American Culture

20TH CENTURY

FROM BOOM TO BUST

The Progressive Era

From the 1890s to late 1910s/1920s, a sudden era of intense social and political reform aimed at
making progress toward a better society. Reformers sought to end unethical and unfair
business practices and counteract the negative social effects of industrialisation.

✧ World War I (1914-1918): “The Great War”. Set the basis of the modern warfare
system. War casualties were high. Epidemics and famine were uncontrolled. It began
an economic crisis. The Russian Empire fell. The US emerged as a superpower.

✧ McCuler’s Muckrakers: 1902. McClure put together some writers for his McClure’s
Magazine. The issues contained some of the most famous articles of the Progressive
years. Roosevelt said it reminded him of a character in The Pilgrim’s Progress, who did
nothing but rake the muck. It was good as long as they knew when to stop.

Women’s suffrage

Despite men voting, women of all races were still denied that right, as many believed women
could not have such responsibility. Women’s suffrage gained momentum in the early 1900s.
Carrie Chapman Catt encouraged groups to organize protests and parades.

✧ 19th Amendment: Suffragettes parades gradually won support. August 18, 1920, it
was ratified that women could vote in all elections. However, many women remained
unable to vote long into the 20th century because of discrimination (minorities).

Many supported Prohibition, such as the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU).

Prohibition

In 1920, the states ratified the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, outlawing the
manufacture, transport or sale of alcoholic drinks. It was the culmination of decades of
temperance movements. Itt was a way to strengthen values, although many treated it as a joke.

Demand for illicit supply of beverages began, bootleggers earned money by selling illegal
drinks in bars called speakeasies. In 1933, the 21st Amendment revoked it.

African Americans

✧ Niagara Movement (1905): Black intellectuals led by W.E.B. Du Bois, who fought
job discrimination that prevented black people from seeking other work. It served as a
forerunner to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
(NAACP) and the civil rights movement.

In 1908, lynchings against black people began. The NAACP worked for racial equality.

✧ Booker T. Washington: Last generation born into slavery. Considered one of the
most influential African American speakers of his time, despite his outdated approach.
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Children and education

By the end of the XIX Century, many children worked in terrible conditions. Concerns on
child labour arose but inspite of the laws, it remained a serious problem.

✧ March of the Mill Children: Labor organizer ‘Mother’ Jones led children on a march.

Children's education needed reform. Most states passed laws requiring six years of schooling.

✧ John Dewey: Pioneer. “Progressive Education”, believed in learning-by-doing.

✧ Maria Montessori: New model of education by using toys to make learning fun.

✧ Newsies: Boys who sold newspapers to earn money instead of going to school.

✧ The Scopes Trial: In 1925, John T. Scoopes, a teacher, was arrested for teaching
Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, which said that higher forms of life evolved
from lower forms of life. Creationists denied this idea and Scoopes was fined.

The Red Scare

After WWI, workers were suspicious that the economy would fail. Americans were frightened
by the widespread labor unrest. When a series of labor strikes swept the country in 1919, people
felt it might be the start of a Communist revolution. Package bombs were mailed to
prominent Americans, feeding the hysteria. Many blamed “immigrant trouble makers”.

✧ Reds: Police raids started and began arresting and jailing suspected Communists.

✧ The Sacco-Vanzetti Trial: In 1920, two italian immigrants were arrested and
charged with murdering two clerks during a robbery. They were anarchists. They
were eventually convicted and sentenced to death. They were executed in 1927.

The Ku Klux Klan

It was reestablished in Georgia in 1915. The new Klan claimed it was protecting America’s
‘pioneer heritage’ from blacks but also from radicals, foreigners, Jews and Catholics.
Antiblack riots in 1919 ended by entering black neighborhoods to kill African Americans.

It turned into a political force. Membership rose to more than four million. When the fear of
radicals was reduced, it went into a decline, by 1930, its membership had dropped below 10.000.

✧ Immigration: Countries were given a quota so the number of foreigners was limited.

Economy boom

In the 1920s, the nation enjoyed the greatest burst of prosperity ever. WWI was followed by a
brief recession as industries adjusted to the end of profitable government contracts. These paid
well and the economy recovered quickly. America now operated under a different economic
policy, Progressive reforms ended as Republicans seeked to support businesses.

