Power Struggle of Political Parties - Post WWII

How have political parties changed since World War II? What platforms have changed, and how has the power shifted in the government since then?

Political parties have been around since almost the beginning of our American government. With much speculation, the Founding Fathers created a two-party system that gave our government a sense of organization, and created a process where the parties would provide political leaders for election. This helped define our government’s system, and has sustained our government throughout the years, lasting until present day. Although there has been numerous changes to the system, the principle ideas of political parties have stayed the same. Throughout the years, not only has the platform of the parties changed, but the power of the parties within the government has switched many times.

The original two-party system was established with the Constitution by the Founding Fathers, to give a sense of organization to voters, and to make it easier for the voters to choose which side they want to support by showing the parties' policies and intentions for their position in government. By choosing candidates for elected positions, the voters have a clear idea of what is going on, and it makes it an easier process. The two-party system also prevents either party from gaining complete control of the government whether it is in the House, Senate, or Presidency. By criticizing other party members, and competing for power, the public has the opportunity to see both views and opinions of the two political parties.

The first competing political parties were established as Federalists and Republicans. Their policies were very different from current time, and the national support that they acquired has also changed intensely. The switch in power of the two parties did not happen for decades, but the original system did not work as well as they thought it would; originating the two-party system.

The change in power mainly occurred after World War II. The Great Depression brought about a powerful change in political party power, and created a divide between the parties. President Roosevelt's New Deal Coalition was the primary event that started numerous chain reactions in U.S. politics. This was an act that was passed during the Great Depression that financially aided victims of the economic depression by "passing economic relief measures, social security, laws helping unions, and other bills." (Scholastic). The New Deal Coalition, "redefined the role of federal government as an active agent in promoting the general welfare." (Scholastic). The democrats who supported this action felt that it was the government’s duty to jump in and help whenever possible. This started the obvious disagreement between the two parties where Republicans felt that the government’s power should be contained to minimal amounts, and the Democrats thought that the government was needed whenever possible. For the next twenty years, the democratic party maintained control of the government because of the widespread support that they had gained during the Depression. The New Deal Coalition started the separation, but the main cause of the change in power was due to Nixon’s plan to attain Southern voter support.

Southern Realignment started with the first term of presidency of Richard Nixon. His “Southern Strategy” was meant to "emphasize his support for states’ rights, law and order, and a strong military posture." (Cliff Notes). His goal was to win over Southern conservatives over to the Republican party. This realignment in political party control began the southern states’ change to republican support for the next 40 years. Although the change did not occur as rapidly as Nixon had intended, the gradual change lasted up until 1968, where the republicans gained control. An interesting mark that showed the republican power during that time, and the newness of the split government was the fact that Richard Nixon was the first president to take presidency without major support of his party in the House or Senate. This shows how the split government had never happened, before and how much was in store for the country from that point on.

From Nixon’s presidency to the 21st century republicans fought for power with the democrats, whether it was an odd party president without support in Congress, or a full party government. Nixon, Reagan, and Bush all had party divided power in the presidency during their terms. It was not until Clinton restored party majority in the 1992 election. Republicans then took power of both house of Congress in the 1994 elections. This made Republican leaders optimistic for an upcoming Republican Era, but the Democratic leaders also thought that the voters were going to change their views on the republican actions, and support the democratic party once again. The voters ended up resulting with a party divided control of government with a Republican majority in Congress, and a Democratic President of Bill Clinton. The government power changed yet again in the next presidential election, where George W. Bush maintained Republican political control from 2003 to 2006. It was not until the recent election of President Barack Obama where the democrats had majority control in both the presidency, and both houses of Congress, but in his second term of presidency, the House was attained by the republicans.

The fluctuation in political party control shows how diverse and changing our nation’s views on politics are, one could view that as a good or bad thing. The positive outlook of the fluctuating power shows how the American voters have different views, and how they are always thinking of new ways to alter the government for the better. On the other hand, the fluctuating party control could also show a sense of instability in our government. If you trace the political parties from their originating position, both power and platforms have changed greatly.The platforms of the parties have also changed, but not as substantially as the power struggle.  The majority power has obviously changed from Democratic to Republican numerous times, whether it was from Nixon’s Southern Realignment, or the changing views of voters today.

