Over the course of this class, I have learned a lot more about the 1920s than I have in any previous history class I’ve taken. Looking in,especially on the topics I chose for my blog posts brought me a lot more insight on how the 1920s changed the future of our country and how it affects us to this very day. At the start of the class I wrote a bit about what I thought the 190s were about, just off of what I knew prior from other classes. The main part that I talked about was the main overarching themes that existed in the 1920s, such as prohibition, labor laws, and the industrial spike that brought with it the basis for a lot of the structures we use today. Mainly I wrote about this was a time when the United States realized that after World War One, the United States was now a massive world power, and with that came the post-war economic boom that caused the US to get much richer. However this money did not reach everyone as I would find out as I researched more.
The deeper I searched for topics and revelations that occurred in the 1920s, the more I found corruption, crime, and unjust rulings at all levels. In 1922, the Great Railroad Strike was a massive blow to labor laws, where the United States government ruled in the favor of railroads firing the strikers and hiring scabs to replace them, instead of following union rules. In the Teapot Dome Scandal, I would find corruption at the top of the United States government, where private oil companies and government officials were getting rich off of the Navy’s oil reserves illegally. There were many highlights though, with the Ford Model T bringing inexpensive personal auto transport to the masses that was capable of the same tasks as a horse and more. This would go on to reshape how we design our cities and towns, as well as how we move about in our daily lives. I also mentioned in my first post how our cities changed shape drastically in this era. In the 1920s, especially in New York City, planners realized there was not much room left to expand outwards on Manhattan Island, and therefore had to go up for more space.
This would lead to the rise in skyscrapers and other tall buildings that would become the staple of many cities around the world. The revelations made in the 1920s, in the senses of technology, politics, and laws would set the stage for the modern United States, and would be the basis that the United States would build off of when finally building out of the Great Depression in the next decade. Overall, I learned a lot more about the 1920s than I thought I would, and even just looking at the three event for my blog posts were enough for me to see how much of our lives were influenced by this one decade in our history.
Gregory Kruimer is currently enrolled in his senior year at Ramapo College as a History major.
