Transcript America`s historical crises and its opportunities

Historical Challenges in
the United States from
1620s to 1960s
Session 5
Table of Contents
I. The Mayflower Voyage & Mayflower Compact
II. Constitutional Convention and Birth of the
Constitution
III. Economic Crisis in the 1920s
IV. Racial Crises from 1860s to 1960s
I. Mayflower Compact Background
Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation
1517
Background 2: Reformation in England
The Church of England:
 The separation of the Church of England (or Anglican
Church) from Rome under Henry VIII, beginning in 1529
and completed in 1537.
 a middle way (via media) between the Roman Catholic
and Protestant traditions.
 Bloody Mary (1553-1558)
 Virgin Elizabeth (1558-1603)
 James VI & I (1603-25)
Puritans
• Seeking to bring the Church to a state of purity
that would match Christianity as it had been in
the time of Christ.
• During Elizabeth's reign the Marian exiles
(Protestants who'd fled England during "Bloody
Mary's" reign) had returned from the Continent,
full of enthusiasm to set the Anglican church
straight. By the end of her reign, these
believers were still committed to working within
the Church of England to "purify" it (hence the
term "Puritans").
The Separatists
James I’s anti-Protestants policy:
Smaller groups of the Puritans came to the
conclusion that it was fruitless to struggle any more
within the Church of England. These were named
Separatists, and it was this group to which
American Pilgrim ancestors belonged.
Separatists not only had given up on trying to
reform the Anglican church, they also wanted to
separate themselves from the corruptions of the
world. They believed they were chosen of God and
wanted to set up an environment where they could
worship as they wished.
II. The Mayflower Voyage & Crisis
Separatists in Holland
Voyage to the new world:
9/20/ 1620- 11/21/1620
What to do?
How to survive?
A land without a government
See the movie
The Birth of the Mayflower Compact:
Crisis turned into an opportunity
The Mayflower Compact was signed by 41 male adults on 11
November 1620 on board the Mayflower
The Mayflower Compact
"In the name of God, Amen. We, …… covenant and
combine ourselves together into a civil Body
Politick, for our better Ordering and Preservation,
and Furtherance of the Ends aforesaid; And by
Virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and frame, such
just and equal Laws, Ordinances, Acts,
Constitutions and Offices, from time to time, as
shall be thought most meet and convenient for the
General good of the Colony; unto which we
promise all due submission and obedience."
The Mayflower Compact: A solid
foundation for a great nation and
civilization in the world
Creation and opportunity:
The Mayflower Compact is the first
document in American history
demonstrating the attempt to form a
government based of the concept that
government should derive its power from
the “consent of the governed.” It not only
led to survival, success and prosperity of
this community, but it also turned out to be
the foundation of the American constitution
and corner stone of the American
The Mayflower Compact:
A solid foundation for a
great nation and
civilization in the world
Only 53 of 102 passengers was alive
by November, 1621
John Winthrop, the New World would
become a beacon of religious light, a
model of spiritual promise, a "citty
upon a hill.”
Comparison between China and U.S.
The Mayflower Compact, Foundation of American Democracy
Great Yu, Founder of China’s Authoritarian Rule
Mayflower Descendants (1)
Politicians
John Adams and John Quincy Adams - John Alden
President Zachary Taylor - Issac Allerton
President Ulysses S. Grant - Richard Warren
President James Garfield-John Billington
President Franklin D. Roosevelt-Richard Warren
Presidents George Bush Senior and Junior-John
Howland
Politician Sarah Palin-Henry Samson
Politician Dan Quayle-Myles Standish
Mayflower Descendants (2)
Astronauts
Alan B. Shepard-Richard Warren
Actors and Singers
Marilyn Monroe-John Alden
Orson Welles-John Alden
Clint Eastwood-William Bradford
Alec and Stephen Baldwin-John Howland
Humphrey Bogart-John Howland
Dick Van Dyke-Myles Standish
Christopher Lloyd-John Howland
Richard Gere-Samuel Fuller
Christopher Reeve-William Bradford
Singer Bing Crosby-William Brewster
Mayflower Descendants (3)
Authors and Publishers
• Noah Webster of Webster's dictionary-William
Bradford
• Poet Ralph Waldo Emerson-Elizabeth Tilley
• Poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow-John Alden
• Publisher Hugh Hefner-William Bradford
Inventors
•
George Eastman of the Eastman Kodak Company-William Bradford
•
•
•
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Military Commander
George McClellan-William Bradford
Religious Leaders
Joseph Smith-John Howland
Discussion
What would happen if the
Mayflower arrived in Jamestown,
Virginia instead of Plymouth?
II. Constitutional Convention:
A New Opportunity
from Crisis
1780s
Table of Contents
America’s New Crises before
1787
I.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Failure of the Confederation
Debts crisis & economic
depression
Military revolt (the Newburgh
Conspiracy)
Shay’s rebellion
Foreign threats
II-1. The Confederation: A Failure of National
Government
Confederation:
A product of the war to gain its independence.
 Power belongs to the parts rather than to the
whole. A league of friendship rather than a
nation, because "Each state retains its
sovereignty, freedom, and independence.”
 No power to tax its citizens.
 Expenditures by the United States of America
will be paid by funds raised by state
legislatures, and apportioned to the states
based on the real property values.
But no an authority to enforce it.

