The National Spirit and Market Revolution

    QUESTION:

Historians have traditionally labeled the period after the War of 1812 the “Era of Good Feelings.” Evaluate the accuracy of this label, considering the emergence of nationalism and sectionalism.

        The label for the period after the War of 1812, The Era of Good Feelings, was true in considering to certain aspects of America. Even though there were some major problems, the Era of Good Feelings applied to the strong sense of nationalism. Evidently the issues on the tariff, foreign policy, political parties, slavery and national bank represented a greater national gap.

When Monroe became president the nation’s expectations were very high. After defeated the British in two major wars, American was slowly but surely becoming a strong power. America reached a high, socially and people became more dedicated to keep the union.

            There was a sense of separation between the north and south but Monroe and John Quincy Adams made it evident that there wasnt separation because Monroe won all electoral votes except for one. The only distinction was the North hated slavery and the abolitionists began to become stronger. South supported slavery and while new states were being added they wanted them to allow slavery as well. This also became a problem but was settled by the Missouri Compromise, which made it a slave state but all states above the 36 30 line. Thomas Jefferson saw this as a problem stating that “a geographical line coinciding with a marked principle, moral and political, once conceived and held up to the angry possessions of men will never be obliterated and every new irritation will mark it deeper and deeper. The industrial economy of the North and the agrarian economy of the South was difference between the two. The main problem created by this tension was the economic policies of the nation and as John Randolph pointed out to the Congress in 1816. The Bank of U.S. was now functioning with the loans of British investors.
      During the early 1800's France and Britain were at war and for many years America remained neutral. But, Great Britain began seizing American ships and impressing the Americans into the British Navy. In addition, Great Britain was supplying the Native Americans in North America with guns and, as a result America declared war on Britain in 1812. The phrase "Era of Good Feelings" was used to describe the administrations of Munroe in 1816 but the validity of this phrase is questioned. Many people might believe that the period after the war of 1812 was an "Era of Good Feelings" because of the nation's gain of nationalism and expansion of the country, but it was not because of growing sectionalism and state issues. After the War of 1812, America gained a pride from winning the war known as nationalism. This pride caused them to feel inferior to other countries such as Great Britain.

       This is pointed out in Document H when it is mentioned that Munroe was not willing to be subordinate to Great Britain. Another example of this would be the Monroe Doctrine that was a warning to the European states to stay out of the Western Hemisphere or else they would have to deal with America. Moreover, Document C shows the country celebrating the Fourth of July in a happy spirit. In addition, during the War of 1812, Americans defeated many Native Americans in the west which opened up land for the Americans leading to the Westward Expansion seen in Document E. This expansion was essential because southerners needed more land to grow cotton and tobacco and it also helped citizens with economic difficulties from the Embargo Act that put a tax on goods from Great Britain before the war. Furthermore, with the creation of the American System by Henry Clay, revenues from the tariffs went towards building roads and canals that were needed by the country stated by John Calhoun in Document B.

The Thawing of the Cold War

         QUESTION:     

Compare and contrast the Cold War foreign policies of TWO of the following presidents.

Harry Truman (1945–1953)

Dwight Eisenhower (1953–1961)

Richard Nixon (1969–1974)

           Right after World War II the US and the USSR started having ideological and political disputes over territories and communism. This became a full blown Cold War when Berlin was blockaded by the Soviets, but was aided by America with an airlift. As Winston Churchill said “an iron curtain had descended between the East and the West, communist and non-communist. Both Dwight D Eisenhower and Richard Nixon had different ways of dealing with the pose threat in America. Eisenhower had a policy of brinkmanship, while Richard Nixon believed in a state of detente. However, both believed that communism should be contained and that the United States must come out of the war as a victor.

              When Eisenhower became president, he had a specific policy to follow. Brinkmanship was the iea of constantly putting the enemy on edge. The use or possession of nuclear weapons would serve as both a threat an a  deterrent to the enemy. This was also known as “Mutually Assured Destruction”. In addition, under Eisenhower, America was spurred on an arms race, especially when the Soviets launchedSputnik. From then on, America raced to build weapons, and further technology in order to go into space. Ultimately, this was achieved in Kennedy’s presidency, where the Apollo Project sent man to the moon. Under Eisenhower, the US was constantly competing with the USSR to ensure that it would always have the upper hand. Falling behind would only mean failure an potentially destruction.

