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A3 1990s Gallagher

Page history last edited by Siddartha Simha 13 years, 9 months ago

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MYP UNIT QUESTION:  HOW DID CULTURE, EVENTS, AND LEADERSHIP SHAPE AND REFLECT POST-WWII AMERICA?


BY:  ARVIN MADAN, RAAGINI SURESH, and SIDD SIMHA.


 

 

BUSINESS&ECONOMY:

The American business and economy was at an all time high (until then) in the 1990’s. The decade started off with a deep recession due to the high oil prices in Iraq, which was caused by the invasion of Kuwait. The recession could also be explained by the end of the Cold War which left many people unemployed, at least temporarily.  This small setback was the start of the greatest economic era in America history. America had been impacted by the steady damage of inflation for the last 3 decades, but the 1990s were only affected by the change of +3%. In March of 1991, America started to rise out of the recession. Another aspect of the economy that was swelling up was the stock market. The stock market rose up 60% from 1995 to 1997. This 2 year period was important because the stock market during these years led to the record high number in 1998. The GDP of America reached a record high of $8.5 trillion, a high per capita of $31,000, and a low unemployment of 3.9% in 1998. The economy at this time was so good because even though we only made up 6% of the world’s population, and 7% of the world land, America was providing 40% of total output of goods manufactured in the world at this time. Since America was so focused on expansion of its economy and international trade, they started relying heavily on other nations for almost all of their important industrial raw materials.

 

America entered the post-WWII era with the largest and strongest economy. The period of the 50’s and 60’s were crucial in bring America to where it was in the 90’s because of the advancements in technology and science during this time. The 70’s and 80’s were filled with inflations, and expansion of the economy. This was the period where America was discovering its true potential on the international trade market. Through the slight depressions in the late 70’s and early 80’s, and the early 90’s America was able to post up high numbers through the decade. The American economy was clearly shaped from the actions and advancements which occurred during the previous decades, and the post-WWII era.

 

EDUCATION

Education in the decade of the 1990s changed vastly from prior years.  The majority of the students, 83.5% to be exact, finished all four years of high school in comparison to 43% in preceding years (American Cultural History). However, even with this increase in attendance, people were still not satisfied and convinced that their children were learning mainly due to the continuing downward trend in Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores. Parents, business leaders, and politicians demanded higher test scores, learning guarantees, responsible expenditure of money, and assurance that only the finest teachers were being hired. More students were given the chance for proper education through The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (No Child Left Behind) even if they had mental disabilities or other handicaps that hindered their performance. This act was also intended to educate students on drug abuse, math, and science. Teachers would create individually mastered techniques to convey the learning points of the year to students who lacked the privileges and abilities others had.

 

Another change that took place during this time was the increasing necessity made by schools for uniforms. President Bill Clinton endorsed the idea of school uniforms in his State of the Union address in January, 1996. The specific quote said by President Clinton was as follows: "If it means teenagers will stop killing each other over de-signer jackets, then our public schools should be able to require students to wear school uniforms." Due partly to his campaigning efforts, the Department of Education circulated a manual to 16,000 schools in the United States of America encouraging the application of uniforms into the mandatory requirements. The manual also provided descriptions and reviews of schools who had implemented uniforms into their prerequisites (School Uniforms).

 

             

FASHION: 

Though some 1980s fashion seeped into the 1990s, the 1990s became far more minimalist. "As the nineties dawned, a deepening of economic recession, and high unemployment figures, meant that for large numbers of people the previous decade’s freewheeling spending came to a screeching halt.”  (Feldman). Times were not good in the beginning of the nineties.  This is why many casual fashions were in style at the time.  The main purpose of the fashion of this time was to have a messy appearance that showed that the individual didn’t care about his or her appearance. The grunge movement occurred during this time and baggy pants and flannel shirts were common and women tended to wear shirts that revealed their midriffs.  These were only common during the beginning of the nineties, though.  Soon after, women distanced themselves from the eighties and started to revert to more feminine styles such as flowy skirts and dresses. The entire mood of society at this point in time was relaxed and many people either stopped wearing jewelry or toned it down.  A major designer, Marc Jacobs, was “into grunge, and he decided to put it on the runway.” (Marc Jacobs’ Paradoxical Triumph).  The Grunge look was mainly popular in the early 1990s.  Sports clothing was also a major element of the early 1990s.  In the late 1990s, younger women’s clothes started getting darker.  Many military surplus items became popular as well as men and women alike wore green military sweaters and tan military cargo pants. Preppy clothing became really popular around 1997.  The Tommy Hilfiger brand was also popular since it was associated with preppy clothing.  Boys were influenced by Tiger Woods and wore khakis while wool scarves became necessities for teenage girls.  Denim was popular throughout the '90s and many wore baggy jeans or colored jeans or sometimes a combination of the two.  Overalls were popular as well.  As far as shoes went, the chunkier the shoe the better it looked.  Many shoes had extremely thick rubber soles.  Unlike other decades that had a clear defining factor, the 1990s consisted of many different trends, most of them short-lived.

