Social Changes In The United States During The 1920's

The Social Security Act was a program meant to attract money from citizens, but ensuring they they will get something in return (Doc D). This act collected money from citizens, and when they turn 65 years old, are able to collect money back in the form of monthly checks. FDR’s point of view in creating this act was that people will be more likely to put their money into something that they know will reward them back in the future. As a result, Social Security money was put back in the economy and helped decrease the amount of debt that the United States was in. According to William Lloyd Garrison in 1934, the government was putting enormous amounts of money into public relief and public works projects that expanded throughout the country (Doc C). This policy, known as the Works Progress Administration (WPA), created jobs for improving infrastructure such as repairing roads and building more buildings. This improved employment in America and helped people gain money back through these new jobs. A graph of Unemployment from 1927-1947 serves a purpose for showing the pattern of unemployment from before and after the Depression (Doc G). Unemployment decreased in 1934, the same year the government started these public work projects, which proves that the WPA policy was effective in creating positive

The 1920s was known for its prosperous and flamboyant lifestyle. The GDP during that time had risen by 30 percent and unemployment was as at an all-time low of 3 percent. This was not meant to last forever. In fact, it was nearly impossible for this to last any longer than it did due to an imbalance that society was unaware of including that not every citizen was experiencing this uncommon wealth. There were still 3 percent unemployed and even some of the employed members of society did not make enough to support a family and were considered homeless. It was in October of 1929 when this so-called luxurious lifestyle vanished as the stock market crashed at a time when the stock market seemed it would never stop increasing. This caused an economic, downhill, rolling ball effect. Those who took out loans to invest in stocks could not afford to repay the banks causing the banks to fail and close down. When the banks closed down, the depositors of that bank lost their life savings causing them to go broke and some company owners to close their doors. This led to a loss of jobs by the employers of those companies. This time period was known as the Great Depression and rightfully so. It is the most significant setback in the American Economy to date. The Herbert Hoover administration was in effect at this time giving the society an easy target to blame. Come time for the next election in 1932, Americans were ready for a change in authority to bring them out of this seemingly black

The roaring twenties included many changes after World War 1 such as the growth in pop culture and the shift in minorities embracing a new cultural identity. During World War 1, majority of the society were involved in traditional values such as women not being allowed to express themselves in a way compared to the flappers in the 1920s. Additionally, consumption sparked a growth in new inventions such as the radio which united/brought many Americans together. Although to a lesser extent, the American society didn’t change in the 1920s due to nativism, traditionalism, and racism, to a greater extent however, the American society changed significantly due to modernism, new cultural expressions, and consumerism. Consumerism has changed the American society drastically in the

The 1920s was known as the “roaring twenties” because of the vast changes that took place in society. After the war ended, 3 Republican presidents of the 1920s all had conservative ideals in improving American economy. They were all pro-business but still believed that the businesses could grow without having to interfere; laissez-faire. Also, US victory in the war led to a great deal of nationalism. This was a time period when many inventions were made, and changes in America’s finance industry allowed more people to buy these products.

As seen in ‘’Historian Interpretation’’ Carl Degler states he saw Social Security ‘’As a piece of this change, singling the America view the government is responsible for ensuring that older America’s would live decent lives. ’’(SQ3H) On August 14, 1935, FDR signed the Social Security Act which allowed elderly people to pension. Stated in “FDR” he says, ‘’This social security measure gives some protection to 30 million of our citizens who will receive direct benefits through unemployment compensation, through old-age pensions, and through increased services for the protection of children and the prevention of ill health. ’’(SQ3E)

The first social security program did not form until 1935. After 1935 the civil war had ended but had left hundreds and thousands of widows and orphans as well as disabled veterans. Right after the war the rate of disabled veterans increased. Many people that were once bread winners had lost it all, which brought upon a generous pension plan. This pension plan had close similarities to the development of social security (Armstrong, 1932).

