the West, Gilded Age, and Urbanization/industrialization: 1865-1898
During the period between 1845 and 1898, America rose as the world's most powerful, industrial nation, marking its reputation and authority and reestablishing the "Utopian" society that once unified and uplifted colonists of the Puritan society. However, beneath the shining, glimmering surface of the nation laid corruption and social tensions that ultimately pulled the nation apart towards the end of the era. As a result of the false reputation, in a sense, that it held, western and eastern immigrants endured hardships during their voyage to the arrive at the "Golden Gate of Liberty," and as predicted, these immigrants realized the irony and hypocrisy of the nation, as it was not the "land of opportunities" as they had hoped for. As the nation continued to expand west and native Americans were stripped of their rights to those lands, America went through an extensive period of industrialization and urbanization, increasing trade between the east and the west. In response to this industrialization, the gap between the rich and the poor continuously expanded, especially due to the rise of large corporations and political machines: these large corporations eventually rose to power within the nation and took control of the economy, politics, and social systems, creating corruption and injustice within society.
Corrupted society
During the late 19th century, as a result of expansion of trade and communication, industrialization, and urbanization, America experienced extreme social tensions and violence due to the unfair and corrupt distribution of wealth and power within society. As shown in the political cartoon above, the social gap widened during this time period, as the wealthy continued to increase their power and wealth, taking control of the entire nation using fear tactics and bribery, strong enough to take over the government as well. Without doing the actual work and hard labor, the wealthy practically stole money from the impoverished and the low working classes while running their own big businesses. In fact, although it appeared that the wealthy were running the nation, they only possessed the title and the power while in reality, the poor stabilized the nation through labor and was actually holding up the corrupted nation from drowning and sinking into the depths of ruins. As shown, the minorities, immigrants, and laborers made up majority of the population with a few wealthy "aristocrats." Therefore, this shows the extent of the power the wealthy possessed and the importance of wealth in determining ones status. Beliefs of natural superiority, which serves as a continuity throughout history, were reinforced through beliefs that arose from ideas of Social Darwinism and Gospel of Wealth by Andrew Carnegie, a major steel company owner. Thus, this image best encapsulates the Gilded Age because it generally sums up the political, economical, and social corruption of the nation and the ultimate consequences that came from greed and selfishness to become the world's most powerful industrial nation. Overall, this image implicitly depicts the irony and hypocrisy of the "land of the free" and "land of opportunities," as although American appeared to be a perfect, Utopian society, underneath laid the corruption that was slowly rotting the nation away from true democracy and freedom.
Primary source documents
How The Other Half Lives What Social Classes Owe to Each Other
Jacob Riis (1890) William Sumner (1883)
Jacob Riis (1890) William Sumner (1883)
What
As indicated by the sources above, the one on the right is the novel What Social Classes Classes Owe to Each Other by William Graham Sumner, the era's most influential Social Darwinist. In response to the rising social tensions, Sumner redefines the term "freedom" as a right to each man that allows him to do as he chooses without interference from the government or anybody else. He explains that unlike what people commonly believed, freedom could not go hand-in-hand with liberty-they are from opposite ends of the spectrum. If one desired freedom, he or she needed to face and accept inequality, and if one desired equality, he or she would have to give up his or her freedom. Therefore, to further spread his opinions to a vast majority, he published his novel and proclaimed that in a free society, nobody was entitled to claim "help from, and cannot be charged to [offer] help to another" (Freedom in the Gilded Age 16). In modern-day terms, in his perspective, it was every man for himself. The poor did not have the right to blame the wealthy for being rich, as it was their own fault and did not deserve any aid from the government. As for the government, it did not possess the right to interfere with society created by nature. In contrast, the source on the left is the novel How the Other Half Lives by Jacob Riis in 1890 in order to portray the squalor and horrific conditions of the immigrants who came to America in search of a better, new, and prosperous life, only to face worse conditions. Seeing that many people were unaware of the conditions of immigrants living in poverty, Riis visited the slums of New York himself and took photos depicting the unsanitary, disease-prone settlement houses that were overcrowding. In his book, he published the photographs and received a wide response from his audience, who were shocked by the photos and descriptions.