 

After the Gulf War, many patriotic styles became popular and lots of shirts with American flags on them were worn with various colors of leggings.  Many futuristic styles and space-like dresses and materials came into fashion because the U.S. spacecraft Galileowas on a journey to Jupiter and was estimated to reach in 1995.  While women’s fashions were very different and consisted of many vibrant colors, men’s fashions stuck to traditional classic suit styles with minor variations such as brightly colored vests.  As more and more women entered the workplace, designers had to create women’s work apparel because women could not wear men’s styles all the time.  More feminine work clothes entered the fashion scene such as belted slim-fitting dresses.  In the beginning of the decade, many long suit jackets were worn with miniskirts in bright colors.  “Where once every female was supposed to be super slim, 1990s fashions reflected the reality of what the average woman looks like.” (Feldman 44)  The ‘90s were all about comfort so comfortable clothes (even larger swimsuits) were made for plus sized women and many modeling agencies hired a greater amount of plus sized models. Eco-awareness was stressed during this time period and as shops grew scared of animal rights activists that would sometimes attack, designers tried to eliminate fur from their lines as much as possible.  “Even top couture houses such as Chanel began to introduce fake fur such as trimming.” (Feldman 50)  Music still influenced the fashion world as rappers stopped wearing flashy gold jewelry and expensive sneakers.  They turned to cultural expression and wore many vibrant African prints and patterns which made their way into everyday apparel. During World War II, materials such as wool, cotton, linen, rayon, nylon, and silk were used for soldiers' uniforms and they could not previously have been used for fashion.  Right after World War II, designers took advantage of the new materials available to them.  In the 1990s, designers were getting tired of the fashions that used all the materials that were previously denied to them so they started leaning towards more minimalist fashion.  All in all, the fashion of this time period reflected the nation and its attitude and current events at the time.  

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FILM&THEATER:

 

     The 1990s were a prosperous decade for the film industry. Many independent cinemas as well as independent studios were on the rise. For example, Miramax, Lions Gate, and New Line all started gaining popularity in the 1990s. The 1990s were also a great time for the Disney franchise. With the release of Tarzan, The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, and others, Disney had made its mark on the decade as one of the most popular franchises.

     The most promising types of movies that appealed to the general public during this time were mainly movies that stretched the imagination and movies that depicted real events; two topics that seem to contradict each other. The highest grossing film of this time was Titanic which displayed the sinking of the Titanic on its maiden voyage. Titanic  brought in 1,835,000 dollars and is listed currently as the 2nd highest grossing film of all time! Another example of prosperity for films that were based off real events is The Hunt for Red October. This film was loosely based off the Cold War.  The film brought in 200,000,000 dollars but is recognized for winning many awards: Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing, BMI Film Music Award, Golden Reel Award, and being nominated for another 3 awards.    

     The second highest grossing film of the 1990s is one that stretches the imagination of people and allows them to think behind their current thoughts to see if what they know is actually the truth. This film is Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Released in 1999, The Phantom Menace was one of the first films to use special effects to the extent that some scenes and characters were completely digital.  The movie is about characters known as Jedi Knights who escape from a planet known as Naboo hopefully trying to find a passive end to an argument.

 

 

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FOOD&DRINK:

The 1990's were a time of culinary explosion. During this period in American history the population was starting to become aware of health risks by eating fatty foods. They  were starting to become keen on watching their weights and calorie intake. This was when Campbells started selling their Cream of Broccoli Soup, V8 Splash was introduced, McDonalds began selling their "low-fat" McLean Burger, and Lay's baked potato crisps were made. All of these foods were brought up with the intension to show the public that the companies are reducing the calories, and the unhealthy unsaturated fats of their foods. They were attempting to to make their food more appealing to public because of the elevated economy, people were willing to spend money. 

