20th Century

Following the Civil War, America saw major changes throughout the country. Industrial interests grew and America's lifestyle changed from primarily agricultural to overwhelmingly industrial. The "company" replaced the slave owner and the plantations were replaced by "mill towns". Americans abandoned the rural areas and flooded into the cities to join the "work force". Just as children worked on the farm in agricultural America, they worked in the factories in the cities and American families began the change that would ultimately end in urban decay and the "broken home" family.

Like a plague upon the American family, industry exploited the workers. Unsanitary conditions in the urban areas led to reform laws passed to restrain the greedy industrial giants. Unions sprang up to "protect" the workers but ultimately became yet another means to exploit the very people they promised to protect from industry abuse.

In "The Jungle" Upton Sinclair describes work in the Chicago stockyards.

"In the spring there were cold rains, that turned the streets into canals and bogs; the mud would be so deep that wagons would sink up to the hubs, so that half a dozen horses could not move them.Then, of course, it was impossible for any one to get to work withdry feet; and this was bad for men that were poorly clad and shod,and still worse for women and children. Later came midsummer, with the stifling heat, when the dingy killing beds of Durham's became a very purgatory; one time, in a single day, three men fell dead from sunstroke.All day long the rivers of hot blood poured forth, until, with the sun beating down, and the air motionless, the stench was enough to knock a man over; all the old smells of a generation would be drawn out by this heat--for there was never any washing of the walls and rafters and pillars, and they were caked with the filth of a lifetime.The men who worked on the killing beds would come to reek with foulness,s o that you could smell one of them fifty feet away; there was simply no such thing as keeping decent, the most careful man gave it up in the end, and wallowed in uncleanness. There was not even a place where a man could wash his hands, and the men ate as much raw blood as food at dinnertime. When they were at work they could not even wipe off their faces--they were as helpless as newly born babes in that respect; and it may seem like a small matter, but when the sweat began to rundown their necks and tickle them, or a fly to bother them, it was atorture like being burned alive. Whether it was the slaughterhousesor the dumps that were responsible, one could not say, but with thehot weather there descended upon Packingtown a veritable Egyptian plague of flies; there could be no describing this--the houses would be black with them. There was no escaping; you might provide all your doors and windows with screens, but their buzzing outside would be like the swarming of bees, and whenever you opened the door they would rush in as if a storm of wind were driving them."

The federal government moved from a union of the states into a government that presently employs over 40% of the American work force and taxes the American people in order to employ and support an ever increasing proportion of the American people. Perhaps the government is the largest industry in America and yet produces no product and does not increase the gross national product. The federal government moved from a position created to be an instrument of the States to one that controls the States, as well as the lives of every American.

Following World War II, American women, who had supported the country during their husband's absence by contributing to the American work force, began to go to work in ever increasing numbers. The traditional role of American women changed from supporters of the American home to employees in the industrial plants. By the end of the 20th Century, children were abandoned in empty homes and juvenile crime became rampant in the country. While both fathers and mothers worked, the younger children were left to be raised by an ever increasing number of day care centers. It became increasingly difficult to maintain a home in which both parents did not work as the economic trends began to squeeze the American family, which was greedy for the material goods that were increasing at a rapid rate by the end of the century. The country's imports rose in order to support the American's insatiable appetite for the world's products.

The divorce rate hovers in America at 40-50% and as the break up of American families increases, so also does the crime rate especially of juvenile crime. The divorce rate spirals as the children of divorce, with no knowledge of creating a normal family life, continue the divorce pattern. Increasing unmarried pregnancies result in generations of children that have never known their father and in some circumstances, never learn even his identity. A loss of traditional sexual values has resulted in over 40 million abortions since 1972 with an average of 4,000 abortions performed nationally a day. Reuters reported in April of 1995: " The U.S. has gone from the most marrying society in the world to one with the most divorces and unwed mothers... 'If we're concerned about teen pregnancies, Illegitimacy, deadbeat dads and children in poverty, then we can no longer ignore the common denominator behind these problems -- the steady weakening of marriage as the primary institution for raising children,' the authors of ``Marriage in America: A Report to the Nation'' said of their two-year study. London Reuters reported: "Children of divorced parents suffer problems throughout life, doing worse at school than the offspring of couples who stayed together and showing behavioral problems." "The National Center for Health Statistics estimated that in 1993, about 1,187,000 U.S. divorces were granted, affecting 1,075,000 children. The numbers don't tell how many of those were re/divorces. The "/" means that it may have been a stepparent's first union. In 1996, the government stopped compiling statistics on national marriage and divorce patterns, so meaningful stepfamily re/divorce-rate estimates are not available." It is not uncommon for American individuals to marry four and five times with their children growing up with three or more step-parents. It is no wonder that we are experiencing an ever increasing juvenile delinquency rate. "The 82-year-old Los Angeles grandmother recently was killed on the porch of her Watts neighborhood home by a stray bullet. It was fired by a gang of boys who had just kidnapped, tortured and raped a 13-year-old girl in the abandoned building next door. When a suspect described by police as “dangerous and violent” turned himself in, accompanied by his mother, he turned out to be a kid who had just turned 12, two days after the crime."

In 1940 the biggest problem in American schools was children talking out of turn and chewing bubblegum but by 1990 those problems had been replaced by drug and alcohol abuse as well as rape and suicide. Even American schools themselves are not the safe haven they once were as proven by the incident at Columbine.

Morals and ethics have become relative in American society and the American individual is now restricted more by what is "politically correct" than by traditional moral standards. We have become a society in which there is no "right" or "wrong" and yet we are outraged when this indifference is materiailzed by violent crime. As Americans become sedated by an increasing usage of valium and prozac, the "don't worry, be happy" philosophy prevails.

By the beginning of the 21st century, America's rapidly increasing population of government employees and government supported Americans had taken its toll on the American work force and America's productivity declined as it increasingly looked overseas for its products and American industry found cheaper workers overseas putting millions of Americans out of work. Currently, with only 60% of Americans active in the nations productivity and supporting the remaining 40% of Americans, America faces of crisis of national and worldwide ramifications.

Great strides were made in the 20th century in regards to health. The invention of penicillin and the subsequent use of antibiotics revolutionized the health industry and greatly extended the life of Americans. Progress in anesthesia and sanitation provided for increased surgeries and also increased the life time of the typical American. Yet, the outrageous costs of medical progress have also made medical services too expensive for the average American and the increasing number of uninsured has become a national problem.

I have focused here on the negatives of the 20th century upon our lives. Let me switch here to focus some upon the positive events of the 20th century.

We live much better lives than our ancestors of the 19th century. We now live in a switch world where, at the flick of a switch, we have lights, washing machines, dishwashers, automobiles, and machines that make our lives easier and less wearisome than the lives of our ancestors. We, if we choose, have more time to spend enjoyable time with our families and friends as well as transportation that allows us to travel distances that our ancestors could have never enjoyed. We hop on a plane and we can go around the world, or jump in the car and drive a few hours to be with distant family and friends. We microwave our dinner and reduce the preparation time for our meals and we find everything we need at the store including fresh fruits and vegetables imported from around the world so that we can enjoy watermelon in January.

Perhaps the question here is "Are our lives really better than those of our ancestors?". For all the luxuries and conveniences of the modern world, what have we sacrificed? And perhaps the question for the future is, "How do we, or can we enjoy the luxuries of the modern world and yet recapture the moral fiber and family values of our ancestors?".