Divorce Reconstruction in the United States
Divorce Reconstruction in the United States refers to the time following the Civil War, when white people freed African Americans from slavery in 1865. Due to white people's perception of them as an inferior race, the recently freed slaves confronted many difficulties. The whites worked to limit African Americans' opportunities to become rich and to view them as second-class citizens. African Americans largely experienced social, economic, and political injustices beginning in the Reconstruction period, with the strained connections getting worse as World War 1 approached. (WWI).
Racial Relations Shifts from Reconstruction to World War I
From Reconstruction to World War I, there were many racial relations shifts. The relationship between the whites and African Americans further deteriorated when land ownership was only preserved for the whites as the freed people were kept slave status as close as possible. African Americans then engaged in a multi-decade mass movement from the southern part of the country towards the northern and western regions seeking higher wages and employment opportunities. The migration eventually resulted in the rapid development of black urban communities within major cities like Chicago. The segregation of Jim Crow also led to mass migration of African Americans from southern states to other parts of the nation.
American Participation in World Wars
Americans participated in the world wars primarily to defend their interests and to stop widespread atrocities committed by other nations. For instance, J.P Morgan had lent Britain money and, therefore, the U.S. decided to defend Britain to recover their resource. Germany also sunk a British passenger ship in 1950 leading to the death of more than 1,000 passengers. America, therefore, decided to intervene. The nationalism, ideology, and imperialism facilitated unity and nationhood among the Americans as the citizens improved their association with the government, which captured several territories like Guam. The world wars impoverished Americans because the nation spent enormous resources during the battles leading to a massive influx of job seekers in major cities.
Causes and Effects of the Great Depression
Americans have attributed the Great Depression to several internal factors. For instance, the crash of American stock market on October 24, 1929, has been considered a primary cause of the depression. Besides, bank failures, poor economic policies, and increased unemployment equally contributed to the situation. Amid the deteriorating economy, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established several strategies and programs referred to as New Deal, which was meant to revive the economy. The government instituted several reforms to prevent another depression from occurring. Notable examples include the enactment of Government Economy Act and the creation of job opportunities. Consequently, Americans realized economic improvement thus leading to a good relationship with the government.
Influence of Immigration on American Society
Immigration considerably influenced American society. In the short-run, the U.S. experienced slowing wage rate growth from the year 1970 while the long-run effects included increased innovation, highly educated workforce and transition to urban industrial development. During the 20th century, Americans sought to protect the interests of native-born citizens against the requirements of immigrants through nativism. The citizens aimed to defend the local customs while also safeguarding indigenous people from risks of assassinations following murders of leaders like William McKinley in 1901. As immigration led to escalating population increase, Americans embraced the quarter system of immigration whereby the government capped the number of immigrants who came into the country as well as determining the places they were coming from and the proposed destinations. The strategy helped in regulating the number of immigrants against the resources available.
Conclusion
The African Americans have encountered racial discrimination from white Americans following the Reconstruction period. Whereas policies were enacted to ensure racial equality towards the African Americans, the whites had purposely imposed restraints and disenfranchisement regarding the minority groups towards the WWI period. Since then, the American participation in the world wars led to numerous changes both socially and economically hence influencing the modern American society.
