Reply #10: At the end of the Civil War

[Trajan]

Most people lived in hovels or cabins, and either farmed, or hunted for food. Most of the modern institutions of society did not yet exist yet. ... Nothing was 'built' ....

Imagine the state of society if such conditions were the norm now ....

The status of common citizens didnt rise above 'poverty stricken' until AFTER the Depression ....

I consider the foundation of American society ... that which has been 'built', to begin during the FDR Administration .... Through the establishment of PROGRESSIVE policies that favored workers, and protected their interests in the workplace ....

Until then .... Most common citizens had little of anything but poverty and want, exposed to harsh nature, and without the safety nets that have since been 'built' through PROGRESSIVE economic policies that 'built' the medical and academic institutions that brought change to the downtrodden masses ...

INCOME is what allowed citizens to rise above degrading poverty, and we have unions to thank for that ....