Legislative Movements in the US - Essay Example

? Section Jim Crow” laws were a wide and local laws in the United s enacted between 1876 and 1965 which mandated racial segregation in the public facilities in the southern states and which in 1890 gave African Americans a separate but equal status. The Progressive Movement was a movement that flourished between 1890s and 1920s, characterized by social activism and political reform, whose main aim was to purify the government as the progressive forces tried to eliminate corruption. So-called “New Immigration” took place during the period characterized by intense industrial development, an era referred to as gilded age, which was immediately followed by the Civil War that ended in 1920s. Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 was a major piece of a legislation in the Progressive Era that was signed by the then President, Theodore Roosevelt which recognized the U.S. pharmacopeia and the national formulary as the standard authorities for drugs. Lewis Hine was an American sociologist and a photographer who used pictures and the camera as a tool for bringing social reforms to the U.S. his photographs played a key role in in changing the labor laws of the United States. Conservation Movement was aimed at preserving and protecting the American wildlife, , wild lands and other natural resources that took place between 1890 and 1920. The War of 1898, sometimes referred to as the Spanish-American War was a conflict between the Spain and the United States which resulted from the American intervention in the Cuban war of independence. Philippine War, commonly referred to as the Philippine war of independence was an armed conflict that took place between the United States and the Filipino revolutionaries between 1899 and 1902. W.E.B. Dubois, a co-founder of the national association for the advancement of colored people was an American sociologist, historian, and civil rights activist, a pan Africanist, who coupled as both an author and an editor, born in February 23 1868. NAACP in an abbreviation for the national association for the advancement of colored people, which was an organization founded in 1909, to advocate for African-American civil rights Ida Wells Barnett was an African-American journalist, a newspaper editor, a suffragist, a sociologist and an early leader of the civil rights movement famous for documenting the article, lynching in the United States which showed how the blacks who chose to compete with the whites were punished. Committee on Public Information during World War I, was an independent agency of the government of the United States that was created with an aim of influencing the public opinion of the citizens of the American participation in the First World War. Post World War I “Red Scare” signified the increase of fear of imminent rise of communism or racial leftism that was commonly used by anti-leftist proponents, which in the United States was marked by revolution of the workers and the political radicalism. Immigrant Restriction Act of 1924 also referred to as the Johnson-Reed Act was a federal law of the United States which was enacted in 1921 that limited the number of people who could be admitted from any country in the world. Ku Klux Klan is an ongoing racist and anti-semantic movement that uses extreme violence to achieve the goals of racial segregation and white supremacy, founded in mid 1860s, whose members adopted white robes, masks and hats that were purposed at scaring people. Great Migration was the mass movement of more than 6 million African-Americans out of the rural states of southern America that took place for the most period of 20th century to the Northeast, Midwest and the West. Harlem Renaissance was a phase of larger New Negro movement which emerged in the early 20th century, and which ushered in the civil rights movement of the late 1940s and early 1950s, which blossomed in African American culture that mostly used creative arts. American automobile was the name given to the vehicles that were produced in America in the period of 1920s that revolutionized transport. Advertising and installment buying arose due to the increased production of products in the 1920s as manufacturers sought to convince people not only to buy their products, but also buy in installments. Jacob Lawrence was an American painter who became famous at the age of twenties after his work referred to as the migration series that showed the great migration of the African-Americans from the rural south to urban north. Great Depression was a global severe economic depression that took place after the First World War which had devastating effects to both the rich and the poor countries of the world. Bonus Army was popularly a name given to the 43,000 people, 17,000 of whom were World War I veterans and included their families and affiliate groups, who marched and gathered in the Washington DC in summer of 1932 to demand early payment redemption for their certificates of service in the war. New Deal was a series of economic programs then acted in the United States between 1933 and 1936. “Bank holiday” was a four day bank holiday declared by the franklin Roosevelt whereby the congress was involved in drafting of the Emergency Banking Bill of 1933. FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) is a corporation of the United States operating as an independent agency established by the banking act of 1933 and provides deposit insurance and guarantees safety of depositor accounts in member banks, of up to $250,000 for every ownership category in every bank that is insured. Dust Bowl was a period of severe dust storms that caused intense damage to ecological and agricultural prairie lands of the American and Canadian lands in 1930s. WPA photographers were a group of photography artists who worked with the Work Projects Administration, which was established as a policy in the New Deal of the 1939. Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a public work relief program that was in operation between 1933 and 1942 in the United States for the unemployed, unmarried families from relief families of the ages between 18 and 25. Social Security Act that was enacted in august 14 1935 was a legislative act that put into place the United States’ social security system. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is an independent agency of the government of the United States which is mandated with the responsibility of conducting elections for the labor union and investigation and offering remedies to unfair labor practices. Huey Long, nicknamed as the Kingfish was a politician of America and who served as the Governor for Louisiana between 1928 and 1932 and also as a member of the United States senate from 1932, but was assassinated in 1935. Upton Sinclair was an American author who at one time sought for the elective post of of governor of California. “Isolationists” are a group of people who supported the isolation of the United States from involvement in the activities of other nations after the World War I. Eleanor Roosevelt was the first lady of the a United States who served for the longest period between 1933 to 1945 in her husband’s four term in office of the president. Fair Employment Practices Commission (FEPC) required companies to companies that had contracts to avoid discrimination on the basis of race and religion. Office of War Information was an agency created and operated from June 1942 to September 1945 to consolidate all the government information services. “Zoot suit riots” in LA were a series of riots that happened in Los Angeles in 1943 during the second world war between white sailors and the marines. Bracero program involved a series of laws and diplomatic agreements that was initiated by the exchange of diplomatic notes in August 1942 between United States and Mexico on importation of temporary labors on contract terms. “Double V” campaign was a World War II effort by the black Americans to acquire victory over racism both at home and victory abroad. Internment of Japanese Americans was an order by the United States government in 1942 on the intermittent of the Japanese heritage who lived on the Pacific coast of the United States. United Nations is an international organization established in 1945 after World War II to replace the League of Nations, and whose biggest mandate was to stop the war between nations. Section 2: Short Answer Question 1. The impact of the new immigrations into America had numerous transformative effects in America. Since the immigrants were from various ethnic groups, it created a more multi-cultural society that had many languages, mixed tradition and varying practices. Culturally, the new immigrants impacted on the art world, food, music and shaped the culture of modern America. 2. Americans who had the idea of acquiring an American empire in 1898 was sparked by the Spanish-American war that left Spain defeated. The motivating factors for the acquisition of an American empire included commercial opportunities in Asia, augment of their inability to rule themselves, fear that if the United States failed to control the islands, another power was likely to do so. The opposes of the Philippine war pointed out on the moral hazards of United States engagement in colonialism while others felt that annexation was likely to occur which would allow Filipinos into the U.S. government. 3. The immigrant restriction grew out of the insecurities that were posed by the occurrence of the First World War and the realization that the United States had to improve her safety. The result of this act was the increase in the number of people of British origin given visas and a reduction on those from the European origin and thus, more British people were incorporated in the American population in relation to the Europeans. 4. To become abiding on United States, the League of Nations that was established by the Treaty of Versailles required the approval of the United States Senate. Many senators believed that joining the League of Nations would greatly undermine the sovereignty of the United States and thus to protect this, the senators declined to approve the idea, even with the proposed amendments. 5. The increased use of the automobile made people wages increase especially those who worked in the manufacturing firms of the car. Fuel taxes were introduced in the economy, while it also gave the American an economic boom. People did not have to live close to the railway stations as the automobile made movement convenient. It enabled people to live in the suburbs and still work in the cities, contrary to the period before its invention which saw people living in the rural areas work in farms and those who lived in cities work in the city. Additionally, it also was a sign of change in social status as cars were considered to be for the rich working people. It also increased socialization of the people. 6. The “New Deal”, a proposal by President Roosevelt was designed to end the problems that had been created by the great depression. Successfully, it addressed the problem of unemployment, by sending 3 million single men aged between 17 years and 23 to work in forest, while men dug ditches, built reservoirs and planted trees. The work progress administration employed more than 8.5 million people who were involved in building bridges, roads, public buildings, parks and airports. 7. As a proposed formula for economic recovery, the New Deal failed. Many financiers and business community felt that the FDR policies put across by Roosevelt were a failure. Additionally, they felt that the attempt by the government to maintain prosperity during the times of peace were likely to be unsuccessful. They felt that the depression should have been left to reshape itself through market forces of demand and supply. Some however, such as Huey King won support of higher taxation of the wealthy people in the U.S. Dr. Townsend proposed a pension scheme plan requiring the government to pay workers over 60 years monthly pension. Father Coughlin proposed a complete overhaul of monetary system, and an abolition of Federal Reserve System. Later, the social security act was established, there was a repeal of the tax policy and later changes in the banking sector as a result of these proposals. 8. The New Deal sought to stabilize the banking sector of America as part of the financial reforms, aimed at restoring the public’s confidence in the banking sector. To do this, the government put the weight of the federal government behind the banking sector. The signing of the Glass-Steagall act established the FDCI which sought to insure member deposits. 9. After World War I, many leaders isolated their countries due to security reasons. Many leaders felt that involvement in affairs of other nations increasingly led to their involvement in war. Thus, most American leaders did not wish the United States to be involved in any form of war and this proposed isolationism. However, after the First World War, the United States assumed the role of hegemon and since she acted as an intervention between various nations, and increasingly involved with other countries, she did not have a choice but to go this way. Read More