Segregation
After the abolition of slavery the segregation appeared - separate schools, pubs, restaurants etc. - which were said to be “equal” but they weren’t. Segregation continued until 1950’s.
First protests started in Montgomery in Alabama in 1955 - segregation in the city
buses - seats for the blacks and for the white. The famous black person - Rose
Parks - sat in the middle section in the city bus, she refused to stand up, she didn’t want to give her sit to the black, and finally the police came and arrested her. Over
the weekend - the black people decided to start a boycott of the buses - they didn’t use buses and it continued over 1 year. A leader of the boycott was- Martin Luther
King - a pastor - he decided to continue his boycott - NON VIOLENT CIVIL
DISOBEDIENCE - After 1 year the Supreme Court decided that the segregation on the bus was illegal (1956) .
MARTIN LUTHER KING :
- encouraged the Blacks to protest without violence
- famous speech “I have a dream” 1963 - inspiring one, he gave it after the
march on the Washington
- associated with the “Civil Rights Movement”
1964 - Civil Rights Act - was signed , guaranteed equal rights
NAACP - National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
Individualism
- it has 2 sources
- strong philosophical roots related to the philosophy of transcendentalism
- and related to the frontier experience
- indignity of the individual transcendental thinkers :
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Henry David Thoreau
Walt Whitman
Ralph Waldo Emerson:
- was an American essayist, philosopher and poet, best remembered for leading
the transcendentalist movement of the early 19th century
- America should not look a the Europe anymore
- self reliance
- America should avoid the “dead” culture of the Europe
- a champion of individualism and prescient critic of the countervailing pressures
of society
Henry David Thoreau :
was an American author, poet, naturalist, tax resister, development critic,
surveyor, historian, philosopher, and leading transcendentalist -essay
“Civil Disobedience” - an argument for individual resistance to civil
government in moral opposition to an unjust state
- he influenced Mahatma Gandhi
Walt Whitman :
- poet who celebrated individuals
- the most influential poets in the American canon
- major work “Leaves of Grass”
FRONTIER - the inhabited land in America
What was life like at the frontier ? :
- very strong individuals
- completely independent
- face the obstacles : wilderness, Indians, diseases
People that were famous for their frontier life:
- Daniel Boone
- Davy Crockett
Nowadays the individuals are differently seen , for e.g. the one that starts Big
Business.
Frontier experience relations :
- psychology of abundance - people believed that America has an unlimited
wealth
- mobility - people are willing to move , to change their job, place of living, or
just to start somewhere else a new life, not attached to one place, it is seen as
a positive aspect
- this idea was also used by J. Kennedy - he promised the “New Frontier” e.g.
conquering the space
- patriotism - Americans are very attached to their country, they believe in the
Government and federal institutions, proud of their country, believe that their
values are the best
- progress - technological progress - e.g. the car, the computer. They believe
that they will improve their lives , social progress
American dream :
- to dream of a land where life should be better, richer, happier.
- dream of a good life which is possible to reach some kind of contentment.
- the dream of a country where a life should be better, richer filler, for every
individual, where everybody have opportunity according to his abilities.
- popularized on Rags-to-Riches stories ,- by hard work, commitment he can
achieve success
- this dream is really not available for everyone
Many Americans started to ask themselves whether those values are important , it started in 1960’s .
Why did Americans started to questioning their values ?
- the War in Vietnam - the war that America lost, the war that continued for
many years. They suddenly understood they could be conquered. The very
young people went there and died or became crippled
- assassination of Kennedy (1963) - the first catholic president , supported
Blacks and civil rights (“Hair” musical)
the Watergate scandal - resignation of R. Nixon (“All the president’s man”)
corruption , elected for the 2nd term but it was discovered that the president’s
people heard the people form the Democratic Party , their conversations were
taped , the whole room was bugged and the president could know what there
are up to - EAVESDROPPING the Democratic Party in a Watergate Hotel.
-for the first time Americans started to be bewaring of the oil crisis , the
production of oil was smaller , and it resulted in lack of the oil in the USA
-for the first time they began to be aware of the pollution , environment,
recession, overpopulation, inflation, high unemployment problems.
They started believing in those old fashioned values again later on - when R. Reagan became a president
1976 - a lot of Americans were very skeptical - 20 years after the Americans became independent , everything was falling apart.
ZJAZD 3 [Religion]
In the USA religion is very popular and good times don’t make Americans less
religious. There are more religious places than there are gas stations. On Sunday many people go to church lot of young people obey religion rules and claim to be religious. People are much more religious. The Constitution guarantees the freedom of religion. God is often mentioned everywhere.
What are the reasons for being so religious ?
- partly because of the puritans
- secondly - 1692 - Salem - Rebecca Nurse was accused of witchcraft , of
being a witch. Many other women and man were accused of witchcraft. The
witch-hunt , witch mania achieved large proportions and nobody was beyond
suspicion. The court trail taken place and people supposed to give evidence -
people claimed that they could see the spirit of Rebecca and the spirit was
tormenting them - A SPECTRAL EVIDENCE . Rebecca was found not guilty
but the court was determined to find sth. and her body was examined and they found some warts.
Some of the Religious Puritans believed the God was angry at Puritans . Reasons :
- bloody wars with Indians
- King of England - Colony charter
Cotton Mather - a clergymen published the book about epidemics of witchcraft , after the book was published people started to look for it everywhere.
Witchcraft started from the small girl that accused Tituba from Barbados - a slave - of witchcraft. Tituba was a person not really socially desirable , person who didn’t obey strict puritan rules, but later on it affected other people.
Why is this witch-hunt so often mentioned ?
Because it shows sth. very typical of an American religion - Puritans were very
fanatic . Nathaniel Hawthorne - “The Scarlet Letter” - the strict Puritan village
described there. It’s a bout a woman that has to wear the scarlet letter on her chest. A - for adultery , she was condemned.
A period of religious indifference - esp. in Massachusetts
The Great Awakening of the Faith (1730-1740)
The Second Great Awakening (1790’s - 1840’s ) - The great religious revival , very important, had influence on social issues.
These were the protestant’s movements, it had some influence on
transcendentalism. Priests went to people to talk about God, religion, slavery, woman rights, equality, injustice, poverty.
Mormonism
Religion , typically American one, relatively new , started in 19th century. Very
powerful group nowadays. They’re also called - The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).Founded by Joseph Smith in 1830. He was 25
years old then. At the age of 15 he began to have certain visions in one of his
dreams he met the Angel called Moroni and that angel told him direction to a certain book written on a golden plates in hieroglyphic letters. John translated it and and it became the most important boo called “The Book of Mormon” - it’s the sacred text and the base for of the Mormon Church.
The practice of polygamy was the difference just because of this practice they could not stay in one place for very long time. It started in the state of N.Y. but they had to move into the west.
In Illinois (1844) where Joseph Smith was taken into prison - the crowd attacked the prison and killed him .
Brigham Young led the Mormons in the place where they remained until now - Utah
- they set up a city - SALT LAKE CITY . After Joseph Smith death many people
thought it’s the end but there in Utah they became a very successful community. The
polygamy conflict was still present. Utah wasn’t a state but it wanted to join the USA .