Reaction #10- LBJ: Black-White America

What evidence does LBJ offer as proof of the widening economic gap between black and white Americans? How does he explain this gap?

Lyndon B. Johnson spoke of the social and economic gaps between black and white Americans at his commencement address. He talks of the hardships they endured and the fight they fought to gain the rights everyone else had. He speaks of the hypocrisy and injustices that the American people overlooked day to day.

He uses an analogy to describe it and essentially says it would be unfair to merely free the black Americans and allow them to be thrown in the real world without any kind of help. He speaks of the knowledge one gets from growing up. That a growing individual learns from his or her environment or neighborhood and specifically the type of schools they went to, thus giving the white Americans who had better access to public facilities and education an advantage.

He goes as far as to say that the African Americans are part of ‘’another nation’’ and is completely right in doing so. The white Americans surely did not view everyone as their “equals” and used, abused, and exploited at almost any opportunity they were given. In addition the viewing of a ‘’separate society’’ made it more difficult for African Americans to find jobs in “White America” and thus led to the higher unemployment rate in comparison to the White unemployment rate.

The Cartoon illustration essentially depicts this feeling in that the White Americans came to America and used slavery to get their economy started and used them as the main source of labor to create America. Once the atrocities were realized and enough people had decided to stand up against slavery, most of the White Americans had already reaped their benefits and could live lavishly without. They ended up ending slavery but left the African Americans where they were, the White land owners and White politicians and essentially White America did nothing to help the very people who helped America achieve a strong economic start.

Reaction #9- "Cheerful Robots"

According to C. Wright Mills, Americans during the 1950s were Cheerful Robots. Using his excerpt, what you've read in the text, and heard in class, why is that description fitting (don't just repeat or rephrase what's in the Mills article).

The United States has always prided itself on the ideology of allowing all of its inhabitants to live freely without being wrongly persecuted for their beliefs, socioeconomic status, or any kind of physical barriers. In the time leading up to and during the cold war many people were afraid of allowing any kind of communist power gain an inch of control and like in any other time of war, Americans rights were infringed on. In addition the people were being preached to and believed that the American way of life was the best it had ever been.

Being completely free is a very difficult subject because it truly depends on what the person views as being free. Does one want merely the freedom of choice or does one want to make and participate in the change? I feel that is the ideas that C. Write Mills was trying to get out, he was attempting to tell us that the government had everything planned out in front of us and that our votes were nothing more than a formality the government officials had to fight for. The fact is that people will fight for power and once gained will very seldom look out for their constituents, they each have a dark side. What kind of freedom was this if Americans were being represented by people who didn’t look out for their best interests? The Japanese Americans that were rounded up in internment camps had done nothing wrong. The immigration quotas were nothing more than a manifestation of American racism, yet we touted the fact that we would lead the free world and that any other leadership was wrong. We did not only preach this ideology but enforced it with divisive tactics through the CIA.

As for the American way of life, people were becoming used to the monotonous routine of life, rather than happy with something they could have done on their own. More and more was expected out of the family as the caregiver became the mother and the breadwinner became the father and any alteration of this family setup was seen negatively. In addition this new society left the minorities out of the picture all together, literally to fight for themselves. The Americans were as he stated ‘’Cheerful Robots,’’ totally unaware of what was happening to and around them, yet they accepted the situations and lived life without any interruptions.

Reaction #8- Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Read the excerpt from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The U.S. did not immediately ratify the Declaration. What policies and practices within the U.S. conflicted with many of the principles of the Declaration? (10 pts)

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was a document that was constructed in time of hardships in a way to address the problems in such a way that could potentially be used to give aid to the under privileged or disadvantaged. The problems that countries had with it are that they would never want an outside entity to have any kind of control over their own government.

This doctrine promised that all people were born equal and had the right to equal opportunities no matter what kind of background they came from. It was a huge ideology jump from the older times that had previously ruled the world. It was a declaration that had the prospect to end discrimination; however, there was no such luck.

This declaration was split into two separate sections, the first concerning Civil and Political Rights, and the second concerning Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. Obviously each country signing this declaration would have a problem with either the first or second part. Either way this declaration pointed the World’s nations in the right direction, which was that they needed to start taking care of their citizens, because any further wars would lead to the imminent destruction of each other. It was a response to the cruelty that had just been witnessed worldwide in World War II that was still fresh in everyone’s minds.

