The United States of America had a vision to empower the people, to protect themselves from a tyranical government. This vision had slowly disipated since the inaugeration of Washington. The power laid between a few wealthy individuals, the bank controlled the nation’s funds with a puppeteer like intention, and the common man had very few inlets of influnce for the government. Andrew Jackson, coming from a background of mild wealth, hard work, and military service sought to fix how far the nation had fallen. His vision was that of the people, and nothing was too brash, too bold, too extreme for him to reach that goal.…
“Voices of Protest: Huey Long, Father Coughlin, & the Great Depression”, by Alan Brinkley, explains the journey, ambition, and purposes of two of the most infamous and memorable political leaders of the 1930’s, Huey Long and Father Coughlin, during one of the most challenging and memorable periods of America’s history. The text expresses the struggles and adversities during profound economic depression and political hardship with the helpful, yet also hindering, part Long and Coughlin played in it. While Long and Coughlin were “voices” that reformed some sanctions of American politics, they failed to effectively revolutionize the United States, and instead were bystanders during great leadership movements. Huey P. Long, most noteworthy for…
The American Gilded Age yielded an extreme amount of economic prosperity and industrial improvements. During the late 19th century following the Reconstruction Era, the economy flourished and America transformed from a struggling country to a thriving nation. Railroads, businesses, cities, and agricultural centers benefitted from the growth during this period. Gilded, as defined by The Free Dictionary, means “to cover with or as if with a thin layer of gold” or “to give an often deceptively attractive or improved appearance to.” From this naturally, along with success, negative effects of this age were present as well.…
During the Gilded Age, America's industrial economy exploded, generating unprecedented opportunities for individuals to build great fortunes unfortunately it left many farmers and workers struggling merely for survival. American’s saw their nation as an island of political democracy. Although the world was still dominated by undemocratic governments. Americans understanding of political freedom was raising questions about the power of the new corporations and how immune to democratic control they were. Many lawmakers supported bills aiding companies in which they had invested money in or which they received stocks from.…
John Taylor Gatto is an award winning educator who has taught in New York public schools for over twenty years. Three separate times he was named New York City teacher of the year, and in 1991 was named New York State teacher of the year. He also has written such works as: Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling, A Different Kind of Teacher, The Underground History of American Education, and Weapons of Mass Instruction: A Schoolteacher’s Journey Through the Dark World of Compulsory Schooling. In Gatto’s article from Harper’s magazine in 2006 entitled “Against School”, Gatto argues that the “real purpose of mandatory education is to turn children into servants. ”(155)…
For many in the world, success comes in packages of green paper. Such was the case of the capitalists who shaped post-Civil War America. It was the time of the industrial revolution. Along with abundant fossil fuels, and the innovative machines they powered, the Industrial Revolution launched an era of accelerated change that continues to transform human society. It was the time of the greatest industrialists, financiers, and businessmen emerged.…
During the late 19th century, American farmers began to congregate together to fight for justice in the Agrarian community. They complained of how middlemen and furnishing merchants would take advantage of their solidarity and charge them outrageous prices adding to the large sum of debt farmers had accumulated during the depression of 1873. In order to combat the large companies and get a say in government, groups like the Grange and the Farmers’ Alliances were created. The Grange, also known as the Patrons of Husbandry, was the first major farm organization, making it’s appearance during the 1860’s shortly after the Civil War.…
Six hundred and twenty thousand men died in the American Civil War, the bloodiest conflict in United States history. Brother fought brother and father fought son in the conflict that split the nation in half over slavery. One hundred fifty three years since the end of the Civil War, racism still persists throughout American society. Why, after all these years, does hate continue to pervade this great nation? Why was this disgrace not dealt with immediately after the Civil War, during Reconstruction? What went wrong along the way?…
This course began with many American states in ruins as a result of the Civil War, fiscal irresponsibility, etc. Within less than a generation, the nation saw unheard of prosperity and affluence. Yet, it could be argued that America’s prosperity was built upon the inequality of wealth, the exploitation of its citizens, and governmental policies that benefited the wealthy rather than the average citizen. Using primary sources, support or contradict this argument making sure to address individuals, groups, and institutions between 1865 and 1915.…
The time period from 1870 to 1900 was a time of American turmoil. Although the country had been plunged into the shadows of huge corporations which manipulated the government, many spokespeople acted as if all were fine. This corrupted facade is what caused Mark Twain to label the time period as the Gilded Age. During the Gilded Age, monopolies took over business in America, buying out their competitors leaving consumers no choice but to buy their products. The wealthy heads of these monopolies used their money to bribe government official and push for their own gain.…
“The Myth of the Robber Barons” by Burton W. Folsom, Jr sheds a different perspective about early entrepreneurs in early America. The book portrays some key entrepreneurs as the reason for economic growth of the United States and America’s greatness. It also argues the misconception and mislabeling of “Robber Barons” of the 19th century. People named “Robber Barons” had a negative connotation attached to their name but Folsom argues that Robber Barons tremendously helped America and have been greatly misconceived. He dives into this criterion in seven chapters in his book that we will discuss.…
The Great Depression of the 1930’s: a dismal time that most people associate with the stock market crash, severe unemployment, poverty, the Dust Bowl, creation of the New Deal, and the less distinguished Second New Deal, under the courageous President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. There has been many disagreements about the Works Progress Administration and the Social Security Act, which are key programs in the Second New Deal. The main arguments against the WPA are that it hired lazy people, spent too much money, and was a political scheme. The main problem with the SSA was its inefficient setup. Many do not vocally separate the New Deal and the Second New Deal when they converse, because they do not understand the history.…
In the book, “The Market Revolution”, by Charles Sellers, Seller talks about the period in American History from 1815 to 1846. Seller refers to this time period as the “Jacksonian America”. Sellers main argument is that the major social revolution, created by capitalism, that occurred after the War of 1812 caused American politics to turn from constitutional republicanism to a more democratic way of politics. He believes Jackson was a main reason for this change in American politics. Jackson’s main policies consisted of breaking down the Bank of the U.S., the achievement of extending the voting right to white men without power, and rooting out all corruption in American politics.…
During the Gilded Age the wealthiest 2 percent of American households owned more than a third of the countries wealth, while the top 10 percent owned roughly three fourths of it. This was due to big names such as Rockefeller, Carnegie, J.P. Morgan, Vanderbilt, and many other business leaders who capitalized from the newly industrialized economy of the Second Industrial Revolution. This was the first time in American history where we had a new class of the super-rich people, that practically dominated the United States. Many people were not happy about this new class of the super-rich and labeled these industrialists as “robber barons” because some believed that they made their fortunes at the expense of the working class. Although this is true to a certain extent since these industrialists gave the workers horrible conditions, which led to the highest rate of accidents in the world with 1,972 workers killed on the job, and low wages; some of these industrialists also donated a large part of their money.…
There have been many cases in which money has determined power and status. One such example was during the conversion of African tribes by Christian missionaries. In Chinua Achebe 's book, Things Fall Apart, the reader is told the tale of a village being slowly taken over by the Christian missionaries from England, from the point of view of one of the most revered men in the area, Okonkwo. Okonkwo has always been afraid of being perceived as weak, and this promotes him to fight against the opposing force that wants to ruin their way of life. Although the missionaries came for religious reasons, they also wished to "civilize" the area, so they installed their own government and began to improve the trading system, making much of their power…