Trends at the Turn of the Century - Essay Example

 Advances in information technology increased at the turn of the century. Social interaction increased. The common American could own a telephone and could communicate with people all over the world. A revival of globalization. With globalization came the increased mobility of goods and people across borders. The turn of the century gave way to a new catch-phrases: a borderless world. Labor market shifting from cities to rural areas began at the turn of the century. Immigration trends changed. Previously, the immigration gateways in the US for both legal and illegal immigrants was the major cities such as Los Angeles, Miami, New York and Chicago. With labor markets shifting, more and more immigrants began moving to other less popular and large cities. Immigration trends were no longer concentrated around Europeans. Industrialization and mass production The beginnings of a consumer society highlighted by a throw-away society. This would set the stage for the pursuit of the American dream. A major trend at the turn of the century was the reduction in the ideal nuclear family structure and increases in divorces and separations. An increase in unmarried cohabiting couples, an increase in non-traditional gendered couples and movements toward same-sex marriage. An increase in single parent households. Noticeable increase in minority populations. Current trends indicate that ethnic minorities will eventually make up half of the US population and will essentially no longer be the minority population. The Minority Experience At the turn of the 20th century, Mexicans made up approximately two-thirds of the US’s Latin American population. By the year 2001, 12 million Latin Americans were believed to be living primarily in California and South West states. Approximately 70 percent of Hispanics living in Los Angeles originated from Mexico and throughout the US, 60 percent of all Hispanic household heads were from Mexico and most Hispanics were under the age of 35 (Cetron and Davies). Therefore, compared to African Americans, a majority of Mexicans living in the US at the turn of the century were recent arrivals with the challenges that comes with loose connections and starting out. African Americans by comparison would have had at least a head start settling in the US and establishing roots and connections for one hundred years or more. Like African Americans however, Mexican Americans have struggled to establish their rightful place in US society. The challenge was more pronounced at the turn of the century than it is today. Mexican Americans, like African Americans were struggling against a tide of marginalization in education, economics and in mainstream society in general. Many Mexican Americans however, do not have legal status and are unable to demand equal protection of the law and equal opportunities. African Americans however, are for the most part, citizens of America and may insist on equal protection of the law and equal opportunities. Even so, African Americans have been able to seek welfare protection in terms of economic marginalization. This was and remains a major challenge for illegal Mexican Americans who eventually end up taking on labor for excessively low wages as a means of surviving in the US and even then it has always been an improvement on the lives they left behind in Mexico (Vasquez). African Americans have a longer connection to the US and have a larger support group with well-known civil rights organizations safeguarding their rights. Therefore African Americans have the opportunity to obtain economic and social advancement. While the ability to speak two languages gives Mexican-Americans an upper-hand in seeking cultural and economic integration, it can be a challenge once they begin school when for the most part, Mexican-Americans do not speak English fluently. This was particularly problematic at the turn of the century when opportunities for early education were not fully supported by Federal funding such as the No Child Left Behind Act 2001 (Polyanichko). Mexican-Americans were increasingly establishing a reputation for hard work at the turn of the century and were able to take advantage of a number of opportunities for work that were rejected by Americans including African Americans. This included jobs in domestic services and in farming. There was and continues to be a large demand for those jobs. However, Mexican-Americans were challenged by the stereotyping in that there was a public attitude that Mexican-Americans were all illegal and were all taking jobs from Americans (Polyanichko). The Ad Game A truly satisfying, thirst quenching, energy infusion experience. Ladies get a pick-me-up drink for only 5cts. Gentlemen, let Coca-Cola start your engine. (Image taken from: Adbranch.com). This ad will appear in a women’s magazine and is intended to entice women to purchase Coca-Cola for herself and the man of her household. The Progressive Era The progressive era reformers sought to recruit members on the merits of their goals and thus much of their influence came from lectures, publications, exposing corruption and reforms from the bottom up. To begin with, the progressive era reformers recruited a number of intellectuals and journalists who were committed to achieving much greater balance in the US during the Gilded Age. For the progressive era reformers, there