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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/102581/overview
|
Reasons and Persons by Derek Parfit
What Is Personal Identity? Norton's Introduction
What is Personal Identity/ Reason and Person
Overview
The purpose of this OER is to explore and define the concept of What is Personal Identity?, from Chapter 11 of Norton's Introductions to Philosophy, and Reasons and Persons by Derek Parfit. The OER was created by an undergraduate student from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and includes the breakdown of the material covered in the lesson. Discussion questions are provided to engage participants by contributing to the provided material covered. Following the discussion questions, an article covering the concept of cloning is provided to assist in the argument of Parfit's theory of personal identity and replication, along with a quiz.
What is Personal Identity?
This OER explores the concept of Personal Identity from Norton's introduction and is related to Derek Parfit's theory of identity. The aim of this OER is to discover concepts regarding identity and the ideas of what makes up one's Personal Identity. https://www.oercommons.org/editor/documents/13398
|
oercommons
|
2025-03-18T00:39:24.268750
|
04/03/2023
|
{
"license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
"url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/102581/overview",
"title": "What is Personal Identity/ Reason and Person",
"author": "Haley Crawford"
}
|
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/95118/overview
|
BIO-061 Syllabus
Overview
BIO-061 Syllabus
BIO-061
COURSE DESCRIPTION
An intensive course designed for all Life Science majors to prepare the student for upper division courses in organismal and population biology. Course materials include plant structure and function, animal systems and behavior, ecological diversity and dynamics, and evolutionary theory, including population genetics. This course, along with Biology 60, is intended to fulfill a year of transferable lower division general biology. Some field trips are required.
STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
- Design and implement controlled experiments using the scientific method, analyze the data using statistical analysis, and present the data in a scientific paper.
- Identify and describe representative eukaryotic lineages, including the major phyla within Kingdoms Fungi, Plantae, and Animalia, as well as relevant life history, anatomy, and physiology of the organisms
- Explain evolutionary theory with an emphasis on natural selective forces and use of the Hardy-Weinberg equation.
- Describe ecological principles and forces including population dynamics, community interactions, and ecosystem connections, with reference to climate change and conservation biology.
- Critical Thinking: Students will be able to demonstrate higher-order thinking skills about issues, problems, and explanations for which multiple solutions are possible. Students will be able to explore problems and, where possible, solve them. Students will be able to develop, test, and evaluate rival hypotheses. Students will be able to construct sound arguments and evaluate the arguments of others.
|
oercommons
|
2025-03-18T00:39:24.288492
|
07/12/2022
|
{
"license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
"url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/95118/overview",
"title": "BIO-061 Syllabus",
"author": "Alex Gavilan"
}
|
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/88326/overview
|
Extra Credit Activity: Cognitive Style Heuristics
Overview
Extra credit assignment about the Cognitive Style Heuristics reading: https://www.oercommons.org/courses/reading-cognitive-style-heuristics
Extra Credit: Cognitive Style Heuristics
This is an extra credit assignment and is optional. However, if you do choose to complete the assignment, you will learn something new and important to your professional development.
Complete the following software usability exploration:
- Exploration: Cognitive Style Heuristics (guidelines for making software usable and inclusive)
Please follow the requirements below.
Requirements:
- Reflect upon what you learned (e.g., what were your thoughts while going through the exploration? what is the exploration about?)
- Give your own example of how you might apply one or more of the software usability heuristics.
- Write at least 400 words.
Policy about plagiarism applies here. Cite your sources.
|
oercommons
|
2025-03-18T00:39:24.301703
|
Activity/Lab
|
{
"license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
"url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/88326/overview",
"title": "Extra Credit Activity: Cognitive Style Heuristics",
"author": "Information Science"
}
|
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/97778/overview
|
Open Textbooks for Rural AZ Publishing Template
Overview
Open Textbooks for Rural Arizona participants are invited to remix this template to share their courses, textbooks, and other OER material on our Hub.
How To Remix This Template (DELETE THIS ENTIRE SECTION AFTER ADDING YOUR MATERIALS)
Open Textbooks for Rural Arizona participants are invited to remix this template to share their courses, textbooks, and other OER material on our Hub. Please follow the steps below:
- Login to the OER Commons platform.
- Click the "REMIX" button on this resource to create your own version. (It is the green Remix" button on the resource description page or under the vertical ellipsis if you are viewing the resource.)
- Change the title to describe your specific material.
- Insert a description of the material(s) into Section Two below. This will provide context about what you are sharing and your recommendation of how other faculty can adapt and use in their class.
- Insert a public link to access the material into Section Three below. Please be sure the settings are for public access so others can view and/or download the material. For example, if sharing through Canvas, be sure the material is shared through the Canvas Commons.
- Attach the file in the native format of the software program that you used. For example:
- If you are creating ancillary materials using Google slides or MS Word then you would upload the .odp file or a MS Word .docx file.
- If you are creating a Canvas or Moodle course, you would upload the common cartidge file.
- Please note, the more course files formats you can provide, the easier it will be for all users to access it.
- Attach the file in the native format of the software program that you used. For example:
- Delete this section and instructions in other sections before publishing.
- When ready to publish, click "Next" (at the top in green) to update the overview, license, and description of your resource. Please add "Open Textbooks for Rural AZ" as a tag in the "Keywords" section towatds the bottom.
- Now click "Publish".
Hello From Sierra Vista
Material Description
The Instructional Designer is messing around....
Context for sharing:
(Explain why you are choosing this resource to share with other Arizona educators. Then delete this text.)
Additional information about the resource:
(What else would you like to share about this resource. Example: "For additional resources, including an assessment bank, contact me at _______________." Then delete this text.)
Material Attachment
It is preferred if you include the material in multiple formats, such as a public link and an attachment.
Add a public link to the material by including the text here. Please be sure the setting are for public access so others can view and/or download the material. For example, if sharing through Canvas, be sure the material is shared through the Canvas Commons.
If you need help finding how to import from Canvas - here is a resource.
Attach the resource by clicking the "Attach Section" paperclick image below, then choose the correct file from your computer, name your material(s), and save.
|
oercommons
|
2025-03-18T00:39:24.318575
|
10/07/2022
|
{
"license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
"url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/97778/overview",
"title": "Open Textbooks for Rural AZ Publishing Template",
"author": "Wendy Ashby"
}
|
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/65792/overview
|
OER Benefits (pdf)
Benefits of Open Educational Resources
Overview
Brief document targeted to educators and school districts on the benefits of OER.
Open Educational Resources (OER)
Open Educational Resources (OER) are freely available teaching and learning materials that can be downloaded, edited, and shared to better serve all students. OER include content such as textbooks, lesson plans, assignments, games, and other educational materials. They can be produced in any medium: paper-based text, video, audio, or computer-based multimedia.
Appeal of OER
Cost Shifting
By sharing and adapting educational materials, content acquisition costs can be cut dramatically, providing schools with flexibility to shift funds to other critical areas that support learning and teaching.
Freedom to Update Content
OER empower districts to make adaptations to support their students – localizing content or differentiating material to meet varied student needs. Adapted resources can be freely distributed without concern about copyright violations - promoting good digital citizenship
Equity of Access
Most importantly, OER have the capacity to provide equitable opportunities to access strong content materials for ALL students
OER can help school districts in their efforts to close elusive achievement gaps by providing resources that many educational institutions could not otherwise economically afford.
NAACP Endorsement of OER
Considerations About OER
Quality
The criteria used to judge quality and educational standards alignment needs to be the same regardless of whether the materials are print or digital, open, or all rights reserved copyright.
Access
Though print options are available for many OER, in order to take full advantage of digital open resources, a network and internet infrastructure is critical. As districts look to shift to a one-to-one computing environment, where every student has a tablet, laptop, or other device, OER is a cost-effective way to provide digital content.
Staff Capacity
Teachers need opportunities for sustained professional learning in using digital tools, locating OER, evaluating quality, understanding licensing, and adapting resources. Many online professional learning communities focused on OER are evolving to help meet this need.
Policies
Local districts and school boards often have existing policies and practices related to instructional materials adoption that need to be revised in order to encourage the use, adaptation, and development of open resources.
Attribution and License
Robot OER image by Annett Zobel from Pixabay
Except where otherwise noted, this work by the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License. Logos are property of OSPI.
|
oercommons
|
2025-03-18T00:39:24.347210
|
Washington OSPI OER Project
|
{
"license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
"url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/65792/overview",
"title": "Benefits of Open Educational Resources",
"author": "Barbara Soots"
}
|
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/112055/overview
|
Indigenous Issues in the Western Hemisphere
Overview
This course invites students to consider the following three big questions: How can we learn more about Indigenous peoples and issues, even after this class is over? How can we think about the place that is now called the United States from a different perspective that removes colonizers from the central narrative? How can the study of history make the world a safer, more just, and kinder place to live for everyone?
Attachments
The attachment for this resource is a sample syllabus for a course on indigenous issues in the Western Hempisphere.
About This Resource
The sample syllabus here was submitted by a participant in a one-day workshop entitled “Teaching Indigenous History as World History” for world history teachers hosted by the Alliance for Learning in World History.
This resource was contributed by Kate Bennecker.
|
oercommons
|
2025-03-18T00:39:24.365069
|
01/30/2024
|
{
"license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
"url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/112055/overview",
"title": "Indigenous Issues in the Western Hemisphere",
"author": "Alliance for Learning in World History"
}
|
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/115548/overview
|
Frontier: Gender Assignment
Overview
In this resource, students will be asked to read, think, and write about gender in history through world languages.
Attachments
The attachment for this resource is a sample assignment for students to learn about language and gender in Swahili.
About This Resource
The sample assignment was submitted by a participant in a one-day workshop entitled “New Approaches to Frontier History” for world history teachers hosted by the Alliance for Learning in World History.
This resource was contributed by Kathryn Barrett-Gaines.
|
oercommons
|
2025-03-18T00:39:24.382815
|
Homework/Assignment
|
{
"license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
"url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/115548/overview",
"title": "Frontier: Gender Assignment",
"author": "Languages"
}
|
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/95086/overview
|
simple squamous epi_kidney_Glomerulus_630x, p000125
Overview
simple squamous epi_kidney_Glomerulus_630x, p000125
simple squamous epi_kidney_Glomerulus_630x, p000125
simple squamous epi_kidney_Glomerulus_630x, p000125
simple squamous epi_kidney_Glomerulus_630x, p000125
simple squamous epi_kidney_Glomerulus_630x, p000125
|
oercommons
|
2025-03-18T00:39:24.398015
|
Diagram/Illustration
|
{
"license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
"url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/95086/overview",
"title": "simple squamous epi_kidney_Glomerulus_630x, p000125",
"author": "Health, Medicine and Nursing"
}
|
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/92927/overview
|
F-1 Student Regulations 2022
Overview
Overview of F-1 students regulations (in 2022).