Sources

Poltical Party Platforms - This source provided me with a clear comparison of both parties' platforms. It also traced their change throughout the years, beginning with their original positions, to current day. This not only allowed me to see how they changed, but how they had started and what their views were like.

Roles of Political Parties - This source told me what the actual roles of political parties are. It explained why they were created, and what they do today. This helped me realize the change in their roles throughout the years as well.

Change in Power - This website provided me with my main source of research for my paper. It explained what events first started the change in political party majority, and how it occurred. I learned about Roosevelt's New Deal Coalition, and Nixon's Southern Realignment.

New Deal Coalition - This source gave me more information on the New Deal Coalition, and also how the democratic party lost support during this time. It also explained the exact affect that the Great Depression had on party support.

Government in America by: Edwards, Watenberg, Lineberry - The APUSH textbook explained more on the Southern Realignment, and what actually happened during that time. It also had many helpful comparison charts that helped me see the roles of parties more clearly. There were a couple graphs of voting poles, and the demographic of the party support that helped see who the voters were and what backgrounds they came from.

Founding Fathers - This source gave me quotes from the Founding Fathers, which helped me see their reasoning behind creating the parties, and how much hesitation they had while doing this.

Images 

Republican party

Democratic party

Differences of political parties

Political party control 1994-2014

Political party control over the years 

Cinderella Man

When creating a movie based on an event in history, there is always the challenge of keeping the movie accurate, while writing it to appeal to the viewers. The director has a very difficult job of forming the event so that the viewers stay intrigued and interested, while they stay true to the story. Ron Howard, the director of Cinderella Man, did a great job of keeping the basis of the Great Depression in tact, while keeping the story entertaining. Granted, not all aspects of the movie are true because he had to exaggerate some things to get the right emotions and thought from the viewers, the main ideas of the Great Depression are correct. By watching the movie, I learned more about how the Great Depression really affected families and individuals, and I learned it in an interesting way that made me want to learn more.

Ron Howard did a great job of portraying the struggles of the Great Depression, and how emotional it made people. The main character James J. Braddock, in the movie, had to take many desperate measures so that his family could survive the depression. In the movie Howard tweaks an event that truthfully occurred, to make the audience feel a type of empathy for Braddock. In the movie, Braddock goes to the boxing association and begs for money from the benefactors; this scene in the movie shows Braddock at a level of emotional wreckage that it is almost unbearable to watch. Although in history Braddock did beg for money for his family, he only went to one person to do so. That person later went on Braddock’s behalf to ask for money for him from the boxing association. This minor change in the script was made solely for the audience to be more invested and have sympathy for Braddock. This scene is one of many throughout the movie that portrays how far Braddock was willing to go so that he could provide for his family.

The movie did a good job of showing the struggle that Braddock’s family went through during the Great Depression. Braddock did in fact have to go to the fence the docks and hope for a job everyday. This shows how rare work was, and how this made it even harder for people to survive the depression with minimal work. Many days men did not have work to do, and they were left with the uncertainty that they would be able to put food on the table for their kids, or if they could pay their heating bill during the winter. This representation stayed true to the struggles of the Great Depression, and showed it in a way that made the audience feel with the main character.

Another minor tweak Howard made to the story involved Braddock’s family. Although these changes were almost unaffected towards the Great Depression, it just further made the audience more involved in Braddock’s family. Braddock’s children in the movie were all born by the time of the mid 1930’s but in reality this was not true. By changing the children’s ages, or birthdates, it allows the audience to begin to feel for the children. The kids were still very young in the movie, and it makes it even harsher for the children to struggle at such a young age. The thought of having three struggling children makes the idea of the Great Depression even more horrific and cruel, this idea always makes the audience more empathetic for the children. This representation of children suffering might not have been completely true to Braddock’s family, but it was certainly true of the Great Depression as a whole. Thousands of children were affected because of the Great Depression, whether it was losing their parents, starving, or sleeping in the streets. This exaggeration in the movie furthers the ideas of the Great Depression.

