Most Significant Groups in US History

[gabriellew]

Summative Post

For our outpaper we need to describe the 10 most significant groups of people. My defintion of significant is a group of people who have heavily impacted the United States for the longest amount of time. Through reading these posts you can see how much some groups such as the slaves and political parties have influenced our society. Then you also read about other groups of people who quickly fade away or their contributions were significant enough to mention. Another guidline could be has this group influenced they way we view certain things in society today? Were they successful in making the American people share the same views with them? This process will require students to do alot of thinking. There is no right or wrong way to approach this out paper. People who are responsible for the advancement of this country should definitely be mentioned. Groups of people who signifcantly improved society and the economy should also be mentioned.
I wish everyone good luck on writting their OUTPAPER!!!

[Becca M.]

jordankesner said:

Informational:

Alexander Hamilton, founder of the Federalist Party, wrote the Federalist Papers along with James Madison and John Jay. These 85 articles, published in newspapers in 1787, were the most important factor that solidified the willingness of several states to agree to ratify the United States Constitution. In addition, they served as an incredibly important interpretation of the Constitution for the United States government.

Jordan, you say the words "Alexander Hamilton" and I agree with you.

[Becca M.]

agold21 said:

Info post 2
Throughout American history, there have been many prominent athletes, who have had great influence on American people. Some of these athletes include:

Mohammad Ali- Born Cassius Clay, however changed his name when he became a Muslim. He was crowned the sportsman of the century by Sports illustrated in 1999. He was the heavyweight champion of the world, as well as won an Olympic gold medal. Ali, since retiring, has become a great humanitarian, and was in 2005 given the presidential medal of freedom. According to the Mohammad Ali center website, "Since he retired from boxing, Ali has devoted himself to humanitarian endeavors around the globe. He is a devout Sunni Muslim, and travels the world over, lending his name and presence to hunger and poverty relief, supporting education efforts of all kinds, promoting adoption and encouraging people to respect and better understand one another. It is estimated that he has helped to provide more than 22 million meals to feed the hungry. Ali travels, on average, more than 200 days per year."

Babe Ruth- George Herman Ruth was born in 1895, and made his major league debut in 1914. In 1998, the sporting News called him the greatest baseball player ever. In 1936, Ruth was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, as part of the first ever class. It could be argued that Ruth popularized, or even romanticized baseball, and really is attributable for making baseball as it is today.

Jesse Owens- Born in 1913, Owens was an American track and field athlete, who's claim to fame was winning gold during the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. His win is seen as a way of Blacks, as well as Americans "sticking it" to Adolf Hitler, obviously a great racist. In 1976, he too was awarded the presidential medal of freedom, and though he died 10 years earlier of cancer, he was given the congressional gold medal in 1990 by George H.W. Bush.

Jim Thorpe- Born in 1888, Thorpe was a multi-sport athlete, who won Olympic medals as well as played football and baseball professionally. Thorpe, a Native American, was originally from Oklahoma, but moved to Pennsylvania, where he excelled at many sports. In the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm, he won two gold medals. Legend has it that when the king gave him his own prize, the king (Gustav V) said, "You, sir, are the greatest athlete in the world," to which Thorpe replied, "Thanks, King."

Babe Zaharias- A gold medal winner in the Olympics, Zaharias also excelled in many other sports. She was an All-American in Basketball, and though her real name was Mildred, acquired the name Babe after hitting five homers in a single game. In spite of this, Babe was best known as a golfer, as competed on the PGA tour, something that would not happen again for years to come.

Very influential people, all, but explain to me how they are MORE influential than Congress or Mountain Men or, say Bankers? What makes them the MOST influential group rather than just another very influential group?

[joy]

Becca-
I need some names of some bankers

JOY

[Helen C.]

Summative post:
After reading all 44 pages of this thread, I have learned a lot about the various groups that have impacted American history. I haven't picked my final ten yet, but like everyone else, I have come up with my personal criteria for determining if a group is truly influential.

1. Without them, history would have gone down a significantly different path.
2. They provided a catalyst for at least one of the major events in the United States.
3. Their activities directly affected a large part of the population.
4. Their existence helped to define the image that we have of America.
5. The effect of their work can be seen in our lives today. OR
6. They are still in existence.
7. Their actions directly led to the establishment of the institutions that define American society or did so in the past (the Bill of Rights, etc.)

[joy]

Alex G.-
Athletes were entertainment, I get that. Have they (athletes) influenced any other aspects of United States history, like politics or economics?

