Does History Matter?
Social ideas and ideals of humanity pass through US history. It is in the struggle for social justice and equality finds its most vivid expression of the social nature of man. As in public life, and accordingly, in the social sciences, the problems in the social justice and equality are inseparable, they are often mixed, identified, although in reality each of these concepts has its own special meaning, its content. Social justice and social equality are the objective quality of social forms of relations of society and citizens. Sami social networks are a set of relations between people as a social being (i.e., relations of economic, political, ideological, family, moral, and others.), in which they come, creating human history. Therefore, social justice and social equality can take place in various areas of public life.
The most important feature of the development of the United States since the early 60s the rise of a pack of the powerful mass democratic movement against racism and for civil rights of the black population, against the growth of militarism and an aggressive foreign policy of the government (Loewen, 236). The mass protest movement, which actively participated representatives of progressive society, contributed significantly to the change in the political climate in the country, to break through the stifling atmosphere of conformism. Facts about poverty and racism, the civil rights movement of black criticism intervention in Cuba and Vietnam shattered many representations 50s, forced intellectuals to reconsider US history. Unfortunately, most textbooks do not provide complete information about the Vietnam War and the contribution of the United States in this war, they do not allow students to critically reflect on the information and understand the importance of the US in this event (Loewen, 256). The confusion in the face of changing realities, methodological inconsistency, inability to comprehend the underlying causes of rise of the revolutionary, national liberation and democratic movements throughout the world and in the US itself, failures of American foreign policy, and subjectivist interpretation of the consequences of scientific and technological revolution influenced the general state of the US bourgeois historiography. Against the background of spiritual rebellion and strengthen the socio-critical thought 60-s was exposed even more clearly the failure of the main concepts, settled in American bourgeois historiography during the previous decade. It collapsed with fanfare erected consensus building: the acute socio-political conflicts 60s overthrew him, clearly demonstrating a deep disparity conservative theoretical constructs reality.
An example of the struggle for social justice can be considered the American Revolution of the end of the XVIII century, or the anti-colonial war 1775-1783, which consistently remains one of the most important in the US historiography. The War of Independence was both social and political revolution, whereas to his opponents, it was only the anti-colonial war. American anti-colonial war occurred in the liberal-bourgeois society on its fundamentals; it was the main purpose of their protection and was, by definition protective. In a revolutionary period, the social shift was seen, but it did not occur in the socio-economic and political structure, and in the minds of Americans, which streamlined and firmly assimilated the principles of constitutionalism and republican world order. The number of pre-revolutionary social conflicts included performances "regulators" (small farmers and tenants) in North and South Carolina, as well as in New York, which sought to facilitate access to uncultivated areas and reduce the rent. These performances have affected a minority of the colonies, they did not fit into a broad anti-colonial movement, to cover all the 13 colonies, and on the whole, social and political protest, which had predominantly anti-British character, had a modest specific gravity. Such performances, sometimes much larger (for example, the uprising of N. Bacon in Virginia in 1676), occurred in earlier periods of colonial history, but none of them led to a crisis and the most revolutionary situation, which ripened in 1760-1770-ies in North America (Loewen, 206). This revolutionary situation was created precisely from the American anti-colonial movement, and not the internal social conflicts. Ideas about that ordinary Americans deserve greater economic empowerment and greater participation in the affairs of government arose among the masses. Such ideas have given themselves known after the start of the War of Independence when the masses feel and realize that the abolition of British rule and caused a power vacuum gave them a real chance to compete with the American elite in the distribution of political and economic power partly. The people declared itself immediately after the proclamation in July 1776 of American independence. From that moment, the war for independence becomes a double revolution, anti-colonial revolution, and internal political struggle develops on an equal footing. Within a few months in North America, it has been completely eliminated monarchical branch of the state, established a republican system and in all states of unprecedented democracy constitution adopted. The idea of the political rights of different social strata of the equation has become central to the democratic ideas of the revolutionary era. The American War of Independence 1775-1783 was marked by a major change in the historical fate of the North American provinces: they gained full independence, and the inner revolution changed their socio-political structure during the anti-colonial war. Democratic reforms have concerned mainly the political sphere, they are proven to be very serious, join the political power of the majority of the middle and lower layers of the white Americans (men). In the socio-economic sphere, the liberal-individualistic values prevail. They were approved by a majority of the white population, and their implementation in practice was carried up into the socio-economic summit of the most successful and enterprising.
The Great Depression of 1929-1939 led to a massive strike movement, performances of workers and farmers. In December 1931 and in 1932 hiking unemployed on Washington was organized. They were called "hungry" campaigns. The unrest spread to agricultural areas. Twenty-two states were covered by farmers' performances. The government suppressed them by the most brutal repression. Riots broke out among the black population. All the foundations of the social order collapsed with terrible rapidity. For several years, America was on the verge of the destruction of the existing system. In an atmosphere of severe economic crisis, social confrontation, and the sharp political struggle took place in 1932 presidential elections. The Republican candidate was Mr. Hoover, the Democratic - Governor of the State of New York, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who spoke of an extensive program, which included broad economic and social reforms. He won and started wide-scale reform of the US economy, gained fame as a "new course". People were able to get a job again and changed cardinal the overall quality of life.
