SMART Goal for May 12th 2014

SMART Goal for May 12th 2014: Take practice AP exam in back of Kaplan review book. Finished with twenty five minutes left and received score of 61/80 or 76%. Feedback from test showed that I am weakest in the time period 1915 to present.

SMART Goal for April 16th through May 11th: Read chapters nine through thirty in Kaplan review book, finishing review book by the Sunday before the AP exam. Take quizzes after each chapter to measure strength of review.

SMART Goal for 4/4/14 to 4/6/14

SMART Goal for April fourth through 16th: finish review of early American history by reading through chapter nine Kaplan AP exam review booklet.

SMART Goal for 4/3/14: Continue review of Early American History with review of key dates in the age of exploration, colonial, and revolutionary key date flashcards on memrise.

SMART Goal for Spring Break

My SMART Goal for Spring Break was to study Brainscape Flashcards on the first three chapters of the text. I was able to realize my goal; however, I do need to increase my studying time and study more than one source

Impacts of Big Business on Economics and Politics and the Response of the American People

In the post-Civil War era, big business in the United expanded dramatically and rapidly. This expansion led to a stark increase in the production of American goods, in the amount of unskilled laborers, and in the amount of wealth in the country, while simultaneously eliminating small-scale competition and sharply weakening the demand for skilled workers; furthermore, the expansion of big business  caused unprecedented large scale corruption in the political system. The American people responded to these impacts through both an increased participation in consumerism and the formation of both political and economic organizations that sought to curb the prodigious influence of big business on American society.

Big business led to a drastic expansion in the production of American goods and the amount of capital in the nation. Big business al specifically increased the production of energy. A graph showing the food, fuel, and lighting prices as well as the standard of living illustrated that prices for  food, fuel, and lighting declined significantly between 1870 and 1899 and that the standard of living also slightly  decreased. These decreases were due to big business and the ability to mass produce these utilities by companies like Pillsbury and Standard Oil and due to the utilization of technological innovations such as the use of the Bessemer Converter (used to mass produce steel) by US Steel  (A). Mass production also led to an increase in the amount of wealth in the United States. Industrial exports, especially steel, sharply increased because of the mass production of products by massive corporations like US Steel and Ford Automobiles. Through the wealth created by big business, the United States saw the first large scale charity work by industrialists.

Large corporations produced immense, concentrated amounts of wealth in American society; through their concentrated fortunes, many American industrialist were enabled to give back to the nation and society. Andrew Carnegie, in Wealth, stressed the need for the rich to give back to the poor and present them with an opportunity to better their social and economic situation. Carnegie, himself once a poor Irish immigrant, set up a trust to provide libraries for the urban poor as a means of climbing the socioeconomic ladder (E). Other industrial leaders made similar efforts as Carnegie. John D. Rockefeller, for example, set up similar trusts to bolster the situation of the poor. Large scale corporations not only impacted the poor of American society with an increased amount of charity work, but also with an increased amount of job opportunities.

Large-scale businesses also led to a myriad of job opportunities for unskilled workers and minorities. A photograph of female typists in 1902 exemplified the magnitude to which minority groups and unskilled laborers were employed under big business. Although wages were low and working conditions were poor, big business did create hundreds of thousands of previously unavailable job  opportunities for minority groups and unskilled workers (J).  along with new job opportunities came mass production and with this mass production, came the American response of a growing involvement in consumer culture.

The American people responded to mass production by purchasing more goods and strengthening the consumer culture. Theodore Dreiser, in Sister Carrie, illustrated the the effect of department stores on the public and the increasing urbanization and consumerism associated with it. These department stores--such as those of the Montgomery Ward Company--were enabled by the ability to mass produce consumer goods and appealed mostly to those who could afford them--namely, the upper and middle classes (I). So, consumerism was a response to big business’s impact on the American people that was largely limited to the wealthy or those who could afford to consume goods. However, Big Business did sharply limit competition in the market and harm the local economy.

