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The Perils of Prosperity, 1914-1932, 2nd Edition

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Periodization in history is frequently tenuous at best. This is especially true when dealing with such loose categories as "the Twenties," a term signifying much more than a mere decade. William Leuchtenburg has taken this task to heart, though. He has written an entertaining and insightful history of the United States during this period, with a few years added on either end for context.

The title is, unfortunately, somewhat misleading. The "perils of prosperity" indicates a much grander theme than Leuchtenburg has undertaken. He makes scant effort to link the prosperity that the nation enjoyed until 1929 with many of the sub-themes he discusses in the book (e.g., the rejection of the League of Nations, the Red Scare, the "revolution in morals"). He does point out what he perceives as the pitfalls of prosperity, however. It concentrated power in the hands of a "business class with little tradition of social leadership" and invested world power in a country unwilling and unable to accept it. Most importantly, "it made money the measure of man."

Leuchtenberg makes a solid argument connecting America's entrance into World War I with her affluence. Between 1914 and 1916, American trade with the Allies nearly quadrupled from $825 million to $3.2 billion. When faced with the threat of unrestricted submarine warfare by the Germans-and the potential loss of billions in trade-America had no choice but to declare war. (He does not suggest that this was the only reason, but it was a compelling one.)

Leuchtenburg also convincingly links American prosperity in the 1920s with the crash of 1929 and the depression that followed. This was a decade dominated by "get-rich-quick" schemes and rags-to-riches millionaires. This phenomenon was most evident in the stock market. Stories abounded of men who had parlayed their savings into riches, multiplying their money hundreds of times. Indeed, in 1928 alone, the New York Stock Exchange registered sales of over one billions shares, a fourfold increase over the level of 1923. That same year industrial stocks gained 86.5 points. According to Leuchtenberg, this wave of speculation was crucial for the nation's continuing prosperity. In fact, he believes that "by 1928 the stock market was carrying the economy." A year later, of course, that was all to end.

Also important in the book is the theme of transition. The 1920s were a time of fundamental change in American society. Prior to that, the nation was a predominantly rural, agricultural society that placed great emphasis on tradition, religion, and basic values. It was to quickly transform into one that was urban, industrial, secular, and thoroughly modern in its culture, outlook, and morality. This was not an easy transition either. Many Americans fought it tooth and nail, reluctant (or, perhaps, unable) to accept the new reality of life in the United States. This created conflicts-particularly between rural and urban attitudes-that were especially prevalent in such issues as immigration, prohibition, and the presidential elections.

Leuchtenberg's approach is primarily social and political. He views the period with a detached eye, seeking neither to defend nor vilify the Twenties. Due to the restrictions of space, his treatment is necessarily brief and generalized in areas. Overall, however, The Perils of Prosperity is an invaluable contribution to the literature.

It would be fair of me to make a confession before I begin: I was assigned to read "The Perils of Prosperity" for my American History class. I have enjoyed many books I have read for school, but this is not one of them.

In this book, Leuchtenburg brings up things he describes as important events, yet he never explains them. For example, the execution of Nurse Edith Cavell is mentioned twice, yet he never bothers to tell who executed her or why she was executed.
Leuchtenburg often refers to people by their full name only once in a whole twenty-page chapter, so that a reader is left wondering exactly who Leuchtenburg is talking about. This gets especially confusing considering that there are multiple Bryans (William Jennings and Charles) and multiple Smiths (Alfred E. and Jesse), and although it is unlikely confuse the two Smiths (Jesse Smith committed suicide before Alfred E. Smith even ran for the presidency), it makes one wonder whether there is a third person of the same last name. Leuchtenburg's infrequent use of full names also led me to know major players only by their last name; I didn't know Clemenceau's first name was Georges until I looked it up in the book's index.

Fortunately, most of these problems only occured in the first half or so of the book. By the time of the last five chapters, Leuchtenburg began to make himself clearer and his writing became more focused. It also helped, I must admit, that his subject matter in these chapters became more interesting--the Roaring Twenties, the "monkey trial", and the stock market crash of 1929.

I suppose that people who are already familiar with this era might enjoy the book. But if you are like me, a student or someone else trying to learn new information about the 1920's, this book is not your best choice. I often could not understand things in "The Perils of Prosperity" until after I read them in my textbook.

Leuchtenburg's book is an excellent work that shows in depth the various aspects of life in the 1920's. Whether you are interested in the pop culture, politics, or economics of the time, this book has it all. A very interesting and easy read. Recommended for people who want to learn about the 1920's and life in America during that time.

William Leuchtenberg wrote a very good and informative history about the 1920's. He explains life before 1914, World War 1, Prohibition, The Scopes Trial, The Teapot Dome Scandal, The Presidental Administrations of Harding, Coolidge and Hoover, The Great Depression, and The 1932 Election of Franklin D. Roosevelt. He also covers the role of Women, African-Americans, race relations, and The Ku-Klux-Klan. A book worth reading.