✧ Women: They had joined the workforce during the war. Now they were relegated
to less-skilled, lower paid jobs.
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Jazz Age (Roaring Twenties)

The younger generation were bent on having fun, defying traditions, living “fast lives”.
Wealthier young people enjoyed country-club lives, they liked fast, open cars (roadsters),
dancing the latest dances, like the lindy and the Charleston, at all-night parties.

✧ Flappers: Young women who cut their hair short, wore cloche hats and short skirts
with stockings rolled below their knees and smoked cigarettes from long holders.

The majority of the Americans were hardworking, family-oriented, churchgoing and

law-abiding. They enjoyed movies, radios and sports (Alvin Shipwreck Kelly).

Age of consumerism

Americans had never had so much money to spend. Wages rose, the cost of living decreased.
Working class could now buy things for themselves. As a few large corporations controlled
the economy, consumer spending habits changed.

✧ Buying on credit: Henry Ford began the idea of buying on credit. It consisted in
making an initial down payment, then paying the rest in installments. Chain stores
facilitated this new system.

✧ Chain stores: Hundreds of small retail outlets were replaced by chain stores (Rexall
Drugstores). By buying in massive quantities, they were able to offer lower prices.

✧ Brand names: Large corporations that manufactured consumer products offered

brand names, a well-known name being a guarantee of quality. This, combined with
chain stores, gave people confidence in their purchases.

The American Dream

Americans were confident that the good times would go on: “Let the Good Times Roll”. Factories
produced mountains of new products and consumers bought everything at a record pace. In
1928, Herbert Hoover became president and expressed his confidence:

“We in America are nearer to the final triumph over poverty than ever before in the history of any land”

✧ Advertising: A new generation of salespeople emerged, presenting ‘the hard sell’.

Radio advertisements bombarded with catchy jingles and endless messages to ‘buy
your share of the American Dream’. Billboards, neon lights encouraged it too.

The Stock Market

The value of shares climbed upward, encouraging investors to buy “on margin”. Instead of
paying cash, they would pay part of the price and borrow the rest from a stockbroker, who
would borrow from banks. The investors would pay the balance when the price rose.

This seemed as a sure bet as long as the stock market went up in value. The loans seemed safe
to the banks, and investors were confident that the stock market would keep on rising.
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Boom to bust

Despite the ‘good’ economic outlook of the country, some areas carried potential for trouble:
Farm overproduction, the loss of European markets for crops which brought prices down,
Germany not paying the debt, the Allies borrowing from American investors to pay the US.

✧ Surpluses: Amount of items left over after the need for the item has been satisfied.
Customers had bought everything they wanted, while factories continued producing.

The Stock Market Crash

During the summer of 1929, the stock market reached record highs. Many people’s wealth now
depended on buying stocks on margin. In the fall of 1929, the prices of stocks dropped sharply,
then recovered, until October 29, 1929, when they collapsed. Investors lost nearly $8 billion.

People lost confidence and it touched off a chain reaction. Stockbrokers demanded investors
pay their loans and banks asked for the money they had loaned the brokers (Wall Street).

✧ Run: Millions of people withdrew their money from banks. It caused hundreds of
banks to run out of cash and forced them to close temporarily.

The Great Depression

The stock market did not actually cause it, but it did expose serious weaknesses in the economy,
from overproduction, to all the minorities (farm families, migrant workers and African
Americans) that had been left out of the prosperity. The stock market just sped up the process.

✧ Unemployment: It reached record high levels. In 1932, almost ¼ of American

workers did not have a job, most couldn’t support themselves or their families. Charities
did what they could to help people. Many lost their life savings and wages were cut.

President Hoover

In the spring of 1932, WWI veterans marched on Washington D.C. to demand payment of
bonuses that had been approved by Congress in 1924, known as the Bonus Army.

✧ Hooverville: When Congress refused to act, some veterans set up a camp of

cardboard and tin shacks near the capitol. They called it Hooverville. Hoover called in
the army, which affected his reputation.

✧ Voluntary Programs: He thought social programs would make people dependent

on the government. He asked state governors to fund construction projects to create
jobs. Congress voted to provide money for it (Hoover Dam). His loans-for-farmers and
his appeals to business owners failed. This didn’t push the economy toward recovery.

In 1932, homeless people built Hoovervilles in city parks. They called the newspapers they used
to cover themselves Hoover blankets. In the elections that same year, he lost 472-59 to Roosevelt,
ending 12 years of Republican presidents.
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FDR, WWII AND THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT

Franklin D. Roosevelt

32nd American president and the longest-serving (four terms). He led the United States
through the Great Depression and WWII. He signed into law the Social Security Act of 1935.
He was married to diplomat and activist Eleanor Roosevelt.