One of the most important parts of the declaration in my opinion, is that concerning the children and future. It has special attention made to children whom they claim will all need equal and adequate education, health, and proper living conditions. They must protect the morality of the children, and ensure they have the uppermost respect for human life.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a document that was drafted way before it’s time. It was an idea so fresh and new to everyone that few could even entertain the idea of providing help to the disadvantaged. The United States principles of Capitalism and ‘’dog-eat-dog’’ competition as well as the “American-Dream” in which you must pave your own path in the United States sharply contrasts what this declaration is attempting to give- a safe productive environment to all of humankind.

Reaction #7: Comfort Women

Why were the Korean Comfort Women “silent” so long? To answer this question, one thing you will need to think about is how much women’s “worth” is tied to their status as virgins or “sexually pure” and how women who are not “pure” are shamed in societies. You also need to reflect on how rape has been characterized as simply an “unfortunate consequence” of war—this is not true, of course; rape does not “just happen.”

Why could the words and actions of Japanese officials and government be interpreted as attempts to further silence them?

The story of the Korean “Comfort Women” is a saddening one in that they were swindled into a path in which they were continually abused. They were in nearly all circumstances tricked or taken against their will to commit these acts as “services.” Their bodies were in a sense brutally tortured in what the women had to undergo that caused great physical and psychological pain. The women were pushed to their breaking point but had nobody to turn to in their time of need; they were sometimes convinced suicide was their only way out.

Women from all over southeast Asia were pulled away from their families with promises of work or at least being told they would be helping out in some way or fashion. It was unbeknownst to them that they would be used as property and abused by the military to satisfy the soldiers. These women often fought back and were often beat badly; in addition, families who may look for these young women would often fail in their endeavor or worse, be attacked.

These women were abused day in and day out as countless men violated them no matter what they said or how hard they fought they were used. They were literally powerless and were in most aspects a mere slave looked at as property to be used however the owner saw fit. In these much more conservative societies, purity is seen as a necessity and anything other is a disgrace to yourself and the family name. These women were also often impregnated by the large number of men that violated them, in which they would be given drugs that would violently react with the body to expel the embryo and likely cause unknown internal damages. Another number of women were given the same treatment when contracting any kind of sexually transmitted disease. A number of these women became sterilized and had little to no chance at being able to live normal lives after being freed from bondage.

The women tortured in this were often so stressed or emotionally damaged that they had nowhere to turn but thoughts of suicide and a number of them did take their own lives. The women would look for any kind of chemical or drug, any kind of way out of the daily turmoil and did what was necessary. The ones that survived carry the nightmares in their memory and for obvious reasons hate to re-live those moments.

The saddest part of this history is that nobody was able to admit their mistake despite years of reflection. Nobody’s morality was bothered and many of the soldiers didn’t even comprehend the damage they were dealing. The Japanese government attempted to hide and cover up any kind of knowledge to save itself from any kind of embarrassment, but such large-scale disrespect for life could never be hid from the people searching for answers. While the Japanese government may try and silence the women by becoming that overbearing power that requires its people to be patriotic, there are many that stand up against the atrocities that were committed in some of the darkest times of their history.

Reaction #6: FDR's Four Freedoms

Of FDR's four freedoms, the goal of freedom from want and freedom from fear especially reflect American and European experiences during the 1930s and 1940s. Briefly explain what FDR meant by "freedom from want" and "freedom from fear" and explain how the desire for these freedoms was the result of American and European experiences during the 1930s and 1940s.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt entered the presidency in a time of great hardships for the United States. It was a time of economic meltdown and tensions were growing worldwide as countries pushed the boundaries and tested the limits. Franklin D. Roosevelt put together plans and quickly worked to solve the world issues upon entering office; however, some were beyond fixing.

Firstly I feel that the Freedom from Want pertained to the difficult economic times the United States and the world were in. The Great Depression affected many worldwide and caused many problems of health and had issues that needed to be resolved such as the living and working conditions of many people. Essentially the people needed more money in order to afford to survive or live in conditions that were acceptable for existence. President Franklin D. Roosevelt wanted this economic hardship to not only be lifted off the United States but off the entire world which would promote peaceful coexistence since there would be no competition for limited resources or money.