THE PERILS OF PROSPERITY 1914-1932 is a history book that gives readers a brief glimpse into American life during 1914-1932. The book is not meant to be a detailed account, but is rather an overview of events and attitudes of the United States at that time. I found the book to be easy to read, quite interesting, and full of information I had never come across before. Major events that the book discusses include the U.S. involvement in WWI, the U.S. decision not to become a member of the League of Nations, the Communist Red Scare that followed WWI, and the stock market crash of 1929. Events that women and minorities were major contributors of get special treatment while other big events, such as Prohibition, are briefly discussed. Overall, even though the book skimps over certain major issues and events, THE PERILS OF PROSPERITY provides a nice overview of the time period providing a more balanced account of women and minorities' contributions to the era. The end of the book includes a list of important dates. I enjoyed reading it and would recommend it to anyone interested in American history of that period.

I had to read this book for my American History Since 1877 course. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed reading this book. I thought I knew about the 1920's, and after reading this book I knew that I knew nothing at all.

This book covers ever aspect of the decade and gives it more than just a name. The book covers political, economic, and social issues of the day. It explains the state of the nation in the previous decade as well to give us better understanding of what was to come at the decades end.

The book was also easy to understand and did not try to overcompensate with formal language. Anyone could understand the messages conveyed.

Overall I enjoyed this book and would read it again just to enjoy it.

Originally I purchased this book as part of my required college history class. Needless to say, I wasn't expecting much. This book was a huge surprise.

Some people may be turned off by Leuchtenberg's "negative" appraisal of the early 20th century. But his arguments are well-supported and his opinions are clearly outlined against the facts.

The best feature of this book is the sheer volume of time-specific setting information. Tons of examples from then-contemporary newspapers, books, and movies immerse the reader in the time period.

This is an outstanding history of pre-Crash America. Leuchtenburg is one of the country's best historians of the New Deal, but in this text he does a wonderful job of providing the backstory to that era. Very lively stories, wonderfully written.