✧ Eleanor Roosevelt: Redefined the role of the First Lady, publicly advocated for civil
rights and served as the first chair of the UN Commission on Human Rights.

On March 4, 1933, known as the Inauguration Day, Roosevelt declared in his inaugural
address: «Let me assert my firm belief that the only thing that we have to fear is fear itself». It was the
beginning of a remarkable period in its history. His main goal was to restore confidence.

✧ Restoring banks: He announced a nationwide bank holiday, closing all banks for
four days as to stop the ‘run’ on the banks. After an emergency session with the
Congress, he pushed through the Emergency Banking Relief Act: banks would reopen
when considered safe. Within a week, ¾ of the nation’s banks had reopened.

✧ Fireside chats: Every Sunday, he delivered a radio address, an informal talk.

The New Deal

Beginning March 4, Roosevelt launched his New Deal, a series of legislative proposals that
introduced dramatic changes across the nation, and which lasted for 100 days. The programs
were classified in three categories: relief, recovery or reform.

1. Relief programs: Its aim was to reduce suffering:

✧ Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC): Jobless young men hired for public work.
✧ Public Works Administration (PWA): Funding of public works (construction).

2. Recovery programs: Its aim was to revive business and agriculture through federal
spending and job creation.

✧ Agricultural Adjustment Admin. (AAA): Boost farm prices by producing less.

✧ National Recovery Administration (NRA): Worked with business owners
and labor unions to establish fair wages and hours. The symbol was ‘blue
eagle’. The motto was ‘We do our part’. They ended child labor.

3. Reform programs: Instituted new regulations to correct problems that had contributed
to the depression, and make banking and stock market investing safer and reliable.

✧ Glass-Steagall Banking Act: Reduce bank failures, prevent risky investments.

✧ Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC): Insure people’s bank deposits
against bank failure up to $5,000 per account, so they keep money in the bank.
The Federal Securities Act provided investors information about stocks. A year later,
the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) was set to discourage speculation, etc.
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Despite reelection, Roosevelt lost authority: He was criticized for a ‘court-packing’ scheme that
avoided judicial opinions against his programs, Americans were worried by the government
and president’s expansion of power and the economy weakened even more in 1937-1938.
African Americans I

New Deal policies provided them limited support, although the administration was open to
black leaders, such as Mary McLeod Bethune, the first black woman to direct a federal program.
Blacks supported FDR because of its efforts to help the unemployed and the poor. They used to
vote Republican in honor of Lincoln but from 1930 they changed their vote.

✧ Federal Council on Negro Affairs (“Black Cabinet”): During FDR’s administration,

an informal network of more than 100 African American government employees.
Pearl Harbor

Japan had joined the Axis powers (Germany and Italy) in September 1940 during WWII. All
three had agreed to declare war on America if it went to war with any of them.

✧ December 7, 1941 (A date that will live in infamy): A radio bulletin from Hawaii
informed that at 7:55 am, nearly 400 Japanese planes bombed the U.S. naval base at
Pearl Harbor, near Honolulu. A surprise attack that destroyed most of the Pacific fleet
and killed more than 2,000 people. Next day, FDR asked Congress to declare war.
Americans were angry and anxious. The mainland was no longer protected by the oceans.
German submarines were operating close to the Atlantic coast. The West Coast was in danger
of air attack. Daily air-raid drills1 and nighttime blackouts became routine.

✧ Nisei: After the attack on Pearl Harbor, thousands of Japanese Americans were
relocated. In 1943, the army began recluting Nisei (American-born Japanese Americans)
to serve in segregated military units. (Nisei 442nd won the most decorations).

World War II

Through planning sessions, Roseevelt and Winston Churchill established a ‘life-time’

partnership for the leaders, and the countries. They decided on military priorities: Keep Japan
at bay while concentrating on defeating Hitler. They would land an invasion force in Europe.

On D-Day (6 June 1944), the Allies invaded Normandy. On 6 August 1945, the Americans
dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Japan surrendered. The war was over. More than
300,000 women served in the military, from squadrons to non combat jobs.

✧ UN: In one of their planning sessions, they produced the Declaration of the United
Nations, signed on January 1, 1942, to present a united front against the Axis powers.
More than 40 nations signed it. It was the basis for the United Nations Organization.