was far too much imbalance and too much moral decay and imbalance. By taking this approach, the progressive era reformers did not merely pay lip service to their beliefs, they showed by example. In this regard, progressive era reformers exposed incidents of corruption and struck at the very heart of the American people by pointing out how the Gilded Age left many Americans behind. The fact is, the average American could only go so far and at the rate things were going, the average American would never go any further (Recchiuti). In campaigning against moral decay and corruption, the progressive era reformer campaigned for Prohibition. From the reformers’ perspective, alcohol was the seed of corruption. Rather than sitting in saloons drinking alcohol, politicians and other influential men should be running the country and the government should be looking after its citizens (Recchiuti). Therefore the progressive era reformers honed in on issues that the average American could relate to. Even where they may have attacked something that average Americans might not agree with, they pointed out how it was used to hurt them as is the case of alcohol. At the end of the day, the progressive era reformers campaigned for the power of the people and exposed corruption to justify why this was the best course for Americans to take (Recchiuti). One of the main ways that corruption was exposed by the progressive era reformers was via the Muckrakers who were a group of journalists who used national magazines to expose corruption, waste and scandals among the country’s leaders. For example, Ray Stannard Baker, who worked at McClure Magazine wrote scorching commentaries about flaws and corruption in American government. In 1908, he published Following the Color Line which was the first publication of its kind to expose the extent of racism in American culture. Ida Tarbell another magazine journalist launched a journalistic assault on the Standard Oil Company, Samuel Hopkins Adams exposed the fraud associated with patented medicine (Recchiuti). With this kind of exposure, the progressive era reformers did heighten public awareness and were able to promote institutional reform such as the creation of the Interstate Commerce Act, the Sherman Antitrust Act, and a number of Federal regulation programs such as the Food and Drug Administration (Recchiuti). I believe however, that if the progressive era reformers were less concerned about morals in terms of prohibition and less concerned about the morality of women remaining at home, they might have been more effective. Expose: Trayvon Martin and Stand Your Ground Dear Sir: By now you are fully aware that the man who shot and killed Trayvon Martin was cleared of any wrongdoing. I respect the jury’s verdict, I am unhappy with the law that permitted a grown man to get away with what should have at the very least been manslaughter. The law in question is Stand Your Ground. Stand Your Ground, as you may or may not know, permits an armed individual to interfere with the freedom of another and in doing so, if the other is offended and resist the individual’s interference and attempts to rid himself forcibly of the intrusion and is shot as a result, the shooter is exonerated since he stood his ground. I’m not concerned with why George Zimmerman approached or followed Trayvon Martin. I am concerned that the Trayvon Martin was a young man and if he did indeed attack Zimmerman, it is what we teach our kids to do when approached by a stranger. We teach our kids to kick, scream, hit, fight and do anything and everything to resist the stranger’s attention and to draw attention to the incident. I am afraid the Zimmerman’s acquittal and the stand your ground law that exonerated him is counterproductive to our efforts to protect our children from abduction and murder by strangers. I am therefore of the opinion that if the Stand Your Ground Law cannot be repealed then we need to establish restrictions to it for the sake of protecting this nation’s children. I would suggest an amendment to the Stand Your Ground Law if it is not repealed to prohibit the use of the law as a defence to the death of a child who was not committing a crime. In no circumstances should it ever be permissible to shoot and kill a child after said child was profiled as a criminal when all he was doing was walking home from the store. My only hope is that an American child is never senselessly shot and killed again. Women’s Suffrage The point that Alice Duer Miller was making was that giving women the right to vote was perhaps the most responsible decision that this country had ever made. The bill to ban the export across states any items produced or manufactured by the labor of children under 14 would not have been passed had it not been the votes for women. As Miller demonstrates in her poem Another of Those Curious Coincidences all of the state representatives voting for the passage of the bill had been from states where women were permitted to vote (Miller). Therefore, in an indirect way, Miller was demonstrating that women voters are more conscientious than male voters and elect responsible representatives. The representatives supported by women had the wherewithal to vote in favor of passing a bill that protecting the welfare of children. In demonstrating how irresponsible the congressmen were who had voted against the passage of the bill, Miller