The struggles of americans - Essay Example

The struggles of Americans The emergence of United s of America to a global super power was nothing short of fairy tale. However whatever fairyit might sound, the phenomenon has witnessed one of the most dramatic shifts in economy, culture and society that ultimately paved the way for the modern day America. The 1910s and 1920s, two decades might be considered as the flag bearer of a dramatic shift of cultures. Though this process perhaps started long back when the farmers of a predominantly agricultural and rural country of that time happily gave away their land to the industrial capitalists to turn the nation into a country of urban flavour with factory chimneys relentlessly yielding smoke.

The change that the nation witnessed not only reflected through the rural to urban shift or even through the change from agriculture to industry. The real change was embedded much deeper into the American community of that time and demonstrated itself through the emancipation of conservative Victorian values that the nation thrived in the 19th century to a much liberal moral set up that crawled itself into the American community of the 20th century. However it is also true that a tradition of half a century long cannot be uprooted over the night and overlapping years between this cultural shift marked the early half of the 20th century specially the decades of 1910s and 1920s.

Through out this time, the American Women, Afro Americans, The American Indians, gay and lesbians, commons and celebrities alike had experienced a change in some way or the other form. The fashion and the automobile industry not only witnessed changed within the mentioned timeframe but also changed the life of American people of that time. The conflict that so far has been referred touched the life of the American woman. The shift from rural to urban economy and the increasing importance of industrial sector over the agricultural sector unleashed a series of opportunities for the women of America and more specifically for the single women.

Freedom from draconian social measures and freedom of income created an altogether new surrounding that the women of that time cherished and flourished amidst the same. A new consumer culture together with an entertainment sector that is always looking out to extend opportunity to women created a new America for the American woman. However, people having opposite ideas to that changed gender circumstance were also present and directed their criticism mainly towards the declining morality that at lest they felt would destroy the American society.

However their much minor presence was never a factor hindering the positive changes that the American women were started to experience. The initial response of the public towards the modern woman making their way straight into the public was a mixed one. Many men and women ridiculed those who were coming out of shackles of their homebound. But such criticism or ridicule had little effect on those who were determined to show their equal merit as men. Like any other bloodless social revolution the way of the modern American women towards their equality with their male counterpart was never spread with flowers.

The American women at the very first instance experienced a discriminatory environment considering the wage rates they received for their work; it was often half of their male partners. However strong determination soon initiated a change and woman started to adorn political offices and also started opting for higher education. Combination of these two started conferring greater role to the women. However, they were still discriminated from higher management position and were offered 35cents against each dollar a man in management might earn.

Though comparing to 1900 the participation of women in work was even double in 1920s (12% of the total working population of America were women). Before 1920 the women were not even had the right to vote, but all these changed after 20’s and entertainment industry that before kept women away, paved a way of success mainly in 20’s for the women actresses. (Clash of Cultures) African Americans who were historically poor started to migrate to northern states like New York, Chicago and Cleveland and even after the existing racial inequality in those places they had managed to acquire blue-collar jobs.

This led to the emergence of a black middle case that in the long run became committed to each other. Newspapers and other form of businesses emerged in black community and groups of doctors, lawyers and other business groups who were black by origin developed in rapid pace. One of the most pious and deserving steps that followed in 1920s was conferring citizenship to the original inhabitants of this great country the American Indians. Fashion also became very popular during this era. Gay and lesbian relations on the other hand was no longer an issue of shame and secrecy rather became well known and public.

The Hollywood celebrities and gangsters alike became subject to public attention and a matter of cheers and admiration. The era also marked significant progress in automobile industry and that through Henry Ford; a man who gave the world assembly line production process a new leap in motor industry that gave General Motors a competitor to think. The fairy land as it sounds so far often held grave circumstances for those people who came here to rewrite their life as portrayed through the photos taken by Dorothea Lange Her “Migrant Mother” might be considered as one of the best displays of migrant workers.

Following a pea crop failure they had to sell their tent to buy food. On one hand the photo represents another 2500 migrant workers who shared the same fate and on the other the photo stands for 4 million migrant workers who would find themselves on rod at the end of the decade. (A Photo Essay on the Great Depression) The photo that Dorothea picked of a boy fixing family car tells another heart twitching story, the boy since he had to extend a hand towards his father in works (picking cottons) did not go to school even though his performance at school was more than good. (Lange) Hence the change that followed after the conflicting years of 1910s and 1920s at the end created a world where some made their fortune and some perished.

Works Cited Clash of Cultures, Introduction, n.d. Web. May 8 2011 http://ehistory.osu.edu/osu/mmh/clash/Introduction/Intro.htm) A Photo Essay on the Great Depression, Modern American Poetry, n.d. May 8 2011 http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/depression/photoessay.htm Lange, Dorothy, Migrant Farm Families, The History Place, 2000. Web. May 9, 2011 from: http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/lange/index.html