1
Simulacros
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Industries

The country focused on producing goods for the war, so it would be fought on factory floors
throughout the nation, while troops fought overseas. The government moved with great speed
to convert industries to war production: tanks, bomb fuses, guns. Within 2 years, they were
outproducing the Axis. The great output of the industries is known as a ‘miracle of production’.
Victory at home

American people showed a strong sense of unity. They felt it was their duty to liberate people
from dictatorships. In his speech declaring war, Roosevelt said «Every man, woman and child is a
partner». 15 million Americans served in the military. The nation made material sacrifices.
✧ Rationing and Shortages: Monthly, beginning spring 1942, Americans received
books of ration stamps for meat, coffee, gasoline, etc. This helped keep prices and
achieve a fair distribution, although shortages still occurred.

✧ Junk: “Junk Will Win the War” Scrap materials were vital to war effort. Scrap
collection became a regular part of every family’s routine, used to make explosives.

Women entered the workforce in great numbers (6 million) to replace the men that had joined
the army, playing a crucial role in the war effort (Rossie the Riveter). They volunteered for the
Red Cross, the USO and the Office of Civilian Defense (OCD), which provided other services.
✧ African Americans: During this time, there was made great progress towards
equality, even joining the armed services, though it remained segregated (fountains)
until 1944. In 1941, FDR issued an order forbidding racial discrimination in defense
hiring: Fair Employment Practices Commission (FEPC), which promoted racial equality.
Civil Rights

In the years after Reconstruction, the South reestablished many of the provisions of the black
codes: Jim Crow Laws. These remained in place for almost a century (De facto/De iure). In 1896,
the Supreme Court established the idea of “separate but equal”, after a trial. The New Deal of the
1930s was still racially segregated; blacks and whites rarely worked alongside each other.
Beginning in the mid-50s, black Americans began a peaceful and determined march for civil
rights against segregation.
✧ Rosa Parks: The march began in 1955, when African Americans stopped riding city
buses in Montgomery, Alabama, after Parks was arrested for not giving up her seat to a
white passenger. The boycott, led by Dr. King, lasted for a year, after segregated buses
were made unconstitutional.
✧ Brown v. the Board of Education (1954): The Supreme Court outlawed segregated
public education facilities for blacks and whites at the state level.
✧ Sit-ins: In 1960, four black college students sat down at a whites-only lunch counter
to protest. They didn’t leave and they were refused service. These spread throughout the
South. Some sit-ins veterans formed the SNCC (Nonviolent Coordinating Committee).
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✧ Freedom Riders: In 1961, a group of students tested the segregation laws by making
an interstate bus trip from Washington D.C. to New Orleans. Despite being attacked,
it was a successful event as bus companies began to integrate their facilities.

Segregationists’ resistance and violence led Kennedy, who supported equality, to announce a
bill that would make discrimination on the basis of race illegal.

✧ Martin Luther King: 26-year-old minister. Inspired by Ghandi, he always defended

passive resistance and nonviolent protests against segregation.

✧ March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom: On August 28, 1963, more than 200,000
people gathered to support the bill. King delivered his speech: ‘I have a dream’

In 1963, King went to Birmingham, Alabama to lead protests (the most segregated city of the US).
As they marched peacefully, the police attacked them. King was jailed. While his Southern
Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and city leaders were negotiating, his hotel and his
brother’s house were bombed. Troops were sent in. Peace was established. Partial desegregation.

✧ Birmingham church: In 1963, white racists planted 35 bombs that killed 10 people,
including for young black girls, in a church. Protesters (Dr. King) marched there.

✧ The Civil Rights Act (1964): President Johnson. It outlawed discrimination in all
public places, established an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and
authorized to prosecute schools failing to integrate. ‘Second Emancipation Proclamation’.

FROM THE COLD WAR TO SUPERPOWER

Iron Curtain

During WWII, Americans saw the Soviet Union as an ally. Red Scare was no longer a reality.
Political cartoons depicted Stalin as a jovial Russian bear. In 1945, Soviet troops remained in
the nations they had liberated from the Germans, ignoring American demands for elections.

✧ Iron Curtain: By 1948, Communist governments were established in Eastern

Europe: Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria. Winston
Churchill warned that an iron curtain had descended across Europe, behind it, basic
freedoms, elections disappeared. All opposition to Communist rule was being crushed.