Slideshow
This slideshow provides an overview of current (2022) F-1 student regulations; to be used in orientation courses with international students.
|
oercommons
|
2025-03-18T00:39:24.413949
|
05/22/2022
|
{
"license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
"url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/92927/overview",
"title": "F-1 Student Regulations 2022",
"author": "Emily Pack"
}
|
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/89311/overview
|
Happiness Space
Overview
This discussion board prompt asks students to share a photo of something positive that is happening in their lives. It was created for use in a fully online human services course during the pandemic to help build community and focus on positive things that were happening during such a difficult time.
Happiness Space
I used this idea in my fully online human services courses during the pandemic. I offered this both as an extra credit option and as a course requirement (depending on the course). I received positive feedback from students and it helped to build the online community during such a difficult time.
We have yet to fully know the impact that the current pandemic will have on our mental health, but we know that it will be significant to our clients, family, friends, and ourselves. As human services professionals, it is our ethical responsibility to care for ourselves, so we can best support our clients. As a way to help us focus on things that bring us happiness, an important component of positive psychology, throughout the semester you will post photos of things that make you happy and explain as much or as little as you want to. You will post a total of five photos over the semester, but you can post more if you like. I encourage you to look at your peers' posts and comment if you like. During this difficult time, it is important to share positive experiences with others.
|
oercommons
|
2025-03-18T00:39:24.426252
|
Homework/Assignment
|
{
"license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
"url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/89311/overview",
"title": "Happiness Space",
"author": "Social Work"
}
|
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/80791/overview
|
OERwest Network Newsletter Q1
Overview
A short newsletter for the OERwest Network on professional development opportunities, state highlights, and information on Open Education conferences.
OERwest Network Newsletter Q1_2021
A short newsletter for members of the OERwest Network which includes professional development opportunities, updates on OER and Open Education conferences, and major state updates related to OER.
|
oercommons
|
2025-03-18T00:39:24.442970
|
05/24/2021
|
{
"license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
"url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/80791/overview",
"title": "OERwest Network Newsletter Q1",
"author": "Liliana Diaz"
}
|
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/93042/overview
|
Micrograph Bacillus megaterium 5d endospore 1000X p000066
Overview
This micrograph was taken at 1000X total magnifcation on a brightfield microscope. The subject is Bacillus megaterium cells were grown in broth culture for 5 days at 30 degrees Celsius. The cells were heat-fixed to a slide and stained with malachite green (endospores) and safranin red (vegetative cells) prior to visualization.
Image credit: Emily Fox
Micrograph
Light background with few rod-shaped pink cells and many green oval endospores
|
oercommons
|
2025-03-18T00:39:24.460040
|
Diagram/Illustration
|
{
"license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
"url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/93042/overview",
"title": "Micrograph Bacillus megaterium 5d endospore 1000X p000066",
"author": "Health, Medicine and Nursing"
}
|
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/103628/overview
|
(Template) IHE Accessibility in OER Implementation Guide
Overview
In this section, you and your team will engage in a Landscape Analysis to uncover key structures and supports that can guide your work to support Accessibility in OER. You may or may not answer all of these questions, but this is an offering.
May 11 - Section One: Landscape Analysis for Accessibility in OER in Local Context (Work on during May 11th implementation)
In this section, you and your team will engage in a Landscape Analysis to uncover key structures and supports that can guide your work to support Accessibility in OER. We encourage to explore some of the questions from each category. You may or may not answer all of these questions, but this is an offering. We ask that you complete Parts One, Two and Six of this Section.
Part One: Initial Thoughts
What is your team's initial goal for this series?
Part Two: Introductory probing questions:
What does accessibility look like in our organization? How do we measure accessibility?
What does OER look like in our organization? How do we measure access to OER?
Part Three: Clarifying questions for accessibility:
What are the organizational structures that supports accessibility?
Who generates most of the accessibility structures/conversation in our organization?
Where do most educators get support with accessibility?
What content areas might have the largest gaps in access to accessibility?
Part Four: Clarifying questions for OER:
What is our organizational structure that supports curricular resources?
What is our organizational structure that supports OER?
Who generates most of the curricular resources in our organization?
Where do most educators get support with curricular resources?
What content areas might have the largest gaps in access to curricular resources/OER?
Part Five: Clarifying questions for Faculty learning and engagement:
What Professional Learning (PL) structures have the best participation rates for our educators?
What PL structures have the best "production" rates for our educators?
What incentive do we have to offer people for participating in learning and engagement?
Who are the educators that would be most creative with accessibility and OER?
Who are the educators that would benefit the most from accessibility and OER?
Part Six: Final Probing questions:
What is our current goal for Accessibility in OER and why is that our goal?
Who have we not yet included while thinking about this work?
What barriers remain when considering this work?
What would genuine change look like for our organization for this work?
Section Two: Team Focus (Finish before May 25th to share during Implementation Session Two)
Identifying and Describing a Problem of Practice
The following questions should help your team ensure that you are focusing your collaboration.
What is your Team’s specific goal for this series? You may consider using AEM Quality Indicators for Creating Accessible Materials to help add to or narrow your work.
What other partners might support this work?
What is your desired timeframe for this work?
How will you include diverse voices and experiences in this work?
Please create a Focus Question that explains your goal and provides specific topics that you would like feedback on. This is what you will share in your breakout groups for feedback.
(Save for during March 14th's session.) What feedback did you receive from another team during the March 14th Implementation Session?
Section Three: Team Work Time and Next Steps (Complete by the end of the series)
Sharing and Next Steps
What was your redefined goal for this series?
What does your team want to celebrate?
What did your team accomplish? Please link to or attach at least one resource you have created/adapted.
What are your team’s next steps?
|
oercommons
|
2025-03-18T00:39:24.499852
|
05/08/2023
|
{
"license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
"url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/103628/overview",
"title": "(Template) IHE Accessibility in OER Implementation Guide",
"author": "Joanna Schimizzi"
}
|
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/115434/overview
|
HIST 118: An Environmental History of the World 2012
Overview
This course is a history, from ancient to modern times, of the interactions between human societies and the natural environment, including other forms of life that inhabit the planet. This course investigates how environmental changes have affected the history of human societies, and also how human activity has transformed nature.
Attachments
The attachment for this resource is a sample syllabus for a course on environmental world history.
About This Resource
This resource was contributed by Dr. Ruth Mostern, Associate Professor, Department of History, and Director of the World History Center, University of Pittsburgh.
|
oercommons
|
2025-03-18T00:39:24.517411
|
Alliance for Learning in World History
|
{
"license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
"url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/115434/overview",
"title": "HIST 118: An Environmental History of the World 2012",
"author": "Syllabus"
}
|
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/87783/overview
|
Activity: Cognitive Styles Reflection
Overview
What are your facet values when using software? What's one situation when your facet values might change? How did identifying your facet values affect your understanding of how you use software?
Cognitive Styles Reflection
What are your facet values when using software? One or more sentences each.
Facet | Your facet value Ex: I prefer to tinker with most software and usually skip tutorials. |
Motivations | MotivationsFacetValue |
Attitude Toward Risk | AttitudeTowardRiskFacetValue |
Computer Self-Efficacy | ComputerSelfEfficacyFacetValue |
Information Processing Style | InformationProcessingStyleFacetValue |
Learning Style | LearningStyleFacetValue |
What's one situation when your facet values might change? Two or more sentences. Be specific.
SituationWhenFacetValuesChange |
How did identifying your facet values affect your understanding of how you use software? Two or more sentences. Be specific.
HowIdentificationAffectedUnderstanding |
|
oercommons
|
2025-03-18T00:39:24.535786
|
Activity/Lab
|
{
"license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
"url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/87783/overview",
"title": "Activity: Cognitive Styles Reflection",
"author": "Information Science"
}
|
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/67224/overview
|
Climate Engine Lab - Environmental Remote Sensing
Overview
This lab uses the Climate Engine website to introduce students to Geographical Information Software, climate data, cloud processing, and time-series analysis using common environmental remote sensing data products
Developed for students at Guttman Community College
Background: The study of ecosystems on Earth is challenging for many reasons. Ecosystems are often large areas with numerous living and non-living processes that are difficult to measure. Furthermore, many ecosystems are located in places difficult to access for human study. It may be expensive or impossible to install research stations in many ecosystems.
Remote sensing is the science of obtaining information about the environment from a distance. Satellites for environmental science have sensors to measure aspects of Earth from space. These satellite can provide information on land surface temperature, vegetation structure, photosynthesis, and other processes related to ecosystems. We can use the information from multiple satellites to improve our understanding of ecosystems on Earth.
Purpose: The purpose of this lab is to learn to access basic climate data provided by satellites, practice working with websites for cloud processing, and gain an understanding of the seasonal changes of your specific ecosystem.
Procedure: Follow the steps in the attached lab to proceed through the Climate Engine website. The following tutorial will also guide you through this data processing exercise:
YouTube tutorial: Climate Engine Video Tutorial
|
oercommons
|
2025-03-18T00:39:24.555232
|
Derek Tesser
|
{
"license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
"url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/67224/overview",
"title": "Climate Engine Lab - Environmental Remote Sensing",
"author": "Homework/Assignment"
}
|
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/105111/overview
|
Letters From The Heart
Overview
There is a saying that states, “If you write it down, it is more likely to come true.”
In the teaching field, I get several students who come into my classroom with different objectives. Some students want to make an A, others just want to pass, some want to make a speech without fainting, etc.. Over the semesters, I found that only half of my students accomplish what they set out to do. Some students wind up with certain circumstances (illness, work, poor romantic relationship choices etc.) that interferes with their coursework, but for the students, who are perfectly capable of achieving their goal(s), they sometimes fall short of their goal(s). So I decided to try something innovative and creative with my students. It is a three- part activity, which I hope you and your students will benefit as much as mine did.
Letters From The Heart
Title of the activity: Letters From The Heart
Course(s) for which this activity is intended: Any course; This activity works best for freshman-level courses.
Rationale: There is a saying that states, “If you write it down, it is more likely to come true.”
In the teaching field, I get several students who come into my classroom with different objectives. Some students want to make an A, others just want to pass, some want to make a speech without fainting, etc.. Over the semesters, I found that only half of my students accomplish what they set out to do. Some students wind up with certain circumstances (illness, work, poor romantic relationship choices etc.) that interferes with their coursework, but for the students, who are perfectly capable of achieving their goal(s), they sometimes fall short of their goal(s). So I decided to try something innovative and creative with my students. It is a three- part activity, which I hope you and your students will benefit as much as mine did.
Objective: This activity is designed for students to fulfill their own learning potential and for teachers to offer a bit positive influence in their students’ lives. Try not to preach to the student, rather compliment the student for their uniqueness. These personalized notes may even address their goals.
