Unit 6.

OVERVIEW OF THE 20th & 21st CENTURIES IN THE USA

1. HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL LANDMARKS

The two first decades of the 20th century were influenced by the ‘Progressives’, who believed that the
government should take action to deal with the problems of society and ‘laissez faire’ should be combined
with interventionism.

Most Americans wanted the country to be neutral and remain out of the World War I (1914-1919);
however, the United States found it difficult to stay impartial:
- American bankers had started to lend huge amounts of money to the Allies,
- military supplies were being sent to them,
- Germany sank several American ships in 1917.
A plan to set up a League of Nations was put forward.

At the end of the war, there was a series of violent strikes in the United States. A wave of ‘red scare’, fear
towards communism, crossed the country. The Russian revolution had taken place in 1917.

The ‘roaring twenties’ were good for the economy of the country: other countries owed it a lot of money,
it had plenty of raw materials and factories, and its national income was high.
The automobile and electrical industries were very busy producing ‘consumer goods’, which gave
ordinary people easier and more enjoyable lives. They bought them by means of an ‘instalment plan’.
Politicians encouraged the myth of the ‘American Dream’, which involved protecting the sacred values of
business.
This is the period of the Harlem Renaissance, where black culture flourished: music, writing, etc. And a
‘lost generation’ of writers tried to revitalise society with new ideas. It was also the time when the new
media –radio and cinema– started to spread, shaping the tastes of American society and a new way of
life.
Regarding society, this was the ‘dry decade’, when the making, sale or transport of intoxicating liquors
was forbidden.
In the 1920s Congress passed laws to limit all kinds of immigration. Immigrants were accused of bringing
in ‘un-American’ political ideas like anarchism and communism.
In 1929 the Wall Street Crash took place: Thousands of people lost a lot of money and were ruined,
some banks closed down, and industry production was reduced. The problem was that the offer of
manufactured goods was far larger than the demand of the consumers, and this obviously affected the
whole economic process.
The period after is known as the Depression.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1933-1945) proposed a platform known as ‘New Deal’, which put forward the
idea that the federal government should take the lead in the fight against the Depression: many
government organisations or ‘agencies’ were set up, low interest loans were given to people, and
minimum salaries were established.
One of the most important reforms was the Social Security Act in 1935, which established both a system
of pensions and a system of unemployment benefit.

At the beginning of the World War II the States wanted to remain a neutral country, but it soon became
the main supplier of weapons for the Allies and in 1941 Japan attacked the American battle fleet in the
Pacific at Pearl Harbour. The States declared war on Japan, and consequently on its allies Germany and
Italy.
The war came to an end when in August 1945 an American bomber dropped an atomic bomb over
Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Despite the fact that many American soldiers died in this war, the States were benefited by the war: Not a
single bomb had been dropped there and their economy was thriving.
The United Nations Organization was founded in 1945.

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The military war was over, but suspicions about power and control between the Soviet Union and the
United States appeared, and people started to speak of a ‘Cold War’. There was a wave of anticommunist
feelings and a new witch-hunting period led by Senator McCarthy.
Containing communism became one of Truman's government (1945-53) main aims (this action is often
known as Truman Doctrine).
- Partly to stop the threat of expanding communism, the Marshall Plan, a scheme of financial help to
different European countries, was established;
- the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), an alliance to support one another against threats from
Russia, was set up;
- soldiers were sent to war in Korea to stop the communists in the north.

The 1950s (Eisenhower, 1953-61) was a period of relative peace and unusual economic prosperity.
People started to have access to more goods than they actually needed; this is what John Kenneth
Galbraith called the ‘society of affluence’.
Youth had access to the consumers society, and they modified their dressing or musical likings (blue
jeans, t-shirts, rock'n'roll).

J.F. Kennedy (1961-63) was the first catholic president of the United States, and with his platform the
"New Frontier" he was committed with the fight against communism and the economic and social
progress; he supported the Keynesian principles of government interference.

