Author: OLIVIA LEE

In chapter four of Rauchway’s “Reflation and Relief” text, President Franklin D. Roosevelt made many changes during the time period of what is known as the Great Depression. In summary, “From the time of their initial implementation in 1933 to the mobilization for war production in 1940, with the sole exception of the recession of 1937–38, the American economy grew at averaged rates of around 8 to 10 percent a year. Likewise, unemployment fell dramatically from its unconscionable 1932 peak” (page 1). This sets the tone as to how much of an impact Roosevelt had on the economy as a whole. Roosevelt began with the idea of a New Deal, which sought out to fix any crises in the present and prevent any in the future; it ultimately allowed Roosevelt to offer a new start with this new deal.

However, with this New Deal also came doubt. Many believed that the banking system caused a crash. There were talks about manipulation of both money and banking, destroying the financial and economic aspects of society. Thus, this New Deal was a saving grace that brought skepticism amongst the people. Although the New Deal possessed a few negatives, it also had much more value to it. For example, with this new deal, young unemployed men were easy to detect in order to aid them. The New Deal truly represents the title of “Reflation and Relief” as it helped to bring the society out of its economic depression. It also lifted the attitudes of the people. “Americans of the 1930s knew that work relief cost more than direct relief. Simply paying money to the poor was cheaper than setting up a bureaucracy to plan projects to employ the poor. But pride and their morality led them to prefer the costlier course, which allowed desperate Americans the dignity of meaningful work” (page 7). In other words, rather than simply receiving money from the government, the people were motivated and determined to work hard and hold down a job. This is important because when comparing this to the present day, many people are so quick to receive “free money” from the government. With many people losing their jobs because of covid, the majority resorted to continuously receiving unemployment checks and benefits, even when there were new job opportunities available to them. This change of attitude over time demonstrates how much the characteristics of people and society as a whole has changed.

John Brown was an abolitionist during the mid-1800s. However, he differed from other abolitionists because he believed that if there was blood to be shed, then one must do everything in their power to make this happen. In other words, violence was something he supported. This allows any intellectual to question whether Brown’s tactics and beliefs are ones to support, as violence was something that was typically looked down upon when attempting to abolish slavery. Thus, this shows that Brown’s point of view was unique and that these differences that he possessed only makes him that much more important.

 

Inevitably, there were members of society who fully supported the works of John Brown. “Some Yankees professed to admire Brown for daring to strike the slave power that was accustomed to pushing the North around with impunity” (page 210). A few liked his ideas so much as to have created a group that was known as the secret six. Brown came up with a plan to raid the South and was funded by this secret group. Because this group had been formed, this represents how many other members of society were also in support of Brown’s beliefs. This raid also shined light on the idea of the white southerners and their confusion between act and motive. Many republican leaders also feared any political damage, thus rejecting Brown.

 

From the beginning, even when “Passions ran high in Virginia, where mobs clamored for Brown’s blood” (page 206), Brown never gave into giving up on what he believed in. All in all, Brown wanted a revolution and he, himself, allowed this to happen. He believed in action over discussion, which I, too, support. Although violence may seem to be the wrong direction, as long as action takes place, change will occur. If members of society simply discussed and never acted upon the discussion, it would be considered a waste of time. All talk and no act is something Brown wanted to avoid. Because of this, John Brown became a hero to many people and stuck by his beliefs up until the date of his death.

The American Revolution was a war between the United States Colonies and Great Britain, in hopes that the thirteen colonies would be able to declare independence from Great britain. In Hannah-Jones’ text, in the New York Times article, she discusses the ideas of democracy and how the American Revolution created suspicions of what was truly the source of declaring this independence. Ultimately, she claimed that the colonists longed for independence in order to preserve the act of enslavement. During this time, many London groups strived to end slavery and the colonists most likely feared that with the continuation of this rule under Great Britian, this would soon apply to the states as well. Hence, the reason why democracy in America could not be a democracy unless all people, including the Blacks, were involved, as seen in Hannah-Jones’ point of view.

However, Wood, the leading Historian of the American Revolution, corrects this claim in a letter by providing other important causes to this Revolution including the Stamp Act. These differences in ideas and beliefs as to what was truly the reason for independence from Great Britain brings me to think that there is never a sole reason for an entire group to act out on. In other words, many people may possess the same goal, but for many different reasons. In this case, the goal of the colonists was to gain independence. Whatever the reasons of each individual may have been, their goal remained the same. Thus, this may be a reason as to why Hannah-Jones and Wood had different claims. Whether or not one claim is the correct one, one reason cannot be applied to all people, same is applied for the colonists and their reasons for the American Revolution.

In his text about Capitalism, James Fulcher provides both historical and current events that demonstrate the effects of capitalism, and the characteristics a capitalistic society portrays. Fulcher dwelled upon the competitive cotton industry that James M’Connel and John Kennedy took over. The idea of creating a profit and searching for ways to maximize a profit was and still is an idea of great importance. However, “Profit depended ultimately on the workers who turned raw cotton into yarn” (Fulcher, 5). Because of this, many workers were put into long hours of labor. Many conflicts, including wages, arose because of the greed and hunger that many people sought in order to reach this level of maximizing a profit.

 

This idea has not changed much today. In fact, the desire for profit and wealth is even stronger and can cause individuals to act out in a way where it negatively affects themselves and others around them. This is shown in Nick Leeson’s case, where he found ways to cover up any shortcomings from the money that he was accumulating in order to receive the most amount of money possible. However, this also demonstrates how errors in capitalism derive from an upper level power. M’Connel and Kennedy were able to extend the hours of the workers, as entrepreneurs, by resetting the clock. Leeson was able to swindle his way around money because he was one of the best at what he did.

 

Ultimately, capitalism is essentially making a profit from the investment of money. However the investing is done or where the money to invest came from, as long as a profit exists for an individual, there is a representation of how capitalism works. Capitalism is found almost everywhere in the United States of America and is something that occurs every single day, whether we notice it right away or not.