American businessmen, of the 1800’s, built America to be one of the greatest superpowers in the world. To start, businessmen of the 1800s consisted of men like John D. Rockefeller, Cornelius Vanderbilt and Andrew Carnegie. Some of these men were split by how they got their money; Captains of Industry and Robber Barons. Captains of Industry were business leaders that helped the nation in a positive way. On the other hand, Robber Barons were men that shrewd capitalists, swindled the poor and benefitted for themselves.
I'm a historian." Taylor is not the
When thinking about history in the past, I have always believed that it was straightforward. I knew that if I wanted to know something, I had to find the sources that contained the information. I had never thought about how that information came to be or why the author chose to include the information that he did. Reading “The Strange Death of Silas Deane,” helped me to see that everything is not as straightforward as it seems, and in order for you to completely have a full picture of something, you need to know all the information that is surrounding it.
Workers and families for the Pullman Palace Car Company in Illinois lived in a small town called Pullman and paid wages to the business in order to live there. The Pullman Company in 1894 cut wages but did not lower the price of living for these workers making them absolutely penniless “George M. Pullman, you know, has cut our wages from 30 to 70 percent. George M. Pullman has caused to be paid in the last year the regular quarterly dividend of 2 percent on his stock and an extra slice of 1 1/2 percent, making 9 1/2 percent on $30,000,000 of capital. George M. Pullman, you know, took three contracts on which he lost less than $5,000.” (U.S. strike commission, 1894) These workers and train car workers around the nation stopped working and started protesting all organized by a man named Eugene Debs.
He started this company in Chicago, Illinois, hiring workers in the town to work for him. Following the economic depression in America in 1893, Pullman changed the conditions of these workers. He cut wages, increased working hours, and laid off some workers. On May 11, 1894, several thousands of train workers responded to these conditions, starting an unannounced strike at the Pullman Company in Illinois. During the next couple of months many people died due to the violence that was going on in this strike.
In the journal article “ Andrew Jackson versus the Historians”, author Charles G. Sellers explained the various interpretations of Jackson, from the viewpoint of Whig historians and Progressive Historians. These interpretations were based on the policies of Jackson. The Whig historians viewed the former president in a negative way. They considered him arrogant, ignorant, and not fit for being president. Sellers pointed out that it was not just because of “Jackson’s personality…nor was it the general policies he pursued as president”
Historian as a Citizen written by noted political science Professor Howard Zinn , regarding historian 's views of human behavior. The passage reminds the reader to critique their perceptions of history and politics. Making the compelling argument that the position of the historian keeps evolving with the times and sociopolitical landscape. Ultimately , the proper role of the historian is to understand how history affects the present. Zinn starts off by saying " Traditionally , he is passive observer, one who looks for sequential patterns in the past as a guide to the future, or else describes the historical events as unique and disorderly- but without participating himself in attempts to change pattern or tidy the disorder" (Zinn 43).
History does not always convey the absolute truth. It offers only one side of the story. The strong and powerful voices always drown out the sounds of the weak and beaten. The winner’s word will always be taken over the loser’s. The content that lies within the textbooks was not written by the defeated.
History is a novel idea that has been a continuous idea throughout our time in class. We have gone over what history means to us, the students; as well as the authors and filmmakers we have studied. For me, before this class, History merely meant what we
The Pullman Strike, a rebellion against the big business and monopolization of George Pullman, tested the legal authority the government has over labor unions. In 1800, George Pullman, founder of Pullman’s Palace Car Company, created the town of Pullman, Illinois to house his employees (Bassett, 34). Everything was well in the town of Pullman until an economic depression hit, which resulted in the termination of “two-thirds of its workforce and severely cut wages” (Bassett, 34).
The Crucible History is bound to repeat itself. Events in history can always be parallel to modern examples. This is a frequent occurrence and it is natural progression of history. Of course these parallels aren’t flawless. As such making a social commentary alluding to one event through the perspective of another may require some invention of facts.
The Pullman Strike occurred at the Pullman Palace Car Company due to the Panic of 1893. The Panic of 1893 caused the car company to reduce the worker’s wages because the demand for luxury cars declined. George Pullman himself, who was a very successful businessman know for his innovation as an engineer (made the sleeping car), refused to negotiate, so the workers, and it eventually led to a boycott to the point that any train that transported Pullman cars were to refuse. The other major strike seen during this time period is the Homestead Strike. This strike took place at the Homestead Steel Plant run by Andrew Carnegie (one of the richest entrepreneurs in the Gilded Age).
History books writers want to “soften” the past by rewriting the past by taking out important facts and details. No more false history. “The state of Texas voted to soften slavery roles.” (Isensee 2015). The reason why
The two critical theories studied this week, new historicism and cultural criticism, share many of the same concepts. Both theories are under the belief that history and culture are complex and that there is no way for us to fully understand these subjects because we are influenced by our subjective beliefs. Also, both theories believe that people are restricted by the limits society sets, and that people and these limits cause friction and struggle. Furthermore, both of these theories share from some of the same influences such as from the French philosopher Michel Foucault. New historicist believe that the writing of history is merely an interpretation, not an absolute fact, other than the big facts we know such as who was president at the time or who won a certain battle.
These twist and turns, makes it easy for us to add and subtract from the story. Therefore, History isn 't stable or true for that matter, it’s our perception of the
