Early Political Events That Shape American History - Essay Example

Most Significant Events Introduction The American society has undergone various phases and era since the creation of the union. Moving from colonialism towards slavery and civil war are some of the major highlights of the transition of the America to what we know it as of today. Simple and major occurrences in have shaped whatever is regarded as American today, from culture, identity to politics. However it is notable that the Americans have had a lot interest in politics and global power balance triggered by the cold war. Gradually, they loose interest in politics and give weight to social aspects in public life. This paper thus seeks to highlight the early political events that shape American history to the conventionally small events that have made history. Hypothesis Americans are only interested in politics whenever there is an external security threat involved. The era of World War 2 and the Cold War gathered Americans together in a bid to foster unity and claim their place on the face of the earth. In absence of such threats, Americans will occupy their time with trivial issues. Again the media plays a strong role in feeding the population with information and has the potential to convert daily ordinary events into mind boggling historical events. The 50’s: Expansion of the social security program by President Eisenhower The social security act was signed into law by President D. Roosevelt on August 14, 1935. The act constituted a number of programs such as Old Age Assistance, Old Age Insurance, Unemployment Insurance, Aid to Dependent Children, Grants for Maternal and Child Welfare and Aid to the Blind. These programs were meant to improve the social welfare of the ordinary American citizen. However, the act was not fully comprehensive as gradual amendments have made it to what is currently referred to as the most effective social welfare system globally. This program is funded through employee deductions. Many Americans such as farmers, majority of who were African Americans and Mexican were left out of the initial program as they were not eligible for old-age insurance while domestic employees were not eligible for unemployment insurance (Miller Center). In the 1952 presidential campaigns, Eisenhower had promised to review the act once in office. Eisenhower won the elections with republicans forming the majority in both houses. As such, he was assured of support in both houses from his party. However, his expectations were compromised by Republicans in both houses with some opposing to his proposed amendments. Fortunately, a majority of Democrats in both houses approved the proposed amendments (Donaldson, 1997). The significance of this expansion was best felt by the poor and the minority communities. However, the debate surrounding the expansion literally divided Americans into two groups; those that questioned the economic implications of the expansion and the would-be beneficiaries more interested in the promised social benefits (Donaldson, 1997). Given that the program relied on deductions from employees pay checks, there was fear that this would negatively impact in the growth of the economy after the devastating years of war in the 1940’s. Conservative Republicans argued that the impact would lead to a decrease in consumer purchasing power hence a fall in aggregate demand and thus slow economic growth based on the assumption that there would be a increase in employee deductions. However, the deductions were to remain the same. Such political ideologies earned Eisenhower political credibility and favour with the people as he lived to his campaign pledges. The 60’s: Assassination of John Kennedy John Kennedy, the 35th president of the US was assassinated on Friday, November 22, 1963, while in office. On that day, he was riding in the presidential motorcade together with his wife when he was fatally shot. Collof and Hall (1998) call it “the most famous murder of the 20th century.” Petterson (1997, p 531) says “Kennedy’s death touched many people as they had not been touched before.” Kurtz (1993) calls it the “crime of the century.” Initial investigations by the Warren Commission established that one Lee Harvey Oswald was single handled responsible for the murder but was murdered before he could stand trial. However, it was later revealed by the investigating panel that high ranking government officials might have been involved. Further investigations revealed that more than one person was involved in the murder. Consequently many theories have been developed to explain the conspiracy behind this murder. The assassination in itself was made more significant by some happenings that followed Kennedy’s death. Livingstone (2004) says that many Americans were in denial that Kennedy was dead. However, with the coming of another president, Lyndon Johnson the truth hit hard. A number of theories have been suggested with some claiming that Cold War forces were involved. Up to now, the