Civilisation américaine 19.00 / 20

I. The concept of government: the 19th century The changing role of government from the “Umpire State” to the New Deal. 1. Traditional views When America was first founded and during the first half of the 19th century, government was seen as "a neutral Umpire State which gave special favors to no class or interest". Those where the words of Arthur S. Link (professor at Princeton). As early as the 18th century, prior to the war for independence, Thomas Jefferson had dreamed of a great rural republic filled with an independent peasantry. “While we have land to labor, let us never wish to see our citizens occupied at the work bench or twirling a distaff (une quenouille)”. Jefferson's dream was the dream of an agrarian democracy; nevertheless, the process of industrialization would not be stopped. The second half of the 19th century saw the formation of trusts and monopolies, to which the people were increasingly opposed. In 1876, the millionaire philosopher, Peter Cooper, warned that “the danger to have free institution now is only less than in the inception of the rebellion. There is fast forming in this country an aristocracy of wealth, the worst form of aristocracy that can curse the prosperity of any country”. 2. The government steps in. The people's discontent first lead the federal government to regulate the railroads. Then, in the 1880's, came the task of dismantling the trusts and the monopolies through first: the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 aimed at responding to the outrage of farmers against the railroad monopoly. Finally, there came the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 which outlawed all combination contracts and conspiracies in restraint of trade as well as all monopolies. These antitrust laws are still enforced today in the US, as well as in most Western nations. These were the very first social measures taken by an increasingly active government; in other words, the federal government started paying more attention to the way affairs were carried out. At the turn of the century, President Theodore Roosevelt declared:  “The federal government should play a dynamic positive role by directly regulating business activities and giving special protection to labor and farmers.”
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I. The concept of government: the 19th century. The changing role of government from the “Umpire State” to the New Deal. 1. The concept of government: the 19th century 2. The government steps in II. The 20th century: the Wilson, Roosevelt and Truman administration
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5 commentaires


Anonyme
Anonyme
Posté le 5 juin 2016

Merci beaucoup.

Anonyme
Anonyme
Posté le 2 oct. 2015

Merci, document très complet.

Anonyme
Anonyme
Posté le 21 juil. 2015

merci

Anonyme
Anonyme
Posté le 17 janv. 2015

thank you

Anonyme
Anonyme
Posté le 25 sept. 2013

Document bien écrit, exposé bien structuré ! Merci pour ce doc !

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