The Time of the Spanish American War - Thesis Example

From The Period Of The Spanish American War To The Beginning Of The Cold War, Why Does The United s Move From Relative Isolation Into An International Role And What Are The Consequences For U.S. Society Of That Change? Table of Contents Thesis Statement 3 Discussion 3 References 13 Thesis Statement From the time of the Spanish American War until the beginning of the Cold War, the US went from relative isolation to increased global involvement because of (1) industrial revolution, (2) facilitation of foreign trade practice, (3) development of mass destruction weapon, (4) war crimes and (5) technological development. The changes resulting from of this increased global involvement on the American people were further noticed to result in the abolition of gender differences and accelerate inflow of massive immigrant population within the nation. This thesis will focus on assessing each of these five above-mentioned reasons that have triggered the elimination of isolation and initialization of development within the US during the 19th century with such a commendable magnitude. The thesis will also focus on the possible technological and industrial changes that were brought about by the US government, laying substantial impact on the American people and culture between the period of 19th and 20th century. Discussion Reason 1: American policy makers were forced to consider a greater global involvement because of 1. the underdeveloped state of the American people and the increasing level of gender biasness. The first massive change that was witnessed in the US between the period of 19th and 20th centuries was the abolition of gender differences in the course of industrial development. The intention of the American government behind implementation of this change was to eliminate the meaningless and ineffective societal doctrines that have eventually developed multiple other societal issues such as gender biasness and crimes against the women. As a subsequent effect, a need for the improvement of women’s rights, broadening of societal and thinking perspectives, lowering of the foreign trade barriers was felt severely. To eliminate such negative doctrine, the US government delivered its focus on implementing technology and industrial development. Thus in an associative manner, the commencement of industrial development brought in a remarkable amount of stability within the economic conditions of this nation1. A major instance in this context was the grading of working permits to the female section of the American people. Consequently, it helped the women in attaining a reputed position and reputation within the American people, which was following a patriarchy system until then. With the growth of independency within the women section, the contemporary societal perspective also changed, which offered global leadership to the country. The US inhabitants eventually came out of the traditional practices of forcing the female members to early marriages, which accelerated growth in their labor market and further helped stabilizing the economy2. In a cause and effect relationship, the female workers were also provided with adequate freedom of forming women unions intended towards supporting their favorable causes. In addition, the right to vote for the nation’s political aspects was also made available for the women section of the American people, which again helped the then government to set an example in front of other nations around the world. Thus, from an in-depth understanding, it can be stated that the impact of industrial revolution between the 19th and 20th centuries did provide the US women with the power and freedom they long deserved. It eventually uplifted the living standard of the US inhabitants3. Based on this particular finding, it can be argued that upliftment of the living standards through women empowerment was a major reason behind the changes made during industrial revolution in the US. Reason 2: In addition, the humanitarians and business leaders agreed that 2.high amount of technology implementation and advancement will require international action. Integration of technology and innovation within the traditional manufacturing society of the US was another noteworthy developmental change identified between the 19th and 20th centuries. The accomplishment of this phase happened at an amazing that astonished every other nation. The advancement of global trade involvement required subsequent upgradation of the pre-existing societal and industrial functionality patterns. With the inclusion of advanced technology, the unproductive and isolated nature of the US industries were now equipped with the capability of facing challenges in terms of foreign trade practices. Technology advancement also triggered establishment of new industrial sectors and thereafter, helped in generating high amount of employment opportunities that simultaneously pumped huge amount of capital inflow within the US economy. Eventually, such inflow of resources resulted in increasing the per capita income of the US inhabitants that subsequently improvised their societal behavior and standard of living4. Studying this particular change as well, the reason for the US to emerge as a global leader instead of being in isolation can be identified as related with its need to standardizing the life quality of its inhabitants. Further development of the railroad transportation systems was also a major factor that boosted American economy to a further developmental stage. Although the existence of railway systems was previously prevalent, it needed certain major modifications to suffice the increasing