Right of Government Human beings inevitably feel the need to incorporate rankings, or scales, into our daily lives. Groups of individuals define the aspects of the what it means to be on top of such scales, and shone those who can not live up to the ideals imposed upon them. During the Nineteenth Century, this generated a racial hierarchy, which ultimately encouraged colonial super powers to civilize villages deemed static and savage, or inferior, by taking over their lands, thus creating Empires. Overtime, imperial governments around the world have watered down facts and destroyed documents relating to their rule and decolonization, in turn creating difficulties for historians. Caroline Elkins, professor of history, described this issue,
There are two mind paths to choose when considering the statement that the compromises of the 1800s were not really compromises, but sectional sellouts by the North, that continually gave in to the South's wishes. The first is that the compromises really were compromises, and the second is that the compromises were modes of the North selling out. Really, there is only one correct mind path of these two, and that is that the North sold out during these compromises and gave the South what it wanted for minimal returns. The three main compromises of the 19th century, the compromises of 1820 (Missouri) and 1850 and the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 each were ways for the south to gain more power so that eventually, it could secede.
How were the seeds for self-government sown in the early colonies? Why was this important when England started to enforce rules (such as the Intolerable Acts)? Please give specific examples.
Sectionalism can be described as loyalty specifically to one’s section or region. In terms of the United States, sectionalism refers to two major regions, the North and the South. It became a rising issue in the colonies in the 1800’s and undoubtedly aided in the start of the civil war. If one was to ask Northerners, they would blame the South and vice-versa. To be brutally honest, it was a combination of both regions and their extreme sectionalism that inevitably led to an American’s nightmare, a Civil War within the Union.
All throughout history civil liberties have been established, fought for, and abused. During the first quarter of the twentieth century, the civil liberties in the United States of America were tested. There were many events where the freedoms that our founding fathers had fought for Passive Voice (consider revising). Prejudice, fear, and racism all played a role during these events, during many of which they decided the outcome. Two events that demonstrate when the civil liberties in America were tested were during the trial of Sacco and Vanzettii and Schenek v. United States.
In reading chapter 1, of the “Ethnic Myth”, by Stephen Steinberg, explains how the U.S. has a dominant society. In the U.S. class structures, unequal distributions of wealth, and political power vary between certain racial and ethnic groups. A main idea in this reading is ethnic pluralism which is defined as a particularly diverse racial or ethnic group that maintains their traditional culture within a broader more common civilization. Throughout history, race and ethnicity have caused conflict and the struggle of dominance over land. In reading chapter 2, of Drawing the Color Line, by Howard Zinn, explains how early in history inferior statuses of races which lead to mistreatment lead to racism. The very start of slavery began when african american slaves were brought to the north american colony called Jamestown.
While some citizens of the United States, between 1825 and 1850, believed that reform was foolish and that the nation should stick to its old conduct, reformists in this time period still sought to make the United States a more ideally democratic nation. This was an age of nationalism and pride, and where there was pride in one’s country, there was the aspiration to improve one’s country even further. Many new reformist and abolitionist groups began to form, all attempting to change aspects of the United States that the respective groups thought to be unfair or unjust. Some groups, such as lower and middle class women and immigrants, sought to improve rights within the county, while other reformers aspired to change the American education system into a more efficient way of teaching the county’s youth. Still other reform groups, particularly involved in the church and the second great awakening, wanted to change society as a whole. This was a time and age of change, and all these reforms were intended to contribute to the democratic way our country operated.
The antebellum American antislavery movement began in the 1820s and was sustained over 4 decades by organizations, publications, and small acts of resistance that challenged the legally protected and powerful institution of slavery and the more insidious enemy of black equality, racism. Abolitionists were always a radical minority even in the free states of the North, and the movement was never comprised of a single group of people with unified motivations, goals, and methods. Rather, the movement was fraught with ambiguity over who its leaders would be, how they would go about fighting the institution of slavery, and what the future would be like for black Americans.
During the 19th century, there were many important political ideologies all across the European continent. There was Conservatism, which favored the old or traditional political ideas. The extreme opposite of Conservatism was Liberalism. During this time period, Liberalism was considered any idea that went against the ideas of Conservatism. However, the ideas of Nationalism, possibly the most powerful political ideology of the time, did not fall under Conservatism or Liberalism. Nationalism was its own ideology that happened to be very compatible with Liberalism. Nationalism was the idea that nations should be comprised of people who share common roots and should be under one government; however, the Vienna Settlement directly opposed their ideas. The Austrians saw nationalism as a threat to them because they were comprised of many smaller nations while there were nationalist movements in
The 19th amendment states that the United States Constitution prohibits any United States citizen from being denied the right to vote on the basis of sex. The 19th amendment was a significant turning point for many women in America. It gave women freedom that they didn’t have before. Before this amendment was passed many women had no self portrayal, something they couldn’t reach with a male figure ruling next to them. That was until 1920 when the 19th amendment was passed. The amendment let women into power giving them social justice and many political rights.
