Through his incredible array of sourcing that includes both primary and secondary sourcing, there is much to take away from this book that previous works do not include. While there are brief areas of criticism that can be stated about this book, Walter Johnson provides the literature of the Old South with a comprehensive, yet a refreshing take on the importance and devastation of
City life was changed drastically in the 1800s. “The most extensive urban renewal… took place in Paris in the 1850s. George Haussmann… built wide boulevards and splendid public buildings... Gradually, settlement patterns shifted” (250). Before, the streets were narrow and people didn’t have a lot of work to come by, and the reconstruction of the areas created many jobs. The poor began to live near the center of the city while the rich moved to nice neighborhoods on the outskirts. More improvements came about that made living in the city more appealing. “Paved streets made urban areas much more livable… Beneath the streets, sewage systems made cities healthier places to live… In large cities, single-family middle-class homes gave way to multistory
Throughout this weeks reading on Chapter 4, we focus in on the Progressive Era and the establishment of urban America. The industrial revolution was at its peak and the United States was developing rapidly. Immigration, manufacturing output, and urban development grew faster than any other time in the nation’s history. Not only that, but scientific developments changed lives and revolutionary theories challenged traditional beliefs. As Rury suggests, “ . . . it is probably safe to say that there was a greater degree of social change at the point than any other, simply because of the magnitude of economic expansion an population movement” (Rury 136). It was a time of globalization, when there was movement around the world on an unprecedented scale. Even when compared to
Humans live in a world where moral values are very clearly set determining what is good and what is bad. We know what scares us and how racism should be treated. Nevertheless, this was not the case back in Alabama during the 1950s. In the famous novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee narrates the lives of the people of Maycomb, Alabama, focusing on the story of Scout and Jem Finch, and the case of a said to be rape. In this emotion filled narrative, readers learn how life was back then not only in general, but for the separate social statuses that there was.
The southern portion of the United States had a connection between the slaves and slave holders. Slaves stood as immensely important to the southern economy and the social structure. Depending on how many slaves a person had, and how much land they obtained, it assisted in determining their social ranking and their overall influence on the community. These aspects fueled the notion of masculinity, one of Olsen’s main points throughout the book. Olsen discusses the importance for the Mississippians to act tough, participate in a group, and to protect the ones that reside inside the inner circle.
Civil rights issues stand at the core of Anne Moody’s memoir. However, because my last two journal entries centered on race and the movement, I have decided to shift my focus. In her adolescent years, Anne Moody must live with her mother, her mother’s partner Raymond, and her increasing number of siblings. As she reaches maturity, she grows to be a beautiful girl with a developed body. Her male peers and town members notice, as does her step father Raymond.
How does Harper Lee vividly capture the effects of racism and social inequality on the citizens of Maycomb county in ‘To kill a mockingbird’? In the novel, ‘To kill a mockingbird’, Harper Lee conveys the theme of racism and social inequality by setting up the story in Maycomb, a small community in Alabama, the U.S back in 1930s. Lee presents some of the social issues of 1930s such as segregation and poverty in the novel. These issues are observed and examined through the innocent eyes of a young girl, Scout, the narrator.