             Nixon’s approach to the Civil War was very different. Instead of threatening constantly, he decided on diplomacy.Nixon broke barriers when he went to China in what is known as the ping-pong diplomacy. The fact that Nixon went to China shows his willingness to compromise, since the United States hadn’t even recognized China because of its communist ideology. The visit was also a brilliant idea because it put the Russians in a bad spot; the USSR and China were not very fond of each other, so also having good relations with China also meant having good negotiations with the Soviets. Nixon and the leader of Russia, worked out an arguement called the SALT I treaty. This limited the amount of nuclear arms on both side, which ended tensions considerably and put the two superpowers at a detente. In other words, the United States and the Soviet Union coexisted and somewhat peacefully; although underlying tensions did exist, the surface was calm. Nixon’s diplomatic approach was suitable for the time.

            Although both presidents had their differences in foreign policy, they were quite similar in that both believed in the stop of communism. Eisenhower, a war general, had little qualms about containing communism for the purpose of covert operation. Nixon, too, was not afraid to use force. Having been a member of the anti-communist HUAC, he strongly believed in stopping it.Though Nixon had stated that America was beginning “Vietnamization”, or the gradual replacement of American troops with South Vietnam ones, he actually increased military presence to the many wars and secret attacks, Congress did pass the War Powers Act to limit the president, but Nixon still pushed for a no anti-communist agenda

Vietnam Blog

DANIEL ELLSBERG

Ellsberg's primary responsibility for the Defense Department was to craft secret plans to escalate the war in Vietnam—plans he says he personally regarded as "wrongheaded and dangerous" and hoped would never be carried out. Nevertheless, when President Lyndon Johnson chose to ramp up American involvement in the conflict in 1965, Ellsberg moved to Vietnam to work out of the American Embassy in Saigon evaluating pacification efforts along the front lines. He eventually left Vietnam in June 1967 after contracting hepatitis.

When the Times was slapped with an injunction ordering a stop to publication, Ellsberg provided the Pentagon Papers to the Washington Post and then to 15 other newspapers. The case, entitled New York Times Co. v. The United States, ultimately went all the way to the United States Supreme Court, which on June 30, 1971 issued a landmark 6-3 decision authorizing the newspapers to print the Pentagon Papers without risk of government censure.

Not specifically because Ellsberg released the Pentagon Papers—which covered only the period up to 1968 and therefore did not implicate the Nixon administration—but rather because they feared, incorrectly, that Ellsberg possessed documents concerning Nixon's secret plans to escalate the Vietnam War including contingency plans involving the use of nuclear weapons, Nixon and Kissinger embarked on a fanatical campaign to discredit him. An FBI agent named G. Gordon Liddy and a CIA operative named Howard Hunt—a duo dubbed "the Plumbers" wiretapped Ellsberg's phone and broke into the office of his psychiatrist, Dr. Lewis Fielding, searching for materials with which to blackmail Ellsberg. Similar "dirty tricks" by "the Plumbers" eventually led to Nixon's downfall in the Watergate scandal.

For leaking the Pentagon Papers, Ellsberg was charged with theft, conspiracy and violations of the Espionage Act, but his case was dismissed as a mistrial when evidence surfaced about the government-ordered wiretappings and break-ins.

THE MY LAI MASSACRE

On this day in 1968, a platoon of American soldiers brutally kill between 200 and 500 unarmed civilians at My Lai, one of a cluster of small villages located near the northern coast of South Vietnam.During the Vietnam War, U.S. troops frequently bombed and shelled the province of Quang Ngai, believing it to be a stronghold for forces of the National Front for the Liberation of Vietnam, or Viet Cong (VC).

In March 1968, a platoon of soldiers called Charlie Company received word that Viet Cong guerrillas had taken cover in the Quang Ngai village of Son My. Led by Lieutenant William L. Calley, the platoon entered one of the village's four hamlets, My Lai 4, on a search-and-destroy mission on the morning of March 16. Instead of guerrilla fighters, they found unarmed villagers, most of them women, children and old men.

The soldiers had been advised before the attack by army command that all who were found in My Lai could be considered VC or active VC sympathizers, and told to destroy the village. Still, they acted with extraordinary brutality, raping and torturing villagers before killing them and dragging dozens of people, including young children and babies, into a ditch and executing them with automatic weapons.