For example:
Nicole,
Thank you for a wonderful semester.
Your inquisitive thoughts will help you in your future endeavors.
I am glad that you made it through this class without throwing up as you once thought. Didn’t I tell you that you can do it?!?
And you were by far one of my best speakers in the class. Good Job! Best wishes!
Your biggest support all semester,
Narissra
Materials Needed: paper, envelopes, and a pen/pencil.
Description of the activity, including any preparation/preliminary steps:
PART I:
At the beginning of the semester have all of your students write on a sheet of paper at least three goals that they have for the course you are teaching. The key here is to be as SPECIFIC as possible. Tell them that their goals are personal and that these will not be seen by anyone, but the student.
If your students want an A, tell them to write the exact percentage score. If your student want to be a good speaker, tell them to write a certain person’s name. If your students have more than three objectives for your class, please encourage them to write more if they chose.
For example, if you are teaching a public speaking class, a student may write things like:
1. I want to get through a speech without shaking.
2. I want to make at least a 97 in this class.
3. I want to be a good speaker like John F. Kennedy.
After each student is finished, give each student an envelope. Have your students write their names on the front of the envelopes, seal, and sign the back of the envelope.
(This is to insure confidentiality. Some students will write more if no one is going to read it.)
PART II:
On the last day of class hand back, the envelopes to the corresponding student.
You may do a discussion of your students’ goals if your students are comfortable with talking about what they wrote. This is quite interesting. Some of your students will exceed their own goals for themselves. For instance, I had a student write that she wanted to be as good if not better then Diane Sawyer (the anchor on Prime Time). She now works as a news anchor at a local TV station.
Further, you will be amazed at some of your students’ responses. One time a got a young lady, who wrote that she wanted to date one particular student from the class. I hear they are getting married this December! I also had another student who wrote that he hoped that he could learn something useful in my class that would help him in his future career (which at the time was undecided). Now, he works as a trainer giving speeches every week!
However, you must be able to handle the circumstances, if your student does not met his/her goal. For instance, I had a student, who wrote he wanted a 90, but wound up with an 88. Hence, please realize that your students may not fulfill every goal. Remember that two out of the three is not bad at all. Try to offer helpful comments, rather than useful criticism.
PART III:
Before you end the course, write a little note to each student. This may be somewhat time-consuming, but it is definitely worth it. On the note, it should be straight from your heart. The essential element here is that it should be POSITIVE. Moreover, the note should be distinct to the particular student. Each note should be addressed to t best as you pursue to be an accountant.
Best Wishes,
Professor Carter
As your students leave, hand them out. Your students will appreciate your thoughtfulness.
I had a student keep his note. He told me he would never throw it away, because it was the first time in his life that a teacher told him something positive! I’ve had others keep their note because it meant so much that I took the time to do something so nice about their accomplishments.
Appraisal of the activity
Teaching is a very rewarding career, but what is so special is when I do an activity that positively affects student. Students may not remember the elements of speech or what was in the class text. Yet, if students are able to walk out of my class realizing that they can do something if they set their mind to it or they can do something that they did not know they could do, I feel like I have done my job. So, open your heart, and let your students open their minds to the endless possibilities that come straight from the heart.
References/Suggested Readings
Apps, J. W. (1996). Teaching from the Heart. Krieger Publishing Co., PO Box 9542, Malabar, FL 32902-9542.
Perrone, V. (1991). A Letter to Teachers: Reflections on Schooling and the Art of Teaching. Jossey-Bass, Inc., Publishers, 350 Sansome Street, San Francisco, CA 94104.
Villegas, A. M., & Lucas, T. (2007). The culturally responsive teacher. Educational Leadership, 64(6), 28.
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oercommons
|
2025-03-18T00:39:24.571448
|
Activity/Lab
|
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"url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/105111/overview",
"title": "Letters From The Heart",
"author": "Career and Technical Education"
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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/114863/overview
|
PowerPoint Basic Slideshow Creation Practice Assignment
Overview
This activity is designed for students with a basic understanding of PowerPoint to apply some unique features. It takes students in a stepwise process on how to accomplish different features such as editing and applying effects to images, replacing icons and other aspects.
Instructions
Practice In-Class Assignment – Design an Animal PowerPoint Presentation
Instructions: Read each of the instructions carefully. This assignment is designed to help you with creating your own PowerPoint.
- Open PowerPoint and select “More Themes” in Backoffice view.
- Type “Animal” in the search bar
- Select the one called, “Animal Magnetism” that looks like this:
- Then select “Create”
- On the Title Slide, change the Title to “Animal Love”
- As the Subtitle (currently it says, “SIT DOLOR AMET”) change the words to be Your Name and Student Number
- Next, let’s add a footer. Click on “Insert” and choose the Header/Footer button.
- Select the button to add the slide number and Footer. In the Footer box add the course name, your section number, and your first initial and last name (like this: TECH1460 Section#, Y. Name). Finally, select the button to not show this information on the title slide. Then click “Apply to All” so it shows on every slide (except the title slide).
- Insert a new slide with a “Title and Content” format in between the Title slide and slide 2. It will now become the new slide 2. Do this by clicking in between the two slides in the thumbnail on the left (as in the picture to the right) and (from the Home Tab) using the drop-down arrow below the “Slides” button, selecting the slide type “Title and Content”
- On the new slide 2, add the name of your favourite animal. You can be creative.
- Next you will find a photo of your favourite animal type and insert it using the placeholder. Do this by clicking the “Stock Images” option in the content placeholder.
- With your image selected, click on the “Picture” menu from the top tabs. Choose a picture style from the options available. Next, choose an Artistic Effect from the “Adjust” section of the Ribbon
- On Slide 3, change the title to “Some Cool Facts”. Next, list 3 cool facts about your chosen animal under each of the three Green Circles. If you need to look up any information to complete this, please add a slide at the end titled, “References”. Make sure you put a citation on your slide and complete the reference according to the APA guidelines through Conestoga College.
- Change each of the icons on the green circles to better represent the facts you have chosen. Finally, click on the SmartArt Design to make some changes to your SmartArt. Choose a SmartArt Style you like and change the colours to your preference.
- Add 3 new slides after slide 3 using the “Two Content” style. You should now have 6 (or 7 if you have a references slide) slides.
- On each of these slides please add an appropriate title to allow each slide to give more details about each of your 3 chosen facts.
- Please use the content place holders to add an image on one side and fact contents on the other. You can choose which side to add each of these items. Remember to reference your images and content as necessary.
- Apply at least one Designer option to at least one of these slides. Find the Designer button on the home tab. It looks like this:
- Use at least one SmartArt to create your content on one of these three slides
- Add a Content with Caption slide as your slide 7. Add the title, “[Animals] Are Amazing!” where you will put whichever animal you chose as the [Animals]. Add a catchy subtitle that has to do with your animal.
- In the Content Placeholder, add 3 summary points that wrap up each of your three interesting animal facts.
- Resize the textbox and add a photo above or below it
- Use the crop to shape function and choose a shape you like for your added image
- Return to your title slide and change the background image to one that applies to your animal. If you chose dog, please choose a different dog photo.
- Go to the Design Tab. Using the dropdown arrow in the Variants section, change and customize the colours and fonts.
- For colours, Select “Customize Colours…” at the bottom of the groupings of colours. Make some appropriate changes and save the Colour Theme as YourName.
- For Fonts, go to Custom Fonts and choose fonts that work with your logo. Save it as YourName.
- Apply a Slide Transition to all slides. Go to the Transitions tab. Choose one slide transition you enjoy. Change the duration to 1.50 and add a sound effect for the transition. Click Apply to All. View your slides in Presentation mode to verify your transition is present for all slides.
- Apply an animation to all slides. Go to the View tab and select Slide Master. Click on the Title slide. Select the Title textbox (where it says, “Click to Edit Master Title Slide”). Select the Animation tab choose your favourite Entrance animation. If you wish, you can change the entrance of some animations by using the “Effect Options” – change the direction for yours if it is available.
- Exit the Slide Master View by returning to the Slide Master tab and selecting “Close Master View”
- Check the spelling of your slideshow by going to the Review Tab and selecting abc Spelling.
- Finally, review your presentation in Presentation mode.
- You have completed this exercise. Compare your deck with the example on eConestoga. Feel free to ask the instructor for feedback or help.
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oercommons
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2025-03-18T00:39:24.601238
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04/02/2024
|
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"url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/114863/overview",
"title": "PowerPoint Basic Slideshow Creation Practice Assignment",
"author": "Angela Rozema"
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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/89655/overview
|
Lesson
Overview
This resource is a collection of narratives written by current college students on their unique experiences around college success.
From COUN A105 at Orange Coast College - Spring 2022
Introduction to this Resource
This resource has compiled narratives on college success from two sections of COUN A105, "Strategies for College Success" taught at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, CA.
Students were given the following prompt:
Purpose
In this culminating final project called "College Success Narrative," our two COUN A105 classes will come together to create a shared resource that highlights and analyzes what college success means and looks like as community college students. Individually, you will contribute a combination of additional research and personal knowledge/experience on a specific chapter, topic, or concept that you found beneficial for your college success. Then, students will collaborate on their shared contributions through peer engagement.
At the end of this final project, this shared resource will be published in the OER Commons to serve as a resource for other college students and faculty.
Personal Narrative
While keeping in mind the "purpose" above for this final project, address the following prompt in your personal narrative:
Choose a specific chapter, topic, or combination of concepts that you found beneficial for your college success as a community college student. Discuss how you understood and applied this topic(s), based on your personal life experiences, identities, and background. Looking back at your college journey and the knowledge/experiences you've gained, imagine that you are advising your “younger self,” that comes to Orange Coast College for the first time - what wisdom would you want to share about the topic you selected?
- Make sure to synthesize and connect course content WITH your personal knowledge and experiences. You can use the following questions to help guide you in your personal narrative:
- How did you use this class material in your own life?
- How did you apply/understand/approach the topic from your own identity/background?
- What results came from using those strategies instead of not using any strategy?
- What has your journey or process been like, navigating this topic in college? (i.e. trial/error, what's working/not working, what are you still working on)
- From your lived experiences, do you have any NEW ideas, strategies, or experiences not covered in the course modules/readings? How did you modify, invent, or re-design the information or strategies?
- What personal examples or stories can you share about your (ongoing) journey with this topic?
On behalf of the instructors and students, we hope you enjoy the real-life experiences of students documented in this resource.
