Comments by "Magic Beans" (@Magic_beans_) on "Hard Times - The Great Depression." video.

2:45 Tangentially related, but WWI is also when the US became primarily monolingual. Prior to the war Americans learned foreign languages at about the same rate as Europeans, and German-language newspapers were common throughout the country and especially in the Midwest. When war broke out, foreign languages became suspicious, German most of all. Public life was to be conducted in English only, and in some places laws even prohibited teaching German. Those laws didn’t last long, but they were enough to break the chain of transmission, the tradition of kids learning from their grandparents. Following the war there was a cultural shift where the US grew more insular. Part of that shift was defensive: we didn’t want to get dragged into war again. I assume Europe felt the same way considering how far they went to appease the next guy. I also think for us there was an experience akin to realizing one’s parents have flaws. If Europe could do that for five years, who are they to tell us what it means to be civilized?
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