Why
During this time period, with corruption as the dominating aspect of American society, the reason for the differences portrayed in the published works above was due to the rising beliefs of superiority and the expanding gap between the two social classes: the rich and the poor. The wealthy, essentially, had everything and most importantly, control over the entire nation through bribery and immoral ways, so anything that hindered their accumulation of wealth and attempts to raise themselves on the social class system was deemed as a "nuisance" and a threat to their being. Therefore, during the Gilded Age, the wealthy despised government regulation and interference and continuously encouraged "laissez-faire." In response, the rich became richer and the poor became poorer. The poor consisted of the lower, working classes and immigrants who mostly lived in settlement houses but due to the corrupted government ran by big business and major political machines, one notable one being Tammany Hall and Boss Tweed, the poor could no longer rely on government protection and had to seek help from mere settlement houses. Therefore, those with higher statuses, such as Sumner, believed that it was only fair for the wealthy to stay wealthy and provide no aid to the poor for their incompetency. However, Jacob Riis, who saw the injustice and corruption of society, developed a broader perspective and sought to help the immigrants in any way possible. Furthermore, what accounts for these differences specifically was the rise of technological innovations and the strong emphasis on science. As a result, a British scientist, Charles Darwin, published On the Origin of Species in 1859, in which Darwin proposed his theory of evolution, which was the idea that through natural selection, only the "fittest" could survive in the world of competition, or in short, "survival of the fittest." This concept was then largely accepted by society, and people misinterpreted the concept and began to use the term arbitrarily, to a large extent. As a result of these beliefs, extremists became known as Social Darwinists, who believed that the wealthy were the "fittest" and were expected to "survive," while the poor and the impoverished were expected to "disappear" due to their incompetency. Ultimately, these significant differences lead to intense social tensions among the two social classes and frustrated the immigrants and working class enough to influence them to protest, form unions, and go on strikes, pulling the nation further apart.
Structure
Structure-wise, the sources themselves differ because they are in the perspectives of two different people, despite the fact that they were both white Americans. In fact, although these two people share the same culture and ethnicity, they are practically enemies, in that while one supports the increasing gap between the wealth and the poor, the other seeks to mend the gap and create equality. The point of view of the first source is of a muckraker to hopes to enlighten people and open their minds to allow them to see the injustice and corruption of society. As depicted in his work, it can be inferred that Jacob Riis, author of the first source, envisioned a world where everyone was equal and happy, and the world was no longer defined by social classes. The contrasting source is also a published work written by Sumner to encourage the exact opposite and rather, create equality among the wealthy and only the wealthy, which is ironic in the sense that equality is usually termed with unifying people of different backgrounds and circumstances. Therefore, both sources show bias since they offer different perspectives of an ideal society, but from a broader perspective, the first shows less bias by showing the depths of society beneath the facade.
aNALYSIS
As depicted in the sources, there was a strong controversy over the status of American society and whether it was truly corrupt. Although industrialization and urbanization themselves were the centers of attention during this time period and seen as a positive aspect, they were the causes of extensive social tensions between social classes, as overpopulation and "foreignness" inspired beliefs of superiority and "survival of the fittest." From a different perspective, if an agrarian and "small-farming" society had been established, as Andrew Jackson and Thomas Jefferson had once proposed, there would most likely not have been the rise of corruption and political bosses taking control over the entire nation. As portrayed during different time periods aside from the Gilded Age, corruption often comes with over-ambitious goals and visions created by people who are greedy and willing to sacrifice themselves for the wrong causes. Eventually, the fight for wealth and to reach the top of the social pyramid creates violence and leads way to injustice. Therefore, during the Gilded Age, there was no equilibrium, in the sense that both the wealthy and the poor were selfish and greedy, only viewing their lives from their own, myopic perspectives and unwilling to view the entire situation from both perspectives. Specifically, the wealthy were focused on gaining more riches while the poor depended their lives on others by demanding protection through strikes and protests. Although it may be rather extreme to condemn the poor, it is true that both sides used violence and hatred towards one another for their own gains. An equal and free society could have been achieved if only both sides were willing to sacrifice themselves for others and contribute to the well-being of society for the betterment of the nation as a whole.
Continuity & Change
As mentioned, beliefs of superiority and social statuses based on wealth is a theme that represents a continuity throughout history, as such beliefs have been prevalent in majority of the time periods prior to the Gilded Age. Particularly, in this era, the general mistreatment of the lower classes and the constant growth of the higher classes emphasizes the beliefs of "natural superiority." Just as the Native Americans and the African Americans have faced, the immigrants, particularly those from Asia, faced persecution and discrimination due to their wealth and in some cases, their appearance. In regards to appearance, people tend to fear change, and when immigrants from eastern Asia, particularly China, emigrated to America in search of new opportunities and hopes of establishing a new, prosperous life, they faced worse conditions. In addition to their low status based on wealth, the white Americans viewed the Chinese immigrants as aliens, in a sense that they looked different and cherished a different culture. They were different, like the African Americans. Therefore, as it is apparent during other time periods, especially during colonization and prior to the Civil War, the white Americans responded by passing the Chinese Exclusion Act, closing the "Golden Gate of Liberty" from the Chinese. From this, white dominance and racial inferiority, along with social classes based on wealth and status, serves as a major continuity throughout history, as portrayed by this time period, that still exists today to a lower extremity.
