US Basic Facts & American Flag PDF

Basic Facts: Total area of the USA: 9,833,517 sq km Population (April 2023): 334,589,107 POPULATION CLOCK: - one birth every 9 seconds - one death every 10 seconds - one international migrant every 31 seconds MIGRANT: someone who temporarily moves from one place to another IMMIGRANT: inte...

Basic Facts: Total area of the USA: 9,833,517 sq km Population (April 2023): 334,589,107 POPULATION CLOCK: - one birth every 9 seconds - one death every 10 seconds - one international migrant every 31 seconds MIGRANT: someone who temporarily moves from one place to another IMMIGRANT: intends to stay in another place permanently (migrants can become immigrants) - net gain of one person every 20 seconds Baby Boom after world war 2 (generation called baby boomers) US population is slowing down: - immigration is in decline (2021 COVID) - birth rate is declining - COVID impacted death rate (the WHO (=world health organization) estimates 1 million americans were killed by COVID) Population distribution: denser at the coasts, very little in the middle Median age 38.8 years (2021) Median household income $69,717 (a year) 64.4% own a home → mostly older people (baby boomers and gen x) 12.8% poverty rate → most of them under the age of 18 American Flag: (50 stars 13 stripes) Possible reasons to display: - military service or supporting troops → joining military either last resort or tradition (supporting troops→ supporting the people not the military in general) - sense of pride in country (nationalism) - cultural reasons - celebratory reasons (Independence Day, Veteran’s Day, etc.) - required by a homeowner association (HOA) 1968: desecrating the flag can bring you fines or jail up to 1 year 1989→ desecrating the physical flag (can’t desecrate the symbol itself) is 1 1990→ protected by 1. Amendment (it is symbolic speech and political speech) The Road to the U.S. Constitution: 1776 DECLERATION OF INDEPENDENCE fun facts: - john hancock signature (allegedly the first one to sign the declaration (wrong) so in the US when someone asks you to put down your john hancock they want you to sign the papers) - Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin were the ones who wrote the declaration of independence - George Washington didn’t sign it because they only told him about it days after 1776-1787 THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION “The Government that Failed” 1777 adopted the Articles and ratified (made it official) in 1781 Weak and ineffective government that lacked authority, power and unity 2  (did have court but no president) → they were in charge of military no executive, no courts, no regulation of commerce, no taxation, one chamber with one vote per state (legislative) 3  The Road to the U.S. Constitution - may 1787 Philadelphia Convention (end of the Articles of Confederation) - current U.S. Constitution began to be shaped with that The Road to the U.S. Constitution 1787 Philadelphia Convention (Constitutional Convention) was made up of 55 men - elite group of economic & political (independently) wealthy white man (planation owners, lawyers, merchants, etc.) → weren’t friends (some even killed each other) - most were (east) coastal, urban - often referred to as the “Founding Fathers” (those who signed the Declaration of Independence & attended the Constitutional Convention - “The Framers of the Constitution” - The Framers common core ideas: 1. human nature 2. the causes of political conflict 3. purpose of government 4. nature of republican 1. Human Nature: human self-interested, restraining their impulses, don’t agree about being an absolute ruler, natural rights, consent of governed & limited government Limited government: certain restrictions should be placed on government to protect the Natural rights of citizens Natural rights: rights inherent in humans, not dependent on government. Including life, liberty, and property Consent of governed: government gets authority from people 2. The causes of political conflict: from unequal land and wealth distribution, religion, views of governing etc. they felt these shouldn’t go unchecked 3. Purpose of government: to protect & preserve property, they were all property owners & wanted a government that preserved the individuals right to acquire & hold property/wealth. they were chiefly concerned with protecting property owners wealth with government (although most people didn’t actually have property, but THEY wanted to build the new government in THEIR “favor”) 4. Nature of republican: republican government: influenced by roman republic, power against power to balance government Central issues at Constitutional Convention 4 1.Equality: (rights: life, liberty, property) - Natural rights: rights inherent in humans, not dependent on government; include life, liberty and property “all men are created equal…endowed by their creator” → definitely included enslaved people (black people not inferior) → could include indigenous natives (if they became American) → women aren’t included → at least he didn’t think about them at all (women: of important people in government wrote speeches and had political power through their husbands) - States Representation - Connecticut compromise was struck between Roger Sherman & William Johnson - Bicameral Congress (2 houses: the Senate/the House) → established in article 1 of the U.S. Constitution - Slavery - Was legal in every state except Massachusetts - Agreed congress could limit IMPORTING enslaved people, outlawing in 1808 - Three-Fifths Compromise (Clause): representation in the house and taxation based on population, “number of free persons” counted each as 1 “all other persons” (those enslaved) were 3/5 of a person - Voting: - Fears of mob rule, “too much democracy” - Decided to leave rules of voting up to the individual states - Only laid out rules for the electoral college (presidential elections) → who couldn’t vote: African Americans, Native Americans, Women, those who didn’t own property, not English speakers (most people in colonies spoke German), people between the ages of 18-21 2. Economy: - States imposed tariffs (taxes) on products from other states & abroad - Paper money had no value in some states - Congress had trouble raising money (economy was in a recession) → levy taxes, pay depts, borrow money 5  → post offices & post roads (highways) (→ use “highway money” to trick states into doing what they want) 3. Individual Rights: - Limited government specifically to protect individual rights - when time to ratify the Constitution, criticism focused on lack of provisions for personal freedoms - protects right to a fair trial, jury & detention; also prohibits religious qualifications for holding office in national government; narrowly defines & outlines rules on conviction of treason Federalists & Anti-Federalists - Federalists: supported the U.S. Constitution while states were contemplating its adoption → large landowners, wealthy merchants, professionals - Anti-Federalists: didn’t support the U.S. Constitution → small farmers, shopkeepers, laborers - Federalists presented themselves in “Federalist Papers” - Published what is known as Federalist Papers in 1787 → set of 85 essays that advocated for ratification to persuade the states (NY newspapers) - written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay under name PUBLIUS (as respect to roman empire, cause inspired by roman republic) - Bill of Rights: the first 10 Amendments of Constitutions - Constitution ratified on june 21. 