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Category Archives: Economic History
The Bonus Army March 1932
This picture was taken by Veteran Army Signal Corps photographer Theodor Horydczak in June 1932. Picture location – American Treasures of the Library of Congress: http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/trm203.html
According to Wikipedia.org, this event was a gathering of approximately 43,000 marchers comprised of 17,000 World War I veterans and their families who protested in Washington, D.C., in summer of 1932. The war veterans demanded their cash bonuses which were granted to them eight years earlier via the Adjusted Service Certificate Law of 1924. Each of these certificates was issued only to qualified soldiers and had a face value equal to the soldier’s promised payment, plus compound interest. The issue was that the certificates, just like bonds, matured twenty years from the date of original issuance. In other words, the veterans could not receive their money until 1945.
Most of the Bonus Army camped in a Hooverville on the Anacostia Flats, a muddy area across the Anacostia River from the federal core of Washington. In July, 1932, President Hoover ordered the Army to forcibly remove the veterans. They were forced back to their camp sites. During this time hundreds of veterans were injured and several killed.
Posted in 1920-1932, Economic History, June 28 assignment, Political history, Social History
Tagged Bonus Army, cash bonus, President Hoover, veterans
1 Comment
Federal Reserve Act of 1913
Between 1836 and 1913, the United States banking system was not regulated by a central system. During this period, the United States economy experienced few financial panics. That happened because banks usually lent more money than they had in their reserves to cover sudden massive withdrawals. The signing of the Federal Reserve Act on December 23, 1913 was an important step taken by President Woodrow Wilson to make the financial system more stable. However, few years later, despite the creation of the Federal Reserve System, the United States experienced the Great Depression after the crash of the stock market in 1929.
http://www.llsdc.org/attachments/files/105/FRA-LH-PL63-43.pdf
Posted in 1900-1916, Economic History, June 29 assignment
Tagged Federal Reserve Act, Woodrow Wilson
6 Comments
Prohibition of alcohol
Prohibition of alcohol occurs in the United States. Prohibition in the United States began January 16, 1919 with the ratification of the Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S Constitution and effected on January 16, 1920, and it continued throughout the 1920s. Prohibition was finally repealed in 1933. This picture shows that Beer barrels are destroyed by prohibition agents in an unknown location on Jan. 16, 1920 and was published by Associated Press. While Prohibition was successful in reducing the amount of liquor consumed, it tended to destroy society by other means. Prohibition became increasingly unpopular during the Great Depression, especially in large cities.
The link of this image is http://apimages.ap.org/Search.aspx?st=k&remem=x&kw=Prohibition+of+alcohol&intv=None&shgroup=-10&sh=14
Posted in 1920-1932, Cultural History, Economic History, June 28 assignment, Social History
Tagged 1920s, alcohol, prohibition
4 Comments
President Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States. In his early carrier, he was an actor. He started his political carrier with the Democratic Party; but he switched to the Republican Party in 1962, got the nomination for presidency in 1980 and win the election in 1980 and 1984.
Reagan spoke of “economic freedom” and proposed an “economic Bill of Rights.” He thought that economic freedom means “curtailing the power of unions, dismantling regulations, and radically reducing reducing taxes.” All his approaches to get the economic freedom were very supportive for the rich people, and it brings the huge economic inequality in society. In his two years presidency period, “the richest 1 percent of Americans owned 40 percent of the nation’s wealth.” Ronald also was the stronger supporter of supply-side economics, and sometimes his economical decision known as “Reaganomics.”
Posted in Economic History, June 21 assignment, Political history
Tagged economic freedom, economic inequality, President Ronald Reagan, Reaganomics, supply-side economics
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Kyoto Treaty
The Kyoto treaty or Kyoto protocol is a set of rules that have the intention to fight global warming. The Protocol was initially adopted in Kyoto, Japan on December 1997 and entered into force on February 2005. While many countries have signed and ratified the Kyoto Protocol, the Bush administration withdrew the United States from the Kyoto Treaty in 2001. Ratification means that a nation agreed to cap (limit) emissions in accordance with the Protocol.
