To what extent should the 1920’s in America be remembered as good times or bad times? After World War one and the Treaty of Versailles, America became an isolationist. This meant they isolated themselves from all the other countries and didn’t get involved in other countries problems, America decided to take care of her own problems. During the 1920’s the USA became the richest and most powerful country in the world as a massive economic boom had occurred. However in 1929 disaster struck as banks went bust and share prices hit rock bottom.The roaring twenties, the age of excess and the Jazz age.
While the bank provided an efficient method by which the war debts of the United States could be handled, it also created division amongst the American people. This led to a decrease in unity amongst the states, which negatively impacted the nation. Another
At the beginning of World War I America attempted to stay neutral and focus on asserting their dominance throughout the western hemisphere, but as the war progressed it became clearer that America wanted and needed to enter the war. While many things had a profound impact on America’s entrance into WWI, American economic interests, Woodrow Wilson’s idealism, and American claim to world power, weighed heavily on the final decision to declare war on Germany. War provides a great opportunity for economic and industrial growth, a chance to change, and claim world power, as long as the country wins the war. American economic benefits of the war were not as prominent a factor as others, but nevertheless it did affect America’s decision to declare war. The economic side effects of entering a war can be beneficial to a country.
At this time people wanted to spend their money instead of save it for hard times. Society’s hourly pay rate nearly double and tripled during this era. War factories transitioned from making war materials to making civilian supplies, which lead to the boost in our economy at the time. Today, effects of the Baby Boom have many factors that come into play that affect our economy. According to National Academy of Social Insurance “social security faces a financial challenge from the impending retirement of the largest generation in American history, the 76 million persons born in the “baby boom” years, from 1946 through 1964.
350,000 women were in unions in 1914, but 600,000 by 1918. Although many women found themselves earning good wages for the first time during the war, women were always paid less than men, and were not promoted as often as their male colleagues. The war did lead to real changes in social attitudes. Women had more freedom after the war. Their clothing became much simpler, with shorter skirts and sleeves.
The housing market also plummeted leading to negative equity, which the majority of the working class could not afford resulting in the repossession of their houses combined with the drastic increase in unemployment Britain was in a mess. However Major did have some success, he abolished poll tax, which was very popular among the public, he increased spending on the NHS and introduced transport subsides to keep travel fares low.
Due to this boom the amount of unemployed African American workers fell sharply from 937,000 to 151,000 making black Americans more equal citizens and less disenfranchised. Despite the alterations made in the North, in the southern states, African Americans were still predominantly employed in poorly paid agricultural jobs. As it did in the North the war caused a boom in the south as well, however black people were not able to get well-paying jobs until A. Philip Randolph threatened to lead a march on Washington unless jobs were opened up to black workers. This development though did lead to some progression, President Roosevelt in direct response created the FEPC in 1941, which was a solid win for the black
But the war created a 44 month economic recovery for the United States from 1914 until 1918. The United States had taken a neutral approach to World War I. This allowed the Europeans to purchase goods from the United States for the war. When the United States entered the war in 1917 it set off a massive federal spending spree. This meant that production of goods for civilians would be then shifted to war goods.
The veteran’s new physical or psychological health may have created a small or drastic change, with coworkers feeling uncomfortable interacting with the veteran. With the current faltering economy, jobs may have disappeared or companies closed down. The veterans may have returned to jobs where their peers have been promoted and moved ahead while the veterans return to lower level/different jobs. Families may have changed; some spouses and children may be estranged from the combat
With the Great depression of America, American Exceptionalism was greatly changed. People started to doubt the great American dream that was not supposed to be at that low level of the economy. Endless opportunities and profits were no longer existent and the once exceptional America was looked at as a failure to many Americans living in that era. Along with this decline, World War II also added to the doubt. With the second war going on with the United States, people began to see how many people really didn't like the country they lived in.