The Influence Of Middle Class In John Gasts American Progress

The enlightenment spread across the world during the late 1600s up to the 1800s. During this movement, transportation and technology advanced, new economies were built, and methods of hunting and selling changed. This is from the variation of people that were coming into the new enlightened areas. These people were farmers, miners, hunters and trappers who had helped the new enlightened state emerge. In John Gasts’ American Progress, it shows a woman flying from east to west bringing the enlightenment with her, having the advancements follow. With a torch in her hands, it is illuminating the skies, bringing light wherever she goes. She carries the book of knowledge to educate civilians along with the telegraph line to bring new technologies …show more content…
The majority of upper and lower class consider themselves as middle class. For the people with very high income, they do not like to brag or sound arrogant about their worth so they classify themselves as middle class. Although, people who have a lower income who may not be as wealthy might be embarrassed of their social status. To hide the fact they are below others, they classify themselves as middle class as well. Because of this, there is a new way of thinking of the middle class when the “working class influenced a segment of mainstream culture defined as middle class through mass consumption while it maintained its distinctive identity through taste.” This is saying that an individual can become more middle class not through their wealth, but through their taste in products. By improving the style of living room or kitchen can change your status by its appearance. Making space more sociable will change the working-class lifestyles. With taste becoming a larger role to enter a higher class, “the upper-middle class was tightening their entrance requirements by emphasizing those things that money couldn’t buy, such as good taste.” This is ironic because the classes are no longer based on the work or wealth, but who puts in the effort to act like a different class than they really …show more content…
For example, when Japan took over Indonesia, it was seen as a good thing as if the Japanese were helping the people from Indonesia. With the Japanese enlightenment happening, all of the people from Indonesia that the Japanese “saved,” are now all working for them. They are there to do the hard labor for them. Although, this is still slightly better than having to be under control of the Dutch. Along with progress not really proceeding, the Vietnam war relates to this. Richard Nixon claimed to have a secret plan to end the war. He continued a process called Vietnamization being an “awful term that implied that Vietnamese were not fighting and dying in the jungles of Southeast Asia.” This helped American troops by bringing the majority of them home while “increasing the air war over the DRV and relying more on the ARVN for ground attacks.” Although, what does not go completely noticed is the effects of the Lai Massacre. The My Lai massacre was done by the Americans in the Vietnam war. During this, they killed unarmed citizens which mostly consisted of women, children, and elders. Before they were killed, the soldiers acted with brutality, raping and torturing the villagers before killing them. More than 500 people were slaughtered, destroying families and the society as a whole. There is a huge negative impact that the Americans were blinded to because it does not affect