Sources
http://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/sumner-what-social-classes-owe-to-each-otherhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_the_Other_Half_Lives
https://www.enotes.com/topics/how-other-half-lives
http://lithub.com/edith-whartons-indictment-of-gilded-age-inequality-still-relevant/
https://www.enotes.com/topics/how-other-half-lives
http://lithub.com/edith-whartons-indictment-of-gilded-age-inequality-still-relevant/
What to Know About Trump's Visa and Refugee Restrictions
(CNN) President Donald Trump's road to the White House was paved in part with hard-line promises such as building a "great, great wall" along the US-Mexico border and outright banning immigration from any nations "compromised by terrorism."
After a week in office, Trump has sought to make these dramatic steps the pillars of his national security policy, scrawling his signature on executive orders aimed at reshaping immigration across the United States.
Here's what you need to know about the latest controversial actions.
What immigration restrictions are under consideration?
An executive order signed by Trump on Friday bans all people from certain countries from entering the United States for 90 days. The text of the order doesn't name the countries, but a White House official said they are Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia. The same order also suspends the US Refugee Admissions Program for 120 days until it is reinstated for nationals of countries that Trump's Cabinet believes can be properly vetted. The total number of refugees admitted into the United States will be capped during the 2017 fiscal year at 50,000, down more than half from the current level of 110,000. During his campaign, Trump vowed to ban Muslim immigrants from countries with a "proven history" of terrorism against the United States or its allies. Friday's executive order gives the Department of Homeland Security leeway to prioritize refugee claims "on the basis of religious based persecution" as long as the person applying for refugee status is "a minority religion in the individual's country of nationality." That would make it easier for Christians and other religious minorities in majority-Muslim countries to enter the United States than it would for Muslims in general.
Trump's order also cancels the Visa Interview Waiver Program, which once allowed repeat travelers to the United States to be able to forgo an in-person interview to renew their visa. Under the new order, these travelers must now have an in-person interview.
"We strongly believe that refugees should receive equal treatment for protection and assistance, and opportunities for resettlement, regardless of their religion, nationality or race," the International Organization for Migration and the U.N. refugee agency said in a joint statement.
What's the reaction to his plan?
Abed A. Ayoub, legal and policy director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, said Trump's actions were "tantamount to a Muslim ban."
"In our view, these actions taken by Trump and this administration have nothing to do with national security," he said. "They're based off Islamophobia, they're based off of xenophobia, and we cannot allow that to continue."
Justin Cox, a staff attorney with the National Immigration Law Center, agreed.
"This is a Muslim ban," Cox said. "It doesn't say that in those words, but those seven countries are Muslim-majority."
The National Iranian American Council, for instance, pointed out that all seven nations have Muslim-majority populations.
"We agree with the goal of making America safe from terror, but a blanket ban based on national origin does nothing to achieve that objective," the council's statement said.
How many people come to the US from countries Trump is targeting?
In the last fiscal year, 43% of refugees admitted into the United States came from the seven countries that could be affected by restrictions, according to data from the Refugee Processing Center. The Obama administration had pushed to resettle at least 10,000 Syrian refugees in the United States as part of humanitarian efforts in 2016. During fiscal 2016, which began October 2015 and ended September 2016, the United States admitted the following number of refugees from the seven countries: 9,880 from Iraq; 3,750 from Iran; 1 from Libya; 9,020 from Somalia; 12,587 from Syria; 1,458 from Sudan and 26 from Yemen.
Are other types of visas available?
Apart from refugees, there are also other types of visas issued by the United States. Here are the number of total US non-immigrant and immigrant visas issued to the affected countries in 2015: 15,509 to Iraq; 42,542 to Iran; 3,575 to Libya; 1,409 to Somalia; 11,962 to Syria; 2,153 to Sudan and 7,668 to Yemen.
What do critics of the resettlement effort say?
The issue is a major domestic political flashpoint. Critics like Trump and several Republican governors have expressed concern about the potential for ISIS or other terrorist groups to exploit refugee flows to reach the West.
Is it legal?