Big business monopolized industry and harmed the local economy. As noted in by George Rice in “How I Was ruined by Rockefeller”, big business eliminated competition through methods such as vertical and horizontal integration, utilizing the theories of economies of scale, and, perhaps most significantly, through the rebate on shipping goods by railroad. Through these practices, small companies had essentially no way to avoid the monopolization of their companies by a bigger one, such as Rockefeller’s Standard Oil (H).  Large scale corporations, utilizing Taylorism, also sharply cut the demand for skilled workers. The economist and engineer David Wells in 1889 discussed this bypass of the skilled worker in the new industrial system (C).  Because Industrialist could produce the same product as a skilled worker more cheaply and efficiently, the decline of the skilled worker came about rather quickly. Big business not only monopolized the economy, but also caused unprecedented corruption in the political system.

Big business impacted American politics by establishing a firm and corrupt foothold in the government. A labor leader in 1887 illuminated the vast amount of control corporation owners had, not only in the economy, but in American society as a whole, most notably in politics (C). The  amount of control big business had in politics was incredibly large, best depicted in these of the Sherman Antitrust Act to break up labor unions by the federal government (which was controlled by industrialists). Joseph Keppler’s political cartoon in Puck described the massive corruption in the political system to the extent that he claimed that the Senate was no longer for the people, but now for the leading industrial tycoons (D).  The American people responded to the unprecedented influence of big business in society by forming political and economic organizations that sought to curb the authority of large corporations.

Perhaps the most significant response of the American people to the impacts of big business on society was the formation of political and economic organizations to combat the authority of big business. Samuel Gompers, leader of the American Federation of Labor, demanded that corporations improve conditions and wages for the worker and recognize the right of workers to unite for a common voice to combat the corporations. Other unions like the Knights of Labor and the Grangers sought to limit the authority of big business and used tactics such as striking. The most notable of which were the Haymarket Square and Pullman Strikes; however, the government did not intervene on the side of labor in either instance, once again illustrating the corruption of the political system by big business. Other organizations sought to use politics as a means to combat big business. The People’s Party stated in their platform that their goal was to limit the influence of big business in the government and return authority to those it belongs to--the people (F). Both the PEople’s party and the Grangers established considerable gains in ending corruption in the political system; The People’s Party removed many corrupt officials from office and the Grangers established laws the benefited farmers. This was a response mostly confined to the poor and the progressives of the  middle class.

In conclusion, Big business impacted the economy through monopolization, increased production, and the employment of unskilled laborers; moreover, big business caused political corruption, to which the American people responded with organizations to combat the authority of big business in society and with increased consumerism

Unit 2 Essay: An "Era of Good Feelings"

 Dustin Messner

          The period after the War of 1812 is historically labeled as the “Era of Good Feelings”, and, while this label was accurate culturally, it proved to be false in the economic and social aspects of American life; furthermore, the politics of 1815 to 1825 initially resembled an “Era of Good of Feelings” but, as time progressed, this label became inaccurate. Therefore, the “Era of Good Feelings” only applies to the rise of cultural nationalism and not the political, social, and economic realities of 1815 to 1825. The period from 1815 to 1825 consisted of a stark rise in nationalism and pride in the American identity, but also of the continual growth of social, economic, and political sectional issues. Nationalism, with its emphasis on pride in the country and federal government, supported the label of an “Era of Good Feelings” however, sectionalism displayed differences in interests based on regions and thereby dismissed the label.

            The rapid growth of cultural nationalism supported the idea that the period after the War of 1812 was an “Era of Good Feelings”. Some of the events of the War of 1812 helped spur Nationalism. For example, in the Battle of New Orleans, American troops overwhelmingly defeated the British troops who had been victorious against Napoleon at Waterloo. This victory helped form the image to the public that the United States had a strong military and an influential position in global affairs; thereby, fostering cultural nationalism. Other examples of cultural nationalism can be found in literature. The circulation of the works of Daniel Webster like his American Spelling Book created an association amongst the population with a unique American identity and culture. Nationalism was also present in works of art, such as John Krimmel’s depiction of a Fourth of July celebration. Krimmel utilizes the symbols of George Washington and the American flag to exemplify American patriotism and unity (C). James Monroe’s Goodwill Tour in 1816 also helped develop a sense of cultural unity and actually earned the label of an “era of good feelings” by the Columbian Centinel, a once Federalist newspaper. Thus, culturally, it was an “Era of Good Feelings” as illustrated in the development of nationalism in works of art and language and a sense of unity amongst the American people. Economically, the “Era of Good Feelings” was largely an inaccurate label.