✧ Joseph Stalin (1924-1953): Murdered opponents, repressed those considered disloyal.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization

On April 4, 1949, the US joined 11 other nations to form NATO. Members agreed that an
attack on one would be considered an attack against all. They formed a military force, with
headquarters in Paris and General D. Eisenhower as a Supreme Commander.
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Truman Doctrine2

In 1946, the USSR began demanding land from Turkey and encouraging Greece’s
Communist neighbors to overthrow the Greek monarchy. President Truman responded with
a policy of containment, containing Communism where it existed, so it would not spread. He
believed it was the Americans mission to support free peoples who were resisting subjugation.
Marshall Plan

In June 1947, secretary of state Truman proposed a huge war-recovery program (money,
food, clothing, machinery) to help Europe overcome its “chaotic situation”. All European
countries were invited, Soviet-bloc countries refused. 16 countries participated: Austria,
Belgium, Denmark, France, Greece, etc. Between 1948-1952 $13 billion helped rebuild Europe.
✧ Organization for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC): Established on 16
April 1948, in Paris, after the 16 countries signed a Convention.

Berlin

The US, Britain and France planned to unify their postwar occupation zones in Germany and
establish a democratic government for West Germany. In June 1948, Soviets closed all roads,
railroads and canals into West Berlin, that was inside Soviet-controlled East Germany.
✧ Berlin Airlift: Americans and British responded by, for more than a year, making
planes fly in every three minutes, bringing ressources (food, medicine) and heating
fuel to the 2.5 million people trapped. In May 1949, Soviets lifted the blockade.

In 1950, the West German Federal Republic was formed. The Soviets formed the East German
Democratic Republic with East Berlin as the capital. The division lasted more than 40 years.

✧ Berlin Wall: In 1961, the East German government built a physical barrier between
East and West Berlin, to stop citizens from fleeing to the West.
Korean War

During WWII, Japan controlled Korea. The Soviets accepted Japan's surrender in Korea
north, and the Americans in the south. Then, the USSR wouldn’t allow national elections, so
Korea became divided into two countries: the Communist Democratic Republic of Korea
(North Korea) and the Republic of Korea (South Korea), supported by the UN and the US.
Like many Cold War trouble spots, this was a remote place for American soldiers, who fought
for almost three years to preserve South Korea’s independence and stop Communist expansion.
China

China’s Nationalist government had been fighting the Communists, led by Mao Zedong
since the 1920s. Both worked together during WWII but it failed when in 1945, the US helped
economically Chiang’s (Nationalist) government, which was thought to be corrupt. In 1949,
Communists won control of China and Nationalists fled to Formosa (Taiwan).

2
After delivering up to ten speeches a day, Truman won the 1948 Election against Republican Dewey.
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✧ Mao Zedong: Led the Communist Party from 1935 until his death in 1976.

Vietnam

In 1945, Vietnam was declared independent. After a decade of warfare, the Viet Minh, led by
the Communists defeated the French. In July 1954, an international conference divided the
country into North (Communist) and South Vietnam (Capitalist). In order to prevent the
North’s expansion, the US sent financial aid and military personnel to the South.
Space Race

During the Cold War, Russia and the US began a competition to show superiority in
spaceflight. It was a dangerous race. Several disasters occurred: Apollo 1.
✧ Sputnik: On October 1957, Soviets launched Sputnik I, the world’s first earth-
orbiting man-made satellite. A month later they launched Sputnik 2, which carried a
dog named Laika, making the Soviets the first to send a living creature into space.

✧ National Defense Education Act: Americans felt the USSR was winning the War.
They passed the act in 1958, giving $280 million to states for loans to college students.

✧ NASA: In 1958, Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act.

In 1961, the Soviets sent the first man into space in a flight orbiting the earth. Then, Kennedy
announced that he had committed NASA to landing people on the moon before the end of the
decade (Apollo 11). On 20th July, Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon.

Cold War at Home

The expansion of Communism led to the fear that Communist agents had infiltrated the US.
Truman created the Loyalty Review Board, that investigated 3 million government employees
from 1947 to 1951. No spies were found, though many were fired for being “security risks”.
✧ Blacklisting: In 1947, the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC),
held hearings in the search for spies in Hollywood. A group called the ‘Hollywood
Ten’ denounced it, saying it had no right to question them. They were fined and jailed
as they wouldn’t answer under oath. They were ‘blacklisted’ and fired as punishment.
✧ Ethel and Julius Rosenberg: A physicist was convicted in GB of giving atomic
secrets to the Soviets. This led to their arrest in New York on the charge of espionage.

