American history - Assignment Example

American History The presidential reconstruction was in 29th May 1865 after the civil war. The presidential reconstruction plan and the congressional reconstruction plans were similar in that they both advocated the leniency towards blacks, who were the majority of the slaves in the US. Both plans also discussed the question of including the South in the political system. However, they were different in the sense that the presidential plan divided people into classes and made some people to pay the president so as to get pardon from him (Vincent, 106).

Congressional reconstruction was more focused on the civil rights amendment while the presidential plan seemed to divide the people even more especially those from the south. Both plans however were similar in the context of solving a political problem because they wanted to restore the political state and reducing other instances of war.The presidential plan was also harsh and more discriminating and was different from Lincoln’s plan. There was more discrimination to the southern elites and the wealthy from that place but was more lenient to the people of the black origin.

Definitely this was a similarity of the presidential plan with that of the congressional reconstruction since it also did not recognize the southern elites as well. The congressional reconstruction was also different with the president’s plan because it considered civil rights. The president’s plan was only concerned with property to only those who paid loyalty to the emancipation.The Knights of Labor (KOL) began as a secret and underworld society that was composed of tailors in Philadelphia, and this was in 1869.

The American Federation of Labor (AFL) was aimed at life improvement employees in the US. Both the organizations were similar in the sense that they all advocated for workers’ rights, and this was done through strikes and boycotts. Both organizations were asking for the support of the American government. They were different however because Knights of Labor (KOL) was made of tailors while the American Federation of Labor (AFL) was made of laborers from various sectors. Another difference also was that The Knights of Labor (KOL) organization was secret while the American Federation of Labor (AFL) was public.

It was until in 1886 when the KOL leader, Powderly publicly advocated the removal of child labor, equal pay for equal and also political reforms (Vincent, 80). The Knights of Labor (KOL) and the American Federation of Labor (AFL) had voluntary membership and the workers were free to join. There was pure and simple unionism in both the organizations. Workers of both Knights of Labor underwent sp many strikes which led to the decline of their influence until in 1886 when the remaining workers joined to form the American Federation of Labor.

American history from 1865 to 1918 is normally considered as the reconstruction period, the gilded era and also the era of progressiveness (Vincent, 127). This was when industrialization came to being that resulted to great migrations to the USA. Because of the industrialization phenomenon, many political, economic and social issues arose, and different bodies rose to fight these problems and one of them was the women activists. Most of the women activists came from the middle and prosperous social backgrounds, and they understood the problems encountered while working.

The women activists, therefore, emphasized more on the special contributions of the women that could help them solve these problems in the American society. The issues included child labor, public health and safety and also women working under very dangerous work conditions. This is what motivated the women to fight because they understood better their plight in the society. By emphasizing on the traditional traits of the American people, the women activists and female social reformers made spaces for themselves.

It was done both in the local and in the national government where they knew they could fight for their rights easily (Vincent, 132).Black women activists such as Harriet Jacobs and Sojourner Truth were in the front line to fight for their rights and also race and their sex. They also often fought against the undesirable attitudes that they were receiving from the white activists who were considering themselves as the only activists who could liberate the women and child slaves.After the repression of World War I, several industries emerged, and they included the sex and liquor industries.

Brothels came up and fell under the formerly dominant women who occupied intermediary positions. The sex and the alcohol industries rose and also cheap amusements like dance halls, theaters as well as amusement parks. The amusement parks created spaces for racial discrimination and a place to rate people according to classes in society (Vincent, 47). The spaces could be less significant because they created an avenue to child molestation and prostitution where the most affected people were women of the black decency.

The dance halls and parks created division among the blacks and the whites in America. The commercial amusement sites were important in the history of the industrialization period because they considered it as a recommendation to do away with stress by physical exercise. There was the development of spectator sporting that turned out to be leisure in the American history. Apart from the entertainment halls, new modes of traveling were invented, and so there was space to learn about new forms of entertainment at the end of that century.

Works CitedVincent D. The Complete Book of United States History. New York: Carson – Dellosa Publishing Co. U.S.A. 2011. Print