Chapter 42
The American People Face
a New Century
Economic Revolutions
At the start of 20th century, U.S Steel Corporation led america’s industrial revolution and General
Motors mass production of automobiles signaled the shift to a mass consumer economy. After WWII,
IBM symbolized the “information age”, and the growth of the internet foretold a communication
revolution. Late 1990s, new commercial ventures expanded the market for entrepreneurs making
the internet a place to purchase, entertain, and learn. Revolution in communication caused the
death and outsourcing of certain jobs. The new high-tech economy still faced the same risk of
scandal, error, and business cycles as the old economy did. Scientific research propelled the
economy and scientific knowledge raised new moral dilemmas and political arguments. The Human
Genome Project stood as a revolution in biological engineering as the project established the DNA
sequencing of human genes. Evolution in biomedical engineering was arousing concern of religious
groups, and for the people to understand these new technologies.
Affluence and Inequality
Early 1990s, Americans lived in higher standards than two-thirds of the world, despite the median
household income had declined. Few other countries had higher average per capita incomes
because in america, the rich got richer while the poor got poorer. Welfare Reform Bill of 1996,
which forced people to find work if physically possible, had weakened financially suffering families
even more. Multiple factors led to the widening of income gaps. High cost for secondary education
and underfunding to schools in impoverished areas revealed inequality in education opportunities.
Scientists and Engineers
Science was breaking through the worlds political boundaries. Americas national security state
during WWII and the Cold War required scientific investments, which led to Big Science and Big
technology. The US began to spend billions of dollars in scientific research and development. These
investments improved the quality of life and american corporations ignited a revolution in
communications and information technology. Advances occurred in medical science, increasing the
life expectancy from 47 in 1900 to 77 in 2000. Science institutions began to recruit more women,
minorities, and foreigners. The US scientific dominance over the world is weakening.
The Feminist Revolution
Women were affected the most by the economic changes in the late twentieth century. At the open
of the twentieth century, twenty percent of all workers were women and the number continued to
grow at a steady rate. 1950s, a dramatic increase of women in the workforce, and by the 1990s,
nearly half of all workers were women, including mothers. By 2004 american women worked more
than the women of almost all but two industrialized countries. In the 1960s, all-male strongholds
opened their doors to women. Despite these gains, women continued to earn lower wager and work
in low-prestige jobs. Discrimination and a focus on children caused gender segregation in the
workforce and for women to vote more for democratic candidates than men. Revolution in the
women’s status role led to a change in the lives of men, as more men assumed traditional female
roles. Family Leave Bill in 1993, mandated job protection for working men and women who need
time off for family related reasons.
New Families and Old
Traditional families suffered heavy blows in modern america and by the 1990s, about half of the
marriages ended in divorce. Every fourth child in america grew up in a house that lacked two
parents. Single parenthood eclipsed race and ethnicity as the telling predictor of poverty in
america. Television were used as “parental substitutes”, and by age sixteen, estimates showed
children watching more hours of TV than the hours spent in classrooms. Children in households led
by a single parent, stepparent, grandparent, or even gay or lesbian parents, felt acceptance
unimaginable a generation earlier. Teen pregnancy declining after the mid 1990s. The traditional
american family was not disappearing, just changing into different forms.
The Aging of America
Americans began to live longer, 1950 census revealed women made up majority of population.
Medical advances such as the development of antibodies and vaccines lengthened and strengthened
lives. The aging of the population led to an increase of government spending on health care and less
spending on education. The Social Security myth was that you get reimbursed for contributions to
the system made during your working life, but the fact was payments from current workers to the
system was for benefits for current retirees. The rising of health care costs at a faster rate of elders
receiving retirement benefits intensified existing problems. As the baby boomers approach
retirement age, “unfunded liability” might rise above seven trillion dollars, which threatened to
bankrupt the republic if changes are not made. Social Security and Medicare reforms were rarely
mentioned by politicians because of the electoral power older americans possessed. Efforts to
reshape the Social Security system remained dormant during the later Bush years, even as analysts
predicted the payments would threatened to absorb half of the working population’s income by
2040.
The New Immigration
From the 1980s to the 21st century, immigrants came in numbers nearly one million a year. Asia
and Latin America more immigrants than Europe, and settled not only in ethnically similar cities,
but in sprawling suburbs. Some immigrants came with skills and degrees, but most had fewer skills
and less education. The southwest felt the impact of immigration the most, as Mexican migrants
heavily settled in this area. Previous groups had spread throughout the land and was forced to
change and learn english, but it is possible for Mexican Americans to develop a true bicultural zone
in the southwest. The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 attempted to control illegal
entry by penalizing employers of undocumented aliens and granted amnesty to those already here.
Critics claimed immigrants robbed citizens of jobs and that they dumped themselves on the welfare
rolls, but studies showed that immigrants took the jobs americans hated and payed more federal
taxes than welfare payments received. Young immigrants and their offspring helped face the
challenges of an aging population. Debates over immigration were complicated by illegal
immigrants. The anti-immigrant attitude of republican politicians drove away the Latino votes it
had when they embraced conservative positions on social policies in the 2004 presidential election.
