Inequalities and Interdependence
According to my small nephew, milk does not come from cows, it comes from stores. He's never seen a cow being milked, but he has been to the store with his mother to buy milk, so in his world, milk comes from stores.
Purchasing is a major activity in our daily lives. In fact, if there were to be a national crisis of some sort that would prevent us from being able to purchase the barest of daily necessities such as milk, bread, cereal, toothpaste, deodorant, toilet paper, or soap, it would be a very unsettling experience.
In fact, as Dr. Nassar is so fond of saying, "I know almost everyone in here is too young to remember"...everyone except me. I do remember a time in 1974 when within four hours of the onset of a national trucking strike, the shelves in the stores were empty. Not just slim pickin's...but empty. We take a lot for granted in this country. We're very lucky that we have been able to do so.
As students, we are not producers of goods, we are consumers. We live in state of economic dependence on the goods of the entire world.
So, what is interdependence? Interdependence means that two or more parties rely on what they can do for each other to succeed. Mutual contribution is necessary for the well-being of the parties involved. As a nation-state, the economy of the United States of America is interdependent on other nation-states for its well-being.
Because of the relative isolation of this continent, the U.S. was able to remain free of foreign intervention and develop a strong national identity for nearly 150 years. We were free to develop a strong sense of nationalism: an inclination toward self-reliance and rugged individualism in which we took fierce pride. It was sort of the John Wayne approach to national and international relations.
We were able to amass great wealth from our natural resources of gold, silver, furs, timber, steel, cotton, coal, and oil, to name a few. The entrepreneurial experiments of individuals were allowed to develop unhindered. Personal industry and imagination eventually developed major industries of steel, intercontinental railroads, textiles, and shipping. Innovation led to the development of the internal combustion engine and its subsequent uses in industry. Agriculture became an industry, and with the aid of intercontinental railroads and shipping, contributed to the general economy and personal wealth of many.
Certain things led Americans to become more involved in world affairs. For example, from 1803 to 1916, there was plenty of territorial growth of the United States. Economic, military, and political powers in the U.S. became higher, and more important. The United States wanted more territory for trade, income, jobs, and more. We wanted more influence on other countries. For example, when the U.S. built canals, we wanted more impact and trade such as the Panama canal, and Cuba.
Throughout the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, the United States grew and flourished as a country. It went from being a nation focused only on expanding within their own country, and comprised of basically only one heritage, to becoming one of the world's greatest military, economical, and political superpowers, as well as being the earth's preeminent "melting pot" of thousands of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds.
Between 1800 and 1850 the United States of America was an evolving nation in almost all possible ways including national unity. Many factors effected the change in national unity but none quite as much as territorial expansion. During this time period the United States more then doubled in size and by the end of its expansion reached from atlantic coast all the way to the pacific. When the nation first started to expand it brought with it the “era of good feeling”. With new states being created, the rapid growth of white settlement, and the economy expanding a rising spirit of nationalism was was consuming the United States in the years after the war of 1812. However, too much of anything, even something positive like territorial expansion, can bring negative effects. The first time the negative effects of territorial expansion became evident was during the panic of 1819. One of the next major events that showed clear evidence of decreased nationalism was attributed to the large amount of immigration in to America that took place between 1820-1840, this brought with it an rise in nativism. Lastly, during this booming immigration period, the United States also under went the industrial revolution which
Although not a natural resource, railroads were considered one of the key factors in almost every widespread industry. It allowed companies to quickly send products across the entire nation without using expensive and time-consuming caravans or wagons. Cornelius Vanderbilt was a prominent leader in the railroad industry at this time. He was already in his later years by the time the Gilded Age rolled around and didn't even get to see the uprising of some of the greatest leaders of the time. The railroad companies took advantage of their necessity by constantly overcharging customers, especially farmers. This led to one of the first labor unio...
