A Journey Through Time: Exploring Different Eras And Places In The USA

An Advanced Textile Factory in Massachusetts in the Late 1800s

The Time Machine landed just in the compound of a Textile manufacturing unit at Massachusetts. This was an advanced manufacturing unit in comparison to the other factories that existed at that time. There was a water-driven power loom which was unique and not found anywhere else in the city (Fink, 2014). In the Textile factory mostly adult women were appointed in the place of children. The women were working hard we could see, and everyone was busy. The factory was a long brick structure which was four storeyed high. Some Irish immigrants could also be seen in the compound. The factory had a reddish brick structure, and a tall wall around the compound.

The area around the zone were the U.S Military was posted was mostly barren and it was the several number of US military bunkers that dotted the region. USA had been very proactive in the side of the allies and one of the important members (Zinn, 2015). Some of the military personnel were speaking among themselves about how being neutral in this war could have helped the USA citizens. The military was equipped with contemporary weapons and ammunitions. The guns and artillery were making a lot of noise and it was difficult to stand in that place.  The military dress was designed as per the contemporary trend. The personnel in general were mostly unhappy about the decision of the government about joining the war.

When the time machine landed in the 1923 in the city of Chicago it was late at night and we were afraid as we knew how much crime rate was there in this city at this particular timespan. We could see the place was growing slowly and the skyline was increasing with time. The region looked beautiful from outside however there were various areas and zones within the city which remained dark and crime prone. From the back of a wall we could see gags of several people grouping in dark alleys wearing long coats and hats whose faces were not visible. We saw several gambling centres with illegal slot machines. These were very popular and famous during this era (Thrasher, 2013).

The most beautiful place we visited in the time machine was the New York of the 1930’s. The city was bustling with big buildings and skyscrapers. The beautiful tall buildings had glass windows and many of the buildings had gothic structures. We saw iron clad bridges and contemporary models of cars going around the roads. The footpaths were stone made and there were high decorated lamp posts around the city. There were tramlines and we saw trams plying around the city. People were mostly wearing contemporary clothes like polo neck tee shirts, jeans, and trousers. There were graffiti around the city which were political satire or cartoons. People were busy going around doing their daily business.

The home front during the World War II according to History.com (2018) is as follows “Food, gas and clothing were rationed. Communities conducted scrap metal drives. To help build the armaments necessary to win the war, women found employment as electricians, welders and riveters in defence plants. Japanese Americans had their rights as citizens stripped from them. People in the U.S. grew increasingly dependent on radio reports for news of the fighting overseas.” We saw exactly the same situation in the home front. People were going on with their usual activities and the most important part was it was clearly visible that the economic condition of the people in general was not really good.

We saw plenty of people around the city of New York where we landed protesting against the Vietnam War. There were rally of people and there were graffiti against the war. We saw young people who were part of the counter culture who were also known as the hippies. They were having long unkempt beard and hair and wearing dirty clothes. We also saw members of Hare Krishna Movement chanting and singing loudly in groups on the streets, this movement was also another outcome of the counter culture (Goswami, 2016). They were wearing saffron robes, with shaved hairs and playing drums and cymbals. The city had a cross cultural crowd and everyone was accommodated. The people of the United States was mostly against the decision of the government to take part in the war (Hall, 2018).

Reference:

Fink, L. (2014). The long Gilded Age: American capitalism and the lessons of a new world order. University of Pennsylvania Press.

Goswami, M. (2016). MIRACLE ON SECOND AVENUE: Hare Krishna Arrives in New York, San Francisco, and London 1966-1969. Atlasbooks Dist Serv.

Hall, M. (2018). The Vietnam War. Routledge.

History.com (2018). The U.S. Home Front During World War II – World War II – HISTORY.com. [online] HISTORY.com. Available at: https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/us-home-front-during-world-war-ii [Accessed 28 Jul. 2018].

Thrasher, F. M. (2013). The gang: A study of 1,313 gangs in Chicago. University of Chicago Press.

Zinn, H. (2015). A people’s history of the United States: 1492-present. Routledge.