 

Drinks in the 1990's revolved around Coca-Cola. The Coke company made a surge during this time and soft-drinks made their mark on history. After World War II, many Americans ate lots of food that they weren't able to eat during the war because of the war effort.  Thus, America as a nation was not very healthy and as the 1990s came along they tried to become healthier.  Though they attempted to find healthier alternatives and much emphasis was placed on exercising (i.e. the Tae Bo fad), the obesity rate continued to rise. Soft drinks had been around for awhile, but during this period the varieties of the drinks expanded and the population was persuaded to buy with advertisements like the one below:

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PRINT CULTURE:

During the 1990s America had made itself a magnet for selling tabloids, and fairy tales. The market for stories such as Harry Potter, and stories by authors like Tom Clancy was dramatically increasing. The best sellers during this time were stories which provoked fantasy and mystery. Magazines were also very popular during this time period. Brands such as Playboy, and People were a fan favorite. The print culture of this decade was becoming more and more focused on attracting people to events of the world such as gossip, and news.  Though there weren't too many printed works, the Internet began to be commonly used and lots of celebrity gossip was spread through that.  While magazines were still popular, the Internet became a new form of media which reduced the popularity of magazines and other forms of print culture.  The United States had a lot less newspapers during this time.  New ways for news to spread were becoming more and more common and people thought it was more efficient to get news through the television or through the Internet.  

 

This is in sharp contrast to the times during World War II in which lots of television broadcasting was halted and newspapers were common. During the war the most popular form of media was radios broadcasting, and in the years forthcoming the 40's the technology improved significantly which resulted in the entertainment business to expand their forms of media to the TV, and Internet. Also like previously stated, the reappearance of paper texts came back too in the form of magazines and books. With a multitude of media forms, the 1990s were a time where you were always connected to the world. 

 

SPORTS&GAMES: 

Sports were looked upon favorably ever since World War II, when many professional athletes used their athletic abilities to the nation's advantage.  While doing this, they also gave the Department of War a boost and linked patriotism with sports.  During the war, football became very popular because it went along with American patriotism and it was a sport that was popular mainly in America.  The military also favored football because the military thought that football was the sport that produced the best soldiers.  "Within five months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, 32 percent of the NFL's professional players had enlisted and many more joined the war effort thereafter." (Sports, World War II)  This is probably what made football so popular in the 1990s.  Thus, it makes sense that the popularity of football was considered by many to have surpassed the popularity of baseball from the 1990s on.  Because so many of the men were fighting during World War II, many more women started to play sports and the popularity of sports such as basketball and softball went up for women.  


During the 1990s, though technology was occupying many Americans' attention for entertainment, sports were still a big deal.  "The decade was marked by escalating player salaries, high prices for media rights, and misbehavior by athletes." (Kallen 96) Though football soon became more popular than baseball, baseball saw a rise in popularity as well.  It grew and the industry was worth much more than it was in the 1980s.  In 1994, many Major League baseball players went on strike which greatly reduced the sport's popularity after the strike ended.  However, soon after, baseball regained its popularity.  After the strike, many people worried and pondered about why baseball players had such high salaries and this issue was debated.  "In 1997 the Atlanta Braves paid pitcher Greg Maddux $57.5 million for thirty-five starts a year (that is, $328,571 per game.)" (Kallen 97) Another important sport during this time was basketball.  The NBA's salaries were also ridiculously high, especially the salary of Michael Jordan, an exceptional player.  The NBA could afford these high salaries, though, because all of its merchandise and ticket sales was pulling in lots of money.  "As sports became more lucrative, teams held more sway over local politics." (Kallen 96) Many people at the time were concerned with all of the attention placed on sports and felt that all of the money should be spent on things like schools, libraries, road repair, etc.  Even so, sports continued to be popular and rake in money.      

 

As far as games were concerned, arcade games lost popularity.  The 1990s saw a rise in the popularity of many board games that were based off of characters and plots seen in popular movies or television shows.  Though the actual games were simple and did not vary too much from game to game the novelty of playing a game with favorite characters made these games sell.  

