Political History of the
United States |
Prelude from
American
Nations:
A History of the Eleven
Rival Regional Cultures
11 nations with distinct identities and values
|
![]() |
|
1. The First Nations American
natives worked well with French in Northern areas until broken promises and English beliefs about their
own superiority soured them. 2. El Norte – These outposts of Spain's Colonial Empire consisted of independent minded Spanish frontiersman ranchers coming up from Mexico. 3. New France – Expanding the French colonies, these furs trading explorers wanted to take careof the lands they settled in Canada and upper New England. They were explorers, not terribly ideological, who wanted to trade. They integrated peacefully with Native Americans and wanted to take care of the land. |
||
4. Yankeedom – Founders wanted to create a Puritanical fundamentalist Utopia with mandated education, justice, rights for all humans. They hated the English and most wanted freedom of Relegion as long as it was their own. 5. New Netherlands – Dutch founders wanted to trade furs and engage in shipping from a cosmopolitan meeting place. Did not care about English politics or slavery.6. The Midlands – Quaker William Penn wanted a tolerant isolated Quaker anti-slavery society. They loathed the Yankee religious theocracies. |
7. Tidewater – English gentry created estates in Virginia using indentured servitude but they switched to slavery when the indentured servitude system degraded. 8. Deep South – English traders from Barbados where they acquired resources using violence and slavery. In Charleston they grew cotton in a society designed to benefit a wealthy few. 9. Greater Appalachia –Mostly lowland contrarians from Scotland and Ireland came to escaped English domination. They settled in poorer Appalachians lands. These hearty people valued individual liberty. |
10. The Left Coast – Ingenious people who moved West to preserve the land's natural beauty. Wanted a utopian planned educated community. The Far West – Explorers, hunters and. adventures were joined by East Coast anti-government capitalists. They railroads and river transport to create wealth from mining, lumber and oil. |
Political Eras |
Important Events |
Elections 1788-1824 England's Political Influence Finally
Ends and the South Has Some Success
in Controlling Northern Business Interests. Federalists favored unity through a strong central government, close ties to Britain, a centralized banking system, and close links between the government and the men of wealth who should run government. Republicans under Jefferson Madison and Monroe strongly opposed Alexander Hamilton's Federalist agenda. They stressed being more of a Republic where the individual is sovereign as opposed to democracy where the sovereign is the group, the majority.
|
1788 1824 1)
Executive privilege was used by G.W.. to keep
Jay Treaty documents
from Congress.
1828-1852 1856-1896
1)
Panic of 1857 was caused by over-consumption of goods from
Europe which lowered the money supply. |
Elections 1828-1852
Federalism vs.
State's Rights and Democracy vs. Republican the Fight Begins
When the
Democratic-Republican Party of the Jefferson became factionalized in the
1820's Jackson's supporters began to form the modern
Democratic Party. It hoped to pass political power from established elites to
ordinary voters. It supported the primacy of the Presidency over the
other branches of the U.S. Federal government. They continued the
Bank War
by opposing renew the charter of Alexander Hamilton's Bank of the United
State. Democrats also opposed Whig sponsored
modernizing programs that they felt would build up
industry
at the expense of the
taxpayer.
These battles continue today! Democrats fought the rival
Adams and
Anti-Jacksonian factions which soon emerged as the
Whigs. They were led by
Henry
Clay who advocated the primacy of
Congress over the
Executive Branch as well as policies economic protectionism of
Northeastern industry. Elections 1856-1896 Civil War Ends, Northeast Takes Control, The Gilded Age is Built on the Backs of the Poor, Especially Women, Immigrants, and Blacks The civil War was followed by massive industrialization centered on rail roads, canals and steamships. Massive wealth was created. Farm mechanism lowered the cost of food and this coupled with science made for a somewhat more prosperous middle class. Immigrants suffered. |
Elections Progressives and Populists
Finally End to the
Gilded Age But
Business Power Would Return
After WW I.
The 1896
realigning election resulted in a republican forged conservative coalition
consisting of businessmen, professionals, skilled factory workers, and
prosperous farmers. There would be
opposition which created two unsettled decades called the Elections 1932-present Party Control Flip Flops Like a Yoyo but Progress Is Made
Republicans
were penalized by outrage
caused during the summer of 1932 by Veteran
Bonus Army deaths. It combined with the of Hoover's domestic policies.
Change
was demanded. |
1896-1928
1)
The 1898
Spanish–American War
victory resulted from our desires for a colonial empire and business interests.
Business also had pushed for the 1897
Dingley Tariff Act which promoted industry
at the expense of consumers as the tariff was added to the price paid by consumers. The
Gold Standard protected savers
but its inflexible money supply caused hard
times. 1932-present 1930s Government Safety Net Deficits, Like War Deficits, Prove Attractive to voters 1973 Finally Brings_ Fast Track Civil Rights US Economic Normality 1945-2015 Post WW2 International Economic Competitive Adjustment Five Recurring Political Discussion Themes Three Continuing Questions Developed
|
|
The Good The Bad
1.
Interned
American Citizens in 1942 consisted of 150,000
mostly Japanese men, women
and children.
The Ugly U.S.
Cost of War
Concise Studies
Recent Decades
Ranked by Problems
U S Banking Problems
|
|
Author's Ramblings |
|
1 The idea that Muslims Extremism is behind all military confrontations in the Middle East, Africa and Asia reminds me of the Cold War. Then regime change in Egypt and Syria and Para military confrontations in Central and South American were all said to be inspired by Communist. Looking back, neither Egypt or Syria became Communistic and few of these conflicts resulted in communist governments. Oligarch looking to control lesser developed countries needed money and the USSR would contribute to one side and the U.S. to the other side. Today, conservative Muslims have the money! |
2According to Henry Kissinger's biographer Walter
Isaacson, President Johnson's reason for U.S. involvement in Vietnam was called
the Domino Theory. The idea that Nation A falling to Communism would make it
easier for Nation B to fall and then C would fall quickly. This idea was
already being questioned when Nixon took offices. Henry's reason for taking
six years and not the
promised six months to withdraw from Vietnam was the importance of
maintaining U.S.
foreign policy creditability. No attempt was made to compare the
importance of credibility in South-East Asia with that related to Central
Europe, the Middle East, Korea/Japan, Central America and at home.
About half of the U.S. Vietnam causalities occurred during the Nixon-Kissinger watch even though both men entered office thinking the Vietnam War was not winnable. How many lives should we spend today so that credibility save future lives? Statements that something will hurt the U.S. should always be followed by how, how much, in relation to what, at what cost ... |