JOY

[Becca M.]

hcrow said:

Pictorialism: This movement of photography was transformed into Modernism by Alfred Stieglitz, who emphasized the depiction of real life in an artful way, rather than posed photographs. Stieglitz began to split from the pictorialist movement in 1917, when the horrors of the first World War were affecting the way Americans looked at life. Modernism assisted that change, and during the Great Depression, it was the modernist style of photography that highlighted the plight of the desperately poor. Its depiction of the change that could be captured in a single frame of the fast-paced modern lifestyle changed what photographs were used for, leading to modern day amateur photography, in which subjects are shown in more natural poses.

Helen, as a photographer I'd love it if you could explain to me how Pictorialism has influenced American culture because it HAS. You might have wanted to talk about Myspace and Facebook, etc. and the pictorialist photos that spring up all the time. Talk about how snapshots have entirely changed the way Americans view themselves (literally) and perhaps about how, before the Brownie or Kodak, photographs were only for the very rich. Perhaps you could talk about how very few people knew what they'd looked like as children before the invention of the mass-produced camera. I'd also mention the idea of photography as an art and the controversy surrounding that issue (because is a blurry shot of a girl taking a picture of herself in her bathroom mirror art or not?).

[joy]

sheshearingvoices said:

hcrow said:

Pictorialism: This movement of photography was transformed into Modernism by Alfred Stieglitz, who emphasized the depiction of real life in an artful way, rather than posed photographs. Stieglitz began to split from the pictorialist movement in 1917, when the horrors of the first World War were affecting the way Americans looked at life. Modernism assisted that change, and during the Great Depression, it was the modernist style of photography that highlighted the plight of the desperately poor. Its depiction of the change that could be captured in a single frame of the fast-paced modern lifestyle changed what photographs were used for, leading to modern day amateur photography, in which subjects are shown in more natural poses.

Helen, as a photographer I'd love it if you could explain to me how Pictorialism has influenced American culture because it HAS. You might have wanted to talk about Myspace and Facebook, etc. and the pictorialist photos that spring up all the time. Talk about how snapshots have entirely changed the way Americans view themselves (literally) and perhaps about how, before the Brownie or Kodak, photographs were only for the very rich. Perhaps you could talk about how very few people knew what they'd looked like as children before the invention of the mass-produced camera. I'd also mention the idea of photography as an art and the controversy surrounding that issue (because is a blurry shot of a girl taking a picture of herself in her bathroom mirror art or not?).

I never really thought,realized, there was a controversy reagarding what was art or not. I guess it depends on the person. I don't know, I was just amazed by the fact, so ignore me.
JOY

[Amanda A.]

[/quote]
If you say the WHigs thought the Democratic Party was too powerful, how is that preventing anarchy? Anarchy is when the government is too weak, not powerful[/quote]

Ok Sam R., I admit that I misused the word 'anarchy' to describe chaos in the governmental system, but what the Whigs were afraid of was the reversal of time through the government, going back to a king and a monarchy. Whigs thought Jackson's cronies were getting to powerful, in addition to being complete idiots (In the whig's eyes) and didn't want the country to disassemble in the process.

[Becca M.]

joy said:

Becca-
I need some names of some bankers

JOY

Igotchu gurrrrl.

sheshearingvoices said:

Robert Morris was a financier and a merchant during the American Revolution. In 1776, he loaned over $10,000 (I'm not sure of the exact amount that would equal in today’s money, but it'd be a whole lot more) of his own money to the new government to finance the depressingly underfunded army. Without that money, Washington and his troops would have frozen or starved before the Battle of Trenton. Thanks to this banker, they got new winter uniforms and enough food to keep them steady and strong, allowing them to beat the pants off the Hessians. Without Robert Morris, Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze would never have gotten to paint this beaute:


Morris wasn't the only banker willing to dip into his pockets for his government. Stephan Girard, a banker and Revolutionary War vet, was the main financier of the War of 1812, giving nearly all of his private assets to the federal government during the end of the war to keep the soldiers fighting. After his death, all of his accumulated wealth was given to the cities of Philadelphia and New Orleans.

And don't think I've forgotten our old friend, Mr. JP Morgan. We all know who he is. Legendary banker owned every railroad ever and then scribbled a note on a napkin to Andrew Carnegie about creating US Steel in 1901 (the first billion dollar company in the world). During the economic Panic of 1907, the stock market fell sharply and the economy went into a deep recession. Morgan saved the day by gathering a group of bankers and economists to reorganize the flow of money in the nation. By getting secondary sources for credit and by buying up thousands of stocks, Morgan and his associates single-handedly ended the financial crisis.

