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America in the 1920s
There are quite a number of things that happened in the history of America in the 1920s. It was a time of great social change, a time for conservatism. Moving from the world of fashion there was also the world where force cashed and produced an unprecedented explosive. This is the time the America was celebrating victory of the historical First World War and it enjoyed a great prosperity in 1920s. However there was a darker side to this life. From the World War 1 America growth in stature was steady as a military and economic power. The senate of the United States didn’t ratify the Versailles treaty which was imposed by its allies which were on the central power which were defeated (Gordon 198). United States in stead chose to pursue what is called unilateralism. In simpler terms unilateralism is could be isolation. The shock after Russia’s October revolution resulted in fear of communism in America which led to a three years of what was termed as red scare. This era also called the era of the roaring twenties was an era of the great expansion in the economic growth and the unprecedented prosperity which was driven by the growth polices by the government and the expansion in construction and also the rapidly growing need for consumer good s such as the automobiles. The economy successfully transitioned to peacetime economy from the war time economy and although there were some stagnant sectors such as mining ( Brown 157-165). The United States was recorded the richest country in the world based on the massive production n in the industries and the rise in the consumerism in the society in general. However in the late 1929 the roaring twenties ended with he crash in the stock market and this became the onset of great depression.
In 1920 the sale manufacture exportation and sale of alcohol was banned by the eighteenth amendment. This ban encouraged illegal brews and the dealers to made substantial amounts of by the illegal selling of alcohol. This banned failed because America lost a lot of people who died from the illegal brews. KKK was reformed and gathered almost 4.5 million members by the end of 1924. It was then that the immigration act of 1924 was passed to restrict immigration to the country by foreigners.
The 1920s is also known as the roaring 1920s due to the economic prosperity during this period. The early 1920s America experienced a very rapid expansion in agriculture. This was largely due to the new technologies and especially the mechanization in farms. The competition from both Russia and Europe had disappeared as a result of the world war in which both were defeated. Thus the agricultural goods in America had a large market and were shipped around the world. New technologies like the combined harvester meant that the farms which ran efficiently were large in size and thus there was a gradual change which saw the smaller farms model being replaced by large sized farms. The world war one had led to a lot of destruction and poverty thus creating a high demand for an atmosphere of high demand for agricultural goods and thus the higher the prices were (John 97-101). The American farmer during this period enjoyed a period of as the production rapidly expanded so ass to fill the gap that as left as the Europe and Russia found themselves unable to produce food and the demands for exports surged. Then there was overproduction which resulted to plummeting of prices and which in turn led stagnation of market conditions and the standards of living for farmers. Thousands and thousand of farmers had taken out loans and mortgagees to buy out the neighbors’ property so as to expand the farms were then unable to meet the financial burdens. The cause of this was attributed to collapse of land prices after the war when the farmers used very high prices in buying the neighbors’ farms and thus burdening them with heavy debts. However farmers blamed the protective tariff and decline of foreign markets (Cory 167).
In the roaring 1920s there was also mass production of industrial good due to an industrial growth and this made technology affordable to the middle class. The moved automobile radio and chemical skyrocketed during this period. The most important was the expansion of the automobile industry. Before this expansion cars were luxury in America. Mass production of vehicles in the 1920s became common throughout America. The expansion of automobile industry had had wide spread effects which contributed to growth of such industries such as highway building , service stations , motel , used car dealership and also the housing due to range of massive transit. The radio industry too boomed in this period. The radio had become the first medium of mass broadcasting. The radios were expansive but they proved revolutionary because of their mode of entertainment. Through advertisement the radio became the fuel to mass marketing (Jane 57-63).
Hollywood industries also boomed during this period. They produced a new form of entertainment which led to shutting down of the old vaudeville style. Watching movies was accessible and cheap. Crowds would surge into the new down town places of movies and in the neighbor wood theatres.
The new technologies in the market resulted to a heavy need for new infrastructure which was funded largely by the government. The construction of roads was important for the motor vehicle industry. A number of roads were thus upgraded highways and the expressways were constructed. There was class of Americans with surplus money and thus had the desire to spend more e and this sparked the demand for consumer good which especially were the automobiles. There were also telephone lines being stung across the continent and especially Americas.
