American History The modern history of America is something of a great value to historians and sociologists, for America went through a very large number of different social and economical periods in a relatively short time, a situation quite uncommon for the world history. Even though these periods significantly differ from each other, there is one thing that is common to many of them presence of the radical right wing movements, such as Ku Klux Klan, The Prohibition Movement, McCarthyism and The New Right. Although these movements seem to be entirely different to some, being bonded only by the Right Wing label, it can be shown that these movements arose in response to very similar stimuli and were the reaction to the social and political state of the country at the time of their origination. In order to draw the parallels between these groups, we have to look at the time when these groups were founded and examine what these movements actually were. Ku Klux Klan is a terrorist organization that was originally formed in the southern states of America, in the period that followed the American civil war (“Ku Klux Klan”).
Throughout the course of its existence, Ku Klux Klan had three periods of high popularity, and some argue that these were actually three different organizations, which employed one name.
The Essay on The Ku Klux Klan- A Brief History
... of all hate groups in America. Originally founded at the end of the Civil War, the Ku Klux Klan was a white supremacist ... the Klan has risen and fallen during its 130 year history, the scope of its hatred has expanded. The American Supremacist movement had ... exercising the other rights they had gained during Reconstruction, the period following the end of the American Civil War in 1865. ...
The first Klan was formed as a social organization and it evolved into a movement which was in the opposition to the new government. The main aim of this movement at the time was to overthrow the existing regime and to bring back the order that existed before the civil war. Methods practiced by Klansmen included excessive terror towards the politicians of the new government and their supporters, which included many blacks at the time. Second Klan was the movement that rose on the ashes of the first Klan in 1915 (“Ku Klux Klan”).
It targeted blacks, Jews and Roman Catholic Church. The third Klan period allegedly started in 1954 and it was triggered by the ruling of the US Supreme Court that the racial segregation in schools was unconstitutional.
The Klan still exists today, although it does not have much influence. Prohibition movements were the social movements in America that opted for banning alcohol, seeing it as a reason for high incidence of crime and violence. The first law that banned the production and consumption of alcohol was passed on in Maine in 1851 (“Prohibition”).
Many states followed this decision a little later, accepting similar laws. However, following the American Civil War, the legislative systems of many states have undergone radical changes and the laws that supported the prohibition of alcohol were eliminated. This brought another wave of increased alcohol use, which in turn resulted in the formation of the Anti-Saloon League of America, whose actions forced the American government to accept the Prohibition Act in 1919. One of the major results of this act was the increase in crime rate and the Prohibition Act was cancelled in 1934.
McCarthyism is the term used in referral to the witch-hunt that took place in 1940s-1950s and targeted communists and homosexuals in America. It was named after the Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy, who became popular for accusing a number of high-ranking government officials in being communist and conducted a number of court-trials against them (Prono).
His main weapon was propaganda, and it was very successful at the time of Cold War, when publical opinion was directed against the Soviets. At the time, homosexuality was often associated with such quality as disloyalty and so the minorities were harassed by police and the general public (Prono).
The Essay on Movements in North America and South America
When one compares the independence movements in North America and South America one would see a lot of differences and similarities between the two. The major differences were probably due to different geographical aspects of the two continents. Along with this, there were also variations among the societies. Although there were a lot of differences between the movements towards independence, ...
The movement died out by the end of Cold War, when the communist scare ceased to exist for Americans. Now that we have a general outline of some major right wing movements of America, we can discuss the similarities and contrast on the differences between them. The main trait which is attributable to all of these movements is conservatism.
Conservatism is defined as a desire to maintain what has been in the face of what will be (Bronner) and is an occurrence that has been observed in our society at any stage of its development. The underlying cause of conservatism is the fear of change, for some changes may be for worse. If we apply the theory of conservatism to the above movements, we will see that all of them arose in response to some reform or the possibility of such reform. Klans were fighting against the new democratic government and individuals that belonged to other races and religions. Prohibition movements were formed by people who were mostly religious, for whom the old values were of prior importance. At last, McCarthyism was the response to the possible introduction of communism, which has an entirely different set of values compared to liberalism practiced in America at the time.
The discrimination against the sexual minorities at the time of McCarthyism is a classic example of a clash between liberalism and conservatism, with one system opting for public acceptance of homosexuals and another for their denial. As we can see, conservatism actually won at the time when the incident took place. The differences between these right-wing movements probably lie in their choice of means to enforce their opinion and the impact that they had on the America. Their methods were largely dictated by the political and social situation in the country. When the Klan was originated, law enforcement was not at its peak and so they were able to use terror as a main way to persuade people. Supporters of McCarthy used propaganda, which was very effective, considering the state of the international politics at that time.
The Anti-Saloon League of America also used propaganda as their persuasion tool. The effect of these movements on the formation of America as we know it today has been enormous. As we can see, each movement triggered a large social and political response, changing the public opinion about various matters and causing the reforms in legislative systems. Even though most of these movements are highly criticized, they are still an important part of the American development. Bibliography “Ku Klux Klan”. Encyclopedia Article. Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia. 08 December 2004.
The Term Paper on The Feminist Movement in America
The feminist movement in America of 60’s Maintenance: Introdaction The reasons of occurrence of the second wave of feminism in the beginning of 60’s Prominent features and differences of feminism of "a new wave» Movement for the rights of women and female liberation movement Legal victories Timeline of key events View on Popular Culture The conclusion Literature Introduction. Feminism (fr. ...
. “Prohibition”. Encyclopedia Article. Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia. 08 December 2004. . Bronner, Stephen Eric.
Ideas in Action: Political Tradition in the Twentieth Century. Prono, Luca. “McCarthyism”. 08 December 2004. ..
