Role that race and ethnicity played in the evolution of the American working class from the Spanish-American War to the eve of the Second World War - Essay Example

Evolution of American Working After the Spanish-American War until the Eve of Second World War American had joined different wars in the history that helped evolve its working class today. It is a series of events and long time process since the Spanish-American war until the eve of the Second World War. One of the great wars that the Americans were involved in was the Spanish American and World War II. These wars shaped the American history and the history of the people. Today, American working class is composed not only white and blacks but hundreds of races and ethnicity found all over the world, thus, considered as the melting pot of human resources.
In Spanish-American war, Cuba and Philippines were involved because these countries were the colonies of the Spain. American government helped fight the wars of these two countries against their colonizer which led to their victories. Having won the wars against Spain, America gained control over these countries and expanded its interest from Latin America to the Pacific. American economic interest also grew due to newfound alliance with the countries involved. It also opened doors for the Americans to trade with the other nations adjacent to these countries which mean free market and free taxes for the American capitalists and wider international markets. American economy soared high because of these reasons and American capitalist started looking for cheap workers for their growing businesses. Import and export businesses of basic commodities such as spices, wheat corn, cotton and other basic needs began to grow. After the war, middle class or working class started to come in America due to expanding businesses and industries. Migration of Filipinos and Latin Americans started to grow due to open ports between America and countries of alliance. It has not stopped since then, and became the main composition of American working class today. Before the war, majority of the working class in America were African-American but after the war immigrant workers started to pour in from different parts of the globe. They saw America as a good opportunity to seek greener pastures and improve their lives that cannot be attained in their native country.
Spanish-American war and the Second World War had a great impact on the American economy. Wider international market, rise in import export of basic commodities, more job opportunities and a promise of a better life were the reasons why immigrant workers started to flock in America. Aside from this American government had gained so much advantage in terms of political and economic aspects. Today American working class consists of different race and ethnicity, their history of growing migration dated back between the end of Spanish-American War and World War 2 although migration of the said races started as early as the 16th century. American working class today caters to the different fields such as medical, blue collar jobs, fashion industry, food sectors, education sectors, computer industry and the likes. Involvement of America in Spanish-American war and Second World War has shaped its economic status in the world and its citizens as well.
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