The 1920s was often referred to as the "Jazz age", or the "Roaring Twenties". Not only was American culture 'roaring' in terms of social trends and style, but the economy was 'roaring' as well. This related to the economic booming period of rapid expansion and changed social attitudes. The 1920s impacted American Society and economy because of Laissez-Faire, farm crisis, and consumer credit/installment plan. Society was discovering new found freedoms and becoming less regimented. This lead to new technologies disasters and a booming economy. However, hidden behind the optimistic views on the economy, there were significant structural problems, which led to the Great Depression of the 1930s and the notorious stock market crash of 1929.

On August 14, 1935 in Austin, Texas, President Franklin D. Roosevelt inked his signature on the Social Security Act. It was originally implemented to resolve problems with unemployment, old age insurance, and public health and welfare. The Great Depression was the catalyst for the creation of the Social Security program, and the basic structure was very similar to Germany’s social insurance programs from the 1880s. Today, social security is mostly used for retired senior citizens starting at the age of 62. At 62, American citizens can begin to collect, but will only receive 35% of their monthly benefit due, rather than the maximum amount of 50% when they reach the full retirement age of 66. (cite) In addition, social security is dispersed to about 14 million disabled people under the age of 62, who can no longer work in the labor force for various reasons. The people who qualify as disabled are just a small percentage of those collecting compared to senior citizens, and are often not mentioned when social security issues are brought up because of their minute effects on social security distribution.

The Roaring Twenties were also known the Jazz Age and the Golden Twenties. The 1920s were an age of dramatic economic prosperity, social and political changes. This was the first time that more Americans lived in the cities than on farms. The nation’s wealth more than doubled in the 1920s and this economic boom swept many Americans into an affluent but unfamiliar “consumer society.” During the 20s it seemed as though everyone had money and people began to break from the traditional set-up in America. In the 20s there were technological advancements, new freedoms, mass production, mass consumption and new American writers. All of these changes made life a little better for most Americans in the United States.

The workers in the 1930’s were suffering from unemployment in the small towns and big cities of the United States. President Roosevelt started

The social security act was created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt so that he could put in place provisions in order to help the elderly. The social security act a document that helps impoverished citizens, such as the elderly and physically impaired receive benefits after retirement. Citizens’ in America during the great depression where expected to work weather elderly or physically disabled. These citizens weren’t afforded the financial stability to retire so work was a necessity to acquire money. “Prior to social security, the elderly routinely faced the prospect of poverty upon retirement” (U.S SSA). This effect of the great depression led to a lot death and homes turning into singled parent homes with no income. “The widespread

A landmark change in providing for the elderly came in 1935 with Franklin D. Roosevelt 's Social Security Act. While this provided aid to people with disabilities and mothers with children, aid was also mainly intended for the elderly. The premise of the act was that an individual would pay into the government through the years that they worked and upon retiring that person would receive benefits. Elderly Americans relied on this system to help pay for expenses that they might incur after they reached an age where they could no

over the age of sixty-five, and it also created unemployment insurance. In 1936, Aid to

By the mid 1960?s, Social Security had demonstrated success by achieving its primary goal of reducing the percentage of elderly living in poverty. New legislation that included Medicare and Medicaid added to the success of Social Security by increasing the tax base for Social Security and raising benefits by 7 percent, by allowing retirement recipients to work without losing benefits, and by amplifying the definition of disability. In 1969 benefits were raised by 15 percent. In 1972 they were raised by 20 percent. They were, also, indexed to increase at the rate of inflation.

The Social Security System is in need of a new reform; our current system was not designed for the age stratification we have at this time. The U.S. Social Security Administration Office of Policy states, “The original Social Security Act, signed into law on August 14, 1935, grew out of the work of the Committee on Economic Security, a cabinet-level group appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt just one year earlier. The Act created several programs that, even today, form the basis for the government's role in providing income security, specifically, the old-age insurance, unemployment insurance, and Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) programs.” Social Security was modeled to aid the elderly citizens, however during the