Urbanization at this period reached a climax. It was the first time most Americas lived I the cities more than I the small towns or the rural areas. The country was then fascinated by the great metropolitan centre which held more than 15% of the population. Chicago and New York had vied in the building of the skyscrapers when then New York pulled ahead when the Chrysler and the empire state buildings were put up. At this time insurance and finance industries doubled (Allen 218-221).
The culture also at this time changed. Women discrimination and male dominance in the society as a way of life was fought tooth and nail. It was at this period that women were given the right to vote. On the 18th of august in the year 1920 Tennessee State became the last of the 36 states that were required to ratify the 19th amendment that would grant the women the right to vote. The equality in the poll marked a historical moment in the movement of women rights (Elizabeth 136). The women’s rights movement motivated by this achievement now focuses becoming even more vocal in the fight for women for example the right to run in the elections. They however didn’t stop at this and went ahead to fight for equal representation in the arms of the government. This was a miles change yin the peoples way of life as before this a woman as supposed to only undertake the household chores and leadership was only designated for men. The young people at this age too became a lost generation. Coming out of the world war they were disillusioned and were cynical about the world. Most of then went into drugs and addictions during this period and were forever lost as they were unmotivated. This age was also called the jazz age as jazz music became instilled in the veins of Americans. Jazz music which was promoted bur he technology of radio became popular with the people and many gathered to dance hall to enjoy its entertainment.
It was at this period to that the racism skyrocketed. Many blacks who prior had been slaves had come from the war and were now informed. Having been promised better life’s they started to form movement which they would use to fight for the promises (George 183-184). This in indulgence is some form of war created tension and the whites who believed they were superior fought back against the black society which at this age had started to recognize rights. This made racism even terrible with blacks not ready to submit anymore.
Cited works.
Allen, Frederick. Only yesterday: an informal history of the 1920’s. New York: Wiley and Sons, 1997Gordon, Colin. Paterson, Thomas. Major Problems in American History. United States: Cengage Learning, 2010
Brown, Sinclair. Impacts of the World War 1. New York: Norton publishers, 2003
John, Stuart. America in the roaring 1920s. United States: University press, 2009
Elizabeth, Michael. Women voting rights in America. United States: Cambridge press, 2005
Cory, Daniel. Agricultural revolution in America. Washington: Taylor and Francis, 2007
Jane Francis. The age of industrialization. Harvard: Harvard press, 2001
George, Johnson. The fight against racism. United States: University press, 1998
Harry S. Trumans Fight Against Communism
Harry S. Truman’s Fight Against Communism
Harry s. Truman was born May 8th 1884 in Lamar, Missouri (Parker, 2006). Poor eyesight deterred him from joining university but instead joined the army in 1905 to 1911 then rejoined as captain during the world war one. As captain, he forecasts strong leadership skills. His political career commenced in 1922 when he was appointed to be a county court judge of Jackson County, Missouri(Parker, 2006). With help from democrat Thomas J. Pendergast, he served eight years as a court presiding judge. In 1934, he protested and won the senate position (Parker, 2006).
Due to his exemplary work of saving budget money and lives during world war two, he was reelected for a second term in 1940 and again in 1944. In 1944 he was selected the vice president to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Franklin D. Roosevelt died eighty two days after election and Harry s. Truman succeeded him. On April 12, 1945, Truman became America’s 33rd president, an expert politician and legislator (Parker, 2006).
Besides little experience, he began founding USA.In the 1948 election, he won a second term and focused on fighting for civil rights and joining other countries to stop communism. During his two terms reign, he helped negotiate Germans unconditional surrender in world war two and worked to counter communism. He is known for founding the department of defense, U.S air force, C.I.A and National Security Council (Parker, 2006).
Since the Truman’s first term as president, Communism was the greatest setback amid others like fight for civil rights. Communism is defined a government system characterized by collective ownership of property that eliminates the existence of classes and private property ownership (Truman, 1952). Communism eliminates poverty through sharing of resources. Communist states redistribute wealth to achieve equality and aims to place the persons at the same financial and social level. Harry S Truman was anti-communist because communism allowed states to own all property denying individuals the right to own business (Truman, 1952).
