Analysis Of Lawrence C. Goodwyn 's ' The Sixties '

The Populist Party was the people’s party, hence the name Populist, the party was created in the late 1800s when the Southern Famer alliance contacted Powderly, the head of The Knights of Labor. The party’s first platform was called the Omaha Platform which called for the abolition of the national bank, graduated income tax, direct election of senators, civil service reform, an eight hour work week, and the gov’t control of railroads, telegraphs and telephones. The Populists supported the Prohibition

Also, to support his studies he uses the traditional writings and speeches of the past presidents at the time, “I give special attention to American liberals: presidents such as Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, and Lyndon Johnson…” to provide primary sources that can reinforce the research that he has completed (5). Therefore, Gerstle has this image of the Rooseveltian Nation in which civic and racial nationalism were both apart of. It is a concept where there is political and social equality irrespective of race or ethnicity, and yet the racial nation seeks to exclude those that do not have enough inherited fitness to self-govern themselves. This is somewhat contradicting to many individuals, because how can one have social equality for everyone in America and then exclude certain people based on their race? This is what Gerstle’s study is trying convey. There was a time where the racial nation was a significant part of the war and therefore this had brought forth the idea of “True Americanism” that caused many racial dilemmas and eventually led to the New Nationalism program, which was

This article focuses on the rise and fall of the “black-white coalition” of populist advocates in Grimes County, TX. The period of Reconstruction gave black people opportunities and power. For instance, during this time, blacks in Grimes County successfully formed a Republican organization. Despite white-supremacists of the Democratic party seeking to end the group, black Republicans managed to retain local power and send legislators to Austin, even after the period of Reconstruction ended. A few years later, a meeting was held in Grimes County in which candidates from black and “lily-white” Republican groups, and Independent Greenbackers were nominated for county offices. Among the candidates was Independent Greenbacker Garrett Scott. Unlike other candidates, Scott had a willingness to publicly associate with blacks. In fact, the article mentions that Scott undermined the idea of white solidarity. After winning the election for county sheriff, Scott became political allies with black district clerk, Jim Kennard. The two worked together to create the black-white coalition that became the People’s Party. The People’s party did well up until 1898. However, the coalition did not sit well with the men of the democratic party. The Democrats, led by J.G. McDonald, came together and held a covert meeting in which they planned to take back county offices that populists filled. This was the first of many meetings of the White Man’s Union. The union made their debut once the spark of

The democratization of American society that started in 1820s has led to a significant change of relations between government and people. These changes include growing equality of opportunities for white men and possibility for people to influence political processes taking place in the US. While people gained new rights and chances to start another life, government was, on the one hand, set under the growing pressure of society, and on the other hand, could be constructed by people.

They educated the public of their interests through publications and public speaking throughout the rural areas of America. Through education, they sought to appeal to the working class of people, mainly those who produced goods, as they believed in a strong community organization. The Populist Party tried to appeal to industrial workers, but failed to connect with the population of mostly immigrants and Catholics. Although Populism didn’t appeal to some people, it nevertheless worked towards providing democratic and economic opportunities for the working class of the United

The 1960’s were a time of radical change. It was a decade where people began to question authority, and time of confrontation. The decade's radicalism began with the assassination of John F. Kennedy in November of 1963. This event changed the country's idealistic views, and started an upheaval of civil rights movements. Baby boomers started a new perception, and formalized the act of resistance to war. There were also many of whom, turned violent and rebellious; in their effort to fight "the system."

