Change in America

The 1920's is one of the most important eras in American history. It carried high prestige because of the fact that the 1920 s changed everything, from the way people thought about themselves to the way people had fun and kept themselves entertained. It was an era that had drastic changes in political attitude, economic attitude, and cultural values. The topics addressed in chapter 12 reflect a changing America in that American values and attitudes all changed due to the new wave thinking brought on by the 1920's.

The first major change in American society was the change that occurred in America's political attitude. The most major change in political attitude was due to Americans newfound hatred of immigrants. Because the 1920 s instilled a sense of national pride and nationalism many Americans were against immigrants. People did not like immigrants because of the fact that they felt they were un-American and gave America a bad name. Since the 1920 s made people feel important because of new found income and entertainment, it made people believe that any time there was a problem in America it was not because of an American (Johnson, 68). Therefore a lot of the blame was placed on immigrants. So in order to keep America American the government put heavy restrictions on immigrants. One of these restrictions was the Act of 1921, which limited the amount of immigrants entering the United States from Europe. Then in 1924 the American government decided to lower the amount of European immigrants and exclude all Asian immigrants. Another occurrence in the 1920s that explains the changing political attitude was Prohibition. Prohibition was a law that was passed through a new Amendment that outlawed the consumption and sale of alcohol. This was yet another attempt by the American government to eliminate all things that they felt brought America down. Even though Prohibition decreased domestic abuse and death it also caused the formation of something called the Mafia which was a crime cartel that dealt in the illegal sale of alcohol. The beginning of this new crime wave created a lot of new crime and was responsible for numerous homicides and other problems.

Another interpretation is that "America" is a belief system. This belief system is basically called the U.S. Constitution. This Constitution is what "constitutes" America. Americans are the people that believe in these beliefs and follow them. This is a rather quaint way of looking at it because, since the laws always change, America is always changing also.

Other people look at America as a place of democratic values. They see America as a place where there is equality, a place where everyone gets their fair share of everything, a haven if you will. They see it as a place where people are free to do almost whatever they want. When they think of America, they see the word: fairness. America is a place where the truth is told. America is a place where promises are kept. America is a place ...