Chapter
42: The American People Face a New Century
I.
Economic
Revolutions
As heavy industry waned, the information age kicked into
high gear. Microsoft Corp. and the internet brought about the communications
revolution. Entrepreneurs led the way to making the Internet a 21st century mall,
library, and shopping center. Speed and efficiency of new communications tools
threatened to wipe out other jobs. White-collar jobs in financial services and
high tech engineering were being outsourced to other countries like Ireland and
India. Employees could thus help keep
the company’s global circuits working 24 hrs. a day. Many discovered that the
new high tech economy was also prone to boom or bust, just like the old
economy. In the Spring of 2000, the stock market began its biggest slide since WWII.
By 2003, the market had lost $6 trillion in value. American’s pension plans
shrank to 1/3 or more. Recent retirees scrambled to get jobs and offset their
pension losses which were tied to the stock market. This showed that Americans
were still scarcely immune to risk, error, scandal, and the ups-and-downs of
the business cycle. Scientific research propelled the economy. Researchers
unlocked the secrets of molecular genetics (1950s). They developed new strains
of high yielding, pest/weather resistant crops. They sought to cure hereditary
diseases. The movement started to fix genetic mutations. The "Human Genome
Project" established the DNA sequence of the 30 thousand human genes,
helping create radical new medical therapies. Breakthroughs in cloning animals
raised questions about the legitimacy of cloning technology in human
reproduction. Stem Cell Research, where zygotes or fertilized human eggs,
offered possible cures for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. The Bush
administration, and many religious groups, believed that this research was
killing people in the form of a human fetus. Bush said a fetus is still a human
life, despite its small size, and experimenting and destroying it is therefore
wrong. For this reason, he limited government funding for stem cell research.
II.
Affluence and Inequality
U.S. standard of living was high compared to the rest of
human kind. Median household income in 2002 = $42,400. Americans, however,
weren’t the world’s wealthiest people. Rich still got richer while the poor got
poorer. The richest 20% in 2001 raked in nearly half the nation’s income while
the poorest 20% got a mere 4%. The Welfare Reform Bill (1996) restricted access
to social services and required able-bodied welfare recipients to find work. This
further weakened the financial footing of many impoverished families. Widening
inequality could be measured in different ways as well. Chief executives
roughly earned 245 times as much as the average worker. In 2004, over 40
million people had no medical insurance. 34 million (12% of population) were
impoverished. Causes of the widening income gap: The tax and fiscal policies of
the Reagan and both Bush presidencies, intensifying global economic competition,
shrinkage of high-paying manufacturing jobs for semiskilled/unskilled workers, the
decline of unions, the economic rewards to those of higher education, the
growth of part time and temporary work, the increase of low-skilled immigrants.
More of the educated, working men and woman were marrying, creating households
w/ high incomes. Educational opportunities also had a way of perpetuating
inequality such as, under funding of many schools in poor urban areas.
III.
The
Feminist Revolution
Women were greatly affected by the great economic changes of
the late 20th Century. Over 5 decades, women steadily increased their presence
in the work place. By 1990s, nearly half of all workers were women. Most
surprising was the upsurge of employment in mothers. By 1990s, a majority of
women with kids as young as one were working. Many universities opened their
doors to women (1960s): Yale, Princeton, West Point, The Citadel, and Virginia
Military Institute (VMI). Despite these gains, many feminists remained
frustrated: women still got lower wages and were concentrated in few low-prestiges,
low-paying occupations. For example, in 2002, on 29 % of women were
lawyers or judges and 25% physicians. This is likely due to women would
interrupt their careers to bear and raise kids and even took a less demanding
job to fulfill the traditional family roles. 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 for family reasons.
IV.
New
Families and Old
The nuclear family suffered heavy blows in modern America. By
1990s, one out of every two marriages ended in divorce. 7x more children were
affected by divorce compared to the beginning of the decade. Traditional
families weren’t just falling apart at an alarming rate, but were also
increasingly slow to form in the first place. The proportion of adults living
alone tripled in the 4 decades after 1950s. In 1990s, 1/3 of women age 25 - 29
had never married. Every fourth child in US was growing up in a household that
lacked two parents. The reason for this: the pauperization of many women and
children (single parent income = HARD) and Single parenthood was the #1 cause
for the reason behind poverty. Child raising, the reason behind a family, was
being pawned off to day-care centers, school, or TV (electronic babysitter). Viable
families now assumed a variety of different forms. Kids in households were
raised by a single parent, stepparent, or grandparent, and even kids with gay
parents encountered a degree of acceptance that would have been unimaginable a
century earlier. Gay marriage and teenage pregnancy was on a decline after the
mid-1900s. Families weren’t evaporating, but were altering into much different
forms.
