Modern American Politics - Essay Example

John Supervisor US History 17 May U.S History 1A Jacksonian Democrats and the Clay Whigs Party are the two political parties who opposed each other throughout their time of power in the government of the United States. The importance of the rivalry was important as it led to the formation of the second party that we can see in America today. There were clear differences between the policies and programs of the two parties. The policies of the Jacksonian Democrats explain that they were in complete opposition of the Federal Government being the part of the socio-economic affairs of the state and they were in the favour of the rights of the state whereas The Whigs were in favour of the federal government in power through the power of congress. In a program Jackson and his democrats worked strong in order to get rid of National Bank of the United States and Protective tariff but the Whigs were in all favour of both of them. The difference in the policies of these two parties can be clearly determined by those whom the two political parties favour or support. The Jacksonian Democrats mainly represent the common man or the lower class people and their policies and programs were made in support that anyone can hold a position in the government. However, The Whigs were in favour of the nationalists and industrialists and their policies and programs were made keeping these classes of people in mind. One of the important opposing factors between these two parties was revolving around their idea of expansion. The Democrats were in the mind-set the expansion could be faster if there is more farming land, which would gain more potential profit whereas The Whigs were in the argument that this expansion is unnecessary. The difference between these two parties basically came from the differences that they have in their support program. The domestic goals of The Whigs show that they were in support of Congress over presidency. They also favoured the program of economic protectionism and modernization. However, the Jacksonian Democrats were worried about this modernization (Williams, 2006). They were under the impression that the economy of modern market manipulation would lead to aristocracy, which the common people cannot afford since their belief is that majority of the population in the society consists of people who earn their living by farming. They used to believe that the government should help theses common people and encourage them to expand the American economy and culture. But the Democratic Republicans created an American System that made tariffs that protect the industries. They also formed a national bank that would foster commerce and provide federal subsidies that would be used for the improvements of internal facilities like canals and railroads. The Age of Jackson is considered as a great turning point in the US political history. In the year 1828 under the leadership of Andrew Jackson celebrated their inclusion in the Presidency post in the White House. The policies of the Jacksonian Democrats were revolving around the common people and their development. The strong personality and controversial ways led to the formation of an opposition party The Whigs, who were following the completely opposite policies than the Jacksonian Democrats. The Age of Jackson is considered as a turning point in the US political history because at this time there was a formation of a second party, which led to a competition between two parties for the power. 1 B As the name suggests the movement was established in order to create romanticism in the fields of art and literature. This movement started in late 18th and early 19th century. During this movement the celebration had happened for the nature rather than that of civilization. Romanticism chose to value emotion and imagination over rationality. This Romantic Era had originated in Europe during the end of 18th century, which was focused towards art, literature and intellect. During this movement most of the areas were at its peak during the period of 1800 to 1850. This was partly a reaction towards the industrial revolution and also against the political and social norms that were aristocratic. It was termed as Age of Enlightenment and the movement was the reaction against the scientific rationalization of nature (Smith, 2009). The movement had strong impact in the fields of visual arts, music and literature but the major impact of this movement was on historiography, education and natural sciences. The effect of this movement was complex and considerable when it comes to politics. The movement had a significant effect on the growth of nationalism when the peak of this movement was associated with radicalism and liberalism. The key themes of the romanticism and its legacy had a deep impact upon the cultural assertions of romantic nationalism. This movement had been the central force that controlled the post-enlightenment era of political philosophy along with art philosophy. This movement had contributed and focused significantly upon enduring the national language and folklore. It also made people to understand the spiritual value of local traditions and customs. In the political scenario the Romantic Nationalism Movement had significantly contributed towards developing the political legitimacy as an organic consequence of the unity that it governs. The effect of this movement on the political culture of America can be significantly seen in the way by which the country had moved towards liberalism and radicalism. The feeling and thinking of nationalism had been sowed in the heart and minds of the people of America through this movement. With the enlightenment of people of America for the art, culture and literature the movement also significantly contributed to sprout the feeling of political enlightenment, which is clearly seen in the national feeling among people. The feeling of nationalism through this movement made the political parties to think more towards the betterment. The evolution of the political system in the form of formation of opposition party is a great example in that aspect. 2A Civil War in the United States of America was inevitable because of the then situation in the Confederate or South States of America. The American Civil War was fought between the United States and Confederate States between 1861 and 1865. The main reason or cause for the Civil War was slavery, which was extended to the western territories of the states of America. The slavery and the kind of inhuman behaviour that was displayed it was inevitable that something would outburst as the rage was becoming way beyond the tolerable limit. As the foreign powers did not intervene into this war the war was named as Civil War. After a bloody war about 600,000 soldiers lost their lives and South’s infrastructures got most of the destructions. Though it was a bloody war the outcome of the civil war was positive. The Confederacy got collapsed and the act of slavery got abolished. Though it was difficult the process of reconstruction started, which consisted of restoring the national unity and guaranteeing the civil rights to the freed slaves started. The civil war is regarded as one of the earliest true industrial war. This bloody war had seen an undetermined number of civilian casualties as the war was fought on the streets and roads of the cities, towns and villages. There were several causes that justify the inevitability of the occurrence of the Civil War, which were complex and controversial