McCarthy Era

In 1950, Senator McCarthy claimed to know the names of 205 Communists working for the
government. This led to a series of hearings that launched the regime of ‘McCarthyism’. He
verbally attacked witnesses and tried to show guilt by association, including the president. As
he was disproved, he always came up with a new accusation, although he never succeeded.

He included high-ranking army officers and public hearings were broadcasted on television
for 35 days. This revealed him being a bully and lacking decency. The ‘spell’ broke. Hysteria
died down and he was condemned. Senators signed a Declaration of Conscience.
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American Dream

In the 1950s, after the Depression, Americans welcomed good jobs with better wages. The
American Dream: Owning a home in the suburbs with kids playing in the yard and a shiny
new car. This new lifestyle created an easy-to-absorb popular culture for the middle class.

✧ Television: It became a dominant force in American culture and entertainment in

the 50s. There was a TV antenna in every suburban house and apartment. It was its
golden age: Westerns, comedies, family series. Critics called it a ‘chewing gum for the
mind’. It was usually in the living room, where families gathered to watch programs.

✧ Fads and fashions: This helped fads develop and spread nationwide. Some, hula
hoops and Barbie dolls, became classics. Girls wore blue jeans or crinoline slip skirts,
sweater sets and ponytails. Boys wore blue jeans, white T-shirts and penny loafers.

Americans were eager to spend. Advertisers convinced them to satisfy their whims. Through
the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act veterans had low-interest loans to afford new expenses. As
they returned from war, they began installing in the suburbs. Home ownership grew faster than
ever. The automobile was the fastest way to get around (shopping malls, drive-ins, etc.).

1950s Music

New clean-clut American singers emerged. But in 1955, a popular music revolution started as
African American sounds integrated in music. A young truck driver, Elvis Presley began
dropping ‘rock and roll’ hits. “Doo-wop” and its harmonies thrilled young people.

1950s Movies

Outdoor drive-in theaters with big space for cars, family picnic areas and playgrounds.
Indoor theaters now had enormous screens to show epics such as Ben-Hur or The Sound of
Music. Moviegoers enjoyed seeing stars (Marilyn Monroe and James Dean) on the ‘big screen’.

DIVERSITY IN THE USA

Modern Women’s Movement

✧ Betty Friedan: Her book The Feminine Mystique (1963) marked the beginning of the
modern movement for women’s rights, feminism. She attacked women’s imposed roles
and helped found the National Organization for Women (NOW).

In 1970, protest marches demanding greater job opportunities spread through the country
marking the 50th anniversary of the 19th Amendment: “Equal pay for equal work”. Roughly
half of the nation’s women worked outside the home, and those who did received unequal
payment. They claimed the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) but it didn’t pass.
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Stonewall

In the 60s, police routinely raided gay bars. In June 1969, the patrons of the Stonewall Inn
took to the street when the police came to harass them, trapping them in the bar. Gays, lesbians,
transexual women, fought back and led protests for gay rights in cities around the world.

✧ Marsha P. Johnson: She identified herself as a drag queen and used she/her
pronouns. The “P” in her name stood for Pay It No Mind, her motto. Advocate for
homeless LGBTQ+ youth, those affected by H.I.V. and AIDS, and gay and transgender
rights. She made money as a sex worker, despite the dangerous conditions.

Hispanic Movements

Mexican-Americans are the largest Hispanic group in the US. Some organizations like La Raza
Unida became active in politics in the 70s, especially in the Southwest registering Chicanos to
vote and run for local office. One of the most successful movements was led by César Chávez,
whose United Farm Workers fought for California’s migrant farm-workers.

American Indian Movements

Half of America’s one million American Indians lived on reservations, where living
conditions were terrible. In 1972, the leaders of the American Indian Movement (AIM) took
over the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Washington DC, suing for their rights. Some were
awarded, some were able to enlarge their reservations and some gained ownership of resources.

Environmentalists

Activists pushed the government into taking action on consumer-product safety and industrial
pollution. Lawyers, biologists (Rachel Carson) warned of the harm caused to the environment
(pesticides). This led to the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to
monitor environmental conditions and enforce legal standards.

Ronald Reagan (40th)

Americans felt the federal government’s power was too big and taxes too high. Republican
Ronald Reagan promised in the 1980 election3 changes, beating Democrat Jimmy Carter.

