United States Enters World War I

The United States finally takes a part WWI siding with England, France Russia and other nations on the side of the Allies. On April 2, 1917 President Wilson requests Declaration of War from congress on the bases that "The world must be made safe for democracy. Its peace must be planted upon the tested foundations of political liberty. We have no selfish ends to serve. We desire no conquest, no dominion. We seek no indemnities for ourselves, no material compensation for the sacrifices we shall freely make."

The declaration of war was initiated by the Zimmermann Note. The Zimmermann Note was sent by German Foreign Minister Arthur Zimmermann, in January of 1917, to German ambassador Heinrich von Eckhart in attempt to persuade Mexico to take a part in WWI, to join the side of the Central Powers. The deal promised Mexico the territories it has lost in conflicts with the United States in the past, mainly territories lost in the Mexican American War. In addition to the promise of land for Mexico, Germany also commented on continuation of unrestricted warfare, "We intend to begin on the first of February unrestricted submarine warfare. We shall endeavor in spite of this to keep the United States of America neutral."

 This note, which was found in decimal file code, was first intercepted by the British in January.  But it was held until February 24 before it was given to Wilson because Britain wanted to maximize the growing Anti-German beliefs among the American public. The Press then published the Zimmermann Note on March 1st of that year and Britain got the reaction they hoped for. The American public was enraged. With this note the America people felt the distant war on another continent was now "being brought to their own land". America, pushed in to WWI had a huge effect on the balance of power, going in to the war with the notion that this war would be "the war to end all wars."

Zimmermann Note in decimal file 

Zimmermann Note Translated

Women and Their Changing Roles

Women's Roles

Women and Their Changing Roles

How Technology and Other Changes Affected the Women in the Community

By Hiren Ajudia

 

            The cry for equal recognition and long been sung by women prior to the passing of the Nineteenth Amendment. In 1920, when this amendment was finally passed allowing women the right to vote, they felt as if all of their dreams had been fulfilled. The population of the women community was so large that they could no longer be ignored and the growing number of women’s rights activities was proof that action must be taken as soon as possible. Although someone women were dying to vote (literary as well), others felt that it would be out of their place to intermingle with the male dominated society. Some women felt as if they were wrong to demand voting privileges and compare themselves to the males in the society because they were not comfortable with concerning themselves outside of their homes and their family. Some women felt that the social circles of both men and women should stay separate because they both had different responsibilities.

It cannot be denied that the inclusion of women in the legal matters at the state and national level did not bring positive reforms for the people. With women on board, there had been a heavy emphasis on the rights for children, labor workers and also things like prison reform.

When faced with a new situation, it is often difficult to understand how things work and as a result, it takes a while for people to understand what a certain device does and what it is used for. Likewise, women often found themselves having a difficult time understanding electricity, plumbing, and other common systems in the household. Electricity changed the lives of women in the home because it brought along advancements which made life easier for the women. For example, the invention of washing machines made it possible for women to have more time for themselves during the day. Instead of washing clothes by hand, women in the urban locations could take extra naps or they could work on other things. Electricity made light possible, and with light the hours of activities were extended. This meant that women had the opportunity to stay up longer into the night in order to do their personal activities.

In addition to standing up in the political aspect of life, women were also taking responsibility for themselves outside of the home. In the work force, women found themselves to be independent and strived to make their own existence. The availability of higher wage paying jobs allowed women to have more chances of providing their family with the necessities they need. Prior to this movement, people believed that women would not be able to work and to look after their families at the same time, but they were proved incorrect.

One of the most important roles of women during this time was seen in the “New Women” phase. Not only had fashion changed dramatically during this time period, we also see a shift in the personalities of the women of this era. The new breed women wore short clothes and engaged in activities that were unusual before. They had taken up things like smoking, and dancing which went against their strong Victorian era beliefs. Today, we find these roles of women to be common, but at the time this transition from a family oriented to a individual oriented movement had been unsettling for many. There were people who did not understand that women were people as well and that they had dreams and ambitions which changed as their surroundings changed.