 


 

 

MUSIC: 

During the 1990s there were two main styles of music that were very different.  Both of the styles of music didn’t originate in the 1990s but they were predominant during this time period.  One of the styles was grunge which was a type of rock and the other was rap which was a particular style of African American music.

 Grunge contained a nice mix between many different rock styles including punk (mid-1970s) and heavy metal (1980s).  Punk musicians tended to be rebels and they believed in free expression and thought that anybody could be in a band whether they played music well or not.  “Also, punks were angry about the state of the world, and their songs were often political statements.” (Woog 32).  As far as heavy metal was concerned, only the best of the best actually played because more value was placed on musical ability.  The main instruments in heavy metal were guitars, played very loud and very fast.  The songs had less of a political meaning and were less angry.  They were about partying and having fun.  Grunge mixed the two attitudes to form a somewhat angry somewhat energetic style of music.  It developed in Seattle in the late ‘80s and a very well known grunge band was Nirvana.  Nirvana did not see immediate success but as soon as their single “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” was released, the American public loved it.  Once this happened, grunge began spreading and other grunge bands started to become famous.  These bands somewhat influenced the fashion of the time.  Grunge had negative elements to, though, because some musicians and fans were addicted to drugs such as heroin which caused death.  Kurt Cobain, the lead singer of Nirvana, was addicted to heroin and he committed suicide.  After his death, the popularity of grunge declined.

 

Rap was a very different style of music that happened at about the same time as grunge.  Rap started off in New York City in the Bronx and was very popular at African American parties and dances.  There were many disc jockeys or DJs that used record turntables to add their own spin on rap by repeating a section over and over or causing scratching sounds.  This style of music was all about the beat and having a good time.  On top of the beat, there would be spoken words that rhymed.  Rap was a big part of the hip hop lifestyle.  Though it did not have too big of an audience in the beginning 1990s, near the middle of the 1990s rap was widely known and people all around the world listened to it.  One of the reasons it spread so quickly and so far was the arrival of new technology.  “The Internet and MTV were giving millions of people immediate access to the latest trends in the music.”  As rap spread far and wide, different rappers put their spin on the style of music and soon there were some distinct styles.  East Coast rappers, particularly the ones in New York, tended to make political statements.  One such group was called Public Enemy.  One of Public Enemy’s songs contained lyrics stating the following:

 

“I got a letter from the government
The other day
I opened and read it
It said they were suckers
They wanted me for their army or whatever
Picture me given' a d*** I said never
Here is a land that never gave a d***
About a brother like me and myself
Because they never did”     

 

This criticizes the draft.  West Coast rappers were very different from East Coast rappers and were not as political.  West Coast raps talked about everyday life.  Lots of West Coast rappers talked about positive things.  There were female rappers too like Queen Latifah, Lauryn Hil, and Salt-n-Pepa.  They used music to express strong and positive images of women.  However, “…some rap was not positive.  It used violent or obscene language, or was racist or sexist.” (Woog 39)  This is why many critics opposed it.  Critics also opposed rap that had sexist connotations.  Whether it was East Coast or West Coast, rap had a wide variety of listeners that included many whites. 

The 1990s overall saw of a decline in the popularity of protest songs as far as the government was concerned.

 

 

 

"The Way We Lived"

Though the early 1990s were not particularly good times, the rest of the 1990s were prosperous.  The number of simple nuclear families declined as large families became closer and children were raised by the ever-popular step parents, grandparents, etc.  “In some cases traditional roles were reversed as mothers went to work while house husbands stayed home to raise the kids.” (Kallen 60)  There was a much higher number of single parents.  Studies were conducted about this and it was discovered that children that were raised by only one parent were more likely to undergo a teen pregnancy, drop out of high school, and abuse drugs.  Thus, many people advocated equal rights for women such as equal pay and the ability for them to rise up in the business world.  Since there was such a surge of immigrants, there was some gender and race conflict during this time as well and the occasional violent outbreak occurred.  During the 1990s, there were many technological developments.  Much research was performed about cancer and preventative methods were identified and the public was informed.  Thus, the amount of people that smoked went down significantly.  Research was done on heart attacks and doctors finally knew what to do for an individual that had undergone one.  “By 1998 more than 45 million people were wired into the World Wide Web, allowing them to pursue interests from shopping to touring art museums to listening to their favorite band, all without leaving home.” (Kallen105).  In addition, many people placed more stress on environmental concerns.  Children also played with toys such as Pokemon, Tamagotchi, Power Rangers, Buzz Lightyear, Game Boys, Beanie Babies, Super Soakers, Furbys, Tickle Me Elmos, and Pogs.  Many of these toys used technology to make them talk.  With the decline of arcade games, many people played CD games in the comfort of their own homes.  Also, video games were added to cell phones for greater portability.  

