The Great Migration and Great Transformations - Essay Example

Reaction Journal The Great Migration and Great Transformations. The ‘Great Migration’ was fuelled by Jim Crow in the South: low wages, abysmal working conditions, lack of education and rigid segregation. Unofficial racism persisted in the North too. “There were – two Americas.” 1 Most African Americans enlisted to prove their patriotism, hoping to ensure racial equality in post-war America. W.E.B. DuBois’ Returning Soldiers and Close Ranks2 echo this hope. Tragically, racial discrimination remained a part of American society for several more decades, and did not end with World War 1. 1919. World War 1 led to paranoia, censorship of books, movies and art, and suppressed freedom of speech and dissent. The arrest of Eugene V. Debs is reminiscent of authoritarian governments which Americans now criticize in other global regimes, such as China. However, this had a positive consequence: the formation of the American Civil Liberties Union. The Roaring Twenties? ‘The Roaring Twenties’ appears to be a misnomer! Economic prosperity was concentrated in big business, but did not extend to the agricultural sector or rural area. Public support for the Ku Klux Klan, the Emergency Quota Act of 1921, the National Origins Act of 1924, lynching, and the banning of interracial marriages indicated an upsurge in racism. Christian fundamentalism raised its head. Perhaps it assumed a connotation of general well-being, because it was sandwiched between the World War 1 and the Great Depression. The Great Depression and the New Deal. Ironically, the New Deal failed to satisfy the privileged class (who resented the higher taxes imposed on them), critics in the Democratic Party (Huey P. Long declared that it failed to do enough for the poor), or the Republican opposition (Senator Taft condemned it for its socialist stance, deficit spending and its attack on private enterprise). The AAA’s destruction of ‘surplus’ agricultural production (during a period of acute food scarcity!) and discrimination against blacks, debase the New Deal.3 World War 11. President Roosevelt’s ‘Four Freedoms’ – freedom of speech and worship, and freedom from want and fear, was accepted American ideology, but contradicted and undermined by racism. It is tragic to read Foner’s account of the government “bending over backward to accommodate German-Americans and Italian-Americans in the war effort” but “viewing every person of Japanese ethnicity as a potential spy”4. Cold War Tensions. The meaning of ‘freedom’ was controversial during the 1950’s. The Cold War identified freedom with anti-communism: racially segregationist South Africa was part of the ‘Free World’ merely because of its anti-communist stance. The freedom from imperialism was subordinated to Cold War politics. Individual freedom came under attack, as dissension was equated with disloyalty. Suppression of all criticism and dissent was justified by reference to loyalty. Civil Rights Movement (1960-1963). It is heartening to know that the revival of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960’s was the result of student initiatives: the Greensboro sit-in, the SNCC, and the Birmingham marches show that students became “the leading force for social change”.5 The element of non-violent demonstration and the camaraderie of spirit exhibited by Blacks and Whites in their quest for different kinds of freedom, as seen in the 1963 March on Washington, are inspiring. Civil Rights Movements (1964-1968) Although legislation made segregation illegal, Blacks still felt excluded from freedom. The civil rights movement became increasingly militant, fueled by white racism, poverty, and disenfranchisement of Blacks, segregation, inequalities in jobs, housing and education. As non-violent protests failed, black violence and urban uprisings increased. ‘Black Power’ favored black’s control of resources, radicalization, and militant group opposition to racial integration and non-violence. It connoted ‘Black Freedom’ and pride in African American identity. Building the Great Society. Kennedy’s initial blinkered vision of viewing every global development through the prism of the Cold War, led to the Bay of Pigs fiasco. However, the Cuban missile crises shook his rigidity in “viewing the Cold War simply as a battle between the forces of light and those of darkness”6. He adopted a more balanced position. The Peace Corps was a great initiative. Johnson’s ‘Great Society’ program was well-intentioned and commendable. The ‘War on Poverty’ reduced poverty from 22 to 13 percent: a remarkable achievement! The Vietnam Quagmire. The Vietnam War is undoubtedly the most catastrophic global intervention in American history. It may be attributed to a rigid Cold War mentality and abysmal ignorance of the culture and history of Vietnam. Vietnam’s struggle for independence and self-determination after decades of imperialism was viewed by America merely in terms of containment of communism. America could have supported Ho Chi Minh at the outset and established strategic cooperation. The New Left. The ‘Port Huron Statement’7 resonates with contemporary emphasis on individual self-expression and achievement, disillusionment with the public institutions, a “participatory democracy,” and a determination to take control of the quality and direction of one’s own life. It is ironical that the student protests which marked the 1960’s are lacking today. The fire that fueled the desire to be active agents of change appears to have died out: except perhaps in a certain measure in the ‘Occupy Wall Street movement.’ The Nixon Years: Hope and Paranoia. Richard Nixon’s list of achievements is unarguably impressive: The creation of the EPA, the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Air Act, (his foresight in ecological protection is especially relevant with global warming!) expansion of welfare and racial equality measures, initiatives to end the deadlock of the Cold War with the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, overtures towards China, extricating America from the Vietnam War. Watergate (a result of his obsessive secrecy and intolerance of dissent), does not detract from this considerable legacy. The Carter Years. It is tragic that the Carter administration sowed the seeds for the present quagmire in Afghanistan. It cannot be denied that it was the American military aid to the erstwhile mujahedeen in their fight against the Soviet Union which gave rise to the Islamic fundamentalism in the region. The Taliban, and Al-Qaeda, are offshoots of this policy. Ronald Reagan and the New Conservatism. Reagan’s concept of freedom differed that of his predecessors. Freeing government from ‘special interests,’ denoted racial minorities and unionists, not big business. Economic freedom signified curtailment of labor rights and drastic tax reductions. Reagan defined freedom as “the right to earn your own keep and keep what you earn.” 8 Reducing the power of the federal government resulted in great economic inequality. Renewed Cold War tension revived fear of nuclear war. Cold Wars and Culture Wars. Ronald Reagan’s commitment to the Cold War was too extreme to be justified. In the Iran-Contra issue, the secrecy, and circumvention of congressional strictures, constituted a blatant assumption of authoritarianism on Reagan’s part. In fact, this scandal rivals Watergate in its violation of government ethics. It is a testament to Reagan’s charisma that he escaped almost unscathed. The US, the Persian Gulf, and Radical Islam. Michael Adas details the innovative technological features of the Gulf War: satellite surveillance devices, drones, infra-red sensors, night-vision equipment, computer-guided missile strikes, guns with superior range and firing power. “Technologies supplanted humans as the heroes of a military victory”.9 The negative aspect of this technowarfare was that it facilitated media censorship, conveying false impressions of ‘surgical’ operations, glossing over civilian casualties, environmental degradation and wanton destruction of infrastructure. The war was justified, to repulse Saddam’s invasion of Kuwait. However, the retaliation could have been calibrated to force evacuation of Kuwait without the massive destruction caused to Iraq. Bibliography. Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty! An American History. 2nd Seagull Edition. W.W. Norton and Co. NY. ISBN 978-393-93257-7. 653 Adas, Michael. Dominance by Design. Chapter 7. “Technowar in the Persian Gulf.” E-book. 2010. http://en.calameo.com/read/000433297081d47b95264 Read More