20th CENTURY

FROM BOOM TO BUST

THE SPIRIT OF REFORM

Beginning about 1900, there was a desire to change for the better or reform. Reformers had high
hopes, they wanted to improve the relationship between citizens and government and citizens and
industry. This period was called the Progressive Era, because those who worked for change hoped
society would progress.

- Women’s Suffrage
Since the Fifteenth Amendment had passed in 1870, African American men could vote , but
women were still denied the right to vote. The drive for women’s voting rights gained momentum
in the early 1900s. Carrie Chapman Catt provided energetic leadership for the suffragette
movement, she formed groups to organize protests and parades, and demanded action by
Congress.

By 1913, 12 states had granted voting rights to women, but Congress still did not want to pass an
amendment to the Constitution. It wasn’t until the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified in 1920
that women could vote in all elections at the local, state, and national levels.

Women wanted to ban the sale and consumption of alcohol, which was known as Prohibition.
Groups such as the Women’s Christian Temperance Union or WCTU gained support among
middle-class women and many men for this cause. Prohibitionists felt alcohol encourages laziness,
irresponsibility and violent behavior. Finally, in 1919, the Eighteenth Amendment prohibited
the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages (bebidas).

- Progress for African Americans

W.E.B. DuBois was an African American leader for a new generation and he formed the Niagara
Movement in 1905. He argued that African Americans deserved more choices. The Niagara
Movement fought the job discrimination that prevented them from seeking other work.
In 1908, after a mob terrorized blacks in Illinois, several progressives, including Jane Addams and
John Dewey, offered to help. They created the National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People.
 - Crusades for Children
By the 1890s, nearly two children under 16 ere employed in mines, mills and factories. Many of
them worked in dangerous conditions, working long hours for very low pay. The “March of the
Mill Children'' persuaded New York and New Jersey to pass laws. By 1910, 23 states had such
laws, but child labor was a serious problem.

Between 1895 and 1910, most states passed laws requiring at least six years of schooling. In
Chicago, John Dewey developed the concept of “progressive education” : learning by doing, not
by memorizing.

Furthermore, it was created: McClure's or McClure's Magazine (1893–1929) was an American

illustrated monthly periodical popular at the turn of the 20th century. The magazine is credited
with having started the tradition of muckraking journalism (investigative, watchdog, or reform
journalism), and helped direct the moral compass of the day.

FEAR AND UNREST

In 1918, after World War I, there was a downturn in the economy. Labor unions launched a
series of strikes to win higher wages, many Americans were frightened by the labor unrest. They
blamed foreigners and demanded that the government should stop the flood of immigrants.

- Strikes and the Great Red Scare

When a series of labor strikes swept the country, many people felt that America was in serious
trouble. They were afraid the strikes might be the start of a Communist revolution.
package bombs were mailed to prominent Americans, they were directed by postal workers and no
one was killed, but it fed the hysteria.

Attorney General A.Mitchell Palmer decided to go after the “immigrant trouble-makers”

many blamed. On January 2, 1920, he set in motion police raids in 33 cities and arrested 4,000
suspected “reds”, as Communists were called. Most Americans were outraged by this violation of
constitutional rights. By late 1920, the Great Red Scare had faded away.

For example, two Italian immigrants were arrested and charged with murdering two clerks during a
robbery in Massachusetts. The accused, Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, were anarchists
and they had been involved in several strikes. They were convicted and sentenced to death. Many
people protested that they had been convicted for their beliefs and finally the two men were
executed.
 - Rebirth of the Ku Klux Klan
The KKK was reestablished in Georgia in 1915. The new Klan claimed it was protecting
America’s “pioneer heritage” from blacks, radicals, foreigners, Jews and Catholics and they killed
many people. For a few years the Klan was a political force in small towns in the South, Midwest
and Southwest. By 1925, the popularity of the Klan went into a steep decline.

Another topic was restricting immigration, many Americans wanted to limit the number of
foreigners let into the country. This led Congress to pass a series of immigration laws in the 1920s.

THE ECONOMY BOOMS

During the 1920s, the nation enjoyed the greatest burst of prosperity in its history. Warren G.
Harding started the pro-business Republican dynasty in 1920 (the first presidential election in
which women could vote). Harding was followed by Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover.
Most people enjoyed the good times and ignored the economic problems.