1788 Levels & Branches of Government - two main levels of government: the state level & the national level - Federalism- combines general government & regional governments into single political system while dividing powers between the two - In the U.S. Federalism emerged from diverse populations & needs of the separate colonies - Three branches of government at federal level - Executive Branch - Legislative Branch - Judicial Branch → separation of Powers/ Checks & Balances Legislative Branch: - Established in Article 1 of Constitution → strongest branch in government - House of Representatives (lower chamber) 6  - Senate (upper chamber) → 535 members of Congress - 100 in Senate - 435 in House - House of Representatives must be at least 25 y/o & citizens for 7 years - Senators must be at least 30 y/o & citizens for 9 years - both must live in state they represent - Members make $174,000 per year - Speakers make §223,500 per year - they are provided healthcare & social security (retirement), they can still do their civilian jobs - Currently in the 118th Congress Democrats Republicans 213 222 (head: Hakeem Jeffries, (lead: Kevin McCarthy, since 2013 in house NY) since 2006 in house CA) - No term limits in Congress - usually the incumbent wins - House seats are up for elections every 2 years (Alaska joins US in 1959) (Hawaii joins US in 1959) → were unsure, cause US overthrew their Government - Senate Balance of Power: “Democrats” Republicans 51 49 (Chuck Schumer (Mitch McConnell 7  in senate since 1975 in senate since 1984 NY) KY) - Each state has 2 senators (fixed) - Term lasts 6 years Executive Branch: - Established in article II. of the constitution - Second most powerful branch “The execution power shall be rested in a President of the United States” [Franklin D. Roosevelt reelected 4 times (longest President office) William Henry Harrison died 3 days into first term (shortest President office)] - 1949: “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, & no person who has hold the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President more than once.” - To become President, the candidate must be a natural born citizen, 35 years old, and be a resident for at least 14 years - Currently: President: Joseph Biden (catholic, oldest President ever) Vice-President: Kamala Harris (person of color & woman) Judicial Branch: - Established in article III. - Weakest branch, but highest court in the land - Terms are not fixed, they’re life terms - Appointed by the President & approved by Congress (currently 9 justices in Supreme Court) - Usually don’t hold trials - Job is to interpret the meaning of law, decide if a law is relevant to a set of facts, or the rule on how a law should be applied - Rulings level set a legal precedent Democracy in America - Democracy & the public’s participation in it has become more important - Idea of who has the power to govern &/or influence government in a key part of how governing body operates three contemporary theories 1. Pluralism - Emphasizes policymaking process is open to the (special interest groups), with no single group dominating. Pluralists tend to believe public interests will generally prevail through the worth of the groups 8  - National Rifle Associations (NRA), American Association of Oral Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS), or National Organization for Women (NOW) - Believe that open access to government intuitions & policy makers allows groups to compete with each other for control over policy & prevents 1 group form dominating the others - Pluralists are generally optimistic public interest will prevail through a complex process of bargaining & compromise - Believe we should speak of groups of minorities working together instead of majority group Criticism: - Some argue that many current issues in America come from decline in group-based participation - Membership in many interest groups had dwindled, but doesn’t mean Americans aren’t interested - They are wanting to & are participating in a more self- defined way that’s separate from larger groups - Partly due to increasing isolation on internet - Dwindling membership & participation in special interest groups indicates that the pluralist theory is less descriptive of current American politics 2. Elitism (as critique of pluralism) - Contends that the upper-class elite hold the power & makes policy regardless of the formal governmental organization, in term, public interest is not reflected in policy - Define wealth as the holding of assets (property, stock,…) - Around over a third of the nation’s wealth is currently held by 1% or less of population - Believe 1% of American’s control most policy decisions because they can afford to finance election campaigns & control key institution (i.e. Apple, Amazon, Walmart) → this allows the elite to not only influence policies, but they can become policymakers 3. Hyperpluralism - This theory argues that pluralism has weakened government - The government is weakened by the many competing special interest groups that cripple their ability to translate public policy - Meaning problem is not that there are too few groups that are all-powerful, too many to come to policies - Too many ways for groups to control policy - Any cooperation on the state/local & national level can’t go forward or it’s difficult to cooperate - Groups often use this fragmented system to their advantage for example the excessive use of courts to block or change policies 9 Political Parties - Not mentioned in Constitution (formed on their own) - Democrat & Republican (GOP=GRAND OLD PARTY) Parties have existed since mid-19th century (1850s) (→ Donkey as animal) NEGATIVE (Elephant) - Have not always remained in the same place on the political spectrum - Two-party system Democrats (liberal/left) Republicans (right/conservative) (Others: Libertarian Party, Green Party (of US), Constitution Party) 10 American Voters - US Voters have increased over the years 11  How the „Bunny Hops” in American daily life (Mainly Colorado focused) High School: - Semesters: fall semester (august/sep. – dec.) / spring semester (January – May/June) - Lasts 4 years → freshmen, sophomores, juniors, seniors (enter school 13/14 y.o. / finish 17/18 y.o.) - legal age of consent in most states 16 years - legal age of adult 18 years - Diploma = A Levels - GED (General Education Development) high school equivalent (uncommon {mainly lower socio-economic classes}) - Most people attend public school - More privileged attend private (prep-school, religious school) - International baccalaureate (IB) or advanced placement (AP) → end of year exams for both to learn program credits, program credits can count as college credits Graduation requirements: - 4 years of language arts (english & literature) & mathematics - 3 years of social studies & science - 2 years of world languages (pick one) - ½ year of fine arts & ½ year of practical arts - 1 ½ years of physical education (PE) chess drama orchestra - 2 years of additional electives after school activities Marching band sports/cheerleading College or Workforce? (Both?): newspaper - Private vs. public tuition per year - 4-year nonprofit $54,501 / for profit $33,528 total cost of attendance - 4-year in-state $25,707 / out-of-state $44,014 total cost of attendance - Books & supplies cost about $628 to $1,471 per year depending on focus - Student loans federal & private → on average borrowers pay about $2,186 in interest each year According to US Bureau of labor statistics: - About 38% of entry-level employment only requires a diploma (2021) 10 years projected to increase 3% 12  - 24% require at least bachelor’s degree (2021) 10 year projected to increase 8% - Occupations that usually don’t require a degree: - construction & installation - maintenance & repair - transportation - service industry / retail Employment: - Full-time (around 40 hours per week) - Part-time (less than 30 hours per week) - Full-time requires employer to provide health insurance, some medical or family leave → usually have to work for employer for at least a year to get leave - Federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour (last raised in 2009) → Colorado law: minimum wage $13.65 per hour - Overtime (40+ hours) get time and a half of their pay - Sick days (for a cold): not required by law - Medical leave (unpaid for something serious or maternal leave): 17 weeks out of a year - Serious medical needs Most employers offer full-time employees: - 1-3 sick days per year (unpaid) - 10-14 days of paid vacation per year (depends, could be more or less for some) - Some states do require paid maternal or family leave → some states have allowed employers to opt out of this before the law goes into effect - Most benefits are offered to employees after 6 months to a year - Pay & raises depend on employer & market → increases are often dictated by performance & position - Asking how much a job pays is not the first question in the interview → ask when they offer the job then (try) to negotiate a higher wage (→ ask for a bit more than what you’re worth) Healthcare - Most pay a “co-pay” a contribution to the payment of the services rendered that day - set amount depending on type of doctor (primary specialist) - can be around $20 to $50 - If you don’t have insurance, you have to pay for the visit “upfront” $300 to $600 - Health insurance portability & accountability Act of 19996 (HIPPA) 13  - federal law that created standards to protect patient information - no full or last names or identifying names can be called into waiting room - most reasons for being seen are discussed in the waiting area or with reception - medical information cannot be released to employers, churches, the government, or unauthorized people, etc. (only released to patient or authorized person) - medical information cannot be released to a parent or guardian after the age of 15/16 year old (unless the patient consents) - No uniform or national health system or universal coverage (→ private & public healthcare, though private more common) - Made up of insurance & healthcare providers, hospital systems (private & public), healthcare facilities (private & public) - Combination of private healthcare insurance & public (Medicare & Medicaid or VHA) - Medicare: for those 65 & older & for some with specific conditions or disability - Medicaid: low-income program - Veteran health administration (VHA): previously in military & (some) family → you have to have served a certain amount of time, you have to be let go with honor - Insurances set rates for treatment/care & dictate if the care is medically necessary meaning it should be covered by insurance - if it’s not covered by insurance, you have to pay yourself or get another type of treatment - Healthcare spending higher in America than elsewhere in the world - Pandemic greatly impacted healthcare system, were already issues prior to 2020 → in 2020 average life expectancy dropped from 79 to 77 → in 2021 dropped again to 76.1 years → native Americans & Alaskan natives average life expectancy dropped from 71.8 years 14 15  Religion in the American Cultural Context (by guest speaker) - America is religiously pluralistic, all religions are represented → predominantly Christian United States Germany “Religion is important”:72% “Religion is important”: 33% Legal separation between Cooperation between church/state (just briefly church/state mentioned in school) Religious classes only found Optional religious classes in private religious schools allowed in public schools 501 (c) 3, tax-exempt Public law corporations organization Tithing depend/optional Tax mandatory (8-9%) Religious services: 31% don’t Religious services:92.1% attend don’t attend protestant 45% Catholic 22% Jewish 1% Muslim 1% Buddhist 1% Hindu 0.5% Other religions 1% No religion 23% (→ growing/they choose not to formally identify as a certain religion (could still attend services) “The religious belt” → south east Religious Diversity: Flushing, NY → the most diverse city in states (secondly LA) - 200 places of worship in 6.4 km area → 151 Christian churches 30 Buddhist temples 7 Hindu temples 6 Jewish temples 4 Muslim mosques What do Americans know about Religion? → not very much - 1. Amendment in schools no religious “studies” - Introduce more religious literature - Religion & Pop Culture: 16  - Constantine movie with angels & demons based off a comic - Carri Underwood (singer on American Idol/first big hit:” Jesus Take the Wheel” - Veggie Tales → Christian show (bible stories) - The Passion of the Christ → movie about Jesus’ death on cross Revival Movements: Religion for the People The great awakenings (1729-1760 / 1790-1840 / 1850-1930 / 1960-1980) - Individual & cultural salvation circuit riders (1800s) - Books, infrastructure, stability - Religion + entertainment Populism: “rhetoric of the revival” → provides sense of morals & security → there was a lot of uncertainty → preachers would preach (wanderprediger) → helped establish community → Christianity became more democratic → populist rhetoric: speaking with emotion, freely & “from the heart” Religion & America’s Wars - Civil War (1861-1865): Divinely ordained, good vs. evil - Cold War (1947-1991): Christian America vs. “godless communities” - 9/11 & War in Afghanistan (2001-2021): Islam as the American “other” Secular by Law: Constitutional Protections - 1st Amendment (1791) “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof” - 14th Amendment (1868) “No State shall… deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws” The State of Tennessee vs. John Scopes, a.k.a. “The Scopes Trial” or “The Monkey Trial” (1925) Creation vs. evolution - Teacher John Scopes found guilty for teaching Darwinism - Tarnished the image of fundamentalist Christianity in popular culture → dialogue in court creation vs. evolution was significant Religious Instruction in School - Public Schools cannot provide religious instruction to children during school hours 17  - Atheists have the same protection rights as other religious communities Bibles in School - Bible reading & reciting the Lord’s Prayer in public school is prohibited Recent Landmark Rulings Re: Abortion Access Re: Public Funds for Religious Schools Debbs vs. Jackson Women’s Espinoza vs. Montana Dept. of Health (2022) Revenue (2020), Carson vs. Removed federal protections Makin (2022) surrounding women’s right to States cannot exclude abortion families whose children attend religious schools from state-funded tuition reimbursement programs Religion and Politics: The Religious Right Bring back “family values” - Moral Majority - Christian Coalition Response to 1960s-1970s culture shocks Ideological focus on homosexuality, abortion, pornography Mobilized evangelical vote - In 1980s Christians formed friendships & relationships with Ronald Reagan → didn’t really have the hoped outcome Evangelical Protestantism - 25.4% of all Americans (3% of Germans) - Beliefs: biblicism, crucicentism, conversionism, activism - Spread rapidly during Great Awakenings - Experimental, emotional (very individualized) - Conservative values - Us/Them Megachurches - 2.000+ members - Multisite → church planting - 93% conservative - Aug. annual budget $5.3 million, 96% from member contributions 18  - Hold a disproportionate share of religious active Americans : the biggest 7% of megachurches have half of all the people, money, & staff → increase rapidly (→ smaller churches have to shut down) - Contemporary, secular America’s Largest Megachurches (2022) - Life.Church (Edmond OK) Religious by Choice: Shopping for God - Symbols of religions or belief systems → you can buy personalized stuff with symbols on them WHAT RELIGION IS IS VERY HARD TO DETERMINE - Loyalty to certain brands → religionized (“→ harnessing material stuff to gain power?!”) What is American studies?-Approaches & Keywords “culture” - It’s derived from Latin originally meaning “to protect”, “worship/honor” (a leader or idol in a cult) or “inhabit” - Culture as a concept has been synonymous with “civilization” - Culture as a concept varies across disciplines, & cultural studies & the civilizing process associated with it are viewed as a form of societal control & discipline - Culture is understood as significantly by contributing to the social fabric (art, food, music, language, society) - Culture defined by those in power to assert control & discipline over a group i.e. - DMX performing exaggerated masculinity to regain a sense of power he might not have as a Black American man - at the same time this version of masculinity is commodity for a white audience - classifying this as a lower culture skews a white audience’s understanding of the Black American experience while also excusing that this slice of exaggerated identity can be bought, sold & appropriated Essentialism - The belief that people or cultures have natural qualities or characteristics that are inherent (permanent). It can sometimes lead to praising one nation or culture & condemn another → there’s only good or bad, nothing in between, nothing new Race 19  - A construct, meaning that we invented race as a shorthand term to categorize people into different groups based on the pigmentation of their skin, physical features, & genetic heredity - US – “one drop rule” – a legal notion mostly applied in the early 20th – century; dates back to a Virginia law in the 1660s → was out in place to control procreation of blacks & whites to keep the white race “pure” {i.e. case of Susie Guillory Phillips (one ancestor more than 200 years removed, still had “colored” listed on her birth certificate)} - White supremacy tool to suppress & control the general population while using individuals with a mixed racial heritage as a buffer class that helped those who were considered white maintain a dominant status - Aimed to discourage interracial marriage as white supremacists wanted to keep their lineage “pure” - Race in America is hierarchical Hierarchy - A system/organization in which people or groups are ranked above the other according to authority or status Class (Analytical Marxist) - Analytical tool & historiographical category - Erik Olin wright (1985) three theoretical class distinctions: → class structure: collection of social relationships that individuals enter into → class consciousness: an awareness of class placement through social relationships → class formation: organized groups created as a result of the interests shaped by the class structure/system - Evidence of class consciousness since the early settlers (1630 ca.) - John Winthrop’s “sermon” “A Model of Christian Charity” - Labor history challenged Frederick Jackson Turner’s (1893) “frontier thesis” and Louis Hartz’s (1955) “liberal tradition” Paradigm: - A philosophical or theoretical frame work Gender - Often used within the context of discussing male oriented scholarship that was previously acknowledged as “objective” or “neutral” - Essentialists view that what men & women, or males & females, can, should, want & are able to do/be in society was fixed to their biological sex - 1970s post-structural-feminism – argues that gender is socially constructed 20  - 1990 Judith Butter Gender Trouble-proposed that gender is “performed” rather than inherent Sex (biological) - Corporal based & assigned to a person based on their chromosome, hormones & genitals - 1990 Patricia Hill Collins “Black Feminists Thought: knowledge, consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment - “Matrix of domination” Somebodies experience of/in Class the world depends on their Gender, Class & Race Gender Race Intersectionality - Analytical framework to understand how individuals’ political &/or social identities intersect, overlap, & interact in various ways that can result in someone accessing privilege, being subject to discrimination, or something in-between - Politics, Race, Age, Sexual orientation, Belief, Disability, Gender, Cognition, Nationality, Socioeconomic status Power - The extent to which an individual(s) can control / influence others - A factor that comes from the independence of two or more agents - Not good or bad - Michel Foucault (1926-1984) → not historian but philosopher, (misunderstood a lot of stuff) - Knowledge & power – as these two interact they create the concept of truth Knowledge - Concept that changes with time, is a source of power WHO HAS THE KNOWLEDGE HAS THE POWER TO CONTROL THE TRUTH - Knowledge changes with time, & knowledge is a source of power, those who have this power can act as an agent in society to move or shift discourse to create a truth Truth - A little apart from fact, but is in line with reality and fact Manifest