 

 

 

GOVERNMENT&POLITICS:

     The government during this time was a democracy with George W. Bush Sr. beginning the decade as president and Bill Clinton closing the decade. A major event of this time was the Gulf War or commonly referred to as Desert Storm. The goal of this mission was to expel Iraqi forces from Kuwait after they invaded on August 2nd 1990. The invasion occured since Iraq thought the oil rich Kuwait would be a solution to their problem with funds. Kuwait had virtually no military which made the war vastly one sided. After Saddam Hussein annexed Kuwait, he made his way towards Saudi Arabia. If he controlled Saudi Arabia, he would monopolize oil and the U.S would not stand for it. George W. Bush Sr. said the invasion "would not stand". This war was encouraged by the United Nations and once again the United States were headed to dispel dictatorship overseas. In 1996, approximately 20,000 troops were sent to Bosnia as part of a NATO plan to keep peace. The U.S also sent air strikes, with joint collaboration by NATO,  to Yugoslavia to expel their plans of ethnic cleansing in Yugoslavia. The decade clearly showed the high existent relationship between involvement overseas and the United States.    

     Bush, even with all these involvements overseas, was irritated by troubles back in the United States. The United States entered a recession in 1991 and spending declined drastically. Bush, who campaigned to not raise taxes, had to break his promise and the American people felt betrayed. By 1992, the support Bush once had had decreased which made him vulnerable in the next election where it was mainly between Bush, Clinton, and independent. H. Ross Perot. The conservative vote split between Perot and Bush which allowed Clinton to earn the majority of the votes easily.    

 

 

     Clinton's main goal which he campaigned for was health care reform. He wanted health care for everyone and struggled to make this happen. In September 1993, he proposed to idea of health care to all to the Americans. Even though the plan was big, the opponents were able to shut it down. A year later, George Mitchell produced the bill dead.    

     Other political issues in the 1990s were the Oklahoma City bombing and the legalization of Cannabis. On April 19th, 1995, Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols bombed the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. McVeigh and Nichols claimed the bombing was a response to the Waco massacre in Texas. The bombing happened on the two year anniversary of the massacre. The bombing targeted ATF officers inside the building but went off near the faculty's day care and killed 168 people. Cannabis, or commonly known as Marijuana, was legalized in California for medical purposes in 1996. The proposition is known as Proposition 215. The debate over legal issues regarding Marijuana goes on today.

 

 

LEADERSHIP:

     

Our beautiful country during the 1990s was led by George W. Bush Sr. and later, Bill Clinton. Many scandals and controversies aspired in the time period that these two men were in office.

 

 

     Bush Sr. was born June 12, 1924. He was voted into presidency in 1988 and defeated Massachusetts governor Michael Dukakis and won the election. Since Bush Sr. was only in office for 4 years and was soon jousted out of presidency by Clinton, the 1990s is open for much discussion regarding Bush Sr., majority of the events that took place are regarding the next president that came after Bush Sr, Bill Clinton. Clinton was voted into presidency in the 1993 election as mentioned in the Government and Politics section.     

 

     In November 1993, bill Clinton was involved ina heated controversy with David Hale who claimed Clinton forced him into loaning 300,000 illegal dollars to Susan McDougal, the associates of the Clintons in a land deal. The trial resulted in conviction of the Hale's but no punishment towards the Clintons as they were proved innocent. Clinton served a 4 year term and was up for reelection in 1996. He faced Senator Robert Dole. Republican hopes were increased when Clinton faced a minor fund raising scandal but Clinton still won an easy election. He was a respected political figure in the United States and overseas, known especially for his attempts to restore peace in Yugoslavia. During August 1998, Clinton shocked the world by admitting he had entered in sexual relations with a White House intern, Monica Lewinsky. Clinton testified on national TV to having an "improper relationship" with Monica Lewinsky. In December 1998, the idea of impeaching Clinton was introduced. The White House had offered 4 articles of impeachment, of which two were accepted. The trial began in 1999, and neither side came to a conclusion. On his last day in office, Clinton payed 25,000 and gave up his law license.

