'20s vs. '50s

Boom to Bust

Pop cultures influence on the economy

Harding's involvement

After Harding was elected into office, changes began being seen in the economy. Two of his cabinet member, Herbert Hoover and Andrew Mellon, were able to get the economy going again after WWI. They were able to cut government spending by over $3B. Mellon had argued that by lower taxes the economy would benefit because people would have more money in their pockets to spend. This is called supply side economics and trickle down economics. Overall both these cabinet members were able to balance the budget adn reduce government spending.

During this decade movies were able to become very popular. As a result, it became the fourth largest money making industry. 40M people went to the movies per week. Movies had previously been in white and black with no sound until this decade when "The Jazz Singer" was released, which was the 1st talkie.

At the beginning of this decade, the economy started with a boom

Bust

Consumer economy

Wages were up which increased people to invest their money in the stock market. After the 1928 election, the stock market continued to go up, which is a bull market. Many bought stocks on margin or through spectulation. Both of these methods caused many to be further in debt. In early october of 1929, prices began slipping and investors tried taking out their loans. On October 24, 1929, $3B was lost is value. This date is known as Black Tuesday. On October 29, 1929 16M shares were sold, adn $10-15B was lost. And by Mid Nov-$30B was lost.

During the 20s the economy was considered a a consumer economy. Because of all the money consumers now had in their pockets there was a large amount of buying by consumers. Because wages increased so did the per capita income. Hours of work per day and number of working day dropped because businesses were now mass producting due to lower costs using this method. Items that were once viewed as too expensive were now seen as affordable. Example include the automobile and home goods such as toasters, irons, washingmachines, etc. Even thought these costs lowered they were still a little expensive. Installment plans were developed for this problem. The only consequence was that people were now piling up their debt.

Post-War Economy

The Other America

Economic Boom

During Truman's presidency

While prosperity was spread throughout the 50's, it certainly wasn't evenly spread

While many did prosper from the 1950's economy, there were those who weren't as fortunate. Many lived below the poverty line. These were usually single parent and minorities. Many of the poor lived in the inner city. With the Urban Renewal Programs, more afforadable housing was produced bit once they were making enough money, these people coul dbe evicted. African Americans also struggled to find work because of discrimination. Native Americans also struggled because they were still on reservations with terrible conditions such as no water or electricty. The live expectance rate was low and alcoholism was a huge issue. Rural area of the Appalachia mountains also struggled becuase their economy was based on coal mining but mining became mechanized and these people nearly all lost their jobs. So while the economy was great, not everyone was getting these benefits.

There was a major economic boom in the 1950s. The GNP doubled. The per capita imcome increased by $1,200. Major businesses didn't want another depression so they didn't focus on one or two products and some even expanded overseas and became multinational corporations. Another new business was even formed and it was called a franchise, which were businesses within a chain that are owned by different people.

After WWII, the US had a difficult time transitioning back to peacetime production. There was period of high prices and inflation. The government passed the GI Bill to help with the economy, which provided money for veterans to establish businesses, attend, college or buy a home. Congress passed the Tafter-Hartley Act in efforts to help the economy. This allowed open shops to exist, prohibited featherbedding, and workers now had to pledge an oath of loyalty. Truman proposed a series of bills in effort to help the economy but Cong rejected them all because it was republican dominated. After Democrats won control of both houses of Congress, Truman was able to get more of his programs passed which included the Fair Deal which included ways of helping the economy.

Relocating

Ike is elected

After people bagan having more money in their pockets they moved into the suburbs. William Levitt began mass producing homes which led to Levittowns. The GI bill had helped veterans buy homes in the suburbs and many others moved to the suburbs because of the baby boom. People who lived in the suburbs were typically families and white-collared workers. The husbands were company men and women were homemakers. These homes now had new technology within them as well, such as the television.

After Ike was elected into office, he wanted to give back to American people. He cut givernment spending in hopes of balances the budget and abolished many of the Depression era agencies. His biggest project was the Federal Highway Act. It created many jobs, created 40,00 more miles of highway, and it was the largest infrastructure project in US history.

The Roaring 20's

Hatred of Immigrants

Prohibition

"The New Morality"

Culture

The Palmer Red Raids, there was a rise in hatred of immigrants. Most of the people felt that they were either anarchists or communists. This hatred led to another rise in Nativism and took place in the trial of Sacco and Venzetti. 2 Italian anarchists were accused of robbing an armored car in Braintree, MA. The guard there was killed by a similar gun owned by Sacco. They were both accused, tried, convicted, and sentences to death. Presidents Harding and Coolidge signed two acts that reduced the number of immigrants allowed to the the US, besides from Asia, Emergency Quota Act and National Origins Act.

In 1920 after the 18th Amendment was passed, prohibition went into effect, it prohibited the making, selling, and transportation of alcohol. However, people could still drink alcohol that they had before the Amendment. Rural cities supported it, while urban areas were rejecting it. The government passed the Volstead Act to enforce prohibition, and they put the treasury department in charge of enforcing it. There was a lot of bootlegging found in cities, it's when people smuggle alcohol from the Caribbean and Canada. The biggest customers of bootlegging were speakeasy owners, "secret" bars that sold illegal alcohol. It will soon end with the 21st Amendment in 1933.

During the 20s Womens were having the time of their lives. They were starting to rebel against their past mother's beliefs. Women were starting to work, had more money to buy consumer goods, and became financially independant. Some of the younger city women were flappers. They were between 18-30 years old, wore "short" skirts that were up to their ankles or calves, they smoked and drank in public, and their hair was short. More women even recieved an education and ran for political office.

