The Clash Between Traditionalism and Modernism Lesson 29

Someone who embraces new ideas, styles, and social trends Please write these terms & definitions in your journal. Traditionalist: Someone who has deep respect for long held cultural and religious values Modernist: Someone who embraces new ideas, styles, and social trends

Using your definitions, determine the following: In what ways might the magazine cover on the left exemplify traditionalism? In what ways might the magazine cover on the right exemplify modernism?

Think about the following: What are some of the differences between traditionalism and modernism? How might some of these differences create conflict? In your journal write today’s date, then create a T-Chart or a Double Bubble Map and compare and contrast these two magazine covers to the right. When your teacher asks, share your responses with the class. Please note: Highlighted words in slide show are your vocabulary terms.

Read the introduction to your text, then answer the questions below in your journal: Be ready to share: Why did Norman Rockwell paint scenes of traditional American values? Why do you think his paintings were so popular? How might Rockwell’s paintings illustrate a clash between traditionalism and modernism in the 1920s? Young Valedictorian by Norman Rockwell

“The Growing Traditionalist - Modernist Divide” - In your journal, add the title above. Please take thorough notes. When the doughboys returned from France at war’s end, many decided to leave their small hometowns behind. A 1920 census revealed a population shift that amounted to over 50% urban- a shift that would set the stage for a growing divide between traditionalism and modernism. Urban Attractions: Economic Opportunity and Personal Freedoms Greater wage opportunity in the city Steady Consumer price index = measure of the cost of basic necessities, like food and housing Combined, this allowed urban wage earners to improve standard of living Exploration of new ideas, ways of thinking Meet new cultures, attend movies, concerts, read newspapers and magazines, drink, gamble, and go on casual dates without being judged as immoral

Rural Problems: Falling Crop Prices & Failing Farms Rural life: Lived in quiet communities and looked out for one another New ideas and ways of behaving considered suspicious Younger generations left for the city Problems: During WWI, farms prospered as food demand was high- farmers took out loans to purchase new machines and additional land After war, crop prices and European demand for US farm products dropped sharply 1920’s alone- hundreds of thousands of farmers lost farms

Select someone to read the dispatch (article) from wisconsin to The Nation, in late 1932 The article comes from an excerpt of Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States Discuss the article with your group and create 2 questions on the sheet of paper you believe are significant to understanding the problems farmers faced. You will then take these questions to another group where you will exchange answers. You will be given 4 minutes to complete this activity. After you return to your desk, answer the following in your journal: What would you have done if you were Max Cichon?

Changing Values Lead to Mutual Resentment The divide between the urban modernists and rural traditionalist was not only economic, as modernists generally viewed rural Americans as socially unadvanced. Sinclair Lewis, first American writer to win Nobel Prize for Literature, described rural traditionalists in a novel this way: ...a savorless people, gulping tasteless food, and sitting afterward, coatless and thoughtless, in rocking-chairs prickly with inane decorations, listening to mechanical music, saying mechanical things about the excellence of Ford automobiles, and viewing themselves as the greatest race in the world. - Main Street, 1920

Religious Fundamentalism Not surprisingly, rural traditionalists resent those types of attacks on their behavior and values and viewed city-dwellers as a money-grabbing, materialistic, and immoral culture. These defenders of traditional values often cited their faith to support their struggle against modernism. Fundamentalism rises- idea that religious texts and beliefs should be taken literally and treated as the authority on appropriate behavior Billy Sunday, former major league baseball player, emerges as America’s most prominent fundamentalist preacher Largest following was located in rural South

Still, Times Were Changing... Growing number of young modernists rejected long-accepted American values Agriculture was no longer backbone of American economy With change in mass media technology (advancements), even rural residents were being exposed to new ideas, music and social values Final journal entry for today- Does society continue to change? What allows for these shifts? How are values and/or morals defined today? Where do your values and/or morals come from? Who should determine values and/or morals for our society?