Kennedy was murdered in November 1963 and his vice-president, Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-69),
continued Kennedy's plans for reform. After years of fighting of the Civil Rights movements, with people
like Martin Luther King, the Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964 and the Voting Rights Act in 1965.
Johnson also set up systems of health care for the elderly (Medicare) and for the poor (Medicaid), and he
increased money devoted to education.

Another episode of containment policy took place in Vietnam (1965-1973), where the communist North
was fighting against the South. After years of fighting, anger and frustration, the United States could not
win the war and the North took over the South.

The following president, the Republican Richard Nixon (1969-74), had to put up with a serious
international oil crisis. In 1974, he had to resign after the "Watergate Affair".

Ronald Reagan’s political philosophy (1980-88) was based on reducing taxes, which would result in
economic expansion. On the other hand, he spent millions of dollars on developing powerful new missiles
and all kind of nuclear weapons (the "Star Wars") to fight against the Soviet Union.
He was very popular because he made many Americans to feel proud of their country again.

George Bush (1988-92) got the country involved into the Gulf War after the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq.

Bill Clinton (1992-2000) was a very popular president whose main success was the recovery of the
economy of the country. He also had great plans for the improvement of the social services.

George W. Bush’s (2001-2008) presidency has been marked by the events on 11th September 2001. This
led him to start a war in Iraq and another one in Afghanistan. The money spent on these wars and other
defence plans provoked an important economic deficit.

Barack Obama (2009) is the first black President of the United States. He started his presidency when the
current economic crisis had started to be more evident. He is very concerned with social reforms and he
has managed to pass an Act for the health care reform, although its effects will only be seen in future.

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Unit 6. OVERVIEW OF THE 20th & 21st CENTURIES IN THE USA

2. CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY

2.1. Regionalism

Four main regions, which maintain a certain degree of cultural identity.

The Northeast. It has traditionally been the engine of the nation's economic and social progress. It is
densely populated, highly urban, and culturally sophisticated. People are often described as thrifty,
reserved, educated and dedicated to hard work.
The South. It has always been more agricultural; however, in the last decades it has experienced a rapid
urbanisation and industrialisation as a consequence of the national immigration (people and companies)
towards the “Sunbelt”. Southerners are more conservative, mindful of social rank, religious, but less
educated than the rest of the country. They have a noticeable dialect, slower and more musical.
The Midwest. The fertile farmland and abundant resources have allowed agriculture and industry to thrive.
Midwesterners are seen as commercially-minded, self-sufficient, unsophisticated and pragmatic. They
concern mostly for their own domestic affairs and have traditionally favoured a policy of isolationism. It is a
region of small towns, except for some big cities in the north, like Chicago.
The West. There is a great diversity. California: densely populated and highly industrial (high-tech and
service), and a trend-setter. Oregon and Washington: industrially developed. Mountain States: wilderness
and lots of mineral resources. Arizona and New Mexico: are influenced by immigration from the south.

2.2. Town and countryside

Today most Americans live in urban areas; many of them live in suburbs, which are in fact regarded as
part of a city's structure.
Many metropolitan areas have become so large that they have begun to merge into other metropolitan
areas, forming a megalopolis, e.g., from Boston through New York to Washington, D.C.
A consequence has been the deterioration and abandonment of city centres. In the past two decades,
attempts have been made to improve cities: restoration and renovation (gentrification) and redevelopment.
Small towns have also become more popular, as new employment opportunities have opened up, so now
people are speaking about a ruralisation.

2.3. Women

Although women are a majority in the US, they still experience unequal treatment.
Women in the US got the right to vote in 1920 thanks to the work of different feminist movements.
The turning point in women's employment came after the World War II. Many married women who had
started to work during the war, continued to do so after it.
A new women's movement appeared in the 1960s, when the National Organisation for Women (NOW)
was also founded.
Legislation to achieve equality was issued in the 1960s and in the 1970s and 80s affirmative action
programmes in employment and education were started.

2.4. Immigration and ethnicity

"Old immigrants", from northern and western Europe.

