Year of Award
2026
Document Type
Professional Paper
Degree Type
Master of Arts (MA)
Degree Name
History
Department or School/College
History
Committee Chair
Anya Jabour
Commitee Members
Kyle Volk, Brooklyn Draper
Keywords
Dance Hall, Schoolhouse, Rural, Urban, Community, Newspapers
Subject Categories
Cultural History | History of Gender | History of Religion | Legal | Oral History | Other History | Political History | Public History | Social History | United States History | Women's History | Women's Studies
Abstract
This paper explores public social dances east of the Continental Divide in Montana from 1900 to 1930. Rural social dances in schoolhouses and urban dances in dance halls created two different dance cultures. The relaxed nature of rural dances preserved the traditional values of nineteenth-century social dances, which reinforced community and family ties. Urban dances reflected the modern fads of the roaring twenties and challenged traditional values with sexual suggestiveness. Progressive Era moral reformers concerned about the possibility that social dance promoted illicit sexuality participated in an anti-dance movement and pushed for regulations of social dances. The anti-dance movement in Montana peaked during the first three decades of the 1900s. This movement affected urban areas to a greater extent than rural areas. The differences between urban and rural dance cultures shaped how the anti-dance controversy affected communities and their social dances.
This work examines the industrial cities of Montana in comparison with the rural homesteading communities on the plains. The study of Montana’s social dances in urban settings has been limited to links between social dances and sex work; in rural areas, scholars mainly focus on childhood and community development. This paper brings the two conversations together by showing how both communities participated in public social dances and how the anti-dance movement affected rural and urban communities differently.
Recommended Citation
Brown, Danielle Allison, "“AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS INSTITUTION:” THE CULTURES AND CONTROVERSY OF PUBLIC SOCIAL DANCES IN MONTANA, 1900-1930" (2026). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 12709.
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/12709
Included in
Cultural History Commons, History of Gender Commons, History of Religion Commons, Legal Commons, Oral History Commons, Other History Commons, Political History Commons, Public History Commons, Social History Commons, United States History Commons, Women's History Commons, Women's Studies Commons
© Copyright 2026 Danielle Allison Brown