“A Nation Under Siege”
In “American Crucible: Race and Nation In The Twentieth Century” by Gary Gerstle in his thesis he starts out by stating “ In this book, I argue that the pursuit of these two powerful and contradictory ideals – the civic and the racial – has decisively shaped the history of the American nation in the twentieth century”. (pg.5) How the nation was under new ideas and traits. Bringing in and shaping the war. He starts by comparing presidents who have changed or shaped the world as we see today such as president Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson who calls them “congressman of the 1920s and 1930s” men who changed the way the world thinks.
One way Gerstle proves how the congressmen have shaped the nation
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While reading the book I noticed that those two main key points pop up on almost every page of the book. In my finding I also noticed that Gerstle base national identity off of citizenship. In “American Crucible” Gerstle argues that civic nationalism and racial identity shaped the American history, “How both ideals influenced critical immigration and war mobilization policies” and how they “shaped social reform movements”(pg.5). Both ideas are very complex in their own right. Racial nationalism are set to believe that people are held together by common skin color and blood type for the government of self. While civic nationalism is said to be identified as “political and social equality for all irrespective of race.” However, the two contradicted each other, they were combined together for the rooseveltian nation, which Gerstle stated in his book, “ a nation whose outlines are discernible in the first two decades of the twentieth century and whose character would define American society from the mid 1930s to the mid-1960s.”(pg.8). We later on find out that Gerstle believed that the wars during that time sharpen us for the nation we live in now against the enemies we face. “ Wars provided opportunities to sharpen American national identity against external enemies who threatened the nations exestince, to transform millions of Americans whole loyalty was uncertain into ardent
“The Crucible” by Arthur Miller and The Red Scare share many characteristics. “The Crucible” describes the Salem Witch Trials. These trials were during a period of time where men and women were very rancorous so others feared to speak up because they would be accused of witchcraft and killed. Similar to Arthur Miller’s book, the Red Scare was a period of time in the late 40’s and 50’s in which United States citizens were intensely paranoid of an opposing threat of communism in Eastern Europe and Asia and ultimately communists infiltrating the United States. What the Red Scare and “The Crucible” have in common is that accusations of witchcraft or communism were false, people were blind to the truth, and the accusers weren’t very tactful and
Within the early revolutionary epoch of American history brought various interpretations of the country. Thomas Paine characterized this country in an excerpt from his work the Rights of Man. Unfortunately, Thomas Paine’s characterization of America does not entirely hold truth today, and can be evident in our country’s political and identity ideologies. The key points within the excerpt implies that America is a country where a multitude of cultures, religions, and languages coexist. Paine suggests that our government, which was created “on the principles of society and the rights of man”, is able to overcome the differences of political and racial beliefs.
A Shattered Confidence Arthur Miller’s The Crucible tells the story of how the Salem witch trials created a huge uproar and showed the fear of evil in the Puritan town. Young girls who were fooling around with witchcraft were able to save their reputation by blaming other citizens for using their spirit to compel them to see hallucinations and become unconscious. Reverend John Hale was called to save one of the young girl’s from “the devil” and also to free Salem from witchcraft. Through Reverend John Hale’s change from a confident savior to a guilty bystander, Miller illustrates the dangers of ignorance. Reverend Hale is passionate about saving Salem from evil spirits, being that he is well-educated on the subject.
By the 1950’s, America’s illusively plaid appearance was being disrupted by a growing multitude of problems: increasing visibility of poverty, rising frustrations from African American communities, and a growing angst concerning America’s position in the world. In response, the United States’ leaders sustained their constitutional promise to promote the general warfare of society, by confidently indorsing policies that directly attacked these problems-to the best of their ability. When President Lyndon Johnson, Kennedy’s successor, sworn into office, he believed in the active use of power and legislation. “Between 1963 and 1966, he compiled the most impressive legislative record of any president since Franklin Roosevelt” (Brinkley 784). Among
The 9/11 tragedy was a moment where people had their guard up at all times. This was a time where life had strike to reality of time warfare with every person and country. Couldn’t trust no one that came to the U.S. America is the land of the free and the home of the brave, were brave because the generations before us had to face what had happened and to what is going to happen. This had left the buildings torn instantly killing hundreds of many people, getting them stuck in the higher floors. This attack was the worst in America ever since the Pearl Harbor All over our nation saw a major impact of devastation in the face of the September 9, 2001attacks.
