The past one hundred years have been very interesting in the United.
The United States has advanced quicker and more progressive than.
any other country. It wasn't an easy journey though. Society in the .
beginning was harsh and uncomprimising. The zeitgeist at times was very.
bleak and sorrowful, but overcoming hard times is what the United States .
is best at. The following pages will describe how major events in our history .
shaped our society today and how we live.
After World War I, unemployment and inflation sky rocketed. The .
Army discharged six hundred thousand soldiers still in training camps and .
Navy brought AEF soldiers home from France. The soldiers were hustled.
back into civilian life. This now created thousands of men with families.
jobless. Women who did have jobs while the men were off fighting, lost their.
jobs to returning soldiers. The cost of goods such as food and clothing.
more than doubled over prewar rates. African Americans thought that their .
contribution to fighting and home fronts would get them better treatment. .
They soon found out that nobody was too eager to offer them that. Race .
riots erupted in twenty six towns. There were at least 120 deaths in these.
riots. Responding to the cost of living, wages, and work hours, thousands .
of workers went on strike. The greatest of these strikes was by the American.
Federation of Labor and their attempt to organize steelworker's dangerous .
working conditions. Three hundred sixty five thousand workers went on .
strike in September, 1919. Employers would hire thugs to beat the strikers .
and would hire "strikebeaters" to replace the striking workers. The strike .
lasted four months, but failed. As the twenties rolled around, society .
changed. It was the era of prosperity deemed the "roaring twenties". Full .
time jobs become available and wages go up. Social behavior changes. .
People now, mostly younger people, go out and dance in places called .
