Discussion 1
The proponents of the reconstruction amendments saw them as changing US from a nation that was half free and half slave to one where constitutionally assured blessings of liberty would essentially be extended to all male populace, comprising former slaves as well as their descendants. The intention of these amendments was actually to guarantee civil rights and freedom to African- Americans. During the Reconstruction, the federal government through the Fourteenth Amendment placed measures to protect freed people rights and restrict former confederates’ political power. In the Fifteenth Amendment, the federal government passed measures that ensured that no citizen could be discriminate (Benedict and United States 2007)d.
In the long- term, these measures proved largely ineffective because the white elites together with their followers wanted to reinstate the old order. Even the federal government was not ready to ensure that these measures were maintained. For instance, it refused to effectively redistribute the land after the civil war. Between 1865 and 1933, through the women’s rights activists, women could now vote (Benedict and United States 2007). Although the vote was secured for them by Nineteenth Amendment to U.S Constitution in the year 1920, most of gains that women have made in ending gender discrimination and achieving legal equality have come from the 1960s.
The blacks are the ones who gained more in this period. Black women were expected to be cooperative, passive, and obedient. Additionally, these women were seen and treated as slaves. The workers during this period were not discriminated but their failed to gain their demand for equal pay. In ensuring and expanding the rights of all citizens, the federal government took the role of the protector of rights of citizens.
Discussion 2
During the period between 1880 and 1930, many Americans favored activist federal government because they believed that this type of government would ensure free enterprise and competition. The 1929 crash of the stock market had initiated a serious economic dislocation in country’s history, the 1929 to 1940 Great Depression hence this made many citizens to favor an active federal government. This is also what led the progressives and populists call for an active federal government (Risjord 2005).
The Progressive Era was actually a period of political reform and social activism in US, which thrived from 1890s to 1920s. One of the main aims of this movement was to purify the government, as the progressives attempted to eliminate the corruption in the country through undercutting and exposing political machines as well as bosses. Therefore, progressives believed that the federal government had a duty to be more active in people’s welfare promotion.
However, though progressives agreed with a number of populists’ ideas, they were normally much more conservative. Frequently, they were alarmed at the populists’ radicalism and believed in restructuring the government and society instead of proposing sweeping changes to capitalists system (Risjord 2005). The constitutional conservatives opposed policies proposed by progressives and populists on the ground that these policies presented challenges to recognized understandings of the judiciary, federalism, and the presidency.
References
Benedict, M. L., & United States. (2007). The blessings of liberty: A concise history of the Constitution of the United States. Princeton, N.J: Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic.
Risjord, N. K. (2005). Populists and progressives. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.