Continue
Any amendment to the Articles needs to
be unanimously approved by all the 13
states.

To avoid a too powerful leader like British
Crown, there was no executive officer as
the national leader.
II-2. Financial & Economic Difficulties
Financial difficulties:
To support the war, the Congress issued the
continental currency:
By the end of 1778, Continentals retained from 1/5 to
1/7 of their face value. By 1780, the bills were worth
1/40th of face value. Later the paper money had the
expression “not worth a continental”
Continue
•
Huge debt
Economic depression from 1784-1785
•
•
•
•
Domestic market shrank due to loss of 20%
population, and state tariffs blocked free
trade
Market abroad was blocked by Britain
Home industry was no match to English
cheap products
II-3. Military Revolt in 1783
Newburgh Conspiracy in 1783
http://www.encyclopedia.com/video/UHY1kDirTx4-libertys-kids-38-man-who.aspx
Washington would not use the army to threaten
the civil government: a course, which he believed,
would violate the principles of republicanism for
which they had all been fighting.
His message was that they should oppose anyone
"who wickedly attempts to open the floodgates of
civil discord and deluge our rising empire in
blood."
The outcome: a peaceful solution - a life pension
of half pay became a five years full pay.
Continue
No power to tax its citizens.

Expenditures by the United States of
America will be paid by funds raised by
state legislatures, and apportioned to the
states based on the real property values.
But no an authority to enforce it.
Any amendment to the Articles needs to
be unanimously approved by all the 13
states.
I- 4. Shay’s Rebellion
Shay’s rebellion in 1787
A soldier in the Continental Army:
•
Battle of Lexington
•
Battle of Bunker Hill
•
Battle of Saratoga
The political struggles were
primarily between "the class
with, and [the] class without,
property." James Madison
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=3ImIEcsTEVo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=23vQjYzyx9Q
II-5. Foreign Threat
•
Threat from Great Britain
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•
•
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trade blockage and
its army in Detroit & NY
North Africa pirates threat
Disputes with Spain
because of Florida and the
Mississippi River
Conflicts at the Convention
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Conservative vs. democratic camps
Federalists/nationalists vs. anti-feralists
Large vs. small states
North commercial vs. south agricultural
interests
Free states vs. slave states
……
Achievement
A Government of “Checks and Balances”
“Checks & balances” of the executive, the legislative and
the judiciary.
while the Congress (legislative) has the power to create
law, the executive (President) can veto any legislation -- an
act which, in turn, can be overridden by Congress.
The President nominates judges to the nation's highest
judiciary authority (The Supreme Court), but those
nominees must be approved by the Congress.
The Supreme Court, in its turn, has the power to invalidate
as "unconstitutional" any law passed by the Congress
Each branch has its powers specifically described, and
each would be tied into the other two in such ways as to
prevent any one branch from taking over supreme power.
Comparison
George Washington’s example
Emperor/lifelong ruler in the Republic of
China & People’s Republic of China
Yuan Shikai
 Chiang Kai-shek
 Mao

Conclusion
The paralysis of the Confederation made
the US into a critical crisis from 1783-1787
The constitutional convention seek a
solution to solve the challenges.
The birth of Constitution created an
opportunity for this new nation
The thirteen states became a unified nation
 A powerful and also a checks & balanced federal
government was established
 A solid political foundation led to a powerful country
in the future

III. Economic
Challenges to the US
1920s
Table of Contents
Background
America’s territorial expansion
 Industrialization & Inventions
 Immigration & Military Victory