There's also Alexander Hamilton, Albert Gallatin (figured out how to fund the Louisiana Purchase without raising taxes on common citizens) Nicholas Biddle (rechartered the Second Bank of the United States and attempted to keep the US out of financial ruin after Jackson's disastrous Specie Circular) Andrew W. Mellon (longest serving Secretary of the Treasury who lowered the national debt and cut taxes. He created the "Mellon Plan," an amazing tax relief program that saved taxpayers about $400 million annually. It became the Revenue Act of 1924.)

sheshearingvoices said:

I mean, the Savings and Loans crisis of the 1980's led to the Keating ( Charles Keating , a banker from Arizona, was one of the most notorious operators of a savings and loan, which would encourage risky lending, which led to a shaky real estate boom in different parts of the country) scandal and the 'Keating Five' (five senators embroiled in the scandal) included Senator John S. McCain of Arizona (a current presidential candidate.) The Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve is arguably the most important and powerful banker in the entire world. He has more influence on the day-to-day lives of the general public than the president himself. Alan Greenspan , the most recent former Chairman, served for over twenty years (over twice as long as any of the presidents themselves.)

Good enough?

[joy]

Thank you. That helped a lot. There's so much to read, you kinda get lost with all the posts

JOY

[Laura D]

joy said:

Laura-
You may have answered this question, but how are political machines prominent today? In what ways have they remained in society?

Thanks
JOY

The old skeletons of the actual organizations are still around (see last post), but largely ineffective and unpowerful. They have remained in society by affecting huge events in the past, like reconstruction, deciding elections, immigrant experiences...
The memory is still here... but not the old-time machines

(before: I was adding that I think many in society wanted political (and somewhat social) stability to the extreame, as it was nice for many reasons. Now I think society has created political family dynasties. ie Bush Royal family, and possibly the Clinton Royal family)

[Amanda A.]

tolstoi said:

Amanda,
After Fillmore more and Fremont lost the election the party died out. as far as i know there are no Party members around today, and if they are they are probely not to popular

Acutally, as of this year, Florida, the land of people who are probably as old as the original whigs (I kid of course) have created the Florida Whig Party, and their candidate (not named yet) will appear on the presidential ballot next year.

So we may not be popular, but we're still going

[Thalia H.]

Religious Leaders


The Great Awakening began when George Whitefield, a preacher from England, came to America to take note of the colonists' ideas, to see if they were different from his own. Whitefield began a preaching tour down the American East Coast, starting in Philadelphia and ending in Georgia. He attracted up to 30,000 people to his sermons—sometimes the areas would be so full that remaining people would be turned away. One of those spectators was Benjamin Franklin, who noted that he spoke so perfectly in a” loud and clear voice”--which would set the style for many preachers to come. On March 25, 1740, Whitefield began work on the Bethesda House, a vocational school for orphans. Today, this would be known as mission work.



These are just one of many contributions of religious leaders. ;D

[Thalia H.]

Religious Leaders part 2


Whitefield and Franklin worked together on many projects in Philadelphia such as an academy for poor children and an auditorium that Whitefield could preach in anytime he was in the area. In 1751, the school opened; in 1755, a college was added and today it is known as the University of Pennsylvania.

Later, when Christians were split between fundamentalism and secularism, it would b e the seculars who found prestigious universities such as Princeton, Brown, Rutgers and Dartmouth, which were specifically founded to educate men on becoming tolerating, logical and un-Orthodox ministers.

During a stay in New England, he had begun a year-and-a-half long revival which helped people to establish a strong relationship with God. During these revivals; religious services were held, scriptures were read, hymns were sung—it was no longer people listening to the preacher in silence, but it got the people involved as well. These methods helped them believe that God and the Bible could help them lead a spiritual, balanced life.


Many of these methods in the church are still present today.

[Thalia H.]

[glow=red,2,300]Religous Leaders Final Part

From 1890 to 1930, what used to be a mainly Protestant nation had been divided into many different sectors, with a variety as wide as the ethnic groups. All groups, however, experimented with modernism/religious liberalism. People who identified themselves with this theory believed that the Bible was a book of guidelines to find solace in when necessary. The Bible was not a set of rules to live solely by—people were allowed to think for themselves. Additionally, those churches believed that religious traditions were shaped by history, rather than God. Books such as Christianity and the Social Crisis (Walter Rauschenbusch) and Twenty Years at Hull-House (Jane Addams) were primary documents which truly captured this “social gospel”.

Modernism spawned many beliefs in different social circles. Edwin Godkin was a leader in Social Darwinisn, which believed that it was predestined for the rich to be rich and the poor to be poor. However, it is the rich people's duty to help those in need.

