Greatest Generation Hero

During the years between 1920 and 1960, America saw change in many aspects of life. The United States was a part of two major wars and a crash of the banking system that crippled the economy greater than ever seen in this country’s history. Also the country had new insecurities to tackle such as immigration and poor treatment of workers. These events led to the change of America lives socially, economically, and politically. The people of America changed their ideas of what the country’s place in the world should be. The issues challenging America led the country to change from isolation to war, depression to prosperity, and social change. The threats to American way of life, foreign and domestic, were the changing forces to the

In the 1920s, Americans were trying to figure out what was everyone’s role in society. During this time women started to take on bigger jobs then housekeeping and African Americans are finally standing up for their race. Once 1929 hit, Herbert Hoover, America’s newest president, was viewed as an ‘American Superhero’ at that time because of everything he promised society; however, America gets hit by the Great Depression leaving society in a hole. While banking systems were unstable and overproduction were leaving people bankrupt, Herbert Hoover was blaming Europe and was failing to keep society financially stable. As his presidency went on, filmmakers made film cycles and gangster pictures like Little Caesar that portrayed America’s corrupt society during the Great Depression. By the end of his campaign, Hoover was known as the worst American ever which led to the rising of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933. Roosevelt saw the struggling society as an opportunity to help his campaign in which he created the New Deal. America was given an opportunity that allowed them to look forward to the future. During Herbert Hoover’s presidency, America did not support the federal government, but after Franklin D. Roosevelt ran for president and promised a New Deal, they began to look more favorably on the government.

America during the 1920’s is often described as a time of prosperity and change that allowed the United States to peak. However, what is commonly overlooked is that this era was conflict filled in which society was blinded by luxurious lifestyles and the entertainment industry; preventing any solutions from being formed that could deal with the various issues. It was the people’s ignorance and the problem filled cities that slowly pushed America into the great depression within a decade. After World War I finally came to an end on June 28, 1999 through the Treaty of Versailles, the United States became the most powerful nation in the world since it was the least affected by the war compared to Europe. In fact, American industry and economy

Following the conclusion of the First World War, America began to flourish, especially through changes in technology, morality, and civil rights. Accompanying these developments came widespread discontent. Some argued with the old adage, “'If it ain't broke, don't fix it,”, while others insisted that constant advancements would lead to a better future for all. Best put by Donald Rea Hanson, to pick out reason for America’s prosperity “...would be difficult, if not impossible” (Doc C).

During the early 1930s, the world was at a turning point from all areas. The Great War had taken the lives of many young men demonstrating how important life was, while the roaring twenties saw men and women waste their lives away from all the parties and social interaction. During this time, many would rise and fall throughout the political world, ultimately leading to the rise of the Great Depression and the ultimate economic downturn to occur within all of history. Many would come to try their best at retraining the United States into its powerful nation. However, only one man would be able to develop a plan that would not only bring the United States out of the upcoming world events and leave a legacy both within the United States and

In the days of the Second World War, the United States was thrusted into being the primary provider of supplies whether it was food or steel. This presented many challenges; how would the U.S. truly get out of the great depression? How would the country amply provide a work force in a world where males dominated the labor industry, the same males that would go off to fight the war? To answer these questions, we must look at several sources such as Roosevelt's famous fireside chats, how the U.S. population at home aided the war effort and the role of minorities.

After World War I had ended, Americans found themselves living in an exciting time, often called the “Roaring Twenties”. This Features such as the prevalence of Automobiles, women finally receiving suffrage, and the rise in the variety of entertainment, all had a positive impact on America at the time. There were also social problems such as high levels of racism, constant infringement of the eighteenth amendment, and nativism. The “Roaring Twenties” were, in fact, the transitioning years to the twentieth century. The Twenties, as people had said, was a great time to be alive, because of all the positive aspects of it.

When Americans first set their eyes on the 20th century, they hoped for a better life without war and a prospering economy. This vision of freedom and liberty in America was quite bold, knowing there were challenges ahead. There’s always a price to pay and obstacles to go through when the circumstances are not ideal. During the early 1900s, our country was evolving and starting a new era. An era where blacks were no longer slaves, civil rights movements were occurring, and citizens were having issues with the law. It was a moment in time that helped us understand why these events occurred. From those events, wars, and movements, we can learn and improve from any flaws we may encounter. As a nation, we will be better prepared and aware of these scenarios because we reflect on our country’s past.

