Post-War America Events - Essay Example

Introduction To a few, good memories: times of ingenuity, independence and human sympathy. For the fulfillment of objectives, development and wealth; times spoiled, to be certain, by pillaging, assassinations, and war; times commemorated for advancing the status of the poor, reconstructing cities, struggling for civil rights and resisting war. To some, bad memories: times of overindulgence, sedition, destruction and misery. Times commemorated for offenses against American beliefs, values and principles, humiliation in world affairs, and lasting injury to American society. Times commemorated for hostilities, Watergate, the oil predicament, OPEC, unemployment, inflation and undermined families; for several, nevertheless, a time to look for other options, keep principles breathing, adjust outlooks on the environment, and generate new opportunities. To a few, the finest memories: times for restructuring the government, resolving problems created by the 1960s, advocating entrepreneurship, decreasing inflation, trimming down taxes, and strengthening the military; times to commemorate the downfall of the Berlin Wall and the disintegration of the Soviet Union. To some, the most terrible memories: times for neglecting the civil liberties and rights of minorities, battering environmental resources, ignoring the poor, flattering the influential and powerful, and enlarging the national debt. Even though developments in the three decades prior to 1950-1990 were remarkable too, the nature of the changes in the recent periods still draws our attention. The objective of this study is to recount the most significant social, economic and political changes that occurred in America in each of the five decades, namely, the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. This review will then facilitate the discussion on the future changes that may happen in the social, economic and political climate of the United States for the next ten years. The 1950s Social Change In the years following the end of the Second World War, with families struggling to settle down and revive their lives, there was a dramatic increase in population. The 1950s witnessed a population explosion. The massive boost in the population, generally referred to as the baby boom, had consequences all over the country, both positive and negative. Family life during this period was concentrated on the children, and furnishing them the finest opportunities. Numerous schools had to be constructed, and parents were compelled to send their children to school. These children of the baby boom period were a foremost social force in their childhood, and persisted to be as they matured and aged, heralding the 1960’s and presently controlling the politics and commerce of the country (Donaldson, 1997). Economy The American economy in the 1950s prospered. From the end of the Second World War up until the 1960s, the country became the most powerful and richest civilization in the world. The country’s Gross National Product increased billions of dollars. Standards of living also improved. The two major economic contenders, Japan and Europe, were both revamping hefty war damage, hence the United States, with extremely little competition, prospered. How the people lived reflected the economic prosperity during the 1950s. Their material comfort was manifested in technological advancement, fashion, reproduction, and other features of their lives (Donaldson, 1997). Politics On the other hand, political attitudes during the 1950s in America were founded chiefly on foreign issues due to the Cold War. After the Second World War, the country was distressed that the Communist regime in the Soviet Union was attempting to enlarge the communist federation. Expanding communism, though, was not the sole dilemma; there was also a stern contest for power between the United States and the Soviet Union. Political affairs and foreign concerns gyrated around the Cold War and America’s emergence as a superpower (Chafe, Sitkoff & Bailey, 2003). The 1960s Social Change During the 1960s customary practices of courtship abruptly vanished. New methods of interaction and relationship between the sexes started to assume their place. As explained by Beth Bailey in her seminal work From Front Porch to Back Seat, the dissimilarity between the old and the new “lay not only on the surface, in the changing acts of courtship, but in underlying understandings of value and values, in presumptions about how the world works, and in ideas about the proper relations between men and women” (Marty, 1997, 5). Obviously, it would have been astonishing if traditional ways of courtship had subsisted in a culture wherein sexual norms and social standards were evolving drastically. Economy The United States throughout the 1960s experienced its greatest unremitting period of economic development in history. During the 1960s the computer and housing industry overwhelmed electrically powered consumer goods, chemicals and automobiles, which were the dominant industries in the 1950s. Large business controlled the local economy during this period. The five biggest industrial firms in 1962 accounted for more than 10 percent of overall manufacturing assets. The overseas investment of America increased remarkably after three years (Marty, 1997). Political In 1960, John Fitzgerald Kennedy was elected and immediate raised the issue to America: “Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country” (Marty, 1997, 16). His initiatives for the American economy instigated the nation on its greatest continuous expansion since the Second World War; prior to his death, he created programs for a substantial attack on chronic poverty and privation. He firmly advocated the civil rights movement and launched significant reforms. His ambition for America included the value of the national cultural and the vital function of the arts in dynamic society (Chafe et al., 2003). The 1970s Social Change Food persisted to be abundant for majority of the American population, but worries concerning nutrition were well-substantiated. In 1977 a report by a Senate committee revealed that heart disease, which was the main cause of death in the United States at that time, could be lessened by 25 percent through improved nutritional intakes and diets. Furthermore, better nutrition would lessen infant mortality rate by half and eradicate or reduce the impacts of other diseases. Concern for nutrition was highly observed at home. However, fast-food restaurants, with gratifying but unremarkably healthy or nourishing fare, persisted to increase and grow in popularity (Marty, 1997). Economy The steady framework for American politics during this period was the weakening of the economy. After the Second World War the American economy continued to be the most prosperous and dynamic across the globe. By the 1970s, though, the period of affluence ended abruptly. A host of difficulties in the economy turned up concurrently. Overseas competition had started to take hold of large portions of the U.S. local market; the United States in 1971 declared its very first trade shortfall in eight decades (Chafe et al., 2003). Politics The early seventies witnessed the emergence of political problems. Strikes took place which impacted the nation politically. Foreign conflicts were