The Public Sphere In The United States
Political campaigns and elections in the United States changed dramatically between 1815 and 1840 due to large social and political changes, such as universal white male suffrage which caused caused more voters in the middle and lower classes, and the growth of the common man ideal which resulted in politicians that were voted into office based on their background rather than their actual political views and knowledge. The political changes that granted universal white male suffrage caused an increase in eligible voters (doc 1). This increase in eligible voters (mainly the middle class) led to a demand for politicians who were more inclined to push for legislation that would benefit the “common man”, this included topics such as child labor
The 1816 elections had brought with it a referendum on the Fourteenth Congress’s Salary Act. Per Seller, “Instantly a volcano of public indignation erupted, the greatest ever known” (104). This example indicated the feelings of a growing uneasiness between parties and their constituents. Many seasoned politicians were defeated in re-election bids leaving a new and inexperienced Congress to deal with growing national issues. The country was sectionalized by critical issues including tariffs, slavery and “new class politics in the states” (Sellers 138).
So begins the evolution of a growing nation. The year was 1815 and America as we knew it was drastically changing. These changes stemmed from multiple improvements in areas to include the social sphere,
There was a separation in classes which caused an unequal balance between rich and poor. As the revolution came to commence, the poorer classes felt mistreated by the wealthy and disliked them so they sided with the British and supported and fought for them instead of their own people. The wealthy and rich soon realized that they needed the lower classes to support them and they reasoned with them to gain their trust and support. They started economic policies to appeal to the lower classes and adapt their hold in the war. Zinn announces that the Founding Fathers wanted the lower classes to stay down and wanted to control the profits and economy of the government for their own benefits and appeal to only themselves.
The lower class wanted this to change, and after the revolution had taken its course no only did America's government change but their society changed. Wood says that “one class did not overthrow another”, but that social relationships changed. This made everyone more socially equal; the lower class now how had more dignity, and there was a sense of respectability for
Nearly all political systems in the 1700s were exclusively for elite and upper class individuals. Political participation was at all time life since the number of people who could and wanted to vote was extremely low. This was no longer the case. While some elitism and superiority of politics
This was also a time of no personal or corporate income taxes. This allowed the heads of businesses to become very wealthy such as Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockfeller. A few people were becoming very wealthy and otheres were growing more poor. " Class divisions became more and more visible," (pg. 601).
The Civil War not only abolished slavery, but also threw the significant challenge of rebuilding a war-torn nation. Although initiated with the best hopes and intentions, the ‘Reconstruction’ of the USA had collapsed miserably for it had failed to establish a nation with equal rights for all. As a consequence, class discrimination and racial injustice had engulfed the American society. Besides having similarities and differences, the struggles for racial justice in the late 19th century and the struggles for economic justice in the Gilded Age are not only reminders of the failed ideology of the reconstruction, but are also evidence which shows us that the upper class of the society in that era were reluctant about the upward mobility of the poor.
Cotton fashioned the Federalist South. This new found goods was so extremely lucrative that its splendor exposed to a formerly shut culture to the magnificence, the revenue, the manipulation, and the social magnitudes of a greater, more attached, global community (Locke & Wright, 1983). Inhabitants who were less diverse became more multicultural, more educated, and better-off. As the people fortunate to have found themselves better-off systems of class was established. Previous all were considered a group, but with the new found class system, people were divided into upper, lower and middle class.
Politically America had just abolished slavery, and began a new age of industrialism, which created large political changes within America. The strive to create a new class began as many Americans and new immigrants along
These types of men claimed to benefit the society most in these positions of power because, due to their wealth, policies did not affect them personally – they were so rich that essentially nothing could threaten them. This, the rich men claimed, gave them an unbiased perspective on what was best for the whole of the country. “The people” have always been an ever-changing group, as Hamilton noted at the Constitutional Convention, giving their desires a more temporary focus – not the long-term stability desired by the elite for this new republican society.
Not long after the civil war, America had been launched into a whole new era of industrialization. Commonly referred to as the Gilded Age, outwardly it seemed as though many bright changes were coming along, while underneath it all there were problems that had still yet to be addressed. Between the War and Gilded Age, a new wave of flowed in stirring the nation into an uproar. African Americans were still finding their place in society after the institution of slavery had been removed, and education, an idea that had not been prominent in the minds of many, was on the rise. Old World countries faced a huge growth in population, leaving almost no room for many citizens to live.
The procedure of attaining a position in government dramatically changed in the United States between 1820 and 1840, and the rise of mass democracy was responsible for this. Many social changes occurred that changed the way officials were elected into government. Unfortunately, voting was still limited to free, white men, and it was the same white, wealthy men running for office, but these officials had to gain the respect of the common man to gain power. Along with an increased interest in politics, there was also a growing influence and respect that the rest of the population had in the voting process. Between 1820 and 1840, the rise of mass democracy changed the political stage, and men such as John Marshall, Henry Clay, Andrew Jackson, and William Henry Harrison played a role in this process.
Another myth surmised by many during the “Gilded Age” was that America embraced an egalitarian society. Yet, what newcomers witnessed was most certainly the opposite. Those who were not American citizens and/or born into wealth did not experience a comfortable lifestyle. For example, Thomas O’Donnell, a textile worker, experienced the agonizing truth of the ever present inequality and the predisposition to poverty in American society. As he stated in a testimony before a U.S. Senate Committee, “I went to work when I was young...
The awareness of the public economic difference has yet brought focus back on to the Gilded Age and the Progressive Era in American history, a topic that hasn 't really been mentioned since the financial crisis, also known as the Global Financial Crisis that occurred in late 2007 leading into 2008. The periods we know as the Gilded Age and Progressive Era were focused more so on the wealth, which is why we compare that time to the time we live in today. Our problem when researching for historical analogies is that we tend to examine in past with our own personal assumptions, finding what all we want, which would consider us to be biased. We are honored to be able to observe the history of our country through the works of Michael McGerr 's A Fierce Discontent: The Rise and Fall of the Progressive Movement in America, 1870-1920. Up until today 's time, historians of the era had given up on the different impulses behind the reform efforts of the progressive era.
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