The freedom from Fear that President Roosevelt was referring to was the inevitable war that was quietly and slowly being waged across the ocean that would soon engulf the entire world. Roosevelt began to call for the reduction of arms worldwide knowing that if the countries kept building militaries and investing everything into war that both sides would be so strong that a stalemate of great destruction would be waged for years. Essentially he wanted to weaken the world such that nobody could forcefully take over any of their neighbors which is exactly what was being planned.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt entered the presidency in a time of great turmoil, but took the job with great honor and decided he would try and solve the problems the United States were facing and the problems he foresaw regarding the impending war. He truly believed that the world in which all humans could coexist peacefully was achievable in his own time; however, there were many other people who were planning and working against his vision of a utopia.

Reaction #5

What does Alain Locke mean when he says, "The day of 'aunties.' 'uncles,' and 'mammies' is equally gone."? Why does he say this?

During the 1920’s to the 1930’s the ‘New Negro” emerged from American society. They were no longer the stereotypical “aunties,” “uncles,” and “mammies.” This all emerged from the center of Harlem were they were able to find themselves socially and connect with other peoples in what is known as the Harlem Renaissance.

Many African Americans from all over the United States had moved North during the Great Migration in order to find a better living. In this migration, many difficult people from different backgrounds came together creating a large cultural mix in many communities; one notable one is the Harlem Community in New York. People came from all over with different intentions on their minds, and they used their new found freedoms to come together and represent themselves.

The new community is home to many people of different talents, no longer just the stereotypical African Americans that were forced to be submissive in the south and give up all of their beliefs in order to survive, but many who were expressing themselves in their own ways. This mixture of culture eventually began to culminate, grow, and spread as a new identity for African Americans commonly referred to as “The New Negro.”

Alain Locke wrote about the social issues of the time and came up with the conclusion that the mixture of beliefs and cultures created a new identity of which African Americans could connect to and be a part of to create something bigger. It was no longer the singular “aunties,” “uncles,” and “mammies” that represented African Americans, but it was the brand new artists, poets, singers, etc. that represented the new culture that had cultivated from the mixture creating “The New Negro.”

Reaction #4- World War I Era Letter from a Southern African American.

Using the links I gave you last week, your text, and your VoF readings, take on the perspective of the personage you chose. You will need to produce a (750 word minimum) letter or diary entry, suitable for publication on your blog. While creativity is encouraged, your writing must be factual and show evidence that you’ve done your readings. You should reference any major events or legislation that would affect your character directly.

This assignment is worth 20 points. It is due Friday, 27 February at 10 p.m.


April 28, 1917

Dear Chicago Defender,

As a new reader, I am greatly surprised that such a paper as yours exists and I would like to thank you in advance for the great information you disperse to all of those seeking it. Your paper has given us down here in the south a reason to hope for a better future that can help us thinking positively of what we could do with our lives. We are currently living in poverty and can barely support ourselves in a meager living. We stay in this close net community and help support each other but are all looking for a better life in any community that might offer it.

That is the reason I am writing to you. My wife, two children, and I are lucky enough to have a roof but have a difficult time finding finances for food like the rest of our neighbors. We can not continue to live this way; we simply will not be able to survive. There is little more for me to do then back breaking work and to be given near nothing sustainable for it. Luckily this close knit community comes together in times of hardships and we all help support each other; however, there are times where we are short of food. In addition we are treated badly by the others in this town who have no respect for us. Some of the whites threaten us and attack us, but we have nothing down here to protect us and it is usually unprovoked. Their behavior towards us is in no way comparable or worthy of the respect we are forced to give in fear of retaliation.

Surely these laws protecting men and preaching equality that were made in the north are enforced in the north since they are not in the south. We have not been able to vote, which has been promised by the constitution, in fear of all sorts of retaliation. This democracy we are fighting for across the waters should be fought here at home. We have been promised rights and supposedly given the opportunities but none of us have seen it or benefited from it. It is because of this that we can not even have elected officials that care about us. Nobody will speak on our behalf in fear of being ousted as an elected official. How is it that not even the government that has made such grand promises can not even fight for us, but can fight for strangers who they have promised nothing? How is it that we are asked to serve our country in this war but once again nothing in return? We continue living this horrible life in the south.