Hours after Trump signed the executive orders, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) announced it will mount a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the order. CAIR said more than 20 plaintiffs have joined the suit, the details of which will be announced Monday.
"The courts must do what President Trump will not -- ensure that our government refrains from segregating people based on their faith," said Gadeir Abbas, co-counsel on CAIR's lawsuit. Still, the Immigration and Nationality Act grants broad-ranging powers to the President:
"Whenever the President finds that the entry of any aliens or of any class of aliens into the United States would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, he may by proclamation, and for such period as he shall deem necessary, suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants or non-immigrants, or impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he may deem to be appropriate," part of the act reads.
This suggests Trump has a lot of leeway. But another section of the law, which was passed in 1965 during the Civil Rights movement, states that "no person shall receive any preference or priority or be discriminated against in the issuance of an immigrant visa because of the person's race, sex, nationality, place of birth, or place of residence." In an analysis piece, David Bier, an immigration policy analyst at the Cato Institute, wrote that such protection extends to green card holders and may not extend to non-immigrants such as refugees, asylum seekers,
guest workers, tourists and temporary visitors.
What will be some effects of these actions?
Melanie Nezer, vice president for policy and advocacy at HIAS, a Jewish nonprofit, said Trump's actions could be devastating for refugees. "People will literally, if this goes through, not be allowed to get on planes, or arrive in the US and be told they have to go back," she said.
She said she wonders whether refugees who have already been approved for travel to the United States will have their papers revoked.
"So maybe they've given up their housing," Nezer said. "Maybe they're waiting at the airport and everything has been sold."
Said Cox, "It could have real consequences for individuals who have been issued visas and are making their way to the United States right now. They could conceivably be denied entry at airports or at the border."
Is there precedent for this?
President George W. Bush suspended refugee admissions for three months after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks while certain safeguard were put in place. However, banning people from specific countries is new.
"I'm not aware of any prior such edict from the president saying that people from a particular country aren't permitted to be admitted as refugees," Cox said.
CNN's Azadeh Ansari, Radina Gigova and Jennifer Deaton contributed to this report.
Source:
http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/28/politics/trump-immigration-refugees-visa-policy/
(CNN) President Donald Trump's road to the White House was paved in part with hard-line promises such as building a "great, great wall" along the US-Mexico border and outright banning immigration from any nations "compromised by terrorism."
After a week in office, Trump has sought to make these dramatic steps the pillars of his national security policy, scrawling his signature on executive orders aimed at reshaping immigration across the United States.
Here's what you need to know about the latest controversial actions.
What immigration restrictions are under consideration?
An executive order signed by Trump on Friday bans all people from certain countries from entering the United States for 90 days. The text of the order doesn't name the countries, but a White House official said they are Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia. The same order also suspends the US Refugee Admissions Program for 120 days until it is reinstated for nationals of countries that Trump's Cabinet believes can be properly vetted. The total number of refugees admitted into the United States will be capped during the 2017 fiscal year at 50,000, down more than half from the current level of 110,000. During his campaign, Trump vowed to ban Muslim immigrants from countries with a "proven history" of terrorism against the United States or its allies. Friday's executive order gives the Department of Homeland Security leeway to prioritize refugee claims "on the basis of religious based persecution" as long as the person applying for refugee status is "a minority religion in the individual's country of nationality." That would make it easier for Christians and other religious minorities in majority-Muslim countries to enter the United States than it would for Muslims in general.
Trump's order also cancels the Visa Interview Waiver Program, which once allowed repeat travelers to the United States to be able to forgo an in-person interview to renew their visa. Under the new order, these travelers must now have an in-person interview.
"We strongly believe that refugees should receive equal treatment for protection and assistance, and opportunities for resettlement, regardless of their religion, nationality or race," the International Organization for Migration and the U.N. refugee agency said in a joint statement.
What's the reaction to his plan?
Abed A. Ayoub, legal and policy director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, said Trump's actions were "tantamount to a Muslim ban."
"In our view, these actions taken by Trump and this administration have nothing to do with national security," he said. "They're based off Islamophobia, they're based off of xenophobia, and we cannot allow that to continue."
Justin Cox, a staff attorney with the National Immigration Law Center, agreed.
"This is a Muslim ban," Cox said. "It doesn't say that in those words, but those seven countries are Muslim-majority."
The National Iranian American Council, for instance, pointed out that all seven nations have Muslim-majority populations.
"We agree with the goal of making America safe from terror, but a blanket ban based on national origin does nothing to achieve that objective," the council's statement said.
How many people come to the US from countries Trump is targeting?