The Great Depression
Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal
The Impact of FDR’s New Deal
Conclusion
III-1. Territorial expansion
The Spanish-American War in 1898
Industrial Revolution & Inventions
•
Industrial revolution
•
•
•
•
•
Transcontinental railroad: For settlers along the railroad's
path, the tracks were a lifeline. More than 7,000 cities and
towns west of the Missouri began as Union Pacific depots
and water stops. President Lincoln would never see the
completion of the transcontinental railroad, but perhaps he
foresaw how it would change us. How it would draw
Americans together – by trade, by travel and even by
thought.
Inventions: electricity, lights, telegraph, refrigerator &
typewriter
Ford’s mass production, Tailor’s scientific management,
corporations
New energy-oil
Leading industrial country surpassing Great Britain in 1890,
American industry produced twice as much as Britain
Immigration & Military Victory
•
Immigration:
•
•
From 1865 through 1918 an unprecedented and diverse stream
of immigrants arrived in the United States, 27.5 million in total
Economic prosperity
The average annual income (after inflation) of nonfarm workers
grew by 75% from 1865 to 1900, and then grew another 33% by
1918
Military victory
With the involvement of the US, the Allies won WWI
People’s mentality
•

Laissez-faire

Coolidge: "The business of the American people is business."[19]

Hoover: A believer in the efficacy of individualism and business enterprise, with
a little coordination by the government, to cure all problems.

Optimistic to the future
III-2. The Great Depression
Stock market crashed in Oct.29,1929, 89
percent decline in stock prices
In the United States between 1929 and
1933, unemployment soared from 3% of
the workforce to 25%
Industrial production had fallen by over half
from 1929 to1933
744 banks failed from Oct. to July, 1930. (In
all, 9,000 banks failed during the 1930s).
Dust Bowl from 1930-1936/40)
III-3. Roosevelt’s New Deal
Relief - provided instant relief for those who
needed (short term).
Recovery - put the United States' economy on a
footing that would make it strong like it was in
the 1920s. (Recovery means that it gets back to
a previous state).
Reform -fix the economy so that it would never
fail to the level that it did in 1929.
III-4. Impact of the New Deal
The doctrine of laissez faire lost its domination. The
government began to interference into private business.
 The Securities Act, which created the Securities and
Exchange Commission placed regulations on the
stock market, the most classic of examples of the free
market system
 The Tennessee Valley Authority, provider of
navigation, flood control, electricity generation,
fertilizer manufacturing, and economic development in
the Tennessee Valley , would create a means by
which the federal government would compete with
private business, a most revolutionary concept
 Banking regulation, the TVA, SEC, and Social Security
have become part of the American way of life.
Continue
Economically, the Social Security Act
introduced the modern welfare state
into the US; pensions at retirement;
unemployment benefits; aid to families
with dependent children; and some
public health care and disability
benefits.
Continue
Politically, it transferred power from
Wall Street to the nation’s capitol
(specifically the White House).
The Wagner Act helped give unions
a dynamic voice in American
society. The union movement still
today is a solid backer of the
Democratic Party.
Continue
Socially, the government laws
Eliminated sweatshops and deterred
child labor. Laws enforcing work hour
standards and wages as well as working
conditions.
 Moreover,
the New Deal rescued the
American farmer and aided AfricanAmericans more than any other
government had done since the end
of the Civil War.
Continue
Conserved and protected American
corporate capitalism by diffusing American
radicals charged with bringing increased
socialist reform

Huey Long’s “Share-Our-Wealth” proposal
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYOHDM7SN5U&feat
ure=related
III-5. Conclusion
The Great Depression put the US into another
critical crisis. Facing huge unemployment,
psychological fear, economic stagnation, and
civil unrest, the New Deal was an effort and
solution to deal with this crisis. The New Deal
turned the crises into another opportunity: on
one hand, it created a more fair society; on
the other hand, it conserved and protected
American corporate capitalism.
IV. Racial Challenges to
Americans up
1860s - 1960s
Table of Contents
Origin of slavery in America from perspectives of
economy and racism
Founding Fathers’ dilemma and a temporary
solution
The Civil War in 1860s, a critical crisis
The Civil Rights Movement in 1960s, another
serious crisis
The Achievements of the Civil Rights Movement
A Long Journey of Racial Equality
Conclusion
IV-1. Origins of Slavery in America from the
Perspectives of Economy and Racism
•
Early history
•
•
•
•
•
•
Africans came to Jamestown, Virginia in 1619 as
indentured servants
Massachusetts recognized legal slavery in 1641
Virginia Rule: A slave mother’s children would
remain slaves in 1662
Economic root
Racial root
“The white man’s burden” a poem by
Rudyard Kipling justifies to civilize
“savages.”
Movie: African Americans: Terrible Transformation
IV-2. Founding Fathers’ Dilemma and Solution
“All men are created equal” did not cover
African American slaves.
The Constitutional Convention:
Southern States’ argument: slaves are only
property, so they do not need to pay tax
 Northern states’ argument: proportion
number of Congress representatives would
be reduced if slaves are not regarded as
human beings
 Compromise: each slave is regarded as 3/5
free person.


