Recent orders
United States History, Great Depression
Name:
Tutor:
Course:
Date:
United States History, Great Depression
Topic 1
One of the reasons for the Great Depression was the downfall of the banking sector. The banks were not monitored in areas of lending and the investments they made. Since the economy was not controlled by the government before the great depression, their lending rate was very high and they made questionable investments as well as investing their client’s money in the stock exchange. When the stock market crashed, the banks lost a lot of money. At the same time they could not depend on the money they had loaned to people because they were unable to pay them (Berkin, 722).
The second reason for the Great Depression was the crushing of the Agricultural sector. The years of prosperity saw the United States farmers benefit fro selling their produce in the local market. During the era of President Coolidge, they were unable to sell their produce in the international market because the president did not sign the bill that would allow the government to sell agricultural produce in the international market on behalf of farmers (Berkin, 728).
The third contributor of weakness to the economy was Hoover’s idea to create a Reconstruction Finance Corporation meant to benefit average citizens. Taxpayers’ money was used to develop this corporation which at the end only helped those in the big corporations who had access to the money (Berkin, 724). Hoovers intention was to restore the economy to where it was, but the idea of the corporation backfired on the nation contributing to the Great Depression.
Topic 2
The United States was enjoying a long period of prosperity before the Great Depression of 1929. Many including the secretary of treasury thought that the depression was a temporary thing and would come to pass making the economy of the United States even stronger (Berkin, 723). However, this was not the case because the depression led to the failure of the economy. The years before the Great Depression were characterized by political policies by President Coolidge. His policies on the economy clearly stipulated that the economy of the United States was not the business of the government.
As explored by Berkin in his book Making America: A History of the United States, the poor policies implemented by president Coolidge and his successor president Hoover are the main causes of the Great Depression. The economy of the United States had been left like a free market where all could do whatever they pleased without the intervention of the government. The banks were not controlled by the government and they invested their clients’ savings in the stock exchange and other unsound investments. With the crushing of the stock exchange and collapse of the economy, this was a major contributor of the economic downfall. The agricultural sector also collapsed due to the same issue that involves the failure of the government to interfere in the economy. Hoover’s response to this issue by creating a Reconstruction Financial Corporation only made the situation worse. The people felt that these policies had to be changed because the Great Depression not only affected them, but also other countries. When Roosevelt declared his candidacy he was elected as the president of the United States.
Works Cited
Berkin, Carol., Miller, Christopher., & Cherry, Robert. Making American: A History of the United States since 1865, Volume II. Florence: Cengage Learning, 2010. Print.
United States History of McCarthyism
Name:
Tutor:
Course:
Date:
United States History – McCarthyism
According to Berkin, Miller & Cherry the end of the Second World War created a new world order (788). The Americans hoped that after emerging the superpowers in the war, they would now lead a more peaceful life, own homes and even expand their economy. However, their dreams and hopes were partially fulfilled because the United States entered into a cold war with the Soviet Union soon after the Second World War. While the other superpowers were devastated with the outcome of the war, the United States and the Soviet Union emerged winners and were therefore competing for economic, political and military dominance. The USSR invaded Yugoslavia and Poland attempting to accomplish what Hitler could not accomplish which was to conquer Europe. The USSR introduced communism in every country they conquered in Europe. However, the United States was against communism which forced it to declare war against communism. This resulted to the cold war that last nearly fifty years after the Second World War (Berkin et al 788). This war affected the whole world having some internal and external consequences.
In the late 1940s and also in the 1950s, Americans suffered a period of fear and hysteria because they thought the Soviet Union would attack them at any time. This fear made the Americans believe that there were communists working in America so as to undermine them. McCarthyism was the use of communism to disgrace political ideas, ruin cultural ethics and the reputation of individuals suspected to be communists. As a result, many Americans were constantly on the look out suspecting their neighbours and friends to be communists (Berkin et al 806).
McCarthyism threatened the basic rights of Americans. Many used this as a way to overpower their enemies. If one could prove that another was a communist, then their word was taken as true. This is a good example that shows how the democratic system in the US was weakened (Berkin et al 806). During this period, the Americans felt that they had to keep their opinions to themselves to prevent being accused that they were communists. As is evident in the 1950s and in the 1960s the McCarthyism made it right for the government to violate the political and civil rights of Americans by going to the extremes of opening their mails and following them around so as to weed out the communists among them.
Conclusively, McCarthyism is a bad thing that negatively affected the Lives of Americans. It instilled fear among Americans that they could be having communists living among them made making them to continuously look over their shoulders. Revelations of the violations of civil rights of political and civil rights of Americans by the government made the Americans questions the government’s dedication to democracy.
Work Cited
Berkin, Carol., Miller, Christopher., & Cherry, Robert. Making American: A History of the United States since 1865, Volume II. Florence: Cengage Learning, 2010. Print.
United States History from 1812-1914
Name:
Institution:
Course:
Tutor:
Date:
United States History from 1812-1914
Question 1:
The historic migration of Americans assumed different forms and had varied causal factors. This section provides an analysis of these causal factors with respect to westward migration between 1820s and 1850s, the obstacles that populations and the implications of this migration to the entire US. In his review, White indicates that the movement of people to the west during this time was driven by a host of factors (White 78). To begin with, they wanted to search for cheap and arable farms for agricultural production. The gold rush has also been cited to have attracted various groups in the region. Also, the Mexican war and relative economy distress prompted people to move in order to secure their survival.
During movement, they experienced various challenges that had detrimental effects on their welfare. The terrain was rough and did not have clear roads for easy movement. This made the journey to be slow and hence exposed the populations to different life threatening conditions. Also, the weather conditions were extreme and these led to the death of a significant percentage of the moving population. Perhaps the most devastating impact stemmed from their lack of food. Since the journey took a significant period of time, some of the groups finished their reserves on the way and suffered hunger related problems.
This movement has diverse impacts on the rest of the American society. Notably, it increased industrial activity in the region as industries were situated therein. Minerals such as gold made it possible for regional growth and development. The increased population and improved quality of life shifted the political power that became concentrated in the region. Finally, the diverse population led to incidences of lawlessness that can be attributed to mingling of different value systems and general ways of life.
Question 2:
The civil war began with the firing on the Union forces at fort Sumter. This continued for a significant period of thirty four hours and culminated in the death of one soldier. It also led to the evacuation of the union soldiers from this form. This took place after most confederate states had seceded from the union. The firing resulted in the capturing of Sumter and efforts to recapture it led to the expansion of the war.
The goals of the south entailed securing independence and their state rights that they believed were being infringed upon. Their main strategy was to capitalize on the home environment and capture northern union soldiers. The goals of the north on the other hand were to abolish slavery that was considered dehumanizing and be able to maintain the union. With respect to strategies, it sought to destroy anything as well as everything that could enable its counterpart to win. In his review, Resch posits that the south believed that they could win the war because they thought that the north’s soldiers were not dedicated to the war (Resch 1867). As such, they trained and mobilized their leaders and soldiers towards the cause.
The indecision that had been exhibited earlier on by the south with respect to seceding from the union made the north believe that they were best suited to win the war. The high quality industrial infrastructure also made the north believe that they would defeat the south. Essentially, the north won the war because it had more economic resources as well as more sophisticated machinery that they employed in fighting. The immigration of the population to the north further empowered it at the expense of the south. It won by destroying everything as well as anything that could aid the south in winning the war.
Works Cited
Resch, Paul. Americans at War. Culture and the Home front, 2 (2005): 1816-1900
White, Richard. A History of the American West. USA: University of Oklahoma press, 1995.