In the last fiscal year, 43% of refugees admitted into the United States came from the seven countries that could be affected by restrictions, according to data from the Refugee Processing Center. The Obama administration had pushed to resettle at least 10,000 Syrian refugees in the United States as part of humanitarian efforts in 2016. During fiscal 2016, which began October 2015 and ended September 2016, the United States admitted the following number of refugees from the seven countries: 9,880 from Iraq; 3,750 from Iran; 1 from Libya; 9,020 from Somalia; 12,587 from Syria; 1,458 from Sudan and 26 from Yemen.
Are other types of visas available?
Apart from refugees, there are also other types of visas issued by the United States. Here are the number of total US non-immigrant and immigrant visas issued to the affected countries in 2015: 15,509 to Iraq; 42,542 to Iran; 3,575 to Libya; 1,409 to Somalia; 11,962 to Syria; 2,153 to Sudan and 7,668 to Yemen.
What do critics of the resettlement effort say?
The issue is a major domestic political flashpoint. Critics like Trump and several Republican governors have expressed concern about the potential for ISIS or other terrorist groups to exploit refugee flows to reach the West.
Is it legal?
Hours after Trump signed the executive orders, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) announced it will mount a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the order. CAIR said more than 20 plaintiffs have joined the suit, the details of which will be announced Monday.
"The courts must do what President Trump will not -- ensure that our government refrains from segregating people based on their faith," said Gadeir Abbas, co-counsel on CAIR's lawsuit. Still, the Immigration and Nationality Act grants broad-ranging powers to the President:
"Whenever the President finds that the entry of any aliens or of any class of aliens into the United States would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, he may by proclamation, and for such period as he shall deem necessary, suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants or non-immigrants, or impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he may deem to be appropriate," part of the act reads.
This suggests Trump has a lot of leeway. But another section of the law, which was passed in 1965 during the Civil Rights movement, states that "no person shall receive any preference or priority or be discriminated against in the issuance of an immigrant visa because of the person's race, sex, nationality, place of birth, or place of residence." In an analysis piece, David Bier, an immigration policy analyst at the Cato Institute, wrote that such protection extends to green card holders and may not extend to non-immigrants such as refugees, asylum seekers,
guest workers, tourists and temporary visitors.
What will be some effects of these actions?
Melanie Nezer, vice president for policy and advocacy at HIAS, a Jewish nonprofit, said Trump's actions could be devastating for refugees. "People will literally, if this goes through, not be allowed to get on planes, or arrive in the US and be told they have to go back," she said.
She said she wonders whether refugees who have already been approved for travel to the United States will have their papers revoked.
"So maybe they've given up their housing," Nezer said. "Maybe they're waiting at the airport and everything has been sold."
Said Cox, "It could have real consequences for individuals who have been issued visas and are making their way to the United States right now. They could conceivably be denied entry at airports or at the border."
Is there precedent for this?
President George W. Bush suspended refugee admissions for three months after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks while certain safeguard were put in place. However, banning people from specific countries is new.
"I'm not aware of any prior such edict from the president saying that people from a particular country aren't permitted to be admitted as refugees," Cox said.
CNN's Azadeh Ansari, Radina Gigova and Jennifer Deaton contributed to this report.
Source:
http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/28/politics/trump-immigration-refugees-visa-policy/
COMPARE & CONTRAST
In recent politics, President Donald Trump banned immigration from certain countries, particularly those of the middle east, in order to protect the nation from terrorist attacks. Although it was an attempt to protect the nation, President Trump has forbidden people from entering the United States at all, particularly from the Middle Eastern countries, such as Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen, and Somalia. These individuals were prevented from entering the United States with President Trump's visa and refuge restrictions and were unable to go back home to their families. From a broad perspective, President Trump's actions were much rather seen as hatred towards a particular ethnic group, using terrorist attacks as an excuse, exemplifying white superiority to a a large extent. Therefore, this historical, unjust event relates to the events that occurred during the Gilded Age, between 1865 and 1898, as it portrays how people of a particular race and ethnicity were arbitrarily persecuted, exemplified by the Chinese Exclusion Act, which banned Chinese immigrants from receiving the same economic opportunities as European immigrants. Much as people feared changed, due to the rise of Social Darwinism and the associate of skin color with wealth status, stereotypes became the basis of American society, as depicted in today's society. As people often repeat, just because someone is middle eastern, does not mean he or she is a terrorist. Although the group of people targeted differ from the Gilded Age and modern day, they still exemplify ongoing racism and the white superiority and domination.