The similarities and differences between the two decades that both began after the completion of both World Wars tends to lean on the side of similarities more so than their differences. Both of these decades saw many changes for society that are still present in our current day. Changes from education, technology, and consumerism are still present today and showing the impact on the economy, political issues, and the social issues through the two decades will show that fact.
The economy in both the 1920s and the 1950s was very strong. In the 1920s America had the richest and most powerful economy and in the 1950s the economy was equally as strong but people were more careful with their money during that decade. In the 1920s, Henry Ford really pushed for mass-production and consumption to help boost the economy. Automobiles became more affordable for more classes than just the upper class. In the 1950s, after soldiers returned home from war, real estate purchases grew, which caused manufacturing of those supplies to grow, adding more jobs, increasing the overall standard of living in our country. During the 1920s the economy moved to production for our country and not for the war. In the 1950s the growth of advertisement helped promote growth in the economy.
Politics during both eras were groundbreaking. During both the eras the government was run by Republican presidents. During the 1920s the African American population wanted more freedom but there was no government protection for them. In the 1950s the government worked with African Americans to provide more civil liberties and passed the Civil Rights Act.
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During both eras the African American citizens wanted to stop segregation, and although during both wars were allowed to fight, it was not until the 1950s that they were seen more equally. The government during both of these eras passed various legislation to help America improve both socially and economically. During the 1950s education was also accepting more black students and the case Brown vs. Brown brought the issues in education to the forefront of politics, changing the face of education for the future.
Socially both of these eras had racial tensions between whites and blacks. Socially both eras saw teenage rebellion from the music they listened to, the clothing they wore, to the way they danced. Jazz was the popular music in the 20s and rock started to become popular in the 50s. Women were starting to try to join the workforce but it wasn’t until the 50s that they were truly recognized for being able to work in factories but both eras they still were performing mostly “housewife” duties. Women who worked in the 20s were usually not married with children and mostly performed traditional “female” jobs like teaching, nursing, etc. In the 1950s the women joined the workforce in more of a variety of ways.
Although there are thirty years between these two decades, the similarities are definitely evident and that the changes have evolved naturally over time. The economy was booming in both eras and the citizens all bought into consumerism to help that economy. The political changes just seemed to evolve with the times and helped reinforce the beliefs that the country was fighting for in the wars. Socially seems like the media, advertisements, and music really seemed to be the main drive on how the country behaved and spent their money. So even thirty years apart, the same overall theme seemed to be the case in each era, America prospers.