            The Economic strife and debate from 1815 to 1825 emphasized sectionalism. John Randolph argued that Congress was unfairly levying taxes on the agricultural regions of the West and South, while favoring the industrial Northeast. Randolph is specifically referring to the protective tariff of 1816 meant to protect the textile industry of the Northeast and promote the market for American goods. Because John Randolph was arguing that the people of a certain section (farmers of the West and South) were being taxed unfairly, his argument illustrates economic sectionalism and emphasizes that the economic opportunities were much more abundant in the Northeast than in the West and South (A). Although there were some efforts to unite the economic affairs of the country, such as John C. Calhoun’s effort to unite the country through transportation, they were largely unsuccessful. For example, President James Madison vetoed John C. Calhoun’s Internal Improvements Bill, designed to promote a national transportation system, in 1817, emphasizing the lack of national agreement on the issue of improvements in transportation (B). Economic sectionalism dismissed the label of an “Era of Good Feelings” and was accompanied by social sectionalism.

            Social unrest was a prodigious sectionalist factor from 1815 to 1825. The Density of Population in 1820 illustrated that the North was tremendously more densely populated than the rural South, showing the potential conflict between the urban centers of the Northeast and the agrarian rural society of the South and emphasizing sectionalist differences between the Northeast and the South (E). Thomas Jefferson in a letter to John Randolph noted his fears that the issue of slavery would eventually divide the Union. Furthermore, Jefferson wrote his letter in 1820, at the same time as the Missouri Compromise, suggesting that Jefferson believed that the Missouri Compromise was only a temporary fix to the enormous social issue of slavery and the sectional issues it fostered (F).  Politically, there was initial nationalism followed by a large degree of sectionalism.

            The label of an “Era of Good Feelings” was initially an accurate label, but, as time progressed, the label became inaccurate. The decision in the case of McCulloch v. Maryland in 1819 stated that the federal government had the right to charter a bank, increasing the authority of the national government and emphasizing political nationalism (D). In the Election of 1820, James Monroe won by a landslide and the Federalist party had been destroyed by the Hartford Convention; thus, there was only one political party, leading to a great amount of political nationalism. The Density of Population in 1820 showed that the Northeast had a higher population than the South, meaning that the North controlled the House of Representatives. So, while there was only the Republican party in politics in 1820, there was a large amount of sectional tension between the North and South that would emerge over time (E). Still, in 1823, these tensions had not surfaced yet as John Quincy Adams in a letter emphasized the need for a strong stance against Britain, Spain, Russia, and Prussia--The Holy Alliance. Quincy’s letter stressed an influential role in global affairs and coincided with the Monroe Doctrine—both assertions of political nationalism (H). The presidential elections of 1820 and 1824 illuminated the change over time in nationalism and sectionalism in American politics. In 1820, an overwhelming majority elected James Monroe president, showing an absence of sectionalism; however, in 1824, each candidate received votes based on their section of the country and no candidate received a large majority of the votes. The Election of 1824 also saw the reemergence of the party system and the sectional issues that were present in the legislative, but not executive branch, of 1820 (I). The supporters of Andrew Jackson also proclaimed the election of 1824 a “corrupt bargain” reiterating the sectionalism of the voters and ending the political “Era of Good Feelings.”

            The “Era of Good Feelings” was an accurate label in the cultural aspects of American society; however in economic and social matters the label was largely inaccurate. American politics was initially an “Era of Good Feelings” but saw the emergence of sectionalism and proved the label of an “Era of Good Feelings” inaccurate.

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