The Formation Of The American Underclass In The 20th Century, 70 Years

Based on the structural transformation of American urban areas, thispaper traces the course of conditioning factors and characteristics ofunderclass and U.S. government policy after the Second World War. It begins with a brief introduction, describing the necessity andsignificance of studying this subject, defining the academic developments inSino-America academic communities and outlining the some related concepts. The main body includes four parts: Part One summarizes the forming process and characteristics of the underclass, which can be divided into two periods by the Second World War. In the 1970s, the underclass took its shape and its characteristics, such as people living in the ghetto, poverty, unemployment, teenage pregnancy and out-wedding birth, female-headed families, etc. Part Two analysis the conditioning factors of underclass from six respects,such as cultural tradition and life style, etc. Part Three probes into the changes in federal policies, their effectivenessrelated inefficiency and underlying problems. The conclusion part summarizes the main view of this paper, indicatingthat underclass and related problems are the results of the failure of marketeconomy and that social problems require government intervention.