However, Cartwright uses both the original text and Hargrove’s essay to make his readers side with him. Even to me, it seemed that Bambara alludes to a socio-economic argument even within the African Americans within the story; whereas, after reading Cartwright’s composition I had a change of mind which is why I chose it for analysis. For example, both works have social, historical, and cultural connotations making them ideal reads for people of all backgrounds, ages, and ethnicities. Jerome Cartwright provides us with the specific additional lessons Miss Moore is teaching the children in Harlem; for instance, brotherhood, everyday experience, and most importantly initiative. Furthermore, he includes so many good examples explaining his take on the most important conflict in the story, the one between Silvia and Miss Moore, which satisfies the ethos
From the 1880’s into the 1960’s, a majority of American states enforced segregation through Jim Crow laws. In her story, “In My Place,” Charlayne Hunter Gault recounts an experience of hers that describe the horrifying governing principles that people had to follow and live with on a day to day basis. The ending of these principles was a task that required courageous and cunning characteristics as well as a dedicated soul. Throughout her experiences, Ms. Hunter unknowingly began the generation of a movement that would soon lead to the latter years of segregation as well as the Jim Crow laws. Although Charlayne Hunter Gault's experiences were wearisome and problematic, Hunter dramatizes her audiences experience by addressing her “caged bird”
“Coming of Age in Mississippi”, a memoir by Anne Moody, details her life story from childhood through her years at college as a young adult in the prime of the civil rights movement in the rural southern United States. This book was first published by Bantam Dell Publishing in 1968, and has been deemed a classic in its recount of Moody’s personal and political struggles against racism as an African American female in the South. I believe this book’s subject matter is social in nature, and deals with many issues including race, class, gender and politics. With the above mentioned, it is my belief that this book is very relative to the social sciences field.
The contemporary distinctive patterns of segregation and poverty in the United States often relate back to the issue of race. Scholars have looked at the institutional forces that shape differential life outcomes of American racial minorities, particularly African Americans, to explain such patterns. Massey and Denton explore racial residential segregation in the United States throughout the 20th century. They argue that the making and concentration of the (African American) underclass in inner cities resulted from institutional and interpersonal racism in the housing market that perpetuates already existing racial segregation. Amanda Lewis and colleagues adds more insight to Massey and Denton’s investigation with their comprehensive overview
After recent protests in Baltimore, Badger (2016) explores the nature of policies set in the early 1900’s that have shaped the city of Baltimore, and that continue to have an effect on their quality of life. Actions such as redlining and urban renewal have perpetuated poverty and segregation in the same neighborhoods today as 75 year ago. This article calls attention to the effect of system-wide race discrimination in Baltimore, and how policies create a cyclical link between race and disadvantage in communities. Racial disparities across many subsystems have created a system of race discrimination in which it’s emergent effects implant uber discrimination into our culture and institutions (Reskin, 2012). Reskin (2012) explains how emergent discrimination intensifies disparities within each subsystem and creates systems of race discrimination.
Many Americans wonder why once-boomtowns like Chicago and Detroit have deteriorated into little more than ghetto villages surrounded by skyscrapers. The answer may be found in patterns from mid-20th-century urban segregation. Starting around the turn of the 1950’s, segregation laws intensified between whites and blacks, as portrayed in Lorraine Hansberry’s play, A Raisin in the Sun, named after the final line in one of Langston Hughes’ most famous poems. This created an idea of “white flight,” as white, middle-class citizens left urban areas out of fear that the presence of minorities would devalue their neighborhood land. In Hansberry’s story, the black, lower-class Younger family compares to the pattern of white flight observed in the mid-20th century by illustrating the xenophobia of whites, the occasional sleaziness of realtors, and the boldness of the minority groups during this period.
In the book “Killers of the Dream” by Lillian smith there are several ideas that are brought forward that really demonstrate that the author exaggerates the true situation and the state of affairs in the south. In the context of the book, the south was experiencing serious crisis when the whited propagated segregation against the blacks and other low class whites. The paper contains the author’s thesis and a summary of the author’s primary points. Additionally, the paper examines whether the authors account is incomplete, questionable or cases where the account does not make sense. The social profiling that resulted was regrettable and brought serious repercussions to the society in general.
The settlement patterns of African-Americans historically have been studied in detail: "When did race become so consequential for where people lived? Research on the 1930s and 1940s makes clear that there was class variation within the ghetto at that time, but that both middle class and working-class blacks were unable to escape its grasp … entrapment was a new development, and that previously ‘well-to-do African Americans’ had been more able to find housing commensurate with their social status” (Logan, Zhang & Shertzer, 2015, p. 9) As is evidence by this peer-reviewed journal article, there are multiple factors that influence the settlement patterns of African-Americans. Firstly, their initial location has a significant influence. The normal family and job ties exist, of course, but there are other factors.