Compare and Contrast the 20's and 30's

Brian Manere
period 6
march 3, 2011
20's and 30's essay

Compare and Contrast the 20's and 30's

The 20's; a time of economic prosperity, changing music, and new style of life. The   30's; economic downfall, dust bowl, and harsh lives for everyone. The 20's and 30's were two completely different eras that brought both good and bad to the people living in those times. There are endless differences between these to decades economically, Socially, and   politically.  
In the field o f economics the 1920s and 30s differed tremendously. Great technological advances were made in the 1920s. Inventions such as cars and radios improved the standard for the common man. These inventions as well as the conservative economic policies added to a huge economic boom. The economy experienced growth of 7 to 10 percent for six years of the 1920s. Later, many of the economic procedures in the decade would lead to danger especially in the stock market. The nation's total income rose from $74.3 billion in 1923 to $89 billion in 1929. However, the rewards of the "Coolidge Prosperity" of the 1920's were not shared evenly among all Americans. In 1929, the top 0.1 percentages of Americans had a combined income equal to the bottom 42%. That same top 0.1 percentages of Americans in 1929 controlled 34% of all savings, while 80% of Americans had no savings at all. Wages increased at a rate one fourth as fast as productivity increased. As production costs fell quickly, wages rose slowly, and prices remained constant, the bulk benefit of the increased productivity went into corporate profits. Also, everybody was buying a certain percentage for a share that would eventually gain or lose money more than paid for. Millions had lost much money to pay off their debts and were unemployed. The Great Depression was the worst economic decline ever in U.S. history. It began in late 1929 and lasted about a decade.
There were also huge differences socially. In the society during the 1920s, people...