Major Issues on the History of America - Essay Example

? History Questions Word Count 020 (4 pages Explain the changes that took place in American society in the 1920s, summarize the ?new values or attitudes that those changes brought, and discuss the various reactions ?against those new values or attitudes. (570 words) The era of the Roaring ‘20s, also known as “The New Era,” was bubbling with prosperity. There were five elements that were causing changes of behavior in the U.S. First, the United States was celebrating one of its greatest economic triumphs, just having emerged from the aftermath of World War I. Also, the U.S. was just beginning to enter the Industrial Age, changing American society dramatically. Production was soaring because businesses boomed. People moved out of the cities if they could, because there was a wide income disparity between the working class and the urban middle class. In addition, Prohibition was legally enforced while the 18th Amendment was valid, forcing people to stop making moonshine liquor and patronize bars—however, this legal technicality did not in effect erase peoples’ drinking activity completely, but rather just suppressed it. (People still made liquor illegally, buying it and selling it.) The results of these changes were a New Urban Culture, New Moral Standards, and New Consumer Ethics. A New Urban Culture flourished. As industrial work no longer could meet the demands for low-skilled workers in the polis, industrial operations began to move to the rural areas—where there were more low-skilled workers who: most likely had less education; were willing to work for less money; and were not averse to doing skill that required more physical labor and less intellectual faculties. Also, as people became more middle class, the demand for physical labor decreased. Industries moved to rural areas to stay afloat. New Moral Standards emerged as well. Those who were in the working class held the American belief that if one worked hard enough, there was room for upward social mobility to eventually become part of the middle class. The larger, major cities were cleaned as an effort to make city living more palatable for everyone. Meanwhile, New Consumer Ethics emerged. As ethical consumerism decreased, as the staple of the American employment landscape changed, due to advertising. The advent of the 9-to-5 office job eclipsed most physical labor that had previously been the backbone of the American work force. More jobs began to require degrees in higher education, and more people began to—as a result—seek more education from institutions at higher learning. Several excellent schools had begun to gain exeter reputations in the early 20th century, such as Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. Education became much more of a focus as several industries moved from the urban to the rural areas. Once the ‘20s were over, people started moving in an exodus out of the city once they had achieved some level of social mobility. Conflict ensued with the Scopes Trial (also famously known as the “Scopes Monkey Trial”), a lawsuit of the State of Tennessee versus John Scopes, a biology teacher who taught evolution—when it was illegal to teach evolution due to the way Tennessee state law was structured. Although Scopes was deemed guilty, he got off on a technicality and was never put in jail. Around this time, the eight-hour, five-day work week with two weeks paid vacation became the standard and not the exception in terms of what had traditionally been the standard—which included longer hours, no free time on the weekend, and no paid vacation. Industry—although initially urban—eventually moved to rural areas, due to the fact that industrial jobs needed low-skill laborers while the public was becoming increasingly educated and more middle class. 2.) Describe the impact of the New Deal on American government and society. In doing ?so, be sure to discuss the primary goal and basic overall characteristic of several specific New Deal programs. (450 words) The New Deal was the first comprehensive socialist program put into place by a U.S. President. “Before Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal, the White House was far removed from ordinary citizens.”1 The New Deal helped end the Great Depresion, but unfortunately was not as successful as hoped. There were two New Deals, actually—one that occurred in the First New Deal (which occurred in 1933), as well as the Second New Deal (which occurred from 1934 through 1936). The people who were in favor of the New Deal were a group of people called the New Deal Coalition—composed of intellectuals, Southerners, farmers, Democrats, and other people who were at a disadvantage socioeconomically, including some minorities and unions. Those who opposed the New Deal included, but were not limited to: the Supreme Court; Sen. Huey Long from Louisiana; and a Catholic priest named Charles Coughlin. The latter two believed in share-the-wealth type programs for the working class. The overarching characteristics the New Deal was supposed to reinforce were: the restoration of faith in financial institutions; the end of the economic downturn; and the provision of direct relief to individuals. There were some positive elements that came from this “New Deal,” however. Within the First New Deal, certain groups that were formed by the government included: the AAA (Agricultural Adjustment Act), which were government subsidies given to farmers to produce products; the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps), which was the first work relief program of its kind; and the TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority), which was designed to enhance public health during the Great Depression, especially in the Southern U.S. The Second New Deal included the NLRB (National Labor Relations Act), which helped protect employers and encouraged them to unionize if possible. Two major programs which came out of the Second New Deal which are still in effect today are the Federal Housing Project, as well as the creation of the Social Security Administration and the concept of Social Security. The Federal Housing Project is perhaps one of the most elemental programs still in place today which provides housing for the socioeconomically disadvantaged, usually including people who are welfare recipients. Usually, this housing is subsidized by the government. Not only that, but Social Security was created. People were supposed to pay into the system in order to receive payments upon retirement after reaching 65 years of age. In order to qualify for Social Security, one must have a certain number of quarter hours of work, and one has to have paid into the system as well. All of these factors had to do with the relative success (and, by some peoples’ standards, failure) of the New Deal and its ensuing programs. WORKS CITED Davidson, James West. Nation of Nations: A Concise Narrative of the American Republic, Vol. 2. USA: McGraw-Hill, 2002. Pp. 709. Read More