V.
The Aging
of America
Old age was expected, due to the fact that Americans were
living longer than ever before. People born in 2000 could anticipate living to
an average 70 years. Miraculous medical advances lengthened and strengthened
lives. Longer lives = more older people. 1 American in 8 was over 65 years of
age in 2000. This aging of population raised a slew of economic, social, and
political questions. Old people formed a potent electoral block that
aggressively lobbied for the governments favors and achieved real gains for
senior citizens. The share of GNP spent on health care for people over 65 more
than doubled. The more payments to healthcare, the more hurt made to education,
thus making social and economic problems further down the road. The old are
getting helped, but the young are being punished for it. These triumphs for
senior citizens brought fiscal strains, like on Social Security. At the
beginning of the creation of Social Security, a small majority depended on it. But
by now, it has increased, and now workers’ Social Security is actually being
funded to the senior citizens. WHY? The ratio of active workers to retirees had
dropped so low, that drastic adjustments were necessary. Worsened further, when
med care for seniors rose out of their price range As WW2 baby boomers began to
retire the Unfunded Liability (the difference between what the government
promised to pay to the elderly and the taxes it expected to take in) was about
$7 trillion, a number that might destroy US if new reforms weren’t adopted Pressures
mounted: to persuade older Americans to work longer, invest the current Social
Security surplus in equalities and bonds to meet future obligations, and privatize
a portion of the Social Security to younger people who wanted to invest some of
their pay-roll taxes into individual retirement accounts.
VI.
The New
Immigration
Newcomers continued to flow into Modern America. Nearly 1
million per year from 1980s up to 2000s. Contradicting history, Europe provided
few compared to Asia/Latin America. What prompted new immigration to the US? New
immigrants came for many of the same reasons as the old… They left countries
where population was increasing rapidly and…Where agricultural/industrial
revolutions were shaking people loose of old habits of life they came in search
of jobs and economic opportunities. Some came with skills and even professional
degrees and found their way into middle-class jobs. However, most came with
fewer skills/less education, seeking work as janitors, nannies, farm laborers,
lawn cutters, or restraint workers. The southwest felt immigration the hardest,
since Mexican migrants came heavily from there. By the turn of the century,
Latinos made up nearly 1/3 of the population in California, Arizona, and Texas,
and nearly 40% in New Mexico. Latinos succeeded in making the south west a
bi-cultural region by holding onto to their culture by strength in numbers,
compared to most immigrants whom had to conform. Plus, it did help to have
their ‘mothering country” right next door. Some “old-stock” Americans feared
about the modern America’s capacity to absorb all these immigrants. The
Immigration Reform and Control Act (1986) attempted to choke off illegal entry
by penalizing employers of the undocumented aliens and by granting amnesty of
those already here. Ant-immigrant sentiment flared (a lot in CA) in the wake of
economic recession in the early 1990s. CA voters approved a ballot initiative
that attempted to deny benefits, including education, to illegal immigrants
(later struck down by courts). State then passed another law in 1998 which put
an end to bilingual teaching in state schools. The fact was, that only 11.5% of
foreign-born people accounted for the US population. Evidence, nonetheless,
still showed that US welcomed and needed immigrants. The good side to it… Immigrants
took jobs that Americans didn’t want. Infusion of young immigrants and their
offspring counter-balanced the overwhelming rate of an aging population.
VII.
Beyond the Melting Pot
Thanks to their increasing immigration and high birthrate
Latinos were becoming an increasingly important minority. By 2003, the US was
home to about 39 million of them. 26 million Chicanos, Mexican American. 3
million Puerto Ricans. And 1 million Cubans. Flexing political powers, Latinos
elected mayors of Miami, Denver, and San Antonio.
After many years of struggle, the 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. Latino influence seemed likely to grow. Latinos,
well organized, became the nation’s largest ethnic minority
Asian Americans also made great strides. By the 1980s, they
were America’s fastest-growing minority and their numbers reached about 12
million by 2003. Citizens of Asian ancestry were now counted among the most
prosperous. In 2003, the average Asian household was 25% better off than that
of the average white household. Indians, the original Americans, numbered some
2.4 million in 2000 census. Half had left their reservations to live in cities.