Beyond the Melting Pot
By 2006, the United States housed 44 million Latinos, with contributions from immigration and high
birth rates. Now possessing political muscles, Latinos elected mayors of some major cities. Cesar
Chavez headed the United Farm Workers Organizing Committee (UFWOC), which succeeded in
improving the working conditions of laborers, mostly Chicano, who worked the cycle of planting and
harvesting across the west. In 2003, Latinos became the largest ethnic minority, outnumbering
African Americans. By the 1980s, Asian Americans were America's fastest growing minority and their
population reached 12 million by 2002. Once feared and hated, citizens of Asian ancestry were now
counted among the most prosperous americans. The census in 2000 revealed 2.4 million Indians in
america. Despite taking advantage of their status as independent nations, native americans still
faced the difficulties of discrimination and poverty.
Cities and Suburbs
Crime was the great surge of urban life, as rate of crimes reached a high in the 1980s. The US
imprisoned a larger fraction of its citizen, as murders, robberies, and rapes were common. Americas
“urban age” was brief since the migration from cities to suburbs was quick and massive. By the first
decade of the twenty-first century, suburban areas were becoming more ethnically and racially
diverse. Suburbs grew fastest in the West and Southwest. The Great Plains faced sharpest
population decline. Cities remained divided by wealth and race.
The Latinos
Today Hispanic culture has spread through all 50 states. The Latino population in the US, mostly
Mexicans, is increasing. Immigration halted during the great depression, but resumed after WWII.
Most came to work in the fields and settled heavily in the southwest. Living close to the border,
many mexican immigrants felt dishonor to apply for US citizenship. as the US grows through the 21st
century, it is facing an increasing latino population, accent, and political power.
Minority America
Racial and ethnic tension worsen the problems of american cities. Los Angeles attracted minorities,
especially immigrants from Asia and Latin America. Police brutality and the outcome of the OJ
Simpson trial testified black skepticism about the american justice system. 2000 presidential
election in Florida revealed that blacks were still experiencing a Jim Crowish south. By the late
twentieth century, minorities made up the majority population in cities. Some black communities
prospered from civil rights gains and by 2006, 43 percent of all black families had incomes that
qualified for middle class. Successful black politicians had moved into the political mainstream by
appealing to varieties of voters. By early twenty-first century, blacks dramatically advanced into
higher education. The Supreme Court case involving the University of Michigan affirmed that racial
diversity on college campuses was a way to secure a more equitable society.
E Pluribus Plures
Issues of color and culture filled ideas of the late twentieth century. The new mantra stressed the
need to preserve and promote ethnic and racial cultures in the US. The Census Bureau in 2000
allowed respondents to identify with more than one of six racial categories. Nearly seven million
americans identified themselves as biracial or multiracial, signifying a revolution in attitudes
towards race. By early twenty-first century, many americans were proclaiming their mixed heritage
as a sense of pride.
The Life of the Mind
Americans in the early 21st century read more, listened to more music, and were better educated.
The increase in educated people lifted the economy while creating consumers of high cultures.
Authors from ethnic groups rose in american literature. Toni Morrison first black women to win the
Nobel Prize for literature. Women writers and themes rose to the fictional forefront as the feminist
movement continued. New York the art capital after WWII. Modern artist Jackson Pollock pioneered
abstract expressionism in the 1950s and 1960s, which threw realistic representation out the
window. Film flourished as the influences of younger filmmakers sprouted throughout the country.
Architecture benefited from building boom of post war era. “Post modernists” rejected the
functionalism that had dominated architecture for much of the century.
The New Media
The internet had transformed daily life for most americans as the world wide web spread like
wildfire through homes, schools and offices. The “dot-com” explosion drove the tremendous
economic boom of the late 1990s as the internet reshaped the traditional corporate world. The
internet had the power to spread information among more americans. Young people were attracted
to social media site to make connections with other people and millions of people around the world
started a media revolution with “blogs”. Computers and the internet caused major adjustments in
modern american social, economic, and cultural life.
The American Prospect
Problems continued as the american spirit was filled with energy. Women still not first-class
economic citizens. Full equality remained a dream for colored americans. Job opportunities in
different regions grew and shrunk as outsourcing jobs were becoming common and domestic
corporations collapsed. The environmental effects of used old fuel increased the public plea for
alternative fuel sources. The United states, born from revolution in a conservative world, was now a
conservative nation in a world of revolution as americans kept the banner of democracy. Americans
wanted to spread democracy and improve other countries, but to do so, america would have to
improve itself.
Themes
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Social: American families began to produce better educated citizens. Migration from cities to
suburbs, as well as immigrants from Asia and Latin America, develop multicultural regions in
the US.
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Political: Minority groups began to use political strength in elections as well as breaking
racial political barriers. 9/11 increased the american spirit to spread democracy to other
countries.
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Economic: The development and efficient use of the internet stimulated the american
economy and changed the global market dramatically.