The Perils of Prosperity is an over view of the time period from 1914 to 1932. It covers
the highs and the lows of this period in a friendly and personable manner. Similar to FDR's
fireside chats this is an easy and informative read. It is like learning history from a relative
who lived in the time period. The thesis for the book is How America's prosperity of the
1920's was a false prosperity. The sterotype of the roaring twenties is a falacy and our author
tries to convey the failures our country experienced when dealing with minorities, imigrants,
politics, and religion. It does this by commenting on the manny different themes in the book.
Skillfully woven together this book knits together the fears and joys of the time period. Playing
on our fears, the author attempts to make the reader walk a day in the average American's
shoes. Play on our joys he attempts to show the reader what made the average American
happy. This is an attempt to personalize the work and allows the book to become a
bridge between our American heritage and our modern way of life.
Fear. It is a guiding and motivating factor for the majority of the book. It is as if the author
desires to show you that this period was one of growth and paranioa. A perilous balance was
being maintianed at all times between our fears and our joys. He wants to make you realize
why America wanted to be left alone in its isolationist roots. He succeeds in doing this, by
establishing a base work for America's isolation. He attempts to ground you in pre WWI
Americanism so you can understand why we were reluctant to get incolved in the affairs of the
world. This is a factor that will guide the United States on both the national and individual
levels for this entire period.
You also realize how alone the average America felt. We were alone as a nation to face our
own destiny and we were alone as a people to either suceed or fail by our own means. We also
had a growing imigrant population that was discriminated against. As such these imigrants were
led to believe that they had to fend for themselves. When the red scare comes into play you
quickly realized that America was a place for Americans and being different was frowned upon.
Sometimes with deadly results.
Our culture was also a changing place and we began placing an emphaiss on individual
wealth instead of communal growth. We had left the farms and decided to strike out on our
own. Capitalism had rose and we embraced it on all levels. As people left the farm they
came to the cities. As such they had to rely solely upon themselves and they came into
contact with new ideas and items. These material goods were then desired by this new
market. The fear of new ideas was still strong but American products and values were
considered safe so the public bought into it.
The fear turns into pain and suffering as America turns on its own. Blinded by fear we
persecute our own imigrants. Calling them communists and fearing the worste we attack
them and for the first time ever our country wages war against an idea. The fall out from
WWI has jaded our nation. As such we turn inward with horrific results. We also see the
business world go mad as it turns on its own employees. Workers begin to organize and
businesses become afraid. As such they send in security, troops, and even the government to
break the strikes. Violence breaks the back of the unions and forces them to their knees. We
also see the ugly head of fundamental religion rear in both the passing of the 18th
amendmant and the Scopes monkey trial. In the 18th Amendmant we see how a vocal group
of religous people are able to push their morality on the entire nation. While the Scopes
Monkey trail gives us hope that the light of science will banish the haze that faith has based
on the country.
But their is also joy during this time period. Technology improves and with it the American
family is drawn tightly together. No longer is the Average Joe passively taking his family to
church. Instead he begins to take them on "Sunday" drives in the new automobile. We also
see a rise in vacations and family out goings. The "modern" american begins to see the
country and the world with his family in toe.
The 19th ammendmant is passed and women are given the right to vote. This eliviates
some of the pressures upon women and they begin to take their role as equal political
partners in the american enviornment. In addition to voting women make huge gains during
this time period. The new woman cames about due to the sexual revolution and for the first
time a woman is truely free to do what she wants. The morals of the age are given some
slack and the woman of the 1920's is given the option of holding a job, raising a family, or
"socializing" with the men.
We also see the African American gain some ground during this time period. It is not
much but the impacts the African American has on the Jazz age is significant. For once it is
not bad to be black and the white man brings the black man's culture into his own. The
Harlem renaisance also stirs the creativity of the African American and their is an artistic
explosion among blacks in the North. These new styles, sounds, and themes, will help
influence both the white man's culture and the culture of the American people. While great
gains will be made in cultural integration between the arts and music, the African American
will still be left in the cold as a people. It is a mixed blessing. One in which the American
people begin to love the African's culture but still hate the person.
Our author tries to tell you that our nation is in flux. Caught between our old fears and our
new growth. The joy of prosperity is bringing us into the future but our fear of loss is keeping
us trapped in the past. Our nation is also heavily segregated at this time. For when we speak
of America we speak of White America. We have become a melting pot of the white races
and still have not blended well with the darker races. It is our arogance as a white nation that
keeps us from seeing how cultural diversity will make us stronger. This is a key idea backing
up the author's thesis. For the prosperity of the 1920's is good, as long as it is prosperity for
the white Amercian. All our failures as a nation, towards imigrants and blacks, are given a
blind eye and ignored. The culture of the 1920's does not recognize these subsets of America
as Americans. As such if they are not sharing in the prosperity of the nation it doesn't matter
since they are not part of white America.
This is where the main bias of the author comes into play. Our author is an eternal
optimist and sunshine and puppies rain eternally on America. What I mean by this is that even
when things look their worste the author puts a positive spin on it. Everything will work out in
the end and the sufferings of all these people and all these groups has helped our country grow
in the long run. This came across as a disgusting and pathetic excuse by our author for white
supremecy. Our botched attempts at race relations during this time period are not corrected
till the civil rights movement, yet our author down plays the terror , suffering, and plight of
the African American and the imigrant population. Instead of being objective, about race
relations, the book begins to fall for it's own form of white supremecy. As a result , even thought
imigrants and balcks were persecuted it wasn't really that bad. After all our country was in the
grips of a white dominated society. The whites made the rules and shared in the prosperity. The
white society did their best to help our the imigrant and African populations. They were just
limited by the ignorance of their own time period. I say this is a cop out by the author. The
author tries so hard to be politically correct that he tries not to offend either the white or black
readership of today. As such you get the feeling that he glosses over the rough spots in our own
history on race relations. As such he, the author, fails his audience in being a historian. If he is to
truely make a case for the prosperity of the 20's being a false prosperity, our author needs to
have as strong anarguement for the prosperity as the failures of it. Instead he builds you up with
the prosperity and benefits of this time period and gives warnings to the dire consequences of
wealth but his dealings with the inequalities in the distribution of this wealth are not as strong.
The arguments for the failures of our nation are not weighted as strongly as our sucesses. As
such his positive spin continually placates the reader and tells you that even though everything is
a little messed up, it will all work out in the end.
We also have a series of wars gripping the nation. These wars are all class based and
although violent their are no physical casualties. The greatest shake up comes from Freud. As
pyschology comes into play we learn about ourselves and what motivate us. This causes a
clash to break out between religion and science. These two juggernauts will butt heads
against each other time and time again during this time period with no clear winners or
loosers. The author suggests that this was a confusing time for most people and but a
natural process. In order to come to terms between these two titans our nation has to work
threw these issues.
We also have a class was raging between city folk and rural folks. Both want to be left alone,
yet both are are forced in placing thier views and morals above the other. It is a dangerous
predicament and one that stays with the country until a balance can be attained. Unfortunately
this balance never comes. Instead a demographic shift happens and more poeple move to and
live in the cities than in the country. As such city ways of living and city morals win out over the
rugged rural morals.
The author does an amazing job of referancing his material and gives you an incredible
peak at what life must have been like during these times. I feel that even with his bias he has
done a grand job of enlightening the reader that the stero type of the 1920's, all girls, glitter,
mone, and parties, was false. The country was in the grip of a bizarre revolution. One in
which the status or gender, religoin, minorites, and imigrants would be changed. It is as if
we, the modern scholar, has blinded himself to the excess of the twenties and has failed to
look critically at the time period. Mr. Leuchtenburg helps to refocus the reader and shreds
our preconcieved notions with his fine writtings and personable teachings.



I know not whether laws are right,
or whether laws are wrong.
All that we know,
is that we who live in gaul,
is that the wall is strong.
And everyday is like a year.
a year that is oh so long.
-- Oscar Wilde

Perils of Prosperity (along with Pivotal Decades), provides a large part of the missing links in the Oxford History of The United States series. Readers who enjoy the Oxford series will likely be pleased with Perils of Prosperity. I found this book much better than an earlier book he had written about Presidents following FDR. That book was a disappointment, Perils of Prosperity was well done. As an added bonus, readers who watch the HBO "Boardwalk Empire" series will see real life connections between characters in the show and the book.