3 Days That Changed America

Three Days that Changed America
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Day 1: The Populist Revolution
The Populist Revolution was a short-lived uprising that had a major impact on the American politics. It existed between 1891 and 1908 and championed for economic and political statutes in the later stages of the 19th century. It comprised majorly of the agrarian enthusiasts in the Southern and Middle West states. The revolution was mainly agrarian-oriented based on the enthusiasts’ discontent on crop failures, dropping prices, under-privileged marketing and credit facilities. On a regional scope, the revolution was much stronger and significant but less effective on a national scale. To gain the national outlook, other groups like the labor factions were included to improve their effectiveness. The movement incited farmers from other states, for example, the Texas and Arkansas necessitating the need for unification (Edsall, 1991). The revolution prompted the formation of a merger to champion for the rights of the affected persons but segregated the black American farmers. The merger changed the political atmosphere of the US since the only two dominant parties at the time were the Republicans and the Democrats which were felt to be populated by the bankers and other elite citizens living the peasant farmers out in the ‘political’ cold. The merger reached the crescent point in 1892 when they fielded several candidates for the national elections (Beeby, 2008). Some of the proposed reforms by the populist revolution included the following:
Eradication of national banks (these banks were owned and run by the wealthy, therefore, had major effects on the structuring of the financial policies)
Direct-election for the Senators
Reforms regarding the civil service (the public service needed some restructuring for better performance and increased public confidence)
Recommended 8-hour working day (the minority marginalized groups had more working hours yet the pay was devastating. The employers were not ready to raise the pay leaving the reduction in number of working hours as the only option)
Advanced income tax (the income tax considered less of the level of earning leaving the marginalized having a greater tax remunerations)
Full control of the railroads, telephones and the telegraphs by the government (increased rates on these necessities proved expensive as the rich wanted to earn exorbitant returns from the same and also the risk of inflation that would leave a high percentage of the marginalized jobless)
The merger thrived well and even gained the loyalty of the Southwest and the Great Plains’ farmers though they faced stiff competition in the South from the Democrats. Eventually, the Populist Party and revolution was downplayed by the monopoly from the major parties though the reforms chanted for by the farmers and the least in the US politics were taken up by the Populists. Though the defeat was honorable, the revolution exposed the unnecessary evils in the American society that were to be rectified for a better life. Considering the political standards at the time, the reforms would be labeled as inciting since traditional candidates did not rely on changes to depict their aggression when running for an elective seat. Before, the American low-class and the farmers were affected by the financial regulations or reforms introduced at the time, for example, the farmers in Kansas faced outright manipulation considering the financial influence of the incredibly wealthy that affected their economic advancement (Northrup, 2011). Some of the effects of this economic influence included:
The inflated interest rates that made borrowing expensive (the middle and low-class could not develop economic ventures due to expensive loan rates)
The foreclosures of mortgages (fewer funds were allocated to mortgages, and the existing ones had increased rates leading to closure of some mortgages and decreased subscription to these mortgages)
Large percentage of the railroad workers were rendered jobless as the gold standard contributed to inflation meaning there was less money in circulation and the government had to reduce its spending to pay the debt and industrial wages with a deflated dollar
Deflated prices due to the gold standard (which affected the sale of the farmers’ produce but supported the buying of the same from the agricultural industries/manufacturing companies)
Extraordinary railroad rates
Controlled trade system (free trade was not upheld as the conservative groups made policies to regulate the trade system)
These effects contributed to the sparking off of the populist revolution that saw the intervention by the government as the feasible solution, unlike the control from the extremely reach citizens. The laying of these grievances at least helped to display the rotten American society and the possible solution. Continued championing for the rights changed the societal landscape as these reforms were taken up by the major political parties, the Republicans. It took a long period for full implementation of these reforms, but eventually changed the sphere of life for the middle and low-class Americans (Formisano, 2008). The revolution may have been seen as ‘backward’ and anti-modern, but the reforms being championed for represented the real issues faced by the average American at the time.
The populist revolution was an eye-opener to the needed changes for the societal development. It depicted the enthusiasm of the oppressed factions to amend the societal architecture to accommodate all members of the society at the time and possibly the future periods.Day 2: The Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was viewed as a product of horrible politics between the Communist and the US. It was a period of the Cold War where the Communist wanted to reiterate their influence and might in the East. At the time, American had vowed to protect and spread democracy, but the communist upheld a different political ideology, Communism and had started to encroach on South Vietnam. The takeover prompted the involvement of the US government as it felt threatened. North Vietnam, a part of the Communist faction, wanted to reunify the South Vietnam (a non-Communist faction) under the Communist regime. The US involvement spiraled in the 1960s following the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (Bender, 1984). The Communist retaliated with an aggressive attack on the US military with most shelling considering the Tet Offensive though it failed to achieve its goal. It offered the US a chance to turn around the war and conviction to win the South Vietnam back. Many US citizens were against the war as the US had had enough involvement in major wars, from the World War 1, the World War II, and even the Korean War, but the US government thought otherwise; the invol...