The robber barons were often condemned in the press, but the United States had much more commitment to industrialization and free markets than did other countries in the late 19th and the early 20th centuries. Unlike many countries after World War I, the 1920s saw great economic expansion for upper-income individuals and a growth in median income. However, labor unrest continued to mount throughout the 1920s and the 1930s because of the lack of wage and hour rules, child labor protections, unemployment insurance, right to organize, workplace safety requirements, and social security, which all continued to exacerbate the discontents of the substantial numbers of working poor.