Most Significant Groups in US History

[Emma B]

Well coby, to begin with, they informed the American people of situations happening in their own country, and by doing so gave the American people a sense of power. Not only did Upton Sinclair's The Jungle lead to the public outcry of America, it lead to the passing of the Meat Inspection act and the Pure Food and Drug act (1906) and eventually led to the FDA being established. Also, the History of Standard Oil helped draw widespread public attention to monopolistic business practices, as well as potential violations of U.S. anti-trust laws. Although I do agree with you that Muckrakers were quite money hungry and therefore not highly respected in society, their most significant contribution were their "warnings" to the American people about the corruptness that was taking place, and making the American people feel "safer" in their own country

[coby]

Brian W,
Muckrakers are not important for "laying down the groundwork of modern protest". When has protesting resulted in anything positive in American history? When I think of protests I think of the national government shutting them down by extreme force. Protesting is over rated and usually results in no positive change regardless of what the protestors may feel.

[Alex G.]

Tali-
Were the feminists any more important to the social reforms you mentioned than say the abololitionists or the suffragists?

[Melissa F.]

Ok, so now for my last info post on the greatest group EVER!!!.... MUSICIANS!!!!

Pay attention now... the academic study of American music can be traced back to the late 19th century. Alan Lomax was the most prominent of the several folk song collectors who helped to inspire the 20th century roots revival of American folk culture. Gilbert Chase’s America’s Music, from the Pilgrim to the Present was the first major work to examine the music of the entire United States, and recognize folk traditions as more culturally significant than music intended for the concert hall.

The cultures that different styles of music originated from carried on along with the music and helped to create city identities within the country. Many regions of the country have produced local scenes of musical identification, such as Cape Verdean music in New England, Armenian music in California, and Italian and Ukrainian music in New York. Forever now, Louisiana, especially the New Orleans area, has been characterized by its flavor of Caribbean diversity, complete with its Creole and Cajun music influences.

[Zoe B.]

My Summary!!

Ok, well as completely overwhelmed as I may be by this bombardment of information, I have been able to form some conclusions based on what I've read and observed. I have not yet decided on my top ten, partly because there are still a few people (*cough cough*) who have yet to make their informational posts, and I want to give their groups a chance. Of course, I know that the European explorers will definately be on my list because, as I have repeatedly explained, they were the cause of the U.S. and today's world being the way they are and are also the base that all of the other groups we are discussing were built off of.

While this is the only definate candidate I have so far, I have decided on a few guidelines to help me choose my others. As many people pointed out over the course of our numerous postings, influence is not always positive. I agree with this wholeheartedly and will make sure not to discriminate against groups on a moral or personal level. Aside from this, I find that I am facing many of the same problems as the historians asked to rank the top 100 most influential Americans (o yeah, that packet we're supposed to be basing this on...). Like them, I find it difficult to discern if the most prominent group is the most influential, or if this title should go to the group that made the other's importance possible. Also, it seems that every group is influential in some significant way, so it is incredibly hard to cut any one out. It is difficult to judge influence when you are comparing older groups to more modern ones as well, since you don't know the long-term effects of both. For this reason, I am going to make a point not to discriminate based on time period either, only look at the influence as far past the group's beginning as possible. On the whole, however, I think that the most effective way for me to reach a decision on my top 10 will be to choose the ones that have affected the most of the other groups. In this way, I will not only be acknowledging the influence of the individual groups I pick, but also that of the ones that were made influential as a result.

I hope this is at least somewhat satisfying and will help some of you in narrowing down your choices. This will be a hard process, but it will also get us to look closely at the groups we are discussing and to truly appreciate the significance that they all hold.

