am lit ao3

• 1920s


  Rise of consumerism

  The 'Roaring Twenties'

  Flapper and jazz culture

  Prohibition of alcohol

  Organised crime

  1929, start of the Great Depression
• 1930s


  Tumultuous decade marked by economic hardship

  Widespread unemployment

  Estimated 25% of the workforce without a job

  Widespread suffering and hardship
• 1940s America

  Involvement in WW2

  Economic and industrial expansion

  Increased opportunities for women in the war

  Post-war optimism
• 1950s America


  Post-war prosperity

  Consumerism epitomised by suburban lifestyle

  Civil rights movement challenging racial segregation

  Onset of Cold War leading to anxiety about communism
• 1960s America


  Civil rights movement

  Counterculture challenging traditional norms and values

  Struggle for women's rights and gender equality
• 1970s America


  Social and political turbulence following Vietnam war

  Watergate scandal led to disillusionment with the government

  Feminist movement

  Economic challenges - oil crisis, stagflation
• 1980s America


  Conservative shift in politics under Reagan

  Prioritisation of free market principles

  Rise of consumerism by Wall Street excesses

  End of the Cold war
• 1990s America


  Globalisation and multiculturalism

  Political polarisation
• Rose of Sharon is a phrase in the Old Testament's Song of Solomon, and a rose in the Bible symbolised love, beauty and hope
• Manifest destiny

  • 19th century doctrine that justified the expansion of the US
  • Romanticised the American colonial effort
• What separates America from Europe?

  Historically, the idea of rapid social mobility has been used to separate America from the rigid nature of European social hierarchies
• American exceptionalism

  The belief that America is distinctive when compared to other nations

  somehow morally superior to others