Unemployment and alcoholism had blighted reservation life. Many tribes took
advantage of their special legal status of independence by opening up casinos
on reservations to the public. However, discrimination and poverty proved hard
to break.
VIII. Cities and Suburbs
Cities grew less safe, crime was the great scourge of urban
life. The rate of violent crimes raised to its peak in the drug infested 80s,
but then leveled out in the 90s. The number of violent crimes substantially
dropped in many areas after 1995. None the less, murders, robberies and rapes
remained common in cities and rural areas and the suburbs. In mid-1990s, a
swift and massive transition took place from cities to suburbs, making jobs
“suburbanized.” The nation’s brief “urban age” lasted for only a little less
than 7 decades and with it, Americans noticed a new form of isolationism. Some
affluent suburban neighborhoods stayed secluded, by staying locked in “gated
communities”. By the first decade of the 21st century, big suburban rings
around cities like NY, Chicago, Houston, and Washington DC had become more
racially and ethnically diverse. Suburbs grew faster in the West and Southwest.
Builders of roads, water mains, and schools could barely keep up with the new
towns sprouting up across the landscapes. Newcomers came from nearby cities and
from across the nation. A huge shift of US population was underway from East to
West. The Great Plains hurt from the 60% decline of all counties. However, some
cities showed signs of renewal. Commercial redevelopment gained ground in
cities like: New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, and San Francisco.
IX.
Minority America
Racial and ethnic tensions also exacerbated the problems of
American Cities. This was specifically evident in LA (magnet for minorities). It
was a 1992 case wherein a mostly white jury exonerated white cops who had been
videotaped ferociously beating a black suspect. The minority neighborhoods of
LA erupted in anger. “Arson and looting laid waste on every block Many people
were killed Many blacks vented their anger towards the police/judicial system
by attacking Asian shopkeepers In return, Asians set up patrols to protect
themselves The chaos still lingers decades later.” LA riots vividly testified
to black skepticism about the US system of justice. Three years later, in LA, a
televised showing of OJ Simpson’s murder trial fed white disillusionment w/ the
state of race relations. After months of testimony, it looked like OJ was
guilty, but was acquitted due to the fact some white cops had been shown to
harbor racist sentiments. In a later civil trial, another jury unanimously
found Simpson liable for the “wrongful deaths” of his former wife and another
victim. The Simpson verdicts revealed the huge gap between white and black
America (whites = guilty, blacks = 1st verdict stands). Blacks still felt that
they were mistreated, especially in 2000 elections when they accused that they
weren’t allowed to vote in Florida. Said they were still facing the Jim Crow
South of racial indifference. 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. In 2002, 52% of blacks and only 21% of
whites lived in central cities
The most desperate black ghettos were especially problematic.
Blacks who benefited from the 60s Civil Rights Movement left to the suburbs
with whites leaving the poorest of the poor in the old ghettos. Without a
middle class to help the community, the cities became plagued by unemployment
and drug addiction. Single women headed about 43% of black families in 2002, 3
times more than whites. Many single, black mothers depended on welfare to feed
their kids. Social Scientists made clear that education excels if the child has
warm, home environment. It seemed clear that many fatherless, impoverished
Black kids seemed plagued by educational handicaps which were difficult to
overcome. 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 2002, 33% of black families had a $50,000 income (= middle class) Blacks
also improved in politics. Number of black officials elected had risen to the
9,000 mark. More than 3 dozen members of congress and mayors of some big cities.
Voter tallies showed that black votes had risen. By the early 21st century,
blacks had dramatically advanced into higher education. In 2002, 17% of Blacks
over 25 had bachelor’s degree. The courts still preserved affirmative action in
the university admissions.
X.
