The Post Watergate Period – Chapter 24

                After the Watergate scandal, the American society began to turn skeptical with abundance of ominous feelings. People were questioning the capacity of any president to heal the wounded country. Gerald ford inherited the presidency after the harshly decried term of Nixon. He tried to revive the spirit of trustworthiness among the American people, however, his attempts resulted in failure. America was so desperate that they rapidly replaced him with a lesser known Democrat, Jimmy Carter.

                Ford confronted mayor difficulties with the presidency he inherited. It all started with him forgiving Nixon after all the havoc he made in the country. People started to dislike him all over the nation. As a result, all of Ford’s programs and attempts of taking America out of the abyss in which they fell failed. Unfortunately, he never managed to step forward as a strong leader or deal effectively with problems that dogged economy.

                Due to Ford’s lack of strong leadership, America didn’t hesitate in choosing a new leader. The people were still in “pain” from the Watergate scandal; they needed change and achieved it by changing to a Democratic government with Jimmy Carter as president. Ford didn’t stand a chance against Carter because he did not appear “presidential” to many voters in the 1976 election. Carter brought a new perspective to the American public since he stated clearly that he was not part of the Washington establishment and would bring a different point of view to the capital. His campaign emphasized his trustworthiness and his status as a Washington outsider. Carter’s small-town background and deep religious beliefs influenced his style and policies as President.

                Carter’s biggest success was probably in foreign affairs. His religious beliefs led him to emphasize peacemaking and human rights. However, those beliefs resulted in collateral damage since they prevented his reelection as a president. His peacemaking efforts helped bring some stability to the Middle East, Latin America and Africa. Unfortunately, the relations with the Soviet Union worsened.

                Carter’s focus on foreign affairs worsened the situation back at home. The Carter administration had trouble getting its domestic programs through Congress. The economic policy was inconsistent and ineffective. Perhaps the most positive aspect during Carter’s presidency in the last years was that he gave stronger support to civil rights than Nixon or Ford themselves.

                After Richard Nixon’s presidency, the United States faced a variety of problems in terms of trust and honesty that affects the country in modern day. The post Watergate period is probably one of the darkest epochs in American history since it portrayed the government as a villain. America, the world and the history would never be the same.

The Era of Progressive Reform

                Progressivism targeted the massive problems of an urban, industrialized nation. The idea of progressivism was adopted by many American people. Progressivism was an impulse for presidencies to be more serious in their campaigns and on duty as well. Much of the progressive’s reforms began in the cities as opposed to the state or federal levels since they were considered to be the areas in which change was needed the most. Many restrictions and opportunities came before progressivism giving this movement an impulse in order to reach success.

                By the end of the 1800s, many citizens were aware of the massive problems resulting from rapid industrialization. Citizens also came to the realization that private efforts to address issues from the nation were inadequate. Henry George and Edward Bellamy were some of the most influential figures during the movement of progressivism. Both of them were journalists and have mayor influence in mass communication allowing them to transmit their ideas with ease. Socialists, unionists and city government reformed also had many followers however; they were not as influential as the two gentlemen mentioned above. In 1879 Henry George wrote a book to explain why an advanced civilization seemed to increase rather than eliminate poverty. Several writers during this time period wrote how the future would be for America with the harsh working conditions. During this epoch, there were also social welfare programs, which would help ensure a basic standard of living for all Americans “abolishing” poverty by providing them with some goods.

                Florence Kelly became an important figure during this movement as well. She led the way in several areas of progressive reform, including workplace and municipal reform which gave a boost for economy. Due to her efforts, in 1893, a law was passed stating that it was prohibited for a child to work, limiting hours for women, and regulating sweatshop conditions.

