A Young Man's Opportunity Poster

Beginning in the early 1920’s, America found itself in a frenzy of revolutionary movements that would shift the everyday lives of American citizens and pave the way to the modern era. A struggle between old ideas of conservatism and new liberal movements surfaced during the “roaring twenties”. The new movements that began rearing their heads during this time period consisted of liberal political ideas, the advancements of rights for the common man and woman, and reforms to our social culture.

His consideration for the future is reflected in his programs that made up the New Deal. FDR created these programs in order to further relieve stress from low income families and provide employment to others; his vision for the New Deal was long term. Programs such as National Youth Administration (NYA) gave families money so that their children could afford to go to school and get an education without worrying about the cost. An education provides long term benefits to future generations because it creates a more productive and wholesome society. Document 1 describes an American worker who benefited from the New Deal, Helen Farmer, who worked in the NYA as a teenager stating that it helped her own mother out when it came to money. This document reflects how FDR’s NYA provided grants to high school students in exchange for work and that allowed adolescents to continue studying without the employment rate dropping. Another program that guaranteed the well being of America’s future was the Works Progress Administration (WPA) which provided nourishment to underprivileged children who couldn’t afford it. The WPA provided employment to the unemployed and new construction to communities around the United States. Daily service of warm food was also prepared by women workers that made it possible for millions of children to have a meal, while providing women with jobs, which

Imagine living in a perfect world where people can do what they want with their life; a world without discrimination, where art is just as important as math. Well, it's not going to happen. At least not in the next century. The lack of accessibility of the American dream is especially apparent in the essay by Kesaya Noda, “The Four Freedoms” by Franklin Roosevelt, “Veterans Day: Never Forget Their Duty” from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and an excerpt from “The Newsroom”. The American dream is inaccessible to the majority of people in America.

The early to mid 1900s proved to be a whirlwind for politics and society as a whole. While there were a plethora of issues to be dealt with within the Progressive Era, one of the most noteworthy issues to discuss would be that of the working class and the businessmen of the first quarter of the 1900s. The reason why these two portions of society within the Progressive Era are the most relevant to discuss stems from the fact that during the Progressive Era there was a great gap between the upper-class (businessmen) and the lower-class (working class). It was during this time that the country was experiencing great changes to its political platform with several new types of initiatives being taken. The applicability of these reforms and initiatives during this era will be talked about.

The picture shows a man carrying another man to vote. Our Republic states “The laws in regard to slaves were made much more strict, and the Southern States that allowed free negros to vote, took the privilege away from them” (276). Our Republic says that no free “negro” could vote, and the picture shows all white men and no colored person. Our Republic also states, “Harrison, on the other hand, was a poor man who lived in a log cabin and was fond of hard cider, the poor man’s drink” (283). Most of the men in the picture are either drinking, or they are already drunk.

In addition the image is portraying the increasing of the New Deal. In Document 4, William Lloyd Garrison, Jr. wrote for The Nation on November, 14, 1934. In this excerpt Garrison indicates that the New Deal would be an economical help for the Great Depression. The New Deal would initially, “use of authority of government as an organized form of self-help for all classes and groups and sections of our country” (United 1). The beginning of social security and government funding for those who were eligible would benefit from government help. (Document 5). To many American citizens this would help financially which was one of the New Deal’s intentions into omitting the Great Depression. Document 6, establishes the Schechter Poultry Corporation v. United States, in 1935. This case insisted with the invalidated regulations for the poultry industry. Charles Evans Hughes states the majority opinion; the government cannot have jurisdiction with local businesses, “The person employed...are not employed in interstate commerce. The wages have no direct relation to interstate commerce…” (Document 6). Much of the media advocated the New Deal (Document 7). The increasement of social movements in this point of time, people wanted to raise

The main body of the essay begins by presenting instances in which the pre-1937 government protected business interests rather than those of the people. Businessmen like Henry Ford benefitted from prohibition because it kept their workers sober and consequently more productive. The founding of the United States was not free from criticism either. The constitution included protections for the slave-based economy of the South and the National Bank was created in order to support the new government which was floundering in debt incurred during the Revolutionary War. The author argued that the United States itself was created in order to provide a unified financial framework which would make paying the debt easier. The author then proceeded to explain the effects of the New Deal, which created a framework that allowed “the government to focus on its people and their civil rights.” The author included two paragraphs which described the change in policy that the government experienced post 1937. Before the essay concluded, the author attempted to address the argument that the Revolution of 1937 overextended the government by making it too inclusive, with Japanese internment as the primary evidence for this. The author refuted this argument by saying

