Foundations of America

With at least 750,000 dead soldiers, the bloodiest war in American history came to an end in May 10, 1865. Reconstruction became a crucial part of history; the foundations of America were started after the Civil War (Anonymous, 2013). The only concern that needed an answer was the future, how would the United States become a leading nation. Founded by immigrants, America yet had another wave of immigration. During the Gilded Age, more than 13 million European Jews left their native land to pursue the American Dream (Greenwood, 29). Unlike previous waves of immigration, immigrants who arrived during the Gilded Age were different; not only the immigrants who arrived to the United States came from eastern and southern Europe, also from 1866 to 1900 more immigrants arrived to the United State than in the previous 250 years (30). Needless to say, the immersion of cultures, languages, and religions dispersed immediately which further enabled government officials to a broader perspective (33).

The United States of today has been heavily influenced by the Gilded Age and the Progressive Era, during this era, the American government sought to improve globally by mocking the leadership and imperialism strategies of leading European countries. Great Britain and France became the most influential regarding international imperialism (Baumgart, 92).

Imperialism started as rivalry that started and develop between leading countries (128). The quest for the leading nation began in the late 19th century and ended in early 20th century. Trade in the coasts of Western Africa continued amongst European countries during late 18th Century. Howver, trade is a common misconception about imperialism; it is thought to be heavily influenced by basic econom...

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...ociety. The major points of the platform were reasonable wages, equal women's rights, the employment of children, and the hazardous working conditions (52-53). The employment of children affected their health and their health. With minimal legal protection and indifferent employers, children were severely injured and killed on the job. Like many adults, children inhaled dust that caused lung disease and were at times infected with tuberculosis. They spent so many hours closed in that they rarely saw the sun and lacked of vitamin D (Rose, 544).

The peak of the Knights of Labor came in 1886, with more than 700,000 members the Knights of Labor was tremendously affected by the Haymarket Affair. In May of 1886, members and activists gathered at the Chicago’s Haymarket Square to protest the death of a striker killed at the International Harvester plant (Greenwood, 53).