Interwar Period - Dissertation Example

Interwar period Interwar period The interwar period was a sad and tragic period lasting only 21 years, the period was characterized by grinding unemployment and poverty for many in the 1930s. Such conditions facilitated the rise of ruthless dictatorships in Germany, Russia, Italy and elsewhere in Europe that would set the scene for the Second World War (Martin, 165). It was also a time of great incipient change, especially in the social conditions of the population, emerging lifestyles, better communications, growing political awareness and action.

This period witnessed a transition away from the Victorian age toward the new world of greater individuality, mobility and innovation in most spheres of daily life, and especially in leisure and travel. It was also a period of remarkable growth in travel and tourism and of developing social ideas that are still easily traceable today (Martin 213). In Russia, the interwar period was characterized by sexual inequality (Sandell 13). The women of Russia were beginning to ask for equality, they wanted the government to appreciate them, and by 1921 women in Russia were once again demanding the government provide them with more bread, as times continued to be rough during the transitional period.

However, regardless of whether all of the ideas regarding women were fully realized, the ideas themselves still proved to be radical and influential. Throughout 1917 to 1920, Lenin proclaimed that he sought to provide women with the equality they deserved from the efforts they made during the October revolution. He made his opinion known that, through socialism, the classes would become equal and, as a result, the sexes would as well. Although there were small steps made in creating the equality of women that he spoke about, there were large leaps made in ideology that presented a view of gender equality that remains revolutionary for the time and a model for women’s rights movements (Sandell13).

In addition to Lenin’s ideas on women’s rights, he had women working in his party, such as Alexandra Kollontai, who further developed ideas to equalize women and feverishly pursued resolutions to women’s issues. Although the actual construction of nurseries, day cares, health facilities, and the like were often stifled due to the lack of readily available funds94, her ideas regarding women’s equality were not as limited. She argued for dramatic emancipation from limitations as well as from domestic work and family life.

Throughout Kollontai’s writing, she argues that women should be able to work in the factories without worrying about the burden of motherhood and traditional family roles (Laqua 470). As a result, she believed that women would be liberated from their husbands and their children with the assistance of the state and would, therefore, be able to actively participate in society and politics. Although some of her goals were realized, her goals themselves show the Bolshevik party as revolutionary in regards to their opinions on gender equality (Laqua 475).

In America, there was a problem with governance and politics and that is the reason Franklin D. Roosevelt in the common wealth speech tries to differentiate between good governance and politics. He anticipates for good governance that would help alleviate the civil war that was rampant (Roosevelt). His words are echoed by Hassan al- Banna when asking the Muslims to unite to form the Muslim brotherhood his idea was that with good governance and nationalism they would be able to develop and grow economically.

Finally, in china, the peasants had made a movement that was fighting for good governance, the report by Mao Zedong, the movement agendas were different from the government thought and says that the peasants are unstoppable force in fighting for their rights. Works Cited Laqua, Daniel. "Intellectual Exchange and the New Information Order of the Interwar Years: The British Society for International Bibliography, 1927-1937." Library Trends 62.2 (2013): 465-477. Thomas, Martin. The French Empire between the Wars: Imperialism, Politics and Society.

Manchester [u.a.: Manchester Univ. Press, 2005. Print. "Report On The Investigation Of The Peasant Movement In Hunan." 1927. Roosevelt, Franklin D. "Campaign Address on Progressive Government at the Commonwealth Club, in Samuel Irving Rosenman, ed." The Public Papers and Addresses of Franklin D. Roosevelt (1938): 742-756. Sandell, Marie. "Learning in and from the West: international students and international women’s organisations in the interwar period." History of Education. 44.1 (2015): 5-24.