The World War I And The Marshall Plan Essay

From the wake of the devastating World War I, the Jazz Age emerged in 1920 and led to vast changes especially those in political, social, and cultural categories. No longer was producerism the prime of economic life, but rather consumerism took over and pushed for big changes. In the following thirty years, until 1950, America went through some major events including the Great Depression, World War II, and the Marshall Plan. All of these events were what ultimately led to the changes in the American identity, as they influenced the American way of thinking and therefore her way of acting.
The first world war shocked the world, and led to many consequent changes. After the devastation, the American economy soared and consequently the nation began to display “either indifference or cynicism” towards the rest of the world (Glickman). As a result of this turning inwards, consumerism began to rise and influence every aspect of identity from politics, society, and culture. The society became known as a “consumer society” where privatized consumption replaced the spirited citizenship that had characterized the previous century. Economic gain became the focus after the war, and once it became evident that consumption was the “prime mover of economic life” thrift and producerism was placed lower as the marketers began focusing on their clients spending more on their products. Politics were also influenced by this post war consumerism, as the “consumer movement” flourished, and the…