                Taft’s presidency was marked by progressive legislation and a rebel movement within his own party. Theodore Roosevelt abandoned the presidency and Taft as well and led the Bull Moose Part. TR did this since he thought the country was going down with Taft being on duty and America needed his leadership again in order to maintain things in order. Roosevelt also trounced Taft by using the New Freedom, he promised to enforce antitrust laws without threatening free economic competition. After this whole controversy between the Bull Moose Party and Taft, Wilson, continued progressivism until an end until World War I approached.

                The journey for woman suffrage took more than seventy years and required great effort and sacrifices from the female gender. The earliest victories for suffrage took place at state level, and mostly in the western states. For example; a journalist in 1912 described “women striding five abreast” up Fifth Avenue in New York City. Such colorful parades became a favorite technique in the 1910s. Techniques such as that were appealing to the individual’s eye and helped people become more sympathized with women voting.

                Progressivism was a fundamental epoch for the United States because the ideologies brought up during that period helped form  today’s government. It helped America have more democracy since it allowed the participation of women in electoral processes. If the progressivism movement never took place, United States wouldn’t be as successful as it is today since not everyone would have the opportunity of freedom of speech.

Chapter 9 Reflection – Becoming a World Power

By: Gabriel Hernandez

                This chapter portrays how the United States became one of the most influential countries around the world. Thanks to the economic and industrial advances that took place in the country throughout history, America has become a worldwide figure of authority. In the period between 1890 through 1913, America had an imperialist point of view since they desired to obtain land abroad. Their unquenchable thirst for land never ceased causing them to intimidate other countries since they posed a threat having a powerful military force.

                Theodore Roosevelt is an exponential figure in this chapter. One of his major accomplishments as a president was the construction of the Panama Canal. He is considered one of the greatest presidents of the United States since he achieved what some could only imagine being the youngest president to ever take control. Thanks to Teddy Roosevelt, countries such as Panama gained independence from their former “colonies”. However, the United States since that epoch has become the “world cop” because of convenience and mere political purposes.

Chapter 8 - Cultural and Social Transformations Essay

By: Gabriel Hernandez

                The nineteenth century was a hard epoch for the North American society. Specially for women and minorities since they were always seen as inferior beings not worthy of the liberties or rights given to the average American man. However, after the Civil War, a twist in society took place. A gateway of opportunities opened for these specific groups of people who received unfair treatment. As usual, there was always this group of individuals that disagreed towards the decision of providing new chances to people since traditional ways wanted to be preserved.

                Americans adopted democracy as their new way of government. However, without having all of their citizens educated, the idea of democracy was not that effective. In order to have a more democratic state, the American society started supporting education by the late 1800s. Education offered job opportunities, economic and social success which favored not only the individual but the nation as well. Besides an educated society, other aspects of society highlighted in the 1800s. entertainment and sports became popular forms of recreation. Among the ramifications of entertainment the saloons, trolleyparks, dance halls and cabarets were the ones enjoyed the most by the people.

                African Americans had a rough time fitting into society since there have always been suppressing them into such institution. However, they have been able to stand up and rise throughout history proving they are equal or even better than many. The Ku Klux Klan began terrorizing the African American community in the late 1800s. It is an organization that still exists in the modern day and an example of groups of people rejecting the African Americans.

                In the 1800s, there was said to be “equality” for women. However, this was a faux statement since it was not happening in its totality. Economic and political inequalities were influential factors for the mistreating of women. The female gender has had a bumpy road throughout history as well as the African Americans in order to reach their rights.

                The Civil War contributed to mayor social changes in America. In the long run, they all concluded positively, however, the downside is what happened in order to have good results. Both women and the African American society have been of great contribution towards society since some of the most brilliant minds of the world fall into those groups. The pathway to reach the zenith of success was tough to some people during the nineteenth century, however it was all worth it in the end since radical changes in society were made.

Origins of the Civil War

Origins of the Civil War

By: Gabriel Hernandez

            It all started way back in America in the 1600s with mere economic purposes. The United States was at the zenith of tobacco production with indentured servants working on plantations. With the years passing by, there was an approximate of 4000 African Americans working miserably in tobacco plantations in the 1700s. Unfortunately, future events for the African American people didn’t get any better, instead they got worse. For the following long years to come, the black community suffered and worked having blood and sweat running down from their back.