Books Are My Best Friend
While taking the course Strategies for College Success, I learned more about reading. Reading is very beneficial to me as a community college student because it helps me to understand everything better. Through reading books, I have been able to solve many of my problems. Books that have helped me solve problems include (but are not limited to): How to Learn Almost Anything in 48 Hours by Tansel Ali, How to be a Study Ninja by Graham Alcott, Date•Onomics by Jon Birger, Eat. Play. Love. by Emma Block, Makeup Manual by Bobbi Brown, How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie,The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman,The Little Dictionary of Fashion by Christian Dior,The One Hundred: A Guide to the Pieces Every Stylish Woman Must Own by Nina Garcia, How to Survive a Horror Movie by Seth Grahame-Smith, Goodbye Phone, Hello World by Paul Greenberg,The Cleaning Ninja by Courtenay Hartford, 50 Successful Harvard Application Essays (3rd Edition) by The Harvard Crimson, Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man by Steve Harvey, How to Study in Medical School by Armin Kamyab,The Colette Sewing Handbook by Sarai Mitnick, How to Get Straight A’s In College by Alex Rojas,The Wait by DeVon Franklin and Meagan Good and 101 Places Not to See Before You Die by Catherine Price.
Reading these books, and many more, helped me transform from being a clinically depressed, antisocial, afraid, messy, social media obsessed straight-D student with no fashion sense or purpose to being a happy, self-respecting straight-A student. If I were to advise my “younger self” about attending OCC for the first time, I would share with her all of the wonderful things I’ve learned through reading between now and then.
I’d tell her to have higher standards, and to keep being diligent in her studies. I’d also try to recommend all of the new books I’ve read and liked in the past two years.
My journey with reading is ongoing. It started when I was very little, but the first time I used a book to solve a problem I was having was in my junior year of high school. Since I am an only child with two incredibly introverted parents, I was always terrible at socializing. I got ostracized from pretty much every social hierarchy schools placed me in from elementary school through high school. Since I don’t look particularly menacing at first glance, it was always easy for me to make friends, but I could never keep them. I just acted very weird once anyone tried to get to know me. I spent most of my public school days feeling utterly unincluded among throngs of people that seemed to be doing the whole social thing well. When I was fifteen, I went through the worst ostracism I have yet endured in my life. I was a very mean person back then. I was so mean that 6 girls I used to consider my “friends” gossiped about me on this group chat I wasn’t included in. It really hurt my feelings, and it was a big wake-up call for me to stop being so judgemental and rude to people. However, I had no idea how judgemental, rude, and mean I was back then until I read How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. That book totally transformed the way I view life and social interactions. It’s not that I was deliberately trying to hurt people’s feelings and make them dislike me before with my actions, but after reading that book, I realized that’s exactly what I did. Since I read that book at 16, I have applied it in almost every social encounter I’ve had. As a result, over the past 3 years, my social skills have improved. A sweet girl even gave me a compliment on my social skills recently, and she asked me how I managed to
be so calm when approaching new people. I recommended How to Win Friends and Influence People to the girl. She read it too, and she liked it.
A different problem I solved with reading is my grades. When I was in my sophomore year of high school, the same semester that I got ostracized from the aforementioned “friend” group, I ended a semester with almost straight D’s. I felt terrible about this, and I became clinically depressed. After that event, I had to attend summer school for 3 classes. It was so embarrassing. I loved to read, and I read a lot outside of school, but I had no idea what to do when it came to anything school related. I also found my high school curriculum to be boring. After I graduated, I vowed not to let the same thing happen in college, so I decided to spend the summer before college reading as many books as I possibly could about studying. Thankfully, once I started college, the books I had read and diligently took notes on helped me with the new curriculum. Then, I realized that I really like college, especially community college. I feel like there's something awesome to be learned from every professor who teaches at OCC, and I finally got to learn things I was actually interested in. Even the general education classes here are interesting to me because they are taught by people so devoted to their topics that they got Master’s Degrees in them. That in itself is inspiring. Now, I am close to finishing my second year of college with a 4.0 GPA thanks to the lovely books I’ve read on studying. The two study books I apply most in my daily life are How to be a Study Ninja by Graham Alcott and How to Study in Medical School by Armin Kamyab.
I was also fairly clueless about how to deal with the opposite gender until I read a few books about dating. Date•Onomics by Jon Birger taught me where to find boys, and Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man by Steve Harvey taught me how to deal with boys.
Both of these books have been very useful during interactions I have had so far with the opposite gender, and I hope to apply them more in the future.
Overall, reading has improved every aspect of my life, and I am very grateful that it exists. Reading is also something that’s covered in every college class, so it was useful to learn more about it while taking Strategies for College Success.
Asking Questions
I found many topics and concepts beneficial, and some of them I apply to my current life. One thing that I have been doing more of is asking questions. In all the modules and chapters there is always a question that I start off with and by the end of the module my question is answered because I search for the answers. The test taking and study skills was one of my favorite modules as well as the career and major exploration. Those modules were very informative on how to take notes, how to take a test and how to manage my test anxiety. They also helped me make a concrete plan, I know what I want to study and how to get there. I have also been networking and have talked with people who have my future careers. These are all things that I wasn’t told before. I have always tried to do things on my own, and it wasn’t till recently that I have realized that it is okay to ask for help and it is okay to take the help that is offered to me.
My brother and I are the first to go to college, my brother is struggling because of some mental health issues and for that reason I decided to take my time with my studies. I try to pass all my classes, while still working and helping my family with what I can. I am from a Mexican family, my dad works all the time, my mom is always busy with cleaning and taking care of my other siblings, so I feel like I owe it to them to graduate. My journey in college so far has been a bit rocky. My older brother is always trying to push me to do more and take more classes so that I can graduate as soon as possible. I try to keep organized but life is messy and sometimes interferes with my plans. I would like to be a speech language pathologist or a teacher in special education. I see how hard it is to work in this field, but I know that at the end of the day I will work to help others and that to me is rewarding. College is scary and it is difficult only if you allow it to be. If you need help then ask for it and get it, being a first-generation college student is difficult but not impossible.
One way to reduce anxiety and stress is to ask for help, to plan out what you need to achieve your goals. For example, I need to complete class X, Y and, Z by this date so that I can graduate by this year. I currently work and go to school. My plan is to get a certificate to be a speech language pathologist assistant and work in that position at the district I currently work for and work my way up from there. I started making goals both short term and long term. I have also started including both fun and academic goals to make sure I don’t miss out on certain experiences. So instead of just focusing on school and work, I include fun activities that are also personal goals of mine. I will be traveling this summer to Israel, Idaho, and Mexico. I have learned that I do not give myself time to destress and recharge. I run on little to no energy and that also affects my grades and health.
I have learned many new things about myself, for example for many years I have always tested and gotten INFP. This has been my result for the past 6 years. In high school I was in a college readiness program so I have been exposed to different assessments and have visited different universities to see my career options for the future. In this program I would take the assessment every year and every year my results would come back as INFP. This year however my result was INTJ. This shocked me, I thought about how this may interfere with my plans and to my surprise it didn’t. I didn’t think that I had changed and so I did some research on this personality type and what I read made me laugh. I am considered an independent thinker who focuses on solving the worlds problems. It is also considered the third rarest Myers-Briggs personality type, and about .5% of the population women are INTJ personality type. I was upset to find out that I was no longer INFP since that was what I had always been and the idea of me having changed was a bit scary. I even questioned if changing was a good thing. It is, changing is inevitable, its also necessary. Evolution for example, it is also necessary and sometimes its even for survival. I had focused way too much on the negative, so I stopped and decided to look at the good. There were many strengths and advantages listed about being an INTJ such as being rational, determined, loyal, and innovative. I still had many INFP traits, but I now have more of the personality type of INTJ. This module was quite important to me. I used my personality type to search careers and even consider where to live. I love nature and my alone time, so I considered somewhere like Idaho where life is much slower than it is being in a city. I find it easier to approach certain people and create relationships or even just network. I think it is important to know one’s strengths and weaknesses in order to use them to ones advantage. I will be using them to help me farther my education and learn more about myself in general. I would tell my younger self that the years it takes to get to my goal don’t matter, what matters is that I make it and to be happy. I want to look back and not regret my life or say that I didn’t enjoy my college years. I want to learn, laugh and love everything about my life and experience everything that I can while I am young and have the opportunity to.
Setting Goals
Experience as an International Student
One of the most significant struggles that I have had as a college student is time
management, a reality that I believe reflects the fact that I am from the United Arab Emirates
(UAE), where time conceive of time differently. In other words, Emirates do not stress time as
much as Americans, and so if a person is late five, ten, even fifteen minutes, people do not grow
annoyed and angry, much like they would in the United States. Regarding my academic life, in
particular, my notion of time, rooted in my culture as it is, has affected how I approach my
schoolwork and when I complete it. Put bluntly, I am inclined to wait until the last minute before
beginning an assignment or project, knowing full well that doing so will compromise its quality
and, quite possibly, lead to grades lower than I would have received had I started early and
worked incrementally. Receiving lower grades has, as one might expect, left me frustrated, and
for some time already, and even before this class, I have sought to change my habits, though to
no avail. Looking back, I believe the reason is that I did not have the tools or the strategies that
could have helped me better manage my time. For this reason, I found the module devoted to
time management the most helpful—and relevant—to my own life, so relevant that I not only
drew from it during my Spring 2022 Counseling 105 course but have drawn from it for years
already.
Of the lessons I took about how best to manage my time, one of the most salient was that
I must prioritize events in my life, positioning those that bear more importance ahead of those
that bear less. Though the takeaway is rather simple, prior to absorbing it I would struggled to
prioritize much of anything, and so devoted time to nearly everything that I came across. If I
needed to go to the gym, I went; if I needed to speak with family members or friends, I spoke to
them; if I needed to do anything, I did it, even if it was trivial and did not advance my interests.
Even though I ultimately came around to doing my schoolwork, by the time I did, I was often tired and only a few hours or so before the deadline. For this reason, I gradually learned to set aside those things that did not directly influence my education, allowing me to prioritize what
mattered and rid my life of the clutter. Without the clutter, I realized that I had more time than I
ever thought I had; in fact, I had more than enough time to do my work early and in stages, not
waiting until I was sweating and panicky before starting. Of course, this time management
strategy was not the only one that I embraced, and one that I really thought useful was not to
multi-task. I am not exactly sure where I picked up this strategy, but I imagine that it had to do
with trial-and-error, that is, the trials and errors that led me to believe that multitasking was not
in my future and should have probably not been in my past, either. As an overly-confident
youngster—I am nearing 30 now—I figured that I could do everything at once and the results
would always be the same, high. Turns out, I was wrong, and so I cast multitasking aside, doing
and finishing one task before beginning another. As I realized, I was more productive this way,
especially since my other time management strategy helped me take advantage of the 168 hours
that I had in a week.
In a world where everyone has too much to do, I chose not to multitask.
