In the 20th century, public faith in democratic nations declined at a steady pace. Partly due to the Great War, loss of Christian faith, and the Great Depression, people began to look towards other systems of government. These factors, coupled with the growing unrest among the people, gave way to what is known as The Age of Anxiety.
Although the Age of Anxiety historically began in 1900, the Great War was a major contributer to the sense of displacement and chaos present during that time. The Great War, also referred to as World War One, began in 1914 and lasted until 1918. The main players in this war were Russia, Serbia, Germany, Austria- Hungary, France, Britain, Italy and the United States. Prior to the outbreak of war, there was increased tension and hostility between the great European powers over militarism, imperialism, and nationalism. In particular, the European nations were in rivalry with each other over their armies and navies. Germany’s military, especially, became a growing threat; a threat that increased when it formed an alliance with Austria-Hungary and Italy. As a result, Britain, France, and Russia were brought together in alliance. Although there were several factors that caused the war, the war immediately broke out after the July Crisis of 1914 in which Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie were assassinated. The Great War was the very first extensive war, or total war, in which the weapons used were extremely deadly and horrible.
The end of the war gave rise to new empires and states, as well as signified the end of other empires. As this happened, public faith in democratic institutions began to decline as new systems of government came to be, including Communism in Russia and Facism in Italy ...
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... able to capitalize on the anxiety felt by Germans as a consequence of the revolution in the early 1930s. In his Reichstag speech, Hitler attempted to unite the German nation together, and eventually even convinced the German people that the Jewish people were to blame for their troubles. As the slaughter of the Jewish people took place in German nations, the world was on the edge of its seat, waiting to see who would be dragged into the new world war, and this, without a doubt, increased the chaos and anxiety felt during The Age of Anxiety.
The Age of Anxiety between 1914 and 1950 was a time of great unrest among the people, as well as period of extensive change among countries. Highly influenced by The Great War, loss of faith, and the Great Depression, the public faith in democratic institutions declined, a trend that is still evident in Western civilizations.
During the post WWII period in America, the face of the nation changed greatly under the presidency of Truman and Eisenhower. America underwent another era of good feelings as they thought themselves undefeatable and superior over the rest of the world. Communism was the American enemy and American sought to rid the world of it. Because of the extreme paranoia caused by Communism, conformity became an ideal way to distinguish American Culture from the rest. Conformity became a part of every American Life to a large extent. It became evident through the medium of culture, society and politics throughout the era of the 50s.
World War I, also referred to as the Great War, was global conflict among the greatest Western powers and beyond. From 1914-1918, this turf war swept across rivaling nations, intensifying oppositions and battling until victory was declared. World War I was immediately triggered by the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, however several long-term causes also contributed. The growing development of militarism, the eruption of powerful alliances, as well as the spread of imperialism, and a deepening sense of nationalism, significantly promoted to the outbreak of the Great War.
In 1914, with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife from Austro-Hungarian Empire caused an enormous war called World War I, that killed and injured about thirty million lives. It also destroyed the economy later on. World War I changed combat tactics in a whole new way, where people would die in a blink of an eye. Commanders and soldiers did not know about the capabilities of their new arsenals. The new industrialized developed weapons devastated the battlefield with blood, mountain of corpses, and small craters. Some of the weapons that were used were machine guns, poison gas, mortars, and tanks. Soldiers described the battlefield as a nightmare. This was the start of a new era arising through warfare. A very dangerous way to bring great change to the world but was not intended. World War I brought great changes to the world but, considering the countless deaths, it was the worst war ever, an inhumane war.
In the years following the First World War, a new era of democracy seemed to be unfolding and it was looked promising. The autocratic regimes in Russia, Germany and Austria, were all overthrown and replaced by republics. The seven new states in Europe all had a republican form of government. Democracy seemed to be doing good in the post-war world.
The 1920’s reflected a period of mass cultural change despite outcries by traditionalists. Rapid progress through industrialization seemed to only aid America’s division religiously, politically, and mainly socially. New ethics began to challenge the old as the economic gap heightened between production and wages, spurring an economic bubble which peaked during the Stock Market Crash of 1929. Devastation by these feuding variances in American mentality will lead to the only solution to escaping the downward spiral: World War II.
During the years between 1920 and 1960, America saw change in many aspects of life. The United States was a part of two major wars and a crash of the banking system that crippled the economy greater than ever seen in this country’s history. Also the country had new insecurities to tackle such as immigration and poor treatment of workers. These events led to the change of America lives socially, economically, and politically. The people of America changed their ideas of what the country’s place in the world should be. The issues challenging America led the country to change from isolation to war, depression to prosperity, and social change. The threats to American way of life, foreign and domestic, were the changing forces to the country in the twenties to the sixties.