This era was the beginning of something big.

Art and literature will have a big change during the decade. Many artisits will start using landscapes, cubism, and realism. Authors would use the theme of isolation, disenchantment, and disillusionment of WWI. Movies were now becoming popular. The first movie with sound came out in 1927, which made more people want to go to the movies. People then started to do what they saw in the movies. Now the radio and newspaper allowed people to be entertained and informed with any news. Everyone at that time owned a radio and read the paper. The biggest contribution that African American culture brought was Jazz. It was a combo of blues and ragtime. This was played everywhere by everyone.

Harlem Renaissance

Religion

Speakeasies/Mobs

The people who lived in rural areas believed in fundamentalism, believing the whole truth of the Bible. They believed the theory of creationism, that God created all, which was the opposite of evolution, the science of itall. A biology teacher from Tennessee, John T. Scopes, tried to teach evolution. He was arrested and tried, which was actually the first trial heard on the radio. He was then found guilty, fined $100, and had a kid say that it wasa taught to see what would happen.

During WWI, African Americans moved north looking for work, part of "The Great Migration." African American neighborhoods started to vastly grow after the war which allowed them to introduce new culture like new writers, artists, racial pride, and political organizations. This became known as the Harlem Renaissance. Lots of new writers came out of it, like Langston Hughes, Claude McKay, and Zora Neale Hurston.

There were about 32,000 speakeasies in NYC. It was $20 per rental table, people would say "Joe sent me" to get in, and the alcohol would be on tables so they would be paying for the table not alcohol. Most speakeasies were run by mobs or organized crime. Organized crime ws a group that controlled the booze industry, which soon spread to prostitution and racketeering, forcing to pay for protection. Some mobsters included Al Capone who made $60 M a year and paid off the people who cold stop him like police, Dutch Shultz made money off of number's game, and Lucky Luciano was good friends with Capone, killed Dutch, and bootlegged alcohol and drugs. The FBI then formed to finally try to stop organized crime.

Post War America

Suburbs/ Baby Boom

The Other America

Technology

Theme

After the war things were slowly starting to get back to normal. For starters people had more money and started to move into the suburbs. This suburbs weren't like cities. It was calmer and safer, where the people with more money lived. William Levitt starting mass-producing homes which made buying a home less expensive, the only problem was that they all looked the same. The towns in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania will then be called Levittowns. More people had to move into the suburbs during this decade because of the baby boom. There were about 65 M babies being born between 1945-1960, and moving to the suburbs was the safest option for parents.

This was the title of the book by Michael Harrington, where he discussed how not everyone was as prosperous. During the 1950s about 30 M people were living under the poverty line, the bare minimum one needs to survive. These were single parents, elderly, minorities (Latin/ African Americans), and rural/ Native Americans. It was most apparent in inner cities since the city services declines when no tax money was coming in. African Americans tried moving north to find work but kept dealing with racial discrimination. Mex-Americans tried to find work through Bracero Program, but were getting little pay. Native Americans had the option to move off of reservations to have a better life because they were truly struggling. Residents of Appalachias lost their jobs when coal mining became mechanized. The government tried to help everyone, but ended up making it worse. They were evicting the city residents when they made more money, replaced city housing with public works, and didn't really help minorities as much as they could have.

In 1947 the 1st transistor was developed. This device amplified electricity and made appliances more efficient and sometimes portable, like the radio could now be taken anywhere. Computers were also handy during this decade. Even though they were bigger, they made work faster and more efficient. The most popular new technology was the television. Almost every home had at least 1 in their living room. There were variety shows, sports, and game shows. The TV also allowed for commercials, a new form of marketing.

The major theme of this decade was conformity. This meant that everyone just wanted to compromise after all these years to the depression and war. It was known as the "American Dream." Everyone living in the suburbs wanted what their neighbors had, knwon as "Keeping up with the Jones." Everyone was happy and wanted life to stay like that forever, but of course there were some people who didn't agree with this idea. The youths of this decade were known as the "lost generation." They wanted nothing to do with conformity, just to party and have fun. They all dressed alike though. Girls wore poodle skirts and sweater vests, the boys wore collared shirts, letterman jackets, and khakis.

Bigger and Better

Medical Breakthroughs

Workplace

Challenges to Conformity

During the 50s doctors started to use chemo/radiation to treat cancer, CPR was developed, antibodies were starting to be used more, and the first open heart surgery ocurred. The biggest medical breathrough however was the polio vaccine, invented by Dr. Jonas Salk. He first gave it to his kids then it went into public in 1955.

For many years before, every American worker had a blue-collar job. These jobs were hands-on jobs like mechanics. However, the 50s had a rise in white-collared jobs because many people were getting more education. These jobs are office jobs like doctors, teachers, managers, etc. The men in the family were now known as "company men" because they provided for the family, and the women were known as "homemakers" because they stayes at home taking care of their family.

The people who didn't agree with conformity started to portray it in books and movies. They would show the other side of society, the more upbeat part of society. There was also a new genre of music released called Rock and Roll. It is a combo of rhythm and blues, first played in Cleveland in 1951, and became very popular with nonconformists. Their poster child was Elvis Presley. There was also the Beat Generation, Beatnicks, who were poets, authors, and musicians who wrote about challenges to conformity and against social norms. Their poster child was Jack Kerouac. African American Culture had a huge impact in this decade with the music by artists like Chuck Berry and Little Richard. Juvenile Delinquency also became a big issue and everyone had their own opinion on it.