- New Economics

World War I was followed by a brief recession of industries. The agreements paid companies well.
The economy recovered quickly with the support of the Republican government. America was
now operating under a different economic policy, Republicans felt that governments agencies
should help business when they could and stay out of its way when they couldn’t.

Americans had never had so much money or so many things to spend it on. The cost of living
decreased as goods became cheaper due to technology and more efficient production methods. It
was possible for working-class families to buy household goods. Henry Ford introduced the idea
of buying on credit. Buying on credit was soon accepted practice for the purchase of appliances,
furniture, and homes, as well.

THE JAZZ AGE

The majority of Americans in the 1920s, were hardworking, family-oriented, churchgoing and
law-abiding (respetuosos de la ley). The younger generation were bent on having fun, defying
traditions and were considered “fast” lives. More conservative people found much to enjoy too,
including movies, radio and spectator sports.

The poem of Edna St. Vicent Millay spoke for a generation of young people who wanted to live
exciting and fast-paced lives. Young women typically cut their hair short and wore short skirts. They
also defied convention by smoking cigarettes. Wealthier young people with money to spend enjoyed
country-club lives.

“LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL”

Most Americans were confident that the good times would go. However, there were signs that the
economy might be headed for trouble but practically no one paid attention.

- Confidence in the American Dream

In 1928, the Republicans nominated Herbet Hoover. Hoover had expressed confidence that the
prosperity would never end. We in America today, he stated, and nearer to the final triumph
over poverty than ever before in the history of any land. American consumers seemed to
share this faith. New business developments urged them to enjoy life, for example, the power of
advertising.

- Playing the Stock Market

Instead of paying cash for stocks, the investor paid part of the price, called the margin, and
borrowed the rest from the stockbroker. The broker borrowed from banks, the investor hoped to
pay off the balance by selling the stock at a profit in a few months or years. Thousands joined in the
stock market, but only about one of every 20 Americans owned stock.

- Warning Signs
Most Americans felt the economy was perfect, but there were several problems.
Farm overproduction and the loss of European markets for crops brought Prices down.
Germany was having trouble paying the huge war debt it owed the Allies, and these ones were
borrowing from American investors to pay the debts they owed the U.S. government.

BOOM TO BUST

During the summer of 1929, the stock market reached record highs. Many people’s wealth
depended on buying stocks on margin, creating a debt that would be hard to repay. There was a
slowdown in buying but factories continued to produce goods at record rates, creating huge
inventories of unsold products. Farms continue to fail.
In the fall of 1929, the prices of stocks dropped and they collapsed. Investors lost nearly eight
billion on that one day.
Brokers demanded that investors pay the margin loans, and banks asked for the money they has
loaned the brokers. Many banks were forced to close. There were people who jumped out of
windows and killed themselves.

The stock market crash did not cause the Great Depression, but it did expose weaknesses in the
economy. There were factory closings and many farm families, migrant workers and African
Americans had been out of the prosperity of the 1920s.
Local governments and charities did what they could to help people , but it was impossible.

President Hoover used social programs to pull the country out of the depression and would make
people permanently dependent on the government. In 1930, Congress voted to provide money for
the construction of harbors, public buildings and the huge Boulder Dam on the Colorado River.
These efforts were not enough to push the economy toward recovery.

Hoover’s reputation could not have been in worse shape going into the election of 1932. People
were angry at Hoover for using troops against the war veterans of the Bonus Army. Franklin D.
Roosevelt, democratic, won the elections.

FDR, WWII AND THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT

THE HUNDRED DAYS

The depression had people feeling defeated. Franklin D. Roosevelt could not wait to face the
challenge. The immediate goal of Roosevelt was to restore confidence as quickly as possible. First,
he closed all banks for four days, this stopped a “run” on the banks. FDR (Franklin D. Roosevely)
also called congress into an emergency session and pushed through the Emergency Banking
Relief Act: stated that banks would reopen when the Treasury Department ruled that they were
sound.
In a week, three quarters of the nation’s banks had reopened and a wave of confidence swept the
country.

- The Three R’s of the New Deal

There were programs categorized in three parts: relief, recovery, or reform.
● Relief programs: reducing suffering.
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) hired young men and put them to work clearing roads
and trails and building. Another project: the Public Works Administration (PWA), which
founded public works such as the construction of schools, city halls and public gardens.
 ● Recovery programs: efforts to help agriculture and business.
The Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA) aimed to boost farm prices by reducing
production. The National Recovery Administration (NRA) worked with business owners and
labor unions to establish codes of fair hours and wages. The program ended child labor and
established the right of unions to bargain collectivity.

