Obviously Henretta sees a social issue with this time period. And after reading chapter 10, I see it too. The United States was progressing in many areas of society, and was degrading in others. From the movement of women from the kitchen to the classroom we saw progression. From the Second Great Awakening where sober people flooded the parks to share ideas and discuss religion, one could arguably say "we progressed". The standard of living increased thanks to ingenuity, wonderful geographic positioning, along with an abundance of natural resources. We progressed. A representative democracy in action. We progressed. However the hypocrisy of how people viewed and valued each other tends to lead me to think that we really weren't progressing much at all. Let's take Chapter 9's issue of how and why to be pro-abolitionist. Let's look at how the Second Great Awakening provided momentum for the abolitionist movement and women's rights. Or, at least the same ideology that slavery was wrong and women are to be treated as ladies. White women heard of the atrocities befalling enslaved women and sought to end the horrific treatment of women. The whole country saw the treatment of slave children and how abuse was a common occurrence. People gasped at the idea that families were ripped apart with the stroke of a pen and the exchange of some money. The northerners were sick with the idea of chaining someone down and forcing them to work for no money. And what did the northerners do about it? They spoke out against it. But then turned around and did nearly the same thing to their neighbors as soon as the economic advantage was in their backyard. Children were chained to machines. Women were forced to work long hours in textile mills for little to no money, often trying to repay debts brought on by this same "revolution of technology and industrial gain" And these families were torn apart by the stroke of a pen, and the exchange of so little money. So seeing the reaction of the northerners to the southerners before this economic and technologic boom, we could argue that the northerners were the instigators of progression, they brought about the Second Great Awakening. They fought for women's rights. The despised the idea of slavery. And the southerners were just a bunch of money grubbing farmers....right?But after this industrial revolution started picking up, could we say the northerners were simply trying to cash in on cheap labor the same way the southerners did? Who is really fighting for human rights? The north or the south?
Would you pin this time period as a social progression or a social digression?
With money flowing into the country and development booming, can we say that the reason we are a superpower today is all due to those women and children who worked long hours in the textile mills?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
9 comments:
Nice discussion. I enjoyed reading it. While in class today, I could not help thinking about how worthless the Southern plantation owners would be without slaves... because they constantly had slaves working the fields, they never had to learn any skills. There were no artisans in the South, just Yeomen farmers. It seems funny to me that if slavery were suddenly abolished and all set free, these plantation owners would have acquired no skills to survive. They could only hire these slaves for money or hire Yeomen farmers to continue the work.
It is true the plantation owners would have been worthless without slaves but what they did was wrong. Tearing families apart for their own enjoyment or a higher profit. This time period was a progression for some people (mostly those in the North) and a regression for others. This is just another example of why the South succeds from th union.
This time period was a progressive time period in the matter of slavery. The north, obviously, was more progressive in this aspect but the opposition is proof of progression.
At this time, it appears that there is both a social progression nor degression. Although many people in the North are antislavery, most Northerners have not taken any steps against slavery. At this time abolitionsts were not the majority. Many lower class Norherners even took relief in the fact that even though their lives were not perfect, their lives were always better than those of a slaves. As for women in the North, they are starting to hold jobs but in these factory jobs they are being forced to work long, hard hours. They have the ability to hold jobs, but don't have many rights within their jobs. So it doesn't appear that they really progressed much.
i would say while things by all means didn't become perfect, they were more of a progression. new ideas of love, and happiness were forming. no longer was the social structure so rigid. sentimentalism had began, these were the first 'hippies' in their time. yes while some things like chaining children to machines should be frowned upon, it was a necessity for the families of the time. the big family was on its way out the door and the families caught in this transition needed the extra income.
There is certainly something to be said about the women and children that helped the economy by working in the textile mills. The U.S. being a superpower had to start somewhere and the people working for lesser or no wages were the ones really helping to build the economy. So yes, the U.S. being a superpower is in many ways credited to women and children working in the textile mills.
I think it can be labeled as a progressive time period although things could have obviously been better. It at least started the ball rolling for women's rights and the end to slavery although it seemed people only spoke out against things when it was economically convenient.
I would argue that this was both a time of progression and of digression. America was developing more and more inner tensions in this time and it would come back to haunt them in the future, but obviously the economy took a hefty progressive boost and there was progression in women's rights.
Although many people in the North are antislavery, most Northerners have not taken any steps against slavery. At this time abolitionsts were not the majority. Many lower class Norherners even took relief in the fact that even though their lives were not perfect, their lives were always better than those of a slaves. As for women in the North, they are starting to hold jobs but in these factory jobs they are being forced to work long, hard hours.
Post a Comment