              The massacre reportedly ended when an Army helicopter pilot, Warrant Officer Hugh Thompson, landed his aircraft between the soldiers and the retreating villagers and threatened to open fire if they continued their attacks.The events at My Lai were covered up by high-ranking army officers until the following March, when one soldier, Ron Ridenhour, heard of the incident secondhand and wrote about it in a letter to President Richard Nixon, the Pentagon, the State Department, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and various congressmen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHk4TGWx0ZM

Ronald Reagan

Twenty years ago, Ronald Reagan ordered American troops to invade Grenada and liberate the island from its ruling Marxist dictator. By itself this would have been an insignificant military action: Grenada is a tiny island of little geopolitical significance. But in reality the liberation of Grenada was a historic event, because it signaled the end of the Brezhnev Doctrine and inaugurated a sequence of events that brought down the Soviet empire itself.

The Brezhnev Doctrine stated simply that once a country went Communist, it would stay Communist. In other words, the Soviet empire would continue to advance and gain territory, but it would never lose any to the capitalist West. In 1980, when Reagan was elected president, the Brezhnev Doctrine was a frightening reality. Between 1974 and 1980, while the United States wallowed in post-Vietnam angst, 10 countries had fallen into the Soviet orbit: South Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, South Yemen, Angola, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Nicaragua, Grenada and Afghanistan. Never had the Soviets lost an inch of real estate to the West.

REAGAN POLITICAL CARTOONS

Art Wood, an award-winning political cartoonist himself, collected more than 16,000 political cartoons by hundreds of the leading creators of the 'ungentlemanly art,' a phrase that is commonly used to describe this type of graphic satire. He used the word “illustration” to describe the enormous talent and craft that went into a work of art produced to capture a moment in time. From the nineteenth century's Gilded Age to recent times, political illustrations have appeared in magazines, editorial pages, opinion pages, and even on the front pages of American newspapers. These visual editorials reflect multiple viewpoints conveyed by a wide variety of artistic approaches, including the classic cross hatching techniques of Harper's Weekly cartoonist Thomas Nast, the sweeping brush work of Ding Darling, the rich crayon line work of Rube Goldberg and Bill Mauldin, and the painterly styles of contemporary cartoonists Paul Conrad and Patrick Oliphant. The broad spectrum of political perspectives informs our understanding not only of the past but also of the presen

t.

Conrad also did some notable cartoons on Ronald Reagan.  In fact, he first took after Reagan in the 1960s when Reagan was governor of California.  Conrad’s cartoons often had Reagan in over his head, and he sometimes cast him as a clown.  Los Angeles Times publisher Otis Chandler reportedly received a number of early-morning calls from Reagan or Nancy complaining of Conrad’s portrayals.  But after Reagan became President, Conrad continued his lampooning.  He once had president shown as “Reagan Hood,” stealing from the poor to give to the rich.  Another, shown at left, had Ronald and Nancy Reagan in a send up of Grant Wood’s classic American Gothic pose, made during the 1980s farm crisis when thousands of farm families were losing their farms to foreclosures, and as some charged, to Reagan policies.  Conrad also skewered Reagan’s foreign policies; one cartoon had the president in a bathtub playing with warships and a rubber duck.  In 1993, Conrad accepted a buyout from the Los Angeles Times,  but he continued to draw syndicated cartoons for more than 15 years.

South Carolina has become a primary election state in recent years and, in 1980, a sputtering Ronald Reagan presidential campaign was being bested by George Bush in the early going. Many South Carolinians supported Texan John Connally, but Carroll Campbell signed on to chair the Reagan campaign in the state and helped deliver a major primary victory to Reagan. Most of these cartoons had a big impact on the lives of the presidents themselves.

Dorothea LangePoor mother and children, Oklahoma, 1936

Poor mother and children during the Great Depression. Elm Grove, Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, USA.Gordon and many others have pointed out that Lange's documentary photography was, to a large extent, portrait photography.  She treated the poor with as much respect as she had her rich clients, during her years as a successful portrait photographer in San Francisco.  And she found the beauty in them, just as she had with the rich.

This photo forces us to remember that people retain their full humanity, even in the midst of misery.  We need to see both of these photos (and to remember the father's tender gesture of washing his child's face) before we can even begin to understand this young mother and her children.

