Week 3 Reflection: Capitalism & "The Real America"
Hello class, I hope everybody week was great and the best one so far of this new year 2020. The Gilded Age was this week's topic and it introduced the beginning of "The Real America" as I would like to call it. To have a better understanding of the topic we need to review some definitions. The Gilded Age was a period of transformation in the economy, technology, government, and social customs of America. This transformation forged a modern, national industrial society out of what had been small regional communities. During this period the term Industrial Capitalism or just Capitalism, in general, is used, and Capitalism is an economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state.
(This picture gives a great example of how the new industries of mining, train tracks, mills, and plants increased Capitalism in America)
After the Civil War and the Reconstruction period, many Americans saw an opportunity to get rich and get away from the past that they were living in. This gave Americans an idea to move out west were at the time it was considered to have only 1 person per square mile. Out west towards Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, and California, there were plenty of lands and the discovery of different minerals and gold came about. This would lead to new inventions such as the railroad system, the creation of barbwire, and other items that would increase the production on the farms. The use of these new inventions would be the start of the "American Dream" for some. Waiting and already settled out west where different Native American Tribes that Americans were trying to take over. Just ending a period of fighting among one of another, the Americans came encounter with another war fighting the Native Americans for nearly 30 years. Just like any other take over, the Native Americans were defeated and enslaved. This was not an issue as the west was just developing, and no laws pertained to the Native Americans. Once everybody started migrating across America, Modern America and "The Real America" started to officially form.
The government from the Reconstruction period was reestablished with people from all types of different backgrounds. With the involvement and motivations coming from all perspectives, somebody had to have the idea to enslave everybody in some type of way. The way they would do this is enslaving is by making people work for wages. The term "Wage Slavery" was used and this handicapped people because it did not allow the workers to live comfortably with their families. Then some white people got smart and separated them self from others so they could earn a "Living Wage", allowing them to live comfortably. Just another term to separate the rich and the poor.
As I mentioned in another blog post, we have to look at the way words are being used from the past and also in Modern times. In the power points, it says that wages=oppression and freedom=self sufficiency meaning not having to work for someone else. If that is the case, are we still enslaved as of today, just in a different era? I think we are, but we are just being shaped by the government in ways that seem more reasonable then how they did it in the Gilded Age.
Bibliography:
Picture: https://www-tc.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/media/__sized__/canonical_images/film/TheGildedAge_2800x1576-resize-400x0-50.jpg
"A thirty Years War" http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=2&psid=3499
After the Civil War and the Reconstruction period, many Americans saw an opportunity to get rich and get away from the past that they were living in. This gave Americans an idea to move out west were at the time it was considered to have only 1 person per square mile. Out west towards Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, and California, there were plenty of lands and the discovery of different minerals and gold came about. This would lead to new inventions such as the railroad system, the creation of barbwire, and other items that would increase the production on the farms. The use of these new inventions would be the start of the "American Dream" for some. Waiting and already settled out west where different Native American Tribes that Americans were trying to take over. Just ending a period of fighting among one of another, the Americans came encounter with another war fighting the Native Americans for nearly 30 years. Just like any other take over, the Native Americans were defeated and enslaved. This was not an issue as the west was just developing, and no laws pertained to the Native Americans. Once everybody started migrating across America, Modern America and "The Real America" started to officially form.
The government from the Reconstruction period was reestablished with people from all types of different backgrounds. With the involvement and motivations coming from all perspectives, somebody had to have the idea to enslave everybody in some type of way. The way they would do this is enslaving is by making people work for wages. The term "Wage Slavery" was used and this handicapped people because it did not allow the workers to live comfortably with their families. Then some white people got smart and separated them self from others so they could earn a "Living Wage", allowing them to live comfortably. Just another term to separate the rich and the poor.
As I mentioned in another blog post, we have to look at the way words are being used from the past and also in Modern times. In the power points, it says that wages=oppression and freedom=self sufficiency meaning not having to work for someone else. If that is the case, are we still enslaved as of today, just in a different era? I think we are, but we are just being shaped by the government in ways that seem more reasonable then how they did it in the Gilded Age.
Bibliography:
Picture: https://www-tc.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/media/__sized__/canonical_images/film/TheGildedAge_2800x1576-resize-400x0-50.jpg
"A thirty Years War" http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=2&psid=3499
Wassup Braxton, I totally agree with you. I respect the movement of the Americans for striving to be better in life. I respect how they fought and didn't give up they kept trying. I feel as if since they couldn't have slaves that's why the had people working for low wages. I don't think that's far either.
ReplyDeleteHay Braxton, great reflection I really enjoyed reading this. I totally agree with your view and how you feel about week 3. You hit it right on the bullseye when you touched on the part about Gilded Age. Also when you said in your reflection “The Gilded Age was this week's topic and it introduced the beginning of "The Real America". Overall this was a great reflection.
ReplyDeleteHey Braxton! I liked hearing your perspective on the labor movement and how workers were being treated. The gilded age started the era of greed and many employers and wealthy people in power did everything out of their own self-interest. It is interesting to see how our country shifted towards capitalism and made it the competitive market it is today.
ReplyDeleteHi Braxton,
ReplyDeleteHope your week was great too. I can't remember how mine was but knowing my daughter it was busy. The picture you choose for week 3's blog speaks volumes seeing as this era was a money motivate era. All the new inventions came about in hopes to create more jobs and earn more money.
Hey I love the way you broke it down and also the picture you used. I don’t think it’s okay that they treated people as if they was just products. All they wanted was to make money a bunch of money hungry people In one place is a set up for disaster. This really messed the country up and has been really hard to come back from. The good thing is it’s slowly getting better.
ReplyDeleteHey Braxton. You did a really good job on this. I really liked reading this and your layout is one of my favorites. A lot of corporate business owners during this time were very corrupt and money hungry. The Gilded age definitely established greed within many employers and wealthy people and in retrurn they treated people poorly for their own personal gain. I will enjoy reading more from you in the future!
ReplyDelete