Do you think it is important to have a school dress code Do you think it is important to have a school dress code? Why or why not? Are there any rules you think are unnecessary? Bell Ringer
The New Morality The struggle between tradition and modernity
A shift in the beliefs of many Americans during the 1920s on their ideas of family, relationships, gender roles, religion, and especially, war. The New Morality
Causes for the “New Morality” World War I Increasing role of women in politics Mass Media
Human Psychology Mental illness in America Believed that mental illnesses were untreatable Social stigma (eugenics) Causes for changes in mental health WWI vets suffering from “shell shock” Social conflicts increased fear and paranoia Sigmund Freud Conscious and unconscious mind Id, ego, superego Life and death instincts Defense mechanisms
Women’s Suffrage Some success at local/state levels Protests get more aggressive after Wilson’s war speech for “preserving democracy” National Women's Party (led by Alice Paul) picket the White House Nineteenth Amendment (1920) Women’s Suffrage
Founded the American Birth Control League (would later become Planned Parenthood) Inspired by mother’s hardships with pregnancy and uterine cancer Eugenicist Believed that families standard of living would improve if they limited the number of children they had Advocate of “the pill” Margaret Sanger
La Vie Boehme! "Bohemian”: People who lived unconventional, usually artistic, lives. Sought to break social barriers, refuting traditional gender norms and sexual stereotypes. Greenwich Village, NYC
The New Morality for Women Not the kind of girls you bring home to Mama!
Changes in Society Women in the workforce Women’s colleges During the war, women took over jobs men left behind Female occupations post-war Teaching Nursing Telephone operator Secretary Women’s colleges Pre-WWI: Genuine fear that college made women unfit for marriage and motherhood Post-WWI: new “modern woman” was intelligent and independent
New Roles in the Home and Family Women became the “purchasing agent” of the family Household tasks become much easier with electric appliances Romance and relationships Highly inspired by the romances on the silver screen
The New Girl 1900 1920
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The Century: The Roaring Twenties