Year 11 ATAR Modern History Unit 1
Key Ideas
Last updated 15 August 2023
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AMERICAN DREAM
Diamond, A. (2018). The original meanings of the “American dream” and “America first” were starkly different from how we use them today. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/behold-america-american-dream-slogan-book-sarah-churchwell-180970311/
How the American Dream Has Changed Over Time. (2022). In Gale In Context Online Collection. Gale.
Kiger, P.J. (2011). The origins of the American dream. https://people.howstuffworks.com/american-dream1.htm
CONSUMERISM
Consumer era. (2017, January 10). National Museum of American History. https://americanhistory.si.edu/american-enterprise-exhibition/consumer-era
Business and political leaders claimed consumerism was more than shopping: it defined the benefits of capitalism. Explore the Consumer Era section of this website.
Higgs, K. (2021, April 20). A brief history of consumer culture. The MIT Press Reader. https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/a-brief-history-of-consumer-culture/
Over the course of the 20th century, capitalism preserved its momentum by molding the ordinary person into a consumer with an unquenchable thirst for more stuff.
ECONOMIC LIBERTY
This webpage outlines the cornerstones of economic freedom.
INDIVIDUALISM & RUGGED INDIVIDUALISM
LAISSEZ-FAIRE
Rashid, A. (n.d.). Definition of laissez-faire capitalism in American national government. https://www.theclassroom.com/definition-laissezfaire-capitalism-american-national-government-7844.html
Half-way through this article, the author looks briefly at the Gilded Age.
Roos, D. (2019). How does laissez-faire economics really work? https://money.howstuffworks.com/laissez-faire-economics.htm
About halfway down this page, they look specifically at the example of the United States from the late 1800s.