During the mid eighteenth century and the early nineteenth century the United States of America experienced some difficult times throughout the country. It first had to watch it’s own nation split apart during the Civil War, also the U.S. had just fought for it’s own independence from Great Britain not even a hundred years ago. Then shortly after the war and the reconstruction area began, later moving to the beginning of the nineteenth century, the United States witnessed the Great Depression. Another dark period in U.S. history that virtually affected every one in America at the time in both positive and negative ways. Furthermore, the group that experienced some of the challenging times, both socially and economically during the Great Depression

Second World War was one of the most devastating wars of all time. The War started when Germany invaded Poland which led Britain and France declaring war on Nazi Germany in 1939. Meanwhile, the Marco Polo Bridge incident led to war between China and Japan. President Roosevelt declared the United States as a neutral country which would not participate in the war. Even though the United States was a neutral country, Japanese air bombed Pearl Harbor, a United States Naval Base located in Hawaii on December 7, 1941. This attack led to the death of over 2400 Americans. Because of the attack on Pearl Harbor United States was forced to enter the War. The United States fought alongside the Allied Powers on two different fronts, European and the Pacific front, for the next four years. Allied Powers finally won after Germany surrendered about a week after their Nazi leader Adolf Hitler’s suicide on May 8, 1945. Japanese did fight for another four months and then surrendered on September 2, 1945, after the United States dropped two Atomic Bombs on Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Bombing of these two cities has been the talk of dispute ever since. Many believe that the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was justified because it ended the war, while others say it was unjustified because the war would have ended even if the atomic bombs weren’t used.

Over the long history of American, three moments specifically have excessively decided the course of the Republic 's advancement. Each separately refined the experience and characterized the authentic legacy of a century. Each grasped a couple of scenes with lastingly trans formative effects. From 1776 to 1789 the Revolutionary War and the adopted the Constitution brought national independence and established the basic political framework within which the nation would be governed ever after. From 1861 to 1877 the Civil War and Reconstruction affirmed the integrated the Union, ended slavery, and generated three constitutional amendments that at least laid the foundation for honoring the Declaration 's promise that all men equal. And somewhere around 1929 and 1945 the Great Depression and World War II totally re-imagined the part of government in American culture and slung the United States from a detached, fringe state into the world 's hegemonic superpower. To comprehend the rationale and the outcomes of those three minutes is to see much about the substance and the trajectory of all of American history.

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.

From 1929 to 1945, two catastrophes occurred: the Great Depression and World War II. American political leaders established a cause-effect relationship between economic collapse and total war, based on these two events, which defined their policy approach in the post-war period. In the 1930s, American leadership, and most importantly, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, came to view economic decline, political radicalization, and instability as forming a vicious cycle that led to utter chaos and war. Although FDR did not know the future consequences of the economic fallout, he did know that breaking the cycle was of systemic importance. FDR’s policy platform, known as the New Deal, disregarded the historical wariness for government intervention and boldly connected economic security to freedom. Essentially, he attempted to push the American system to its limit in order to save it. Even with conservative elements constantly attempting to restrain his initiatives, FDR expanded his focus in the latter years of the 1930s to include international affairs as war broke out in Europe, Africa, and Asia. FDR and other government elites openly talked about the responsibility America had to build a new world order.

Almost one hundred and fifty years after the birth of the United States of America, the country and its people stepped unabashed into the modern age. Following years of gloom and war, the public desired change. Though it took some years after the close of World War 1, the United States began to evolve. With high tariffs, federal tax cuts, and the increase of mass production among other things, America’s economy began to grow rapidly. Economic growth occurred simultaneously with social and cultural growth and these factors brought WW1 America toward the modern age.

The Golden Age of America, the period post WWII, was taken out behind the proverbial house and beaten by the coming of the Counter Culture Revolution of the 1960s. Everything that the “greatest generation,” built and quite literally defended was thrown to the wind by the next generation without a second thought. They were able to free themselves from the shackles of society so easily for various reasons, including: affluence, leisure time, easy access to literature, and higher education. These topics have been touched upon far too much for me to mention them in my paper, and I will save you the boring read. The real question is, why? Why after being handed everything, why after being groomed for this new world where America was at the