Changes in US society c.1880–c.1980 WJEC GCSE

Background: the US at the turn of the twentieth century

Learners should be aware of:

• the governance of the United States in the early twentieth century, the Federal Constitution, States’ Rights, the most prevalent political ideologies in the US
• the impact of inequalities in the US at the start of the period as they relate to slavery, race, sex and the experiences of Indigenous Peoples and immigrants.

3.6.1 Race and Immigration

• the legacy of slavery, including:
  • the impact of the Jim Crow laws and the experiences of African Americans in the Northern States
  • the activities of the Ku Klux Klan
• the treatment of Indigenous Peoples, including:
  • “Assimilation” and the impact of “Indian” Boarding Schools
  • the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 and the continuing issue of Indigenous Peoples’ voting rights in different states
• the experiences of immigrant communities, including:
  • the impact of “New Immigration” from c.1880 to the First World War
  • the impact of post-war restrictions such as the National Origins Formula 1921 and the Immigration Act 1924.

3.6.2 The roaring ’20s

• why the US economy boomed in the 1920s, including:
  • the country’s natural resources, the economic impact of the First World War, mass production and the car, the Republican Presidents’ policies
  • why some groups including farmers and “old” industries did not benefit from the economic boom
• how popular entertainment developed, including:
  • the radio, cinema and television
  • speakeasy culture and the Jazz Age
• how the Harlem Renaissance developed, including:
  • the Great Migration of 2 million African Americans from the South to the North
  • famous African American artists including Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Bessie Smith.

3.6.3 The end of prosperity

• the long-term causes of the economic depression, including:
  • overproduction and falling consumer demand
  • Republican policies of protectionism
• the short-term causes of the economic depression, including:
  • saturation and speculation of the stock market
  • panic selling, Black Thursday and the Wall Street Crash
• the impact of the depression, and Franklin D Roosevelt’s New Deal, including:
  • closure of banks, Hoovervilles, unemployment and Hoover’s unpopularity
  • the 1932 election and FDR’s New Deal.

3.6.4 Civil Rights c.1945–c.1968

• the impact of the Second World War, including the contribution of African Americans, on Civil Rights, including:
  • the experiences overseas of returning African American servicemen and women
  • Truman’s desegregation of the armed forces
• how Civil Rights developed between 1953 and 1968, including:
  • the impact and consequences of Brown vs Topeka
  • the significance of the March on Washington, 1963
• the contribution and impact of civil rights activists, including:
  • Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X; bus boycotts and sit-ins
  • the passage and impact of civil rights legislation.

3.6.5 Second-wave Feminism c.1960–c.1980

• attitudes towards the role and status of women in the 1950s and early 1960s, including:
  • the extent of the return to traditional roles and values following the Second World War
  • the significance of film and television in defining the role of the housewife and mother
• the contribution and impact of feminist writers and activists, including:
  • Betty Friedan, Gloria Steinem and Martha Lear
  • the campaigns of the National Organisation of Women (NOW)
• the impact on women’s rights of equality legislation and Supreme Court rulings, including:
  • the Equal Pay Act 1963, the Civil Rights Act (Title VII) 1964 and the Education Acts 1972 and 1974
  • Reed vs Reed 1971 and Roe vs Wade 1973