Essay on "Start the Fire"
Essay 8 pages (3296 words) Sources: 10
[EXCERPT] . . . .
Start the Fire: A Look at the Most Significant Events in U.S. History since World War IILooking at U.S. history since World War II, it is difficult to believe that so many major cultural and societal changing events have occurred in such a brief period of time. Before World War II, the majority of the American workforce was male, segregation was an accepted cultural and legal norm, Americans were patriotic with greater trust in their government, and there was no such things as cell phones, TV, or computer usage for the average American. Obviously, these things that shape the daily existence of American life have changed, and the pace of that change has been rapid. Therefore, it is difficult to name the most influential events of the post World War II period, since the impact of many of those events has yet to be fully realized. Moreover, there were so many changes in each decade that picking a single defining event becomes difficult, if not impossible. However, after carefully examining the historical record, one event stands out as the most significant one of each decade.
Interestingly enough, these are not the events that necessarily defined the decade at the time. In fact, the full impact of many of these events was not known until a later time. The most critical event of the 1950s was one whose impact is still being realized: the landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954), because it was the means of ending legalized segregation in the United States. The 1960s was a time of critical change in the United States, but the most influential event of the 1960s came with little fanfare: the introduction of the Pill, which led to the sexual revolution,
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Separate is Inherently Unequal
To most modern Americans, the idea of legalized segregation is something that seems like an archaic vestige of slavery. However, the reality is that the parents and grandparents of today's generation were directly impacted by legalized segregation. The reality is also that there are some locations, many of them in the Deep South, where segregation may be illegal, but continues to be a de facto reality for African-Americans. Any person with substantial knowledge of the tremendous disparity that still exists between the average African-American and the average white realizes that there is still a tremendous need for change. However, the fact that there is still a need for change does not lessen the fact that the Supreme Court helped change the fabric of America when it authored the decision in Brown v. Board of Education.
The Supreme Court had been called upon to address the issues of segregation and racial equality in prior decisions. Most saliently, in Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (1896), the Supreme Court had considered the question of segregated train transportation, and determined that segregation did not violate the Equal Protection Clause. Instead, it determined that segregated facilities could be separate but equal, and thus comply with constitutional mandates. That Court was more than willing to ignore the reality that the facilities designated for use by "colored" people were not equal to the facilities designated for use by whites, and gave legal support to Jim Crow laws that marked life throughout the American South for the first half of the 20th century. However, the Supreme Court overruled the Plessy decision in Brown v. Board of Education, holding that school segregation did violate the principle of equal protection. The Court held that "Segregation of white and colored children in public schools has a detrimental effect upon the colored children. The impact is greater when it has the sanction of law, for the policy of separating the races is usually interpreted as denoting the inferiority of the negro group" (Brown v. Board of Education, 1954).
Anyone with a working history of the 1960's Civil Rights Movement is aware that segregation did not magically end with the Court's decision in Brown. However, there is no question that the decision had a lasting impact. The NAACP had been working to end discrimination for years, and found a successful mode of attack; if it could prove the discrimination was harmful, it could end the practice. Moreover, with the force of law behind them, those working towards integration could begin their struggle in earnest. When a state governor refused to integrate schools, the President called out the National Guard. The decision led to busing, to make sure schools were integrated, quotas, affirmative action, and even claims of reverse discrimination. While discrimination still exists, one need only contemplate the current President's ethnicity to see that Brown v. Board led to social change.
The Pill that Changed the World
While the decision in Brown v. Board helped usher in a new type of equality with a lot of fanfare and resistance, the introduction of the birth control pill introduced equality for women with barely a whimper. In 1960, oral contraceptives received FDA approval for routine use in the United States. When they came out, they were not widely used by unmarried people; in fact, many doctors would not prescribe them to unmarried patients. Their role in the sexual revolution was delayed by a few years. However, what they did, immediately, was permit women to exercise control over their own fertility. Contraceptives were available prior to the Pill. Many of these contraceptives, such as condoms, were effective. However, contraceptives were either controlled by a male, or did not allow a woman to engage in protected, spontaneous sexual activity. The Pill changed the playing field.