[Jordan K.]

sophiay said:

Informational Post # 3:
The Freemasons have had such a profound affect on the United States. Many figures, both in and out of politics have been Freemasons, spreading their influence throughout the nation.
Basie, William "Count" - Orchestra leader/composer
Bellamy, Francis J. - The Baptist Minister who created America's Pledge of Allegiance
Berlin, Irving - Entertainer and songwriter who wrote more than 1,500 songs including "Alexander's Ragtime Band" (1911) and several musical comedies like Annie Get Your Gun (1946)
Bradley, Omar N. - American general. Played a major part in the Allied victory in World War II.
Cushing, William - Supreme Court Justice
DuBois, W.E.B. - Educator/Scholar and co-founder of the NAACP
Jackson, Andrew- President of the United States

These are just some of the important influential members of the Freemason party, there are far too many to be placed in this post. Seriously, the sheer number of members and longevity of the Freemasons make them the most important and influential group in American history. Without them we are not the same people and America is not the same country.

Sophia-
The Freemasons do seem to enlist the membership of many very significant Americans. Definately one of the most important groups.

[gabriellew]

Hi Matt F I disagree with you, abolitionists were very important people in history. They were the first white and black people to stand up against slavery. Abolitionists helped many slaves learn how to read and write so that they could esape to freedom by using the Underground Railroad. No, blacks weren't immediately freed but abolitionists were the first to speak out against something that was widely accepted. This was a huge leap forward for society. They told people how slavery was evil, worng, and un Christian like. This scared many people causing some people to free their slaves due to religious reasons. Their are many important abolishinsts such as Harriet Tubman, William Lloyd Garrison, Wendell Phillips, Soujourner Truth and more.

[Zoe B.]

yadaeryting said:

Settlers-(coby)
The settlers were the most important American group because they were the first to come to America. The settlers journeyed from England to Mass. and Virginia to set up new lives while still under the rule of their King. The settlers started the first colonies and created patterns that still exist today. The north and south were divided between settlers just as the country was divided in the Civil and in today's elections. The first settlers were from England, some came seeking religious freedom while others came seeking financial opportunity. The settlers who sought religious freedom journeyed to Massachusetts. These settlers came in families and soon set up communities containing things like schools, town halls and churches. Also, these settlers wanted to all live happily together and created minimum wages to ensure everyone could live comfortably. The New England settlers wanted religious freedom and under the king they felt they were trapped which is why they came to New England to start new lives.
The southern settlers were much different from the New England ones in that they sought affluence. On a ship departing from England to Virginia or anywhere in the Chesapeake region you would probably find few families, the majority of the passengers were single white men, a few women (single women), slaves and indentured servants. There would be no communities, the goal of the game was to get rich and everything was fair game including exploitation of human labor.

EXCUSE ME?!?! The settlers were the first people to come to America? Not even addressing the fact that the Native Americans were really there first, what about the European explorers?? They were the ones who got there first and were the ones who even brought the settlers over. Sorry, you can't argue that the settlers were the beginning of America's significance, because this title already belongs to the explorers.

[coby]

Mellisa,
I agree with what you are saying about music helping cities create an identity and I think you used excellent examples to support your reasoning.

[Alex G.]

Sophia-
I agree with Jordan that in fact the freemasons are a very important group. My only question is, is the freemason organization the reason for the significance of the members, or would the members be prominent otherwise? In other words, Would, say W.E.B DuBois be as important to american history if there were no freemasons? I think that he probably would be just as important.

[williama]

The most significant group in US history is the Iroquois Confederacy. While trading fur with the French in the 1600s for guns and other weapons, they were double crossed by the French who traded with their enemies, the Huron. In turn, the Iroquois Confederacy attacked French villages and prevented the french from southward expansion from Canada. The Europeans were still not settled and with all the disease and harsh weather conditions, the southward expansion of the French would pose more of a problem to the Europeans and would halt settlement or change it.


Amaka, I completely agree with you on this one. The Iroquois Confederacy had very powerful marksman, which reflected the strength of their tribe. Most importantly, they helped the New England Militia win the Seven Years War that kept the French out of the US for the most part.

[Emma B]

will a, can you rephrase that question? i don't quite understand what you are asking...