In addition to these rights, I believe both my children have the right to be able to learn in a school that is worthy of teaching. They should not go to a small building that is on the verge of collapsing with nothing but a few tables filling it while the others have their great facilities that are supposedly separate and equal are surely separate, but are in no means equal. I refuse to allow this future to be the only option for my family. I will not allow my children to follow in my footsteps, that is all I am looking for, an opportunity to better the life of my family.

I have seen your ads and promises of a better life in the North; however, we have little money and could make the travel if we sold everything. We would have nothing left but the clothes on our backs. I ask you, in these times of desolation, do we have a chance at creating a better living for ourselves up in Chicago or a surrounding city? I have read of many job opportunities that promise higher wages than anybody has seen down here, but I can not believe my own eyes. If such a place is true, why would any of us stay here living in poverty? Is there any chance of us being able to venture to this new home and possibly start afresh and support ourselves?

Chicago Defender, please respond to my letter. I ask for a response so I may know if I should pack up my family, sell our belongings and embark on a journey to better our lives. Is this possible through your means? Will we be able to live truly self-sustainable lives? Will we be given the liberties promised to us as Americans? Is there anybody up there that is willing to help those of us down in the south that are in need of help?

I’m patiently awaiting a reply in hope of a better future.

Thank you,
William

From Mexican To American

It’s 1920 and you, Alonzo Vasquez, are a Mexican immigrant to the United States. While you love your new country, it is very important to you that your family remember and honor your culture and traditions, many of which are tied to your homeland. You are increasingly worried that your children, in the process of becoming “American,” are ignoring the importance of their heritage. Why is it so important to you that your family retain some cultural connection to Mexico and your Mexican heritage? What evidence is there that your children are being wholly “Americanized?” What conflicts has this created between you and your children?

*This assignment, while allowing for creativity, MUST draw from your VoF readings for the week and Becoming Mexican American.


It is now 1920 and I, Alonzo Vasquez, am a newly immigrated Mexican to America. We came in hope of opportunity and to live a better life then we had in Mexico, unfortunately I fear that if we stay here longer we will destroy our family. I am quite upset with the customs of America and their inability to allow us to keep our own traditions and culture. I have a problem with the way they are changing my family and forcing their ideology onto our community. We should not have to live our lives to their specific customs.

My four children, two daughters and two sons, are quickly evolving into Americans while my wife and I are attempting to force them to remember their roots. Here in America the children go off and work at young ages and are forced to grow up quick. They do not have a chance to be children; they start providing and at a young age are somehow expected to be literate in the American ways. I do not understand how the Americans think they can take away our children and break our families apart. It is as if we are losing our children. They take them away to teach them American customs and brainwash them that we have taught them wrong and not done our best to provide for them. That we, their parents, are wrong.

As if it wasn’t worse, many of the children in this community we live in have left their families at young ages to be married off to white American men or women. These children have forgotten their heritage and are quickly becoming Americanized. Many of our neighbors in this Mexican community tell stories of their children that have grown and moved far away from home. They leave their family and create new lives floating around the United States while we, their parents, stay at home worrying if they are ok and pondering if we will ever be able to see them again. I fear that one day this turmoil will ruin the Mexican families and we will not even exist, we will become extinct. We are a dying bread.

I fail to understand why my family is so attracted to this country. I beg them to return home, yet they claim to have opportunity and feel safer here in America, while in the past years I have done nothing but my best to protect them in Mexico. I feel betrayed. Is it that my children do no longer trust me? As if that was not bad enough, they decide they would rather be out in the town and meeting new people rather than spending the little precious time we have together as a family. It upsets me that I work all day for meager wages to barely put food on the table and my family does not only take everything for granted but wants to forget their past. I want my family to be my family, I will not stand to watch American and it’s customs take my children away from me. To take my children away from the Mexican way of life. It shall not corrupt them anymore.