ended and diplomatic ties with the superpowers of Europe were enhanced. Other predicaments were the 1973 Arab oil stoppage, the Watergate, and the presidency of Nixon. The Arabs during this period were fighting a battle with the Israelis. Because of the interference of the West in helping the Israelis to triumph the Arabs would eventually lose this battle. In indignation the Arabs would then initiate an oil stoppage on the West. This was a disastrous incident as U.S. negotiators would anxiously attempt to negotiate with the Arabs (Chafe et al., 2003). This incident was a massive impact to the U.S. This was a mammoth political incident as it was a concern in the elections and the economy would take precedence in political deliberations. The 1980s Social Change The 1980s witnessed a drug crisis. The concern of the public about drug use, even though it had been growing during the 1980s, somewhat exploded in the latter part of the period. And the specific drug that was the public concern’s target was cocaine, more particularly, crack, an offshoot of cocaine. Drug use was commonly regarded as the social problem of the period. Drug abuse surfaced as a primary public concern as possibly never before. It is probable that in no other period has the concern of drug use preoccupied such a significant and disturbing domain in the public interest. In several cases, the drug crisis of the latter part of the decade is interesting due to the fact that it was unforeseen (Marty, 1997). Economy The country experienced a profound recession during the 1980s. Business failures climbed 50 percent. Farmers were severely affected, as exports of agricultural produce diminished, prices of crops dropped, and interest rates increased. But while the solution to an acute retardation was hard to implement, it did shatter the vicious phase in which the economy had been entrapped. The inflation had relieved by 1983, the economy improved, and the country launched an unrelenting period of economic development (Chafe et al., 2003). Politics The presidential campaign in the 1980 was carried out against the context of national instability. The nation had surfaced from the Second World War as the most affluent, dynamic and powerful all over the world. More or less four decades later the nation no longer controlled the global economy, nor did it possess a military advantage to the Soviet Union, whose traditional military forces were greater in number and whose supply of tactical nuclear weapons had increased. In spite of the anxieties generated by the disintegration of their nation’s global status, Americans were primarily interested with pocketbook concerns: skyrocketing interest rates, high unemployment, and high inflation (Chafe et al., 2003). The 1990s Social Change Habits in eating and drinking often did not complement the intensified awareness of the requirement for nutritious foods. Advertisements for such healthy foods thrived, and brands became more candid and open in reporting the nutritional specifications of food packages, particularly after a law ratified in 1990 obliged it. But in spite of clearly labeled food products and frequent cautions regarding the health risks created by fats, cholesterol, sugar, and salt, consumption of junk foods escalated. Nutritional interests resulted in other healthful adjustments, including enhanced consumption of vegetables and fruits and decreased ingestion of oils and fats. The food business promoted the movement. It spent billions of dollars on advertising that comprised some form of health message, even though critics argued that the messages were deceptive and perplexing (Reeves, 2000). Economic The gap between the rich and the poor expanded at the closing stages of the twentieth century. The allocation of the country’s income given to the most affluent American families increased in the 1990s, while the allocation of the poorest decreased. Externally, the trade status of the country weakened, as a high degree of overseas investment coupled with a deteriorating U.S. dollar to generate a soaring trade deficit. The 1990s witnessed an economic recession. Forces attributed to the slowdown involved escalating oil prices subsequent to Iraq’s occupation of Kuwait, a dramatic increase in interest rates, and diminishing credit availability. Output dropped and millions of workers were laid off (Reeves, 2000). Political Bill Clinton wielded great effort to push his reforms through an unfriendly Congress, which was dominated by conservatives following the 1994 midterm elections. His most remarkable failure was in the healthcare domain, when Congress obstructed his attempts to build a national healthcare system. Nevertheless, he was able to set in motion a welfare reform bill and an anti-crime bill through Congress, though both were amended from his plans and embodied exclusions to the trend of the legislative failures of his administration. Nonetheless, Clinton was able to increase the minimum wage and revamp the welfare system (Reeves, 2000). Conclusions The United States emerged as the most powerful nation in the world after the Second World War. The Americans were resolute in their quest for peace and prosperity. The American economy seesawed. The beginning of the Cold War impacted local politics. Based on the significant social, economic and political events that transpired in the five decades after World War II, the future of America seems obvious. America will continuously face a remarkable increase in its population, as what occurred in the 1950s. The interaction between the sexes will continuously deviate from the traditional forms of courtship, which began in the 1960s. The growing presence of fast-food restaurants in the United States will continuously be a public concern because of the health hazards it poses, as seen in the 1970s. Drug use and abuse will remain a major social problem in the U.S. as it is in the 1980s. And mass media will continuously affect the attitude of American citizens toward health and nutrition as it did in the 1990s. The American economy will persistently rise and fall, identical to the economic trend throughout the five decades. However, the dependency of U.S. to the Arab nation will take on a new turn due to the events that transpired between the U.S. and the Middle East during the Bush administration. Nonetheless, U.S. will incessantly confront global economic competition with the strongest nations of Europe and Asia. In the political arena, the nation will continuously face diplomatic affairs and adversities both from the local and international sphere. The United States will experience different types of leadership and different forms of national reform package. Furthermore, American politics will persistently be the decisive tool that the nation’s economy will use in order to sustain its powerful and influential role in the global stadium. References Chafe, W., Sitkoff, H. & Bailey,B. (eds.). (2003). A History of Our Time: Readings on Postwar America. New York: Oxford University Press. Donaldson, G. (1997). Abundance and Anxiety: America, 1945-1960. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers. Marty, M. A. (1997). Daily Life in the United States, 1960-1990. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. Reeves, T. C. (2000). Twentieth-Century America. New York: Oxford University Press. Read More