Democracy in the United States became prominent in the early to mid 19th century. Andrew Jackson, the 7th president of the United States, was inaugurated in 1829 and was best known as the person who mainstreamed democracy in America. Because he came from a humble background, he was the “genuine common man.” (Foner, pg. 303) He claimed he recognized the needs of the people and spoke on behalf of the majority [farmers, laborers]. However, critics of Jackson and democracy called him “King Andrew I” because of his apparent abuse of presidential power [vetoing]. These critics believed he favored the majority so much that it violated the U.S. constitution, and they stated he was straying too far away from the plan originally set for the United States. Because of the extreme shift of power to the majority, the limiting of rights of the few [merchants, industrialists] and the abuse of power under Jackson’s democracy, the foundational documents set in the constitution was violated, and the work of the preceding presidents were all but lost.
A house is not a home if no one lives there. During the nineteenth century, the same could be said about a woman concerning her role within both society and marriage. The ideology of the Cult of Domesticity, especially prevalent during the late 1800’s, emphasized the notion that a woman’s role falls within the domestic sphere and that females must act in submission to males. One of the expected jobs of a woman included bearing children, despite the fact that new mothers frequently experienced post-partum depression. If a woman were sterile, her purposefulness diminished. While the Cult of Domesticity intended to create obliging and competent wives, women frequently reported feeling trapped or imprisoned within the home and within societal expectations put forward by husbands, fathers, and brothers.
In the beginning of the 1840s and into the 1850s, a rather modest women’s reform was in the process. This group was full of visionaries that began a movement that would soon lobby in change and this movement was the groundwork of equality for women and their right to vote within in the United States. Despite their efforts this movement required a length of seventy years to establish this necessarily equality and the right for all women to vote along the side of men. According to the CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS FOUNDATION “After male organizers excluded women from attending an anti-slavery conference, American abolitionists Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott decided to call the “First Woman’s Rights Convention.” Held over several days in
During the election of 1800, Thomas Jefferson succeeded in defeating the incumbent, John Adams, and assumed the presidency. In terms of elections though, the election of 1800 itself was a fascinating election in that it a heavily-contested election and was effectively the first time political parties ran smear campaigns against each other during an election. The Republican Party attacked the Federalists for being anti-liberty and monarchist and tried to persuade the public that the Federalists were abusing their power through acts such as the Alien & Sedition Acts and the suppression of the Whiskey Rebellion (Tindall and Shi 315). The Federalists, on the other hand, attacked Jefferson for his atheism and support of the French Revolution and warned that his election would result in chaos (316). By the end of the presidential election, neither Adams nor Jefferson emerged with his reputation completely intact. Still, rather than an election between Adams and Jefferson, the election of 1800 ultimately boiled down to a deadlock between Jefferson and his vice presidential candidate, Aaron Burr, who each held seventy-three electoral votes, resulting in the election was sent to the House of Representatives. In the end, the deadlock was resolved only by Alexander Hamilton, whose immense hate for Burr allowed Jefferson to claim the presidency. However, the election of 1800 was more than just a simple presidential election. The election of 1800 was the first peaceful transfer of power from the incumbent party to the opposition and represented a new step in politics, as well as a new direction in foreign policy that would emerge from Jefferson’s policies, and to this extent, the election of 1800 was a revolution.
The exercising of state power during the seventeenth century has undergone a paragon shift; all thanks to the revolutions of the time. During the seventeenth century, many of the nations were ruled by monarchies, much of whom had absolute control. The kings of these nations usually were considered to have the authority of God and their control was widespread. The only way that a leader would change is by inheritance or war. The society was based around aristocracy where people were divided from the peasants to the nobles. Whatever level you were born into, you were most likely going to stay in that level for the rest of your life. This divide is still here today but today, you do have the ability to raise your stature.
America has always been ripe with thinkers and can-doers and the late nineteenth century was no exception. To me, the most fascinating aspect regarding the development during the last quarter of the nineteenth century is that seemed incessant. It is not simply the fact that development was occurring at an accelerated pace, rather it was development which was instantaneously applicable within industrial factories, administrative offices, and private homes in order to increase efficiency. In technological terms, society was moving forward at never-before seen rates. I agree with the text when it stated “revolution is an overused term” (Bowles, 2011) during the late nineteenth century as epic is today. In my opinion, in order for something to be revolutionary or epic it must change how society functions as a whole. Therefore, the most revolutionary developments during the late nineteenth century would have been “the industrial forces set in motion by steam and electricity have materially changed the structure of our civilization.” (Gompers, 1894) meaning, the expanding railroad in...