Modern History: America 1919-1941 Writing Task
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Modern History: America 1919-1941 Writing Task
From 1919-1941 in America, it foresaw times of great prosperity as well as the worst economic down turn in history. These two times were noted as The “Roaring 20’s” and the Great Depression, the 20’s saw a significant growth and affluence for America, this was all due to the high amount of urbanisation and industrialisation occurring. While in the 30’s this all changed as the impact was of post war proportions. This rapid growth and decline had a serious impact on all throughout the country, resulting in the growing inequality; consumerism and the decline of the farming industry. Some may ask how something so positive became so negative. The Great Depression that occurred was caused by the very things that caused the prosperity, such as some aspect of industrialisation as overproduction, government policies had all been contributing factors, as one would put it, ''all good things must come to an end.''
Firstly, growing inequality was a major concern of this time as the prosperity and glory of industrialisation was not spread evenly throughout. The lassez-faire approach set by Republican policies, ultimately favoured the rich rather than the poor. The lower tax rates and reduced regulations favoured large businesses, and saw the growth of colossal industries, e.g. the car industry. This lack of government intervention saw a majority of workers never receiving any benefits, as they were often exploited within companies such as Ford. Ford like many other corporations lacked stringent safety regulations, often having none at all, contributing to the 25 000 workers killed and 100 000 disabled per year. All this was possible, often without much retaliation, as there were no unions to represent workers. Many companies were anti-unionist during the 20's, often deeming it as communism. As many like Ford banned any union involvement as they often had informers within their own factories! If any strikes were to occur...
From 1919-1941 in America, it foresaw times of great prosperity as well as the worst economic down turn in history. These two times were noted as The “Roaring 20’s” and the Great Depression, the 20’s saw a significant growth and affluence for America, this was all due to the high amount of urbanisation and industrialisation occurring. While in the 30’s this all changed as the impact was of post war proportions. This rapid growth and decline had a serious impact on all throughout the country, resulting in the growing inequality; consumerism and the decline of the farming industry. Some may ask how something so positive became so negative. The Great Depression that occurred was caused by the very things that caused the prosperity, such as some aspect of industrialisation as overproduction, government policies had all been contributing factors, as one would put it, ''all good things must come to an end.''
Firstly, growing inequality was a major concern of this time as the prosperity and glory of industrialisation was not spread evenly throughout. The lassez-faire approach set by Republican policies, ultimately favoured the rich rather than the poor. The lower tax rates and reduced regulations favoured large businesses, and saw the growth of colossal industries, e.g. the car industry. This lack of government intervention saw a majority of workers never receiving any benefits, as they were often exploited within companies such as Ford. Ford like many other corporations lacked stringent safety regulations, often having none at all, contributing to the 25 000 workers killed and 100 000 disabled per year. All this was possible, often without much retaliation, as there were no unions to represent workers. Many companies were anti-unionist during the 20's, often deeming it as communism. As many like Ford banned any union involvement as they often had informers within their own factories! If any strikes were to occur...