Robert Moses Power Broker

Badger, Anthony J. .The New Deal: The Depression Years, 1933- 1940. 1989. Reprint. Chicago : Ivan R. Dee, 2002. Print.

American history has had many defining moments over the last five decades which has helped America to develop to the way it is today. Each decade holding many life changing events and discoveries in them it would take a long time to cover each and every one of these so I have chosen a major event that I find to be of great worth to Americans today. We can all learn from the past events and work together to make American a safer and better place to live, and one way to do so is by learning from the past. Starting in the 1950’s we will discuss the most life changing and breath taking moments from each decade that this great county has seen through the 90’s and discover why they are all of significant value to the America we all live in

When World War I ended on November 11, 1918, President Warren G. Harding proposed “a return to normalcy”. This promised a return of the United States prewar mentality, without the thought of war contaminating the minds of the American people. With this in mind, the 1920s began- but Americans in the 1930s witnessed dramatic changes in their lives from the 1920s. The 1920s was a period of prosperity and economic success, while the 1930s was a time of economic downfall. The economy fluctuated between times of great prosperity and times of undoubtable depression. Following these economic downturns was a period of rigorous attempts to recover from severe economic loss. It did not take long for this economic hardship to lead to some more

Out of some of the most turbulent times in history have come the greatest ages of success and prosperity. The 1920’s and 1950’s are two eras that exemplify the spirit of triumph and wealth. In both decades, a nation thrilled by the victorious conclusion of war and the return of their loved ones from war entered into an age of capitalism and materialism, bolstering the economy and with it national pride. Some of features most common to the 20’s and 50’s were consumerism and the accompanying optimistic mindset, the extent to which new ideas entered society, and discrimination in terms of both sexism and racism.

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

The strong economy also created the right environment for many important changes in the day-to-day social life of Americans. The nineteen twenties are remembered now as an exciting time that historians call the "Roaring Twenties” , but maybe it was only “roaring” because things were so corrupt.

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.

In the end, no one can dispute that the 1920’s presented seemingly insurmountable tension between, “Old America,” and, “New America,” in terms of religion, social conflicts, and cultural values. This tension was masked in some places by the prosperity, brought on by the roaring twenties, but still remained at large. One good side effect of these tensions was brought about though, in the sense that many precedents, which are still followed

Robert Moses has become such an influential figure in urban planning by creating one of the most popular cities in the world today. New York City is known for its diversity when it comes to the people who reside there and the business’s. Robert Moses will be remembered in a positive outlook for being the one who influenced

The 1920’s were a period of tension between new and changing attitudes on one hand and traditional values and nostalgia on the other. Following WWI it was a transitional time period to modernization, and the old America was being forgotten. From the old and new to urban and rural, generations were feuding over the advancement of American Society. To a great extent social, economic, and cultural changes affected the leading tensions between the old and the new and was manifested greatly by those. Although political changes are usually the cause of disagreements, the tensions in the 1920’s were manifested by social, economic, and cultural changes.

With the overwhelming amount of Levittown houses, the obsession to obtain the perfect American “ideal family” as seen on TV and the unspoken agreement to fear any and all foreign ideas and values, the 1950s were revealed to be a decade of prosperity, conformity and consensus. Just ten years later the atmosphere in America was shockingly different; the 1960s were a decade of turbulence, protest and disillusionment due to the ongoing struggle for civil rights, arising feminism, and the Vietnam War.

Robert Caro’s grandiose 1,296 page book, The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York, reveals the story of the complex and controversial persona of America’s greatest builder Robert Moses. The magnificently well-written piece of work received Pulitzer prize as well as Francis Parkman prize for best book of the year. Caro, born in 1935 in New York City, showed interest and passion for writing early in life. Known for his extensive research and detailed long pieces, he was determined to write Robert Moses’ biography in spite of Moses’ initial rejection and lack of cooperation. Upon realizing the book was unavoidable, Moses agreed to comply and be interviewed several times by Caro. Moses, the ultimate builder, whose career lasted a long time, eventually gained enough power to build himself an empire in which he lived like an emperor and managed to get his every wish granted. He successfully manipulated government officials and almost any individual he came in contact with was transformed into a pawn used to assist him in building and turning his dreams into a reality. While Caro’s masterpiece provides a substantial amount of background information on his leading character, its main focus is less about his life story and more about power and what he was able to do with it once he had a taste of it.

The 1920’s was a great and important decade for the United States. After World War I, the United States went through events and changes that, overall, made the United States a much better place to live. New advances in technology and industry improved American life in more ways than just one. Americans had better wages during this time, more leisure time, and overall, had a better life than ever before. In addition, the 1920’s advocated social and cultural change as well. During this time period, the United States did not return to Normalcy, and instead developed attitudes that changed the life of the people of the United States forever thanks to social changes, cultural changes and changes in technology.

Robert Moses was born in New Haven Connecticut. He is considered the “master builder” of New York City, Long Island, Rockland county, and Westchester county of the mid 1900’s. After graduating from Yale and earning a Ph.D. in political science from Columbia, Robert Moses became attracted to New York City reform politics. Moses caught the notice of Belle Moskowitz, an advisor to Al Smith. Moses rose to power with Al Smith, who became governor of New York in 1922. Robert Moses was in charge in the development of Jones Beach

Many times, authors have a title to their work that can be intriguing and thought provoking, as if it were bait to an inevitable hook that would catch and keep you enthralled. In Alan Lawson’s circumstance, this is not the case. In Lawson’s A Commonwealth of Hope: The New Deal Response to Crisis, the title is very straight forward, as most would expect from a work mainly targeting the attentions of colleagues and other scholarly minds. The highly biographical book leads its readers on a chronological story of the Great Depression, the social and political life of Franklin Roosevelt and the progression of reformist ideas that sparked the New Deal.