Another strategy that I found immensely useful when it came to improving my time management was the pomodoro technique, which consists of dividing the day into 24-minute segments separated by 5-minute chunks. As I recall, I was initially resistant to this technique, as I did not think that it was relevant to my life; besides, as a 20-year-old, what need did I have to methodically divide my time, as if I were in math class. Even so, I opted to use the strategy, knowing that I could not continue down the path that I had previously forged, a path where time management was almost nonexistent and wasted time was everywhere. Once I did, I recognized its value, as not only did the technique help me utilize my time more effectively, but it also helped me avoid becoming overwhelmed, which happened relatively frequently. Since I was an international student, I encountered linguistic, cultural, and other barriers that made my academic life in Orange Coast College more difficult than it may have been for native-born students. Hence, feeling overwhelmed, a feeling that the pomodoro technique helped alleviate, more so since I appreciated the intervals (admittedly, they sometimes lasted longer than five minutes for me) and how they allowed me to regain my focus and concentration. Afterwards, I returned to my work, which I was completing over the course of several days by now, finishing it well before the stated deadlines.
I enjoyed my time in Counseling 105 and, more than enjoyed, I took away information that has endured with me for roughly 10 years after finishing university. Likely, the information will continue with me for 10 more years, and then 10 more years after that, since if I have not forgotten it now—and I have not—there is no reason to think that I will forget it ever. Even so, if I had one recommendation for the class, I would have liked my professor to focus on how
different cultures think of time and how time plays out for members of these different cultures. By examining time and how other cultures consider it, OCC students, many of whom come from countries outside of the United States, may have seen more relevance in the information that the professor imparted. Nevertheless, I look back fondly on that class and on those years, more generally, knowing that I left university better than when I start, which is what I wanted when I first enrolled.
Setting Goals Pt. 2
I have had such an enjoyable time being able to take this class, I personally think
that taking a College Success class is very helpful and useful to help learn new ways to
be successful in college. I have taken a few college success classes in my past years of
college and every time I take a class like this I learn some things that are totally new to
me and that help me make college more enjoyable and a little bit easier. I have alway
never understood why I was never getting a hang of college. College has never come
easy to be and it has always been so frustrating for me. After taking these college
success classes I tend to understand a little bit more on how I can make my college life
a little bit easier through tips and tricks that I have been given along the way in this
class during the semester. One thing that has been a big takeaway from this class is
learning about identifying your goals and to learn how to goal set. I have always had so
many ideas in my mind of things that I want to do or experience throughout my young
years but I have never found a way to put them into action. After I learned about
SMART goals I put all of my ideas onto paper and am putting them into action. I learned
that no goal is out of reach as long as you are motivated and have a centered mind. The
tool that I used that I have learned from this class is SMART goal making. This is one of
the first goal setting tools that I have found useful. In all of my other college success
classes I have never found any goal setting tools that have stuck for me and that were
successful and motivational for me. It took a lot of study, trial and error for me to fully
understand how to get the best outcomes from this tool. After all of the trial and error it
definitely has been the greater outcome for myself and for my many ideas that I thought
were never going to be achieved. For the first step of using this tool it is very important
to ask questions to yourself to actually see if its a real goal that you want to overcome and accomplish. First I have to ask myself questions before I start mapping down my
SMART goal. Some of the questions that I ask myself are, am I motivated, does this
idea give purpose in my life or to me, where am I going and how am I going to get
there? Am I able to use my time management to achieve this goal? Does this goal
promote growth, happiness, and self-growth? Does this goal help my career or future
planning? After I ask myself these questions it is time for me to take action to write
down my ideas. SMART stands for Specific, measurable, achievable, relevant/realistic,
and time-bound. Having a specific goal has a better chance to be achieved, I have to
know exactly what will be accomplished. I have to also make sure my goal is
measurable, in order to make that happen establish a concrete criteria and half way
marks to show the progress of the goal. Always to make sure the goal is realistic and
achievable. Goals that are too high or too low tend to become meaningless and not as
motivational. One note that I found very useful in this topic in the module is that, “the
best goals are challenging but also not impossible.” Always make sure your goal is
relevant and realistic, goals should match up with values, short and long term plans.
And lastly, always make sure the goal is time-bound, assigning a “due date” for goals
makes them more realistic, actionable, and motivating. Ever since I have learned these
tools I have been putting them into my daily life and making my ideas that are stuck in
my head into actual actions with great results. I would definitely recommend this tool of
goal setting for anyone that is stuck on how to accomplish anything or to stay motivated.
After learning all of this in my class I have started mapping my plans to travel more to
countries that I have never been to. I have always wanted to explore different cultures
but I was always stuck in my head with ideas. Now I have a full mapped out SMARTgoal on how to travel. My first step is to take out a part of my paycheck each week to put into a savings that only goes towards my travels. In the next two months I will be
able to have enough money to travel to the destination that I have planned. I set time
stamps on when I need a certain amount of money and I have calculated how much
money and knowledge I need in order to continue my process to travel. It took a lot of
trial and error for me in order to fully understand how to map my ideas onto paper. After
watching a few videos and reading more notes on this tool I finally was able to
understand how to write a fully in depth plan on my ideas. It is such a good feeling being
able to learn a new tool to help me accomplish everything that I wanted to do in my life.
All I needed was the right idea, the right motivation, and a really good plan. At this
moment I am still working on how to keep being motivated even though it takes a lot of
progress to see outcomes. I tend to be very impatient when it comes to planning
because I want to see outcomes now. I have learned in order to stay motivated I need to
stick to time management and to always stay motivated. I do this by overlooking my
goals and to keep making progress little by little. I have never been more happy with
myself and my goals. I definitely recommend this to people that have all of those lost
thoughts in their minds with no tools to get them out into action.
Finding Success
I wasn’t sure what to expect from a counseling course. Would someone give me advice? Would I learn how to give others advice? This class turned out to be a little of both and helpful in many aspects of my life, both now and as I see in the future. From all the readings, videos, and assignments, I benefitted from many but will focus on the two most valuable and enjoyable. That would be from taking the Meyers Briggs Type Indicator Assessment (MBTI) and developing solid time management skills, not only with studying and doing my homework, but with sports, work, and my personal life, so I could be successful but remain sane.
The MBTI test results validated that I’m an introvert. This wasn’t too much of a surprise. My dad and older brother are both extroverts. I don’t have much in common with either of them, but I am attracted to people with these qualities, which is expected as I believe most of us look for friends or future mates opposite or different than ourselves. My girlfriend is a type A person, too. My mom and I are both laid-back, casual people in most situations. I say in most cases because I can be a bit more aggressive and straightforward in competitive sports. I always go with my gut, which has been accurate in most cases. Following my senses has worked best for me, so why change it? I try not to overthink things, as it can throw me off what is the best decision. On the other hand, my gut is precise and rarely fails – rarely, but it’s not failproof. I like to try new things and not always follow the rules, which can certainly come in handy with things like sports. I am compassionate and will try my best to do what is best for others. I put my family and friends first and like to make sure others are safe and happy. I think that’s an excellent way to be and will benefit me in my future endeavors. Being perceptive was the only new conclusion I learned about myself. I like to plan my day because it’s busy with work, sports and school, but when it’s my free time, which I don’t have much of, I guess I’m a bit more spontaneous than I would have concluded. Learning that I use my sensing more than intuition was the only surprise in the survey, but after reading a bit more about it, it makes a lot of sense.
This was fun to learn about myself and valuable when I saw how to apply my skills to how I did my homework, prepared for projects, and studied for tests. It also helped me work with people, which I do while playing a sport at OCC and when I work at Disneyland. Learning how I think, but also how and why others think the way they do, made it more evident that I could take what I learned about myself and others and handle challenging situations with a clearer head. Instead of being upset when someone is yelling – yes, this happens when you work at the happiest place on Earth, I’m sorry to report – I try to use the assessment and determine which of the categories an angry customer may be in and use introductory psychology to defuse the situation. So far, this has worked better than I thought, and I would not have learned about this skill, about myself, but about how others cope, without the MBTI, so it is undoubtedlybeneficial.
I also learned from the MBTI and the class better ways to take care of myself, physically and mentally, when trying to manage my time. This sounds easy but has been a struggle, especially with classes online. I wish I had learned these skills as a freshman, but I will use what I have learned in my next journey to UC Irvine and, I’m sure, with work and other future endeavors.
I learned that I need to plan things out where it fits best with my MBTI results in that I need time to myself to set reachable goals, plan how I can tackle my numerous schedules like school, sports, work, and keep my girlfriend, family, and friends as a top priority. I also need to be a bit more open when I’m stressed and need to defuse. I learned good ways to reach out when I need advice or guidance on something, that it’s good to know when you need it, and that it’s healthy to ask. I have reached out more to my OCC counselor this semester to learn what I need to prepare for UC Irvine and finish strong in my last few classes on this campus. Usually, I look for things online and hope I’m taking the suitablecourses. Still, this class has shown me where the resources are, which is excellent, but also how to communicate what I need from my family, friends, and counselors to be successful and happy during this hecticsemester. I feel like I am doing much better planning my workloads than last semester when things were scattered,and I felt like I was getting my work done right before the deadline, which contributed to significant amounts of stress. Now I use a planner for work, sports, and classes and try my best to stay ahead. This didn’t come quickly or easily. I’ve had to make a few adjustments for it to work for me but learning a bit about myself and what works for me from the MBTI assessment has helped me shape a solid time management planner and I feel more confident and less stressed with my workload.
Community College
Personally, I chose to attend community college because I literally had no idea what I
wanted to do, not even a clue as to my major. Being an only child with no siblings to help me
with my student loans, I was extremely precarious of racking up debt in a major I am not
confident in. My greatest fear was committing to a major I was not sure about at an expensive
university (in reality, all universities are expensive), then realizing that I had made a mistake
when I realized that I don’t really fit with my major, causing me to change majors and attend
school longer than the expected four years. Community college is the most affordable way to
obtain an education and a degree and in my opinion, the
lowest stakes with equal rewards. Undergraduate classes
taken in the first two years of any bachelors are mostly
introductory major courses and general education courses,
therefore, community college courses are exactly the same as
four-year university courses. The main difference is the
faculty to student ratio in classrooms as community colleges’
are much smaller and interpersonal than lecture-hall styles in
universities. Given that community college is such a low
risk, there is less pressure in having to commit to an area of
study, giving more freedom to explore options towards
building a career.
Now that you’ve made the decision to attend community college, it’s important to pick
which community college to enroll in. There definitely is a difference and you have the choice.
You’re probably attending knowing a general area of study you are interested in, whether it be
STEM, liberal arts, or performing arts– this is especially important if you’re considering
transferring as there is a difference amongst transfer rates between different community colleges.