E Pluribus Plures
Controversial issues of color and culture also pervaded the
realm of ideas in the late 20th
Echoing early 20th Century “cultural pluralist” like Horace
Kallen and Randolph Bourne, many people embraced the creed of
“multiculturalism”. This stressed the need to preserve and primate, rather than
squash racial minorities. In 1970s and 80s, the catchword of philosophy was
ethnic pride. People wanted to still keep their identity and culture (eg
Latinos and Asians). The old idea of a “melting pot” turned into a colorful
“salad bowl”. Nation’s classrooms became the heated area for debate. Multiculturalists
attacked traditional curriculum and advocated a greater focus on achievements
of blacks, Latinos, Asians, Indians. In defense, critics said that studies on
ethnic differences would destroy American values. Census Bureau further
advocated the debate when in 2000 it allowed respondents to identify themselves
w/ more than one of the six categories: Black, White, Latino, Native American, Asian,
and Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander.
XI.
The Life of the Mind
Despite the mind-sapping chatter of the “boob tube,”
Americans in the early 21st century read more, listened to more music, and were
better educated than ever before. Colleges awarded some 2.5 million degrees in
2004. 1 in 4 25-34 year old age group was a 4 year college graduate. This
spurt of educated people raised the economy. What Americans read said much
about the state of US society? Some American authors, concerning the west. Larry
McMurtry the small town West and recollected about the end of the cattle drive
era in Lonesome Dove (1985). Raymond Carver wrote powerful stories about the
working class in the Pacific Northwest. Annie Dillard, Ivan Doig, and Jim
Harrison re-created the frontier in the same region as Carver. David Guterson
wrote a moving tale of interracial anxiety and affection in the WWII era in
Pacific Northwest in Snow Falling on Cedars (1994) Wallace Stagner produced
many works that transcended their original themes like: Angle of Repose (1971)
and Crossing to Safety (1987). Norman MacLean wrote two unforgettable events
about his childhood in Montana, A River Runs Through It (1976) and Young Men
and Fire (1992). African American Authors. August Wilson retold the history of
the blacks in 20th century w/ emphasis on the psychic cost of the northward
migration. George Wolf explored sobering questions of black identity in his
Jelly’s Last Jam (the life story of jazzman “Jelly Roll” Morton). Alice Walker
gave fictional voice to the experiences of black women in her hugely popular
The Color Purple. Toni Morrison wrote a bewitching portrait of maternal
affection in Beloved. Edward P. Jones inventively rendered the life of a slave-owning
black family in his Pulitzer Prize-wining The Known World. Indians got
recognition, too. N. Scott Momaday won a Pulitzer Prize for his portrayal of
Indian life in House Made of Dawn. James Welch wrote movingly about his
Blackfoot ancestors in Fools Crow. Asian American authors flourished as well. Among
them was playwright David Hwang, novelist Amy Tan, and essayist Maxine Hong
Kingston. Gish Jen in Mona in the Promise Land guided her readers into the
poignant comedy of suburban family relationships that wasn’t uncommon to
2nd-generation Asian Americans. Jhumpa Lahiris’ Interpreter of Maladies,
explored the sometimes painful relationship between immigrant Indian parents
and their American-born kids. Latino writers included… Sandra Cisneros drew
hoer own life as a Mexican American kid to evoke Latino life in the
working-class Chicago in The House on Mango Street.
XII.
The American Prospect
American spirit pulsed with vitality in the early 21st
century, but bug problems continued. Women still fell short of 1st class
citizenship. US society also wanted to find ways to adapt back to the
traditional family, but w/ the new realities of women’s work outside the home. Full
equality was till an elusive dream for some races. Powerful foreign competitors
threatened the US economic status. The alarmingly unequal distribution of
wealth and income threatened to turn America into a society of haves and
have-nots, mocking the very ideals of democracy. Environmental worries clouded
the countries future. Coal-fired electrical energy plants produced acid rain
and helped greenhouse effect. Unsolved problem of radioactive waste disposal
stopped the making of nuclear power plants. The planet was being drained of oil
and oil spills showed the danger behind oil exploration/transportation.
The public looks towards alternative fuel sources in the
21st Century: Solar powers and wind mills, methane fuel, electric “hybrid” cars,
and the pursuit of an affordable hydrogen fuel cell. Energy conservation
remained another crucial, but elusive strategy. The task of cleansing the earth
of abundant pollutants was one urgent mission confronting the US people. Another
was seeking ways to resolve ethnic and cultural conflicts once erupted around
the world’s end of the Cold War. All at the same time more doors were opening
for the US people. Opportunities in outer space and inner-city streets. Artist’s
easel and the musician’s concert hall. At the inventor’s bench and the
scientist’s laboratory. The unending quest for social justice, individual fulfillment,
international peace