Destiny - Argued that the territorial expansions of the US westward was inevitable → “Frontier thesis”- Turner → Essentialism Three basic tenets: 21  1. America & the colonial settlers had special virtues (claim America is Exceptional) 2. The mission of the US was to redeem and remake the West in the image of the agrarian East (→ putting rural society opposite to urban society) 3. American’s destiny to accomplish this essential duty (argued this destiny was irresistible) Origin: - John O’Sullivan first wrote term in 1845 - Appeared in a partisan magazine for the Democratic Party, The United States Magazine, and Democratic Review then appeared in the New York Morning News - Argued it was “The right to our manifest destiny to overspread and to process the whole of the convenient which Providence has given us for the development of the great experiment of liberty and federated self-government entrusted to us.” “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” - George Santayana 22  The American Dream - First defined by writer James Truslow Adams in1931 “that dream of a land in which life should be better & richer & fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement” (Adams 1932) - American national myth & long held belief → constructs a “national character” suggesting all people believe this National Myths: - Idealized stories that often make it difficult to discuss complexities, chance & facts - Roland Barth Mythologies (1973) – myths after our understanding of the past - Creates the impression that what is in the myth “naturally” occurred - Depoliticizing effect Is America Exceptional? - Alexis de Tocqueville on “American exceptionalism” – 1835 Democracy in America - Traveled to the US in 1831 - Puritan shoutout - Capitalism - Because Americans are from or close to Europe, they can’t be barbaric → Colonialism - Tocqueville found that American politics didn’t have feudal traditions Daniel Bell (1960) – The End of Ideology - Large humanistic ideologies from the 19th & 20th centuries were Exhausted - Claimed ideologies failed to prevent war, economic depression, political depression - And social support systems that recently modified capitalism - The Industrialized West would only experience social improvement through “piecemeal” adjustments that would move in a social – democratic direction - Piecemeal meaning unsystematic partial measures taken over a period of time - The foundation of the argument rested in the idea that America was exceptional & part of Louis Hartz (1955) – The liberal tradition in America - Argued that socialism would be impossible in America because of the lack of class conflict within a liberal capitalist order → Devotion to individualism and property rights a defining aspect 23  of culture - Informed by John Locke (1632-1704) & insisted that America’s shared commitments to Lockean Liberalism enabled Americans to avoid upheavals → To Hartz “Locke” stood for the motivations, values, & behaviors of liberal capitalism - Common criticism of his work is that the term “liberalism”, “Lockien”, & “feudalism” weren’t clearly explained leaving his central argument missing Frederick Jackson Turner (1861-1932) – multicausal history in a monocausal field - 1893 American Historical Association (AHA) in Chicago Turner presented his paper “The Significance of the Frontier in American History” - “Frontier thesis” - European settlers in America had been transformed by the settling process. In this process, he argued that the American “character” was shaped by the harsh conditions of the frontier & prospects of new land in westward migration - In the argument, he broke down the successive waves of migration & analyzed their social evolution through a multicausal lens. This made the American frontier the most important part of the nation’s history → TIED FREEDOM & MANIFEST DESTINY TOGETHER Herbert Eugene Bolten (1870-1953) – Borderlands History (challenges the frontier theses) - Argued that it was not the frontier that was important, but the borders occupied by Spain that changed overtime. This approach allows for the focus to be in understanding how colonial & precolonial contexts interacted [Oral Office Address → at the old office, very important messages (symbolic & powerful)] - “9/11 changed everything” - Mythology of exceptionalism - War on terror - fight terror with American exceptionalism that contained a metaphysical & theological justification - framed the attack as an attack on American freedom BRIGHTEST BEACON 24  Suburban Dreams & City Ideals – The City and Suburb The American City - Reading the city like a text …” a city is a gathering of meanings in which people invest their interpretations & seek to create their own history, and therefore (it) resembles a text set out in blocks, lines & grids” (Campbell & Kean, 200)” John Winthrop (1587/88-1649) - Arrived in 1630 on the Arabella - “A Model of Christian Charity” – main idea was to keep Puritan society rooted in their faith while comparing their journey to the Exodus” - “We shall be as a city upon a hill, the eyes of all people are upon us.” - Turner “… developing at each area of the progress out of the primitive economic & political conditions of the Frontier in to the complexity of city life” BAECON OF HOPE Immigration: 1870-1900 - Angel Island in San Francisco Bay, California (West Coast) - Ellis Island, New York, NY (East Coast) - Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 - first legislation to limit immigration based on nationality/race - More than 10.9 million immigrants from Europe - “old” immigrants (from northern & western Europe) - “new” immigrants (primarily from southern, central & eastern Europe) It’s important to address how new immigrants became “white” to… 1) Understand how national identity for nation has developed around race 2) How this identity for nation was fostered by encouraging NYC became prominent - Late 18th into the 20th century skyrocketing population - An economy relying on trade & commerce through its ports (very powerful position) - Population + economic strength & stability allowed them to supply more troops for the Civil War (1861-1865) than any other city (Union) - By 1900 NYC had an immensely powerful economy, the busiest pport in the world - Most new immigrants that arrived through Ellis Island remained in New York settling in the lower East Side of Manhattan 25  - Tenements (cheap housing) - 325 square feet = 30,2 square meters - Multigenerational families would work & live in these cramped spaces - Poor living conditions: - fire hazards - close proximity spread disease - poor ventilation - poor or no running water → other healthissues - no electricity American Suburb - Housing reform became increasingly important in the late 19th century to mid-20th century - In 1922 Herbert Hoover wrote an article “The Home as an Investment” in The Delineator - Urban crowding and poverty means a large increase in rents, a throw- back in human efficiency, & that unrest which inevitably results from inhibition of the primal instinct in us all for