● Reform programs: instituted new regulations to correct problems that had contributed to
the depression.
In June 1933, the Glass-Steagall Banking Act set up rules to redce bank failures by preventing
risky investments. It also established the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. This meant
that the federal government would insure people’s bank deposits against bank failure up to $5,000
per account, so that they would feel confident.

- African Americans and the New Deal

New Deal policies provided limited support to African Americans. The president didn’t want
alienate Southern Whites and his administration was open to black leaders, such as Mary Mcleod.
In general, blacks supported FDR and the New Deal because of its efforts to help the poor and
unemployed. The 1930s offered African Americans little to win their votes.

- The End of the New Deal

The popularity of Roosevelt decreased during his second term for three main reasons:
1. Roosevelt was criticized for trying to add more justices to the Supreme Court to avoid
judicial opinions against New Deal programs.
2. Many Americans had become worried by the expansion of the government’s power.
3. The economy weakened even more in 1937 and 1938, and a growing number of voters
decided that more New Deal measures wouldn’t make a difference.

PEARL HARBOR: WAR!

The Roosevelt administration was worried about the Japanese. Japan had joined the Axis
powers, Germany and Italy, in September 1940: all three Axis powers had agreed to declare war
on America If it went to war with any of them. Fears were realized when the Japanese attacked
Pearl Harbor, this also led the U.S. government to forcibly move thousands of
Japanese-Americans into internment camps.
December 7, 1941: 400 Japanese planes bombed the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, near
Honolulu. This attack destroyed most of the nation’s Pacific fleet and killed more than 2,000
people. The next day, Roosevelt asked Congress for a declaration of war.

MOBILIZING FOR WAR

The main goals of FDR were: develop with America’s new allies a military strategy to defeat the
Axis powers and focus U.S. industrial production (produce goods to wage war).

Two weeks after Pearl Harbor, British prime minister Winston Churchill arrived in Washington
for planning sessions with FDR. They produced the Declaration of the United Nations, signed on
January 1, 1942 = present a united front against the Axis powers.

FDR and Churchill also decided on military priorities. They agreed to keep Japan at bay while
concentrating on defeating Hitler. This would relieve pressure on the Soviet Union, but more
importantly it would force the Nazi to fight on two fronts: against the Russians in the east and
against the Americans and British in the west.

WOMEN IN THE MILITARY: about 300,000 women served in the military during World War
II. There were organizations in which women could work such as radio operators, clerks and truck
drivers. Example: WAAC (Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps).

The U.S. government moved with speed to convert industries to war production. Automobile
companies turned to making tanks, landing craft and airplanes. Also, they produced bomb fuses,
revolving gun mounts or 50-caliber machine guns.
American industries were outproducing Germany, Japan and Italy combined. American industry
to the war effort was a sign of the nation’s resolve.

VICTORY AT HOME

A total of 15 million men and women served in the military. People learned to do without major
items such as new cars and refrigerators…

Moreover, there were new roles for women. 750,000 women applied for jobs in defense plants,
but only 80,000 were hired. Over the next two years, six million women were added to the
workforce.
women also volunteered for the Office of Civilian Defense. Others joined the Red Cross and at
the United Service Organisation.
African Americans made greater progress toward equality during this period than at any time
since post-war Civil War Reconstruction. African American employment in government increased
from 40,000 to 300,000 and industry more than 1.2. Million. Also, many of them joined the
armed services.
In 1941, FDR established the Fair Employment Practices Commission: promote racial
equality. Segregated drinking fountains were just one example that African Americans were affected
by discrimination.
Also, there was some justice for Japanese Americans: the army began recruiting Nisei
(American-born Japanese Americans) to serve in segregated military units.

MARCHING FOR CIVIL RIGHTS

In the 20th century there had been some progress, such as the desegregation of the armed forces.
But in the South, all the facilities remained strictly segregated, and black and whites did not have
equal rights. Beginning in the mid -1950s, black Americans began a peaceful and determined
march for civil rights.

The NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) scored a victory in
1954 when the Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. The Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, that
separated schools for blacks. This ruling brought down the 60-year-old “separate but equal”
doctrine. Some states tried to integrate their schools, but there was resistance in much of the Deep
South.

The march for social justice began in 1955. African Americans in Montgomery stopped riding city
buses after Rosa Parks was arrested for not giving up her seat to a white passenger. In 1956, the
Supreme Court ruled that segregated buses were unconstitutional.

- Crisis at Birmingham
In April 1963, Dr.King went to Birmingham to lead protests. As the demonstrators marched
peacefully through the streets, the police attacked them. Dozens were jailed, including King. His
hotel and brother’s house were bombed and the city government agreed to partial desegregation.
This inspired other nonviolent protests.

- The Civil Rights Act of 1964

President Johnson pushed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in Congress. It outlawed discrimination
in all public places, established an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and
authorized the attorney general to prosecute schools that failed to integrate. Many called this act
the “second Emancipation Proclamation”.

FROM THE COLD WAR TO SUPERPOWER

THE COLD WAR HEATS UP

During World War I, most Americans thought of the Soviet Union as a close ally but people
worried about Communism. Beginning in 1946, Americans experienced a series of shocks when
the Russians started to control nations in Europe and Asia. The United States was now involved in
another conflict: the Cold War.

- In 1945= Soviet troops remained in the nations they had liberated from the Germans.
Stalin ignored American demand for free elections in those elections. By 1948,
Communist governments were established throughout Eastern Europe.
- In 1946 = British prime minister Winston Churchill warned that an “Iron Curtain”
had descended across Europe- behind that country, basic freedoms and free elections had
disappeared- and all opposition to Communist rule was being crushed.

The Soviet Union began demanding land from Turkey, and also encouraged Greece’s Communist
neighbors to overthrow the Greek monarchy.
President Truman responded with a policy of containment: I believe it must be the policy of the
United States to support free people who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by
outside pressures. THE TRUMAN DOCTRINE.

- The Marshall Plan

In June 1947, General George C.Marshall (Truman’s secretary of state), proposed a huge
war-recovery program of money, food, clothing and machinery to help Europe. With 16 nations
participating, it was a great success.

- The 1948 Election

The news media and the polls were sure that Republican Governor Thomas E. Dewey of New
York would win over President Truman. However, Truman responded by campaigning hard. It
is one of the most surprising elections in history, Truman won a solid victory.
 - The Berlin Airlift

Stalin was infuriated when the United States, Britain and France announced plans to unify their
postwar occupation zones in Germany and establish a democratic government for West Germany.
In June 1948, the Russians closed all roads, railroads and canals into West Berlin.
The Americans and British responded with the Berlin airlift : planes flew every three minutes,
bringing food, medicine, clothing and heating fuel to the people.

In May 1949, the Soviets gave up and lifted the blockade. A year later, the West German Federal
Republic was formed. The soviets created the East German Democratic Republic, with East
Berlin as the capital. The East German government built the Berlin Wall.

THE KOREAN WAR

Communist North Korea invaded South Korea. Many of the U.S. soldiers who shipped out to
help defend South Korea did not know where it was. They would fight for almost three years to
preserve South Korea’s independence and stop Communist expansion.

The Communists and Nationalists formed an uneasy truce to fight the Japanese in World War II,
but by 1945 the truce had failed and the United States was spending huge sums to help China’s
government. In 1949, the Communists won control of China.

NEW COLD WAR ANXIETIES

More and more countries around the world were being led by Communist governments during the
1950s, and this made Americans anxious. The communist system was seen as the opposite of the
American political system and most Americans’ values concerning freedom and liberty.

- Vietnam

At the end of World War II, much of Vietnam was still the French colony it had been since 1867.
But in 1945, the Viet Minh (Vietnamese nationalist coalition), declared Vietnam to be an
independent nation, free of France. Led by the Communist Ho Chi Minh, defeated the French -
with America paying 80 percent of France’s expenses. In 1954, an international conference divided
the country in two parts: North and South Vietnam.
Hoping to prevent the Communist North from taking the entire country, the United States
began sending financial aid and military personnel to Vietnam.
 - Spunik I

In October 1957, the Soviet Union had launched Sputnik I (first earth-orbiting, man made
satellite). This Russian success convinced many Americans that the Soviet Union was winning the
Cold War with more advanced scientific knowledge. One reaction was = the National Defense
Education Act, which gave $280 millions to the states for loans to college students.