Each community college has different transfer rates to different institutions, so look into that as
well– for example, there are a lot of transfers from Irvine Valley College to UC Irvine & a lot of
transfers from Pomona City College to UC Los Angeles (for computer science). I chose Orange
Coast College due to its unique Allied Health Programs, offering both certificates and Associates
of Sciences within their thirteen programs. I would also like to note that OCC has the highest
transfer rate in Orange County.
Once enrolled in the college, finish matriculation and orientation as soon as possible as
well as meet with a counselor. Meeting with a counselor is extremely important as they are there
to help you make a Student Education Plan (SEP) to map out your courses by semester based on
your area of interest. Don’t worry, this is just a plan and you’re not binded by it, you can always
meet with a counselor to make changes. Having a SEP is important as that will qualify you for
priority registration which makes a big difference when it comes to successfully enrolling in
classes you want or need. As a first semester student, you should definitely begin with your
prerequisite classes for your major, taking two hard classes at most, an easy class, and
counseling. For example, if you need a chemistry series for your major, definitely start taking
General Chemistry 1 in order to be eligible to take General Chemistry 2– these type of classes
are important to begin and pass. Secondly, it is an absolute must to take counseling to learn the
differences between highschool and college the easy way. No one is ever too good or too
knowledgeable not to take a counseling class. Highschool and college are extremely different
and do not be fooled thinking that having four classes instead of seven is going to be a breeze
with less lecture/class time. Lastly, do not use units as an example of how difficult or how much
work a class is going to take. Take only twelve units your first semester to allow yourself to
adjust, but be smart about the classes you are taking. For example, a four unit class of
Introduction to Biology compared to a four unit class of Critical Reasoning: Fiction (Writing) is
much different as there is more reading and writing. Courses such as History may have a lot of
reading or Mathematics may have a lot of problem sets and assignments to complete other than
just reviewing the material and studying. In my experience, four and five unit courses are a big
difference from three unit courses as some of the five-units include labs which in turn, can
almost be two separate classes as you must prepare for both lecture and labs, study for them
separately, and complete different assignments.
In terms of studying, it was briefly mentioned that highschool is vastly different from
college and to expand, college takes much more self initiative and discipline. Highschool
education is government mandated, therefore, teachers are concerned with preparing students
and passing them which means that teachers are more involved with guided studying. As a
highschool student, completing your homework and briefly reviewing the day before the test
should be enough, however, it will not be enough in college whatsoever. College does not assign
as much homework as highschool and it is by chapter instead of daily. Daily homework is daily
practice which makes it easier to learn and study, but since college homework is either due
weekly or every month, this causes a lot of students to procrastinate and do it all at once before
the exam, leaving them less time to study. Some college classes don’t even assign homework or
collect, therefore, it is not even in the gradebook to pad or buffer grades. It is up to you and you
alone to set up your own study schedule and allocate time to review the material. A side tip on
studying is that since homework is not collected everyday by teachers, it will be much easier to
do work in a separate spiral notebook. In my opinion, it is much more organized and neater than
having a bunch of loose leaf lined paper in a binder that will fill up and get heavy. More
importantly, reviewing your homework problems worked out is really helpful when doing the
review sheet for the exam. If your binder or looseleaf papers get lost or become unorganized, it
will be really hard to refresh your memory for the exam.
Lastly, one of my regrets during my freshman year of college about attending community
was that it felt that I was missing out on the dorm life that all my friends from high school got to
participate in. It was hard to see them have so much fun with their roommates and decorating the
dorms or joining sororities, but realistically, it’s just the rush of new things. Most college
students are excited to be out of the house with freedom, no curfew, and being able to party and
it’s really just the rush of new things. Although it can be fun, it’s really not all that and as a
junior, I barely see my friends that are posting about college anymore. As a community college
student, you can always hang out with your friends that are dorming or visit campus to party with
them, it’s not as if attending community cuts you off from those activities. One thing to
definitely note is that you should try to make friends in your classes and there’s nothing wrong in
putting in a little more effort as it’s harder than making friends in highschool or university. In
highschool, being that the class size is relatively small, it’s easy to start talking to someone who
is in a few of your classes and it is easier to make friends with your dorm neighbor or those you
see in the cafeteria all the time. College being so vast, it is unlikely that you will have the same
people in two classes, therefore, don’t be shy to reach out. It can be so helpful to have a friend to
ask questions (if class is canceled) or when an assignment is due. Be grateful that community is
very diverse in age and experience. During my years here, I’ve met graduate students,
entrepreneurs, and business owners who are all there for different reasons, but have all given me
different perspectives and advice not only about school, but about careers.
Overall, community was the best choice for me although I did not fully feel that way in
the beginning. Looking back, I have no regrets and am very secure and financially content.
Money and Wellness
For me personally I think the money matter and wellness topic is very important. I can apply these materials to my own life but using a budgeting app to help keep track of my expenses. As a college student your income is very limited, most people can only work part time jobs or not work at all and focus solely on school. Which is why having good money management skills are so important
If I don’t use any of these strategies I would be overspending and have no fund set aside if an emergency happens. When I first attended OCC I was a bit lost, I knew I wanted to go into the medical field but I didn't specifically know what specialty. It was after attending different classes I realized I was drawn to psychology.
Time Management
Time management and Motivation
The concepts acquired in the course were essential in enhancing my ability to transition into college. I used the class materials to acquire an insight on the process of transitioning to an OCC college. Prior, to undertaking this class, I had minimal understanding of the college life and the way a person can ensure success at the college level. In this case, my expectations about college life and engagement were extensively different from the reality. As such, most of the class materials played a key role in highlighting the major challenges that first generation college students face and the different approaches to overcome such challenges. The chapter reading provided essential information about different ideas that influence human behavior in terms of motivation, personality and values, time management and the process of learning. I used the reading material to identify the best approaches to attaining success in college such as ensuring concentration and understanding of the different concepts taught in class.
In addition, I used the videos provided in the class to acquire an insight into some of the internal and external aspects that affect a person’s ability to engage in different activities in college. The application of the class materials in real life was essential in enabling me to successfully interact and integrate with the college environment. In this case, I applied the ideas presented in the YouTube videos by different students about college life. In one of the videos, the students give information about their first college experiences regarding managing the independence that accompanies college and the new social environment. As such, I used the concept provided by these students manage my affairs in college. In terms of time management, the ideas provided in the videos were essential to my success in developing and adhering to a personal schedule that incorporated both personal and academic activities in order to ensure balance and success in different aspects of life.
Time management and motivation are extensively influenced by an individual’s background and experience. In this context, personal values play a key role in developing and upholding a personal time management plan. I was able to understand this topic based on my cultural, personal identity and experiences in the contexts of time management and motivation. From a personal identity perspective, I was able to understand that motivation is significantly influenced by my values. As such, the identity that I have created through cultural and social experiences have shaped my ability to establish little elements that can facilitate and promote motivation. My personality can be described in terms of openness. This personality trait has extensively been shaped by my cultural and family background. I grew up in a society that embraced the need for openness in terms of appreciating absorbing ideas. In this case, I believed that the ideas presented by other people through the videos and the readings regarding time management and management could also be applied in my case in terms of embracing the succeeding through college.
The first college experience could be quite challenging especially for an international student. However, my ability to be open regarding different suggestions and advice provided through the videos and readings, I was able to understand that college life requires a person to be flexible. In addition, my personality and background enabled me to go through all the videos and readings with minimal judgment of the presenter’s age and experience of college life. While most of the videos were presented in a funny approach, they contained substantial important information that would enhance my success at the college. The other videos were presented on a platform where most people would judge as credible because of the motivation behind some of the videos on such platforms. However, understanding such information was critical to my ability to manage time and establish some aspects of motivation throughout the course and college.
Time management and motivation function together towards ensuring effective attainment of personal and professional goals. By understanding the course content based on reading the materials and watching the YouTube videos given, I was able to develop a time management plan. In this case, the plan was essential to ensuring that I would complete all my tasks within the appropriate time. In addition, a time management plan eliminated any instances of procrastination in terms of the completing the course work, attending social events, and engaging in other crucial events in college. In addition, the time management plan allowed me to explore other additional agendas that would enhance my college success such as interacting with professionals in my target field of study.
In the case of motivation, understanding the course materials was essential in enabling me to understand my key sources of motivation. Motivation is important to ensuring a strong adherence to personal and academic goals and routine in college. As such, identifying the motivation factors helped me to focus on the college goals through reducing instances that could hinder success such as poor time management, and spending less time on my academic work. Also, after reading the class materials, I was able to understand the effect of my personality on motivation, such that I could integrate these values in my daily engagement and maintain optimal levels of motivation for college success.
The class was one of my best academic experiences because it provided important ideas about succeeding college. College is quite challenging for new students, especially those the foreign students. In my case, without the ideas and information acquired from the class, it would be extensively difficult to maneuver through college in my first year. The ideas and advice provided through the class readings and videos helped me to establish strong social networks, adapt to the college life and also focus on achieving both personal and academic goals.
Concentration and Distraction
The chapter I chose for this reflection is, “Concentration and Distraction”. The entirety of this
chapter has helped me in a lot of ways. One being, how and when I study. I was not a solid college
student in my previous attempts at school but learning and adapting my studying to what is required for
school has helped me tremendously. I wake up early every day, regardless of if I have work or not, to
work on my school and daily responsibilities. This has not only a tremendous effect on my work, but my
mindset as well. There is a sense of achievement when waking up early and getting your work done, plus
the added benefit of having the rest of your day to work on other things or relax. This mindset and
routine are something I wish I knew when I was younger, but I suppose learning it the way I did was
needed.
Distractions is another thing that I’ve been working on as well. There are two types of distractions,
internal and external. Internal distractions come in the from your own thought process, self-esteem, or
one’s own confidence. This self-doubt and harmful thought processes can have a negative effect on your
work output and work quality and is something that I needed to work on. Meditating and taking the
time out of my day to address these concerns is something that has helped me set these distractions
aside when needed, like when I do my schoolwork. Even my phone can be considered an internal
distraction considering it is controlled by me, and when I am doing my work, I set it aside and don’t
touch it unless necessary while I do my work. These tools have helped me tremendously on
concentration. Along with internal distractions, I had to work on minimizing my outside distractions as
well. I work in a separate room, which I leave completely silent and isolated while I do my work. I take
breaks in between hours of work to reset myself. Doing this has drastically improved how much work I
can get done at a given time, and the quality of it.
Multitasking is something I try to avoid. When I work on something I try to work on it till a big
chunk of it is done, and then I can divert my time to some other project or complete it all together.
Switching back and forth interrupts the focus I have on an assignment and is not something I ever do. In
doing this, I have seen benefits not only in my school life, but in my life in general. I accomplish less,
even though it may feel like I’m accomplishing more by multitasking. Having the ability to focus solely on
one thing at a time, especially in school, is super important to me.