[Alex G.]

I agree with Melissa about the importance of musicians. I feel that similar to athletes, musicians provide people with a distraction from everyday life, which is critical for humans to keep from going insane.

[williama]

The poor whites are very significant people in history. They have provided America with labor even before the black slaves arrived. The upper class knew how valuable the working class was to the economy. They have contributed to building a heathy economy through working on farms and other types of labor. Many rich people helped to finance wars but did not actually fight in the battles. While poor whites served America in countless battles and wars. Abraham Lincoln was a man who grew up in poverty but overcame it and became one of the most important presidents of America. Lincoln was born in a one room lodge cabin which contained a dirt floor and no windows. Lincoln received very little schooling growing up because he was needed at home. Abraham Lincoln’s life was definitely a success story. Poor Whites didn’t let their social class in society dictate what they were capable of achieving. During the Great Depression many poor whites joined and helped strengthen the military to help provide for their families.





To Gabriellew


Didn't Robinson say that poor whites were shafted due to the hardwork ethic of black slaves when they were concentrated in southern plantations. Poor whites had this disease that would prevent them from working, and thuis they received the lazy image. This is the more reason why they were not hired by plantation owners and why they could not have made up the working class. But, did poor whites evolve from indentured servants, which would explain the reason why they would have the oppurtunity of being hired?

[williama]

- Emma B

Are the muckrakers important, because they got Teddy Roosevelt to make reforms in the food industry, after the publishing of the jungle, and Teddy Roosevelt read about the filth in food industries?

[Emma B]

Will,
Well they are important for that reason, but Upton Sinclair has not been the unly successful muckraker in history. Besides the names previously mentioned in my last post, let's take a look at some of today's muckrakers. Michael Moore, known for his documentaries Bowling for Columbine and Fahrenheit 9/11, Eric Schlosser's, authorm best known for Fast Food Nation, MOrgan Spurlocks, filmaker, who gained fame for SUpersize Me, and many others. Muckrakers are important because of the reforms they catalyzed, but they are significant because they have a large impact on society and the American people as a whole.

[williama]

thanks Emma

[Alex G.]

I think that it is a bit unfair to compare someone like Upton Sinclair to someone like Michael Moore. Of course, there are muckrakers today, and of course they are integral in alerting the public to injustices in the U.S and around the world. However, Upton Sinclar pretty much told it like it was. Moore on the other hand, used creative editting to piece together segments of film to prove his own point. His work, at least in my opinion is more propaganda than anything, whereas Sinclair's work was not so much.

[Emma B]

Well I agree with the fact that he used his editing in a manipulative manner, but he still upheld the same ideals of "finding the flaws in society" as the earlier muckrakers did, even if it was with a more cruel and decieving approach

[Gabe S.]

yadaeryting said:

When has protesting resulted in anything positive in American history? When I think of protests I think of the national government shutting them down by extreme force. Protesting is over rated and usually results in no positive change regardless of what the protesters may feel.

Coby are you serious? No positive change?
Perhaps we should take a look into the history of the US without the effect of some protests. Lets start off by whacking the Civil Rights movement right off the list. So there goes what might be considered one of the most progressive and important groups ever in terms of gaining the proper rights that minorities deserve. (I guess we're heading back toward slavery... real progress)
Then we travel back a bit further and I guess we can just remove that amendment about the women and that thing (among many things) that they kept complaining about. What was it again? Oh yeah the right to vote.
The list goes on all the way back to things like the Boston Massacre, which I suppose was also unimportant because it did not result in anything positive: one guy dead, some injured, and a bunch of colonies rallied up to the point where they started to demand their proper respect and eventual independence.

So yeah your right, I understand now; An America without protest would be a better place because people would never have to bother with expressing their feelings about anything unjust. Everybody would just be happy and cheery, and no one would ever take advantage of them. Its all so clear now.

Now if you don't consider blacks and women getting their proper rights be something positive, then thats a entirely different matter.