homeownership → MOBILITY, INDIVIDUALISM, SELF-RELIANCE/THRIFT, LANDOWNERSHIP - Political leaders introduced homeownership as attainable for all Americans & that living in the city was a personal choice - 1921 Better Homes in America, Inc. – founded by The Delineator’s editor-in-chief, Marie Meloney - Hoover took a leading role, reorganizing it as a political agenda Better Homes in America campaign set up communities nation wide & would feature a “demonstration home” - The focus was on demonstrating how the modern home should function in American society - Possible amenities - Decoration instructions - Function of rooms → womens room= laundry room, bureau = office for men,… - Construction standards - Zoning → Emphasized maintaining the “character” of a space, “appropriate use”, and zoning should protect “property interest” or 26  “depreciation of values such as come in ‘blight districts’” - The function of the modern home as presented by Better Homes in America became the new ideal - Herbert Hoover was President from 1929 to 1933 → The Stock Market Crash of 1929 - Calvin Coolidge (1924) “The American home is the foundation of our national individual well being. Its steady improvement is (…) a test of our civilization & of our ideals (…). We need homes in which home life can reach its finest levels, and in which can be reared happy children & upright citizens.” Better Homes in America Guidebook 1926 (→ most people couldn’t afford those homes) Franklin D. Roosevelt 1933 campaign against Hoover, wants to take Better Homes of America to “new level” → New Deal for American people → Hoover: “New Deal is “fascistic” & irresponsible, a gigantic leap towards socialism” TheNew Deal -Public works -Financial reforms -Regulations -Expanded the power of the federal government through agencies and welfare programs → Postwar suburban expansion - Homes Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC) - Federal Housing Administration (FHA) - Housing Act of 1937 27  Postwar Suburbia The New Deal happened in two parts - Stock Market crashed 1929 → not everybody suffered → rich became richer - New Deal ideas can be understood by the three Rs: Regulation, Reform, Relief - Public works – Infrastructure projects - Works Progress Administration (formed in 1935, dissolved in 1943) - At peak employment, employed over 3 million people (mostly men) → parks, highways, post offices, electricity Financial Reform - Expanded the power of the federal government through agencies & welfare programs - Banking reforms (mistrust in bank → people lost the money they put in the bank (stock market crash) - Emergency Banking Act 1933: preposed to temporarily close banks then reopen them under supervision from the Department of The Treasury [FDIC = Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation → each deposit insure to at least $250,000] → threatened idea of Individualism (you become a number) - Paper money lost value Monetary Reform - Gold Reserve Act 1934 – all gold held by Federal Reserve to be surrendered to the Department of Treasury, prevented redeeming U.S. dollar for gold, and established the Exchange Stabilization Fund - Housing, recovery & relief (→ for immigrants) - Postwar Suburban expansion - Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC), Federal Housing Administration(FHA), Housing Act of 1937 The American Suburb (1932 housing market up) - Herbert Hoover was President from 1929 to 1933 - The Stock Market Crash of 1929 - States & local government should provide aid to their constituents 28  Individualism, Pull yourself up by your bootstraps, Volunteerism - Labor movement largely comprised of new immigrants & other racial or ethnic minority groups → everybody should have the same rights (jobs,…) - New Immigrants’ children were approaching adulthood - American Federation of Labor (AFL) & Committee for Industrial Organization (CIO) → Push to protect certain worker’s rights → no: women, black, non- citizens, non-English-speakers - From “Working Towards Whiteness”: How America’s Immigrants Became White, The Strange Journey from Ellis Island to the Suburbs → provided an important venue in which “old immigrant” workers interacted with new immigrants, teaching important lessons in both whiteness & Americanization” - By 1935 new immigrants & their children gained significant influence through labor unions translated into political power Roosevelt campaign: New Deal - “Nordic father figure” → himself “immigrant” - Used easy language & spoke slowly & clearly & repeated himself - The mid 1930s “back-to-the-Mayflower” a push to require those who held political office to leave “100% American heritage as a qualification” 29  - Most immigrant communities & first generation Americans strongly supported the New Deal → Their political involvement helped shaping the New Deal - Homeownership functioned as an achievement of wealth for new immigrants - Helped make Homeownership a symbol of The American Dream - Owning a home was participating in the American identity - Craig Steven Wilder, “A Covenant with Color: Race & Social Power in Brooklyn” → The New Deal worked within the bounds of white supremacy & helped catapult segregationist efforts further into American society & government (→ Jim Crow) Home Owner’s Loan Act 1933 - 1933 Home Owner’s Loan Act (HOLC) passed with bipartisan support - Purchased delinquent home loans from banks and other lenders, than refinance them with long-term, low interest loans - Designed to rescue both lenders & borrowers - After 4 months of operation HDLC received over 400,00 applications - After 21 months of operation (1935) stopped accepting loans & received 1,886,491 applications (in numbers): - About 40% of the nation’s eligible homeowners had applied for assistance - Granted loans to 54% of those who applied, saved approximately 800,000 homeowners from losing their homes - By 1936 more than 20% of mortgages for owner occupied, single family homes were now mortgaged too - Showed immense potential of low-interest, long-term loans could have on the market - HOLC developed guidelines as to who could qualify for their loans as well as how to access property value - Ranking system for neighborhoods on scale of least risky to most - “A” was the least risky & was assessed that property values could go up - “D” was the most risky & was assessed that property values could go down 30  - Those ranked “D” were where mostly Black residents lived - “D” ranking neighborhoods were marked in red, creating what is known as “redlining” - Private real estate & loan industries also began using HOLC maps to assess property value & followed the guidelines the Federal government laid out - 1935, these maps were codified for Federal Home Loan Bank Act (FHCBB) – redlining dictated who could receive federal home loans - G.I. Bill (Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944) - created to provide various benefits for retuning service members or veterans (known as G.I.S.) - Originally created to expire in 1956, has been continually extended - Provided WWII. Veterans