Anxiety and affluence are terms that are often applied to the post war decades in an attempt to define them. The newfound wealth that Americans enjoyed after World War II wrought changes on the American social landscape that many may not have been able to predict. The push for heavy consumerism that accompanied the sudden upswing of the U.S. economy gave way to concerns about the decay of moral character in the American home. Increasingly filled with anxieties over the ever-present threat of Communism, which most Americans were aware was an issue they themselves could do little about, the population instead turned towards new distractions, such as television, to attempt to reclaim some sense of dominance in a world they no longer quite recognized. The failure of the device to soothe the nerves of anxious Americans can easily serve as a symbol for any case in which American prosperity increased, rather than alleviated, post war fears.
The First World War that broke out in Europe on August, 1914 definitely created a lasting effect in the world. It was not just a war between two nations but a war of the world divided into two- the Central Powers and the Allies. Alliances, development of new weapons such as rapid fire machine guns, long range guns of explosive shells, tanks and aerial battles, and extreme nationalism added more flame in this fume. However, many thought that this will just be a short war, little did they know that an enormous shadow was casting all over Europe the moment it involved itself in the war.
Anxiety is defined as a diffuse, internal, loose floating tension that doesn’t have a real danger or an external object. There is also a significant difference from the notion of fear. Fear usually has an outer object (a real fear of a snake, height or an unreal fear, when the danger is just imagined). Anxiety does not have an external object or external danger but has an internal danger. Internal danger can be some intrapsychic conflict, impulse unacceptable to the ego, suppressed thoughts, etc.
During the late 1920s and early 1930s, Germany was experiencing great economic and social hardship. Germany was defeated in World War I and the Treaty of Versailles forced giant reparations upon the country. As a result of these reparations, Germany suffered terrible inflation and mass unemployment. Adolf Hitler was the leader of the Nazi party who blamed Jews for Germany’s problems. His incredible public speaking skills, widespread propaganda, and the need to blame someone for Germany’s loss led to Hitler’s great popularity among the German people and the spread of anti-Semitism like wildfire. Hitler initially had a plan to force the Jews out of Germany, but this attempt quickly turned into the biggest genocide in history. The first concentration camps in Germany were established soon after Hitler's appointment as chancellor in January 1933.“...the personification of the devil as the symbol of all evil assumes the living shape of the Jew.” –Adolf Hitler
Democracy, during 1918-1945, showed to be ridged and inflexible. The idea of democracy was attempted by many countries that were fighting for their rights but the leaders put in power showed the idea of democracy’s weakness at this time. Both world wars played a huge part in democracy’s decline at this time and rise in fascism, Nazism, and communism. World War 1 was intended to save democracy but by the end of the war democracy was squashed. The after effects of the war caused a rise in nationalism and want for revenge. Ultimately, democracy faded in and out during the 1918-1945 showing the style of governing to be fragile.
Around the 20th century, the end of the First World War cleared the way for the formation of democratic regimes. Why they had not been successful, why the people didn't use the opportunity to establish a democratic political system and why did the dictatorships appear, is still unclear, but it is a very discussible subject. The decisive role in these processes was the human being. It was the object of the cause, but on the other hand he was also the subject - executor of all the problems as well.
During the Twentieth-Century, there were several dramatic economic changes and events. Going from being a complete agricultural nation to being an industrial super, enduring a great depression, having a civil rights movement and so many more, the 20th Century carries the names of some of the world’s most important events. Although history has flourished with all of its game changers, the solute most important event of the 1900’s was World War 2. The second world war, just decades after the first, “was the most widespread and deadliest war in history, involving more than 300 countries and resulting in more than 50 million military and civilian dead,” according to History.com. After World War I had ended, the peace settlement known as the Treaty of Versailles, created in 1919, had a purpose of obligating Germany to relinquish territories to Belgium, Czechoslovakia, and Poland. However these new territories were very susceptible to aggression from its neighboring countries, Germany and the Soviet Union. During this time there was still a great deal of tension between the countries/ territories. Italy and Japan viewed the treaty as a failure to acknowledge the status of the two’s world powers. Also Germans saw that rather than being defeated at the close of World War I, they were betrayed. With the economy being exceptionally deprived and a great deal of political instability, this set the stage for dictatorships that according to Twentieth-Century America “offered territorial expansion by military conquest as a way to redress old rivalries, dominate trade and gain access to raw materials”. Countries such as Japan began making use of propaganda’s stressing that Japans “greatness” must be reassured. Italy’s Fascist dictator, Benito Mus...
There are those that believe that the nation is suffering from whatever situation, the nation is currently going through. For example, in the 1990s, when crimes were beginning to drop there were people that believe that the nation was in one of its worst times. Even though the 1980s had the highest crime rates compared to that of the 1990s. This is the culture of fear which has people incite fear in public to achieve political or workplace goals through responsive bias. Through the perception that is given to the public often causes people to make a variety of different claims which also come with various sources and consequences of the trend that they are addressing to the public. Even with the different adaptations of the trend many people discuss the basic claim as being something that is new and it has potentially detrimental repercussions. When thinking about the culture of fear it uses the same elements that are involved in culture, such as the use of language to incite the idea of worry into people’s hearts or even values people will have different values pertaining to the
Anxiety: “Now I am wearing this smile I do not believe in! Inside, I feel like screaming!”