“The kind of humor I like is the thing that makes me laugh for five seconds and think for ten minutes.” That was the first quote that came to my mind after I read this book. I enjoyed in author’s comical way of expressing his feelings. But, was Mr. Bryson a little harsh on Americans? This is the type of a book where you can actually have fun while reading. What attracted me to this book was the way the author expressed each occurrence in his rediscovery of America in a comical way.
Franklin D. Roosevelt: An American Legacy Franklin Delano Roosevelt served as President from March 1933 to April 1945, the longest tenure in American history. He may have done more during those twelve years to change American society and politics than any of his predecessors in the White House. Although, some of these changes were the product of extenuating circumstances; the Great Depression was beyond FDR's control. Through FDR’s psychological encouragement, reform acts, his jurisdiction as president, and his responses to the numerous challenges he faced as president he became a defining figure in American history. Roosevelt had an impelling talent for public speaking.
America had a tendency to fight for the little guy and many advances were made toward helping the little guy keep from being run over by corporations and the so-called “robber barons” of big business. Today however both major political parties seem to be at the disposal of “Corporate America”. Our country has gone through cycles. During the industrial revolution, we were unable to foresee many of the things corporations would do to get ahead and make money. We recognized the hazards that come with total capitalism and enacted plans to fix them.
It is evident the the role of government is becoming more important because society is depending on the government to solve the lasting problems of the economy, in politics, and social reforms. Franklin D. Roosevelt was confident that the New Deal program would fix these issues but many Americans including Herbert Hoover and Huey Long questioned the role of government and offered their own conjecture about the New Deal. The New Deal is aimed to stimulate the industrial recovery, to assist the victims of the Depression, to raise the quality of life standards and further to prevent future
In the beginning people thought that migrating to america was a great investment as if it was the main ingredient for the recipe to success. Little did they know spot were limited and given over time people got greedy and corruption began. the US became ruins due to increased crime rates, greed for power and money, increased costs of health care. we went from a prime example of being an extraordinary country to being a ruined one due to materialistic
Nevertheless, progressive reformers and the federal government were for the most part effective in bringing reform to the political, economic, and social problems throughout the country in the early 1900’s. Political problems during the Progressive Era were big issues due to the previous role of the political machine, a political organization contained of a boss and many people underneath who used bribery to obtain votes for their respective parties. The abuse of political machines pushed reformers toward the idea of a greater democracy. The most important reform in politics throughout the early 1900’s was that of the direct primary. The idea that voters could choose presidential candidates was new because normally only a select number of people would be able to do so.
The unsuccessful attempt to pass a strong enough stimulus package in 2008, the battles to continue unemployment benefits, the debt ceiling that impacted fiscal austerity when government should be investing in the economy, this corruption in our politics has done huge amount of pain in the average, 99 % of hard working Americans. According to our House Majority Leader Eric Cantor “there is too much spending that the United States is doing”. The recent bill passed by President Obama “The American Jobs Act” gave us only a quick hopeful mindset of policy debate before it, too, vanished in the take-no-prisoners
He mentioned that taxes had risen and people could not pay the taxes, trade was down, industrial enterprise had fallen, farmers could not sell their produce, and the savings of thousands of families was gone. Although those were all serious concerns, he said, “more important, a host of unemployed citizens face the grim problem of existence” (801). The unemployment rate was at an all time high of 25% and Americans were facing a bleak future. Roosevelt was smart to point out all of these issues in the beginning of his presidency because it showed Americans what he wanted to focus his efforts on and how he wanted to improve the country. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was exactly what America needed.
Industrialization of America Just like each chapter of history is important, because it makes a remarkable difference in our present time, a period of Industrial Revolution is very important as well, with no doubt. It had made a significant impact on each aspect of life in the country. The significance of the Industrial Revolution in the United States was shaped according to politics, economics and society, as well as the response of the progressives. Politics affected the Industrial Revolution both positively and negatively in the United States. The lack of action regarding government policies and control ultimately had a negative impact, and this lack of action fueled the revolution and allowed the economy to grow unfettered.
Elitism In America Elitism in America American democracy was designed to allow its citizens full control in choosing who will become their next leaders. However, at the present time this is not the case. It has been seen in recent elections that those in power are not what the popular opinion wanted. Rather we have the vast majority of America highly underrepresented and the minority controlling the government like puppets on a string. Elitism has become more apparent in American society in the past ten years than it ever has been.