IV-3. Events Escalated to the Civil War
Territory expansion intensified conflicts between free
states and slave states
 Louisiana Purchase in 1803
 The Mexican-American War in 1846-1848

Missouri Compromise of 1820
Compromise of 1850-Fugitive Slave Act
Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
in 1852
 Lincoln’s speech: "A house divided against
itself cannot stand." I believe this
government cannot endure, permanently
half slave and half free.
 The last straw -Abraham Lincoln’s election in
1860

Lincoln: "So this is the little lady who started
this great war”
IV-4. The Civil War & the Construction Era
1861-1876
Goals of the Civil War:
to preserve the union first
 to emancipate all the slaves as the second
goal

The Cost of the War



One of the earliest true industrial wars
Resulting in the deaths of 620,000 soldiers. Historian
John Huddleston estimates the death toll at ten
percent of all Northern males 20–45 years old, and 30
percent of all Southern white males aged 18–40
Psychological scars in America's collective memory
Continue
The Emancipation Proclamation in 1863
Strengthened the Union at the cost of
Confederation
 Confederation lost international support

13th Amendment: abolished all the slaves in
the US
14th Amendment: All persons born in the United
States are citizens……
15th Amendment:
granted African Americans the
right to vote
Lincohn’s Gettysburg Address:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Dlggkx6mks&feature=related
IV-5. Post-Construction Ear
Jim Crow laws from 1876-1965
Racial segregation in public places
Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896
"Separate but equal" remained standard doctrine in U.S.
law until its repudiation in the 1954 Supreme Court
decision Brown v. Board of Education
Disfranchisement through literacy test
mass racial violence against blacks by Ku
Klux Klan
Movie: the Rise and Fall of the Jim Crow
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChWXyeUTKg8
IV-6. The Civil Rights Movement 1955-1968
• Brown vs. Board of Education in 1954
• Non-violence resistance strategy
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•
•
•
•
Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott, 1955–1956
Desegregating Little Rock, 1957
Sit-ins, 1960
Freedom Rides, 1961
March on Washington in 1963
IV-7. Achievements in law
Civil Rights Act of 1964
John F. Kennedy in his civil rights speech of June 11, 1963,
"giving all Americans the right to be served in facilities which are
open to the public—hotels, restaurants, theaters, retail stores, and
similar establishments," as well as "greater protection for the right
to vote."
Voting Rights Act of 1965 outlawed discriminatory voting
practices that had been responsible for the widespread
disenfranchisement of African Americans in the U.S.
IV-8. Achievements of the Civil Rights Movement

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
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

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

Barack Obama, the first African American president of
the US.
Thurgood Marshall &Clarence Thomas became the 1st
& 2nd African-American Supreme Court Justice.
Douglas Wilder became the first African-American
elected governor in U.S. history in 1989.
Deval Patrick, current governor of Massachusetts.
Carol Moseley-Braun the first Senator in 1992.
8,936 black officeholders in the United States in 2000,
showing a net increase of 7,467 since 1970.
484 black mayors in 2001.
Chancellor and provost at UMass Boston.
Make “All men are created equal” a reality
Build a more fair & harmonious society.
IV-9. A long journey of racial equality &
harmony
Clyde Kennard (June 12, 1927–July 4,
1963)
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





1956, 57, 59 to Southern Mississippi
College
1959 reckless driving by a perjury
1960 “paid theft” sentence of 7 years in
prison by a accomplice
Died in 1963
2005: Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour’s
decision not to pardon him
2006: the Mississippi State Parole Board’s
decision
2006: Judge Bob Helfrich’s decision:
"To me, this is not a black and white issue; it's a right
and wrong issue. To correct that wrong, I am
compelled to do the right thing."
Conclusion
Racial challenges put America into a civil
war. With the cost of hundreds of
thousands people’s lives, American
leaders and people avoided a national
split, and established a foundation for a
rapid industrial development in the second
half of the 19 century, and made the US
the largest economy by 1890s.
Continue
Again racial conflicts put America into social
disturbances and violence in 1960s. The
success of the Civil Rights Movement
made the statement “all men are created
equal” become true. However, racial
equality & harmony is still an incomplete
journey in the history of the United States.
Discussion
Why did the Civil Rights Movement
succeed?
What is the significance of the Civil
Rights Movement?
Is racial issue still a problem in today’s
America?
Conclusion
American people experienced quite a
few critical crises in the history. With the
wisdom, courage, experience and
vision, American people overcame
these challenges. They moved forward
one step further after solving each
crisis.
Questions?
Xie xie
Zai jian