How did the US begin to modernize and how did many Americans cling to traditional values in 1920s?

Answer 1

The United States, like most industrialized countries, modernized gradually, in large part out of necessity. As new immigrants arrived, and as America spread out from a mostly eastern population to populations in the mid-west and far west, there was a demand for new inventions to address the needs of the growing country. Improved transportation (railroads, and later automobiles) allowed businesses to ship goods faster, and made it easier for people to travel more quickly to various parts of the country. New communication technologies like the telegraph and the telephone made it easier for messages to be sent over long distances. Advances in medicine kept people alive longer and cured previously fatal diseases; and improvements in education helped Americans to learn what they needed in order to thrive in a changing world.

By the 1920s, women could vote, and more middle-class young people were attending college; subjects like sociology and psychology were gaining popularity. An increasing number of schools of education were training future teachers, and schools of business were doing market research to understand the behavior of consumers. Although America was still segregated, the Harlem Renaissance exposed a white audience to the work of the best black painters, poets, sculptors and composers. Americans had a new invention, radio, which brought news, sports, politics, and entertainment directly to their homes; it also provided black performers with the opportunity to be heard even in cities where their physical presence might not have been welcome.

But despite all that was modern, traditional values were by no means gone. In fact, new inventions and modern conveniences in no way diminished church attendance. Radio actually enhanced the ability of shut-ins and the disabled to connect with their faith, providing religious services from a number of denominations and broadcasts of sermons by famous preachers. Americans still held patriotic beliefs, and love of country was as strong as ever; parades were often held, and attendance at patriotic events remained high.

But it should be noted that some traditionalists, especially members of conservative religions, were uncomfortable with what they saw as an excess of freedom-- dance crazes and fashions they felt were vulgar, and songs with suggestive lyrics. And other traditionalists, especially white residents of the deep south, were upset by the efforts of black people to gain equal opportunities. The 1920s saw a resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan, a backlash against black people seeking to break out of their traditional (segregated) roles; even those southerners who found the Klan far too violent were not ready to abandon segregation.

Also dissatisfied with 1920s America were some members of the clergy; a number of priests and ministers (and even a few rabbis) were very upset with the popular culture and felt movies and music were bad influences on young people. There was also an on-going debate about family planning: some churches were opposed to birth control, and did not want the subject discussed on radio, nor did they want family planning clinics to be allowed to open. And there was also a debate about the role of women-- although women now could vote, and some were attending college, the society was still quite conservative and it was expected (and in some cases demanded) that if a woman married, she would not hold down a paying job. Traditionalists believed that women should stay home and raise children, while some modernists felt women who wanted to continue working should be able to do so.

To sum up, by the 1920s, there were many new and modern inventions, and there had been a lot of social change. People enjoyed radio, talking pictures, and automobiles. Young adults were asking for more freedom and choosing from a wider range of careers. But just as we see today, there were still large numbers of people, many of whom were deeply religious, who disliked some of the changes and worried that America was losing its morals. Those who chose to cling to, or rely upon, traditional values were probably still in the majority, but there was now a growing number of people who believed it was time for certain of those traditions to be modified. That debate was ongoing throughout the 1920s.