 

 

LAW&JUSTICE:

During the 1990s, there was large emphasis on crime rates, guns, juvenile violence, minority rights, and liability for unsafe products that were sold to innocent consumers.  There was also great speculation over the ethics of science.  In the early portion of the 1990s, there was an increase in national crime rates.  This could easily have been attributed to the slight decrease in the GDP at this time which led people to desperate measures to keep food on the table.  Many drug-related crimes increased during this decade.  During all of this, children were unoccupied and had too much spare time and were getting into trouble legally.  There were many programs that were implemented to help curb the rising problems such as correctional boot camps.  Congress took charge as far as guns were concerned by issuing background checks for people that wanted to buy handguns.  There were many large terrorist attacks on America like the one in 1995 where a federal building was bombed in Oklahoma.  The World Trade Center was also attacked in 1993 and the CIA headquarters in Virginia was attacked as well.  Law enforcement was much stricter after these incidents.  Some people worried about Bill Clinton's possible involvement in the Whitewater scheme and the trial combined with many corrupt officials led Americans to doubt their political leaders.  While during World War II the common man respected Franklin D. Roosevelt, during this time there was not anything that caused the common man to respect Clinton.  Thus, he was not well admired by the people.  Lots of Americans were up to date on law and justice because of OJ Simpson's trial. He used to be a football star.  There were many days of televised trial.  The public was riveted and when the final verdict was reached almost everybody that was watching TV was watching the channel with him on it.          

 

RELIGION:

“By the 1990s, the United States had become the most religiously diverse country in the world.” (Kallen 73) All of the immigration was probably the cause of this because religions from different parts of the world were making their way into the United States.  “In 1988 the United States was home to 4 million Muslims, five times as many as there were in 1940.” (Kallen 73) Over two million Americans were Buddhists and many more were Jews.  The numbers of Hindu and Sikh people grew too.  Eighty five percent of Americans were Christian in 1998, but Christianity was changing because the Pentecostal, Mormon, and Jehovah’s Witness religious communities were growing rapidly.  Roman Catholics remained adherent to their faith for the most part and the number of Roman Catholics rose along with the number of Latinos because a large number of Roman Catholics were Latino.  In essence, Americans were changing their religions, especially Asians.  “By 1988, half of all Americans died as members of a different denomination than they were born into.” (Kallen 73)  A majority of Americans believed in some type of God.  Attendance to religious events and ceremonies and regular service did not change that much from previous decades.  During this decade, around forty percent of Americans attended such things.  Before World War II,   this percentage would have been abnormal but after the World War since many Americans started to go to church again, this trickled down to their children which explains the amount of religion changes etc.  The nation entered a time of greater spirituality and connection to the church and other such religious organizations. In 1993, there was an act passed by Congress called the Religious Freedom Restoration Act which required states or federal laws that conflicted with the free practice of any religion to be put under scrutiny.  This was, however, rejected by the Supreme Court.   

 

 

    

 POSITIVE POLITICAL CARTOON: 

 


                                                                             

This cartoon is used to show that during the 1990s there was a high increase in car manufacturing by national and international countries. The cars that are built in America (Chrysler, Ford, GM), were becoming powerful and prevelent on the roads. This cartoon is used to show that the cars that are made in other countries are not sufficent, and are inferior to those which are manufactured here in our own nation.   

  

 

NEGATIVE POLITICAL CARTOON: [Raagini]

 

This cartoon criticizes George Bush's promise to never raise taxes even though the United States was in a large amount of debt.  George Bush said, "Read my lips:  no new taxes," at the 1988 Republican National Convention.  Though this slogan may have helped him win the election, America grew to resent it and it did nothing to help America get out of debt.

 

 

MYP UNIT QUESTION:  HOW DID CULTURE, EVENTS, AND LEADERSHIP SHAPE AND REFLECT POST-WWII AMERICA?

