History Assignment: US Policies, WWI Neutrality, and Social Change

This assignment delves into several pivotal aspects of US history. It examines the Redeemers' rise to power in the post-Civil War South, exploring their strategies and objectives. The assignment then analyzes the US government's Indian policy, highlighting broken promises and the impact on Native American tribes. Further, it investigates the formation and platform of the People's Party (Populists) and the factors that hindered social, economic, and political transformation in the South. The debate over US imperialism is also explored, outlining arguments for and against expansion. Finally, the assignment examines the US's decision to remain neutral in WWI, identifying the reasons behind this stance and the groups most opposed to the war. The solution provides detailed analysis of each topic, supported by references to academic sources.

Ancient History
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ANCIENT HISTORY
Table of Contents
1. How do the Redeemers (southern white elites who were in power before the war) regain
control? What are they redeeming?.................................................................................................2
2. Analyse the Indian policy of the US government. What promises had been made to the
Indians? What promises were broken?............................................................................................2
3. Why does the people’s party organise? What is the platform of the party (Omaha platform)?. .3
4. What factors prevented large scale social, economic and political change in the south?............3
5. What are the key points (both for and against) in the domestic debate over having an empire? 4
6. Why does the US wish to remain neutral in WWI? Who is most opposed to the war? Why?....4
References........................................................................................................................................6
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ANCIENT HISTORY
1. How do the Redeemers (southern white elites who were in power before the war) regain
control? What are they redeeming?
The redeemers were one of the assorted white elite groups comprised of many individuals, who
were all businessmen, merchants or farmers. According to Cohen (2017), the redeemers were
termed as the white Democratic Party group, and they have protested over a common disdain in
achieving the rights for the well-being of African-Americans.
The redeemers have regained their power with the help of the white democratic terrorist
organisations that have made the scenario much difficult for the federal government to achieve
their target for all construction programs. There were many terrorist groups called Rifle Club, Ku
Klux Klan and Red Shirts and they have spread much terror in most of the southern states of the
United States of America. The groups were against the people who have strongly demanded the
civil rights of African Americans. The federal government has tried to stop the group, but at last,
it did not happen (Simpson and Jones 2015).
It has been observing that Redeemers have been one of the most crucial southern sections of the
Bourbon Democrats. They were the white elites of the pro-business faction in the Democratic
Party, and they have further established policies for the redemption. Their main objective was to
outrage the Radical Republican Coalition consisted of Freedman, scalawags and carpetbaggers
(Wolf 2018).
2. Analyse the Indian policy of the US government. What promises had been made to the
Indians? What promises were broken?
The Indian Policy of the United States Government
The treaty between the United States and the Indian tribes have confirmed over the privileges
and rights of the nation. In the treaty vast areas of land has been ceded to the US government and
in exchange, they wanted for protection concerning cash to the Indian tribes. However, they have
retained certain rights such as land reservations for their future generations. The US government
has developed a trust relationship statement with the Indian tribes and the reserved rights for the
tribes has been enlisted to the Supreme Court from the beginning of 1905 (Bastable 2017).
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ANCIENT HISTORY
The promises that were made to the Indian tribes were the protections to the Indians from various
attacks, health care related assistance, monetary and education help. Additonally, Simpson and
Jones (2015) mentioned that protection of the several rights discussed, that include hunting,
government, jurisdiction and fishing rights.
However, after some years, Indian tribes were disallowed in availing the hunting, gathering and
fishing rights because these rights were enlisted legally under the usufructuary and the property
rights (McIvor and Johnston 2016).
3. Why does the people’s party organise? What is the platform of the party (Omaha
platform)?
It has been primarily observed that in the 1890s the People’s party, which was commonly known
as the Populist group did not establish a forefront national organisation for not gaining many
political influences within the states of the United States of America (Simpson and Jones 2015).
The main objective of the party has been to play an active role in the development of the
American economy with the help of various business regulations within the country. The party
was formed with the help of the members of the Farmer’s Alliance, Knights of Labor and the
Grange (Hodge 2016). Apart from that, the main reason behind the fabrication of People’s party
was the unhappy farmers with the democratic and the republican parties. They preferred the
political gain behind the formation of individual states.
The major platform of the People’s party was commonly known as Omaha Platform. Omaha
Platform was formed for reestablishing the American sovereignty and liberty. The preamble of
the Omaha Platform was written by Ignatius L. Donnelly (Leavitt 2018). It sets out and
establishes the general tenets regarding the Populist Movement.