since the beginning of the war (Mangum, 1991). Among all the causes, slavery was the central source that escalated most of the political tensions in the states during 1850s. It was mismatch between the policies of Republican Party and the Southern Party. It was the Republican Party who wanted to prevent slavery from spreading. However, it was the Southern whites who threatened secession if Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln wins the 1860 election. Eventually, Lincoln won the 1860 election and that too without a single southern state in the union, which made them feel disunion and it made them feel of losing representation that hindered their ability to promote pro-slavery acts and policies. Another reason that made the civil war inevitable was state’s rights. All of the citizens agreed to the fact that they have certain rights but would those rights hold well if they move from one state to another. The Southern leaders emphasized that the slaves are the property of the people who possess them and they can carry them from one place of the US to another but this was completely opposed by the Republicans, which led to the difference of opinion and ultimately the Civil War. 2 B Political Policies: As far as the political policies of the Union and Confederate states are concerned the constitution of both the sates were written in the same way verbatim but there were several explicit policies in the Confederate State’s constitution. One of them was the policy pertaining to the protection of the institution of slavery along with the provision for protecting and recognizing the negro slavery in any new state that are admitted to Confederacy. But in the Union states the constitution is republic and representative democracy Social Policies: It can be seen in the social policies that the Republic states are more liberal where it is clearly mentioned that no people are slave or property of others. They should be treated fairly and they also have civil rights. This policy is in complete contrast of the policies of the Confederate states who were the promoters of pro-slavery acts and policies. The Confederate believed that the slaves are kind of property of their masters and the owner can carry them out to the place wherever they want to. Military Policies: In the United States the chief of the Army staff position is held by the president whereas in the Confederate states the heist rank is General-in-Chief of the Army who is not necessarily to be the president. The military policy of the Union states says that it is completely voluntary service for the civilians if they want to join the military service whereas in the Confederate states it is not as such. Total War: The name Total War is derived specifically from its nature itself. This is the war that engages in the total mobilization of the available resources and population. It is because of its nature the scholars of the mid-19th century identified this as a completely separate class of warfare. The American Civil war is an example of 19th century Total War (Neely, 2004). In this war the civilians and population of Confederate and Republic states got involved along with the military forces for their differences in the policies and acts. Slavery was the major cause of this battle. In the 20th century World War I is the example of Total War. In this war mobilization of available resources of all countries took place. This war is the biggest example one can cite for Total War. It is worth mentioning that one of the features of Britain’s Total War was the use of government propaganda posters in order to divert entire attention to the war on the home front. 2 C The actual reconstruction started while the war was in force. It started with Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863 and lasted till the year 1877. Multiple complex methods had been adopted in order to resolve the war but the most important were the three Reconstruction Amendments to the Constitution that remained in effect to the present times. Those three Reconstruction Amendments are the 13th in 1865, the 14th in 1868 and the 15th in 1870.The three plans of Reconstruction had politically changed the nation. It guaranteed the victory of the Union on the battlefield through reunion of the Union (Martis, 1983). Through this amendment the Republicans had to guarantee a republican form of government for the ex-Confederate states and to completely end slavery along with preventing the semi-slavery status. During the reconstruction process the US military had undergone a great change, which was for the betterment of the Union nation. The US Army units came into power in coalition with the Republican elects in 10 different states for a varied time frame. The reform had given Army the power to dissolve the Southern state states and to hold new elections with Freedom voting. With the reconstruction amendments all the citizens had equal rights and protection along with freedom. This led to the change in the economic condition through the citizens of the state. The citizens were not discriminated in their voting rights based on the colour, race and previous status in the society. This grew confidence in them that helped them grow financially by working or doing something on their own. This in turn had helped the nation to grow economically. The famous case of Plessey v. Ferguson (1896) clearly showed that the reconstruction was not successful. The Court of Law had rejected Plessey’s argument based upon the Fourteenth Amendment. Thus it is evident that if there had not been any Fourteenth Amendment, Plessey’s argument would have got assertive nod from the judges and the result would have been the exact opposite. As per the Fourteenth Amendment the Court did not see that Louisiana statute did not violated the amendment. In addition to this majority of the Court rejected the plea that there was any inferiority towards the black was implied by the Louisiana law. The Fourteenth Amendment says that all citizens of the state are equal and this equality should be protected in any circumstances, which was not followed in this famous case in the US Supreme Court. Conclusion The ideology of the Republican Party was clear even before the Civil War (Foner, 1995). They wanted to bring equality among the citizens of the states – both Confederate and Republic. But their mind-set was completely opposite to that of the Confederate leaders, which ultimately led to the occurrence of Civil War. The bloody war lasted for four years but the end of the war brought new sunrise to the nation. The establishment of civil rights and equal status of the freed slaves brought in new hope to the newly formed Republic or Union nation. Works Cited Foner, E. (1995). Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men: The Ideology of the Republican Party before the Civil War (2nd ed), pp. 311–312. Martis, K. C. (1983) The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress, 1789–1989. ISBN 0-02-920170-5, p. 111–115. Mangum, R. S. (1991). The Vicksburg Campaign: A Study in Joint Operations. Parameters: U.S. Army War College, Vol. 21(3), pp. 74–86. Neely, M. E. Jr. (2004). Was the Civil War a Total War? Civil War History, Vol. 50, pp. 434. Smith, M. J. (2009). Tinclads in the Civil War: Union Light-Draught Gunboat Operations on Western Waters, 1862–1865. Williams, F. J. (2006). Doing Less and Doing More: The President and the Proclamation—Legally, Militarily and Politically, in Harold Holzer, (ed.) The Emancipation Proclamation. pp. 74–75. Read More