The Computer Field

Neither of the nations wanted war but both had gotten ready as the crisis built up after the USS Maine sank. Mr. McKinley, who opposed the war, had a desire to end it quickly without having to spill blood. The U.S. did not have a large amount of people to fight in the war but also relied on foreign relief as it does the same today. Spain had some garrisons setup in Cuba and the Philippines. Their navy was much weaker and not as strong compared to the U.S. I assume that the leaders in America during this time sought the need to expand. As Mark Twain or the American anti-imperialists league or perhaps Henry James would agree that greed is tempting and evil. My thoughts are that during this time, there was still a race to dominate the globe and it needed to be done quickly.

I can imagine also that during this time, many white protestant men with dominant features ruled the new ideas on national and global control. Some elements of this type of diversity include racial as well as ethnic pluralism. Churches were made up all over the land to help dominate ideas and make it possible for unity to go along with the acceptance of diversity. Religion was introduced and many types of it started to form. This was an easy way to influence and inspire both black and white people.

There was the struggle for women’s rights that needed to be changed and with the war, it showed how women were needed in the decisions of maintaining business and government. There had been suffrage for women, especially blank women who were forced to work kitchens or crops. Men later found out that women were needed in the working class. They sought to run the nursing programs that were needed during the time of war even though some men did not want to give them the right. There were many men who thought they should be running the hospitals while the women took care of the men but nothing more. After women were showing that they could work and provide for themselves, and also prove they were also really good at it, men were beginning to see how women were needed drastically. It was starting to look like all people are truly equal. Although most people had so much to deal with, they still kept their dreams alive and their spirits high. They still had much to look forward to, freedom and their civil rights as a citizen of the United States. It had to have been still depressing for families who strived to keep their dreams and have to send their children to war. I’m sure that many mother’s grew tired of the obstacles that they were constantly being faced with.

Of course for some people there were even more greater obstacles to overcome. African Americans had some of the worse obstacles to live through. Yet, during the war, again the white men were able to see how much they were needed and how good they were at what they did. They were not just farmers, they were large strong men who could also fight in war for this country. Finally because of the Fourteenth Amendment during this time, African Americans were finally recognized as citizens and had overcome much of the troubles that white men caused. They were given equal protection under the laws just like all other Americans and were protected with the same privileges and immunities. African Americans were still, for the most part, denied the benefits of emancipation which is a term to obtain political rights or equality. I wonder about it today, how groups of white men could think such things about other men, just because of their appearance. They have denied them the same rights while standing firm on a constitution based from the Bible and the belief that all men are created equal. Finally there was true change coming to America as more people both white and black, stood firm on their belief and prayed for a future with equal civil rights for everyone in this country.

- Jon Marshall Reimer

October, 19 2009

Both populists and progressives stand with liberal grounds and strived both for the well being of the working class of society and equality for Americans. One problem I see between the two is that while populism can be socially conservative and without being as demanding for their ideas, progressivism can be totally socially liberal and not care for the people they leave behind in their ideas.

A major issue during this time was the lack of control over government and how it was regulated.  They wanted equal fairness that needed to be changed to insure a future for their children. They introduced more ideas that would benefit their next generations for years to come. Ideas that were initiative to the future of all Americans with a referendum and recall which were needed by the state constitution to make new laws. They needed to change the way banks did business. They needed to make new socialistic ideas to help support a new born nation thrive and make sure the government can help in the creation of money, power, roads and railroads. They needed to choose what types of areas to nationalize as they did with railroads and banks. The Populist Party  most of the labor support with the majority of its supporters bring farmers, who at the time took up over half of the population.

Many presidents have taken approaches that would fall under this category. We always need change in government and depend on the people along with the president to make these changes for us. Taking away government funded programs can only hinder society. Take Obama for instance, I believe he has the ideas of almost a progressive approach but, for the benefit of the working class we have yet to see results except for his statements for change in Washington and change for society . It takes a horde amount of people to change the law of the land. To me, it’s amazing what the members of the populists and progressives’ parties have done to change history for us.

Electricity in America

Electricity was the most important aspect of the industrial revolution relating to American lives. This new era inspired inventers who used electricity in ways that nobody had ever dreamed of. So many people helped in creating a network of cables that ran across the United States. There were new ways invented to help manufacture supplies that used this electrical current. It made it easily possible to give American’s a taste of relaxation and luxury at the end of a hard days work. Markets needed refrigerators to store food for local buyers. They needed to keep the food fresher and longer. This was only possible with the help of this great change.

Thomas Edison helped during this time to drive the demand for the electrical current. He helped aid a team of scientists in creating power plants that could provide power for every American. Men worked day by day to secure power poles for businesses so they could provide a better service for their customers using electricity. The main goal was to publicly distribute power to every city, business and home. Lights helped attract attention for business and provide people with a warm feeling that resulted in better sales.  The men working in factories, stores and shops could work longer hours. Other lights were used all night like City Street lamps which provided a warm feeling for a small town and brought the towns people together. The industrial revolution provided not only power, but the power for Americans to strive for more new technology and businesses in America for another new changing age.

Participation in elections and voter turnout has been declining since the early nineteen hundreds, or so the statistics tell us. However, these are based from poll data that some also say might not be accurate. These stats show that people, registered to vote, end up not voting at all. This adds to the decreased stats based on voter turnout. There was also a high amount of voter fraud in the early 19th century, which could have also been the reason for reaching nearly 80 percent voter turnout. The Australian ballot was set forth to reduce voter fraud. This cut back on fraud, but did not eliminate it.

There was a decline in turnout around 1970, but I believe that it also depends on the era we live in and how our economy stands. Sometimes, the public simply makes the choice not to participate. One reason could be personal neglect or being anti-political perhaps. This year we have seen a huge increase in both voter registrations and turnouts. I think that this is because more people are interested in trying to make some kind of change, the increased amount of population allowed to vote today can also add to the statistics. Political views and opinions have increased drastically in younger people as well, driving younger students to cast their vote. In addition, making it easy for college students to register and vote on campus has been an influence on increasing turnout. There is still a high amount of older educated individuals who participate and greatly help the way politics work. But we should not have to rely on them in order to make our system work. Educating students in schools at a young age is a good idea so we see younger people more involved with politics when they are of age to vote.

The way voter turnouts are calculated is by collecting data from two areas, voting age, and voting eligibility. These both leave open doors to what could cause inaccurate calculations. Not all registered young voters will end up going down to vote on Election Day, they perhaps could be out of town or have too much going on. Eligibility stats will change, people who move out of the area could be the cause for many missed votes on Election Day. The one report of a man driving 12 hours back home just to cast his vote is one example. If all states allowed registered voters to cast their vote the day of registration, before the Election Day, maybe we would see more involvement and a larger turnout increase . This could cut back on polling costs and help produce the end results more accurate and earlier. If we followed The Canadian system of universal enrollment we could also see how this could change voter turnout. Making every American citizen eligible and adding them to the statistics. Italy will mark on your ID papers that you did not vote, perhaps if we adopted something like this it would help influence people to vote.

Democrats seem to think that a higher turnout will help them in elections whereby the Republicans believe it would not help. I think they should come to a compromise and work together to produce a better working election system based on the needs of the people, not the influence and views of their political parties. The people end up voting for and electing many members to various different offices. We do have a large influence on who gets appointed to represent us, which makes me wonder why people are not more involved. I still strongly believe that if we want to see more results and higher turnouts within our political system, we need to start educating our earlier K-12 students about community relations, law enforcement and politics. There has been far too much negative influence cast by anti-official and anti-government parents who raise their children the same way.