Critical Analysis Of: Book Reviews Examples

AMERICA’S STRUGGLE AGAINST POVERTY IN THE TWENTY FIRST CENTURY

Critical Analysis: America’s Struggle against Poverty in the 20th Century
James Patterson’s book America’s Struggle against Poverty in the 20th Century is an in-depth look at the history of poverty throughout the 20th century, the way that government has handled the issue, and how the people of the United States have dealt with the struggle. The author uses the book, not only to educate the reader on the actual history of this aspect of the nation, but also delivers an argument that although changes and improvements have been made, the challenge is not resolved. Patterson also identifies the cycle of changes that have occurred from the 1900’s to the 1990’s with the way social reform has improved or hindered the conditions of the poverty rate in America. The following essay will provide evidence of the author’s argument that a proper long term solution has yet to be found in the struggle to eradicate poverty in the United States, a brief summary of the book will be provided, and finally a review of how the book relates to the discussions and concepts of the class

Summary

America’s Struggle against Poverty in the 20th Century is a historical book written by James Patterson about the condition of the American poor, and the changes that have occurred through the past century. The early 1900’s were full of hardships and challenges that many Americans in the 21st Century could not fathom. Living conditions were horrible and opportunities for work were limited for most. As the next couple decades passed, minor improvements developed as attention was brought forth by the liberal members of society who found the condition unjust.
Assistance by the government was requested by the liberals working towards providing relief for the poor, but not all Americans supported the idea of relief by way of financial resources. Instead the opposing members of society thought that jobs would fix the problems that facing the poor. Conservatives believed that through lowering unemployment, the struggling members of nation would find relief and an end to their sad condition. These sentiments dragged on right into the Great Depression.
The Great Depression drove the conditions of the poor into a deplorable state beyond the already depraved conditions that existed in the years prior. Other members of the nation found themselves dropping into a lower income level as unemployment increased and conditions worsened. A large population of men and women were reaching old age making them incapable of providing for themselves as they once had. Problems related to massive drought during something called the Dust Bowl forced numerous farmers and families out of the mid-west and into states like California where they were still met with hardship. During the period of 1929-1939 the movement to bring forth social welfare reform saw some great changes, but not dramatic enough to bring an end to the high level of poverty.
As the decades went by in America, the common thread of disagreement on views remained stern from the conservatives and liberals. The liberals were motivated to push for improving the condition of the poor, but the conservatives did not feel that help in the form of monetary aid was appropriate. Instead, the conservative group felt that the poor people needed to find jobs and work harder to pull themselves out from these unpleasant living standards. Even in the 21st Century similar sentiment and arguments are heard by politicians. It seems highly unlikely that an end to poverty is possible in America, despite all the great things that the country has.

Patterson’s Position

James Patterson, the author of America’s Struggle against Poverty in the 20th Century indicates his position on the history he shares of America in regard to the poor. From the first chapter of the book to the last, Patterson provides evidence to the reader of the instability of the various methods that have been used thus far in terms of social services that have appropriately handled the issues facing the less fortunate members of society. In this portion of the essay, I will provide several pivotal points that are made in the book that provide insight into the author’s argument about the issues surrounding American poverty.
In the beginning half of the book during the first couple chapters, Patterson provides evidence of the recognition of poverty as a problem. He also shows that there was a movement towards social reform that was helping to elevate the condition of many of the poor citizens. An example of this by Patterson, “Most settlement houses, which proliferated between 1900 and 1915, enthusiastically supported preventive reforms. The left wing of the settlement house movement went further, favoring a broad range of such social reforms as minimum wages for women and children, unemployment insurance, the abolition of child labor, and racial justice.” As the flawed system that was not quite yet providing the relief that was hoped for, the challenges and hardships of the poor continued to exist. Even the concept of a “welfare state” in association with America was a disturbing idea to so many who viewed the country differently. One of the fundamentally flawed thinking of people during this time was that the difficult times prior to the 1900’s were over, and the improvements in economy would resolve the issues of poverty.
Patterson delivers a horrendous image of life after the 1930’s when the Depression hit America, leaving a disproportionate amount of people living in awful conditions. Those who were already struggling with low income jobs, farmers, and black folks were hit with the worst conditions that are shameful to the image of America. Issues beyond the Depression were also taking hold of the increasing poverty in the nation as the aging members of society got older, the devastation caused by the Dust Bowl, and the growing number of people entering looking to enter the labor force that remained unemployed. The culmination of all the challenges facing the American people evolved to a horrific period of severe hardship for many individuals and families in the United States.
The unfortunate problem of the focus remaining on unemployment versus the low income and poverty that had already been in existence was distracting policy makers from proper attention to provide a logical option for relief. Relief funds were cut in the urgency to find methods of improving and increasing the employment rate. Considering so many Americans thought that the joblessness was the cause of poverty, the consensus was set on increasing job availability for all the impoverished and unemployed members of society. The inability of the poor to gather and speak up for their condition did not help in allowing for their voices to be heard by government or influential members capable of policy changes. Also the focus of the poor was on the farmers, overlooking the large number of urban ethnic groups that were beginning to become enraged with the high level of neglect felt in their communities.
Social programs for relief were developed during the period of 1929-1939, but they left much to be desired for. Many were unhappy with one of the systems called FERA that was given to the various state governments to provide assistance to the poor. Unfortunately the methodology of obtaining assistance was grueling and discouraged and upset those who tried (Patterson, 2000). FERA was an insufficient program that led many to feel that many political figures were using it for opportunism for their own agendas (Patterson, 2000). The up and down challenges of America continued through the next several decades as the poor still existed in large numbers. Fortunately groups of liberals continued to fight for social welfare reform without giving up on the cause.
Fast forward to the 1980’s and the challenges were different in detail, but almost similar in nature. The two different groups, conservatives and liberals, continued to dispute on the ‘right’ approach for implementing a proper welfare program to help the poor. In the 1990’s President Clinton helped the nation make large strides in passing several policies that improved the condition of many of the members of society in need of assistance. Instead of solid solutions that addressed the ailments, the disagreements continued. Many positive changes have developed over the century. However, the political differences and corporate interests continue to interfere with sustainable progress towards an end to poverty in America. Patterson ends his book with some skepticism about what to expect for the future of poverty in America.

Relevance to the Course

In concluding the essay on the book review and analysis for America’s Struggle against Poverty in the 20th Century, the final discussion will be in how the book coincides with the class lectures and discussions. The focus of the class on the conditions and changes of American society in regard to the workforce and various government policies provides a foundation for the student to understand the living conditions of the people from the earlier eras in American history. So many changes from women entering the workforce, the living conditions of so many, to the status and disdain for black in America were relevant to the topics in Patterson’s book. The class lectures and discussions allowed me to read Patterson’s book with a deeper perspective having discussed aspects in the nature of American history in class. The book was a complimentary addition to deepen the knowledge that I have gained about America and the challenges of those who have come in decades prior to us.

Bibliography

Patterson, James T. 2000. America's struggle against poverty in the twentieth century.
Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press.