Teapot Dome Scandal: From Harding's Election to Oil Companies Controlling Federal Reserves

Harding's election along with his administration was filled with scandals. At the time, winning the Republican nomination for the upcoming presidential campaign seemed unlikely for Harding, but with the help of oil companies he won the nomination. At first Jake Hamon, the prominent leader of the scheme, was hoping to follow through with his plan of stealing the federal oil reserves, established at Teapot Dome and Elkin Hill as a constant supply for the U.S. navy, with the more popular candidate, Democratic nominee James Cox. But Cox refused him. Hamon's plan was to buy the presidency, then acquire the position as the secretary of the Department of Interior so the brought president can conspicuously transfer the control of the oil reserves from the Navy to the Department of Interior. Once he gains the control of the federal reserves he would give no bid contracts to his friends in the oil industry.

Harding then won the election of 1920 by a landslide. He campaigned against Wilson's policies on foreign intervention, which was becoming increasingly unpopular. In addition, he advocated for normalcy and for America's desire to stay home and rebuild family. In Harding's speech at Boston 1920, he said "America's present need is not heroics but healing; not nostrums but normalcy; not revolution but restoration." 

But soon after Harding's administration began Hamon was killed by his mistress Clara. Harding, still trapped in the deal transfers the control of the reserves to the Department of Interior, Secretary Albert Fall. This power was then was secretly transferred into the hands of the Mammoth Oil Company in Wyoming and shared by the Pan American Petroleum Company in California.

When this scandal drew to a close the members involved were charged with "Conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government". In addition, Harding suddenly died after Teapot Dome which has evoke many controversial theories. The Teapot Dome instance became a major icon of political corruption and was known as the most notorious scandal in American history next to the Watergate during Nixon's administration.

Teapot Dome Wyoming

 Albert Fall

President Harding

Regionalism takes Art Forms

Regionalism was a popular modern art movement during the early twentieth century. The movement originated from the Mid-west, with each paintings representing different regions and cultures of America. Artists of this era focused on recreation of rural simple life to understand daily occurrences and disliked life in metropolitan areas and the rapid growth of technology. There were two groups of Artists pertaining to this movement. One group was the Social Realisms who captured the problems and hardships faced by the lower class citizens in urban areas and often advocated for implement of socialist ideals. The other group was the Regionalists who hoped to revive America out of the Great Depression by giving America hope about its future through painting more positive topics. The most often painted subjects are scenes of farm work, transportation, family, community and the American Experience during the Great Depression. The compositions of this movement became a stress reliever for the American public during the Depression because the art works recreated scenes of the American Spirit. Because Regionalists portrayed the American Spirit of hard work and enterprise, Regionalists often received support from conservatives, especially when conservatives along with much of the American public despised Socialistic ideals.  

(Morning Sun, by Edward Hopper)

(American Gothic, by Grant Woods)

(Going Home, Thomas Hart Benton)

(Fall Plowing, Grant Wood)

Regionalism and Local Color: a Intellectual Movement and Flourishes in Literature

Regionalism and Local Color was a movement in both the mind and literature during the late nineteenth century to the early twentieth century. Intellectually the people of this era, especially the South placed a higher priority on regional concerns than national ones, they became more regionally aware. This then reflected in the literature of this era with compositions focusing on differences such as dialects and difference in life style. This distinct style can be seen in Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, in the distinct differences between the dialogue of the slave Jim to the "educated" people Huck encounters in his adventures down the Mississippi River. Twains explains "In this book a number of dialects are used, to wit: the Missouri negro dialect, the extremist form of the backwoods Southern-Western dialects; the ordinary 'Pike-Country' dialect; and four modified varieties of this last". In addition, Twain like many authors of this era uses the erroneousness in syntax to define the origins of  his characters .

The Local Color movement enveloped greater areas, from New England to the Mid-West and the South. A dominating theme in the South was the "Lost Cause", the life before the war focusing on how life "might have been". Examples of these stories are Marse Chan by Thomas Nelson Page. Through Marse Chan he told a story about the beauty of the plantation life style, about beautiful Southern women, heroic slave owners and their blissful slaves. Southern writers also wrote about Southern diversity, culture, geography and Southern economy.

Writers of this movement include Kate Chopin, James Lane Allen and E. W. Howe.

