The US during 1830s-1860s marked not so much the realization of Hamilton’s vision, but rather the loss of Jefferson’s. The victory of the North over the South after the Civil War ultimately pushed the country into going down the industrial path but there is also the revival of old Jeffersonian ideals. The more the country fulfilled Hamilton’s vision, the more the complaints of those who grew dissatisfied with the capitalist system sounded like Jefferson. The complaints came from workers within the capitalist system themselves, who shared the same criticisms the Southerners had on the North before.
The triumph of Hamilton’s vision is evident because the rise of industry and commerce in the US, made it very difficult for people to continue living …show more content…
They wanted a strong government only on the surface. One that can keep big businesses in check but is ultimately a puppet serving the people. The Populist Platform says: “Transportation being a means of exchange and a public necessity, the government should own and operate the railroads in the interest of the people (N.M., 294).” They are attacking monopolies that enriches the same few people when things utilized by the public everyday, should be under a public institution. Unlike Hamilton, who favored government sponsored businesses, the reformers are against how the federal government was subject and run by wealthy business elites at the …show more content…
By this point, America has fulfilled its “Manifest Destiny” as Americans have settled across the west, all the way to the Pacific Ocean. Coinciding with how laborers felt that their work conditions have taken away their individuality, this loss of the frontier or unsettled land, also triggered a sense of loss of American identity. One of the people who vocally expressed this feeling was American historian, Frederick Jackson Turner, in his essay “The Significance of the Frontier in American History.” In it, he described how losing the frontier is also losing a part of America’s history: “the frontier promoted the formation of composite nationality for the American people (N.M., 317).” The frontier stood for many things but at its core is the idea of its primitivism. It represented America at its basic, purest form as a virgin territory for different possibilities. The availability of the frontier provided the nation sort of a place of rebirth, and start anew and create a society distinct from others. This connects with ideas of individualism, freedom and opportunity. These echoes similar arguments from earlier Transcendentalists--American’s tendency to look backwards as they felt the need to conserve their American
The triumph of Hamilton’s vision is evident because the rise of industry and commerce in the US, made it very difficult for people to continue living …show more content…
They wanted a strong government only on the surface. One that can keep big businesses in check but is ultimately a puppet serving the people. The Populist Platform says: “Transportation being a means of exchange and a public necessity, the government should own and operate the railroads in the interest of the people (N.M., 294).” They are attacking monopolies that enriches the same few people when things utilized by the public everyday, should be under a public institution. Unlike Hamilton, who favored government sponsored businesses, the reformers are against how the federal government was subject and run by wealthy business elites at the …show more content…
By this point, America has fulfilled its “Manifest Destiny” as Americans have settled across the west, all the way to the Pacific Ocean. Coinciding with how laborers felt that their work conditions have taken away their individuality, this loss of the frontier or unsettled land, also triggered a sense of loss of American identity. One of the people who vocally expressed this feeling was American historian, Frederick Jackson Turner, in his essay “The Significance of the Frontier in American History.” In it, he described how losing the frontier is also losing a part of America’s history: “the frontier promoted the formation of composite nationality for the American people (N.M., 317).” The frontier stood for many things but at its core is the idea of its primitivism. It represented America at its basic, purest form as a virgin territory for different possibilities. The availability of the frontier provided the nation sort of a place of rebirth, and start anew and create a society distinct from others. This connects with ideas of individualism, freedom and opportunity. These echoes similar arguments from earlier Transcendentalists--American’s tendency to look backwards as they felt the need to conserve their American