Most Significant Groups in US History

[Alex G.]

Emma-
I don't really wish to get off topic here, but, Moore really didn't try to find the flaws in society, only in a group that he did not like. Sinclair looked to better society, whereas moore simply tries to push across his own opinion, while casting all of it off as fact.

[jamie]

Emma
I feel comfortbale with accepting muckrackers as one of the most influential groups. What you said about muckrackers being the catalyst for change in society is key and i think the changes mucrackers like Tarbell, Sinclair, Crane, Addams and Twain pressured most def shaped our living condiditons and oppurtunities today. Im not sure if there was a protests to meat packing industries in Chicago during the publication of Sinclair's The Jungle but i do know the publication of the book cut meat sales overnight; this forced federal meat inspections and so on. The can be easily be considered as ancestors of modern consumerism. Their impact also sparked a new generation of journalism. sorry if it was redundant.

[gabriellew]

Yes, I definitely agree with Ymani. Revivalist did help unite the American people. The revivalists wanted to bring God back into people's lives. The Great Awakening was a huge religious revival that was successful in saving souls. Before the Great Awakening many people stopped going to church causing a decline in membership. Many people also stopped believing in God. Due to the fact that the chuch's membership was declining, they then passed the Half Way Covenant. The Revivalist reminded people that they were sinning and that they wouldn't go to heaven if they continued sinning by not going to church.

[matth]

I comletely agree with Alex G.'s take on the Michael Moore-Upton Sinclair comparison. While both men do seek to make what they believe are positive changes, Moore often twists around words and images in order for them to say what he wants. Although I wouldn't classify Sinclair as completely innocent of doing this, it seems lke he stuck to the facts much more stringently than Moore does.

[gabriellew]

Hi Melissa F.
Do you think that music still influences politcs and events in this country today? If so, how and what type of music?

[matth]

I agree with Sophia Y. in that there have been a number of freemasons spanning all walks of life who have led very influential lives. However, taken as a whole, I disagree with the fact that the Freemasons have been among the most influential groups in U.S. history. I have trouble accepting the fact that a "secret society" with actual membership requirements and meeting rituals could have that large of an influence on history. Although the group's individual members may have been important people, the Freemasons in general just seem to be a bunch of glorified club members with a somewhat cloudy central purpose.

[jamie]

military- post #3

The Military is composed of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard. Based on the Constitution, the Army and Navy were created following the ratification of the Constituition and installment of the national government (they were really established during the Revolutionary War but the Constitution dictates their responsibilities etc.). The Marine Corps were initially established during the Revolutionary War. The National Security Act of 1947 created the Department of Defense and the Air Force. These branches except for the Coast Guard is underjurisdiction of the Department of Defense.
Some good/influential military moments in history that i havent mention:
-General John Pershing's vicxtory at the second Battle of the Marne and Muese-Argonne offensive pushed the Germans out of France and cut off their supplies. Eventually the Germans became so weak, they were surrendered.
-The Alamo- showed the valor and skill of American troops who were outnumbered by atleast 500 men.

The military has also given an oppurtunity for women and blacks to gain the dignity and respect they deserve. These two groups did not face favorbale conditions while in the military but it was a stepping stone. During WWI women joined the Red Cross and in WWII they became more involved in the military by joining groups like WAACS, WAVES, and SPARS. No Molly Pitchers but they tried. During WWII about 216,000 women were enlisted in the military. The war effort forced women to take the jobs of their loved ones at home. Blacks migrated from the south up north because of groups like the KKK but they seeked asylum in the military. Joining the military was part of W.E.B. Dubois and Booker T. Washington's plan for making steps toward racial equality. Groups like the Tuskegee Airmen and the Hellfighters are prime examples of blacks who valiantly fought in the military.

The significance the military has on the United States is supreme and is still felt today. The U.S. military has proved to execute heroic as well as pathetic and shameful missions. These missions have impacted territorial expansion, foreign policy, nationalist movements, protection of our people, mobilization and the potential destruction on the international level. There should be no doubt in putting the u.s. military in your papers.