(Marse Chan by Thomas Nelson Page)

The Swanky Entertainment called Dance

by Royce Le

            Along with the new addition to the jazz in American culture, there were evolutions of dances also that characterized the Modernist era. The new melodies were fast paced, thus the dances followed suit. The dances were a way for people to express themselves and release pent-up emotions and negative influences from the war, thus acted as a catalyst for making people feel better.

            Back in the 1920s, the older and more conservative generations were opposed to the Jazz era, but, the younger generations reveled in this era and the fast tempo music, thus the creation of intimacy in dances. In the early 1900s, the Tango and the Waltz were considered promiscuous since they involved physical touch between both partners, but, as jazz took off, the intimacy between partners became a social norm.

                                                                        To the left and right are images of the Lindy Hop, a dance named after the great Charles Lindbergh, also nicknamed Lucky Lindy for his skillful and lucky solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean. His flight inspired the first dance to have aspects where dance partners are thrown into the air and where there are multiple jumping sequences.

            People looked at the new inspiring dances in movies, listened to steps through phonographs and radio records in order to practice the new dances before showcasing their moves in the clubs or dance floors. Dance became essential to every party and entertainment centers.  Dances were starting to be taught in schools and were used by churches in order to attract people to one another. Dances invented were Foxtrot, Square dance, and the most famous that epitomizes this era being the Charleston.

To the right is an image of the Charleston dance ad for a

Club. According to Comlumbia University Press, “The

Charleston is characterized by outward heel kicks

combined with an up and down movement achieved by

bending and straightening the knees in time to the music”.

 The steps are thought to have originated with the blacks

living on a small island near Charleston, S.C. Performed

 in Charleston as early as 1903.

            

             All-in-all, the dances were used to entertain, to express, and to help carve out the way many people lived during the Modernist Era. The impacts of the invention of these dances are the set foundation for couple dancing during today’s time and age. The dances have really transformed how youth express themselves for now arms, legs, and bodies were tossed in the air with the thought of reckless abandonment and a new ideology of optimism was set for new generations to come and live by.

I Finally Got To Vote

Women's Roles

I Finally Got To Vote

The Right of a Woman

By Hiren Ajudia

           

            When the day had finally come, her happiness knew no bounds. She had completed her daily chores with a prompt enthusiasm and had managed to finish in little less than two hours. Scrubbing the soup pan had tired her hands, but she could not feel any pain, for her mind was envisioning the future. How is the paper going to feel in my hand? Will I see Suzie there? She had worn her best blouse and hoped that she could wear it with pride later that afternoon.  In the years past, she had gotten her son ready for this occasion, but it was finally her turn. She was going to do the same this year.

            As she made her way out of her home and locked her door, she saw all the women in her neighborhood doing the same. She noticed how Ms. Smith had worn her favorite hat and how Ms. Howards had adorned her daughter and was bring her along. As she made her way to her companions, she felt a stab of nostalgia hit her like a brick—in the past she had her friends had walked the same streets with the same sense of dedication; however, their purposes had been different. In the past, heavy signs and boards were in their clutches, but now they had beautiful purses by their side. After a long 100 years, it was finally our chance to be in charge.

            Today, she saw in her mind those words which had changed her life. She was one of the millions of women who had finally gotten a chance to voice their opinions.  She had been tired of being told what she could do and what she couldn’t; she had enough of just being shafted and forced to sit in the corner while her husband and son discussed government. She had often heard her husband curse elected politicians and their actions, but now was her chance to fix that. As she and her friends reached the venue, she could hear the cries of excitement coming from the others just like her. After seeing the posters and the politicians, her blood was fueled with nothing but adrenaline. The time had finally come. Those hard months of rallying and collecting support was finally going to pay off.

We see the narrator and her two friends Ms. Smith and Ms. Howards casting their vote after they were given full rights with the passing of the 19th amendment.

            She was lead to a line with eager women in front of her. One by one, they were taken to a table with a slice of paper and a wooden box. As each woman smiled from ear to ear, they quickly folded their paper and slide it into the box. When it was finally her turn, she quickly picked up her pen and made a giant circle on her paper. The cold paper had been so soft that it could have been easily lost. As she picked it up and slide it into the slit on the box, her excitement could not be contained at all.

            She finally voted.