Class In America Gregory Mantsios Summary

The issue of slavery was a significant “thorn in the side” of America from the very inception of our nation. Despite the fact that slavery was an accepted legal phenomenon in the eighteenth century, it also invoked significant controversy. Many Americans, typically those denizens of the southern states, felt that slavery was an indispensable economic necessity. Alternatively, others opined that slavery was an inherently immoral and unethical institution which denied certain races basic human rights, and as such warranted abolition, no matter the consequences. Although the Constitution never mentions the word “slave” once, slavery is referenced to in the Constitution several times, in three prominent compromises that our founding fathers were forced to make, for the sake of the establishment of a unified nation. These compromises had a lasting impact on future generations, both legally and emotionally.

America, the land of equity, has the largest ratio of rich citizens to poor citizens at 12:1. Compared to Japan and Germany’s measly 4:1, this information is outrageous. America is shown to have the most skewed economic pyramid when denoting the amount of people on each side of the economic slide. The selection, Class in America - 2006, an academic paper by Gregory Mantsios, argues the existence and magnitude of class and economic standing in the United States; through the use of fact and opinion, he creates the visual of a society severely divided by economic standing. Gregory Mantsios effectively convinces the audience of the differences in class sanding that cause a significant impact in the lives of americans and economic spectrum with his use of logos, anticipation, and credible evidence.

The lower-class is seen as the class that is struggling financially. They are the “blue collars” and “low wage workers” and people who work for other people. They are the social class with little to no college education. They are seen as the ones who rent properties and with little to no savings. They are seen as the social class that abuses of the welfare system.

All Americans want their future generations to be well educated—at least, all Americans should. When it comes to the topic of education, critics attack it by claiming that there are issues with how our American students are being taught. Some believe that education is too focused in an argumentative culture and that environment narrows our perspective, while some argue that the issue is in the commercialization of our educational system. Collectively, educational value is destroyed. Authors Benjamin Barber, Deborah Tannen, and Gregory Mantsios all agree that our educational system is flawed. In spite of this, they do not necessarily agree on what the most important issue is with education. Nonetheless, it all boils down to this: our educational system is flawed and it must be examined and re-evaluated by teachers and administration in order to best serve our democratic arrangement; it is necessary that the argumentative culture be disbanded and that we focus on creating opportunities for students to flourish through a civic education.

Class in America, for lack of a better word, is a sore subject. “People in the United States do not like to talk about class.”(331) There are many myths that are taught today in America such as “The United States is fundamentally a classless society.”(333). Another myth would be “We are essentially a middle-class nation.”(333). A last example for myths includes “Everyone has an equal chance to succeed.” The largest if not only factor of class is wealth; how much income a family gets.

According to Slavery and Public History by James Olivier Horton, the collective memory of slavery in the United States has often neglected in creating a full narrative of the past. The painful and unflattering practice of slavery has been thoroughly neglected and misrepresented. Consequently, there is a divided collective memory of slavery amongst Whites and Blacks in the United States. While Black Americans remember the event with great pain, Whites do not acknowledge the harmful of effects of slavery. The effects of slavery have had a significant effects on Blacks which have translated in political, economic and social barriers. Unfortunately, due to a distorted retelling of the past has resulted in the assumption that slavery no longer affects

Paul Krugman, an economics professor at Princeton, writes “Confronting Inequality” chapter 7 in his book. Equality in America is what makes America, what it stands for. Social and economic inequality still is a part of everyday life in America. Education is making parents struggle because they want to give them a good education; but also, health care for those who need it. Middle-class starts to scramble more every day while the high-class gets more prosperous. Inequality in America is creating trouble to the lives of Americans.

The American dream is a dream of a land in which one can prosper with ambition and hard work. This idea has created many illusions for some because in reality the American dream is proven to be something that is rarely achieved. No individual is guaranteed success or destined for failure, but it is apparent that women, people of color, and those born into poverty will face greater obstacles than others, despite being a greater part of the American population. An author that tackles the issue of class in the United States is Gregory Mantsios. In his essay, “Class in America-2009”, Mantsios aims to prove that class affects people’s lives in drastic ways. Mantsios serves as a primary text for, “Serving in Florida” by Barbara Ehrenreich.

December the 6th, 1865 marks the end of slavery and white supremacy. A glance at the 21st century America manifests otherwise. Racism is an ongoing issue that contributes largely to class boundaries within significant aspects such as economy, education and society of the United States, making people of color inferior to white people. The key components that construct a country into greatness are economy, education and society. The inequality and injustice present in these interlinked components, bound by social class hierarchy, can lead to desisting the full potential to be a globally respectable nation.

In America after World War Two, citizens were split between classes based on their economic stability. Americans today still look at these classes and define these people as better off or worse off than the next person. Why do people judge others for having less money than them? Why do employers send lower class citizen away when they need the money the most? These are some question that citizens in the lower or middle class have when they are looking at their position in America’s economic system. Research shows that lower class citizens face more hardships to better their lives than those who are more stable.

Classism is a major issue that plagues American society. Classism separates groups by their economic status in society. America is perceived to be a middle class society, however in reality the middle class does not hold majority of the nation’s wealth. Most of the nation’s wealth is held by 1% of the population in America which consists of 34% of the nation’s wealth, meanwhile “the richest 20% of Americans hold nearly 85% of the total household wealth in the country” (Adams et al, 2013, p. 151). American citizens that are a part of the upper class are privilege because they have access to majority of the resources. They are not shut out from opportunities like the middle and lower class. The class that an individual is in affects their chance

The United States has had many foreign and domestic problems that shaped American society; fear, impacted civil liberties, escalated worldly crises and evoked counter threats from the start of the Reconstruction era throughout our nation’s current history. Some of these problems were depicted in political cartoons, newspaper articles, presidential speeches, proclamations, and photos. Many cruelties in the Reconstruction era came from racial violence, nationalism, and American Imperialism as implied in these documents.

"Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." - Thirteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. It was supposed it to be the end of the America's slave era, but it is far from over. The documentary “13th” directed by Ava DuVernay, argues that the constitution continues to be abused to this day.

American society, over the course of time, has shown itself to be profoundly resistant to change. In order for real change to occur in this nation either of these two must happen; a benefit to those in power or a viable threat. This is especially true in cases of civil rights and the nation's treatment of African Americans. As evidenced throughout American history, political and social change has only been allowed when it is advantageous to the nation's leaders and/ or economy. The emancipation proclamation, for instance, was not a result of President Lincoln’s abolitionist beliefs or moral compass, but a political strategy to win the civil war. This does not conclude that citizens of the United States are powerless to the will of the elite,