1920s: Progress and Strife

Loyola News staff at work 

The 1920s was a decade of progress and of struggle. Women in the United States made great strides in the fight for their rights with the 19th amendment, which granted them the right to vote. On a smaller scale, women took a step forward through the construction of Mundelein College,* a Catholic women's college next to Loyola's Lake Shore Campus. Though women had attended Loyola for many years at this point, Mundelein offered expanded educational opportunities and the ability to participate in all parts of college life. Unfortunately, despite these successes, other significant struggles ensued. After the race riots of 1919, continued racial divides led to the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan. In true Jesuit fashion, Loyola students stepped up to fight the hatred that accompanied their return. Additionally, the end of the decade saw the stock market crash that would usher in one of the greatest struggles the United States has ever experienced: the Great Depression. 

*Mundelein College, founded and operated by the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (BVM), provided education to women from 1930 until 1991, when it affiliated with Loyola University Chicago.

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