Americans have always dreamed of a nation with a “chicken in every Pot” (Hoover). Herbert Hoover coined this phrase during the spike of the great depression. Our country has not only accomplished this task, but flourished far beyond it. The idea of hard work, fair wages, and pride for ones occupation helped facilitate this nation into great wealth and responsibility. Americans trained themselves to manage their time as well as their income in an efficient manner allowing for prosperity in the market place. The fact is, Americans have always worked, it is simply our way of life. Work is how we chose to make self-worth of ourselves as well as provide for our loved ones and our self.
Long hours have been a staple in this capitalist nation sense the day we left Europe. From settling into the land, building comminutes, to war. Though some of these endeavors wages were not made accessible, it is still considered work, and Americans have accomplished work for decades. However, the eightieth and nineteenth century gave the term “work” a gruesome portrayal.
The industrial revolution had many Americans working seventy to eighty hours a week. Men women and children had jobs in steel mills, shipping docks, and meat plants. Work hours where excruciating and the conditions where unfathomable across the land. Upton Sinclair’s book “the Jungle” illustrated profound employment ethics with disturbing imagery.
“due to rising heat or the exhaustion of their long workdays a child would slip and fall into the vats, and when and if it was realized that the child was missing, no attempt was made to retrieve the body or stop the cooking process and empty the vats”(Gini)
Even with this type of environment, these business where flourishing, the only factor not blossoming was the personal self-worth of the employees. Individual’s felt unwanted and unappreciated in American society. Not being able to finish ones work from start to finish left a sense of worthlessness. The idea of social Darwinism seemed to be playing a twisted role in society. This idea simply perpetuates the soul idea that “only the strong will survive”. This is where the idea of an internal clock started to grasp individuals, the desire of valuing one’s personal time and personal self-worth in the work place.
Time doesn’t seem to stretch as far as it used to. In an era of technological advances as well as global economy, Time has simply lost its value. With quicker means for communication, work is completed rapidly allowing for more information to be processed. In essence, the more information processed the more work that can be done.
American corporations intertwined with oversea partners need to wake up before the sun to communicate. This is due to the abundance of industries within the same field. One could say you don’t have to wake at that particular hour, but in a world where someone can be replaced in an instant, time is of the essence.
With so much competition and almost instant replacement in the job world, Americans are finding it hard to find a sense of self-worth in there occupations. Losing a job can create a harsh mental setting, not mention it affects the new standard of living.
Herbert Hoover once said “a chicken in every pot” today’s stand of living is a chicken in every pot with a new home with four kids (Hoover). The times have changed in many ways shape and form, making time almost impossible to manage. With all the complication of the work place and home life, one could see the amount of stress that is a capable.
I believe that Americans have been worked for century’s, and that it was a great for our nation. It helped create an enormous sense of pride to be an American. To be an American was to work hard for your home and family. Through this agenizing journey we learned how to treat one another in an ethical manner in the work place. It allowed American to pursue labor unions and to create fair and equal pay with
