A History of the People of the United States of America - Assignment Example

1. A. What were the hunting and agrarian traditions of early Native Americans? Native Americans used bows, arrows, and sturdy knives. The knives were made of strong animal teeth, which had stones or wood for the handle. Also, farming became a part of the early Native American economy by producing and cultivating beans, corns, and squash (Lippert & Spignesi, 2008). B. In what ways did the religious beliefs of Indian peoples reflect their environmental adaptations? The diffusion of myths, rituals, and religious beliefs of the Northern Hunting and the Southern Agrarian people brought aboriginal Americans. The Northern people brought to the south their hunting rituals and magic, visions of shamans, and their worship of the Master of Animals. While the Southern people also spread to the north through their crops. Also, they brought with them priests and cults, and amalgamated magic and rituals to their crop cycles (Waldman, 2009). 2. A. Define a “frontier of inclusion” Frontier of inclusion is defined as the manner of colonization in which there is the incorporation of cultural, economic, and ethnic parts of an indigenous society with an intrusive society. Aside from this, the most specific incorporations of these two societies also include crops, diet, dialect, and construction materials (Black, 1995). B. In what ways does this description apply to the Spanish empire in the Americas? In relation to the frontier of inclusion, this was the manner used by the Spaniards during their colonization of the Native Americans. They had used forced and persuasion in order to convert the Native Americans (Hine & Faragher, 2007). 3. A. How did France and Spain support the colonists’ cause in the Revolutionary War against the British? France and Spain supported the colonists against Britain by deploying armies and supporting their alliance with America. France and Spain provided war weapons to the rebels and monetary loans against Britain and declared war against Great Britain with America and Holland (Lanning, 2008). B. How did each benefit from this alliance? France benefited at the end of the war by gaining pride and land. Also, Spain benefited at the end of the war by acquiring vast parts of the Gulf Coast and the western part of the Mississippi River (Lanning, 2008). 4. A. Describe the process of acculturation involved in becoming an African American. Acculturation is defined as the pattern of beliefs and behavior that is a result of a semi-permanent interaction with a prevailing culture. The acculturation of African Americans is in line with internal acculturation. In this manner, the African Americans absorb their beliefs and behaviors by associating themselves with other racial groups (Paniagua, 2001). B. In what ways did slaves “Africanize” the South? There were many African influences to the Southern part of America. One of these is the adoption of the Southerners of the male and female names of the Africans to their newborns. Another was the Africans’ influence on music and dance to the Southerners. African slaves were fond of singing while at work or going to work, which greatly influenced the Southern musicality and instruments (Ownby, 1993). 5. What were the key differences between Whigs and Democrats of the 1830s, and what did each party stand for? The primary difference between the Whigs and the Democrats during the 1830s was that the Whigs were in favor of “commerce and activist government” (Murrin et al., 2011, p. 333), and they hoped for equality and freedom among blacks and women. The Whigs went away with the orthodox belief of citizenship and used governmental strength in order to build “commerce, social interdependence, and cultural homogeneity” (Murrin et al., 2011, p. 333). On the other hand, the Democrats often times doubted commerce and believed that there was inequality in the in the male citizens due to the market revolution. They also opposed the attempted maneuver of the Whigs of the private and public behavior and gender and race distinction (Murrin et al., 2011). 6. Abolitionism differed little from other reforms in its tactics, but the effects of anti-slavery activism were politically explosive. Why was this so? The effects of anti-slavery activism was massive such as directed the American politics to American anti-slavery and had aided in clearly defining policies and agenda. It had also considered slavery as evil, an act formed in maltreatment and sufferings. Lastly, anti-slavery activism had brought the need to legally remove slavery (Quirk, 2011). 7. Wars always have unexpected consequences? List five of those consequences both for soldiers and for civilians in the North and in the South. During the war, the North and South suffered many deaths; there was an increase in slavery, there was no growth in the industry, racial inequality was also rampant, and the economy suffered greatly (Kennedy, Cohen, & Bailey, 2010). 8. Evaluate the achievements and failures of Reconstruction governments in the southern states. The greatest achievement of the Reconstruction governments was the creation of the public school system in the Southern state. Aid was also given to the poor, physically and mentally ill, and orphans. There was also a reorganization and reformation of the tax system and judicial system. However, the downsides were there was no economic development, there was segregation in the public schools, discrimination was still present, and most of the Blacks remained as laborers (Stroud & Schomp, 2007). 9. Explain the rise of Jim Crow legislation in the South and discuss its impact on the status of African Americans. The Jim Crow law was established in order to intensify the segregation of African American in America. The law permitted cinema halls, schools, restaurants, hospitals, and other public and private facilities not to allow African Americans to gain equal access to these facilities. It was a legal code that also included literacy examinations in voter-registration and also allowed intimidation of African American voters (Kennedy et al., 2010). 