notes that 41 of the 43 voting against passing the bill had also voted against granting women the right to vote. Therefore this group of men were not only in favor of subjugating women, they were also in favor of exploiting children in the labor market. The effect of the poem was therefore the exposure of discrimination and a disrespect for human rights among the 41 congressman. I think the poem would have given these congressmen cause to be concerned about how they might be perceived by members of the public. Another thought provoking poem written by Miller is On Not Believing All You Hear from a collection of poems in Are Women People? I chose this poem because it is not only profound and concise, but it is also witty. The poem draws attention to the condescending nature of masculine ideals of femininity and at the same time does so in a condescending and humorous way. The poem answers the question of whether or not women are people by referring to a description of women given by a Mr. Carter at a speech in Oklahoma in which he supported his stance against giving women the right to vote as follows “women are angels, they are jewels, they are queens and the princesses of our hearts” (Miller [B]). Miller responds to Mr. Carter by writing a poem that sarcastically notes that Mr. Carter’s revelation now explains why women should not be allowed to vote. They were busy asking why they should not be allowed to vote, when all along the answer was right there: they are angels, jewels and princesses and as such they were only wasting the precious time of women and princesses. Therefore Miller, mocking the anti-suffrage opinion writes: Angel and princess, that action was wrong. Back to the kitchen, where angels belong (Miller [B]). No doubt, Miller also meant to convey that women had to be angels to put up with this obvious discrimination and exclusion. I think that the anti-suffrage movement would have seen the poem as demeaning and rebellious. It mocked what the anti-suffrage movement might have thought was a compliment to women and basically stating that women were too angelic and were royalty. As such they need not concern themselves with earthly duties such as voting. I think the suffrage movement would make the connection and use it in their campaigns in the suffrage movement. The poem is valuable to the suffrage movement because it points out that women are too good to vote, but not too good to cook or carry out domestic duties. U.S. Intervention The US intervened in Haiti and occupied the country from 1915-1934. Since obtaining independence from France in 1804, Haiti experienced a persistent and sustained period of dictatorship to the detriment of its economic, political and social development. The people of Haiti were rendered illiterate and living in abject poverty for the most part, with a sparse supply of coffee crops. By 1908, Haiti was bankrupt with ongoing civil unrest and fighting. For the most part, Haiti was bereft of governance since every president between 1908 and 1915 met an untimely and brutal end (Renda). Around 1915, the US was in the middle of a foreign policy strategy which included gaining hegemony in the Caribbean. Meanwhile World War I was taking place and the US was afraid that Germany would seize Haiti for the purpose of establishing a military base which would be dangerously close to the Panama Canal which the US had substantially contributed to. The US had also become involved in the Dominican Republic, Haiti’s neighbor. The US was prepared to leave Haiti under the control of Jean Vilbrun Guillaume Sam, who was pro-American. However, after ordering a massacre on a number of political refugees, Sam was assassinated. The US felt it had to take control of Haiti urgently, if it did not want Germany to invade the country. Therefore an invasion was ordered in 1915 (Renda). The US installed American-like institutions and an American government despite the Haitians’ preference for a local government. Although order was restored, the general population was not pleased. The entire population was bitter toward the American occupation. In the meantime the US was facing its own Great Depression and the American government could no longer justify expenditure in Haiti. The US decided to begin transitioning Haiti back to Haitian rule. Therefore elections were held so that Haitians could install their own government. By 1934 the remainder of US troops departed Haiti (Renda). Image of US Troops in Haiti in 1915 Taken from: Six Photos From the New York Times (August 13, 1915). http://www2.webster.edu/~corbetre/haiti/history/occupation/ny-times-photos.htm (Retrieved 15 July 2013). Revolution in Haiti Depicting the level of Unrest in Haiti Prompting US Intervention Taken from: Six Photos From the New York Times (August 13, 1915). http://www2.webster.edu/~corbetre/haiti/history/occupation/ny-times-photos.htm (Retrieved 15 July 2013). Boxer Rebellion Causes Effect Government failure in its modernization agenda. Cause social and political unrest. A court order granting the Catholic church the right to take possession of a local temple. The Boxers led an assault on the church taking possession of the local temple. German occupation of Jiao Zhou in China. Gave rise to a significant amount of anti-foreign tensions in China. The British occupation/seizure of Weihai. Increased anti-foreign tensions in China which was beginning to grow into