Proposal for History Paper
This is the first time I’ve had to do something like this for a class, so apologies if it’s not done correctly, but for my ten page history paper, I plan on discussing The Cold War and the tensions between Cuba/USSR/USA during the Cuban Missile Crisis and how that one event propelled the entirety of the Cold War.
Social Darwinism_ .
Darwinism is the philosophical theory of evolution and natural selection coined by English philosopher, Charles Darwin in the early nineteenth century. Social Darwinism is a continuation of this theory that promotes the idea that biological theories on evolution and natural selection can be applied to the social sphere of life, or what we nowadays have come to recognize as ‘the survival of the fittest’.
Social Darwinism is relevant for this class because it refers to William Graham Sumner’s text, in which he applies Darwin’s theories of evolution to explain uncontrolled economic competition in the American economy. Sumner was part of a group sent to investigate the ‘General Depression in Labor and Business’ that was occurring in the United States and Sumner came to the conclusion that there was distress among the laboring class that essentially, influenced the worker’s lives.
The New Freedom_ .
The New Freedom is a policy that was created by Woodrow Wilson in 1912. The policy had the backing of the Democratic Party (which controlled the Senate and House), and the support of progressives and called for the lowering of the tariff on imported goods, put for a solution to fix the national banking system, and backed the Sherman Act (a 1890 bill that was created to try and combat trusts from monopolizing products).
The New Freedom is relevant for this class because the policy stands as a turning point in American politics. The New Freedom was a bill that stood in direct opposition to Roosevelt's ideas of New Nationalism (essentially, an argument about human welfare against property rights) and ushered in a new wave of Democratic political reforms.
Leisure Culture_ .
Leisure culture came about during the post World War One economic boom. Often referred to as the ‘Roarin’ Twenties’, the American people were suddenly finding themselves in possession of quite a bit of spare cash which allowed them to buy technological and leisure products.
Leisure culture is relevant for this class because it is the beginning of consumer culture and capitalism. Items like Model T cars and lavish jewelry and radios were all purchased in excess during this time of great financial prosperity. Sadly this economic lavishness call comes to a crashing halt – literally – in October 1929 with the Great Depression.
The Visible Hand_ .
The visible hand refers to what we now know as middle management in businesses. With the visible hand, rich business no longer have to deal with the workers that they employ, but instead, has another man to delegate the business to the workers.
The visible hand is relevant for this class because it essentially creates the middle class. The rich can now delegate all their business to people who further delegate business to the poorer people. This maintains a hierarchy that becomes the basis for capitalism, to which the entirety of the United States economy relies on to provide for its people. Without the class divide, the American economy would never function.
Fourteenth Amendment_ .
The Fourteenth Amendment is a ratification to the United States Constitution, that was created on June 9, 1866. The Amendment primarily discusses Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses. Moreover, the amendment defines national citizenship, and forces the law in states to provide equal protection for all its inhabitants.
The Fourteenth amendment is relevant for this class because it grants citizenship to recently freed slaves from Lincoln’s 1863 Amendment that outlawed slavery. By assuring recently freed slaves that they would be given due process (government must respect a person’s legal rights to life, liberty, or property – a facet of the Declaration of Independence) the government begins the slippery slope of race relations in the United States.
Part II: Essay Component _
When given the option of Grover Cleveland, William Jennings Bryan, Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson, Theodore Roosevelt would have had the better time at Coney Island. Roosevelt, born in 1858, was a President known for his boisterous personality and charisma, was against prohibition, was not excessively religious and grew up in the glory days of Coney Island (1860-1921). When Roosevelt became president in 1901, the United States was undergoing massive, massive social and economic upheaval and Coney Island provided a perfect symbol of American wealth and industrialization that a man of Roosevelt’s upbringing would appreciate.
Roosevelt would enjoy Coney Island, first and foremost, because of the enormous economic income that is attributed to the theme park. As Hollitz points out, at the turn of the century, the iron and steel industry was the center of the economic growth in the United States. Coney Island, an amusement park that featured many rides and attractions - like a carousel - was built with iron and steel and the upkeep of the machines would mean an increase in the metal market (35). Hollitz explains this with a series of charts that span over six pages, the charts clearly indicating the finer details on how the iron and steel industries were the most profitable industries in America, and would keep rising as the years go on (35-42).
Moreover, the annexation of the Philippians can be used as an example as to how Roosevelt would have enjoyed Cooney Island the most. Roosevelt was a strict Imperialist who believed that holding overseas colonies would be the long term solution to the deeply troubling effeminization of man (Hollitz 85). As Roosevelt states in his essay entitled, "The Strenuous Life", America needed to root and cement its place in the ever growing world via a strong stranglehold over colonies. The important thing to take from Roosevelt’s essay is how he maintains America must assert itself globally and Coney Island is a perfect example of an American treasure and benchmark. Coney Island is a testament to American culture as a hulking, metal and sweat and blood creation that stands as the epitome of masculinity and strength.
Moreover, exports and imports in 1900, namely in the produce (food) categories, were in the vicinity of 320 million dollars and increasing steadily (Hollitz 105). Roosevelt, in supporting the overseas expansion of America, would have Coney Island as a tourist attraction that would prompt more buying and selling, thus increasing the economy.
Finally, the bungalow craze is another reason why Roosevelt would have enjoyed Coney Island the most. During his reign as president, more and more people were relocating themselves from the rural, farmlands into the urban city. With this increase in urbanization, nearly ¾ of the American population, neighborhoods were being created, along with the highly popular bungalow (Hollitz 113). The bungalow came to symbolize the ideal, middle class family life for housewives everywhere, and with the rapid development in technologies, the role of woman as domestic caretaker was slowly dwindling (Hollitz 113). Soon, women become consumers rather than producers (Hollitz 113).
With women as consumers, magazines and leisure items are created, like Bungalow Magazine (Hollitz 128). With the increase in these fashion forward magazines, more disposable income is in circulation, and more money means more of an opportunity to spend at family oriented locations – like Coney Island.
Unlike Roosevelt, William Jennings Bryan probably would have had the worst time at Coney Island. Bryan was a man that fought for free silver and workers keeping their hard-earned wages. Spending the little money they would have made at a theme park completely undermines his plight. Moreover, Bryan was an extremely strict religious man that was for prohibition. He is in no way as inviting and friendly as Roosevelt and Bryan, throughout his entire campaign against McKinley, was always the financial underdog.
Coney Island is primarily a money pit of flash and amusement and despite the fact Wilson was an academic with a severe sense of humor and Cleveland was renown for his brutal honesty, they both were in favor of the Gold Standard (or in Wilson’s case, what the Gold Standard eventually evolves into). Cleveland, although more like Roosevelt than Wilson, was not as well equipped to deal with economic hardships. During his second term, the economy was struck with strikes and recessions and he buckles under the pressure to keep the American economy afloat.
Wilson would not have enjoyed Cooney Island very much either, seeing as how, like Bryan, he was too reserved to enjoy the visceral pleasures Coney Island could have provided. Yet, unlike Bryan, Wilson was able to control the American economy beautifully and implemented many policies and bills that all went to the betterment of the United States economy. Wilson would have seen the financial upside to Coney Island and would have supported the small business owners that went about peddling their merchandise around Coney Island.
