The middle class believed that because they were the ones working and earning the country’s wealth, they were deserving of the vote. Indeed, there was growing respect for the so-called urban artisans and the skilled working class whose voices were only now beginning to be heard. As the population moved away from rural areas into towns and cities, the landowning aristocrats of those rural areas started to lose their power. With people living and working closer together and improved communication, ideas like democracy and liberalism increased dramatically in popularity. However despite all of these changes in attitudes Britain was still primarily ruled and governed by the upper and upper-middle-class aristocracy.
It was the middle sort who made up the mass of the population and therefore to say their support is crucial is also to say that stereotypically, the middle sort were those who fought for and supported the ideology of, parliament. The ‘spontaneous enthusiasm of the yeoman families’(source 8) to fight in battle for the Puritan oligarchy reiterates how the middle sect were fighting on behalf of parliament because of their status in society. Source 8 agrees with the fact that those who fought for Parliament did so, because of class as a determining factor; men like ‘tradesman Nehemiah Wallington… clothier Samuel Priestley… and townsman John Coulton, sustained the parliamentarian cause in the field.’(Source 8) These entrepreneurial men, were independent from the kind and could survive without inherited wealth. They had generated their own background of wealth through hard work and innovative ideas, and fought for parliament because they did not need to rely on the king for their continued success. Their class – as the middle sect, fought for parliament because the hierarchical structure was something they regarded as unimportant to their success and in some ways, even hindered their development and progress.
The Best and Worst of Americas Presidents Throughout U.S history there have been many good presidents and also many bad presidents. I believe that presidents should be graded on how they handle the economy, foreign policy, and equal rights. From our first president to our current president those I believe are the three most important grading points. A good economy is very important because it gives people a better living by giving them job opportunities and a way for people to make money. Foreign policy is important because it has a lot to do with the trade, technology, and communications of the United States.
They created a world where a few families owned most of the wealth. To strengthen ties & harness control of everything,..they strategically married into other wealthy powerful, families. They created laws to protect their wealth & power & appointed people to enforce the laws that would ensure they maintained their grasp on the control of everything & everyone. 3. Describe the disproportionate distribution of wealth in Boston, Philadelphia, and New York.
Roosevelt had a great impact on America by changing the relationship between the national government and the people changed drastically. The government took on a greater role in the everyday social and economic lives of the people. Theodore Roosevelt had a great effect on the great depression because he happened to be the right guy at a very bad time. Roosevelt had a plan called the New Deal to help America back on its feet. The New Deal programs of FDR created a liberal political alliance made up of labor unions, blacks and other ethnic and religious minorities, intellectuals, the poor, and some farmers.
Part of the system is the introduction of proportional representation that meant parties in the Riechtag would gain seats depending upon the number of votes they got in the most recent election. The consequence of this was that it brought a number of parties together with the help of another key feature of the constitution, the “Bill of Rights”. This meant that parties could express their views, as the “Bill of Rights” was a law that gave people the freedom of speech. This union made representation of many opposing parties very open, which effectively made the Weimar constitution more democratic. However P.R made it difficult for a lot of parties to gain a majority of seats in the Reichstag, which made it harder for one major party to take control of the country.
Media: It’s Target and Portrayal for Profit Will the media portray just anything for profits? Media refers to the many ways of communication. Examples of media can be television, newspaper and radio. It widely influences and reaches an individual’s life. Media has a major influence on politics; it influences the president all the way from his campaign till the elections.
Two pieces of legislation were passed in 1884/1885. Who benefitted from the acts and how? In 1884 Gladstone decided to introduce the great reform act, he was a Prime Minister at that time, and his main opponent was Salisbury, leader of the conservatives. William Gladstone believed that his Liberal party would benefit from the act, as it would extend the vote to the counties – farmers and miners. Immediately we can see he his motives of trying to introduce The Great Reform Act as great number of Liberal voters consisted of working class (famers and miners).
To what extent was Germany a parliame ntary democracy in the years 1900-1914? In the years 1900-1914, Germany was a parliamentary democracy due to the concessions and the laws that were being introduced that benefitted the growing working class. The definition of a parliamentary democracy is that there should be people who are elected to represent the country and the elected body should have more power. Though, there are clear signs that despite of all of the laws and the responsibilities given to certain groups, the Kaiser still had the ultimate power and control over Germany and the Chancellor still had overriding power of the Reichstag. Arguments to agree with the statement is that Germany did have a voting system and this was done on universal suffrage for all males over the age of 25, which was exactly the same in countries such as Britain and France and arguably better than America who discriminated against racial minorities.
This is an exception in under-developed countries such as India where a caste system is still present. Priestland’s belief is that through studying the past and how society functioned, we can understand and solve current day economic and social issues. The middle class has become the dominant factor in how most countries operate and succeed especially in the United States. After reading Merchant Soldier Sage: A New History of Power, I too am a strong believer in studying the past and how it has created the world as we know it and the world to come. Works Cited: Priestland, David.