The biggest change in the movie that actually affected people involved, was the representation of Max Baer. In the movie Baer is depicted as a cruel, merciless fighter. He is almost shown as a murderer to the two boxers that were killed due to his right hand. The depiction of Baer was emphasized so that the audience would not empathize with him, rather Braddock. If Howard had truly portrayed Baer as a good guy that was involved in a violent sport, the audience would not be able to blame, or to name a antagonist in the plot. This could confuse the audience, and draw away from Howard’s intentions for the movie. 

Overall the changes that Howard made mostly stayed true to the Great Depression facts, 

with the exception of Baer’s character. All of the changes were made so that the audience’s focus 

would be centered around Braddock’s character and life. The exaggerations and emphasizes only 

made the story a more entertaining and emotional storyline, the feeling that the movie gave of the 

Great Depression was still insightful and allowed the viewer to see, hear, and feel what it was like 

during that time period.

James J. Braddock and Max Baer fight

Braddock family 

Max Baer

Sources 

Cinderella Man historical accuracy

Biggest Mistake of Cinderella Man

Civil Rights Field Trip Reflection

·       What did you learn on the field trip? – I already knew about racial segregation and I knew what white men did to African Americans. I didn’t know just how horrible they were though. After watching the video about the 16th Street Church bombing, and the violent ways they reacted to the Children’s March, I was shocked and disgusted. To blast someone with a fire hose and to let your dogs on children and teenagers was inhumane and it made me cringe.

·       What’s the difference between hearing about these events in a classroom and “experiencing” the places, people, and artifacts of the events? – It made me learn about the subject and empathize with the victims so much more than I ever could have in class. Being at the place where this all happened really helped me understand a little more, and to see what actually happened.  

·       Did this experience in any way change your own perspective on Civil Rights’ issues?  If so, how? – I still feel just as I used to about Civil Rights, if anything I just understand bigger aspects about them.

·       Imagine a conversation with someone who is arguing that the Civil Rights Field Trip is a waste of time.  Even if you personally feel that way too, empathize with the teachers, administrators, educational experts, and community members who have decided that the field trip is worth taking.  How can this trip for busy Randolph 11^th graders be justified?  In a time when it is easy to view anything on screens, what’s the value of actually going to a historic site? – I think that most field trips that we have gone on were not very interesting or exciting so we automatically think assume that every field trip that we go on will be boring and a wasted attempt to help us learn. But this wasn’t the case atleast in my opinion. We definitely could have learned the facts about this event by watching a video in class, or taking notes on paper, but by going to the site it helped us learn the why, and reasoning behind everything that happened. Visiting the site also gives us a different feeling while we’re there that helps us empathize more.

Questions about World War I

1. When did World War I (The Great War) begin, and Why?  (What was the immediate cause?) Between what two groups of allies was it fought?  Give the name and member countries for each of the opposing sides. – 1914; The assassination of Franz Ferdinand and Sophie; Russia/Serbia, Germany/Austria-Hungary

2.When and why did the United States enter the war? – 1917

3. When and why did World War I come to an end? – The Second Battle of Marne

4. What were the terms of the major agreement ending the war?  Why did the United States not ratify this treaty, even though President Wilson had played such a major role in negotiating it? - 

5. Come up with a question of your own.  What would you like to know?  What do the facts about World War I make you wonder? – Why did so many countries get involved in this war, when it was a singular cause in the beginning? Why did the war have such a “domino affect” on the world?