Another chapter I found helpful, is chapter 11, and the focus on being healthy all around. This
involves physical health, emotional health, mental health, and maintaining healthy relationships. This
semester I started working out regularly, which is something I have always done off and on, but with my
filled schedule with work and full-time school I always had a hard time constantly finding the will to go
work out. Once I started this semester, I challenged myself to find time and get outdoors, going on hikes
multiple times a week. Although the hikes are only about 3 miles, finding this time to get outside and
breath fresh air not only is good for my physical health, but my mental health as well. I find being
outside in the hills by my house very relaxing and am finding joy in physical exercise. Not only has this
helped with keeping myself responsible, but it has had affects in more aspects of my life. Such as, eating
healthy to accompany this exercise. Both of these things in turn create a healthy and clear headspace
for me when I do my schoolwork. Especially with being stuck inside for so long due to the pandemic,
getting outside and moving has been a great habit I have developed this semester, backed up by this
chapter it has only motivated me more to keep these habits going.
The healthy eating chapter was eye-opening. Although I knew eating healthy literally has no downsides,
finding the energy to do it was harder to find. Choosing whole foods, over refined and processed foods
was an easy adaption for me, considering the benefits. These choices not only shaped my health but had
such an improvement on my energy and mental health. As with everyone, during the pandemic my
mental health was going downhill, and I needed a change in my life to help counter this. Clearing my
mind with these new habits has not only helped with my groggy cloudy mental state and energy, but has
had direct effects on my schooling.
Along with eating healthy, regularly getting outside for exercising has felt like it has changed me
the most. Knowing that these activities help with my flexibility, strength, and most importantly my
cardiovascular health is a major driving factor in doing them. These habits are something that everyone
should try tog et into, and something I wish I regularly did years and years ago. They have rippled into
my everyday life and have improved it in every single way, giving me more energy and drive.
Another chapter that has had a profound effect on my life, is chapter 3, and time management.
This issue is one I have known has been a problem for me for a long time. I struggle to find the
appropriate amount of time to do things, and to juggle everything I need to do correctly. This is
something I still struggle with, but has been improved by this course. There is a high cost of poor time
management, as stated by the textbook. Not spending enough time on things, or dividing the right
amount of time between things has a “domino effect” on the rest of your life. Going from a more
structured K-12, college is up to you, and what you make it. There is no one there to help you and make
sure you stay on tract, and is a defining moment in peoples lives. I have in the past, failed at this
transition, but this time I feel confident in myself. I know I want to be in school now, versus feeling like I
was forced to before, which is a revelation that has improved every aspect of my schooling. Spending
enough time outside the classroom, or class time, on learning is just as important as the time you spend
in class. A lot of the learning I have to do myself, and this has helped me with being responsible and
keeping on track with everything. Although I still fail at this sometimes, it has drastically improved. Some
things I can do better, is properly schedule my time and what I need to do each day. I have schedules set
up for this, but fail on deadlines occasionally, and is something that I need to work on and improve. All
of these chapters have been profoundly helpful in my journey. Being self-aware of the things I need to
work on is just as important as the assignments. Thank you for a great semester, and all of the
knowledge you have passed along to us.
Time Management
My future wasn’t always clear about who I needed to be or what I wanted to do but I knew that I could count on myself to get up and go to school. Whether I was having a breakdown or just not up to it, my education posed as a distraction for me to take a break from the outside and focus on something. As someone who has had a few hiccups in the past with school, time management was always hard for me. From being embarrassed in front of other classmates and being called out by others as well it added onto the stress of my life. I always stressed when it was time for a project or studying for a test. It was “easier” to put it off instead of doing it. This created a very bad habit that stuck with me in middle school until now really. High school was really hard for me to adjust to with the minimal homework in middle school to longer papers and bigger projects really mad it hard especially because I could get away with my procrastination in middle school. This led me to getting failing grades, academic probation, and summer school. I was on the verge of going to a continuation school by my sophomore year. After bad grade upon bad grade this ultimately led to my decision to come to Orange Coast College. In November of 2020 my 6 person household was diagnosed with COVID-19 this drastically took effect on mental health and my health. I started making this worse by putting things off, not speaking with a counselor and not doing my homework.
One of the things I learned while trying to routinely manage my time was that like most things time management is a process. You need to find a way to become consistent and you will grow from there. That was the key thing that I had issues with. Consistency was something I was lacking like I would be doing so well one week and the next week I fall back into the same habit I was doing before and it really became exhausting for me. Just because of this I have certain things to help keep me on track I synced all my calendars between my laptop and phone for school along with adding my new work schedule. I started to limit my online distractions even little things like a new notification anytime I am doing homework my phone and laptop are on do not disturb this really helps me because I am one to sit and watch tiktok for hours but this has also helped my sleep pattern and overall how I feel in the morning. One thing that I couldn't do was take breaks or have “me time” weird I know but this made everything worse because once I take more than a 5 minute break I begin to do something else and this messed up the momentum for me almost always. I also like to set time limits on how long each assignment should take and doing that throughout the week really helps with my progress especially when writing papers.
There is this really cool technique I love to do and its called the Eisenhower Matrix named after Dwight Eisenhower. They said he created this when he was dealing with World War II to help him delegate and prioritize tasks. So basically you can draw this up or separate it with colors on a calendar like I did. So you choose 4 colors or draw 4 squares and you would categorize them by do, schedule, delegate and eliminate. You would mark things accordingly in these categories by urgent or important. This helped me with dues dates, papers, projects and homework this also helped me realize that somethings in my outside world did not need to be put first and it helped eliminate small things. One app I love using is Momentum Dash this is something I downloaded on my dashboard and it also shows me a to do list on my internet browser and when you pull up a new tab it reminds you of what you need to be doing. After this technique and this app I took pride in getting things done and turning them in. I am still working on my consistency but it is definitely getting better and overall I just dont feel down or stressed out all of the time. I think time management is very important and should be a main goal for everyone to master and achieve.
Values & the MBTI Assessment
When I was in highschool I struggled significantly with academics. I was diagnosed with ADD and was failing almost every class besides my electives and sports. Due to my struggles with academics school always brought on anxiety for me and I always felt as I wasn’t good enough or smart enough to finish and get a degree. What I did excel at was softball and thought my only way to college would be through an athletic scholarship. I ended going to a community college right out of highschool due to not knowing what i wanted to do with my life yet or what my passions were.. I played softball at the community college and excelled in the sport but as I did just in highschool I struggled with academics and after my 2 years at the junior college I decided to stop going to school and work full time. I worked many jobs just getting by until I had experiences in my life that led me to my current job as a social worker for Mental Health. I have finally found my passion and have been excelling at my job for the last 3 years. This is what led me to ultimately go back to school as now I know what I want to pursue my career in and I am passionate about it. I decided to start at OCC as I still had some classes I needed to take before transfer to a UC which is my goal. I decided to take the COUN A105 to gain some more knowledge and support about succeeding in college as it had been many years since I had been out of school, and I was feeling anxious due to my past struggles with academics.
There were two lessons in this class that really resonated with me and I felt like I gained a lot of support and confidence from. The first lesson was learning our values. Values are basic and fundamental beliefs that guide or motivate us, they help us to determine what is important to us. This was extremely important and helpful for me as for years I struggled in school and really felt like I had no drive or purpose. After doing the activity where you found your top three values it put things more in perspective for me. I always knew what was important but this activity just laid it out more clearly. It helped to see my end goal and why I need to stay focused even when things may get difficult. My values provide my reason and motivation to continue forward with my schooling. In my life now I am married and have a daughter, Family is one of my top three values. My family it what drives me to succeed. I want to be able to show my daughter that you can find your passion at any time in your life and that you can always go back and try again in something you may have not succeeded in before.
The second lesson that stood out to me was the MBTI Assessment. MBTI helps you to learn more about your personality preference and how they relate to your career. Currently I am already in the beginning of my career working as a social worker however there are many different direction it could go. After receiving my results back it showed me that not only is social worker something that would be a good career for my personality type but also working in Mental health which has become a passion of mine. This solidified that I am doing what I am meant to be doing in my life and that I am headed in the right direction.. I already felt that way as I am passionate about my work but there are times where I wonder if there is something else I should be doing or if I would be better in a different career. I am thankful for the MBTI assessment as not only did it solidify my direction but I also learned about how I can use certain parts of my personality to my advantage and areas where I can improve and grow.
I am happy that I took COUN A105 as one of my first courses back in school. I learned a lot and it helped me feel comfortable coming back to college. The Values and MBTI assessment is something I wish I could go back and teach my younger self, it was hard for me to see and purpose or find any drive to succeed at the time. After taking many years off from school and working jobs that provided me no fulfillment or purpose I am happy to be able to say I have found my passion and now know what degree I need in order to support my career. I wish I could have taken this course when I was younger however, I am not sure I would have received it the same way as I have now after all the struggles and experiences I have had. I feel this course is not only positive for incoming student that came from high school but also for the new student who is deciding to come back to college, or the student who is unsure of what direction they want to go in. I am thankful I decided to take this course.
Goal Setting, Stress Management & Time Management
This is my first year at Orange Coast College. This is consider to be a new chapter in my life after high school and it seems to be harder than I expected it to be. Back in high school, my academic ability would be around average, I wasn’t the smart kid in class and I knew it before already, that academic isn’t my strongest suit. You could say that I did struggle a bit with classes that my friends or others consider to be easy. I never really have an interest in studying and always seems to get sidetrack or distracted by other things when I was supposed to be focus on studying, and that really hinder with my academic process, which led to my grades dropping or not looking the best. Another problem that I noticed that I have throughout high school is my time/schedule management which had caused me to several stressing moments that could have been avoided easily if I were to manage my time better and not slack off. I personally find it really hard to balance the time for school, work, family, friends, working out, and relationships which had caused to me to me stop talking to some people, losing some friends, or getting into arguments with my family due to not having the time to interact with them, which got even worse when the pandemic happened. I never had a good relationship with my family in the first place due to miscommunication, misfortune events, and our personalities which got even worse when I had to stay home most of the time when quarantine was enacted to prevent the disease from spreading. At one point around last year, I realize that my I don’t have my life together at all and there are things that need to be done in order to get my life together again. It was then that at the started this year I made up my mind to improve my life, and after I finished high school that I got word of an upperclassman about a class that would be able to assist me in my process of improve my life, and that’s why I’m in Counseling A105.
Throughout this course, I have learned and acquired many skills that are quite useful in the long running and would prepare me for my future classes, maybe even career. One of them that sticks out to me is goal-setting which also include strategies to stay motivated during week 3, which is something that I desperately need. Some of the important ways that I learned were to put your goals/plans and set achievable steps that needed to be complete in order onto paper so that you wouldn’t forget. You must also need to also keep track of your progress and set a due date so that you would be able to stay on track, also remember to celebrate the small little successes so you would be able to stay motivated for the rest of the way. On that note, the best way for you to stay motivated is to surround yourself with supportive people who would be willing to help you out and set you up for success, and for that to happen you would also need to have a positive attitude/mindset so that you wouldn’t give up when facing failure or challenges.