Reaction #2 - Esther Klein

It’s 1892 and you, Esther Klein, are a 17-year-old textile mill worker in the American northeast. You are new to the country and to industrial work, having worked previously on your parents’ farm in the old country. As much as you longed to come to America, your life as a poor Jewish industrial worker in the United States makes you have second thoughts. And life at the mill—why you and some of the other girls dream of organizing and standing up to the mill owners, but what you’ve seen of other labor organizing worries you! So tell me, Esther, what are the sources of your dissatisfaction as a poor woman, a worker, and a Jewish immigrant? Why have your dreams, of what life in America would be, changed?


As a young immigrant textile mill worker I am learning the American Dream is not what I thought it would be like when I was back home. We were told of a great country with opportunity for everyone. A country where we could live together and make a name for ourselves in a great utopia. Unfortunately those stories have not come true. I thought I would be glad to leave the old country and the farm, but those long days out on the farm seem like nothing compared to these horrible conditions in these cramped and stuffy buildings.

The girls at the factory agree that there is no reason to force us to work in such horrible conditions and we have thought about fighting for our rights, but we fear that we will merely be thrown out and replaced by others that won’t argue the working conditions or low wages. We are working in dangerous conditions and any complaints we make are ignored and there is nobody we can go to. We work endlessly and tirelessly, toiling over their textiles and getting paid pennies while the owners and managers benefit from our hard work and live luxurious lives.

We are forced to work because our families would not be able to survive without our extra income even as small as it is. Our little brothers and sisters have small jobs like us and are treated horribly and taken advantage of even more then I and the others. We work long hours, are given little to eat, and get in trouble for anything we do wrong.

The government will not even come to aid us in our complaints. I feel as if the companies have paid off the government and bought off our rights. The liberties we were promised and the utopia we imagined has not come true. We work hard to give our family a fighting chance in America but the sad truth is many of us fail in our endeavors. We come to America to fulfill the American dream but instead are used by others to better their own lives. Our dream has been transformed into a fight for our survival. Instead of bettering our lives from the old country, we come here and are fighting for the bare minimum necessities.

Reaction to Social Darwinism

What, in your own words, is Social Darwinism? How was it used to explain a variety of circumstances (e.g. economic and racial/ethnic) in the late 19th century? Do you hear any of the same sentiments echoed today? Evaluate the theory. Do you find it valid? Why or why not?

Social Darwinism in my words would essentially be surviving in a “dog-eat-dog world.” In other words a society in which one would merely look out for the benefit of oneself and do so at the cost of anything, and more importantly, anybody through exploitation and manipulation. In their twisted beliefs some believed that Darwinism should frame our society since theoretically it had already been successfully used by nature to create all of the organisms of the world.

Instead of viewing our neighbors as ruthless competition for survival should we not be viewing them as our brothers and sisters who can assist us in bettering society and this country? Personally I believe this theory of Social Darwinism arose when a few greedy elect decided to argue for their ‘rights’ or in other words their poor attempt at trying to evade taxation. In their attempt to grow richer and increase the gap in between the classes they played to the sensitive subjects of the time. They cried for protection of their “Free Market” and pushed ideology that the only way society could last, would be to dispose of the weak and to allow the strong to survive. Hearing these warnings right after a time of civil war would be able to convince most of giving it a try or at least becoming familiar with the subject.

In reality they wanted to ensure they could get laws created that would lock the government out of the market and allow them to exploit the workers while pushing them to their breaking limits. I do not believe this theory, termed Social Darwinism, would be successful in any way or form in society. They were correct in establishing the Earth only has a limited amount of resources; however, they were very wrong in believing they could keep everything for themselves without looking out for others in any way or form.

In my personal view we should have the obligation to help those less fortunate in our society. I feel as if it is like making a smart investment, by supporting them we are lifting them up and giving them a chance to contribute to society as we do; subsequently, one day they will be able to overcome their hardships and do as we did. One easy example would be college students who are receiving any kind of financial aid or scholarships who will one day be able to pay back their debts to society. Another could be the children who would not survive without the health care or food rations we provide and then one day grow up to be working class citizens.

In today’s society this selfish behavior and those trying to enforce it are seen almost everywhere. It is seen every time you see an injustice such that a worker is making disgustingly low wages while the company is gaining from their pain. Unfortunately their selfish actions prevent those at the bottom from ever moving up and showing their true potential that can never be released and used to help the society as a whole.