10. How did the Progressive Era’s new immigration reshape America’s cities and workplaces? The Progressive Era affected the cities in terms of using the city manager system. The American cities adopted the manner of government through commission and also the cities were able to control their own utilities. There were also structural reforms and direct state elections. In the workplace, labor departments were created in order to cater the complaint and difference of employees and employers. The workplace became a safer environment and exploitation was lessened (Perry & Smith, 2006). 11. Compare the arguments for and against American participation in the Great War. Which Americans were most likely to support entering the war? Which were more likely to oppose entry? Many of the Americans opposed the involvement of the U.S. with the Great War. Conservative isolationists opposed due to their fear that the taxes might increase while the Liberal isolationists opposed because they feared an increase of expenditure in the military and that more domestic problems will be unresolved. The involvement in the Great War was opposed by many isolationists for fear that they might lose their freedom and houses (Norton et al., 2010). 12. Analyze the uneven distribution of 1920s’ economic prosperity. Which Americans gained the most, and which were largely left out? Most of the people that benefited during the economic prosperity of the 1920s were fury businessmen. Many were involved in illegal businesses, which allowed them to prosper momentarily. The uneven prosperity affected negatively affected the Black Americans, the poor farmers, the immigrants, the employees of the old industries, and the poor whites in the urban areas (Segal, 2010). 13. A. How did mobilizing for World War I change the economy and its relationship to government? The mobilization of the World War I coordinated the economy and allocated the production between the civilians, the Allies, and the armed forces. The World War I was mostly financed by the government through loans and new taxes (Chambers, 1999). B. Explain which of these changes, if any, spilled over to the postwar years? The World War I has brought the creation of the Army Industrial College, which allowed a more comprehensive study on the demands and supplies needed by the troops. Strategies and minimal changes were also done in order to gain preparation for the transition of people and materials (Chambers, 1999). 14. A. What were the underlying causes of the Great Depression? The underlying causes of the Great Depression are still being argued. However, it can be inferred within the event that the overproduction of the supplies in the industry and agriculture was one of the causes. Other causes were unequal wealth distribution, risky banking behaviours were prominent, the investors manipulated the stock market, and the excessive use of credits for purchase (Clark, 2004). B. What consequences did it have for ordinary Americans, and how did the Hoover administration attempt to deal with the crisis? Americans who had been experiencing hardship prior to the Great Depression experienced a harder life. There was an economic collapse and pay cuts and low resources were experienced by the privileged American. President Herbert Hoover aggravated the situation by signing the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act. The act was made in order to protect the American employees from foreign competitors, which brought difficulty in the purchase and import of foreign goods. This made the America’s trading partners angry and conceded to enact legislation to place tariffs on goods produced by America (Neal, 1998). 15. What role did the federal government, business, and labor play in gearing up the economy for World War II production? The role of the federal government was expanded to guarding social welfare and by organizing labor. The National Labor Relations Act was implemented in order to protect the rights of employees. The Social-Security Acts was also implemented to protect the welfare of the elders and to provide for their benefits (Clark, 2004). References Black, N. (1995). The frontier mission & social transformation in Western Honduras the Order of Our Lady of Mercy. Danvers, MA: E.J. Brill. Chamber, J. W. (1999). American military history. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Clark, S. (2004). The depression thematic unit. Westminster, CA: Teacher Created Resources. Hine, R., & Faragher, J. (2007). Frontiers: A short history of the American West. U.S.: Yale University Press. Kennedy, D. M., Cohen, L., & Bailey, T. A. (2010). The American pageant. Boston, MA: Wadsworth. Lanning, M. (2008). The American revolution 100: The people, battles, and events of the American War for independence, ranked by their significance. Naperville, Il: Sourcebooks, Inc. Lippert, D., & Spignesi, S. (2008). Native American history for dummies. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Publishing. Murrin, J. M., Johnson, P. E., McPherson, J. M., Fhas, A., Gerstle, G., Rosenberg, E. S., & Rosenberg, N. L. (2011). Liberty, equality, power: A history of the American people (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth. Neal, A. G. (1998). National trauma & collective memory. New York, NY: M. E. Sharpe, Inc. Norton, M., Sheriff, C., Katzman, D., Blight, D., Chudacoff, H., Logevall, F., Bailey, B., & Michals, D. (2010). A people and a nation: A history of the United States. Boston, MA: Wadsworth. Ownby, T. (1993). Black & white cultural interaction in the Antebellum South. Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi. Paniagua, F. A. (2001). Diagnosis in a multicultural context. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Perry, E., & Smith, K. (2006). The gilded age and progressive era. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Quirk, J. (2011). The anti-slavery project. Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Press. Segal, E. A. (2010). Social welfare policy and social programs: A values perspective (2nd ed.). Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning. Stroud, B., & Schomp, V. (2007). The reconstruction era. New York, NY: The Marshall Cavendish Benchmark. Waldman, C. (2009). Atlas of the North American Indian (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Facts on File Inc. Read More