American Society (Research Paper Sample)

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American Society
This paper examines the period between 1900 and 1940’s where significant events occurred and which represent part of the history of the American society. The paper shall focus on such events including the Progressive movement, cultural disputes in the 1920’s, President Roosevelt’s Second New Deal and the World War II in terms of how racism affected the war.
The Progressive Movement
Also called the progressive era, it was the period in the history of the United States between 1890 and 1920 where varied reforms took place. These reform issues were related to education, working conditions, child labour and urbanization among others. By 1900, many labourers in the US faced harsh working conditions and the country was almost heading for rebellion. That is where the progressive movement rose to address the problems facing the society and get rid of immorality. The leaders of the movement believed that the government was responsible for solving the problems of the society and protect the welfare of Americans.
There were several factors which led to the growth of the progressive movement. The first one was increased bribery and corruption among political leaders who controlled towns and cities. Citizens therefore were not given a chance to participate in governance through democracy. Discrimination was also a factor; it was based on the grounds of race, religion, gender and ethnic background. Black citizens were not allowed to take responsibilities on some duties so their jobs were often low paying. The number of female workers was very small and they were denied rights to own property due to discrimination. It was also during this period when rapid urbanization took place. Some of the results of this urbanization were emergence of poor working conditions in the workplaces poor living conditions in the towns and cities due to lack of proper planning. It also brought unethical business practices and increase in the number of crimes in the cities. There was also the need for conservation of the environment. There were activists who fought to protect the natural resources against pollution, wastage and destruction. All these factors prompted the leaders of the progressive movement to come up with action plans so as to stabilise the society.
The movement had some major objectives, the first one being to bring about political reform and elimination of bribery and corruption. The reforms were to allow more public participation towards law making. Therefore, many states passed laws allowing the public to propose new laws and strike down inappropriate ones through referendums. The corrupt officials were publicly exposed by journalists and were removed from office through recall. These reforms were also to give more rights to women, allowing them to vote, own property and even take leadership positions (Leonard 1). Another major goal was prohibition. It was aimed at discouraging the consumption of alcohol in so as to curb its social effects such as child abuse and poverty. The Prohibition Act passed in 1918 forbade the manufacture and sale of any drink containing more than 2% alcohol content in the United States. This move was however not very successful due to high consumer demand which led to emergence of illegal sources of alcohol and smuggling of alcoholic drinks. The other goal was reform on labour rights where everyone would get equal opportunities for jobs including women, ban child labour to protect children and establish the minimum wage for each worker.
From my own perspective, the reform was a legacy because it facilitated economic growth through regulating the power of large businesses and corporations. It helped to raise the living standards of many Americans through passing of labour rights. Gender equality was also enhanced where women were given more rights with the right to vote being amongst them. The progressive movement also promoted democracy in governance.
Cultural Disputes of the 1920’s
The 1920’s were a period of significant social and cultural change characterized by prosperity, leisure and consumerism due to the great economic advancements in the US industries. This led to huge differences among people in their way of living and these divisions often led to disputes. Prohibition of alcohol presented a major dispute. It was a national ban on the manufacture and sale of alcohol which occurred between 1920 and 1930. The mob and gangs took advantage of this situation and began a black market for liquor which flourished. These gangs became more powerful and began bribing the authorities so as to smuggle alcohol between countries. Some of these drinks were not up to standard and those who consumed such could go blind or even die. Therefore, the Prohibition Act which was meant to curb alcohol consumption led to increase in the consumption, even more than when alcohol was legal. The cities were transformed into battlefields between opposing gangs and the number of crimes such as theft, assaults and homicide rose significantly. This led to the extremes where even drug stores would offer medical subscriptions with high alcohol content.
Immigrants were the major cause of cultural dispute. This is because they came along with their lifestyles and culture thus leading to disputes. Many people came to America with the hopes of securing a better future but it lead to competition for jobs thus many natives viewed the immigrants as a threat to their economic status as well as social and religious values. The increasing number of immigrants prompted the government to come up with a Quota Law which was to limit their numbers. Racism was high during this period and there was development of a hate group called The Ku Klux Klan which targeted the non-natives. They harassed them, boycotted their businesses and even killed the immigrants. This led to the immigrants living in crowded places with poor conditions. Also, the government policies and attitude towards these immigrants were racist.
The other cause of cultural dispute was the change in lifestyles. This was largely portrayed by women because of weakened social restrictions. They changed their way of dressing and hairstyles also changed. They also abandoned social taboos and began drinking, smoking and sexual activities. This made the people in rural areas felt threatened by this secular culture and some rural areas limited their residents to Christians only. This division went further where the rural residents created their own independent subculture with schools and radio ministries of their own. They also supported the prohibition of alcohol, unlike in the urban areas where alcohol was generally accepted.
Roosevelt’s Second New Deal
The second new deal was an expansion of the original deal program which was enacted in 1935 by Franklin Roosevelt who was the US president at the time. It went further in terms of government involvement and was aimed to help unions and the unemployed people. The other major reasons why Roosevelt shifted to the political left were the need to improve the use of local resources and security against illness and old age. During the second new deal, there was creation of a series of some important programs to redistribute wealth and income favouring labour unions and the poor.
The first program was the Social Security Act. It established a framework for retirement pensions, unemployment and insurance benefits so as to help those unemployed retired persons to become self sufficient and give financial aid to the unemployed or those injured on the job. It was to be funded by taxes so as to give people the legal right to collect their benefits. The other program was the Work Progress Administration. It was to provide jobs the unemployed and the jobs were mainly the government infrastructure projects such as construction of roads, airports and government parks. A sub section of this program was the Rural Electrification Administration which was meat to provide electricity to rural areas. The National Labour Relations Act was also another major program aimed at regulating labour unions. It outlawed unfair labour practices and gave unions the right to organize and bargain with their employers. The unions were required to hold elections and there was establishment of a government body to oversee and deal with any allegations of wrongdoing. This resulted in a significant growth of membership in labour unions.
Another important program that was developed was the Federal Housing Authority which subsidized the construction of public housing by use of federal loans. It was meant to abolish slums. This helped the low income families to secure a home through the loans thus leading to dramatic increase in sales of homes and this was a major contributor to the general economy of the US.
There are several long term impacts or legacies of the second new deal. One of them is that it resulted into an activist state that extended the powers of the government especially in the economy. The government regulated the wild swings of the business cycle and recognized a level of subsistence where citizens should not fall. The new deal readjusted the political loyalties. The group of voters was diverse, and included farmers, African Americans and union members who continued to support Roosevelt. The other important legacy was formation of a new political philosophy, liberalism, to which many citizens remained attached for long even after the end of the second new deal. Other reforms in the area of labour and public works still continue into recent years.
Impact of the Second New Deal
President Roosevelt’s second new deal had some social and economic impacts for the people of America. The second new deal helped to create employment opportunities for people. Those needy unskilled people...