Worl War I - History.com

3rd Quarter Research Project - Food Safety (Progressive Era)

Food Safety - Progressive Era

By: Ryan Sanford

The food industry is a very complex industry with many components. Nowadays there are many regulations and health orders that we have to follow. For instance, if you own a restaurant, you have to follow rules placed by the Health Department. These rules can range from not being allowed to keep the ice scooper in the ice machine, or having to keep your meats at a certain temperature so that they do not soil. Even though today these rules keep our restaurants maintained, and overall safe, the food industry has not always had these rules. The food industry used to be a very dangerous, and not cleanly place. This changed during the Progressive Era, when the health and cleanliness of the food was brought to America's attention.

A powerful, and leading organization that kick started the reconstruction of the food industry was the Food and Drug Administration, abbreviated as FDA. This organization was founded in 1848, starting with the appointment of the Lewis Caleb Beck. This organization's purpose was to carry out chemical analyses of agricultural products. The FDA helped regulate and inspect food products, and helped maintain the health ordinances, so that the businesses would follow all of the rules. The FDA has grown into a bigger organization today, and has more impact on the food industry, but the organization definitely started something that would later impact the country as a whole.

There were many factors that brought this subject to attention in the public's eyes. There were some very important legislation that was passed during this time that dramatically changed the expectation of the food industry. The Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 was a piece of legislation that prohibited interstate commerce in adulterated and misbranded food and drugs. This was also known as the Wiley Act because Harvey Washington Wiley was a leading force in the passage of this legislation. This piece of legislation was passed in June 30, 1906 and was put into effect on January 1, 1907.

Another piece of legislation that was passed along with the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 was the Meat Inspection Act. This act required sanitary conditions in factories, inspections of animals and meats, and it also required correct labeling of packaged foods. This made packaged food become a lot less dangerous to the public because before this act was passed, lots of foods were mislabeled, and they contained many things that were not supposed to be in them.

Before any legislation was passed, the public’s idea and knowledge of the awful conditions in the food industry was little to none. The public had no idea what was in the packaged food that they purchased, and they did not know how disgusting businesses were, like slaughterhouses, and meat packaging factories. Something that sparked the interest, and caught America’s eye was a book written by Upton Sinclair, The Jungle. The story of the novel follows an immigrant’s family’s exploitation and the unsanitary practices prevalent in Chicago’s meatpacking industry. In order for Sinclair to gather his information on the industry, he had to dive into the industry himself. Many times he would dress up as a worker, and impersonate an employee so that he could acquire first hand information and experience of the industry. He also talked to many people, and made many connections with people in the industry so that he could gain more knowledge. Sinclair describes the conditions of the workplaces with severed fingers, tuberculosis, and blood poisoning. He said, “men who fell into vats; and when they were fished out, there was never enough left of them to be worth exhibiting.”

It was in this time period that newspapers and magazine publishers discovered that their printing sales flew up when they featured exposés on political corruption, and controversial material. The media became a huge proponent that brought many nationwide, and global issues to bay. The impact of Sinclair’s book, for example, brought the food packing industry conditions to the eye of the public. Sinclair’s novel produced an immediate and powerful effect on Americans and on federal policy concerning the food industry. After President Theodore Roosevelt got word of the novel, he became more interested in the conditions in the food industry. He created his own investigation, and learned of the disgusting condition for himself. After catching his eye, Roosevelt later passed the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906.

Within this innovation of health regulations, and standards of the food industry, it would not have been possible without communication, persuasion, and collaboration. Without communication, the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 and the Meat Inspection Act would have never been passed, or even proposed to the federal government. Without these laws, the conditions of the food industry would still be as bad as they were before the Progressive Era. After these two acts had been proposed, someone had to persuade Congress to put them into effect; Harvey Washington Wiley was a main leader in the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906, and without his initiative and dedication to get them passed, they would not have been put into effect when they did. Out of the three components, collaboration is probably the most important, because without the ability to collaborate with each other, nothing would have gotten done, and the problem that was at hand would be unsolved and still present. President Theodore Roosevelt had to take matters into his own hands, and talk to lots of different people to figure out a gameplan to make the conditions better. Overall the three components are all important, and without one none of it would have worked. The food packing industry underwent a drastic change, and without that change our food would not be as reliable or as safe as it is today.