Dorothea Lange (1895-1965) has been called America's greatest documentary photographer. She is best known for her chronicles of the Great Depression and for her photographs of migratory farm workers. Below are 42 pre-World War II photographs she created for the U.S. Farm Security Administration (FSA) investigating living conditions of farm workers and their families in Western states such as California. Most of the workers had come west to escape the Dust Bowl, the lengthy drought which devastated millions of acres of farmland in Midwestern states such as Oklahoma.

WWI: Italy

In the years that led up to World War One, Italy had sided with Germany and Hungary in the Triple Alliance. Italy should have joined in the sides of these two nations when war broke out in August 1914. Italy's experience in World War One was disastrous and ended with the insult of a reward at the Versailles Settlement in 1919. What Italy did was wait and see how the war progressed. On April 26th 1915, Itally came into the war on the side of Britain, France and Russia. Many socialists had supported the government ‘s stand in keeping Italy out of the war in 1914. The nationalists, however, were horrified. To start with, Mussolini was against the war.

In 1915, Italy had signed the secret Treaty of London. In this treaty Britain had offered Italy large sections of territory in the Adriatic Sea region. Such an offer was too tempting for Italy to refuse. Britain and France wanted Italy to join in on their side so that a new front could open up t the south of the Western Front. The plan was to split still further the Central Powers so that its power on the Western and Eastern Fronts was weakened. The part Italy had to play in it required military success. This was never forthcoming. Between 1915 and 1917, Italian troops only got 10 miles inside Austrian territory. But in October 1917 came the disaster of Caporetto. In this battle, in fact a series of battles, the Italians had to fight the whole Austrian Army and 7 divisions of German troops. The Italian Army lost 300,000 men. Though the Italians had a victory at Vittorio Veneto in 1918, the psychological impact of Caporetto was huge. The retreat brought shame and humiliation to Italy.

By the end of the war in 1918, 600,000 Italians were dead, 950,000 were wounded and 250,000 were crippled for life. The war cost more than the government had spent in the previous 50 years – and Italy had only been in the war three years. By 1918, the country was hit by very high inflation and unemployment was high. But at least Italy had been on the winning side and could expect just rewards at Versailles. The Italians did not get what they felt had been promised at the Treaty of London and that caused resentment especially at the losses Italy had endured fighting for the Allies. The government came over as weak and lacking pride in Italy. For nationalists, the failure of the government to stand up to the "Big Three" at Versailles was unforgivable.

Progressive Characters

Theodore Roosevelt

A. Biographical ideas behind the character

        Theodore Roosevelt was born and raised in New York City. However, during his adolescent years he was sick, which caused him to find a passion in reading. He enjoyed reading much of history and the natural sciences and decided later on in his grown years he would dedicate his life to be full of risks since he could not enjoy much at such a young age.

B. Major Legislation related to character

        During Roosevelt's time, there were a few legilation's that Theodore became known for. In example, the Big Stick Policy, the Roosevelt Corollary, and the Bull Moose Movement. The Big Stick Policy stated that violence could be used when it was needed towards other countries, which led to the addition of the Roosevelt Corollary that stated that the U.S had every right to intervene if the Europeans chose to disobey the Monroe Doctrine. Later on, Theodore Roosevelt began the Progressive Party and that also became known as the "Bull Moose Movement" because he came off as soft.

C. Explain how he attempted to progress the nation.

        Since a young age, Theodore Roosevelt knew that he always had to give back to the poor because that was what he was taught. The square deal that he created was used to help the poor and the needy and he also create the FDA, which led to most products becoming more sanitary. He was on the workers side as well during the coal strikes and threatened the corporations if they injured or hurt any of the workers in their job.

Woodrow Wilson

A. Biographical ideas behind the character

     Woodrow Wilson was classified as a person who read a lot in his younger days before he became president. He also graduated from the University of Princeton and gained a Ph.D and also managed to become the president of the university. However, before he got the chance to become the university president, he was a teacher at the university for quite some time. He also created the idea of Moral Internationalism while he developed his ideas.

B. Major Legislation related to character

      Wilson's idea of Moral Internationalism was that the United States owed it to the other countries and themselves to be involve in foreign affairs due to their power and wealth; it was also believed that freedom and democracy should be brought to other places as well. He also created the 14 Points, which were 14 ideas that kept a progressive pace plan; these were also known as ideas which would better the country and lead into a greater social change.  One more thing Wilson attempted to do was try to pass the Treaty of Versailles, which was a peace settlement to end World War I.