✧ Reaganomics: To reduce the government’s power, he cut taxes ($280 billion, the
largest in history), relaxed business regulations and money spent on social programs.
These policies were hoped to help the economy grow, as he would take less money from
worker’s paychecks and people would have more money to spend on goods, services.

✧ Economic Recovery: In 1980, the economy was suffering buy in 1982, oil prices
and interest rates dropped. By 1984, companies were hiring new workers and people
spending money again. This marked the start of a long period of economic prosperity.

✧ National debt “clock”: Electronic billboard in New York from 1989 to 2000.

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On the day of his inauguration, Iran released 52 American hostages.
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Electronic Age

Innovations in technology in the 80s influenced Americans' way of life. When Bill Gates
developed a graphical user interface, personal computers became so popular ⅕ families owned
a PC. Other innovations: first mobile phones, Walkmans, microwave ovens, CDS, etc.

AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome)

In 1981, Americans began dying of AIDS. By 1990, AIDS, caused by HIV, claimed thousands of
lives. By 2000, it reached 450,000 Americans. As the first cases were identified in the
homosexual male community, the virus was thought to only affect gay men. It became clear
that it was transmitted by blood transfusions, drug needles and heterosexual sex as well.

✧ HIV: Human immunodeficiency virus

Communist regimes

Gorbachev came to power in 1985. He introduced two reforms: glasnost (openness) and
perestroika (restructuring). Demand for such spread to the nations of eastern Europe. Beginning
with Poland in 1989, country after country threw their communist rulers and formed
democratic governments. In November 1989, Germans tore down the Berlin War and reunited.

Late in 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed. The congress voted to dissolve the Union of Soviet
Socialist Republics and form 15 independent republics.

Bill Clinton

After Bush had taken office in 1989, the Democrat Bill Clinton was elected president in 1993.
In his inaugural address he said: “The urgent question of our time is whether we can make change our
friend, not our enemy”. The 1990s were a period of growth and prosperity.

More and more jobs were becoming computer related. Assembly-line factory jobs were
performed in developing countries (cheap labor), workers were replaced by computer-
operated robots, although un/semi-skilled jobs continued to be available in service business.
The country was adapting to business in a worldwide marketplace.

Internet

The Internet began in 1969 as a Defense Department experiment to link together four
computers. In the 1990s, advances transformed its softwares into the ‘information
superhighway’. More and more people began using it, millions of worldwide users. Americans
became enthusiastic Internet users: e-mail, chat rooms, news, paying bills, etc.

New challenges appeared: hackers, security systems, creative work rights, standards, etc. As the
year 2000 approached, computer programmers began worrying about computers shutting
down, but nothing happened. People realized how humans had come to depend on computers.
 American Culture

New America

A new law in 1990 repealed those previously limiting immigration, doubling and greatly
increasing the number of immigrants arriving from Asia and Central America. More than 13
million newcomers arrived from the regions. Hispanic Americans were the fastest growing
minority group (16.3% in 2010).

✧ Swearing-in ceremony: Immigrants took oath of allegiance to the US. Final step.

✧ Families: By the late 90s, most Americans no longer followed the traditional model
but the number of single-parent families, unmarried and same-sex couples increased.

Hate crimes

Although diversity was being accepted, racial prejudice was still a big concern. In 1992, a
camera caught Los Angeles police beating a black motorist, which led to violent riots.

✧ Matthew Shepard: In October 1998, Matthew, an openly gay student at the

University of Wyoming was strapped to a fence and beaten. He eventually died. The
police claimed it to be a robbery attempt, but he was targeted for being homosexual.
Two men were arrested, found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison.

✧ Hate Crimes Prevention Act: Gave authorities more power to prosecute violent
crimes motivated by prejudice against race, religion, gender, sexual orientation. At the
trial for Matthew, antigay protesters stood outside the courthouse dressed as angels.

21ST CENTURY

A NEW MILLENIUM

Bush vs Gore

In the 2000 elections, George W Bush, Bush’s son, participated against Democrat Al Gore.
Neither candidate inspired much voter enthusiasm. On election day, the vote was so close that
no winner was determined until weeks after the polls closed.

