American history from 1820 to 1920

American History, 1820-1920

Five positive events that influenced the history of the United States between 1820 and 1920.

One of the most important processes that influenced the development of the United States is the process of industrialization that took place after the end of the Civil War. The United States had to undergo an increased process of modernization after the Civil War largely due to the fact that the country was divided between two different types of countries: one based on agricultural processes and another one on the industrial practices. Therefore it was extremely important that a unity be created among the two parts of the United States. This industrialization process from 1860s to the 1920s was essential because the North was able to advance its technology in terms of industrial power whereas the South would be able to break away from the agricultural traditional means of existence. The results were immediate, in less then 50 years the United States became the largest industrial nation in the world (Katers, 2006). This was possible because of the distribution of resources towards the East Coast. This development allowed immigrants to populate the United States at the larger faster pace which in turn affected positively the demographic structure of the country as a whole.

El Dorado was another important aspect related to the history of the United States. It represented for the population and especially for the immigrants a set of dreams and values that would eventually foster the creation of an American culture. This term defines the Gold Rush that started in the mid-19 century which influenced the development of the west coast of the United States. At the same time it also motivated the development of the region as a whole, from different perspectives with demographics and infrastructure taken into account. It is rather hard to determine whether the myth of El Dorado was in fact reality or just popular folklore. However what can be said with certainty is that it positively influenced the way in which California and the West Coast would eventually be perceived in the economy of the region and economy of the United States decades later.

A significant moment of the U.S. is the implementation of the idea of New Nationalism from Pres. Theodore Roosevelt who decided at the beginning of the 20th century that America needed a new plan for reconstruction and development that included large-scale construction plans and projects. However these nation wide projects could not have been put in place without the common agreement of the population and the taxpayers. Therefore the New Nationalism idea provided the population with the common ground that would motivate their support for these types of projects related to infrastructure and national development which in turn would determine an improvement in the ties between different sides of the country and a stronger connection between its.

dissipated people and cultures that were emerging since the end of the 19th century.

Another positive aspect for the foreign policy of the United States was the creation of the 14 Points presented by Pres. Wilson in the early years of the 20th century. More precisely Pres. Wilson's points on how to improve the situation of the international community following the first world war provided a new and improved perspective on how can peace be attained and maintained. Despite these efforts to promote a new approach to peace with the presentation of these 14 Points the lobby made at the Congress to adopt the constituent act of the League of Nations, Wilson failed in making the United States a member of the first global international organization and the one that United States helped build. Even so, the United States it is important that it stated from the beginning of the 20th century that they are promoters of peace, equality, freedom, human rights.

Five negative events that influenced the history of the United States between 1820 and 1920.

One of the negative aspects that affected the American history is in my opinion the Monroe doctrine of 1823. This is largely due to the fact that the Monroe doctrine affected on the long run the foreign policy of the American states in its relations with its neighboring countries. The doctrine stressed that the United States has the capacity and the right to defend the foreign policy of its neighboring countries as well as its internal affairs from European countries if the interest of the United States so required. The initial motivation behind this doctrine was positive in the sense that the United States offered its support and consideration in case of foreign or domestic disturbance of its neighboring countries. However in time, due to the volatility of international politics the United States where soon seen as interventionists in the internal affairs of its neighboring countries. Therefore cases have been in Mexico or Cuba in which the United States intervened and supported politically or otherwise different factions of the political environment. This approach brought about negative feelings towards the United States, one such example being Mexico. At the same time such an approach provided tensions between the United States and other European countries that had interest in Latin America at that time.

The beginning of the First World War in Europe greatly affected the foreign policy of the United States. This is because the United States and the European countries, in particular Great Britain, were important allies to the U.S. The strong commitments between the United States and its European allies demanded that the U.S. support the war effort against Germany throughout the 1914-1918 global war. Furthermore as a result of the First World War the Great Depression affected the United States at the end of the 1920s. Despite the fact that the United States had entered the first world war as a prosperous nation, after the end of the war the European continent was bankrupt and therefore no longer a viable trading partner. Under these conditions the commercial relationship between Europe and the U.S. soon changed and became less advantageous for the American states. In doing this resulted in a decrease of transactions and therefore a decline in trade. Notwithstanding the support provided to the Europeans, the U.S. was unable to regroup and focus on different trading areas and partners, which resulted in part to the Great Depression of the late 30s.

The issue of slavery is yet another negative aspect in the American Society of the 19th century. Despite the fact that that slavery was officially abolished as the "peculiar institution" it marked generations of African-American families in discriminatory actions and retaliation for decades. Today race is no longer a priority on the political agenda; yet, to this day there are communities in which the differentiation between African-American and white people is still made. This sense of discrimination has historical roots and the enslavement of African-Americans affected the mentality in the society as well as the behavior of the African-American community itself.