Late 1800s, "open door" immigration policy; “new immigrants” (Latin, Slavic and Jewish people from
southern and Eastern Europe); this was often a source of conflict.
From the 1930s to the 1950s many refugees were arriving from Europe.
New wave of immigration in the 1960s, mostly from Asia and Latin America.
Throughout the years there have been several immigration Acts trying to control immigration and even
refugees or asylum-seekers and the hire of illegal immigrants.

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2.4.1. Native Americans

2010 census: 1% Native Americans, most of them living in the West.

The treatment towards the Indians has gone through different phases: removal, concentration, attempts of
assimilation, etc.
In the late 19th and early 20th century the tribal system was dismembered and reservations were dissolved,
destroying the community property system. Children were taken to boarding schools away from their own
reservations, assimilation.
In the 1930s an Act restored the tribal organisation and government. Hospitals and schools were built and
the right to religious freedom and bilingual education was granted.
In the 1950s tribes were dissolved again and Indians were made ordinary citizen. This resulted in
increased welfare dependency and social alienation.
In the 1970s the American Indian Movement (AIM) appeared to fight for the rights of the Indians and tribal
councils were given most of the power exercised by state government.
Although the situation of the Indians has improved, they still have the highest rates of unemployment,
alcoholism, school dropout and suicide.

2.4.2. African Americans

2010 census: 13% of the population is black people, they are the second-largest ethnic minority.
Despite the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments passed after the Civil War, Black people were still
discriminated.
In the 1920s the cultural movement “Harlem Renaissance” emerged in New York.
In the 1950s the African-Americans civil rights movement appeared, with Martin Luther King as one of its
leaders, although there were also some radical movements: the Black Power, the Black Panthers or the
Black Muslims, with Malcolm X as its leader.
In the 1960s The Civil Rights Act (1964) and the Voting Rights Act (1965) were passed, and “affirmative
actions” were also taken.
Although the situation of black people has improved over the years, their average per capita income is
65% less than Whites’.

2.4.3. Asian Americans

2010 census: 5% of the population including many different religions, skin colours, socio-economic
background and historical experiences (China, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia).
They are often depicted as hard-working and more successful than other groups; however, they suffer
considerable discrimination and harassment.

2.4.4. Hispanics / Latinos

2010 census: over 16% of the population was counted as Hispanics, thus becoming the largest ethnic
minority in the country, and it is the fastest growing group.
They often face prejudice and economic discrimination in jobs, housing, education and politics; however,
in the Southwest, Florida and New York area Latinos have achieved some political influence.
Nevertheless, Spanish is present in over a hundred radio and television stations all over the country.

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3. THE POLITICAL SYSTEM IN THE UNITED STATES

3.1. Constitution

The US is a representative democracy, all government power rests ultimately with the people, who votes
for government representatives.
The Constitution was drafted in 1787, by 1791 ten amendments, the Bill of Rights, had been added;
nowadays there are twenty-seven.
The Constitution is based on a principle of limited government, that is, government cannot be
concentrated in the hands of a few:
1. The federal organisation of government
Authority is divided between the central government and the individual states.
2. The separation of powers among different branches of government
Legislative power – the Congress
Executive power – the President
Judiciary/judicial power – the Supreme Court
3. System of checks and balances to restrict the power of each branch
Each branch checks or limits the power of the other branches.

3.2. The executive branch

The president presides over the executive branch of power; he is elected for a four-year term, and can
only be re-elected for a second one.
The president has many important powers: he appoints secretaries of the major departments of his
cabinet, he appoints senior officials of many agencies and foreign ambassadors, he represents the
country abroad, he makes treaties, and he is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
The vice-president, is elected with the president in a ticket.
Some 3 million people work for the federal government and they have to pass a competitive examination
required by the Civil Service Act.

3.3. The legislative branch or Congress

The main function of this branch is to make laws. It is divided into two houses: The House of
representatives (the House) and the Senate.

The House of Representatives

There are 435 representatives, who are elected for a two-year term, plus three non-voting delegates from
the District of Columbia.
The number of representatives each state sends to the House depends upon the number of districts in
each state, which depends on the population. Each district represents about 650,000 people.
The Speaker of the House presides over the meetings.