C. How they attempted to progress the nation.

     Wilson  tried to bring about the progressive change to the U.S. through Moral Internationalism and through the League of Nations. The idea of Moral Internationalism was to help the nation become more involved in the foreign affairs of the world. However, they would expose them to other aspects other than their own. The League of Nations was one of the 14 Points that he created. It was known for  a council of leaders from all over the globe and discussions of how to solve worldly problems would follow.

 Ida Tarbel

A. Biographical ideas behind the character

Ida Tarbel was born in Pennsylvania in yje year 1857 to a family of teachers and farmers. She grew up in a tough environment in which led to the success of her and her father's wildcat oil wells. Tarbel attended high school only after John D. Rockefeller had taken her father's business and graduated from Allegheny College. She was also the first women to attend and graduate from the college. She earned a degree in chemistry and taught high school science in Ohio, eventually leaving the job for a more competing life.

B. Major Legislation related to character

      Tarbel became a writer; more specifically, she began to write investigative journalism pieces. She also wrote a biography of Madame Roland (important figure in the French Revolution) which exposed her writing style to McCLure's magazine; she right away took a job at the magazine, becoming head writer and editor after writing a 10 part series on the life of Abraham Lincoln. She also wrote a 19 part series on the life and business of oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller in order to expose the corrupt business deals that had cost her father and other farmers their land.

C. How they attempted to progress the nation.

      Tarbel was a muckraker, meaning she wrote facts which in turn exposed the truth; this was how she had exposed the corruption of the oil company. Her writing led to an investigation of the Standard Oil Company and its disbandment into six different companies, effectively ending Rockefeller's reign.

Robert La Follette

A. Biographical ideas behind the character

      Robert La Follette was born in Wisconsin in 1855; he was raised on a farm and used this to help his own fight for the poor. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin and was the first on his family to. He then became the District Attorney and was eventually elected to the House of Representatives where he began going after corrupt politicians from both Democrats and Republicans.

B. Major Legislation related to character

      He created the ideas of initiative, which was the ability of citizens to make and pass a law without help of legislature, and referendum, which was the ability to end an elected official's time in office before the next election. He also began The Wisconsin Idea to try to give the government back to the people and give America more of a direct democracy in order to take away power from the corrupt elite (corporations and parties). La Follette also ran and was elected Senator of the state of Wisconsin; he was one of the few that went against Wilson's declaration of war, openly speaking against it in public speeches.

C. How they attempted to progress the nation.

      La Follette was open to speaking his opinions whether or not they were deemed necessary or even wanted; he was especially prone to making speeches which gained him many enemies; these speeches made him susceptible to being accused of treason. He also felt that both natural born and immigrants alike had a duty to keep on the values that drove the American spirit during the country's revolution days. Everyone had a right to speak their mind.

John D. Rockefeller

A. Biographical ideas behind the character

B. Major Legislation related to character

C. How they attempted to progress the nation.

  John D. Rockefeller was the second oldest of a group of six children to a farming family in upstate New York City; he attended school and after high school went to the Folsom Mercantile College and finished a bookkeeping course. He began to work as an assistant bookkeeper at the Hewitt and Tuttle Firm. After many promotions, Rockefeller formed his own business with a partner, later turning it into an oil refinery business, renaming it Standard Oil.

    Rockefeller was a master at monopoly, meaning he was in control of all the oil in the Ohio region with no competition. He also learned how to control the means of production, completely dominating the oil business and every part of production. Predatory pricing was also a useful method of his; he would lower his prices to less than his competitors, and when he bought them out, the prices skyrocketed with no other place to buy his product as he was the only producer.
     Rockefeller's business endeavors soon came to an after interference with muckracker Ida Tarbel and her infamous 19 part series of his life and corrupt business. His company was forced to break up into six different companies, effectively ending his reign. He became a philanthropist, and gave his money away to may organizations until his death in 1937.

A. Biographical ideas behind the character

  Eugene V. Debs was born in a German family in Terre Haute, Indiana; life as an immigrant was difficult, yet their knowledge was as vast as the family library.  His family opened a general store and later became trusted members of the community; after finishing high school, Debs went to work at the Union Pacific Railway, but left the dangerous job to do union work and became a union activist.