demand of freight and passenger transport services. Over time, multiple other modes of freight and passenger transportation services also developed that fastened up the interstate trade and recreational services, thus providing high amount of financial support to the US economy5. Considering the increasing fluidity within the US railroad networks, multiple other businesses were established and simultaneously, flourished between the period of 19th and 20th centuries. In addition, despite of getting subjected to frequent bankruptcy, the US railway networks succeeded in joining major and minor landmarks within the nation, which eventually facilitated culture and tradition exchange between varied communities. Correspondingly, the wider thinking and perceptive capabilities of the American people also developed with accelerated interaction with the outer world. Regardless of these positive aspects, multiple negative aspects also emerged in accordance to the integration of these developmental strategies. One such negative aspect turned out to be the misuse of political power and inflow of bureaucratic trait within the political structure of this nation6. Nevertheless, when emphasizing the reason behind its advancement from isolation into an international role. Reason 3: Likewise, the changes resulting from of the implementing technology within 3.small production companies and large scale defence industries also resulted in bringing about diversification within the American the American people Justification regarding this aspect can be provided on the basis ‘of huge number of employment opportunities that were created after the end of World War 1. As a result of this war, multiple nations such as Japan and America started addressing the emergence of financial crisis within their economy and thus relied on the functionality of their industrial sector through which their can balance out their economic instabilities. In an associated manner these nations started permitting immigration that came to America in expectation of earning livelihood7. The nation witnessed massive surge in the inflow of foreign immigrants, between the period of the 19th and 20th centuries. Majority population of the immigrants belonged from Germany, Italy, and Europe, who entered the US in search of employment opportunities in the latter part of its industrial revolution. This associatively resulted in densifying the cultural and origin diversity of the US population8. In addition, the entertainment requirements of the ethnic population resulted in the establishment of multiple ethnic stores, movie theatres, markets and financial organizations, which in both direct and indirect manners pumped in huge amount of financial support within the economy9. The above discussed facts regarding immigrants inflow eventually resulted in giving rise to Nativism, in accordance to which, the US inhabitants started considering the black community people as minors, on the basis of both culture and knowledge. Thus, bringing about development in such patterns also resulted in the initialization of Americanization Campaigns, where an effort was made to educate the minor community people and make them capable enough for leading a quality life. In addition, the concluding stage of this movement was accompanied by the imposition of restrictions on the level of immigrant’s inflow within the US. The prime intention regarding this initiation was to maintain equilibrium between the immigrant population and the American native’s population10. Hence, another vital reason to ignite this change was to ensure development in almost every sphere of the society, which in turn helped it attain the dignified position of a global powerhouse. Multiple other factors can also be held accountable for triggering the changing economic and the societal scenarios of the US between the 19th and the 20th centuries. Few of such factors have been elaborated in the discussion, henceforth. Reason 4: Moreover, it is due to the rapid growth of the American Industries along with high percentage of immigrant inflow 4.that boosted up the urbanization concept within the American people. The rapidity in urbanization can be identified as a combined result of multiple other development factors that shifted the tide in favor of the US to rise in the international role. The elaboration goes in a manner that the foreign trade initiative resulted in the development of multiple industries to suffice the increasing needs of products and services. It also helped in advancing the nation on humanitarian, societal and political grounds. This eventually motivated American citizens in terms of coming out of their misery and undertaking beneficial decisions in alignment with their life. In a cause and effect relationship, it can be stated that as the industrial sector expanded, its dependency on unskilled labor forces also increased. This in turn required the establishment of appropriate residential facilities nearby the industrial establishment areas. Subsequently, a major population of natives as well as immigrants began migrating from the rural to the urban areas and contributing to the expansion of the urbanization initiative. These transformations in the lifestyle choices correspondingly enriched the cultural diversity of both the rural and the urban sections within the nation11. Reason 5: With the increasing risk of war from the Germans, the Us government felt towards 5.further developing the automobiles and defence equipments manufacturing sector. This rapid establishment and development of the US automobile and defence equipment manufacturing sector can also be considered as a result of urbanization as well as