Another example of the struggle for social equality and justice is the period of US history from 1964 to 1980, which includes dramatic changes in the economy, the end of the period of prosperity and the deep economic crisis of the 1970s, the aggravation of the international economic competition, the sharp rise in oil prices and other goods. In political life, African-American Civil Rights Movement reaches the top. If the 1950s were a period of political conservatism, 1960 went down in history as a period of liberalization America. After President Johnson’s coming to power, in the United States racial segregation is eliminated, the civil rights of color people, expanding public and education welfare programs at all levels are provided, environmental protection are subsidized by the new program, humanitarian projects and the creation of works of art, as well as a number of poverty eradication programs are also provided (Bernstein, 124). Modern historians believe that this was a period of a new vision of economic and social justice, anti-communist in their political color and without any traditional US campaigns against the monopoly, which was based on Keynesian theory of financing of education, health care, retirement care and housing from the state budget to stimulate economic growth at the same time (Harrell et al., 152).
1960 is known as the period of social tension and street protests, demonstrations and clashes, the anti-war statements and counter-cultural revolution (Marquardt). African-American young people take to the streets at the call of Martin Luther King, Jr., National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and other mass organizations (Horwitt). Martin Luther King was not only an outstanding orator but also skillfully used the media to show the brutal attack opponents nonviolent speeches and his supporters call the sympathy of viewers of news channels. This tactic was widely used subsequently and by other minorities, such as homosexuals and feminists, and organizing campaigns involving the media to influence public opinion, as well as initiating lawsuits to change government policy. The strong impression on public opinion produced as the murder of John F. Kennedy, whose intention to liberalize the attitude towards minorities colored realized his vice president and successor, Lyndon Johnson, taking a number of laws to ensure civil rights in general and electoral rights in particular. For four years, the number of voters participating in the elections in the southern states doubled. The main objectives of the social programs for the construction of the Great Society programs were the elimination of poverty and racial discrimination. The federal program provides funding for education, health care, beautification of cities and public transport. In spirit and direction of the program, they were like the New Deal of President Franklin Roosevelt.
In the 1960s, many young people openly opposed the social norms and conservatism of the older generation, against the Vietnam War and the Cold War in general. In the wake of the sexual revolution and the Civil Rights movement came to life as feminism and environmentalism. Loewen states that in school and university textbooks feminist theme of this time is not considered properly because many families support the classical distribution of roles in the family (Loewen, 261). However, the teacher should convey these facts to the students so that they can think critically. In this period, there was a protest by youth fashion men's longhaired hair to the drag of rock music. The mainstream has joined the hippie culture, with its deliberate love of peace, freedom and universal love. In the Summer of Love in 1967, hippies across the United States have created a unique new pattern of social relations in which on the basis of a common subculture easily converged before strangers. The use of psychedelic drugs such as LSD and marijuana, psychedelic and folk rock as a cultural phenomenon is spread. The most significant youth protests were "March on the Pentagon" in October 1967 and the protests during the US Democratic Party convention in Chicago in August 1968 became a symbol of the hippie era of the Woodstock festival in August 1969.
As demonstrated by the subsequent history of the United States, the abolition of British colonial rule, which suppressed social values, has created a solid foundation for a successful liberal-bourgeois, more and more advanced with respect to other countries in the US development. However, the triumph of individualistic liberalism as the national faith also meant the creation of a minimum a solid foundation for socio-economic differentiation of American society. The presence in the United States a number of social problems are a constant source of social tension. Using the mechanism of state-monopoly regulation in the social sphere, the ruling circles of the United States are taking various measures to mitigate these problems. One of the most pressing US social problems is unemployment. One of the most pressing domestic US issues, leaving its roots in the deep past of the country, is a racial problem. Although the US Constitution proclaimed the equal rights of US citizens, the United States continues to be a country of racial inequality and discrimination. The result ensuing from the second half of the 60s to combat racial and ethnic groups for their rights was a significant expansion of their political representation. To understand US history and the current situation in the country, these issues are important and necessary for studying students. They point to the way the American people in all its diversity fought for their rights and position in society and how this struggle and revolution led to a better life. Despite the fact that many of the themes of social inequality are still characteristic of the United States of America, yet one cannot ignore the progress that was made possible by the American people, who for decades did not stop the fight for social equality and justice. However, it should be understood that not all examples of struggle gave a positive result. The author of the book “Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Book Got Wrong” says that the textbooks on the history of American students are often presented with the facts only in a positive way, making emphasis on the fact that students should be proud of the achievements of its people. However, this approach does not give the opportunity to realistically assess the situation and make the right conclusions (Loewen, 6). Therefore, the history should be studied by students from a neutral point of view I order to understand properly how to create the story and what the difficulties faced by the American people.
Works Cited
Bernstein, Irving. Guns or Butter: The Presidency of Lyndon Johnson. Oxford University Press. 1994. Web.
Harrell, David Edwin Jr., Gaustad, Edwin S., Boles, John B., Griffith, Sally Foreman, Miller, Randall M., Woods, Randall B. Unto a Good Land: A History of the American People. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. pp 1052-53. 2005. Web.
Horwitt, Sanford D. The Children. San Francisco Chronicle. 1998. Web.
Loewen, James W. Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Book Got Wrong. Touchstone. 2007. Web.
Marquardt, Katy. 10 Places to Relive the '60s. U.S. News & World Report. 2009. Web.