As for African-Americans, the Baptist and Methodist church became a integral part of their culture. The church was a place of refuge for newly freed slaves, so it was the place for them to reunite with their loved ones they had been separated from during slavery.

Therefore, the Great Awakening and George Whitefield made an impact in America. Because he had helped people make a strong connection with God and his sermons were so powerful, it allowed people to really think about the Bible meant than what the Bible said. Of course, when modernism emerged, the Fundamentalists would try to fight against what was seen as blasphemous. However, had it not been for the Great Awakening, religion would have only been useful to one group of people rather than many different groups—as the only people who can really identify their relationship with God are the individuals themselves.[/glow]

So that's all, feel free to ask me any questions!!!

[Becca M.]

sophieq1 said:

My final info post for why vice presidents are the most influential group in US history. I have said that vice presidents have provided stability. I believe that stability is very important, but for those that aren't convinved, the stability has helped keep America a democratic country. America's democratic government is perhaps its most defining feature, and therefore, the group that helps maintain it is the most influential group in US history. There have been 8 vice presidents that have become president via the president's death. (4 assassinations, 4 natural deaths.) Democracy is not an easy government to maintain, for is it not much easier to simply let one person make all the decisions without having to worry about it? This happened in Rome with its experiment of democracy. Vice presidents step in for the presidents deaths. Without them, the people might have thrown their support to one person or group (perhaps the military) upon a president's death, and the next thing you know, America's experiment of democracy is also a failure.

Soph,
Tell me about what the MAJORITY of the vice presidents have done for the country. There were 13 who ascended to the real power seat, but what about the rest of them? Did any of them go on to do anything worthwhile? Did any of them do anything important before becoming VP? Did any of them have any real contributions durring their tenure in the not-oval-office? Did any of them have cool nicknames/awkward bad habits? What I'm really asking for is a list of things that the MAJORITY of the VPs have done, not the ones who later became president. Anything worth mentioning (besides being President of the Senate _{[which I think is a tad cruel. 'You can't be president of the country, but you CAN be president of the senate! Yaaaay!' I think not.]})? Because I can't think of anything important. Unless, that is, you consider shooting people (Burr shot Hamilton in a duel, Cheney shot his buddy in the butt while on a canned hunting trip) or being born on August 27th (Hannibal Hamlin, Charles Dawes and Lyndon Johnson) important. Which I kinda don't.

[Jordan K.]

Totally agree with you Becca

[Laura D]

sophie^ Since VP's are head of the senate, and can break a tie, etc. Do you know any time when a VP broke a tie, or forced something through, etc?

Thanks

[Becca M.]

Big Bad Cumulative Post

The most important lesson I've learned from this crazy experiment is that we all stay up late and get very little real work done. Nice, guys. I also can't ever leave a heated debate for a day and expect to come back and understand anything until I've gone through 28ish pages with the metaphorical fine-toothed comb.


Actually, the most important thing I've learned is that every group actually WAS important in its own way. When I started this project, I was sure that I wouldn't be able to convince anyone else, let alone myself, that bankers were amazingly influential and important in American history. I'll be damned if I don't think they are now. I love how everyone is so gung ho about his or her group. Jason is ready to fight to the death at the bike racks to make me believe that Reconstructionists are the most influential. That's dedication.

It'll obviously be hard to write this outpaper. I actually believe everyone (well, almost everyone) when they tell me that their groups are important. How am I supposed to decide on only 10? I’ve just conceded to myself that Mountain Men were significantly important. Now I have to categorize, re-evaluate and rank the groups I’m getting so fond of?

Then again, is it even possible to rank the most influential groups? These groups bleed into one another. "Revolutionaries" blends into "Framers of the Constitution" which blends into "Federalists" and "Anti-Federalists." "Expansionists" would only be half as important if there weren't "Isolationists" to check them. “Republicans” counter “Democrats” and “Whigs”, “Political Machines”, “Greenbacks,” and Populists and Progressives check both "Bankers" and "Economists" work together. "Slaves," "Indentured Servants" and "Poor Whites" can all be used together. Apparently “Dixiecrats” do nothing, as there have been no posts concerning them. I’m disappointed; I wanted to see what they’ve done (besides giving us Strom Thurmond, of course.)

I guess what I'm trying to say is that the hardest, most nebulous part of this assignment is how one defines Influence, which is exactly what the article we were given talks about. I've seen what qualities certain people value (how long was the group around, who was in the group, how widespread was the influence, etc.) but I'm still working on the criteria I'll use to sort this mess out. It'll be hard. Actually, it will be impossible to present a factual representation of influence in history. I'll do my best. Good luck with doing yours, guys.

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