[jamie]

sorry about the errors

[gabriellew]

Hi Jamie.
How does the diversity of the Supreme Court affect the decsions that the judges have made?

[matth]

Jason Y. wrote:
Matt Heff-

Specific dems that we've never heard of? we learn about the presidential candidates and the leaders of the parties, but what about those lesser dems who may be just as significant?...

Well, Jason, there have been a number of significant Democrats who may not immediately come to mind. Here are a few:
-Davy Crockett, frontiersman and politician
-John Glenn, former Democratic U.S. Senator, first man to orbit Earth, oldest man in space
-Roger Taney, influential Supreme Court justice
-Louis Brandeis, associate Supreme court justice
-Al Gore, former Presidential candidate and environmental activist
-the Kennedy family
-Jesse Jackson, civil rights activist, and Al Sharpton, civil rights activist
Let's not forget the granddaddy of all non-Presidential Democrats, William Jennings Bryan.
Obviously, there are many, many other important Democrats, far too many to name. All of these Democrats have, in one way or another, helped to shape the politics of the nation or alter the conditions in which we live.

[matth]

James- You may have already touched on this a little bit, but at what point do you think the military's actions were most influential or significant to the path of U.S. history? What specific militaristic decsions, whether positve or negative, do you feel had the most impact on the U.S? Also, what aspects of the military do you believe have been most important to the development of the nation? (ie, acquistion of territory, defense of our soil, etc.)

[gabriellew]

Misha B
Since we all know about the way that Columbus treated the Native Americans why do you think we still celebrate Columbus Day? Especially when many don't believe he even discovered the New World.

[Laura D]

jvogt said:

Info post 1: SCIENTISTS
The creation of the atomic bomb was one of the most important moments in human history. An estimated total of 214,000 Japanese citizens were killed in the atomic attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and they have American scientists to thank for it. The Manhattan project, which was run by prominet American physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, produced the first successful atomic weapons, which enabled the United States to defeat Japan in World War II without sacrificing a significant number of soldiers' lives in a mainland invasion. And the impact of the atomic bomb continued to be felt around the world throughout the twentieth century. Once the Soviet Union revealed that they had the A-bomb, the Cold War escalated to the brink of nuclear war, with an ideological conflict between the only two superpowers threatening to render the human race extinct. The arms race and numerous proxy wars between the United States and the Soviet Union, which arguable defined much of the twentieth century, revolved largely around mutual fear of the work of American scientists.
Non-bomb-related arguments will follow.

You should read "The Making of the Atomic Bomb." Good book...
I have a slight dissagreement with this-
When I think about the atomic bomb. I actually don't think about America, I think about all the European scientists who worked for decades to advance science as far as it did. Oppenheimer was a straight-A student at Harvard, and was supposed to be brillant. (btw Oppenheimer was also diagnosed with schizophrenia) But when he transfered to Cambridge, he almost flunked out. The atomic bomb, after reading the book, was much more a creation by many European scientists, esp. ones who fled Austria and Germany (like albert einstein to some extent). Europe was much father ahead science wise, and the bomb was imo a european bomb, financed by America.

While it is true that the U S provided money, materials, etc. to make the bomb, we did not supply the scientists. I see how the bomb technolongy affected our history, in the cold war, arms race- as you mention. The EUROPEAN scientists created the bomb.... so I think the whole atomic-bomb-american-scientist-point is moot.

[Laura D]

I'm not feeling well today-that's why I'm home-

^Jason- another view you could take on the whole reconstruciton idea
imo Reconstruction was definately a failure, but because of the failures the civil rights movement in the sixties had to happen. You could definately argue Reconstruction was part of the cause of the civil rights movement.

[Buddy S.]