THE COLD WAR AT HOME

The rapid expansion of Communism in Europe and Asia led to the fear that Communist agents
had infiltrated the United States. Hysteria nearly took hold as government officials tried to weed the
Communists out of the country.

This fear led President Truman to create the Loyalty Review Board, which investigated three
million government employees. No spies were found, but many employees were fired for “security
risks”.

In 1947, the House Un-American Activities Committee openen a series of hearings in

Hollywood. The committee tried to embarrass the Truman administration by demonstrating its
ability to “expose and ferret out Communists”. Also a grupo called Hollywood Ten denounced
the committee and they were fined, jailed and “blacklisted” (he movie studios refused to hire them).

In Great Britain, a physicist named Klaus Fuchs was convicted in 1950 of giving atomic-bomb
secrets to the Russians. The same charge for Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, they were executed.

Wisconsin senator McCarthy claimed to know the names of 205 Communists working for the
government in the State Department. His accusations led to a series of Senate committee hearings
that launched a reign of fear known as “McCarthyism”.
In public speeches, he lashed out at individuals, including the secretary of state and president
Truman. He also attacked witnesses and tried to show guilt by association. Despite his tactics, he
never succeeded in exposing a single Communist agent working in the government.
Finally, the Senate vote to “condemn” his behavior for bringing “dishonor and disrepute”.

1950s DREAMS OF AFFLUENCE

“American Dream” meant owning a home in the suburbs with kids playing in the yard and a shiny
new car in the garage.
 - The Arrival of Television

During the 1950s, television became a dominant force in American culture and entertainment.
Almost every suburban house and city apartment had a TV antenna.
Televisions helped to develop and spread nationwide with great speed. Examples: Davy Crockett,
Barbie dolls, hula hoops…

- Getting and Spending

A number of factors led Americans to make these years a great age for spending. Companies made
new products and advertisers helped convince people that it was now all right to spend money to
satisfy personal things. Servicemen’s Readjustment Act: this gave veterans low-interest for
buying a house or farm, starting a business or paying for college.

- 1950s Music

All-American pop singers emerged. But in 1955, a popular music revolution started when Bill
Haley recorded “Rock Around the Clock”(a mixture of African American country music). Elvis
Presley (Rock and Roll) too.

- 1950s Movies

The film industry found creative ways to lure people away from their TVs. Outdoor drive-in
theaters featured family picnic areas. Indoor theaters were redesigned with extra-large screens to
show spectacular epics and wide-screen musicals. There were favorite stars such as Marilyn
Monroe and James Dean.

GLOBAL AGE: DIVERSITY IN THE USA

MOVEMENTS FOR CHANGE

The civil rights movement inspired other groups to launch movements for greater equality.
Women, Hispanics, American Indians and others made use of protest marches to advance their
causes. Many people also came concerned about environmental pollution and the safety of
consumer products.

- The Modern Women’s Movement

The 50th anniversary of the Nineteenth Amendment (women could vote) was marked with protest
marches, whose banners and signs demanded greater job opportunities, protested the sexist nature
of advertising and called for an end to all-made organizations. By 1970s, half the nation’s women
worked outside the home, but their income was only 60% of what men earned in similar jobs.

The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)= “equality of rights under the law shall not be denied by
the United States or any state on account of sex”. Out of the required 38 states needed, only 35
ratified it; the amendment did not pass.

- Hispanic Movements

Mexican-Americans are the largest Hispanic group in the U.S. some of their organizations
became active in politics in the 1970s (Example: La Raza Unida). “Chicanos” convinced several
states to offer bilingual education in schools (spanish and english).
One of the most successful movements was led by César Chávez who worked to unionize
California’s farm-workers. They won the right to represent the workers in contract negotiations
with the state’s grape growers.

- American Indian Movements

Half of America’s one million American Indians lived on reservations, where living conditions were
so bad. Leaders of the American Indian Movement (AIM) attracted national attention when
they took over the offices of the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Washington.
In the West, several tribes stopped companies from strip-mining coal and also gained ownership of
minerals located beneath their land.

- Consumers and Environmentalists.

