Cultural Decades in American History

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My list would look like this:

1910s:  Election of Wilson to end of WWI, slowing the era of progressivism (1913-1918)
1920s:  Economic growth and cultural lavishness, last hurrah for the super rich (end of WWI to Stock market crash '29)
1930s:  Great Depression, New Deal, Dust Bowl (mass migration) (1929-1938)
1940s:  Growing fear of fascism, holocaust, WWII, spread of communism (Beginning of war in Europe 1939-Korea 1953)

The period from the beginning of the First World War until the conclusion of the Second World War really marks the turning point of major geopolitical shifts away from western Europe, with the 19th century being the century of England and the 20th being the century of the Soviet Union and the U.S.

1950s:  Prosperity, cold war, nationalism (1953-inauguration of JFK 1961)
1960s:  Cultural turmoil, cold war scares, Great Society (inauguration of JFK through the end of LBJ, 1969)
1970s:  Economic malaise, oil crisis, environmental crises, general pessimism (2nd Inauguration of Nixon-inauguration of the Gipper)  The election of '68 was very much '60s, but I think the election of '72 was kind of an "enough is enough" election that signaled the end of the '60s turmoil and the beginning of the '70s turmoil
1980s:  Ending the cold war, increased presence in Middle East and Latin America, Evangelical movement, Gulf War (Inauguration of Reagan through the end of the gulf war, 1991)
1990s:  Post-soviet collapse, relative peace and prosperity, rise of terrorism, Gen Y starts to come of age, bubblegum pop preps make a come back (1991-Sept. 10th, 2001)
2000s:  Post 9/11, terrorism as a major issue, environmental problems and solution coming to light, rise of China, India, and the EU as super powers (2001-present)

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1901-1917 "The Progressive Period."
1917-1921 "The Great War"
1921-1929  "The Jazz age" "Roaring Twenties"
1929-1941 "The Thirties" "The Great Depression" "The New Deal Period"
1941-1946 "The War Years"
1946-1963  "The Post War Years" "The Fifties" "The Baby Boom" "The Cold War"
1963-1974  "The Sixties"  "The Vietnam Years"
1974-1981  "The Seventies"  "The Disco Era" "The Years of Disillusion"  "The Stagflation Period" "The New Age Period"
1981-1992  "The Eighties"  "The Big Eighties" "The Reagan Era"  "The Renaissance" "The Resurgence"
1992-2001  "The Nineties" "The Internet Period" "The Computer Age" "The Dot Com Period" "The New New Age Period"
2001-          "The Post 911 Period" "The Millennium" "The Millennial Era"  "The Bush Period"

I guess if you remove political events, but instead focus on culture, I'd come up with this:

1905-1918: Decade of progressivism.

1918-1929:  The Roaring Twenties.  The last hurrah of lavishness for the affluent.  Large wealth disparity.  Peak of train travel and the family farm.  The automobile age is quickly developing.

1930-1938:  The Dirty Thirties.  Dust bowl spawns mass migration to California.  Mass redistribution of wealth.  Brief periods of economic recovery dashed in 1932 and again in 1937/38.
1939-1946:  War period.  While the war ended in 1945, its major effects were felt until after it ended.

1947-1963:  Era of the Silents.  Lightly veiled social conservatism.  Rising social unrest. Deep patriotism.  The era of Joe Everyman and the depopulation of the cities and the rise of the suburbs and wealth among the middle class never seen before.
1964-1972:  Civil rights movement.  Women's rights movement.  "Movement liberalism", if you will.  Protests against the war.  The silent generation is quickly drowned out by the baby boomers coming of age.
1973-1981:  Age of pessimism.  Pollution.  Gas shortages.  The rise and collapse of Disco.  Rural America goes into freefall.  Birth rates around the world plummet.  Environmental movements gain steam.  The rise of movement conservatism.
1981-1991:  Age of optimism.  Fall of communism and the rise of the computer age.  Crack-cocaine leads to huge rises in inner-city crime.  Teen births peak.  Movement conservatism is a dominating force.  "The moral majority".
1991-2001:  Peace and prosperity on a global level.  Birth rates plummet even further, especially in the former Soviet Union.  Style trends look back and borrow from the styles of their parents:  Flared pants and flowers become cool again.  Shoulder pads make a welcomed exit .  Grunge music hits the main stream and hip hop/rap rises as the dominant music genre.

2001-?:  Movement conservatism, enjoying a last surge after September 11th, begins to fade.  Youth voting on the rise.  China and India on the rise, replacing Japan as the dominant force in Asia.  Environmental issues are once again at the forefront (Global warming).

I put the question marks because I believe we are in a period of transition.  If John McCain is our next president, he will likely be a transitional president, while if Obama wins, he will be the start of a new "decade".