American Pageant- Chapter 42 notes

Economic revolutions

heavy industry waned, the information age kicked into high gear.
White-collar jobs in financial services and high tech engineering were being outsourced
Many discovered that the new high tech economy was also prone to boom or bust (like old econ.)
Scientific research propelled the econ.

Affluence and Inequality

U.S. standard of living was high compared to the rest of human
Rich still got richer while the poor get poorer
Welfare Reform Bill (1996) restricted access to social services and required welfare recipients to find work
Widening inequality could be measured in different ways as well
Educational opportunities also had a way of perpetuating inequality

The Feminist Revolution

Women were greatly affected by the great economic changes of the late 20th Century
Women steadily increased their presence in the workplace
Many universities opened their doors to women
many feminists remained frustrated - women still got lower wages
Discrimination and a focus on kids also helped account for the “gender-gap” in elections
In 1993, congress passed the Family Leave Bill, mandating job protection for working fathers as well as mothers who needed to take time off from work

New Families and Old

Nuclear family suffered heavy blows in modern America
Traditional families were increasingly slow to form
Child raising, the reason behind a family, was being pawned off to day-care centers, school, or TV

The aging of america

Old age was expected -medical advances lengthened and strengthened lives
economic, social, and political questions - fiscal strains, like on Social Security

New Immigration

Newcomers continued to flow into Modern America
Some came with skills and even professional degrees and found their way into middle-class jobs
mexican migrants came heavily into southwest
“old-stock” Americans feared about the modern America’s capacity to absorb all these immigrants

Beyond the melting pot

high birthrate Latinos were becoming an increasingly important minority
Flexing political powers, Latinos elected mayors of Miami, Denver, and San Antonio
United Farm Workers Organizing Committee (UFWOC0, headed by Cesar Chavez, succeeded in making working conditions better for Chicano “stoop laborers” who followed the planting cycle of the American West
Native americans numbered some 2.4 million in 2000

Cities and suburbs

Cities grew less safe, crime was the great scourge of urban life
mid-1990s, a swift and massive transition took place from cities to suburbs, making jobs “suburbanized.”
Suburbs grew faster in the West and Southwest

Minority America

Racial and ethic tensions also exacerbated the problems of American Cities
LA riots vividly testified to black skepticism about the US system of justice
US cities have always held an astonishing variety of ethnic/racial groups, but by 20th century, minorities made up the majority, making whites flee to the suburbs
black ghettos were especially problematic
Single women headed about 43% of black families in 2002
Social Scientists made clear that education excels if the child has warm, home environment
Some segments of Black communities did prosper after the Civil Rights Movement (50s, 60s), although they still had a long trek ahead until they got equality
By the early 21st century, blacks had dramatically advanced into higher education

E Pluribus Plures

Controversial issues of color and culture also pervaded
echoing early 20th Century “cultural pluralist” like Horace Kallen and Randolph Bourne, many people embraced the creed of “multiculturalism”
In 1970s and 80s, the catchword of philosophy was ethnic pride.
Nation’s classrooms became the heated area for debate

The Life of the Mind

Americans in the early 21st century read more, listened to more music, and were better educated than ever
educated people raised the economy
Norman MacLean wrote two unforgettable events about his childhood in Montana, A River Runs Through It (1976) and Young Men and Fire (1992)

The American Prospect