            The North West Black Codes gave a small spar of hope for slaves. This document stated slavery to be technically illegal. However, in the Northern area of the Ohio River, African Americans were still under the authority of White Americans. So, the NWBC didn’t show any kind of change due to the people who kept their slaves. Nevertheless, the Congress endeavored for a solution in 1820 with the Missouri Compromise. This was an agreement made by the Congress itself dividing Missouri into two states; one being against slavery and the other in favor. By 1830, the slave holder added up 36 percent of the white population. The anti slavery advocates founded the country of Liberia in Africa. They proposed people who suffered from slavery or that were prompt to suffer under the veil of it to move to the new lands of Liberia. However, this caused a major controversy since some people said they still believed they could have an opportunity in America when in reality, they didn’t, they were just building dreams based on naïve hopes. The same year as the NWBC, the three-fifths compromise was created. It said that all enslaved people would be counted nevertheless; the total would be multiplied by three fifths.

            African Americans made a major contribution to the South since they were the architects of its strong economic progress during that epoch. At this point in history, the North’s economy depended on the Southern capability to manufacture their goods. The South based its economy on products such as; cotton and tobacco. By 1860, African Americans made up half of the population of South Carolina and Mississippi. 

            In 1820, there was an open resistance led by Denmark Vesey followed by African Americans in South Carolina. There is evidence of slaves fighting back in the South. A few years later, the resistance to abolition came to the mind of the American people in 1836. With the series of events that occurred in the abolition iconic characters from American history are introduced such as Harriet Tubman with the Underground Railroad. The gag rule came right behind this and states that all anti slavery petition would be automatically stable for the next 18 years to come.

            The final events previous to the civil war were probably the most crucial for such event. The inability of politicians to resolve the question of whether or not slavery should be allowed in their territories raised major disputes among the people. The fighting for remainance of the South in the US and the North becoming more populous and urban than the South created tension between both territories. In 1860, things became worse due to the industrialization of the North having 110,000 factories. Finally and probably most influential Kansas-Nebraska Act. This document proclaimed that people should decide if slavery is to be allowed or not however, it proved that there would be no peaceful reaction toward any decision taken.

            The slavery days in the United States were part of their dark chapters from their history throughout the years. For the disgrace of the slaves, many gloomy events had to occur in order for slavery to come to its end. Slavery should have never existed in first place since in the end, people are the same. They are humans such as everyone else and should be respected and treated as such as well. 

Sectional Divisions Arise

Sectional Divisions Arise

By: Gabriel Hernandez

                There has been a division between North and South in the United States since its origins. The northern part was centralized in farming and the South was were the slavery took place. Farmers in the Old Northwest encouraged both the growth of cities and an increasingly convoluted system for supplying them with goods from the farm. On the other hand, the Northeast has workshops and factories that made goods.

                Basically, the United States was divided into sections that were divided between the South and the North. The north was more advanced than the south since it had more economic development however, they needed each other in order to make the country more prosper.

Changing households and new markets

Changing Households and New Markets

By: Gabriel Hernandez

                In the 1800s, the United States had a different concept of what was work. People were now starting to work not only to maintain their property also to gain some money in order for them to be able to maintain their families as well. Banks were the institutions that were beginning to become popular during this epoch. There was a huge circulation of money therefore; an institution was needed in order for keeping control over the situation.

                With all this circulation of money, the American people used money both in the ways of cash and credit in order to get their needs. This was called the Market Revolution. Inspired by this man all around the United States started to make businesses. The term or career of entrepreneurship has its origins during this time period since many innovative things were made.

                Thanks to the Market Revolution, United States had a more clear and centralized view of how the economy works. People were able to comprehend how the process of cash and credit work giving the United States an opportunity to strengthen its banks and economy.