OK, I'll just come out and say it. America would NOT be on top if it wasn't for inventors. So, let's take a little ride down history lane and let em tell you why. During WWII, the british codebreakers were the most powerful machines in the world. Collosus the super computer (relativly speaking) was undoubtedly the world's best computer and it was undoubtedly british. At war's end, however, british scientists were so scared of Soviet spies that they kept Collosus under wraps for years, burning copied plans and the like. However, in America, while the Brits were hiding their inventions, we were throwing ENIAC all over the place, giving plans to universities and everything.

My point is not that we have better engineers or anything like that, because most of the time, we don't. The point is that our inventors are more practical. It's been theorized (By Cornell engineer/economist/hedge fund guy Andy Kessler) that if the brits hadn't hidden Colossus, we'd be seeing fish and chips instead of Macintosh and Reallybloodysmallsoft instead of Microsoft. (I'm so funny). However, thanks to our renowned practicality, we have become absolutly dominant in the computer industry, (no, japanese computers are not better. Sony and IBM are the only makers that come close to the top, and they are still trumped by other companies). And even if there is such a gap in hardware, there isn't one in software. Silicon Valley companies are light-years ahead of other countries, and that little brain-trust is so economically lucrative (yay! hedge funds make lots of money off them!) that we still have decades to come from them.

So, you want to talk influential, let's talk inventors. They are absolutely responsible for pulling us out of our slump in the 80's. We've only lost our surplus because of inordinate political spending.

[Melissa F.]

gabriellew said:

Hi Melissa F.
Do you think that music still influences politcs and events in this country today? If so, how and what type of music?

Music is definitely still influential in politics today, artists have always, and always will be, pushing the limits and bringing about hard-hitting social criticism because that is the best way to expose the issue to so many people throughout the country. I think we all remember when the Dixie Chicks came out and publicly announced that they were "ashamed" of President Bush and then released their song "Not Ready to Make Nice." Well, their actions made a lot of headlines and stirred up a lot of controversy, but they still won 5 Grammys for that song!

Also, musicians have always loved getting together for a good cause. The first time when large groups of musicians came together was in 1985 for the Live Aid Benefit concert, and then again in 2005 for the Live 8 benefit concert to fight aids in Africa. Musicians are some of the most proactive people in the entire country.

[Buddy S.]

Another part about inventors, I just have to say one word, Edison.

Edison created the Light Bulb which OBSELETED an entire industry! Whaling was forever destroyed when people didn't need oil to get light. Just think about that for a minute.

Edison should also bring to light some of the other inventors around this time that were pioneering. Graham Bell and the phone. Vail and Morse's Telegraph. Tesla and his experiments on electricity. Just think about it.

All of that stuff is American and influential beyond consideration. We STILL use the phone and light bulb. We still use Morse Code. We still use (a variation of) the phonograph and the gramophone. They are influential, because, unlike some other groups like the shakers or european explorers, are still felt today, 100+ years after their work has been completed. It has been improved upon, sure, altered, fine, but the idea, the innovation of those items came from Americans.

More importantly, they came from inventors.

[Laura D]

^Can you particularly explain how we were pulled out of our "slump" in the eighties? Is there a particular invention in the eighties that you can acredit this to?

also could it be correct to say that te lightbulb is the most important American invention?

[Kathryn S]

Haha.. better late than never

Info #1:
Certainly, one very important group that most of you have overlooked is the labor union(s). Their formations truly can track the progress of America over time and ultimately are living proof that the revolutionary spirit that formed the United States continues. Labor unions have been so important to this nations’ people, that they continue to thrive and be a crucial role in the lives the many.
Regardless of the time period, labor unions have shared the common goal of exercising their rights as Americans to obtain fair working environments through group representation. Earliest of these kinds of organizations: guilds and unions of the later 1700’s. They banned together specific types of artisans and craftsmen but were more concerned with production of goods rather than with the working conditions or salaries.

[Maureen H.]

Kathryn S.-

In your opinion, what industry has been most affected by unions? What are some prominent unions and their accomplishments?