During the first 30 years after 1917, global communism attempts by movements like the Hungarian revolution, German Communist party, and the Chinese Communist party had failed. In the US, communism almost never existed. However, attempts by some perpetrators cannot be ignored. Nevertheless, communism was rapidly spreading to other parts of the world. In Eastern Europe for example, the Red Army was created to impose communism (Truman, 1952). In other parts like China and Korea, and communism was boosted by the collapse of Japan. Vietnamese communism was fueled by the fall of France .As communism grew, its strength amplified rendering the situation impossible to handle. Harry s. Truman was left with the choice of controlling rather than curbing communism (Truman, 1952).
On May 12, 1947, Harry s. Truman sparked the cold war by proclaiming to stop expansion of communism using the Truman doctrine (Watson, Gleek & Grill, 2003). The culmination of World War II manifested the launch of the Cold War. Cold war conflicts started in 1945 after the United States no longer needed the aid of the Soviet Union to fight Germany. The Soviet Union began to support the spread of communism in Greek (Watson, Gleek & Grill, 2003).President Harry s. Truman was concerned that the Soviets would influence Greek policy if communists prevailed in the Greek civil war.
In 1946, Truman recognizes the Soviet threat to rule the world through communism and decides established the Truman Doctrine. The Truman Doctrine was a result of Truman’s Congress speech on March 12, 1947(Watson, Gleek & Grill, 2003).Following the speech, the British Government announced retrieval of its military and economic aid to the Greek government in its fight against the Greek Communist Party. In his speech, Truman probed Congress to back the Greek Government against the Communists (Watson, Gleek & Grill, 2003). He also asked Congress to provide assistance to Turkey which had fallen victim of the British government withdrawing. The Truman doctrine aimed to fight communism by excommunicating civil servants disloyal to the government (Watson, Gleek, Grill, 2003).
In April 1948, Congress passed the Economic Cooperation Act, better known as the Marshall Plan to offer fiscal aid to war-torn areas for the reconstruction of cities and infrastructures. This policy was based on the thought that war torn nations were vulnerable to communism as an after war solution (Truman, 1952). Truman also supplied airlifts after the soviet closed all West Berlin access points.
On April 4th 1949, formed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was established to limit Soviet expansion. General Dwight Eisenhower was named supreme commander of the new organization (Jones). NATO founding members were France, United States, Britain and Canada. The organization’s principles allowed the military attack on any nation that threatened to attack any of its members (Jones). Around this time, china collaborated with the Soviets under leader Josef Stalin, to build first nuclear bomb United States responded in 1953 by building a hydrogen bomb (Spalding, 2006)
On June 1950, Communist North Korean forces attacked noncommunist South Korea ( Parker, 2006). Truman sent United States forces under General Douglas MacArthur to stop the attack. China troops joined North Koreans in the fight and MacArthur suggested an attack of Chinese land. The president declined out of fear that this would perpetuate or worsen the war. The mission succeeded but as time passed, united nation lost ground. The general suggested the use of nuclear forces forcing Harry to confiscate him. Korean War continued after Truman left white house and caused death of about 33,000 Americans (Parker, 2006). To help the French battle the Vietnamese communist forces, the president sent non-combat troops to Vietnam (Spalding, 2006).
In 1951, President Truman asked Congress to inaugurate a firsthand foreign aid program to statesexposed by communism particularly Latin America, Europe, Asia, Middle East and North Africa (Spalding, 2006). Despite his effort to eliminate communism, Truman was faced with opposition from communist unions particularly the Soviet Union. His diplomatic efforts to eliminate communism resulted reaction by various nations. For example, in June 1950, Communist North Korean forces attacked noncommunist South Korea.
Another reaction was the closing of access points to the west of Berlin by the Soviet Union. This action was taken to reduce United States control of West Berlin, which was enclosedwithin SovietgroundsofEast Germany (Spalding, 2006). Truman supplied them through a series of airlifts. Republican senator Joseph McCarthy accused Truman’s admin of concealing communists. Anti-communist nations also joined to form NATO.
