The 1920s

Before I begin let me just ask, "the Japan's Yakuza"? Really? Who's the idiot writing this thing? Oh wait...

(BTW the previous post is not recommended for children, the elderly, or wussies. Contains violence, censored cursing, violence, grown men acting like rude middle-schoolers, and violence)

Moving on. The "Roarin 20's" were a time of unprecedented prosperity (however artificial) in America. The "associated state" between government and big business provided much needed work-place reforms, stable prices, and industry-wide standards. Lower classes could buy on credit, paying a down payment followed by installments for nearly anything. Up until Black Thursday, most of society was in the stock market and enjoyed the benefit of rapidly inflating stock prices and the resulting cash flow. (Left, above: Yep, that's pretty much what life was)

Americans first developed a homogenized national culture during this period. Movies (the silent kind) in particular, which were as cheap as a nickel and shown non-stop all day, gave people all across the nation a single pastime to share and talk about. In addition, the mass production of the automobile provided people both with private transportation for both work and recreation. With a car for every 5 people, the isolation of rural life broke down, the suburbs grew, and Kansas city gave birth to the first shopping center ( I'll leave whether or not that was a good thing up to you).( Below: What some claim was the first Model T to roll off the assembly line)

All was not well however. Among other problems the Ku Klux Klan was reborn in this era under the nativist movement, which pushed for all immigrants and cultures to be absorbed into the dominant "American" culture, on the basis that radicals like anarchists and socialists would undermine the nation. In response to these pressures, Congress passed the National Origins Act, which restricted immigration to maintain the ratio of ethnicities and nationalities present in America as of 1924. As if that weren't bad enough, science and religion renewed their long standing conflict with the Scopes Trial, where a school teacher was convicted (in only 8 minutes) for teaching the theory of evolution rather than biblical creationism. The statute outlawing Darwin's theory in schools would remain on the books for more than 30 years. (Right: HA HA HA HA HA HA!...)