Posted in 1989-2000, Economic History, June 21 assignment, Political history
Tagged global warming, Kyoto Protocol, Kyoto Treaty
2 Comments
Montgomery Bus Boycott
This event was a start point of the civil rights movement. In 1955 in Montgomery, Rosa Parks, an African American woman, was arrested for refusing to give her seat to a white person. Almost all black people in Montgomery stopped using the public transportaitons. This boycott resulted in a crippling financial deficit for the Montgomery public transit system. Finally in December 20, 1956, the United States Supreme Court declared that Alabama and Montgomery laws requiring segregated buses are unconstitutional.
Posted in 1953-1960, Cultural History, Economic History, June 21 assignment, Midterm Exam Review, Social History
Tagged African American, Boycott, Civil Rights Movement, protest
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Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was unveiled by then Secretary of State, George C. Marshall, at Harvard University in June of 1947. Marshall in his speech pledged United States support to the economic recovery of several European nations. The United States worked out with twenty-three European countires trade agreements, which would result in a market for American investment and goods in these specific countries.
Posted in 1945-1953, Economic History, June 21 assignment
Tagged Marshall Plan
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Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956
The Federal-Aid Highway Act was the creation of the Interstate system. It would connect each state through main, central roads that were centrally located.
President Eisenhower was quoted as saying, “Together, the united forces of our communication and transportation systems are dynamic elements in the very name we bear – United States. Without them, we would be a mere alliance of many separate parts.” The Interstate system would be an efficient way to intertwine the individual United States into the whole.
This was a very important point of the 50’s. Not only was it the largest public project in American History up to this point, it was an expression of the longing for unity throughout the country. This was also coming at a time when African-American equality protests were on the rise. Everyone desired a sense of alliance and unification, whether it be in their own village or countrywide.
Posted in 1953-1960, Economic History, June 15 assignment
Tagged 1956 american history, eisenhower, federal-aid, highway act, interstate, public project
1 Comment
The Birth of Consumerism – Loss of economic freedom?
The 1950s marked the beginning of a cultural change called consumerism. The new culture convinced Americans the need to buy new homes, cars, appliances, credit-cards and even succeeded in redefining ‘freedom’. From the pre-world war meaning of freedom, which was to starting to focus on anti-segregation policies, the meaning of freedom shifted to consumption. Foner does not go into much detail but does make it a point to mention that this new idea of consumerism, being the goal of freedom, resulted in American’s being comfortable with living in never-ending debt.
I believe Foner is right in that redefining freedom; consumerism began an a culture Americans are still struggling to deal with. Consumers in American to this day live under the pretense that comfortable means ‘buying more than you can afford’. Although consumerism has succeeded in redefining freedom, it has failed to redefined what the realities of such life-styles are. The fact that debt became a part of life ‘comfortable to live with’ is shocking. As a result we live in a country that is experiencing an economic recession, loss of jobs, a growing national debt and increasing deficit in international trade. Foner even mentions that the goal of women obtaining jobs was not to help the family out of poverty rather to promote the ‘family’s middle-class-lifestyle’. A life-style that put more families in debt. Of course there are exceptions to all this and the middle-class ‘revolution’ did promote better living conditions in America. But it has come at a cost the US is still struggling to deal with – an ever expanding national debt. I fail to see the freedom or comfort of consumerism because reality says otherwise.
National and Individual Debt Clock
Economic Freedom of the 1950s
American society and culture of the 1950s was dominated by consumer driven values. These values are heavily influenced by the economic prosperity experienced in the 50s. The United States was still seen as the world’s dominant industrial power. The steel, automobile, and aircraft industry products were the most sought after in both domestic and international markets. The government also supported western state economies by issuing contracts for numerous military weapons due to the Cold War.
Jobs in the service sector also grew and because the economy was growing so rapidly, wages and benefits rose in parallel. There were relatively few strikes, high employment, and low inflation. Americans now had more residual income to spend on themselves. Credit cards and overall credit was also much easier to obtain. Jack Straus said, “The luxuries of today are the necessities of tomorrow.” Luxuries such as cars, air conditioning, dishwashers, and central heating were all becoming common items in households of the 1950s. Discount stores, shopping malls, and fast-food restaurants were also common.
The spending habits of Americans in the 1950s was similar to the spending habits of the 1920s. I believe the change in values was a result of the end of World War II. The 1950s represented the end of the Great Depression and War eras in which many items were scarce and many sacrifices had to be made. The 1950s can be categorized as a period of economic freedom, a freedom not experienced since roaring 20s.
Posted in 1953-1960, Economic History, June 15 assignment
Tagged consumerism, economic freedom, prosperity
1 Comment