Summarily, Truman’s war against communism was proving impossible due to the rapid expansion of the practice and existence of perpetuating forces like the Soviet Union. The Truman doctrine was important in excommunicating disloyal employees. The doctrines policy also referred as the Marshall Plan prevented the spread of communism through the provision of foreign renovation aid to war torn nations. Formation of the NATO was another brilliant plan to increase the strength to fight the Soviet Union efforts of spreading communism. However, the organization advocated for the use of force in case of attack which is an extreme action that could fuel war. One example is the use of two atomic bombs to stop the war in Japan. Despite the doctrine extreme action, the Truman doctrine succeeded in containing communism.
References
Harry S. Truman, S.H (1962) Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States. Washington: Government Printing Office.
Jones, S (n.d.) The Truman Doctrine Containing Communism During the Cold War.Retrieved January, 19th 2013 from http://usforeignpolicy.about.com/od/alliesenemies/a/The-Truman-Doctrine.htmSpalding, A (2006) The First Cold Warrior: Harry Truman, Containment, and the Remaking of Liberal Internationalism.Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky
Parker K.L (2006)How to Draw the Life and Times of Harry S. Truman Kid’s Guide to Drawing the Presidents of the United States of America. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group.
Watson, P.R, Gleek .C, Grillo .M (2003) Presidential Doctrines: National Security from Woodrow Wilson to George W. Bush. New York: Nova Publishers
America first hand
America first handAmerican firsthand is an account of the contact and conquest of the Americas by the Europeans; it also looks deeply into the experiences of the Native Americans under the colonial rule and the rapidly changing society and economic situation in the Americas. Anthony Marcus, John M. Giggie and David Burner in their chronological account of the activities and the events that took place in America during the entry of colonialists in America, the colonial period, the struggle for independence and post-colonial events is surely a critical tool in the writing of the American story first hand.
Contact between the Europeans and the Americas started way back in the 10th century when the Norse sailors came to settle down at the shores of Canada and Greenland after their explorations brought them here. They had settled here for a while before the entry of a large number of Spanish traders who were led by Christopher Columbus in such for a sea route to the East realized this great land and decided to also settle there in the islands of the Caribbean and Bahamas. Soon there was a lot of movement of many European nations to the Americas and countries like France controlled the North Eastern America and much of the South America whereas Portugal also colonized Brazil and England colonized much of the Northern American coast.
The colonial experience in America was one that infringed so much pain to the American natives. Although the primary goal of the colonizers was not to use the natives but as time went by there were so many ways in which the natives were treated which to them was like slavery. The Europeans controlled the entire business world, limiting the natives from carrying out large scale businesses by enforcing strict regulation and barriers that hindered them. There were also religious changes and persecutions by the Europeans. Also there were political changes that were experienced. The colonial rulers brought a vibrant political leadership which included youths who were very energetic. The colonial leadership brought about democratic space in the Americas and also the philosophy of Republicanism which advocated for equal rights in society to everybody, it addressed the evils of corruption and also emphasized the need of citizens with virtues and morals.
Resistance and revolution is another account of the American history that took place in the last half of the 18th century. The American natives were opposed to the British rule and therefore a number of the Northern kingdoms came together to form one unit called the United States of America. They started off by opposing the parliament of Great Britain. George Washington an American become the commander and formed an army to fight the Britain armies and also work to destabilize the American loyalists who were working closely with the Britain government. The American Revolution led to a series of changes and transformations in the social lives of the Americans, political and even the intellectual perspective of the people.
Expansion of America is another area that needs to be looked into in the study of the American history. Under the leadership of Thomas Jefferson America bought a territory from the France government hence expanding its territories. With the Jeffersonian Democrats sponsorship America acquired more land from the Louisiana scheme and extended its territories from California to Oregon.
There was a great deal of an age to reform society and the community after the expansion of the Americas and to reduce the controversy between slaves and non-slaves. There was also a period of reconstruction of America after the World civil war.
Citations
Marcus, Anthony; Giggie, John M.; Burner, David; Roark,James L.; Johnson, Michael P. America Firsthand, 9th Ed., Vol. 1+ American Promise, Value Edition,4th Ed., Vol. 1+ Democracy in America. Bedford/st Martins, 2011. Print.
Fredrick, Peter J, and Julie R. Jeffrey. American History Firsthand: Working with Primary Sources. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2008. Print.