Whatever of good may have come in these years of change, the shadow of a deep disappointment rests upon the Negro people,--a disappointment all the more bitter because the unattained ideal was unbounded save by the simple ignorance of a lowly people. The first decade was merely a prolongation of the vain search for freedom, the boon that seemed ever barely to elude their grasp,--like a tantalizing will-o'-the-wisp, maddening and misleading the headless host. The holocaust of war, the terrors of the Ku-Klux Klan, the lies of carpet-baggers, the disorganization of industry, and the contradictory advice of friends and foes, left the bewildered serf with no new watchword beyond the old cry for freedom" (Chapter 1). They thought the Black people did not enjoy their deserved rights, like the 14th and 15th Amendments. 14th Amendments provided civil rights for African Americans, and15th Amendments provided voting rights for African Americans. Ku Klux Klan preventing African American from using the 15th Amendment to enable them to vote. Ku Klux Klan was the terrorist arm of the Southern Democratic Party. The immediate goal of these groups was to keep white and black Republicans away from polling places. Their violent tactics, targeted at black leaders, escalated during Reconstruction. White mobs killed three state legislators during these turbulent times.

In “Populist Dreams and Negro Rights: East Texas as a Case Study,” Lawrence Goodwyn keys in on the triumphs of the People 's Party in Grimes County, Texas. I discovered Populism in Grimes County is the narrative of an interracial alliance that had its beginning in Reconstruction and persevered for more than an era. I resolved why the long post-Reconstruction period emerges as the social request that has been composed progressively along racial lines; the time period encroached as a brief gleaming light in parts of the South. I learned how some white Southerners have generally been a spread for the district 's skepticism and other issues. Goodwyn establishes a viewpoint about the possible results for a greater number of individuals voting in a free society. I understand that the variables of pressure and coercion caused an end to influence at the polling stations; there was corruption occurring with vote counts. The Grimes County story significantly describes this disappointment; however in the understanding, it gives into the hidden legislative issues of black disfranchisement and the accomplishment of a solid single-party political environment in the American South it is not one of a kind.

The Jacksonian Democrats are perhaps the most controversial political party in that their intended agenda of being guardians of the constitution was usually executed in ways that violated it. They viewed themselves as preservers of equal opportunity, political democracy, and individual liberty. Their role in slavery, the forceful removal of Native Americans, women’s voting rights, the power of states, and the issue regarding the national bank gave Andrew Jackson and his supporters tough challenges that proved marked their downfall. The Jacksonian Democrats exploited political democracy and benefited from it rather than actually protecting democracy. George Henry Evans was a chief supporter of the “common people.”

1. What economic issues gave rise to the Populist Party, and what political and economic changes did the party advocate? Why were they considered so radical?

Harry L. Watson’s book, “Liberty and Power, The Politics of Jacksonian America”, takes an analytical look at America and her politics during the Age of Jackson. Watson uses the economy and the ideological mindset of the people, to support a powerful argument about the beginning of American political parties and their importance in defining the political direction of the country. Watson argues that economic inequalities caused by the “Market Revolution” and a threat to American liberty caused Americans to organize politically in support of a

There was a widely accepted notion called populism that had led to an ‘us’ and ‘them’ concept,

The history of political parties in the United States has always hinged upon the key sectarian differences of the times in which such parties were existent. The very foundation of political parties in this country, which began with the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists, is demonstrative of this fact as those two groups were largely split on the issue of national versus states' rights and the implementation of a national bank. As the country matured from its initial beginnings in the latter part of the 18th century, the issues of sectarian differences evolved to include key aspects of sectional proclivities between the North and the South, and the impact of those differences on the burgeoning western portion of the U.S. The South favored slavery and the economic prosperity it brought to that region, whereas the North was in favor of the elimination of slavery and a transition to a more industrial economy. These sectarian distinctions were largely manifested in the political parties of the day, and explain the rise and dissolution of the national Democratic Party, which yielded to the Republican Party whose highly influential president Abraham Lincoln's election was integral in the loss of the Union and the beginning of the Civil War.

Today, political parties are an authoritative and essential component of the United States political system. However, it is important to examine how the political parties began and evolved over hundreds of years, since they were first established. In 1794, the major political parties were the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans. The major difference between these two was that the Federalists favored a strong central government, while the Democratic-Republicans preferred a central government with limited power and more state control. At the time of the election, it seemed that the prominent, distinguished Federalist Party clearly had the upper hand, but in the end the

To some people the 1960s were the best of times, to others it was a