mystery and the intent of the murder continue to draw a lot of interest is a sensitive issue more among old generation Americans (Livingstone, 2004). The fear of a vacant oval office made very real by the assassination of President Kennedy united Americans. Again, there was general national apprehensiveness emanating from the threat of the Cold war. Having displayed a lot of wit in his short period in office, the American citizenry was grieving in the loss. This gathered the nation together in mourning. Livingstone (2004) argues that sympathy to the Kennedy family propelled his brothers to the political limelight. The 70’s: Watergate Scandal The first President of the US to resign from office was John Milhous Nixon. This happened on 9th August 1974 following the revelations of the Watergate Scandal. This event had a huge political and social dimension in the American history. John Nixon was born in California and served in the navy during the Second World War. After retirement, he joined politics and was elected as the running mate to Dwight Eisenhower in the 1952 presidential election. In fact he was one of the youngest vice presidents ever, after serving in Congress for two terms and a failed contest for the California Governor seat, he declared retirement from politics. However in 1968, he contested the presidential election and won (Dautrich, Yalof, Newell, & Shomaker, 2009). The scandal named after the Watergate complex started with five men breaking into the offices of the Democratic National Committee. These were Bernard Baker, James McCord, Virgilio Gonzalez, Frank Sturgis and Eugenio Martinez. They were arrested and were charged with attempted burglary and tapping of telephones and other communication. Investigations later revealed that the five men were linked to the 1972 Committee to Re-elect the President. The Nixon administration tried in vain to cover up the story which had already leaked out. The connection to the Committee to Re-elect the President was in form of money and bank transactions where the five men operated the committee bank accounts. This revelation was highly covered by the media as the president continued to deny any involvement. Relying on anonymous sources, the New York Times and the Washington Post dedicated much coverage to the scandal and elicited a lot of interest in the public. The Washington Post revealed that the CIA, FBI, Attorney General, John Mitchell and the Justice department were all in the know about the break in and had all along covered it up (Dautrich et al 2009; Williams, 1998). As evidence poured in on the president’s involvement and with advice from fellow republicans, Nixon bowed to the inevitable. On the evening of 8th August 1974, the president issued a speech that insisted on his innocence. In part it read “I have never been a quitter. To leave office before my term is completed is abhorrent to every instinct in my body. But as President, I must put the interest of America first.” (Dautrich et al 2009, p. 78). Gerald Ford was later sworn in as President and immediately pardoned Nixon. This would later cost him the seat in the 1976 elections. Later on, Ford suggested that he had promised the presidential pardon to Nixon in return for his resignation and him taking over the presidency. As such, the Watergate scandal dragged through the better half of the decade (Williams, 1998). The 80’s: Physical fitness craze of According to the American Sports Data, nothing has had more profound significance in American culture and lifestyle in the last 30 years than the emergence of the fitness revolution. This consciousness in physical fitness grew steadily throughout the 60’s and the 70’s and peaked in the 80’s. Political activities such as the ongoing cold war had lost momentum having been present for a long time. Again the domestic political arena was somehow calm with the conservative nature of the reigning president then, Ronald Reagan. On the other hand, there was mistrust between the people and the political elites due to past scandals such as Watergate and the FBI bribery case in the late 70’s. As such, Americans sought to preoccupy themselves with physical fitness (Lauer, 2006). This revolution had other influences on fashion. It is during this era that the wearing of sports shoes and other traditional sports apparel was accepted as ordinary or casual wear. Conventionally sneaker shoes were limited to sports people and could hardly be worn outside the gym of the sporting arena. Manlow (2009) also notes that the revolution stimulated change in the cloth making industry. For women, they were eager to show off their slim bodies and hence went for tight fitting outfits. Men on the other hand were more than willing to show off their muscles and hence followed suit in taking up tight clothing. Thomas (2009) writes that through the fitness revolution, the fashion and sportswear industry merged to some extent to accommodate one another. The fitness craze shaped the world of fashion in America and the world