The American History
This semester’s major theme was the American history, placing greateremphasis on some of the political, social, and cultural transformations that the country has undergone to become the powerful nation it is not as today. Some of the political and cultural transformations that the country went through dates as back as the 1960s through the Vietnam War, Women’s Suffrage, and the Civil Rights Movement.Economicallyspeaking, America went through a redefining moment in the 1930s through the damages of the Great Depression, which President Roosevelt fought so hard to alleviate. More importantly, President Roosevelt’sadministration played an active role in steering the progressive Era (1890-1920), which saw America’s social, economic, and political revamping. The civil war, as well as the American Industrial Revolution, were equally important in the creation of the new America in terms of enacting diplomatic and economic policies to protect the rights of every citizen and to create more economic opportunities for the betterment of the American society as well.
One of the politically and diplomatically defining events that played an integral role in the reshaping of America was the Civil Warof 1861. Although the American civil war, fought between the northern and southern America, was orchestrated by the long-standing controversy over slavery, the war was crucial in highlighting the plight of workers in America. The Civil War was marked by the highest levels of brutality, murder, and violence against the black people who were fighting not only for their freedom but also for their rights as American workers. The African American race had been subjected to cruel and hostile lordship from the white population who believed were the superior race. The Civil War, which lasted between 1861 and 1865, had an immense impact on Americanculture to date because it raisedawareness on human equality and human rights, which continues to be the founding principles of America today.
The fight for the right of equality did not begin with the Civil War but instead traces back to as early as 1790 through the American Industrial Revolution. The revolution sort to shift the US from manual-labour based industry to an industry that was technically-run. Having started in Britain, the Industrial Revolution in America was driven by the need to develop America into an economically competitive nation. Before the revolution, America was primarily a rural country that had no access to electricity for the most part, with citizens mainly relying on agriculturalproducts. The revolution era was extremely crucial to the economic development the nation enjoys today due to the adoption of great innovation and industrialization that saw the rise of multiple industries led by investors and entrepreneurs. The revolution led to the establishment of American automobile factories, like Ford, by Henry Ford, who created small family cars to help advance the transport sector.
The 1960s brought along significant political, cultural, and social changes to Americathrough the Vietnam War, The Women’s Suffrage, and the Civil Rights Movement. The Civil Rights Movement, led by Dr. Martin Luther, sort to provide equal employment and civil opportunities for black civil workers that were enjoyed by their white counterparts. Luther King not only managed to push the public sector into providing more employment opportunities for black people, but he also fought for their remunerations and other civil benefits. On the other hand, Rosa Parks led the Women’s Suffrage movement that pushed for equal political representationopportunitiesin America for women. Today, female political leaders, more especially black female leaders, continue to enjoy the fruits of this struggle by Rosa Parks that first became victorious in 1888 with the formation of the International Council of Women.
The Great Depression of 1930 was a worldwide economic depression that began in America before spreading to the rest of the world, effectively undermining the commercial efforts that had been realized by President Roosevelt’s administration’s earlier expansion. In 1933 New York was the biggest city in America with a population of almost seven million people. Being the financial hub of the country, the hit New York took from the Greta Depression was so severe and directly affected President Roosevelt’s administration. More people lost faith in the exploitative financial institutions, thus adopted capitalism, with the pricesofcommodities and the general cost of living skyrocketing. However, Roosevelt’s inauguration not only turned the situation around, but it renewed the faith of the people in the American presidency, something that America prides itself on to date. The new president, during his inauguration speech, urged all citizens to join efforts with his administrationto thwart the effort of the Depression. The enhancement of the financial system played a significant role in redefining the banking and financial industry of America.
The Roaring Twenties (1920-1929) was also another major theme that highlighted the rise of the emergence of America as a superpower, and the role the society played in realizing this growth. The roaring twenties was highlycharacterized by cultural and social development as the crucial pillar to America’s growth. One of the most intriguing aspects of this Era is the way Americans purposed to find meaning in everything they did, building on cohesion and unity as a building block to the national development. For instance, the naming of streets points towards how Americans built hope with every activity they engaged in, and how they purposed to find meaning in every view. It is interesting to see how America pulled together to build its forces by disengaging from the rest of the world to concentrate on building the society and subsequently, it’s economy.
Although the roaring twenties significantly contributed to the growth and emergence of America as a world superpower, more accurately, this success was achieved through the holistic Progressive Era. The Progressive Era, which lasted between 1890 and 1920, reached its peak during President Theodore Roosevelt’sadministration which stepped in after the 1901 assassination of President William McKinley. As a progressive, President Roosevelt realized the fact that it would take the collaborative effort of all Americansto put the nation on the global map. The president acknowledged the role a holistic approach would play in pushing America to the heights of Great Britain. He believed, more accurately, that America’s success was the total sum of the country’s political, social, economic, cultural, and religious efforts to rise above any differences between one another that might cause discrimination and divisions. The president’s administration eradicated unethical business practices and corruption, took active environmental protection efforts, passed various civil rights that protected the rights of each worker, and counteracted the effects of industrialization while protecting consumer rights. All of these collective efforts saw the escalating of American force into a new realm.
In conclusion, the period between the mid-1870s and early 1950s saw the rapid growth of America as a nation. In between, the country had taken major blows in terms of the Civil War, the Second World War, and the Great Depression. All of these blows threatened to wipe the country off its economic and political feet. However, under the stable leadership of President Roosevelt during the last quarter of the phase, Americarevampedandsuperseded its initial economic and culturaleffortsthanks to the collective efforts between the economic, cultural, social, and political key players.