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Henry Ford created the first affordable automobiles, allowing the everyday American to be able to own one. Ford perfected the assembly line and was able to pay the workers double their previous amount, though he would not allow them to unionize.
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A law was passed through the Eighteenth amendment that outlawed alcohol. Despite the law, many people did not follow this, and would smuggle alcohol in from other countries, and groups would gather in speakeasies to drink and party. Crime began to boom even more than it had when alcohol was still legal.
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In Rural America, a bad 8 year drought hit, called the Dust Bowl, bringing on terrible dust storms. This drought was caused by the ground being overworked. This led to many farmers suffering as their crops withered away and livestock either died or were sold for money. Many people migrated West in hopes that they could farm out there.
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A law that was passed in 1930 by the president that raised tariffs. This tariff was intended to increase the sales of goods that were made in America, but ended up angering foreign trade partners. This caused them to raise their tariffs on American imports. From this, global depression became worse, and international trade shrunk.
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The New Deal was a program that President Roosevelt implemented to help lesson the effects of the Great Depression. The "three Rs" of the New Deal were Relief, Recovery, and Reform.
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A policy put into place so that President Roosevelt could still help other countries without violating the Neutrality Acts that he put into place. The policy allowed warring nations to still purchase war material as long as they were able to pay for it with cash and arrange its transportation on a non-American ship.
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World War II started in 1939 when Nazi Germany invaded Poland. The United States joined the fight a few years later after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.
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A figure created to persuade women into beginning work at factory jobs. Rosie the Riveter was shown to be tough yet feminine, and was based off of several real women.
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After World War II ended, marriage rates skyrocketed, with couples getting married at a much younger age than pre-war America. Due to this rise in marital numbers, many more babies were born. This generation was called the “baby boomers”.
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Eisenhower’s New Look policy adopted “massive retaliation”. This was a plan for nuclear response in the event that the Soviets struck.
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Lyndon Johnson described a plan he referred to as the Great Society when he gave a speech at the University of Michigan in 1964. This was a set of of domestic programs that he said would help end poverty and racial injustice.
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This war lasted for twenty years (1955-1975), where a communist North Vietnam wanted to unite Vietnam as a communist country. The US began to help aid South Vietnam in the war. The US was especially scared about the domino effect it would cause if Vietnam fell to communism, fearing that other Southeast countries would follow.
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In 1974, President Ford declared inflation as America’s number one public enemy. He started a campaign called “Whip Inflation Now”. The inflation was paired with sluggish economic growth. Ford’s economic policies were unfortunately unsuccessful.
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On November 4th 1979, Iranians stormed the American Embassy and kidnapped 66 employees. This group of Iranians wished to end the Westernization of Iran and America’s influence on it. President Carter tried to negotiate their release, and also sent an airplane to rescue them, but the plane crashed.
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Technology became mobile with the creation of the cellphone. This increased the availability of instant connection.