Connecting the 1920s to today's American society

The 1920s in the United States was a time of flappers, Prohibition, ballooning of businesses into corporations, and visions of the American Dream. At that time, citizens of the United States believed they lived in a meritocracy--- a place where individuals could overcome obstacles of poverty, language barriers, socio-economic class distinctions, and racism.

Yet, with changes in society also came a sense of new morality. The federal government abandoned social reforms and left millions of Americans without adequate food, housing, work conditions, or healthcare. People worked long hours to maintain a minimal standard of living. Women fought hard for the right to vote, but they did not share their husband's financial credit until nearly 50 years later. Newly formed corporations banded together to shut down labor union movements and (expensive) safety condition upgrades.

Today, it's typical to look back on the 1920s and see it as an era of change, of turmoil, and of unbridled optomism. F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby captures the idealism, the individualism, and the recklessness of the 1920s. Yet the 1920s has lessons for us in contemporary society to learn as well.

According to NY Times columnist Adam Cohen, The Great Gatsby speaks to contemporary American beliefs in self-improvement, self-invention, and dreams. Cohen says, "And we are the nation that after the debacles of Vietnam and Somalia, still views itself as having a calling to wage war on terrorism worldwide.... we are Gatsby, flawed in a flawed world, but unable to resist the pull of the green light."

What area of the 1920 interests you? How is this topic still an issue in contemporary American society today? In what ways are Americans still fighting against systems, institutions, and structures of society that prevent its citizens from reaching the American Dream?

Research the idea. Look in books and magazines. Journal about it. Talk about it with others. Try to learn and make sense of the ways that Fitzgerald spoke to both his own generation and ours.