Rich American History - Assignment Example

American History Introduction America has a rich history which stresses from the time of Native American society to present. Several governments have administered in United States since independence. These governments have implemented various social, political, and economic policies. However, since the Second World War, United States of America emerged as a super power alongside Soviet Union. These two powers developed cold relations, which have led to implementation of several social, economic, political, and foreign policies. This paper traces these policies since Second World War to the era of George Bush and how they helped to shape relations of America with other countries. Answer 1 Social regulations refer to the measures taken by the government to protect public interest such as health, environmental controls, safety regulations and also restrictions on advertising and labeling. The cold war period experienced intense government intervention on social regulations. The government established many regulatory agencies such as Environmental protection Agency, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Consumer Product Safety Commission, and Occupation Safety and Health Administration (Hook 67). These policies were meant to deal with the social problems that existed in America at the time. Social regulations had a positive impact on the short run. This is because they helped to bring sanity in most sectors of the economy. Cold war threatened the social stability of the country and the government had to ensure the safety of its citizens mostly in production of goods by industries. However, in the long term effects are both positive and negative. The negative effect was that they have reduced the competitiveness of American companies due to high compliance and opportunity costs. In addition, there have been high expenditures on litigation which increases the cost of production. However, measures such as environmental protection have enabled the country to assure its population good health and hygiene (Hook 78). Answer 2 The statement is wholly valid. Conservatism is founded on four fundamental concepts which are liberty, tradition and order, rule of law and belief in God. The evangelical Christians were motivated by emphasis on Judeo- Christian values, advocated by Goldwater and Reagans in their campaigns. The Judeo- Christian values were predominant during the fist half on the 20th century and were now being reignited. Conservatism also emphasized on family values. They stood against same sex marriage, abortion and sexual permissiveness (Hook65). In addition, it advocated for strengthening of traditional standards in public life, religious life and education. These issues enabled conservatism to gain popularity among popularity among people. There was also emergence of a political right group that sought to counter communism in America. They wanted to fight spirit of communism. They believed on the fight against overregulation of free market capitalism, expansion of welfare state, growing power of labor unions and activism in courts. They saw these policies to be against the American values and sought to fight against their implementation (Hook 67). These political ideologies combined with those of mass culture and religion encouraged many people to join politics at the time. However, these values were not new but reignited the ideologies of the first half of 20th century. Answer 3 Cold war period witnessed many foreign policies being formulated by United States. These policies run parallel with domestic affair. The government sought to promote ideas of capitalism and democracy. America supported corrupt, which were friendly to its policies. These ideologies run parallel with intensive indoctrination of American people. The indoctrination involved anti- communism propaganda and cold war rhetoric. The major vehicle used to propagate capitalist ideals was the film industry (Hook 345). Some actors and actress were blacklisted for propagating communism ideals. The education system also emphasized capitalism and democracy while at the same time condemning capitalism. Literature was also an effective tool fight against communism. In addition, foreign policies brought changes to the presidency of United States. For instance, Truman was forced to implement many presidential acts, due to his strict stand on Stalin. Moreover, politicians used anti- communism frenzy to campaign for a strong right-wing platform. This was seen in campaigns against Truman presidency. Besides, American allies had to fight against communism in their own countries. This same feature wasp practiced in America. However, concentration on these ideologies led to the neglect of other social reforms. Thus, issues such as, labor unions, working conditions, civil rights and women concerns were ignored or minimally emphasized. This created an opportunity for the government to advance propaganda against communism, which was their main political objective. Answer 4 Anti communism influenced ethnic loyalties and divisions. The extent to which anti- communism influenced ethnic loyalty is minimal. Instead, it can be argued that it fostered ethnic unity among various races. The government ensured Hollywood was strictly monitored to ascertain that it produced anti communist movies and those that praised American history. These programs enhanced patriotism and unity among the people. In addition, anti- communism efforts helped to end racial segregation that