The 20th century brought many changes, with several events shaping society into the way we know it today. With the Great Depression, World War II, and the Cold War, America faced many internal and external threats, which endangered the American way of life and forced the country to reshape its views to displace past events that seemed, at the time, be the lowest points. The Great Depression didn't happen overnight, but for some it must have. However, when the stock market crashed on October 24, 1929, most may have felt that it was falling rather rapidly and rather unpredictably. In truth, however, the events leading up to the Great Depression may have led to the downfall of the economy. This was not America's first Great Depression; in fact there was another in 1819. Under the leadership of President Van Buren, the government chose to take a laissez-faire stance on the matter, helping only the land debtors in terms of money, setting a precedent for doing so whenever there was an economic downturn in America. However in 1929, President Hoover chose to take a different approach, coined by Anderson with the term “Hoover's New Deal” or simply “New Deal”. This required heavy intrusion from the government, with increases in wage prices and tariffs. This “New Deal” was ultimately a failure. In the years when the Depression raged, many people searched for answers and longed for better times. The 1930s brought back many people's views on tradition and popular culture. Many intellectuals, tried to look back to the old days, the Southern Agrarians, a group of eleven southern scholars, sought for society to return to an agrarian lifestyle. Another group known as the New Humanists also wanted to return to the old l...... middle of paper...... American way. Americans thought it was a patriotic obligation to buy American-made products and boost the economy. As a result the United States became the leading economic leader as it still is today. In the 1980s President Regan reduced taxes and federal tax revenues increased dramatically. Much of the money was spent on military uses, sent to American allies and the Strategic Defense Initiative. In response, the Soviets also spent their money on military forces and failed in the process. America has shaped itself to fit the situation needed by the people. And these events shaped the nation making it proud of the country it is today. The Great Depression taught America to have hope; World War II taught him to unite, and the Cold War taught him to be tough. These three things have brought us into the new millennium with new technologies, new threats and a new way of life.