At the end of the Civil War the United States went through a period of incredible economic growth. This period is often referred to as the Industrial Era where capitalist industries went through extreme expansion by great increases in production of many commodities such as steel, petroleum, coal, and wheat and corn due to advancements in agricultural machinery. There were many groups with dissimilar views on how this new industrial America. There were multiple trade unions which fought for the rights of workers and asked for government aid for the people in poverty in America. In spite of these groups there were many capitalist corporations that supported the horrid theory of Social Darwinism that implied the government shouldn’t be involved in the capitalist system and should not give aid to those who were in need. The only groups that actually posed any threat to overthrowing the wretched system were radicals like Eugene Debs who realized the truth that capitalism was in fact exploitive and would do anything in order to get achieve capital and profits. The efforts of trade union movement to reform the horrible and corrupt capitalist system were futile because in their efforts to reform the system they allowed capitalism’s continued existence and under the logic of there is no good capitalism they completely failed because in their attempt to reform the system it only ended up furthering the system through not confronting Social Darwinism directly, not realizing the futileness of the American Dream under a capitalist system, and attempting to go through the government to create a slightly less unkind system of capitalism which ultimately failed and only furthered the system for it is impossible to solve within the system.
Social Darwinism is one of the most controversial ways to look at the world. Social Darwinism is a tool of capitalism to justify their exploitation of humans and resources which will lead to ecological destruction and genocide and was responsible for American slavery. By the efforts of the trade unions to make a faintly less offensive form of capitalism they only furthered the system because capitalism will always feed off of slight “improvements” to the system and use them for its own advantage to further please the people at the top of the system in their drive for profits and accumulation. The multiple trade unions failed to stop the horrible philosophy of Social Darwinism because it is too deeply rooted in capitalists justification for horrible acts like American slavery, a system directly caused by a drive for profits because slave labor was economically beneficial. The attempts of slave union groups to work with capitalism only led to the furthering of the Social Darwinism favoring the protection of the rich and wealthy and only increasing the rapid accumulation a select few profit from.
Capitalism also profited from the ludicrous idea of the “American Dream.” This dream simply stated that with hard work and self determination in America anyone can reach the top. This theory foolhardy and was and is a tool of capitalism to keep its workers in check and avoid any possible way to destroy the system. The trade unions tried to bring more rights to workers by making simple renovations to capitalism and were not successful in addressing capitalism directly which actually ended up making capitalism more powerful. The American Dream helped capitalism by spreading the lie that with hard work anyone could do whatever they wanted. This is very conveniently worded for capitalists. If a worker asks why his life has not gotten any better in his 12 hour work day the capitalist profiteers may tell him make it a 14 hour work week and you may get somewhere. The fact of the matter is capitalism favors only a select few and requires everyone else to be at the bottom of the system in poverty working hard for these select few. The stupidity of the American Dream is tremendous for it is unattainable in the capitalist system.
Trade unions failed to realize that going through the federal government was futile. One of the horrible traits of corporations in a capitalist economic system is that they also take control of the political system. It only makes sense then that trade unions would fail to accomplish anything by going through the government for it would be too deeply rooted in capitalist corporations. An example of how the corporations held control of the American government is the many protective tariffs the United States government implemented that protected these corporations and the fact they left large corporations untaxed. This shows how Social Darwinism is only used for capitalists when it comes to helping the poor. They look the other way when the government helps them, but quickly say it violates the theory of Social Darwinism when the government does anything helping the poor. Trade unions failed to realize the stranglehold capitalism had on them and the government and that it was pointless to make minor reforms.
To conclude, the trade union movement was not successful in during the post-Civil War era because it did not confront the capitalist system that began to grow rapidly. The only possible way to destroy the corrupt capitalist system was a full on rejection a few individuals such as Eugene Debs supported. A horrible evil that is a tremendous part of the capitalist system was Social Darwinism which was not confronted by a failure to destroy the capitalist system. Trade unions also didn’t realize that the American Dream was a tool of the capitalist system in order to make their laborers work harder in their drive for profits. Trade unions made another mistake by thinking that they could use the government to help solve their problems, which was a failure because the corporations had far too much influence on the government, which actually contradicted their whole Social Darwinist argument because they were greatly involved with the American government. The only way capitalism can be destroyed is by all out rejection of the system because reforming the system can only result in complete failure by furthering the system.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Saturday, December 6, 2008
To What Extent did the Compact Theory cause the Civil War?
Well I didn't plagerize on this essay, but from know on I will just read ahead of time and write the essay without outside materials.
During the early nineteenth century, the early years of the American government, there were large conflicts as to how strong the federal government would be in relation to the states’ government. A strong federal group in the early American democracy was the Hamiltonians. Followers of this group consisted of federalists who were strong advocates for the Contract Theory, where the people not the states held power over the government. In opposition to the Contract Theory was the Jeffersonians. The Jeffersonians advocated for the Compact Theory, which felt that the states held power over the federal government and should be allowed to declare any laws of the federal government null and void if they felt they were unconstitutional. Over history there were a multitude of efforts by both the Compact and Contract Theorists to implement their beliefs into the youthful American government. The Compact Theory would later be applied in the Civil War by the states’ feeling they had the right to secede from the federal government. The Civil war was remarkably caused by the efforts of the Compact Theorists through multiple labors for the implementation of states’ rights, most notably, the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions, John C. Calhoun’s protests of the “Tariff of Abominations” with the South Carolina Exposition and Protest, and South Carolina’s response to the tariff of 1832, altogether ultimately leading to secession.