B. Major Legislation related to character

    After creating the American Railway Union, he ventured far and wide to gain rights for workers, even opening a publishing company to get the voices of the workers and their situation heard. He and the ARU stood behind the Pullman Strike and gave the workers their support, although Debs was jailed for having been involved. The Great Railway Strike was one of his proudest moments, giving all he had into helping the workers earn their rights.

C. How they attempted to progress the nation.

    Debs was a progressive reformer at heart, from his creation of the ARU to his endorsement of the Women's Suffragist Movement. He even continued his talks and motivation while he was in jail, uplifting the jailers and prisoners alike. He died in his home in Terre Haute after having met President Harding on an invitation to the White House.

What was life like in the South for African Americans after the Reconstruction ended in 1877?(Notes)

          When the Reconstruction ended in 1877, African Americans in the South faced many of the problems they had faced since Emancipation. Some of these problems were getting worse, and new problems were gaining importance. As important as the war itself was the tangled problem of how to reconstruct the defeated South. They were encouraged by the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments to the Constitution. At last, African Americans nourished hopes for full equality; however, it did not work out that way. By 1877 Southern white resistance and the withdrawal of federal supervision brought about the redemption of the South and African Americans were deprived of their right to vote. The redemption measures enforced greater racial separation and increased white intimidation and violence.
         Compromise of 1877 marked  a retreat from the initial desire of the Radical Republicans to have the national government protect the fundamental rights of blacks as American citizens, the compromise meant that the welfare of African Americans was again in the hands of those who had oppressed them under slavery, those committed to upholding white supremacy. The gains during Reconstruction, in example, the passage of federal legislation to protect the civil rights of southern blacks, the presence of southern blacks in the national legislature, and the presence of blacks in southern governments as executives and legislators), threatened anti-black violence and the control of southern society was ultimately returned to those committed to restoring and maintaining white domination.


NOTES:
First Civil War- 1861-1865
Reconstruction: 1865-1877

1876- Rutherford B. Hayes- pulls out troops from the South
White Supremises: Gained more power and most part of Democratic party
Effects of him pulling out:
       * Sharecropping
       * Laws to prevent AA from voting
       *  Literacy test and whole tax
       *  KKK
Lynching was widespread
* Those who had a social standing were targeted
Tulsa Riot- "Black Wall Street"
Jim Crow Segregation- upheld by Plessy VS. Fergusen
       * Two views to solve 
 Booker T.
Talented Ten- select folks and educate them and educate others
Connected with many politicians
Duboi-
Did not want to use resource from politicians

Mexican Immigrants W/ Christian Puerta

1. Why did each immigrant group come to the United States?
          Spanish speaking people have always lived in North America and the first identified immigrants did not cross any borders, it is said that the borders crossed them. Mexicans were first to arrive in what is now New Mexico and in 1598 the Mexican government founded the city of Santa Fe. By the 1800’S, Spaniards governed Mexico as a colony for 300 years. Although the Spaniards held dominant power over the Mexican territory the main part of the population consisted of Mestizos individuals with both Spaniard descent and Indigenous.
2. Where did the groups settle, both initially and in subsequent migrations?

The Northern sections of Mexico especially those of North of the Rio Grande were not as populated up until the 19th century. Mexican government officials merchants, and trappers and hunters as well from the United States chose to reside in small settlements, mostly chose around a series of small churches. This remained the same until Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1821.

 3. How did United States government policies and programs affect
immigration patterns? 

War broke out between Mexico and the United States over the US annexation over the Texan territory Mexico was defeated and in 1848 the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed. The Treaty granted the winning region with an enormous amount of land. One more piece of important Land changed hands in 1854, when the US bought what is now Southern Arizona and New Mexico from the Mexican government for 10 million. This land purchase was known as the Gadsden Purchase, this allowed the US to buy a much needed railroad route, and open the West to further expansion. The larger nation had expanded its size by ⅓. And almost overnight tens of thousands of Mexican citizens had become residents of the United States.

 4. How were the immigrants received by the current citizens of this nation?

At the turn of the 20th century, the borderlands between Mexico and the US were undecided by political and social instability. Often times immigrants that attempted to cross the border where harassed by bandits and Rustlers. Law enforcement was scarce, and justice was often rough and quickly executed. Lawmen were said to be as much of a threat as Mexican Americans. The Texas Rangers came in for especially fierce criticism.

 5. How did United States government policies and programs affect

immigrants' assimilation into the life of the nation? 

