Throughout American history, there have been changes that have shaped the way we live today. Some of them are small things, such as the way we vote and the requirements for citizenship, which do not affect every person at any given time. There are also many consistent ways we have lived in America throughout our history, such as the two-party system and how we are represented, which have been constant for a long period of time in the United States.
None of these things are as important as the end of segregation and our economic structure, capitalism. These two affect the entire country continuously throughout history, no matter who you are or what your beliefs or political views are. Capitalism is one of the longest and most important constants in America today. Its emphasis around the American Dream” defines America and appeals to many countries. You can own your own land, business, house, car, or almost anything you could ever want.
This is the very essence that has separated the United States from the rest of the world for a long time. The idea is that the harder you work and the better job you do, the more financial success you will have in your life. What would happen to America if we no longer had capitalism as our economic structure? There have been two times in American history when capitalism was almost taken away from us. If WWII had a different outcome, as it almost did, wouldn’t the country be almost forced into Fascism? This may seem like an unlikely outcome, but what would happen to the American Dream”?
During the Cold War, there was a stand-off between Capitalism and Communism. It was a very tense time, and some say it was just luck or a toss of the dice that we didn’t convert and the Soviets did. Since these changes would have happened in the last half-century, the effects would still be felt in America. What would happen to the “American Dream”? The way that everyone lived in this country would be completely changed. The way we did business, the way we bought clothes, when we went out to eat, everything. The reason for this is because Communism and Fascism are very extreme when compared to Capitalism.
Fascism is extremely right-wing, and a dictator controls the government, enforcing his power through the military. Communism is extremely left of center and has many citizen help programs, such as healthcare, Medicare, and welfare. This country already has a hard enough time dealing with these problems without the economy forcing them upon us. If capitalism were to change to anything else in this country, it would be the hardest adaptation the country could ever face, as seen in the current situation of the former Soviet Union. That kind of change is absolutely devastating to a country. An important change in American history has to be one that affects everyone at any given time. The period of segregation in this country affected everyone.
It affected how we rode the bus, where we went to school, where we lived, and it often affected people’s political views. When major things like these affect your daily life, people become involved. Since the end of the Jim Crow era, which began to end in the late 60s, to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which made it a federal offense to discriminate against a customer, a patron, or in employment because of race, color, national origin, religion, or sex. Before that, we had the 14th and 15th Amendments, which gave blacks the right to vote and equal protection. Segregation took on the country, discriminating against blacks and other minorities since the end of the Civil War when the Jim Crow era started.
Blacks had to go to different stores, schools, restrooms, neighborhoods, and even different water fountains. Whatever happened to the melting pot theory? How are people supposed to learn without understanding the other point of view? Segregation finally did come to an end and communities, schools, and other public places finally became multiracial and multicultural. What would have happened if such extreme segregation was still around today and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 didn’t pass and the case of Brown v Board of Education had a different result? Brown v Board of Education was a court case in which the court emphasized that the rights protected belong to each and every individual, not to the group to which he or she may belong.
