Economic And Social Characteristics Of The 1920's

Nearly 30 years later, the characteristics of the 1920s are present in repeating economic, political, and even social circumstances in the 1950s. Many portions of American history were transformed throughout these two memorable time periods, as the saying "history repeats itself" states. Looking back on the flourishing 1920s, many were relieved that the war was over and that life could return to normal. What happened in the 1950s was no different. The postwar prosperity and civil rights movement are the most widely recognized periods of these times.

The postwar economic boom that the United States experienced in both of these decades was accompanied by a rise in cultural optimism. In the 1920s, metropolitan populations surpassed those of rural areas for the first time, and the foundations of contemporary American consumerism were laid. Following the troops' return from duty abroad, output soared in both decades. African-American migration to northern industrial centers in the 1920s led to an expansion of the labor force, which enabled corporate profits to soar and fueled the stock market boom. Due to the devastation caused by World War II, the US was left as the unchallenged economic leader in the 1950s. The US accounted

Eisenhower dominated most of the 1950s in the United States. Following World War II and the Korean War, Eisenhower served as a political centrist, making him an ideal fit for the 1950s consensus climate. He mostly maintained the status quo, despite Democratic efforts to expand the New Deal and Republican efforts to abolish it. Republicans ruled the 1920s as well. The Democrat Party was primarily limited to the South at the time, and the Republican Party was the party of business. Thus the classic Calvin Coolidge misquote, "The business of America is business." Oolidge was one of the most conservative leaders to ever serve as President, and he is regarded as the role model of modern