with financial support, low- cost mortgages and low-interest loans through the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) - These credit programs were selective & lucrative as the FHA frequently worked with private industry - FHA did promote neighborhoods for Black Americans, mostly in the South & always segregated 31  - It was difficult for Black American veterans to access affordable housing through the G.I. Bill because: → The offices would often not process their applications → Many lenders refused to lend to African Americans → Some post offices in the South refused to mail applications → were often intimidated from applying by KKK - HOLC maps were internal document – they weren’t released to public - 1976 Kenneth T. Jackson discovered an HOLC map with redlining - Redlining contributed to white flight → white flight is migration of white people from areas that are becoming more diverse → Motivated by belief that presence of people of color, primarily African Americans, would threaten their way of life Restrictive covenants → “legal instruments, included in a property’s deed or stipulated by a separate agreement, that dictated how the parcel may be used.” (Freund, 2007) → decided who could own property → also loan scheme - Restrictive covenants were first used by antebellum developers → Antebellum is referring to the period before the American Civil War (1861-1862) → when slavery was still legal - Most deeds used the phrase “person of the Caucasian or white race” to describe who could live and purchase a home in the covenant → for middle class & upper class → even the lower class (financial aid through loans) - The labor movement was not about equality for all & often was new immigrants pitted against their Black co-workers → they had to participate in Black racism to be accepted themselves - New immigrant benefited from participating in racism against African Americans and other people of color as it was seen as following a white cultural norm Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944 (G.I. Bill) - Aimed to provide social benefits for military veterans 32  - Originally designed to accommodate Jim Crow segregation - Provided low-cost mortgages with low-interest loans – federal assistance to become a homeowner White Black America America Accessing housing “America was build through immigrants.” → the European immigrants → when an American says they’re German-American → they’re saying they’re American-American 33  Gee whiz, Mrs. Cleavar Declaration of Independence - 1776 the Declaration of Independence was signed - Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4th - Thomas Jefferson (VA) primary Author – John Adams (MA), Benjamin Franklin (PA), Roger Sherman (CT), Robert Livingston (NY) [John Hancock: “We must be unanimous; there must be no pulling different ways; we must hang together.” Benjamin Franklin: “We must indeed all hang together, or else we’re going to hang separately.”] → Declaration of Independence was treason Yankee Doodles: the American’s were called Yankee Doodles as a mockery, by British loyalists - Aimed to justify & announced the Revolution (by making copies of the Declaration of Independence and making it publicly accessible) → seen as both political & philosophical – a political call to arms - Much of the document focuses on showing how King George III. had abused the colonies (some of which was not completely factual) - Today it’s seen more as philosophical & underlying a lynchpin of American government and cultural values [Eleonor Roosevelt 1st Lady F.D.R. → in relationship with a woman - worked to end lynching - first 1st lady who was in public] The Home in the Suburbs - Better Homes in America campaign set up communities nation wide and would feature a “demonstration house” Guidebook: 1. “To make accessible to all knowledge of high standards in house building, home furnishing, & home life.” - Believed it was natural instinct for Americans to want to live in single-family homes - Those that remained in the city were there by choice or were unaware of single-family home life 5. “To encourage the furnishing of homes economically & in good taste.” - “…symbolic value, emphasizing both the romance of history & the benefits of modern technology. Those massages weren’t left to individual interpretation. The Delineator provided readers with deliberate direction through description” (Hutchison. 1986) 34  - Better Homes in America encouraged & demonstrated how to furnish, design, & organize the home & household in accordance with preexisting gender roles & norms - 1924 campaign in Kalamazoo, Michigan highlighted a room called the “mother’s room” - “As feminist critics & historians have shown, however, the home is indeed a site of labor. Not only do women do physical chores, but also the basic relations of our economy & society are reproduced at home.” (Spigel, 1992) - Mrs. Charles Brady Sanders column “Rooms for Boys and Girls” → “dainty, bright & frivolous’ furnishings for girls’ rooms. In boys’ rooms “masculinity must be foremost”. Quoted in Manisha Claire, “The Latent Racism of the Better Homes in America campaign. 7. “To encourage the establishment of courses of instruction in home economics in the public schools, & particularly the construction of school practice houses & home economics cottages where girls in our public schools & colleges may, by actual practice, learn the best methods of conducting household operations & by homemaking.” - Aimed to create a community in the suburbs Home Economics - A subject that teaches domestic skills (sewing, cooking, etc.). Typically & historically taught in high school to girls (teaching the things a mid-wife would typically show/tell you → typically you don’t have a mid-wife in America) - The concept of educating girls in home economics was not new & many organizations concerned with educating women & advocating for women’s health were pushing to implement home economics - In the 1960s home economics came into question as “women’s work” has traditionally been seen as less valuable - Today Family and consumer sciences (FCS) → less prominent, because there aren’t enough teachers who teach FCS, since they don’t get payed for getting that education 9. “To extend knowledge of the ways of making home life happier, through the development of home music, home play, home arts & crafts, & the home library.” American Homelife on Screen - Propaganda film “’Poor Mrs. Jones!” (1926) Produced by U.U. Department of Agriculture, Division of Publications - Silent, black & white film 35  → back then people only had access to news through the movie theater (no television, rich people may had a radio) - Contrasting urban life (dirty, cramped, expensive,…) & rural life (way easier) 10. “To encourage special study & discussion of the problem of character building in the home.” - An underlying implication that the Better Homes Campaign was protecting American ideals and culture through education about the single-family home - Articulating sentiments & cultural norms of the time - Repackaging and moving sentiments into public discourse through print magazines (Better Homes came from a magazine), political rhetoric, community involvement, clubs, religion, public education, & visual media - Part of their message was that the home was a place for the family → the private sphere was conceived as a place where leisure & consumption took place (also place of labor for women) Television in the Home - Late 1920s & early 1930s, first television stations began to appear - But radio was still the primary wireless technology in the home → 1930: 49% of American homes had radio → 1940: 81% of homes had radio → 1950: 95% of homes had radio - “Radio listening thus became a more familiar & habitual activity, one that seemed more naturally integrated into the rhythms of everyday life.” (Spigel, 1992) - Television was modeled on radio programming & broadcasting & initially programing was aimed at upper class families, specifically males → programming was primitive, simple & didn’t understand its audience - After WWII consumerism in America exploded – this included television receivers - 1946 the first black & white receivers were provided to the public → 1950: 9% of American homes had television sets → 1955: 65% of homed had television sets - Television stations and coverage was not evenly provided across the country - Rural areas often didn’t have access 36  - Those living in poverty often couldn’t afford a television or didn’t have electricity - Television and its programming was designed for & consumed by those in the middle – to upper class - Advertisement changing & targeting women & man while also idealizing the domestic space & the “good life” - “Whatever pressures & complexities modernity bring, those images implied, the family at home would preserve an undaunted harmony & security. In an age of anxieties about the family relationships & centrifugal social forces, this visual cliché was not social mirror, rather, it was a reassuring pictorial convention.” (Marchand, 1985), 248-45. (From: Advertising the American Dream) 37  Because the Internet (from stock sites to social media) The birth of the internet - In the early 1960s a group of research scientists wanted to create a way to connect computers around the world to share & research quickly - Advanced Projects Research Agency Network (APRANET) in 1969 was the network thet led to the internet → 4 U.S. universities were connected through APRANET & used the network to collaborate on problems & research - In 1972, the first email (e-mail) program was written - By 1973 the majority had access - 1991, what is known as the WWW was introduced - In 1993 about 16 million people were using the internet - Pew Research Center’s study on Americas’ internet access: → 2000: 70% of young adults (18-29) used the internet → 2015, this figure grew by 96% → 2000: 14% of those 65+ but had faster adoption rate → 2015: 58%v of those 65+ used the internet Freedom of speech on the internet - 1996 Congress passed the Communications Decency Act (CDA) → Attempt to prevent minors (under 18) from accessing sexually explicit content on the internet → Outlawed the “knowing” of “potently offensive” to those under 18 - 1997 Reno vs. American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) → Ruling that CDA violated 1st Amendment - 1998 Child Online Protection Act (COPA) → Anything deemed “harmful” or “obscene” in commercial transaction on public websites - 2004 Ashcroft vs. ACLU & 2007 ACLU vs. Gonzalez (E.D. Pa. 2007) - The Supreme Court made a distinction between violence & obscenity → “Violence is not part of the obscenity that the Constitution permits to be…” - www.rotten.com (an archive of disturbing illustration) - Domain name registered in 1996 by Thomas E. Dell (“rebellion” against CDA) 38 Cultural Multiculturalism: History, Trajectory, Prospects (Guest speaker) Multiculturalism (in Canadian context) 1. Sociologically – descriptive of the fact of the ethnic & cultural diversity of a country (descriptive) 2. Ideologically – as a term used to designate a set of ideas & ideals that, broadly, promote or celebrate the idea of cultural diversity as a social good, as something that a society ought to strive for (prescriptive) 3. Politico – administratively – as the term used to refer to policy choices made by government to respond to the presence of cultural diversity (policy response) → official policies - May refer to ethnic groups, but more other kind of groups History - 1867 Canada became its own country - Indigenous, anglophones, francophones Three Paradigms for Managing Cultural Diversity in Canada Anglo – conformity: 1867-1939 - Canadian population 1867: 3.5 million (8% of which non- British, non-French origin) - 1900-1920: 3 million immigrants to Canada birth of the Canadian cultural mosaic - 1901-1911: 43% increase in population 22% of population foreign – born The Canadian Malting Pot: The Postwar Years Final report of the Massey Commission 1951 - Expansion of institutions of post – secondary education - National Library of Canada 1953 - Canada Council 1957 - Canadian Film Development Corporation 1967 Replacement of the Canadian Red Ensign with the Maple leaf in 1965 Adaption of “O Canada” as the national anthem in 1967 Multiculturalism: 1971-Present Interculturalime (Quebec): 1971-Present Emergence out of responses to Quebecois nationalism - Royal Commission on Bilingualism & Biculturalism, 1963 (Laurendeau – Dunton Commission) - Official Languages Act 1969 – Bilingualism & Biculturalism - Response of Allophone Immigrant Communities 1971 Truckau’s announcement of “Multiculturalism with a Bilingual Framework” - Constitution Act 1982 39  → Section 27 “This Charter Shall be interpreted in a manner consistent with the preservation and enhancement of the multicultural heritage of Canadians” - Multiculturalism Act 1988 → Creation of a mythic image of the mosaic Core goals of Multiculturalism - “to assist cultural groups to retain & foster their identity” - “to assist members of all cultural groups to overcome cultural barriers to full participation in Canadian society” - “to promote creative encounters and interchange amongst all Canadian cultural groups in the interest of national unity” - “to assist immigrants in acquiring at least one of the official languages” Critique, Achievements & Challenges to Multiculturalism Critiques: - No more core culture (there’s not one Canadian culture) - Minority groups: feeling patronized, can live their culture, but doesn’t change anything in legal structure/system (do what you want in private, not really public place though) - Francophones & indigenous: against multiculturalism don’t want to just be a piece in mosaic → “they were there first” Achievements: - Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada 2007/2008- 2015) → 94 Calls to Action - Positive effects → immigration Challenges: - Could be populist swap up → a lot of populist movements - Justin Trudeau (2015) “There is no core identity, no mainstream in Canada…what make[s] us the first post national state.” 40