Activists pushed the government into taking action on both consumer-product safety and
industrial pollution of the environment. Ralph Nader, a lawyer, pioneered product safety by
publicizing lack of concern about the safety of their automobiles.
The marine biologist Rachel Carson published a book called Silent Spring, in which she warned
of the harm caused to the environment by poisons like pesticides. This led to the establishment in
1970 of the Environmental Protection Agency to monitor environmental conditions and
enforce legal standards.
THE REAGAN REVOLUTION

By the 1980s, many Americans felt that the federal government was too large and taxes were too
high. When Republican Ronald Reagan promised the presidential election to reduce government
size and spending, he won Democrat Jimmy Carter.

- “Reaganomics”

Regan wanted to shrink the government's role in American life by cutting taxes and reducing the
amount of money spent on social programs. He began his first term by pushing through Congress
a $280 billion tax cut— the largest in history. Regan hoped these policies, dubbed “Reaganomics”,
would help the economy grow.

In order to “get government off the backs of the people”, Reagan reduced the regulatory power of
government agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Environmental
Protection Agency. He also tried to limit the size of the federal government.

- The AIDS Epidemic

Americans died of a condition with strange newy symptoms known as AIDS (Acquired Immune
Deficiency Syndrome) caused by HIV. At first, people associated HIV and AIDS with gay men
but it became clear that the virus was also transmitted by blood transfusions, heterosexual sex and
drugs. People joined in raising money for research into a possible vaccine.

IRON CURTAIN FALLS

George Herbert Walker Bush took office in January 1989, after serving two terms as Reagan’s
vice president. The Eastern European nations broke away from the Soviet Union. America faced
other challenges including the Persian Gulf War.

- The End of the Cold War

When Mikhail Gorbachev came to power , he introudced two reforms in the Soviet Union:
“openness” and “restructing” (allowed limited free enterprise to boost the economy and increase
the goods). Demand for such liberties spread to the nations of eastern Europe. Beginning with
Poland, country after country threw out their communist rulers and formed democratic
governments.
In November 1989, Germans tore down the Berlin Wall. Within a year, Germany was reunited
under a single democratic government, the Federal Republic of Germany.

Late in 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed. Deputies in the Soviet congress voted to dissolve the
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Many of the new republics, had been Independent
countries before falling under Russian rule and they celebrated their return to self-government.
Americans cheered the move toward free societies, but there was a concern over what would
happen with Soviet nuclear weapons. They agreed to a treaty to reduce both of their nuclear
arsenals, but tensions lingered into the 21st century.

A NEW ECONOMIC AGE

The 1900s were a period of remarkable grwth and prosperity.

The kinfs of jobs and workplaces that emeged in the 1900s would not have been recognizable to
workers earlier int he century. With the develop of software and the World Wide Web, more and
more jobs were created. Unskilled and semi-skilled jobs continued to be available in service-oriented
business, such as hotels, fast-food chains and janitorial services.

The Internet began in 1969 as a Defense Department experiment to link together four computers.
Advances in hardware ans software transformed that early trial into the “information
superhighway”. Americans became enthusiastic Internet users: they exchanged emails joined
chat-rooms, read the news and payed bills and banked online.

The Internet was not perfect. People learned that hackers could damage or steal information on
their computers. New security systems weredeveloped.
another problem was the diffculty of protecting the rights of authors and composers. Anyone
could publish anything on the Internet, there were no standars for quality or accuracy.

THE NEWS AMERICANS

America’s population in the 1900s was more diverse than at any other time in iths history. Whites
of European background still made up a majority of the population, but minorities were growing
fast. The American family was also undergoing profound changes, increasing numbers of
single-parent families and same-sex parents.

Another problem is the impact of immigration. changes in the U.S. immigration law led to
changes in the population. A new law in 1990 doubled the limits of immigration arriving from
Asia and Central America. More than 13 million newcomers arrived from those tworegions,
compared to Europe. Hispanic Americans were the fastest growing minority group.

In 1970, more than half of American families followed a “traditional” more (husband, wife and
children). This number had decreased and others families became more common, including single
fathers, unmarried couples ans same-sex couples.

Racial prejudice was still a big concern. Example: a video camera caught Los Angeles police beating
a black motorist name Rodney King, he had been pulled over for driving while intoxicated and he
resisted arrest and the police responded with excessive force. Black neighborhoods in Los Angeles
erupted in violent riots thst resulted in 58 deaths and $1 billion in property damage. Also, gays
crimes, example: Bias Crime.