The period between Reconstruction and World War I was a time of tremendous social, economic, and cultural change in the United States. The end of the Civil War, the shrinking of the frontier, the rise of immigration, and the rapid growth of industry that characterized this time period brought many issues of race, class, and status to the forefront of politics. Many different opinions came to light about what it means to be an American and the dynamic between the American individual and American society. The differing answers to these questions created both divisions and unification of political and social thought made apparent by the rise of new labor unions, political parties, and schools of thought. Through careful analysis of historical

The 1930’s were certainly a marked departure from the 1920s. The nation plummeted into the worst economic depression in its history and the social and cultural consequences were huge. One of the most interesting developments is the changing relationship between intellectuals and the broader public in those years. Many American writers like Zora Nealle Hurston, F. Scott Fitzgerald, William Faulkner, and Ernest Hemingway grew skeptical and weary of the general public during the 1920s, but during the Great Depression, were moved by the hardship they witnessed, the nation began to empathize with and work through the struggles of ordinary Americans. If the 1920s was marked by cultural division and by the disillusionment of intellectuals, than the thirties were marked by economic despair and by the discovery of the virtuous “common man” by the nation’s intellectuals. The period of the 1920s and 1930s is arguably the richest period in intellectual life of the nation and for that reason alone people should have some familiarity with it. The parallels between the cultural debates of that era: over immigration, religion, the role of the federal government, and the meaning of the American Dream. An understanding of the time between World War I and World War II years will enhance the understanding of the cultural, political, and economic debates of the present.

During the “roaring twenties,” there were many different events that went on that either caused revolutionary or traditional changes. However, from information of occurrences during the 1920’s, we learn that revolutionary events were more beneficial than traditional changes were. The KKK, Birth of a Nation, Aimee Semple McPherson, and the Scopes Trial all present examples as to why our country in the 1920’s should’ve focused on revolutionary changes to progress our society and homeland. Henry Ford, Harlem Renaissance, Charles Lindbergh, and Flappers are all examples as to why revolutionary events were more beneficial in progressing the country. Traditional values are less advantageous because they do not help progress and traditional ideas often lack innovation.

The head of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) Harry Hopkins, “defended the decision to help support artists by saying, “hell, they’ve got to eat just like other people” (Winkler 100).” Both eras in American history had similar objectives, “for better, the federal government assumed responsibility for national economic planning and for restoring prosperity and ensuring social security – for all” (Shi, 921). The New Deal and World War II, and Great Society and the Vietnam War brought many changes to America. There is no doubt that Lyndon B. Johnson was dedicated to expanding the Roosevelt’s transformations.

As the world moved throughout the time of 1890-1945, the United states experienced a myriad of events that moved it closer to the founding ideals. However, the main ideal, which was supported by plenty of actions, became evident to be “opportunity”. Some of the events that brought the United States closer to the American ideals was the great migration, women in WWII, and African Americans in WWII. Each of these happenings/positions opened doors to other people allowing them to explore new possibilities, hence why they support the forward movement to the ideal of “opportunity”.

Harriet Beecher Stowe published an antislavery novel titled “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” talking about how people deserve their own lives, and that slavery is wrong (History.com 2014). In 1954, African American started to fight back, and wanted to be treated equally, especially in schooling. But African American’s still went to mainly African American dominate school in the year 1989 (Anna Wilson 2010). This is a good example showing how strong propaganda is to a person’s mind; one idea has caused a lot of grief and sorrow from one idea, or a poster they saw.

The caricature was described as “the timid, the lazy man, the man who distrusts his country, the over-civilized man, who has lost the great fighting, masterful virtues, the ignorant man, the man of dull mind, whose soul is incapable of feeling the mighty lift that thrills ‘stern men with the empires in their brains’ (Roosevelt, 2).” The caricature is painted as an anti-patriotic and out of touch (“over civilized”) person. Roosevelt establishes this as a complete juxtaposition from the ideal, working citizen that he described earlier by saying “These are the men who fear the strenuous life, who fear the only national life which is really worth leading. They believe in that cloistered life which saps the hardy virtues in a nation (Roosevelt, 3).”

Lastly, likely the most pronounced bias is stereotyping; whether used in comedy, rhetoric, or everyday life, stereotyping is everywhere. The best example of this bias would be the recent 2015 Presidential election in the USA. Growing political polarization, with prevalent misinformation, and ignorance of ‘the other side’, creates an ideal powder keg for sweeping generalizations. A good indicator of stereotyping in the US follows from what adjectives are used to describe each party from their opposition, seen here in figure 1.