In Florida, no winner had

been determined, forcing
recounts several times. In the
end, the original count
stood, giving Bush the votes.
Even though Gore had led
the popular vote, more
people across the country had
voted for him, Bush had
more electoral votes, and
won the election.
 American Culture

September 11

8:46 am September 11, 2001, a hijacked airliner crashed into the north tower of the World
Trade Center in New York City. Sixteen and a half minutes later, more suicide hijackers
crashed a second airliner into the south tower. The two 110-story towers collapsed within
minutes. The Secret Service moved the president to a secure location. 2,753 died.

At 9:37 am in Washington D.C, a third plane crashed into the Pentagon, killing 125 (later 184
deaths). A fourth plane plunged into a Pennsylvania field. 40 died. Bush called these “evil,
despicable acts of terror”, which had launched the country into a war against terrorism.

Thousands lost their lives in the destruction. The New York financial district was partially
destroyed. The economy suffered a recession and the stock market suffered the worst
week-long drop since 1929. People were reluctant to fly. The government encouraged flying
companies to keep operating, and later began compensating victims’ families.

Hurricane Katrina

On August 29, 2005, it hit the Gulf Coast, causing damage from Florida to Texas. Worst hit
was New Orleans, where, despite mandatory evacuation, many were trapped. 1833 people
died from the storm and flooding that followed. 80% of the city was under water. Thousands
were displaced, and still unable to return a year after. The FEMA4 was criticized for failing to
prepare the aftermath, and the President for not realizing how bad the situation was.

Climate change

Global warming and the “greenhouse effect” have made the US see an increase in extreme
weather patterns, particularly in hurricanes, droughts and wildfires, which have worsened in the
21st Century. California has had highly destructive fire seasons, suffering its worst in 2018.
Temperatures have been rising as well, elongating summers, allergy season and tropical diseases.

✧ Biodiversity loss: Serious issue affecting birds, fish, butterflies and polar bears.
Nowadays, scientists have estimated that ⅓ of all US species are at risk of extinction.

✧ Deepwater Horizon: In 2010, a boat exploded in the Gulf of Mexico causing an oil
spill that became one of the worst environmental disasters in American history.

Green Initiatives

Efforts are made to reduce carbons by human activities. President Obama was keen on it,
signing his Clean Power Plan to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. In 2015, he signed the
United Nations’ Paris Agreement on climate change, in order to combat so. Green/renewable
energies and sustainable sources rather than fossil fuels were given an investment boost.

Economic collapse

In 2007, people began struggling with their mortgage payments. Banks responded by limiting
the amount of money that could be borrowed, creating a “credit crunch”.
4
Federal Emergency Management Agency
 American Culture

An economic slowdown began and some powerful American banks collapsed, followed by a
large fall in the US market. The economy went into the worst recession since the Depression.
People lost their homes and unemployment reached great heights. Food banks became a
commonplace. The divide between the richest and poorest was at its widest.

Obama

In 2009, Barack Obama became the first African American president in US history. To
improve the image of the US abroad, he banned excessive interrogation techniques, ordered
the closing of the military detention facility in Guantánamo Bay and negotiated with Russia
the signing of the New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty).

✧ Tea Party Movement: In 2010, the traditional two-party system was shaken up by
the election successes of the “Tea Party”, a populist, anti-Washington movement that
believed federal government had become too powerful. They opposed high taxes and
often had evangelical religious values. They attacked Democrats and Republicans.

✧ Cuban Thaw: In December 2014, Obama and Cuban President Raúl Castro
announced that Cuba and America would begin to normalize relations after 54 years of
hostility. He visited Cuba for three days and even met dissidents of the government.

He was awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize, despite criticisms for his war policies. In 2009, he
signed the Recovery Act to combat the effects of the recession. In 2010, he signed the
Affordable Care, aiming at reforming the healthcare system. In 2011, he announced a US
operation that resulted in the death of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

Donald Trump

Democrat Hillary Clinton was favored to win the 2016 US presidential election. She won the
popular vote but Republican Donald Trump won in the Electoral College. His presidential
campaign was aimed at white, working-class voters. His criticism of Clinton’s use of private
email servers while being in the government bolstered his campaign.

He has built his persona on the claim that he is a billionaire. Since 2016, US politics have
fractured, and ideological differences between left and right have increased.

✧ Women’s March: Demonstrations “sisters marches” held around the world on January
21st, 2017, the day after his inauguration. The initiative extended its goal, covering
gender equality issues and civil rights too .During the campaign, Trump had attracted
attention for his strongly conservative political views and his misogynistic remarks.