One of the first great states’ rights efforts by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, both Compact Theorists, were the Virginia and Kentucky resolutions passed in 1798. These two resolutions helped bring up the idea of nullification, a huge component of the Compact Theory, by individual states refusing to comply with federal laws, specifically, the Alien and Sedition Acts. These resolutions were an enormous breakthrough for states’ rights advocates because it assisted the idea the states could declare certain federal laws null and void. The Virginia and Kentucky resolutions, although were not directly made to affect the Civil War, were a large factor in inciting the Civil War because they helped bring into play the Compact Theory which would later bring the secession of Southern states.
A tremendous states’ rights advocate was John C. Calhoun of South Carolina. The federal government had passed a protective tariff for Northern industries, known as the “Tariff of Abominations” in the South, which consequently harmed the South’s economy. In response to this, in 1828, Calhoun secretly wrote the South Carolina Exposition and Protest which fought for the idea of nullification. It openly implied that the states should ignore the tariff within the states’ limits. This protest was a great continuation of the principles of the Compact Theory. This would, in due course, assist in the secession of multiple states from the Union because they felt that it was their right as states to apply slavery and the federal government should have no position in denying it, after all there was nothing in the constitution that said slavery should be illegal.
In 1832 Congress passed another protective tariff. This tariff enraged South Carolinians. Behind their leader John C. Calhoun they declared that the tariff, essentially, did not apply to South Carolina. President Andrew Jackson, who furious about the nullification of South Carolina’s decision to simply ignore the tariff threatened invasion of South Carolina. Calhoun, noticing his awkward position, resigned from his position of Vice President. Later, next year, Congress reduced the tariff. This event, however, was a great movement in the idea of nullification and secession and was a step towards the South seceding from the Union causing the catastrophic event of the Civil War.
In conclusion, the Civil War was caused by multiple efforts of states’ rightists for the implementation of the Compact Theory. The Virginia and Kentucky resolutions were one of the first steps made by the Compact Theorists to nullify laws made by the federal government. Another very important effort made by the states’ rightists was the South Carolina Exposition and Protest passed by John C. Calhoun to give states’ the right to ignore the tariff of abominations. Lastly, the efforts by John C. Calhoun and South Carolina to declare the tariff of 1832 null and void were a tremendous step towards Southern secession. The Civil War was caused by the idea that the states’ should be allowed to ignore federal laws they saw unconstitutional, which ended up including slavery for there actually was nothing in the Constitution that forbade slavery.
During the early nineteenth century, the early years of the American government, there were large conflicts as to how strong the federal government would be in relation to the states’ government. A strong federal group in the early American democracy was the Hamiltonians. Followers of this group consisted of federalists who were strong advocates for the Contract Theory, where the people not the states held power over the government. In opposition to the Contract Theory was the Jeffersonians. The Jeffersonians advocated for the Compact Theory, which felt that the states held power over the federal government and should be allowed to declare any laws of the federal government null and void if they felt they were unconstitutional. Over history there were a multitude of efforts by both the Compact and Contract Theorists to implement their beliefs into the youthful American government. The Compact Theory would later be applied in the Civil War by the states’ feeling they had the right to secede from the federal government. The Civil war was remarkably caused by the efforts of the Compact Theorists through multiple labors for the implementation of states’ rights, most notably, the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions, John C. Calhoun’s protests of the “Tariff of Abominations” with the South Carolina Exposition and Protest, and South Carolina’s response to the tariff of 1832, altogether ultimately leading to secession.
One of the first great states’ rights efforts by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, both Compact Theorists, were the Virginia and Kentucky resolutions passed in 1798. These two resolutions helped bring up the idea of nullification, a huge component of the Compact Theory, by individual states refusing to comply with federal laws, specifically, the Alien and Sedition Acts. These resolutions were an enormous breakthrough for states’ rights advocates because it assisted the idea the states could declare certain federal laws null and void. The Virginia and Kentucky resolutions, although were not directly made to affect the Civil War, were a large factor in inciting the Civil War because they helped bring into play the Compact Theory which would later bring the secession of Southern states.
A tremendous states’ rights advocate was John C. Calhoun of South Carolina. The federal government had passed a protective tariff for Northern industries, known as the “Tariff of Abominations” in the South, which consequently harmed the South’s economy. In response to this, in 1828, Calhoun secretly wrote the South Carolina Exposition and Protest which fought for the idea of nullification. It openly implied that the states should ignore the tariff within the states’ limits. This protest was a great continuation of the principles of the Compact Theory. This would, in due course, assist in the secession of multiple states from the Union because they felt that it was their right as states to apply slavery and the federal government should have no position in denying it, after all there was nothing in the constitution that said slavery should be illegal.
In 1832 Congress passed another protective tariff. This tariff enraged South Carolinians. Behind their leader John C. Calhoun they declared that the tariff, essentially, did not apply to South Carolina. President Andrew Jackson, who furious about the nullification of South Carolina’s decision to simply ignore the tariff threatened invasion of South Carolina. Calhoun, noticing his awkward position, resigned from his position of Vice President. Later, next year, Congress reduced the tariff. This event, however, was a great movement in the idea of nullification and secession and was a step towards the South seceding from the Union causing the catastrophic event of the Civil War.
In conclusion, the Civil War was caused by multiple efforts of states’ rightists for the implementation of the Compact Theory. The Virginia and Kentucky resolutions were one of the first steps made by the Compact Theorists to nullify laws made by the federal government. Another very important effort made by the states’ rightists was the South Carolina Exposition and Protest passed by John C. Calhoun to give states’ the right to ignore the tariff of abominations. Lastly, the efforts by John C. Calhoun and South Carolina to declare the tariff of 1832 null and void were a tremendous step towards Southern secession. The Civil War was caused by the idea that the states’ should be allowed to ignore federal laws they saw unconstitutional, which ended up including slavery for there actually was nothing in the Constitution that forbade slavery.
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