An economy that is good is very important in a country. In 1929, on the last day of trading, President Hoover did announce that the economy of United States was fundamentally sound. This announcement made the Department of labor in United States to predict that in the next year, 1930, there would be an increase in the number of employments. Things did not go as expected because the economy became bad. This made most investors and even the public in general, withdraw their money from banks because they feared banks would get out of business.
The charge about the old days of the American economy—the nineteenth century, the “Gilded Age,” the era of the “robber barons”—was that it was always beset by a cycle of boom and bust. Whatever nice runs of expansion and opportunity that did come, they always seemed to be coupled with a pretty cataclysmic depression right around the corner. Boom and bust, boom and bust—this was the necessary pattern of the American economy in its primitive state. In the US, in the modern era, all this was smoothed out.
Life in the 1920s and 1950s While some similarities were noticeable between the 1920s and the 1950s, the differences were striking. The 1920s was known as the beginning of modern America. The 1950s was known for its lucrative prosperity and anxiety. Both eras’ were similar in their economics. They differed in politics and society.
Alina Serbina Pd 3 Essay #1 Compare and contrast United States society in the 1920s and the 1950s with respect to TWO of the following: role of women and consumerism The 1920’s and 1950’s played a big role in women’s roles and consumerism. The 1920’s was a time of an economic boom , due to the end of World War I. Once the soldiers came home , the life of women drastically changed. Many women were no longer satisfied with staying home and wanted to continue to work and perceive careers. The 1950’s were also a post-war decade , marking the end of World War II. This decade sparked an intellectual and economic boom because of the struggle to become a world power.
The time of the 1920’s and 1950’s both saw changes to the political and social structure following the conclusion of World War 1 and 2, respectively. The United States entered into an era of wealth and prosperity after these wars, and with more money and access to material goods, the public desired more consumer products. Also, social movements after these wars dramatically changed what the role of women are in society. While some argue that these eras are completely different, the 1920’s and 1950’s, separated by three decades, still have many similarities relating to the roles of women and consumerism. The roles of women, especially, dramatically altered after the Second World War.
Large corporations and businesses started to adapt Henry Ford’s model of assembly-line mass production, and they made great wealth off of this. New technology and devices became cheaper and more accessible to those in the middle class who can afford them, and America boasted a short-lived sense of prosperity and technological advances. However, not all Americans got to enjoy the Roaring 20’s glamour and wealth: “The wealthiest 1 percent of the population received 15 percent of the nation’s income – the same amount received by the poorest 42 percent” ). The unhealthy concentration of wealth in the hands of a few also meant that only a few could afford to pump money back into the economy when it needed during the depression; and a few is nowhere enough to keep the American economy afloat. While blue-collared industrial wages did increase some, while-collared corporate profits increased at twice that rate.
In a period known as bull market, the economy was booming and stock market trading increased, the economy flourished. Installment buying allowing Americans to buy more even if they didn’t have all the money. This helped the economy prosper throughout most of the 1920s. An important factor contributing to this economic was the automobile industry. As shown in Document 9, a graph from the Historical Statistics of the United States, the mass production of automobiles led to millions of people across the country buying automobiles.
During the 1920’s Canada’s economy prospered, since many countries recovering from the horrors and especially damages of the war, required Canadian products. Canada’s abundance in resources such as pulp, forestry, wheat and mining greatly contributed to Europe’s recovery as well as the Canadian economy. Throughout this decade, many products and resources became more available such as cars due to mass production techniques developed to meet the product demand. For instance, the vehicle ownership rate in Canada increased from 300 000 in 1918 to 1.9 million by 1929.
What We Really Miss About The 1950s In her essay, “What We Really Miss About the 1950s”, Stephany Coontz talks about the myth of the 1950s. She begins her argument by stating some reasons why the nostalgia for the 1950s exists. The main thing Americans miss about the those days is the stability. She acknowledges that this fallacy is not insane.
America’s prosperity in the 1920s was caused by newer technology, booming manufacturing in the country, and improvements in the automobile industry. America had came up with a lot of new technology during this time. There manufacturing industry also went up due to more American goods being bought. The automobile industry also went up and was improved a lot. With all these innovations happening during this time, America became prosperous.
America’s Entertainment in 1950 In the year 1950, Americans were terrified of what their country might become. The Chinese Cultural Revolution was happening at the time, scaring everyone to their core and causing much anxiety because most countries were turning communist at the time. Lots of men and women at the time were being suspected or accused of being a communist and were being killed because of it.
As World War II came to an end, the United States entered the 50s. This decade became a major influential time that brought many cultural and societal changes. Categories such as the economy, where a boom in new products increased, the technology world which incorporated new medicines and computers, entertainment when the television became popular and the overall lifestyles that Americans adapted to. All of these topics reshaped and created several advancements throughout society during the 1950s.
The book that influenced the literature of the 1950s, The Organization Man: The Book that Defined a Generation, by William H. Whyte synthesizes the social mores because he saw the mores of the people in the 1950’s were spent on very money-oriented and consumeristic items. Whyte demonstrates his opinion with a quote, “The same man who will quote from Benjamin Franklin on thrift for the house organ would be horrified if consumers took these maxims to heart and started putting more money into savings and less into installment purchases.” This quote stated by Whyte warns the people of the 1950s that they should use their money on conventional and beneficial goods that could help you in life so the people would be prepared for real world problems.
In the late 1950’s the world changed people were the total opposite of themselves. People who were nice turned mean, the police instead of stopping crime they were the crime. There was a big blast when this happened I was in my family’s cellar at the time of the explosion. When I went up stairs I saw horror I saw people coming up from the ground and my mom was changed instead of being nice she was mean as a snake. When I looked outside I saw policemen robbing houses.
In general economic terms, the 1950s was a comparatively stale and uneventful era, which helps to explain why the domestic economy did not experience any major difficulties or advances. There was some significant occurrences and trends that were important during the 1950s that were important then and as a contributor for future events. Even though the 1950s saw an uneventful era, the economy did see some gradual growth which led to the United States being at peak economic strength in the early 1960s (“1950s Economics,” n.d.). The impact of the 1950s monetary policy allowed the decade to be relatively stable and an uneventful era.
