are unseen are eternal,’ why should those who deal with temporal things think themselves superior to those who deal with the things that are eternal?”  Bryan wants no conflict between the two types of knowledge.  He said that Darwin was not true because of Genus 1:24.  He was against professors telling their students what to think on the issue of evolution.  He did not want atheists to teach at Christian or public schools (#16, pg. 50-51).  The debate over evolution is still occurring in the nation.  There are people on both sides of the issue.

            The 1920s were a period of dramatic change.  Americans were trying to adjust to the social, technological, and demographic changes of this country.  There were various reactions to the changes of this decade.  Many Americans tried to cling to the traditional moral values.  Some of these changes are still having a lasting impact on America today.