Progressive Era through the Great Depression Research Paper - 1

Progressive Era through the Great Depression - Research Paper Example Some of these include the end of American isolationism when it entered a war with Spain between 1895 and 1898, the moment when American women were given the right to vote in 1917, and America’s entry into the First World War in April 1917 (Stein, 2009). Other turning points were the stock market crash in October 29, 1929 which precipitated the Great Depression, the day when John Glenn became the first man to orbit the earth in 1962, America’s entry into the Vietnam War in 1959, and the passing of the Civil Rights Act in 1964 (Stein, 2009). In recent years, America has been transformed by the advent of personal computers in the 1980s and the terrorist attack in New York in 2001. Historical Events that shaped American Society The Revolutionary War and the Civil War each greatly affected the then young America (Stein, 2009). The revolutionary war guaranteed the nation’s sovereignty and the Civil War helped to enforce the significance of the federal government over t he state governments. When World War One ended more than two decades later, America was resentful for having been forced to use its resources to fight a war in which it had no spoils. This resulted in a re-newed focus on isolationism. This isolationism would cause America to stay out of the Second World War until its own shores were attacked by a member of the Axis powers. On discovering the atrocities visited on Europe’s Jews by Germany, America experienced a sense of guilt for maintaining its isolationist policy while Adolph Hitler executed millions of innocent human beings. This guilt would result in the US taking an active role in the affairs of other nations- thereby earning the moniker ‘the World’s policeman’. This involvement was evident in the creation of the United Nations, involvement in the Korean War, the many attempts to curb Communism, and the launch of the war against terror. America’s development of social security was another change that resulted the Great Depression; which proved to Americans that their economy would not always economy be on the rise. In the 60s, the social revolution caused by the civil rights movement forced America to examine race relations and look for ways to truly ensure that all citizens were treated equally. Why women earned the right to vote in the frontier states of the West before eastern and southern states It was in Wyoming where women were first given the right to vote. Soon, Utah, Colorado, and Idaho also allowed their women to vote. Wyoming’s reasons for allowing women to vote were not tied to any idealism but were rather aimed at curbing the existing shortage of women in the state. By ratifying this act, Wyoming hoped to draw more women. Another reason is that Western states were basically being created out of undeveloped woodlands. This called for all types of labor that could be availed. Women worked tirelessly in clearing woodlands and farming alongside the men. Thi s earned them a respect that was not enjoyed by their counterparts in eastern states. How women and minorities have changed American Culture In the past, most women and Minorities were openly discriminated against. Most of the time, they were given menial jobs at very low pay (Sage, 2010). There acceptance into the American mainstream workforce has resulted in the acceptance in American society that individuals should not be judged on the basis of their ethnicity