Question.482 - ESSAY 3 Below you will see two topics relevant to American Imperialism and America in the 1920s. Please read both topics carefully and select ONE topic on which you wish to write. Compose your topic carefully, edit it for grammar, punctuation, and spelling, and then submit it. If you are unsure of the rules on submitting Essays, please review the gray-shaded section in the Course Syllabus on how to complete Essays. Your Essay must be a minimum of 500 words in length (you may write more than 500 words if you wish) and will be worth up to 30 points. This Essay will be open through Saturday, April 9th at 11:59 PM! 1. Briefly describe some of the factors that influenced the United States to adopt an expansionist foreign policy during the late nineteenth century. What were some of the reasons that the U.S. wanted to expand overseas during this time? How did American acquisition of foreign territories before and after the Spanish-American War of 1898 turn the United States into an imperialist power? 2. Consider the following two statements: "The 1920s was a time of modernity and change." "The 1920s was a return to tradition and conservatism." Thinking about such factors as the politics, culture, and economy of the 1920s, which statement do you find more persuasive as a description of 1920s America? Why? Illustrate your answer with at least one relevant historical event and/or example.
Answer Below:
Essay 3 The 1920s was a time of modernity and change. The time period of 1920 to 1928 was exclusively a new era a time of modernity and change. A new and expressive dance based on the free movement of a body liberated from the constraints of traditional technique and costume (Foner, 2016) was introduced in California by Isadora Duncan. New Cubist paintings were introduced in New York during an exhibition. The artists were from Europe and this type of artwork was totally new in the United States, for example, Pablo Picasso. Electrical appliances got hugely popular in the beginning year of 1920. An individual home bought at least one electrical thing like a toaster, vacuum cleaner, etc. On the other side, local communities were improving new roads, bridges, parks, suburbs, and cities (Foner, 2016). This made traveling easier for people while the world was moving faster. Many American citizens acquired radios, cars, and telephones for the first time. Cars were introduced, so does the need for healthy pathways or roads. This time period smoothly welcomed new social changes. North Carolina found considerable growth in industrial areas like tobacco, furniture, and textiles. Many farmers rejected their farms so that they could receive a regular paycheck for the work in industries. Women in this era, got introduced to new fancy styles of dressing and hairstyles. Even there was a change in the education system, for instance students went to school and spent 75 days in a year, but today it is around 180 days. To conclude, new inventions and introductions bought the world one step closer to people. The 1920s was a return to tradition and conservatism. The period is definitely a milestone of social change in the United States. But this time is referred to by historians as the time of prosperity as well as a downfall. This battle was more involved with religion and most of the time, attempts to create a moralistic society came from that involvement. While traditionalists fought to preserve the traditional religious cultures, which they believed in morality, the other forces tried to become more liberalized tried to build a free society! Other positive changes made during 1920 were the result of the Civil Rights movement. This was focused on getting respect for civil liberties, cultural pluralism and it was declared that group identity, personal behavior, and the free expression of ideas lay outside legitimate state concern (Foner, 2016). Such principles became the important cause of modern liberalism. In the same time, the government announced industrial freedom through which, according to section 7a a new fundamental right to employees called right to organize unions. Meantime, the time also included depression in the population as there was a huge imbalance between wealth and income. This led women themselves to step back and create a space in the workplace for men to resolve unemployment. This shows by this time, women were receiving equal opportunities in the workplace. As another solution to escalating unemployment, the government prohibited a couple from occupying two federal jobs at a time. To conclude, while film, and dance were completely got dissolved into the interest of Americans, social and economic radicalism, not support for the status quo, defined true Americanism, ethnic and racial diversity was the glory of American society (Foner, 2016). Reference Foner, E. (2016).?Give Me Liberty! An American History: One Volume. WW Norton & Company.More Articles From History