a more aggressive distaste for anything resembling Western values or culture. There was significant unrest and instability among the masses in China prior to 1898. For the most part, the Boxers arose in response to anti-government protests. However, this dissatisfaction with the government turned into an anti-foreign movement after the defeat of Chinese troops by Imperial troops in 1898. This led to a fear that Western missionaries and Chinese Christians were responsible for the infiltration of China by foreigners (Preston). The Boxers had the support of Beijing’s superior court which used its authority to compel Empress Dowager Cixi to issue proclamations that permitted the Boxer’s rebellions to go unanswered. By 1900, the Boxers together with some of China’s military attacked the embassies of foreign countries in Beijing and Tianjin. Embassies such as those of the US, Russia, the UK, the Netherlands, Japan and Belgium fearing they would be attacked next armed themselves with military reinforcements. When the Boxers moved in on them, the combined strength of these countries were able to eventually force the fall of Beijing, after which China was divided and the Boxer rebellion was contained (Preston). Manifest Destiny Manifest destiny informs that America has the world’s most sophisticated institutions and its people are the world’s most virtuous. Manifest destiny also informs that the US’s role in the global order is to facilitate the reshaping of the world so that it mirrors the American way. Finally, manifest destiny informs that it is God’s will that American paves the way forward for the rest of the world. Manifest destiny is said to have originated from the idea that it was God’s will that American rebuilds the world so that it creates a heaven on earth in preparation for the hereafter (Pfaff). Manifest destiny would therefore set the stage for the US acquisition of territory in what was to become imperialism by the end of the 19th century and going forward. Since it was the US mission to reshape the world and to remake it in its own image, the US felt justified annexing territories, reforming them and rebuilding them its way. For example, Andrew Jackson spoke of spreading freedom across the globe. This was of course, an expression of American superiority and the belief that the American way was the right way and therefore the only acceptable way (Pfaff). Imperialism began with the American view that it was the US’s destiny to occupy all of North America. It has been argued that the War of 1812 was primarily intended to end with the annexation of Canada. However, this did not happen, but imperialism remained an ambition and the US set about acquiring as much of the territory that it could in North America. In this regard, the Treaty of 1818 set up a border with Canada which took US territory as far north as it could. The Treaty of 1819 involved the purchase of Florida from Spain and expanding the US border with Mexico as far as the Pacific Ocean. In addition the US implemented the Monroe Doctrine in 1823 which essentially made it clear that the US would not sit idly back and allow Europe to colonize the New World (Pfaff). When Texas declared independence from Mexico and applied to become a state in the US, the US was pleased with this development because it meant that the US could annex land without having to fight for it and take it forcibly. However, Mexico continued to claim a part of Texas despite its declaration of independence. The US considered annexing all of Mexico and finally settled on what is now known as California and New Mexico after the American-Mexican War which ended in 1848 (Pfaff). In order to avoid the vast and largely unoccupied land in the West become unproductive, the government passed the Homestead Act 1862. The Homestead Act essentially allocated several acres of land to Americans who were bound to settle on the land and make improvements to the land. The US was not content with merely expanding in North America and placed its tentacles abroad. The Spanish-American war saw the US ceding the Philippines, Puerto Rico and Guam from Spain. Cuba became a protectorate of the US. These acquisitions however, were different as the US had traditionally acquired lands such as Texas, New Mexico and California and made them US states. The acquisitions from Spain however were merely kept as colonies (Pfaff). By 1904, with Theodore Roosevelt assuming office as US President manifest destiny faded from the US foreign policy. The Monroe Doctrine would be interpreted to mean protecting and preserving the integrity of the New World from European invasion and this would not mean American expansionism (Pfaff). In other words the US would intervene where necessary to keep Europeans out, but it had no interest in claiming territories as US colonies. World War 1 Effects on Minority Groups Group Changes African Americans The war cut of the supply of European immigrants who would migrate to the North of the US and supply labor to industries. African Americans who were tolling in the South on farms, facing economic hardship migrated in large numbers to the North to meet the new labor demand in manufacturing and automobiles. As the US government justified joining the war effort as a means of fighting for democracy, African Americans felt that joining the war effort meant that they would be rewarded with civil rights. Unfortunately, training