The Senate
Each state has two Senators, who are elected for six years. The Senate is elected in thirds every two
years.
The vice-president presides at the meetings.

3.4. The electoral and party system

To run for a seat in Congress, a person must usually win a primary election. A candidate needs a
plurality, more votes than any other candidate, to win the election.

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The presidential election is a long, complicated process. Candidates must announce that they are
running for the office between over a year in advance. Many states celebrate presidential primaries. State
delegates are chosen to attend the party conventions in July or August, where the ticket (candidates for
President and Vice-president) is elected. The presidential campaign starts for the elections in November.
The total number of votes issued is known as the popular vote.
There is also a college vote: Each state receives a number of votes in the college and members of the
college are pledged to vote together for the winning candidate in each state. The candidate who carries a
state receives all the state’s votes in the college.
There is a debate over this system of electing the president.

An example:
State Popular vote College vote
Party A Party B Party A Party B
1 10 3 13
2 12 13 25
3 8 11 19
4 5 2 7
Total 35 29 20 44

There are two major political parties, the Democratic and the Republican Parties.
Democrats are supposed to be liberal and they are in favour of government management of the economy,
a public social safety, civil rights, affirmative action programmes and gun control.
Republicans are supposed to be conservative and they tend to limit the role of government and regulation
of business and they favour low taxes and private solutions.

3.5. State and local government

Each state reproduces the structure of federal government: it has a written constitution, a separation of
powers among three branches, and a system of checks and balances.
All state legislatures have two houses: the state senate and the state assembly.
The governor is the chief executive of the state and enjoys powers of administration, appointment and
veto.
The structure of the state judiciary is also very similar to the federal court system.
Sometimes special district government authorities are established to deal with a specific problem that
crosses governmental boundaries.

The fifty states are divided into units of local government, which get many varied names.
Counties are administrative units that carry out some state-wide programmes in local areas. Board
members or commissioners are elected and serve on a part-time basis.
In urban areas, most tasks have been taken over by municipal governments. Here the chief executive is
the mayor, who decides policy together with a city council.
Financing comes from real estates taxes, state governments and federal government.

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Unit 6. OVERVIEW OF THE 20th & 21st CENTURIES IN THE USA

4. EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES

4.1 Primary and secondary education

Education is compulsory from the age of 5 to the age of 17.

In the 1880s compulsory school attendance laws were adopted by most states.
An independent Department of Education was not established until 1979.

There is no national education system in the United States. In public schools, decisions about the
curriculum, teacher certification, and student achievement standards are made by boards of education at
the state and/or district level.
In recent decades, state boards have implemented testing programmes, and the same tests are often
used in many states.

Before the age of 6, children may attend nursery schools and later kindergardens. From 6 to 17/18,
students have to complete 12 grades or years, which can be distributed into different ways.
At the end of these years, students receive a high school diploma provided they have accumulated a
minimum number of credits.

Although there is not a national curriculum, but some subjects are generally taught in all public school
systems across the country.

Since the 1960s and 1970s most schools have supported equal educational opportunity policies and
pluralism, which means that some local districts tailor their curricula to suit Blacks as well as Latino and
Asian immigrant children and add ethnic studies courses and bilingual education programmes.

There is also a variety of private schools: some are run by religious groups and some are secular, and
there are also military academies.
Private schools depend on donations, investments and fees from the students.

4.2 Higher education

The first universities had been founded even before the American Independence: Harvard (1636), Yale
(1701), up to nine.

By the 1920s, the most reputed universities remained men’s institutions, and benefactors established
separate women’s colleges. Colleges for African Americans were also founded.
After the World War II grants for tuition and living cost were given to veterans in higher education. This
was the first step to turn higher education into mass education.
In the 1970s affirmative action programmes to improve women’s and minority groups’ access to
education started to proliferate. These programmes also affected the hiring of staff.

State approval is necessary for institutions of higher education to operate and grant degrees.
But colleges and universities set their own criteria to select students. However, private agencies have
developed competitive college entrance examinations that are given all over the country on the same
day, e.g., the Scholastic Achievement Test (SAT).

