Essay questions

Running head: HISTORY
History
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History
Q. 1 In the 19th century, American social hierarchy was highly influenced by the way people understood and communicated with each other in the different environments they were living in. Immigration, labor disputes, poverty and women struggling to establish themselves in the society shaped most periods in the 19th century (Encyclopedia of Business, n.d). In America, the whole of 19th century was a period marked with rapid growth and change. There was Westward expansion and the establishment of major cities such as Chicago. Immigrants according to their ethnicity and race came with their cultural tradition to the land their wanted to adopt. As the country continued to experience rapid growth, there were negative effects of relentless growth, vulgar tastes, corruption, and flamboyant display of wealth among different classes. Within the upper class, the rich wore diamonds while most Americans belonging to the second and the lower class wore rags and went through a period of increased misery.
For instance, in 1890, close to 11 million of Americas 12 million families earned less than $1,200 per annum, while the average income per year for several families was $380. This amount was way below the poverty line. Most African-America societies lived in extreme poverty and they could hardly secure employment compared to the Whites. Mark Twain was ones quoted in 1871 asking on is the best alternative for a person to get rich, dishonestly if possible, and honestly if it is a must. In America, there were three social classes in the 19th century where the first two consisted of the industrial capitalists (Encyclopedia of Business, n.d). On the other hand, the European social hierarchy during the 19th century was quite different from the one described by Karl Marx in 1848.
Apart from the polarized society consisting of class stigmas, there was creation of subclasses both in the working and the middle class. There were three subdivisions in the middle class consisting of upper, middle and lower income. The main determinant of the working class was a person’s skill level in the job. Labor aristocracy was created by the highly skilled individuals while midrange salaries were paid to the semi skilled. Unskilled workers earned very low wages and worked in the worst environments (Encyclopedia of Business, n.d). Women were the most disadvantaged workers and their living condition was poor. Colored people could hardly secure employment since most of them were semi skilled and unskilled. Women were limited by traditions and they rarely maintained consistent styles in the society due to public opinions.
Q. 2 After the War of 1812, there was a mood of nationalism in the U.S where people strived to expand both domestically and internationally. Self-confidence and nationalism came with the “Er...