Postwar Uncertainty
(Ch. 15, Sec. 1)
New Scientific Theories Challenge
Old Beliefs
• World War I caused many to question religious
faith (fear of uncertain future)
• Writer T.S. Eliot described the postwar world
as lacking hope and faith
• Einstein’s Theory of Relativity (space and time
not constant) challenged Newton’s absolute
laws of motion & gravity
• Freud’s theory of unconscious, irrational
behavior attacked the idea of reason/choice
New Ideas/Styles in Philosophy, Art,
and Music
• Sartre and Nietzsche believed in existentialism
(meaning through choice & action)
• Cubism transformed natural shapes into
geometric shapes (Picasso)
• Artists rebelled against realism and turned to
surrealism (above or beyond reality)
• Jazz , which originated in the US, gained
popularity across the US and Europe
Changes in Women’s Lives/Roles
• Women gained right to vote in most
democratic nations
• Women wore less restrictive clothing (no
more corsets)
• They continued to work outside the home in
careers (still responsible for family)
• Cut their hair short (bobbed) and began to
wear makeup
• Drove cars, and drank & smoked in public
New Technologies in Transportation
and Entertainment
• Automobiles became a part of everyday life
(commute to work, vacation, travel)
• People began to travel by airplane (passenger
airlines catered to the rich)
• Radio became an important form of family
entertainment (news, sports, weekly shows)
• Movies (first silent, then with sound) became
another popular form of entertainment