The American Spirit: United States History as Seen by Contemporaries - Essay Example

? Final part 2 Final part 2 Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft were both presidentsof the United States during the progressive era. Both presidents campigned for the common good of american citizens. Roosevelt’s term brought in control in critical business companies. At a time when many large corporations had absolute power over the services that they were selling to citizens, roosevelt entered to bring an end to this type of monopoly. One of the leading trusts which he busted was the one involving J.P. Morgan and Northern Securities. Roosevelt was a strong proponent of labor who made immense efforts to help United States citizens. He tried his best to assist consumers and proposed the Pure Food And Drug Act to the congress that wasmeant to protect citizens from harmful foods and medicine. He also established a workman’s compensation scheme; this is a fee that employers had to pay employees who sustained injuries in the course of duty. William Taft issued a tarrif known as the Payne-Aldirich Tariff which placed high taxes on imported goods. He believed that this would be beneficial to the United States and helpbusiness to business to develop. Taft’s domestic agenda accentuated civil service reforms, trust-busting, fortifying the interstate commerce commission, passing the sixteenth amendment and bettering the performance of the postal dervice. On the foreign front, he sought to extend the economic development of nations in Asia and Latin America through "Dollar Diplomacy" and displayed absolute authority and moderation in response to the revolution in mexico. 4. The outbreak cold of the cold war can be majorly blamed on the united states and its allies after the first world war. The allies invaded the soviet union, armed and supplied the United States to fight the soviet government which was supported by bulk of the russians. This immediately became a source of conflict between the communist soviet union and the capitalists. The first strike was made by the united states and its allies arguing that the soviet union spread communism. The case put forward by the united states that the soviet union was to blame since they had put missiles in Cuba in incomplete and thoughtless. The americans already had the same missiles aimed at the Russians placed in Turkey and the missiles put in cuba were just a mechanism of leveling the playing field (Kennedy & Bailey, 2010). During this period of the cold war, the folowing three significant changes occurred in America’s foreign policy: The american government initiated the process of aiding anti soviet outfits like the Mujahideen in Afghanistan. Diplomatic ties were created between America and the People’s republic of China during this period. America initiated the diplomatic process that established NATO(North Atlantic Treaty Organization) to keep the Soviet Union in check. These policy changes ensured that America mended fences with previous enemeies like China and put in place measures that kept the country on top with regards to military might. 5. The race-related riots that broke out in numerous cities of the united states during the 1960s brought about many arrests, deaths, injuries, as well as significant damage of property that mainly affected the areas inhabited by african americans. It is hard to exactly identify the ways in which these riots impinged on economic activity in the united states over a long period of time, however various prospective reinforcing chanels are present. Property risk increased in the central city neighborhoods resulting in a rise in insurance premiums compered to that before the riots. The riots caused increases in Taxes for income redistribution, fire and police protection, closure of some retail outlets and relocation of some employment opportunities and businesses. Other key impacts included relocation of higher and middle income households, destruction of buildings that were torched. These destructive impacts of the race-related riots overshadowered external aid directed toward the cities affected by these riots following the racial unrests (Hoffman et al, 2012). The vietnam war had intense impact on the american society. The war transformed the way the american people perceived their government, constitutional rights and media. Due to this change in perspective, the United States was separated but still joined hands in different and new ways. During the short period of the vietnam war, more than two and a half million people died and millions more were displaced. Over a quarter of vietnamese forests were burned down by Agent Orange, and more explosive ammunition was dropped than all of the second world war. The war caused considerable division among the american people. The majority of the American society did not support the vietnam war and distanced themselves from it, after spectating the unimaginable acts of violence on their televisions. The vietnam war was also most devastating and costly- the united states spent more than $167 billion annually on the war. This expenditure stretched the economy of the united states to its limits. However, the impacts of the vietnam war are less devastating to America compared to the race-related riots that directly affected individual American citizens because the race riots, did not only affect the United States from a financial stand point, but also brought further divisions into the already split American society, making the race related divisions more costly than the war that to the rest of the world, was totally avoidable (Bloom & Ronzani, 1998). 6. The twentieth century marks one of the most significant in human history due to its high rate of technological innovations and scientific discoveries that are continous to the present day. Some of the greatest inventions that had a remarkable impact and change in the lives of American citizens include the personal computer, nuclear power, rockets, the internet, antiboitics and refrigeration. The personal computer takes the lead as the most significant impact on ordinary citizens in the american society. Personal coputer has changed the ways of communication and altered how people work in contemporary america. Thanks to personal computers that have today shrunk in size, jobs are doable remotely without physical presence at work places thanks to the connection between personal computers and the internet. Technology around personal computers has given rise to other gadgets like the cell phones and several micro versions of computers (ipad, tablets, etc) that are today core to the daily lives of ordinary Americans. The personal computer has had both positive and negative impacts on the lives of american citizens. It has made it possible to connect to the internet and access information, do research efficiently and communicate with others fast and easily. The personal computer has revolutionized the communication system to establish a virtual portable time saving office . It has minimised the cost of storage of hard copy since a lot of information can be stored in soft copy-compressed digital form. Programs using on personal computers, like word-processors, has changed how students write homework, learn spelling and grammar skills, and do research. This program essentially highlights mistakes and provides the user with suggestions of the correct spelling when typing. Currently even elementary school pupils use educational software on personal computers to aid learn basic english and math skills. Internet access enables students to access the information they require, download it and save it on their perconal computers without the stress of going through large volumes of textbooks or making photocopies. Personal computers have also aided students easily acquire media skills like video and photo editing, recording and transcribing audio interviews, creating powerpoint presentations and graphic design. With the right software, the average personal computer is able to perform all of these tasks without any specialized equipment. Personal computers can however distract people leading to lose of contact with reality around them. People sometimes spend too much time on personal computers which can be harmful to their social life and health. Many crimes are also commited through the internet due to easy access to computers. References BLOOM, S., & RONZANI, M. (1998). U.S. history. Lincolnwood, Ill, Publications International. COBBS HOFFMAN, E., BLUM, E. J., & GJERDE, J. (2012). Major problems in American history: documents and essays / edited by Elizabeth Cobbs Hoffman, Edward J. Blum, Jon Gjerde. Boston, MA, Wadsworth Cengage Learning. KENNEDY, D. M., & BAILEY, T. A. (2010). The American spirit: United States history as seen by contemporaries. Boston, MA, Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Read More