Rural Values vs. Urban Idealism essays

Rural Values vs. Urban Idealism essays The 1920s was a time of great change for the American people, WW1 had just ended and Americans were trying their best to forget the horrors of war and live up the good times. Lifestyles were changing as new inventions like the automobile gave people the freedom to travel long distances whenever they pleased while various common household appliances like the washing machine and dishwasher were saving women valuable housework time that could now be spent working in jobs or on entertainment. Residential patterns were also undergoing a massive transformation. For the first time in American History the urban population of the nation outnumbered the rural as people flocked to the cities in record numbers to find employment. The yeomen farmer was no longer idolized as the American Dream and was rapidly becoming a thing of the past as more and more Americans found themselves trading in their hoes and plows for assembly line wrenches. Factories were the new place of employment for the average man, as growing ones own food became a thing of the past. The average American family was now living off of wages, renting their residence, and buying their food from the supermarket. Appliances and cars increasingly became necessities as consumerisms begin to dominate the economy. During this period of time a distinctive rift began to manifest itself between the people of small towns and those of the big cities. The morals and values of these different places slowly, but surely begin to drift apart leading to a fair amount of conflict. To begin with, rural people generally lived in small tight knit communities where everyone knew each other. In these communities everyone generally attended the same local Christian congregation and shared the same basic values and beliefs. Rural people clung tightly to their community values and were weary of outsiders, especially those who came from what they saw as morally corrupt big citie...