camp segregation proved them wrong. Women With men going to war, American women joined the labor force to make up for the shortage in male labor. Acquired new skills, took on new roles: domestic, household leadership and working in non-traditional jobs. Immigrants European immigrants were trapped. Many would simply make the decision to remain permanently in the US and bring their families over after the war. When World War I broke out, African Americans were living in abject poverty confined for the most part to farming in the deep South. A boll weevil infestation only made matters worse. However with Europe at war, European migration came to a halt, and since Europe immigrants provide most of the labor supply in the North, there was a labor demand in factories and other industries in the North offering better wages than African Americans were obtaining in the agricultural field in the South. As the US government began speaking of joining the war effort as a means of fighting for democracy, African Americans saw the war effort as an opportunity to receive civil rights protection as a reward. However, to the chagrin of many African Americans, segregation in military training camps only proved to them that civil rights was not anywhere in sight and a bloody protest in Houston provided an expression of this belief (Lentz-Smith). As more and more American men went to war, women filled the vacant job slots in factories and other industries and contributed to the war effort. Automobile makers were making military tanks and women were working on those projects in various capacities, but mainly as finishers. Women also took on jobs in assembly lines in factories, cooked for soldiers, took care of wounded soldiers and sewed and washed military uniforms. Women also ran farms and at the same time took care of their families (Higgonet). With the outbreak of the First World War, millions of European immigrants who had arrived in the US with the intention of returning to Europe, were effectively trapped in the US for the duration of the War. Once the War ended, conditions in Europe were less than ideal as war torn Europe began the rebuilding process. Rather than return to this turmoil, European immigrants instead brought their families over to the US once the World War I came to an end (Barkan). Technological Developments of World War I Development Description Impact Transmission Radio Two-Way radio which transmitted voice only and not codes made possible by the electron tube function as a voice amplifier and oscillator facilitated. Fire and cease fire orders could be made immediately and supervised more accurately. Fighter Jets Compact airplanes armed with weapons and bombs used for air-fighting in World War I. The fighter jet was introduced by the Germans in World War I and brought a new dimension to warfare. Enemy fighter jets could fly over enemy territory and bomb civilian populations and civilian infrastructure. Searchlight A large search light that could be used at night to provide visibility for a variety of reasons. The searchlight could provide lighting that put the enemy in the spotlight exposing them while the other side remained hidden. Underwater Microphone A sound detecting device that could be used on a ship below the surface to detect the noise of an approaching submarine. The underwater microphone was a particularly useful invention as it provided soldiers with a detection device warning of an approaching submarine which would have otherwise been able to catch marines off guard. Arguably, the fighter jet had the greatest impact on World War I and subsequent wars. The fighter jet provided a new and quick method for launching an attack on the enemy without much of a warning. It led to the development of far more sophisticated fighter jets, some capable of flying faster than the speed of sound. These jets can provide surveillance and can be on the ready to conduct rescues and operations at a moment’s notice. Therefore, in addition to facilitating a tactical advantage in battle, the fighter jet also provided a life-saving aid. The most disturbing aspect of the fighter jet however, is that it can be used to launch bombs over civilian populations and on civilian territories. While these are crimes against humanity, using fighter jets to bomb civilians and civilian infrastructure is well-documented. For example, the bombing of London occurred during the Second World War and this was not the first time that the Germans used fighter jets over civilian occupied territory and on civilians. The Germans also used fighter jets to bomb enemy territory during the First World War. Ramifications of the Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles was signed in Versailles in 1919 as a means of planning a roadmap for post-war Europe and reparations from Germany and her allies for the devastation that occurred during the First World War. There was a belief that with the formation of the League of Nations, reparations would be obtained and world peace and order would be restored. Thus under the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was ordered to return territory annexed during the War to France, Poland, Belgium, and Denmark. Moreover, Germany’s largest industrial regions of Saar and the Rhineland were under the control of the international community: the League of Nations. Some of the territory was also taken