There is a wide variety of higher education institutions in the US:

Technical or ‘specialty’ schools offer training for specific occupations, e.g., accounting, computer
programming or business management.
Community colleges give courses for the first two years of college. Students may graduate with an
associate in arts degree (AA degree) or transfer into the third year of a full college or university
programme. They also offer shorter certificate programmes suited to the occupational needs of the area.

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Four-year liberal arts colleges provide basic courses in a broad range of humanities and sciences. In the
two first years, students have to do some core subjects and in the third and fourth year, they specialize in
a field.
Graduate schools require applicants to have a liberal arts degree and pass a competitive exam. They
may be professional schools (law, medicine) or advanced liberal arts schools that offer masters degrees
(MA or MSc) and doctorates (PhD).

There is a majority of private colleges and universities in comparison to public ones. Many students
attending private universities have to get scholarships, low-interest loans or have access to part-time
work-study programmes.

The degrees granted by universities are Bachelor of Arts or Science; and the graduate degrees are
Master (a year, exam and research project) and Doctor of Philosophy (three years, oral exams, and
research project).

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Unit 6. OVERVIEW OF THE 20th & 21st CENTURIES IN THE USA

5. THE MEDIA IN THE UNITED STATES

Most US newspapers, magazines, book publishers and radio and television stations are privately owned.

5.1. The Press

The printing press first arrived in the US in 1638 in Massachusetts and it was controlled by the colonial
authorities.
Newspapers developed quickly in the 18th century and responded to political events and the demands of
a growing population.
Newspapers gained the protection of the first Amendment of the Bill of Rights in 1791, which guaranteed
freedom of the press by stating that Congress shall not make any law that interferes with or abridges the
freedom of the press.
In the 19th century, newspapers became a cheap and genuine mass medium and rapidly increased in
number: The New York Times (1851), Joseph Pulitzer’s World (1887) and William Randolph Hearst’s
Journal (1895).

The US does not have a national press; however, there are some quality metropolitan newspapers which
have a national influence: The New York Times, the Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Wall
Street Journal or US Today.

‘National’ weekly journals of information and opinion are Newsweek and Time.

Newspapers have experienced a considerable decline in readership of papers in general, although

smaller dailies and weeklies have increased in numbers and circulation in local areas.
Mass circulation magazines also declined from the 1950s because they had to compete for advertising
and sales with television and newspapers.

5.2. Television and Radio

The US broadcasting system is characterized by its great diversity and division into commercial and non-
commercial sectors.

All radio and television stations must be licensed to broadcast by a Federal Commission, an independent
federal agency, which regulates media ownership by ensuring that there are no monopolies and that a
variety of services and programmes are provided throughout the country.
There is no direct government censorship of broadcasting content.

5.2.1. Television

Television is the dominant and most controversial national medium.

Surveys suggest that television is the most important and reliable source of news for most Americans. It
can be influential in forming opinions and consumer choice.

The commercial sector is largely financed by money from businesses that pay to advertise goods or
services.
The Big Three national television networks are the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), the National
Broadcasting Company (NBC) and the Columbia Broadcasting Service (CBS).
Since the 1980s, the power of the Big Three networks has declined because of new competitors:
independent television stations, cable television, satellite television, the home video/DVD market, and the
Internet.

The non-commercial sector, like the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), is largely non-profit-making,
educational or cultural in nature and run by organizations such as colleges and universities. It is funded by
individual subscriptions, corporate sponsorship and grants.

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5.2.2. Radio

Radio had a revolutionary impact following its commercial introduction to the US in the 1920s. It is said
that, at the time, it helped to unify the population of the cities and the countryside. But radio was overtaken
by television in the 1940s and has had to develop new markets to survive.

There is no one national radio station in the US.

Commercial radio ownership tend to be concentrated in the hands of a relatively few conglomerates.
They obtain their funding mainly from the advertising on their programmes.
The public radio stations are generally owned and operated by educational institutions and religious
groups.

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