Under the treaty that ended the Mexican War, most of the Mexicans who lived in the new United States.The treaty also assured their safety and property rights .In practice, however, the new territories were far from the centers of the U.S government, and the arguments were not reliable. By the end of the 19th century, many Mexican Americans had been deprived of their land, and found themselves living exposed in an often hostile region. Because they were being shaped by hard times and long distances, these storytelling songs were like musical Newspapers and carried news for current events and popular legends.

 6. How did economic conditions impact the immigrants' experience? 

Mexican immigration in the 20th century originated in three great surges of development. Between 1910 and 1930, the number of Mexican immigrants counted by the U.S census expanded from 200,000 to 600,000. El Paso, Texas, assisted as the Mexican Ellis Island- a gateaway to a different life for Mexican immigrants and an influential symbol of change and survival for their children and grandchildren. For various Mexican immigrants moving to the United States was not a permanent stay. Distance from Mexico to the US was not so far they were able to return relatively easy. In the early 1900’s, it estimated that more than 1 million Mexican immigrants returned to Mexico.

 7. How did cultural heritage affect an immigrant's place of settlement? What
impact did immigrant cultural traditions have on the United States?

As the Mexican American population grew it was more visible in public affairs. Former Mexican territories became states, they began to affect the balance of power in the U.S government. National political figures started to count voters in Mexican American regions of the country, even though the applicants themselves were still tremendously European Americans. Publishers and songwriters began to incorporate Mexican themes in well known plays and popular songs. These works usually had little or nothing to do with the realities of Mexican life, in the U.S, or anywhere else. Ethnic stereotypes and racist slurs began to take place. Other groups sought to eliminate the Mexican influence because it appeared to be a negative influence to the American citizens. Americanization through Homemaking” suggested that putting Mexican girls into sewing, cooking, and cleaning classes was the key to social harmony. It began the basic structure of their social order- their home.

Battle of Little Big Horn

The Battle of Little Big Horn took place on June 25, 1876. All the troops were led by a Lieutenant Colonel by the name George Armstrong Custer. The native Americans had been fighting with Custer and his troops since gold was discovered on their land. Custer and his troops fought against the Lakota Sioux and the Cheyenne. Both are to blame for the incident that occurred.

Many time the U.S Army asked the natives for permission to overtake the reservations. However, the Native tribes resisted after several occasions because the Army would make treaties and overlook them. Because of this many others joined their cause and helped them fight. There were about 10,000 men fighting along with their tribes. Ultimately they gathered around the Big Horn river ready for an attack, but Colonel Custer demanded that his troops retreat because he was afraid they would be outnumbered.

On July 25, Custer and his 600 troops wanted to surprise the attack the Native Americans around Big Horn River, but the Natives became aware and followed with about 3000trops. Sitting Bull, a chief, had a vision that his men would win. Fortunately, for him and his troops, he was correct and they easily were able to attack the U.S Army. However, the victory did not last long because the government took over the tribes within a few years and confined them to reservations.

Chinese Exclusion Act

        During the time of 1870-1880, there were many people migrating from Germany, England, and Ireland. They came to the United States because the Civil War had ended. In 1848 gold rush did not only attract those immigrants, but attracted many of the Chinese as well, who were considered hard workers. They worked hard and obeyed until the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed in 1882 and they were the prohibited from doing various things.

          According to Document D, which is an excerpt from Lee Chew's Autobiography titled "The Biography of a Chinaman" gives the reason that the Chinese were excluded because many other immigrants were jealous of them. Because they were known as being honest and hard workers many hired them cause of that and that kept the owners from hiring other workers. In another example, Document C. a speech to workingmen of San Francisco from the year 1888, gives the reason that the Chinese were taking jobs away from the Americans. The citizens living in America wanted to banish the Chinese due to that reason.
          In document A, a Chinese play known as "The Chinese Must Go" from the year 1879 gives another reason that the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed similarly to Document C; they were taking the American jobs. The play also managed to show that the Chinese were getting ahead of the Americans and making more money then they were themself making. According to Document B, which is similar to Document D, is a political cartoon by Thomas Nast shown in the Harper's Weekly and shows how they wanted to get rid of the Chinese because they were disliked by many other immigrants. This political cartoon shows how many English, Irish, and German man want to kill the poor man, who is being protected by Columbia.