4. What factors prevented large scale social, economic and political change in the south?
The factors that prevented large-scale social, economic and the political changes in the southern
states of the United Kingdom are as listed below:
The factors that prevented the large-scale social change are the legal distinctions that were
removed, and instead of that, old social hierarchy based system has been implemented. The old
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ANCIENT HISTORY
social hierarchy-based system includes the colour and ethnicity of the Indian tribes, which kept
them partially outside of Creoles and Mestizos (Rees 2015).
The factors that prevented the large-scale political change has been the dominance of liberalism
that was made with the realistic literary efforts and that has opposed the political system of the
southern states of the United States of America (Fordham 2018).
The factors that prevented the large-scale economic change has been the establishment of the
great metropolitan sectors, and that has reduced the opportunity of the tribes in remaining
agrarian, and they have realized much low dependency on the world trade structure.
5. What are the key points (both for and against) in the domestic debate over having an
empire?
The key points for a domestic debate over having an empire have been discussed below
According to Cohen (2017), it has been analysed that the main advantages of having the
domestic debate over an empire are that, a government has achieved the self-aggrandisement and
the prestigious factors. It is advantageous for the empirical states for having a sense of
imperialistic (Simpson and Jones 2015).
On the other hand, it has been further observed by Hodge (2016), without the empirical thought
in the state, the United States has been transforming too much anachronistic and that would not
help the government in saving money (Flynn et al. 2017).
6. Why does the US wish to remain neutral in WWI? Who is most opposed to the war?
Why?
After the eruption of the World War, I in 1914, the president of the United States has declared
that they would remain neutral or impartial in action as well as in the thought. Many common
people of the country have supported the decision of the then president of the United States of
America (Simpson and Jones 2015). The Universal Friendships with other countries remained
stable during that time and that is why President Wilson confirmed the fact that, they remain
neutral in the World War 1. In the midst of the First World War, the German Soldiers had
declared unrestricted warfare against all the ships and armouries of Britain and the United States
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ANCIENT HISTORY
of America. In 1915, German had destroyed one of the largest American vessels called William
Frye. The United States of America had the United Kingdom in their side because they were the
trading partners. As stated by Fordham (2017), Germany had also sunk the US merchant ships
and then finally, the Congress government of the United States of America finally announced to
enter in the First World War in 1917.
The countries like Germany and Japan have opposed the United States of America in the First
World War. Among those, Germany opposed most to the war.
Germany and Japan were the two most important countries that opposed the United States in the
First World War. In the year 1914, Germany declared their unrestricted warfare for capturing the
whole world; especially the trade and political factors were their main agendas. In order to
disrupt the trading module of the United Kingdom, Germany destroyed many vessels and
passenger ships at the British Ocean Liner, near Lusitania off the Irish Coast. Nearly, 1959
passengers died, which includes 1198 Americans. The vessel was carrying near 173 tons of
munitions. Due to the very incident, US Congress has detached their all connections with the
Berlin, and they approved a budget of $250 million for taking preparation for the war (Thane
2016).
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References
Bastable, M.J., 2017. Arms and the state: Sir William Armstrong and the remaking of British
naval power, 1854–1914. Routledge.
Cohen, P.M., 2017. Piety and politics: Catholic revival and the generation of 1905-1914 in
France. Routledge.
Flynn, M.E. and Fordham, B.O., 2017. Economic Interests and Threat Assessment in the US
Congress, 1890–1914. International Interactions, 43(5), pp.744-770.
Fordham, B.O., 2017. Protectionist Empire: Trade, Tariffs, and United States Foreign Policy,
1890–1914. Studies in American Political Development, 31(2), pp.170-192.
Fordham, B.O., 2018. The Domestic Politics of World Power: Explaining Debates over the
United States Battleship Fleet, 1890–91. International Organization, pp.1-34.
Hodge, C.C., 2016. War, Strategy and the Modern State, 1792–1914. Routledge.
Leavitt, S., 2018, April. Freedom and the Cage: Modern Architecture and Psychiatry in Central
Europe, 1890–1914. In Buildings & Landscapes: Journal of the Vernacular Architecture
Forum (Vol. 25, No. 1, pp. 95-97). University of Minnesota Press.
McIvor, A. and Johnston, R., 2016. Miners' lung: a history of dust disease in British coal mining.
Routledge.
Rees, A., 2015. Real wages in manufacturing, 1890-1914. Princeton University Press.
Simpson, W. and Jones, M., 2015. Europe 1783–1914. Routledge.
Thane, P., 2016. The foundations of the welfare state. Routledge.
Wolf, J.H., 2018. “They Lacked the Right Food”: A Brief History of Breastfeeding and the Quest
for Social Justice. Journal of Human Lactation, 34(2), pp.226-231
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