In history there have been many major events that have shaped the times we live in. Two of the major events of our time are the "witchunts" of the Salem Witch Trials and McCarthyism. The Crucible is a 1953 play by American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a drama and fictional story of the Salem Witch Trials that took place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony during 1692-1693. Miller wrote the play as a parable for McCarthyism, when the United States government ostracized people for being communists.
When push comes to shove, everyone makes a tough decision, but in the end the decision was either out of fear to protect themselves, or a strategy to gain a designated amount of authority. In today 's society, many of the decisions people make lead to riots in the streets and people getting hurt. Similarly, the Ferguson riot in Missouri years ago, where many civilians were injured because of decisions made by everyone involved. Whether it turned violent because they wanted to prove something or because they feared the police when they showed up. In the story, The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, the characters also illustrate the fact that it is human nature to defend oneself, to strive to survive despite the harm such actions can cause to
Title: How the Red Scare Relates to “The Crucible” Red scare formed in 1919 the climax of the Red scare is when the conflict between the Soviet Union and the United states intensifies During the late 1940’s and early 1950’s. It caused the Americans thinking that the communists are a big Threat to them. The United States took actions to prevent the red scare taking over the United States which caused McCarthyism to form. McCarthyism is a practice of false accusations without any proof.
Throughout the history of our country hatred has been common, as Immigrants enter our homeland they are looked down upon and thought of people who are “destroying” this nation. All these new people coming in are only seeking new opportunities but are discouraged by other because of their ancestry. Humanity’s unjust behaviors can be seen in two different aspects of America 's history, we first see it in the internment of the Japanese Americans during WWII and the period of the Salem Witch trials. Arthur Miller’s dramatized play, The Crucible can be correlated to the event of Pearl Harbor because of the similarities between the Japanese Americans and the characters in the play; they both demonstrate the lives of civilians being ruined, a mass hysteria caused by fear of their neighbors, and lack of a just court system. To being with, it was the year of 1692 when the “witch hunts” had officially began, fellow citizens were being accused of being involved in witchcraft.
Reagan sets America on a higher level than any other country when he says, “Freedom and the dignity of the individual have been more available and assured here than in any other place on earth.” He then goes on to add, “We will again be the exemplar of freedom and a beacon of hope for those who do not now have freedom.” These hopeful words such as freedom and dignity set America apart from the rest of the world. Ronald Reagan is tactfully creating a sense of nationalism and unification in his audience, giving them a sense of pride. People want to preserve and remake America in this way, because believing that we have more freedom and more opportunities than others, makes us
Time and Time Again Power Corrupts “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” This quote by politician Lord Acton has a lot to do with The Crucibles. The Crucibles, a play written by Arthur Miller takes place during the Salem witch trials. In this play a lot more was happening than just the hanging of witches. There was also corruption of power and authority in the court, specifically by a judge named Danforth.
Revenge At It’s Best “Revenge is a dish best served cold.”- Anonymous. As a matter of fact, the person who stated this quote just described the whole reason why the witchcraft trials started. Revenge is like a bug that you can’t get rid of that comes back continuously.
On January 6th, 1941 President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered his eighth State of the Union address to Congress, known as the speech of the “Four Freedoms.” The purpose of this speech was to persuade Americans to shift their attention from the Axis threat to the British and allied troops in desperate need of support. During the time of this address, America was in a great state of isolationism. The majority of Americans sought to disassociate themselves from any foreign ties, including wars. “Policies to curb immigration quotas and increase tariffs on imported goods were implemented, and a series of Neutrality Acts passed in the 1930’s limited American arms and munitions assistance abroad” (“The Four Freedoms”1).
Good afternoon teachers and fellow peers, In order to achieve their own personal and communal ambitions, figures in society manipulate and persuade people through events and situations to conform to their own political agenda. In the 1955 prescribed text, “The Crucible,” playwright Arthur Miller establishes the exploitative behaviour of characters through dramatised staging features. Similarly in the 1964 related text, “The Times They are A-Changin’,” Bob Dylan insights individual ambitions through musical and poetic devices. The shared ideas of the modernist era such as the significance of religion and political hegemony are investigated by both composers in their perspective texts.
Nationalism has too often been dismissed as an irrational creed due to its association with disastrous results over the decades. But undeniably, it is a dominating force in contemporary international politics. It is important to understand nationalism if we want to understand global political developments. Many books have been written on this subject, but David Miller’s On Nationality stands out. This book takes on a distinctive approach to the study of nationalism, rendering it one of a kind in this field.