increasing threat levels from Germany. Justification to this statement can be provided depending on the fact that due to the increasing count of the employed population, their expenditure power also increased and thus, in an eventual manner, the demand for luxury related products and services also multiplied simultaneously. In addition, the government also had to reinforce its military arsenals in case it gets involved in any sort of war situation s with Germany. Centralization became the main theme of this nation finding accordance with the ongoing phenomenon12. Moreover, the societal perspective and broadness completely changed from rural patterns to urban patterns, where women were provided the rights of putting on whatever fashion they preferred, and with time, the boundaries as well as the dependencies associated with the traditional mindset of the American people perished, giving definition of a new form of free willed nation13. Reason 6: All the above developmental achievements resulted in increasing the level of Political Bureaucracy that further resulted in intensifying the 6.occurrence of war crimes between US and other nations. These aspects also laid significant impact on the American people. A critical observation of the scenario revealed that the developmental efficiency of this nation was somewhat crippled as a result of increasing bureaucracy and corruption within the governmental structure. This eventually resulted in the giving rise to war crimes within US and other nation such as Germany. Associatively, the lack of ethical practices within the primary industries also resulted in multiple labor conflicts during that period. In support of the labor forces, countable number of unions also emerged from within to provide the workers with appropriate rights, to which, they were supposed to be accountable. Although such initiatives eventually were crushed by the federal forces, it made its mark in the history of the US, following which, many governments around the world were forced to take favorable measures for labor unions14. As a result, various labor forces oriented political parties also emerged from the mist and attempted towards destabilizing the existing governmental and industrial frameworks in favor of the US workers. These corresponding chains of events forced the US government to change their perceptions concerning legal aspects associated with the US industrial sector15. As a result, the outbreak of multiple labor-oriented laws occurred in order to bring back the stability between the employee forces and the US industrial sector. The structured rights also aimed towards safeguarding the employees from being unnecessarily exploited by the industrial owners16. Hence, the trend of developing ethical policies to control industrialists from exploiting labor forces took place, which in turn again established the nation as an international leader. Reason 7: In addition, the American government also utilized its industrial mass production capabilities for manufacturing 7.quantifiable amount of weapons as a safeguard against foreign threats. Thus mass production trend also appears to have significantly contributed to the economic development of the US between the 19th and the 20th centuries. With increase in the technological advancement of the US industries, their capabilities of mass production also started taking shape. This particular fact found high alignment with the rising intensity of international trade practices, where the demand for manufactured goods was considered as a major factor production of war assets also formed a part of it. After defeating Japan, the US government started producing quantifiable count of war equipments for safeguarding its interests from such future attacks17. With the updated industrial ability, the US possessed the capability of delivering quality goods within time bound frameworks. This in turn ensured the appropriate inflow of foreign cash within this nation. In a cause and effect manner, this particular change also influenced the US societal development trend and thereafter, helped boosting the US’s currency exchange rate, which is often deemed as one of the key factors to drive international power and significance18. The conflictive reaction provided by the Latin American population during the 20th century has also laid tremendous impact on the societal aspects of the US. As noted in the US history, majority of the Latin American population was deprived of their rights to security in of the social and cultural domains, resulting in ethical concerns related to racial, gender and communal segregations. Evidence regarding these facets can be provided with reference to World War 119. Because of the lasting tenure of the war, economic development rate in the US slowed down, causing a degree of financial crisis within the nation20. Moreover, due to the continuously increasing inflow of immigrants, majority of the population was forced to remain confined within the urban areas deteriorating the societal conditions of the Latin American residents further in those areas. The situation continued to last until the starting phase of the 20th century, when the Latin decided to reject their confinement to such situation and demanded for their political and economic freedom rights21. Hence, economic growth was again ensured to be equal in almost every corner of the economy, making its growth faster as compared to other nations racing for global power. References Bellamy, Edward, Looking Backward, 2000-1887 {US: Cosimo, Inc., 2008}, 98-147. 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Williams, John, Stoner: A Novel {Germany: Random House, 2012), 110-190.  Read More