existed in United States. Previously, Blacks were considered as second class citizens and were discriminated in many aspects (Hook 234). President Harry Truman noted that American must promote an equal society where all races are respected. He did this to demonstrate the commitment of America in enhancing equality. The government, therefore, established fair employment commissions, as well as laws banning black discrimination. In addition, desegregation of all public schools was effected. Many other laws and policies were also implemented. These encourage ethnic unity among the citizens of America. The minimal extent can be traced in the Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) hearings. These hearings caused sufferings among many people who were accused of propagating communist ideologies. As a result, many civil servants and movie actors and directors lost their jobs. These activities caused divisions between those people who favored communism and those that favored socialism (Hook 164). Answer 5 The major ideologies in 1960s were initiated before the beginning of the decade. President Harry Truman had initiated the process of fostering equality among all races. The civil rights movements had also taken roots in 1955.The onset of 1960 saw the revival of these ideologies. President John. F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson and Martin Luther King Jnr were the main figures during this period. Martin Luther Jnr speech “I have a dream” as well as, his activities on fighting against racial discrimination had a significant impact on the life of blacks in United States. In 1964, Civil Rights Act was passed, which ended racial segregation in provision of services. This law was reinforced by National Voting Right Act in 1965, and Fair Housing Act of 1968. These laws encouraged equity of all American citizens. These programs continued to receive attention even after 1969 (Hook 35). Additionally, the period also witnessed growth of liberalist ideologies such as extension of welfare, aid on education at all levels and environmental activism. These activities were later seen as the main cause behind emergence of political fight that gained popularity in 1970s. The political rights were a political force that desired to kill communism as well as revive the values of first half of 20th century. Answer 6 President Roosevelt was the longest serving president in United States. He introduced sweeping policies, which transformed, social, economic and political aspects of the country thereby laying a strong foundation for future stability and prosperity. He transformed American politics by implementing the New Deal programs. These programs sought to secure the gains made in political sphere. He hoped to strengthen the democracy and capitalism in the nation. Roosevelt also endeavored to ensure that his country was safe from the enemies using very thought out plans and foreign policies. President Ronald Reagan promised to implement such worthwhile policies during his reign. Reagan was mostly concerned about containing communism. He, therefore, aided American allies with financial and military resources against communists (Hook 467). This shows his desire to counter communism and socialism and protect democracy and capitalism. Reagan also believed in use of diplomacy to end the power struggle. However, Roosevelt had a long lasting effect on the political history of United States than Reagan. This is because the policies advocated by Reagan had roots in Roosevelt reign. Roosevelt brought about innovative ideas such as New Deal, which he successfully implemented. In addition, Roosevelt helped to reshape the role of presidency from that of chief executive but also that of policy maker (Hook 487) Answer 7 Many social and economic policies implemented by George Bush were a continuation of the Reagan policies. Bush tenure experienced huge unemployment rates and budget deficit. One of the propositions of ‘Reagan revolution’ was tax cuts to encourage investment. He hoped that this would translate to high economic growth and high wages and employment. President George Bush decided to adopt the same policy by encouraging tax cuts. Besides, these tax cuts were based on the model of supply side, which was advocated by Reagan (Hook 78). Bush administration also witnessed extensive environmental concerns. The pollution levels increased during his tenure while few measures were taken to contain it. The totally opposed the Kyoto protocol and any efforts to contain water or air pollution from the industries in America. This policy was continuation of Reagan policy that refused to allocate money to control acid rain production terming it as wasteful government spending. Bush was also faced with threats of terrorism and insecurity. The government spent huge sums of money in military and security. This led to stagnation of the economy due to neglect of other sectors of the economy leading to high unemployment (Hook 54). This was a continuation of Reagan policy where he believed in military expenditure to move ahead of Soviet Union. Conclusion This paper has analyzed major social and economic policies in America since Second World War. In addition, it has analyzed foreign relations and political decisions made by various presidents. This has been analyzed in both historical and comparative perspective, thus, giving one a comprehensive view of American policies. Work Cited Hook, Steven W. American Foreign Policy Since WW II . Washington, DC: CQ Press, 2010. Print. Read More