over. The shell suit popularised by gym and fitness enthusiasts soon found its way into the street. Physically fit persons had more confidence to participate in sports and also the stamina to do so. Manlow (2009) also notes that this ideology formed the basis of healthy eating as people shunned away from fatty foods, more so women who aspired to be slim. Madonna formed the model image of women in this era with her slim body (Lauer, 2009). This ideology of “small is beautiful” in women that grew with the fitness craze is being felt up to now not only in America but all over the world. The 80’s decade formed the turning point in American culture. Politics was no longer the unifying factor. Celebrities such as Madonna and Michael Jackson were viewed by the public as the real icons of America. While Ronald Reagan provided an excellent climate for economic development, social life as facilitated by improved economic status of the people took centre stage. Individuals would form clusters and groups according to their social affiliations other than the traditional political affiliations. The media popularised various fashions and neighbourhoods thus brainwashing Americans on what was in and what was not. The 90’s: The arrest and trail of O. J. Simpson This decade formed the hallmark of American idol worshipping. While the decade saw the official end of the Cold war and the commencement of the Gulf war, nothing much is recorded about it. But enter O. J. Simpson; a former football player who was accused of murdering his estranged wife, Nicole Simpson and her lover, Ronald Goldman. The criminal proceedings following his arrests did not lead to his imprisonment. Despite glaring circumstantial evidence pointing out Simpson’s presence at the scene of murder, the prosecutorial team was unable to convince the jury of Simpson’s role. Hunt describes it as the most publicised trial of the 20th century. In contrast, other high profile murders of rappers Tupac and Notorious BIG had taken place but had carried no level of mystery as Simpson’s case. These celebrities also managed to create a culture that still exists as hip hop and gangster life which was popularised further by the media (Manlow, 2009). However, it is important to note that the case gained much popularity due to the eventful hunt for the suspect. His hunt, for over 50 miles long involved police and press helicopters and numerous police cars. In fact the chase was so slow that the NBC had the opportunity to air the chase live. The man was suspected to be planning a suicide going by the note he had left behind. As such, the chase was slowed to avoid scaring the suspect to commit suicide. After being arrested, Simpson stood trial for double murders a hearing that took 134 days of televised testimony (Hunt, 1999). A professor of critical studies at the University of Southern California, Todd Boyd said "I think the O.J. Simpson case is the ultimate reality TV show. It really changed the way we think and talk about race and celebrity; the way trials work now. Whenever there's a big case now, you can guarantee that it's going to be on television somewhere because of O.J." (Morales, Para 4) Simpson had assembled a strong team of defence lawyers headed by Robert Shapiro, and Lee bailey among others. The defence team also included DNA experts who argued against police findings. This team is said to have cost US$3-6 million. In the case the defence team argued on the basis of racism and fraud to bring down a famous athlete. On October 3, 1995, the jury delivered a not guilty verdict throwing the whole of America into confusion after DNA witnesses and DNA evidence openly showed Simpson’s involvement in the murders (Hunt, 1999). Conclusion From the above events, it is obvious that the people have until the current decade given relatively low attention to politics. Having a well established political systems and effective checks and balances; Americans have little worry about mismanagement of the oval office. In the earlier decades, Americans were economically and politically insecure. Therefore, any small threat such as radical politics was treated with a lot of care. In the later decades, after gaining economic and political security, Americans have gone back to rediscovering themselves as one people through common culture. Due to the diversity of the population, cultural aspects keep on changing with the media playing an integral part and giving direction. References American sports data, Retrieved on 5th October 2009 from, http://www.americansportsdata.com/pr-fitnessrevolution.asp Colloff, P. & Hall, M. (1998) Conspiracy theories. Texas Monthly, November 1998. Retrieved on 5th October 2009 from, http://karws.gso.uri.edu/jfk/conspiracy_theories/Texas_Monthly/Texas_Monthly_The_Consp_Theories.html Dautrich, K., Yalof, D., Newell, C. & Shomaker, M (2009). American Government: Historical, Popular, and Global Perspectives, New York: Cenage Learning Donaldson, Gary. 1997. 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