from Germany as compensatory damages and with a view to ensuring that Germany paid the cost of reconstructing a war-ravaged Europe (Marshall Cavendish Corporation). In order to minimize the risk of Germany starting another war, Germany’s military was substantially reduced, leaving Germany virtually defenceless. Germany was also required to contribute the sum of US$3.3 billion toward the rehabilitation of post-war Europe. The disarmament of Germany and massive war debt would have a profound effect on Germany in both the immediate and long-term future. The German population were altogether unhappy with the terms of the Treaty of Versailles and would resent the fact that the population would be punished for something that they had nothing to do with and no right or power to prevent (Marshall Cavendish Corporation). The disbarment took the form of reducing Germany’s military to 100,000 troops; a ban on German owned tanks, submarines were also forbidden as well as an airforce and German’s warships were reduced so that only six could be more than 10, 000 tons (Marshall Cavendish Corporation). Having suffered defeat in a major war, Germans were now humiliated by what they perceived as an onerous and excessive punishment framework designed to subject German to significant hardship into the indefinite future. Thus the groundwork was paved for a savvy politician who could play on the emotions of the German people and encourage a feeling of nationalism and pride. Indeed, Germany’s “right wing nationalist politicians’ capitalized on the resentment the Treaty of Versailles (Marshall Cavendish Corporation: 20). Adolf Hitler and his Nazi party would claim that the nationalists had been prepared to continue fighting and would not have approved of the Treaty. Thus Hitler and his Nazi party pledged to have the Treaty of Versailles declared null and void. Regardless Germany had difficulty raising the funds for repaying the US$3.3 billion and missed the first instalment due in 1920. Under threat of having more of its property occupied by the allies, Germany took at a loan at a London bank to make the first instalment. However, after making the payment Germany informed the allies that it would not be honouring any further requests for payment. In retaliation, the French occupied the German territory of the Ruhr (Marshall Cavendish Corporation). Eventually, a committee was formed to examine Germany’s financial situation especially since its currency dropped significantly. The chairman was an American economist who recommended relieving Germany of its debt for at least two years. In addition, the U.S. loaned Germany a large sum of money and the French left the Ruhr. Two years later a further review ended with Germany obtaining another loan while being allowed 59 years to repay the debt. All the while Germany was steadily gaining strength and recovering while building up a feeling of nationalism designed to ensure that the population supported Germany’s plan to reclaim its integrity and land which were taken by the Treaty of Versailles (Marshall Cavendish Corporation). In the final analysis, the Treaty of Versailles was nothing more than a punitive weapon that created more discord and conflicts in Europe. For the most part, its guilt clause only ended up with Germany feeling that the excessive reparations framework was not fair and unjustified. It would only fuel the flames for a Second World War which Germany saw an opportunity to rebuild its image and to take back territory taken by the Treaty of Versailles. Bibliography Barkan, Elliott, Robert. Immigrants in American History: Arrival, Adaptation and Integration. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, LLC, 2013. Creton, Marvin and Davies, Owen. American Renaissance: Our Life at the Turn of the 21st Century. New York, NY: St. Martin Press, 2003. Higonnet, Margaret, R. Behind the Lines: Gender and the Two World Wars. Yale University Press, 1987. Lentz-Smith, Adriane, Danette. Freedom Struggles: African Americans and World War I. Harvard University Press, 2009. Marshall Cavendish Corporation. History of World War II: Origins and Outbreak. Tarrytown, NY: Marshall Cavendish, 2005. Miller, Alice, Duer. “Another of Those Curious Coincidences.” Poetry, (n.d.) http://poetry.poetryx.com/poems/15158/ (Retrieved 15 July, 2013). Miller, Alice, Duer [B]. “On Not Believing All You Hear”. In Are Women People? (n.d.) http://www.gutenberg.org/catalog/world/readfile?fk_files=3276232&pageno=5 (Retrieved 15 July 2013). Pfaff, William. The Irony of Manifest Destiny: The Tragedy of America’s Foreign Policy. New York, NY: Walker Publishing Company, Inc., 2010. Polyanichko, Elena. Weighing the Costs and Benefits of Mexican Immigration. Grin Verlag, 2011. Preston, Diana. The Boxer Rebellion. Walker Publishing Company, Inc., 2000. Recchiuti, John, Louis. Civic Engagement: Social Science and Progressive Era Reform in New York City. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2007. Renda, Mary, A. Taking Haiti: Military Occupation and the Culture of U.S. Imperialism, 1915-1940. The University of North Caroline Press, 2001. Vasquez, Francisco, Hernandez, “The Fragile Political Status of Mexican Americans and Their Continued Quest for Democracy.” In Vazquez, Francisco, Hernandez. (Ed.) Latino/a Thought Culture, Politics, and Society. New York, NY: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2009. Read More