People argue over how great of a role the Pill played in the social changes in the United States that have occurred since 1960. At the time of its introduction, most women were homemakers; now most women are employed (Gibbs, 2010). That, in and of itself, if a tremendous social change, one with positive and negative consequences. With the advent of an effective means of birth control, women were able to engage in sexual activity, while delaying reproduction. This has given women freedom to pursue education and careers. In fact, women outnumber men in many professions and at most universities, in most fields. However, it has also led to the myth of the superwoman, who can have and do it all. The reality, however, is that even women who have delayed child rearing end up doing the majority of the domestic work in their households; the Pill may have helped level the playing field, but it is still tremendously imbalanced.
In fact, when one stops to look at the numbers, the Pill does not seem all that miraculous. While the difference is statistically significant, the proper use of condoms prevents conception at roughly the same rate as the birth control pill. However, the Pill came to signify more than a medical breakthrough. "Arriving at a moment of social and political upheaval, the Pill became a handy proxy for wider trends: the rejection of tradition, the challenge to institutions, and the redefinition of women's roles" (Stengel, 2010). Could these changes have occurred without the birth control pill? That is a question that cannot be answered, but if one looks at the role of women in countries where oral contraceptives are not widely available, it seems impossible to ignore the role that the pill has played in the American woman's struggle for equality.
The End of a War
While women were waging a war at home, seeking equality and trying to figure out how to redefine gender in a world where sexual norms had been suddenly reversed, many American man were unwillingly waging a war abroad. During the 1960s and early 1970s, thousands of American boys died fighting a war in Vietnam. Much of the 1960s was taken up with protesting the war. Returning soldiers had wounds,… READ MORE
Quoted Instructions for "Start the Fire" Assignment:
Please read the requirements carefully, any questions or concerns please contact me via email.
(FYI, I need a title)
A written essay consisting of an overview of what you consider to be the most significant events in the decades following World War II. You must select one event that you studied*****social, economic, or political*****from each of the following decades: 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. The event that you select should be the one that you believe had an overriding influence on U.S. culture, economy, or governmental policy within that decade. In order to explain why you think an event had a more powerful impact than other events within the same decade, you need to evaluate the following questions:
*****¢How did the event you select fit in relationship to the time leading up to it?
1.Was it different than events that preceded it, or
2.Was it a culmination of similar factors that came together?
*****¢Who was the group(s) of people that caused the event to happen?
1.What were their goals?
*****¢Who were the group(s) of people that were most affected by the event?
1.Did the significance of the group or groups contribute to the importance of the event?
2.Did the significance of the group or groups contribute to other people*****s perception of the event?
*****¢What was the nature of the event*****s effect on the United States at the time?
*****¢Do you believe this event:
1.Accomplished the goals for which it was intended by the group(s) of people who caused it to happen? or
2.Failed to do that but accomplished something else? or
3.Both accomplished the goals for which it was intended and accomplished something else?
*****¢What was the enduring nature of the event*****s effect upon the United States as time went by in subsequent decades?
For each decade, the information that answers the above bullet points must be organized into a cohesive essay in APA format. For the introduction, you need a short, one paragraph explanation of the purpose of the final paper and then one section for each decade*****the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Conclude by hypothesizing changes you anticipate happening in the U.S. social, economic, or political climate of the next ten years, and by explaining the reasons for your hypothesis.
You are encouraged to be creative in titling each decade section and the final hypothesis section***** feel free to let your opinion show.
For each decade*****s section, you must cite at least two references. At the end of your paper, you must include a single list of references in APA format, which includes all of the works cited.
The opening paragraph of each decade*****s section must clearly introduce the event you chose and the position you are taking on it so that the reader does not have to guess your topic and point-of-view. Make sure that each subsequent paragraph focuses on a single main idea and that your paragraphs follow a coherent sequence. The final paragraph of each decade*****s section must bring the discussion to some kind of a close so that it does not feel like you suddenly stopped talking.
How to Reference "Start the Fire" Essay in a Bibliography
“Start the Fire.” A1-TermPaper.com, 2010, https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/start-fire-look/1019. Accessed 6 Jul 2024.
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