During the 1800’s, America was going through a time of invention and discovery known as the Industrial Revolution. America was in its first century of being an independent nation and was beginning to make the transition from a “home producing” nation to a technological one. The biggest contribution to this major technological advancement was the establishment of the Transcontinental Railroad because it provided a faster way to transport goods, which ultimately boosted the economy and catapulted America to the Super Power it is today.
a. Railroads in the late nineteenth century helped America become the richest industrial nation on earth. The railroads increased commerce and integrated the American market as well as helped national brands to emerge such as Ivory soap and A&P grocery stores. They also introduced time zones to make shipping and passenger travel more standard. The railroad was the first modern publicly traded corporations, the companies were large and expanding across the country. Railroad companies had a large amount of employees. Capital was needed to build railroad tracks so stocks were sold to the public such as wealthy tycoons such as Vanderbilt and Carnegie. The Railroad system was also a symbol of the partnership between national government and industry. The railroad would have never been created without legislature, land grants passed out by congress. An example would be the Central Pacific Railroad it was backed by wealthy tycoons including Leland Stanford, the ex-governor of California who had useful political connections, and Collis P. Huntington, an adept lobbyist. Railroads gave land th...
Some of these inventions such as the refrigerated railroad cars and the cigarette-rolling machine, formed a basis for new industries and fortunes. As the country expanded and industrialized, increasing emphasis was placed upon mass production and mass distribution. By speeding up production and increased the output of goods, and an industry could lower costs and maximize profits. As a result of mass production, factory owners often found themselves able to produce more goods than the market would absorb, therefore they needed to increase consumer
One common theme, which stretched the American spirit beyond its borders and into the soil of foreign territory during both old and new expansionism, is the belief that the U.S. was destined by providence, power, and its own intrinsic worth to expand beyond her boundaries. Senator Albert J. Beveridge revealed this mindset in his 1900 address to the 56th congress when he outlined his faith that God almighty had chosen the United States of America to act as keeper and leader in his volatile time in world politics. Having this belief that the United States was divinely appointed to be a superpower was of similar proportion to the desire of p...
America has grown to be the country it is today not by luck, but by the fact that it has struggled in trying to become an independent nation. Regardless of the hardships, turmoil, and chaos it has gone through, the events that occurred between the years 1865-1900 have caused America to be the independent nation that it is today.
The United States, as a young nation, had the desire to expand westward and become a true continental United States that stretched from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Various factors, strategic and economic, contributed to the desire to expand westward. According to John O’Sullivan, as cited by Hestedt in Manifest Destiny 2004; "the U.S. had manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence to the free development of our yearly multiplying millions" (¶2). As Americans ventured westward to settle the frontier, their inherent superior beliefs, culture and the principles of democracy accompanied them. America’s ruthless ambition to fulfill its manifest destiny had a profound impact on the nation’s economy, social systems and foreign and domestic policies; westward expansion was a tumultuous period in American History that included periods of conflict with the Native Americans and Hispanics and increased in sectionalism that created the backdrop for the Civil War.
Transportation advances began a unification process across the country, both economically and culturally (Roark, 262). The United States finally started to take advantage of the natural resources of the land to benefit the economy. By having water powered equipment, the growth of factories mushroomed, but at the same time, caused a great issue with working conditions and the employment of women. Financing new ventures became an important facet during the market revolution. America’s money supply grew considerably, which led to increased investment opportunities.
it's certain characteristics that set us apart from other countries. The fact we are self-reliant, and
The Industrial Revolution was the major advancement of technology in the late 18th and early 19th century that began in Britain and spread to America. The national and federal government helped the United States grow into a self reliant nation with improvements in transportation, technology, manufacturing and the growth of the population. Americans had an economy based on manual labour, which was replaced by one dominated by industry and the manufacture of machinery. It began with the expansion of the textile industries and the development of iron-making techniques, and trade expansion was enabled by the introduction of canals, improved roads and railways. One of the first to kick off, was the textile industry.
At this time Americans resorted to nationalism which is as Merton E. Hill stated in 1931
American nationalism was the greatest by-product of the War of 1812 and became very important in U.S. politics as well as American social life between 1815 and 1836. American nationalism manifested itself in many different ways that was unlike the nationalism found in Europe. America has always been very much of a melting pot of different cultures in contrast to Europe. American nationalism was founded in everything from social to economic and political issues.