Progressivism

Progressivism was in general a movement to curb the power of special interests. Historians like Richard Hofstadter have tried to argue that progressive reformers were afflicted by “status anxiety”, but there is not enough evidence to support it. I do believe that progressivism was an attempt at organizing and stabilizing the industrial economy and local settings, all to make sure the people had a say in their society. These progressives, including many women, wanted to enhance their own and others positions in society. This is why I believe that progressivism, although very diverse, was a movement to improve the majority of people’s lives over the few insanely rich that were emerging from the national economy

Populism

The populists had many reasons for resisting the economic developments that threatened them in the late 19th century. Although some historians believe that populism was potentially antidemocratic and dangerous, overall I believe it was legitimate resistance to oppression. Historians like Richard Hofstadter have argued that it rested on a romanticized and obsolete vision of the role of farmers in American society, but populist demands were legitimate. The role of farmers may have diminished in the economy, but their importance was still great, because people always need food to survive. Their suggestions of government-owned warehouses may have been on the extreme side, but their intentions of trying to avoid the new threat of a modern capitalist economy was reasonable.

Obama's approval rating

On cnn.com “Obama approval rating below 50 percent” from Washington, explains that President is approved by 48 percent of people in national survey by CNN/Opinion Research Corp. This is a drop of seven percent from last month and the biggest drop came from non-college educated white voters. This is most likely from unemployment and not from Obama’s new policy in Afghanistan. He is not the first president to have his approval rating dip below 50 percent in their first year as president; Reagan’s and Clinton’s also did too. I think these declines are reasonable because not everyone can like the policy’s he has established. What really matters is if in five years the results of his policies are beneficial.

Domestic Terror Threat

On newsweek.com, in the article “The Domestic Terror Threat” Paul Cruickshank points to the increasing number of radicalized Muslim Americans intent on committing violent jihad. There has been a spike in terrorism and in the past six months there have been nine cases of Muslims in the U.S. allegedly becoming involved in Islamist terrorism. This represents only a few of the 1.5 million American Muslims but according to a survey 7% have a “favorable” view of Al Qaeda. Radical preachers have increasingly used the Internet to encourage terrible acts by some, but luckily the Muslim community is largely immune to their messages. These figures are worrisome but I believe some of statistics are misleading. A “favorable” view can have many connotations and this article is narrowly focusing on a few alleged plots of terrorism. Despite these misleading figures I think it is terrible but necessary that we need to keep a close eye on people who pose a threat to our country in these ways.

Job Losses

An article by John W. Schoen on msnbc.com describes the unemployment figures released November 6. The grim number of people (16 million) out of a job in October meant the unemployment rate rose to 10.2 percent, which is over ten percent for the first time since 1983. As bad as this sounds, analysts say the economy is showing a slow but steady recovery. The number of jobs lost has been 188,000 in the past three months compared to 700,000 monthly earlier this year. People still wonder how the holiday spending season will turn out since consumer spending accounts for two thirds of economic activity. I think it is good that the number of people losing their jobs has slowed, but I’m unsure how much stuff people will buy in the upcoming holidays. A 10.2 percent unemployment rate can affect many people badly but I hope people can find ways to get a job to buy things without going into debt.

Housing Market

In “7 reasons housing is doomed” on msn.com, Louis Navellier writes of why he believes the housing market will continue to get worse. He uses data to explain how rough everything still is in housing and he believes that there is no recovery in sight. He acknowledges that building permits dipped 1.2%, that the market is still flooded with foreclosed homes, and that banks still aren’t lending money easily. I believe he looks at the situation way too pessimistically and I find that his argument is not supported strongly. He does not point out any of the improvements people have been seeing and it sounds like he thinks housing will never recover, which as shown in history, always eventually does.

American Revolution

I believe the American Revolution was mostly a political and intellectual event, with social and economical forces coming from these ideals. The Americans truly wanted liberty and representation, and believed they were being stripped of their natural rights. Even though the Tea Act actually made tea cheaper in America, the colonists still took a non-consumption standpoint because they didn’t like the idea of being taxed to raise revenue. They wanted their own legislative council who had the power of paying the royal governor and forcing him to sign bills. Many wealthy intellectuals believed Britain was trying to enslave America, and many of the poor joined the Revolution because they had nothing else. The colonists had gotten used to a loose connection to Britain, and after change occurred many retaliated because of ideals, not necessarily money.