Citations

Federal Department of Agriculture - This secondary source is credible because it is straight from the website of the Federal Department of Agriculture. This comes from the source itself, and the url includes “.gov” which means its information is archives from the government, which has very reliable information. I used this source to learn about what the FDA is, and what they do. It helped me understand the types of restrictions and laws that were passed during the Progressive Era that affected Food Production.

http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/WhatWeDo/History/Origin/ucm124403.htm - This source is credible because it came straight from the website of the FDA, and it is also a government run website so the information given is reliable. I used this source to learn about the history of the FDA, and when it was actually founded.

http://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/politics-reform/essays/jungle-and-progressive-era - The author of this source is Robert W. Chermy is professor at the University of San Francisco. This source cites everything that they used. I used this source to learn about a book written during this time period about the poor conditions in the food industry, The Jungle.

http://docsteach.org/activities/4634/print - This is a credible source because it is from the National Archives. The website cites each source that they have, including the pictures. I used this source not only for images, but to learn of the overall culture and environment of the food industry. The before and after pictures helped me see the change that all the regulations had on the food packaging industry.

Law, Marc T., and Gary D. Libecap. The Determinants of Progressive Era Reform: The Pure Food and Drugs Act of 1906. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research, 2004. - Marc T. Law studied at the University of Vermont. Gary D. Libecap studied at Bren School of Environmental Science and Management and Economics Department and the University of California, Santa Barbara. I used this source to learn more about The Pure Food and Drugs Act of 1906, to better understand what the act declared. This source was cited on another one of my secondary sources.

Lupein, John. “Food Quality and Safety: Traceability and Labeling.” Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition 45, no. 2 (2005): 119–123. - John R. Lupein was the Former Director, Food and Nutrition Division Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)‎. His former experience with the industry gives the reader an inside look into the industry.

*I looked in the textbook for information on the food packing industry but I was not able to find much information that I could have used.

Images

FDA Inspectors

The Jungle   

Chicago Slaughterhouse

Harvey Wileys w/ staff

FDA Inspectors 2  

How do you analyze a political cartoon?

Analyzing a Political Cartoon

When analyzing a political cartoon, I think the best way is to first look at the images and think about what they different images mean, and the different meanings that they could possibly mean. One way to analyze the cartoon, and the meaning behind the cartoon, is to think of what the illustrator wanted the meaning to be.

The guide from WikiHow explained what to do when analyzing a political cartoon. The guide said what I explained in general, but it went further into detail concerning the smaller images. The steps from the online guide said - Look at the cartoon in general. Look at the smaller items in the image. Find and understand the context of the cartoon. Look for universal images that are depicted in the cartoon. (WikiHow) 

This guide taught me to first look at the bigger, centered pictures in the cartoon, and then to look at the smaller, more detailed images to further infer the topic of the cartoon. The smaller images, can have more meaning behind them which will help with the understanding of the context.

This cartoon shows three people; a Cuban, a Philippine native, and a Hawaiian native holding hands. The holding of hands represents an alliance and peace between the three countries. All of them are holding the American flag, this represents their friendship and gratitude to America for aiding them in the attaining independence from Spain. The caption below the image says "Hurrah for the fourth of July! We're coming in on independence day celebrations."

This cartoon portrays Uncle Sam working two horses with "justice" and "humanity" written on them, on the Philippine Field. This shows how America was working justice and humanity into the Philippines to help them be freed and independent. Uncle Sam is seen as a national symbol of freedom and liberty in US, and the use of this symbol shows the freedom that the US was helping the Philippines attain from Spain.

Philippines cartoon 1


philippine cartoon 2

Philippines cartoon 3

This cartoon illustrates Uncle Sam in the water, making his way towards Cuba. Because Uncle Sam is a national sign of freedom, this infers America's intentions of freeing other countries from Cuba and Spain. The cloud labeled war shows the progress of the war at this point in time. 

http://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large/spanish-american-war-1898-granger.jpg