America in the Twentieth Century

America in the Twentieth Century

The American Age

Social, Political, and Economic Justification

From landing a man on the moon to cloning a sheep to gaining a position of hegemony in the world, the twentieth century was a time of stardom for the United States. Rising up from a mere thirteen colonies only two centuries earlier, the United States was young, but was beginning to prove itself as one of the most powerful voices in the world. Today, the United States is most definitely one of most powerful states in the world, if not the most powerful state, though that power is constantly challenged as the twenty-first century begins to move into the age of coalition. Its voice is the voice that the world hears; and its fist is felt with force around the world. It was the twentieth century, however, that made the United States what it is today, helped it climb its ladder of power. Through an exploration of the social, political, and economic factors that made the United States what it was during the twentieth century, one can determine that the United States' position of privilege and power in the United States has lead to the labeling of the twentieth century as "The American Age."

The social maxims of the United States had been focused on equality since the eighteenth century, when Thomas Jefferson wrote in his Declaration of Independence that all men were created equal. In the twentieth century, however, groups began calling for these equalities to be played out in practice instead of simply in words. In the early 1900s, both women and African-Americans were still denied many of the rights that would later be granted to them. While women had been campaigning for their right to vote since the beginnings of the United States, the first party to campaign on the platform of women's suffrage, Theodore Roosevelt's Bull/Moose Party, launched this campaign in 1912. Though they had organized before this date, women's groups and organization in favor of women's suffrage began to escalate in the teens. In 1916, the first woman was elected to the House of Representatives; and women's activism during World War I added fuel to the fire regarding women's right to suffrage. Finally, the twenty-first amendment was ratified in 1920, giving United States' women the right to vote for the fist time (Barber). In the 1960s, the question of women's role in society was raised again with women activists, as well as thinkers like Betty Friedan, whose Feminine Mystique made many reconsider their roles. Women began to change the face of American society by adopting roles additional to those of wife and mother. They began to use their educations in the career field and to satisfy their inner longings. Women campaigned to be treated the same as men in an office situation, as well as granted equal compensation. In the twenty-first century, women are recognized in almost every field as half or more of the contributors; and women are almost always compensated at a rate equal to men's compensation today. Thus, the twentieth century was a century of advancement and achievement for the American women. So to it was an era of achievement for the African-American. In 1964 the Civil Rights Act was passed, officially making discrimination in public illegal. Along with equal opportunity clauses that impacted women as well, the act would serve as a beacon for many of the world's most discriminated populations, giving them hope that in the United States, people were free to live their lives by their traditions without fear of persecution. Later, the homosexual community would expound upon these tenants. Although this group was granted a great deal of tolerance in the twentieth century, they continue to fight on the principals exemplified by African-Americans and women in the twentieth century to gain their right to tolerance. Thus, the twentieth century included many social milestones for Americans. As a country that finally embraced its commitment to equality, the United States embraced the "American age" by finding out, again, what it was to be American.

While the United States was becoming the envy of the rest of the world because of its social reform, it was also gaining political power that would make it the spokesperson for the rest of the world. World War I was the conflict that would define the twentieth century. The United States moved from isolationism to engagement, helping to end a war and establishing itself in world affairs. The conclusion of World War I, with its harsh requirements for Germany, brought about WWII; and the United States' entrance into this conflict suggested not only its willingness to compete on a world wide level, but also its desire to win, no matter what the costs. The dropping of the Atomic bomb may be one of the United States' most important acts toward achieving hegemony; it was certainly a controversial act that is still debated a century later. After establishing itself as a political power, the United States proceeded to intervene in a variety of countries in Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East in the name of the greater good. For many years, that greater good was the defeat of Communism, in light of the cold war that had erupted with Russia shortly after the Second World War. For the United Sates, one of the most influential of these invasions was the Vietnam invasion. Opposing the war on moral and political grounds, the youth of the United States began a peace movement that continues today. Some may argue that it was not until the Soviet Union fell, under U.S. President Ronald Reagan, that the United States gained true hegemony, as the two great powers -- the United States and the Soviet Union -- were the world's two largest powers throughout the cold war. After the fall of communism in the Soviet Union, the United States continued its invasions, especially in the Middle East, under the pretense of aiding the local inhabitants in the name of justice. Many still contend that the United States' efforts were due to oil interests. Thus, the twentieth century was certainly the "American Age" politically. Around the world, Western troops began to influence political policy while American pop culture began to influence the cultures of other nations. This American influence on world politics can be seen today in both political and cultural aspects, though it is, according to some, beginning to fade. Regardless, the events of the twentieth century most evidently structured a world revolving around America in the twenty-first.