The 1940s changed through just about everything: war, technology, and presidents. After the great depression in the 1920s the American Dream went in a new direction and began the postmodernist era. The American Dream in the 1950s was different from the American Dream in the 1940s because of the culture and by many factors throughout the twenty year span like government, technology, war, and women's rights.
The 1920s and 1930s were an extremely hard time. War, Great Depression, and illnesses spread throughout America. Even with all that tumbling the great people of this country, the American Dream lived on. The American Dream in the 1920s started at the immigrants who left their lives back in their home country to live their dream in America. Some of their dreams and reason why they came to america was for more freedom (Destination). They knew that America was the land of opportunity. They could easily find work and free land (DeLorenzo). Many were not welcomed in their country because a certain ethnic group or religion. America was there only choice to be free (Destination). Other than immigrants Americans were searching for their own identity. Many just barely surviving the great depression, they were now searching for steady jobs and wanting to become rich (American 2). Thats the Americans dream to become rich. They wanted to provide for their families. The great men of America tried to do all that while transitioning out of the great depression.
Early in the 1940s, World War Two was just starting and The government wanted everyone involved. The American Dream in the early 1940s was all about the war. Society was entwined with the war. The government used propaganda to persuade and encourage the American “Home-Front”. They used...
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"PRIMARY News from the Vegan Home Front." News from the Vegan Home Front. Web. 18 Mar. 2014. .
"Popular Cultures In The 1950s." BHBL. Web. 18 Mar. 2014. .
"Ultra Swank — The best place for retro living, style and design." Ultra Swank RSS. Web. 16 Mar. 2014. .
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David E. Kyvig is a Presidential Research Professor and Professor of History at Northern Illinois University (Kyvig, 272). His purpose in writing the book, as Kyvig states in his preface, was to, “… to examine what daily life was like for ordinary people in the 1920s and 1930s. It acknowledges that these people were not all alike and that their experiences varied considerably. It recognizes that distinctions in location, occupation, economic circumstance, race, ethnicity, gender, age, religious view, and cultural values differentiated their lives. Above all, its author is sensitive to the fact that in this space it is only possible to scratch the surface of a topic that should be explored in greater depth and detail” (Kyvig, x). Kyvig goes on to state that, “This book is offered in th...
Michael C. C. Adams' book, The Best War Ever: America and World War II, attempts to dispel the numerous misconceptions of the Second World War. As the title suggests, Americans came out of the war with a positive view of the preceding five turbulent years. This myth was born from several factors. Due to the overseas setting of both theaters of the war, intense government propaganda, Hollywood's glamorization, and widespread economic prosperity, Americans were largely sheltered form the brutal truth of World War II. Even to this day, the generation of World War II is viewed as being superior in morality and unity. The popular illusion held that 'there were no ethnic or gender problems, families were happy and united, and children worked hard in school and read a great number of books.' (115)
When WWII had begun it essentially was the beginning of the end of the depression. It got the momentum to move forward to create a better society. After world world II social and development in the united states was created through economic materialism, family structure, post-war trauma, and changes in work life. These ideas can be seen being carried out through a novel called The Man in the Grey Flannel suit because it sets an example of what a typical middle class family lived like in the 1950’s. In order for the country to develop the united states needed to modify to these four ideas.
Jeffries, John. Wartime America: The World War II Home Front. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 1996. Print. American Way.
The 1920s was a time of conservatism and it was a time of great social change. From the world of fashion to the world of politics, forces clashed to produce the most explosive decade of the century. It was the age of prohibition, it was the age of prosperity, and it was the age of downfall.
"World War II (1939-1945)." The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project. Department of History of the George Washington University, n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2013. .
Fear swept across Europe, as result from the continuous amounts of air bombing taking place in the 1930’s. The government encouraged “Civilians […] to enroll in Air Raid Precautions (ARP) or the Auxiliary Fire Serive (AFS)” (The Home Front par.1), knowing that Germany would come armed with their deadly bombs. Before Germany declared war with Great Britain millions of people left their life behind and evacuated far away from the reach of the German troops, others stayed supporting the home front.
Barnett, Correlli. World War II: Persuading the People. Orbis Publishing Limited, 1972. Pgs. 76 -- 102.
Campbell, John, ed. The Experience of World War II. New York: Oxford UP, 1989. Print.
The 1950s seemed like a perfect decade. The rise of suburbs outside cities led to an expansion of the middle class, thus allowing more Americans to enjoy the luxuries of life. The rise of these suburbs also allowed the middle class to buy houses with land that used to only be owned by more wealthy inhabitants. Towns like Levittown-one of the first suburbs- were divided in such a way that every house looked the same (“Family Structures”). Any imperfections were looked upon as unfavorable to the community as a whole. Due to these values, people today think of the 1950s as a clean cut and model decade. This is a simplistic perception because underneath the surface, events that took place outside the United States actually had a direct effect on our own country’s history. The rise of Communism in Russia struck fear into the hearts of the American people because it seemed to challenge their supposedly superior way of life.
The 1940s provided a drastic change in women’s employment rates and society's view of women. With the end of the Depression and the United States’ entrance into World War II, the number of jobs available to women significantly increased. As men were being drafted into military service, the United States needed more workers to fill the jobs left vacant by men going to war. Women entered the workforce during World War II due to the economic need of the country. The use of Patriotic rhetoric in government propaganda initiated and encouraged women to change their role in society. Yet, at the end of the war, the same ideas that encouraged women to accept new roles had an averse affect on women, encouraging them to leave the workforce. The patriotism promoted by propaganda in the 1940s, encouraged Americans to support the war effort and reinforced the existing patriarchal society. Propaganda's use of patriotism not only increased loyalty to America during the war, but also, increased loyalty to the traditional American patriarchal values held in society.
Popular Front to the Second World War." The International History Review 5, no. 2 (May 1983):
Other than being a topic of the novel, The American dream identify with a few characters. Lennie and George's fantasy of owning their little homestead and rabbits with Candy was a case of what a normal American dream was amid the 1930s Great Depression. The Great Depression has changed throughout the year relying upon the condition of the country. Amid the Great Depression the normal dream was simply singular fulfillment. To fulfill one's self amid the Great Depression was distinctive. Getting another or surprisingly better occupation was restricted of gaining fulfillment, yet the place where there is fresh chances to succeed was filled with emergency after the share trading system smashed. The American dream had lost its impact on America amid the 1930s, yet was still vivacious when men like George and Lennie sought after a superior and distinctive life and perpetual miracle into the desire for the better of individual
The twentieth century has American dream has dramatically morphed from the pursuit of happiness the Framers of the Declaration of Independence intended. Ben Franklin sought happiness in the virtues morality, industry, and frugality, but others for others it was the pursuit of capitalism, climbing the social ladder, or filling your life with possessions. The complexity of the American Dream is that it has mean something different for each culture. Literature has been the vehicle for capturing the appraised dream for those in search of its security. The notion that there is opportunity for life to be richer and fuller for everyone has been replaced by the bitter reality of the American Dream, it is only a fantasy.
A period of time when the American Dream was prevalent in the minds of everyone was the Great Depression, which took place in the 1930’s. It started after the crash of the stock market in 1929 (Great Depression), The Depression had an incredible impact on the United States’ economy. During