Explain the cultural changes that occurred during the 1920s and how these changes represented a “new normal” for the American people.

United States History II Honors Summer Assignment

Our course will begin with an overview of the financial, social, and political causes of the Great Depression.  To ensure that you are prepared in September, you will complete this writing assignment on the cultural changes in the 1920s.

Please use at least three of the documents provided to respond in essay form to the prompt.  If you need additional background information consult the following online textbook:

http://www.ushistory.org/us/46.asp

1920s DBQ

Historical context:

Following the carnage of World War I, Americans returned home in search of normalcy.  The decade that followed is often referred to as the “Roaring 20s” as it was witness to countless cultural changes.  Music, fashion, and cultural norms shifted from a conservative style to a more modern approach. Minorities and women fought for the expansion of rights.  Prohibition of alcohol resulted in cheap liquor sold by newly strengthened organized crime gangs. In the search for “normalcy” Americans were confronted with a decade far from normal.

Essay question:

Explain the cultural changes that occurred during the 1920s and how these changes represented a “new normal” for the American people.

Document One:

Immigration to the United States

1921 1926

140,000 Northwestern Europeans 70,000

180,000 Central Europeans 50,000

40,000 Eastern Europeans 5,000

295,000 Southern Europeans 10,000

20,000 Asians 2,000

Document Two:

Document Three:

“There was music from my neighbor's house through the summer nights. In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars.” The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald

Document Four: I, Too Langston Hughes

I, too, sing America. I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen When company comes, But I laugh, And eat well, And grow strong. Tomorrow, I'll be at the table When company comes. Nobody'll dare Say to me, "Eat in the kitchen," Then. Besides, They'll see how beautiful I am And be ashamed-- I, too, am America. 

Document Five:

Amendment XVIII:  After one year from the ratification of this article the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all the territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited.

Document Six:

Document 7