 

There were many ways that culture, events, and leadership reflected Post-WWII America in the 1990s.  The 1990s were a long time after World War II, but the 1990s were the end of the Cold War which really affected the culture, events, and leadership.  To begin with, World War II contributed greatly to the reasons for the Cold War.  World War II caused the increase of two powers, the United States and the Soviet Union.  Winston Churchill identified the concern when he claimed in 1946 that an iron curtain was beginning to divide Europe.  The Cold War was not an actual war but it was “fought” between the East and the West.  Joseph Stalin, the leader of the USSR at the time, did not exactly seek to alleviate tension.  After his death, the relations between the East and the West got better.  The final steps taken to reduce tension occurred during the late 1980s and early 1990s during which Mikhail Gorbachev, the last head of state of the USSR, finally cooperated.  It was clear that tensions were reduced in 1993, when “the United States Congress approved US$2.5 billion in aid to Russia.” (Russian Relations)

                By the early 1990s, the Soviet Union and most of its allies disintegrated and Communism dissolved.  The Cold War affected the United States economy in its ending years as the United States tried as best as it could to trade with nations whose economies were hurt by the war to keep the average worker’s family from suffering and getting attracted to Communism.  The Cold War employed many people through military bases and so at the end lots of people were left unemployed.  Since it ended near the very beginning of the 1990s this explains the minor recession during the early 1990s.  This in turn affected the fashion of the time.  While major designers and couture houses were still in fashion for those that could afford such high prices, the typical teenager spent less money on clothes and many people wore cheap jeans and T-shirts.  This slight recession was probably also the reason for the increase in crime during the beginning of the decade.

                Though many liked to believe that the Olympics were above the Cold War, the Olympics were in fact affected by the political situation as well.  They were a giant competition between the United States and the Communist countries.  Political leaders seemed to feel that a victory at the Olympics would in a sense demoralize the common people of nations with different political views than them.  The great interest in the Olympic Games during the Cold War maintained and the Olympic games continued to be very important and well-watched spectacles. 

                The baby boomers were an effect of World War II soldiers returning home and the 1990s reflect this effect of the world war as well.  Due to the large supply of workers in the 1990s, wages decreased along with the availability of positions. 

                Bill Clinton was the president for the majority of the 1990s.  He was elected because the previous president did not pay too much attention to the economy.  His campaign was superb and this is why he won against Bob Dole, the Republican candidate.  Since George Bush Sr. was dealing with so much in terms of relations with present-day Russia he did not focus too much on the economy and making the average American happy.  “Bush had troubles trying to cater to the political right without alienating the left.” (Oxoby) Bill Clinton was preferred by most Americans because of his promises that had to do with the economy. The average American felt that the Republicans consisted of many upper class individuals that could not actually relate and did not see their suffering.

                Not everything in the 1990s was affected by World War II indirectly, or through the Cold War.  Food and drink was directly related to World War II because Americans started to notice the increasing obesity rate.  This can be connected to the low food availability during World War II.  After the war, Americans splurged and ate whatever they want.  They did not worry about the health risks and once the 1990s rolled around, scientists and doctors recognized these problems and the food industry changed completely as packaged foods started to be marketed as healthy.

                Music was an element in the 1990s that really shaped post World War II America.  It was not really shaped too much by either of the wars because music in the 1990s lacked political meanings in lyrics.  There were many different genres that were popular but the two that stood out the most were grunge and rap.  The grunge movement of music shook the nation with its never-before seen dirty sort of fashion that accompanied it.  The music was a mix between previously listened to types of rock styles such as punk rock and heavy metal.  The other dominant style of music, rap, started off in New York and was commonly associated with partying with its great beat and ability to be mixed by DJs.  Out of this type of music emerged a new culture and America embraced it.  African American music was never so widely listened to and it showed the willingness of America to progress after the wars that the nation had gone through. 

                America was greatly affected by World War II and this is apparent in the 1990s through both the effects of World War II itself and a war that was more or less caused by it, the Cold War.  The culture, events, and leadership of the time both reflected and shaped post World War II America.               

 

 

 

Works Cited

 

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Comments (1)

Raagini Suresh said

at 12:16 pm on Jun 3, 2010

Smith, Gaddis. "Bush, George." Presidents: A Reference History. Ed. Henry F. Graff. 3rd ed. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2002. 591-609. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 3 June 2010.

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