Another incredibly important lessons that I learned during week 4, that is time, stress, and health management, one of the problems that I’ve been struggling with the most for the longest time. As I mentioned before in the story of my past, I’ve never been an organized person and that include my schedule and time management which has caused me to lose a lot of people who I hold dear to my heart. During that week I’ve learned to get rid of distractions and other relationships that are not beneficial to me in order to reduce stress and gain the extra time and effort that I could have put into more useful things. I also learned to prioritize my time to more important and beneficial tasks or people rather than entertainment or toxic people who only hinder my growth and development. I also realized that mental and physical health is also a very important factor that need to be keep in check so that you would have enough energy to take care of yourself and tackle all of your challenges. That is definitely be something that I would recommend to myself because I’ve been neglecting my physical and mental health since middle school because I deem them to not be important, however, after I decide to improve both of them, my mind and body were better than before which prepare me better for the upcoming challenges.
If I could give an advice to my past self, I would advise myself cut back on the entertainment, try to improve my mental health, and don’t blame everything onto someone else. I realize that I’ve been running away from my problems for too long and I should take care of them rather than ignoring them because they would only get worse over time. This class have taught me many things that would probably stick with me for the rest of my life and that there is always room for improvement, a chance to be the better person, and that nothing is impossible with commitment and effort.
Staying Motivated & Growth Mindset
I am a student athlete here at OCC. In high school I would have never thought I would be playing baseball at a junior college. It’s every little kid’s dream to play any division 1 sport then go on to play professionally. So naturally that's what I thought I would be doing. Growing up, I always used that for motivation to get better at baseball. When I got to high school that was when I started to realize just playing baseball and neglecting my studies would not allow me to play during the season. That led to me making my main motivation to excel in school, but only to remain eligible for the baseball season. I didn’t set my goals very high, which resulted in the bare minimum each semester.
In my first and second semester here at Orange Coast, I failed my classes miserably. It was the first time I had to live on my own, try to balance school, and a collegiate sport. After getting redshirted during the baseball season, I didn’t set any intentions for myself to stay on track and to get better. I can admit that I had no responsibility over my priorities and never stopped myself before it got worse. I practiced, traveled, and did everything the rest of the team did besides play in games. I’d felt extremely discouraged being on the team and not being able to be apart of the main part of the sport. I didn’t take any initiative towards my personal priorities so I would always say things such as, “I don’t feel like it” or “I’ll do it later” to avoid those responsibilities which lead to my lack of motivation. Throughout the rest of the year plus the summer season, turned into a huge drag for me. During week 3 of this course, I learned more about motivation tactics and was introduced to the growth mindset. Staying motivated throughout a long baseball season is very important but very difficult to maintain when priorities aren’t straight.
This semester I found ways to keep myself motivated and on pace to achieve my goals. My goals were no longer to just barely get by, but to surpass the expectations. I incorporated daily affirmations, gratitude practices, reminders of what I’m capable of. These helped me stay motivated to recognize the progress I’ve made and the main reason why I started to take this more seriously than I’ve been in the past. I tend to not recognize my strengths, capabilities, and progress because I would feel like I was being arrogant and not humble. However, through these lessons, I learned that it’s important to realize these things because it shows my growth and my drive towards this sport which I found was essential to my personal growth. It’s super encouraging when your surrounded by people that strive for similar goals and my roommate is a great example. Being able to observe how organized and determined he is to reach his goals, made me take a step back to realize if I’m doing enough for myself. This can easily be turned into self-doubt as we can compare ourselves to others, but I allowed myself to see it in a different perspective. I find that maintaining a positive demeanor while creating realistic intentions keeps me going especially during difficult times. The growth mindset helped me realize that there is always room for improvement. No matter how hard or how simple, I’m capable of anything if I put my mind to it. This semester, I made sure to create a huge shift in my attitude towards school and baseball to maximize all of the opportunities I receive to my fullest potential.
If I were to go back my first semester at Orange Coast College, I would tell myself to take COUN105 in the first semester. The lessons that I have learned throughout this course, have immensely benefited me to navigate my way through the school and aid me to keeping my life outside of school organized. With the knowledge this class has given me, I believe I could be the student I’ve always strived to become.
Staying motivated and practicing the growth mindset has shaped me into a better person than I was before I took this course. Taking this course is one of the best decisions I have made here at OCC. I will continue to work to be the best version of myself and implement these lessons in my life.
Prioritizing Myself
I remember back when I was around 15 or 16, I realized that I loved filling my schedule and staying busy. I had something going on every weekend, from camps, church activities, lion dancing, etc. I remember, how good it felt to not be able to overthink and be stuck in my thoughts. I’d rather keep busy than be free with my thoughts. After Covid hit, I realized how that was making my mental health worse. I shoved down all my emotions in hopes that what I was doing would make me happy. It didn’t at all. I became so numb inside because I ignored how I was feeling physically and mentally. I think how I really wore rose colored glasses in a way. I showed people the highlights of my life, and even tried to convince myself that my life was good.
Going through college during Covid, I realized how burnt out and tired I was of life. School wasn’t helping it, being isolated. I was looking for different ways to cope with it. Binge watching, reading, anything I could do at home to keep me company. It took me around 2 years to realize that I was making myself feel even worse than before Covid. I was in a toxic environment and didn’t even know that I was. This environment was not only something I had created for myself, but what others around me helped create. Some of the things I did were also so toxic,and I stayed because I hate change. I didn’t want to confront it.Eventually during Covid, I did cut off some of those commitments, and felt very negative inside still. I hated the fact that it was all coming at once and I couldn’t express or let my feelings out.
When the semester started and I was going through the modules, I realized that these simple concepts were so important. I started reflecting and applying some of the things we were learning to my everyday schedule. I learned so much of myself not only as a student, but also as a person. I realized that taking care of myself is the most important thing of all. Looking back, I didn’t look after myself, and that was probably what was hurting me the most. It wasn’t all the different commitments and events that I piled onto my plate. I feel that back then if I had taken care of my physical and mental health, my anxiety wouldn’t have been so high leveled. I started to show myself the patience and focus that I lacked when I was younger, and I slowly started to heal and feel better. Better can be and look different for many. It doesn’t look the same to everyone. But for me, just learning what type of student I am and knowing my limitations is progress for me.
As a student, I get overwhelmed easy because I procrastinate. But I started to set little goals for myself where I would space out all my assignments, quizzes, and projects. Slowly working that goal, I felt way more accomplished because I would finish something everyday so I didn’t have so much on one day and fall behind. Even though it got hard at some points because my schedule got so crazy, I still managed to get the work done. If you learn what type of student you are, it helps a lot because you know your strengths and weaknesses. Learning how to be patient with my education and myself is a proud moment of mine.
Putting myself first in my commitments and obligations, was a big change but a successful one as well. I used to have this mindset that once it’s on my plate, I have to do it to the best of my abilities without stop. I realized how unhealthy that was, and this year coming back, I took on the mindset of myself over everything. It took a lot of tears and sadness before I changed, but it really has been for the best. It sounds very selfish to others. But seeing how I feel way more confident in myself and my abilities, it’s truly so amazing. I know when to say no to things I cannot handle, and say yes to things I can handle and feel good about. This class has helped confirm and assure me that cutting off the toxic things is a big accomplishment and I shouldn’t beat myself down about it.
I feel that this is so all over the place like my thoughts, but what I want to say is: Take care of yourself. Put your wellbeing before everyone, and everything will fall into place. If you’re happy and healthy, you’ll have that positive mindset.
I remembering reading this book back in high school and even though I couldn’t figure out why it resonated with me, but I carried it in my mind and heart. Growth really is a process, but once you figure it out, it makes things way easier.
Building Accountability
I am first year student at OCC and this is my narrative. I never thought I would actually end up in college and am really proud of myself for making it this far. In highschool I struggled alot especially throughout Covid-19. Covid took a huge tool on my mental health and not being in person for school took a huge toll on my grades and habits. I became really unfocused and basically failed out of my sophomore and junior year of highschool. WHen we eventually went back for my senior year I noticed that I had lost all study habits, and had no idea how to function in a real class setting after two years over zoom. I found it really hard to number one play catch up from the prior years and also find a way to slide by my senior year to graduate on time. I became super stressed and had created a resentment towards school and just learning overall. But also at this time I was suffering severely and my mental health was at an all time low. Trying to find a way to do my school work and even just show up to school had become incredibly hard for me. But nevertheless I somehow graduated, I think my teachers partially just felt bad for me. But my parents had always wanted me to go to college but never required it since my dad did drop out and I never saw it as necessary since he was the main income of the household and super successful. But they gave me an option, either go to college or find something that i'm passionate about to do with my life. At that time I didn't really have any passions, since I barely even left my room unless it was for my minimum wage job at a pizza place. SO it seemed like my choice was college. And now I moved out and am a full time student at OCC. My counselor suggested this class because I had expressed my concerns about how my work ethic might affect my life in college. SHe suggested this class and I am very happy she did.
This semester I was given many tools to introduce new techniques of studying and forming good habits that will benefit me. I got introduced to the concept of a growth mindset and a new way to keep myself motivated. I now use daily affirmations, mindfulness and gratitude practices. I recently got a gratitude journal and I have to log what I am grateful for and a list of other things and the beginning and end of each day. This has made me realize how truly blessed I am and how I shouldn’t take things for granted like I did in the past. I now look at my two years in quarantine as a learning and growing experience instead of being trapped in my house with nothing to do. It took me a while but I now realize how much I truly learned about myself and the fact I entered and left quarantine two different people.’
I also learned that I need to hold myself accountable and it doesn't always have to be a bad thing. Holding myself accountable can mean for my losses and procrastination but also congratulating myself on my wins. Creating a constant routine and schedule is what helped me alot as well. Waking up at the same time every morning, despite if I have anything to do or not, has been a game changer. I have always slept in so late until I started forcing myself to wake up and get things done. It has helped tremendously in my journey on bringing back my work ethic back, when it comes to school. Being motivated also led me on a journey of self discovery because to keep myself motivated I have too believe in myself. And coming from someone who has struggled with confidence their whole life and always finds the worst things to think of themself, it meant alot to me.
Discovering this new found confidence in school and just day-to-day life has become extremely beneficial and has gave me a new interest in school I never thought I would have found within myself. And it is because of the lessons I have learned throughout this class including test taking tips, the growth mindset, motivation tips and time management/stress management.
Procrastination has always been a really bad habit of mine and I always tend to do things last minute (including this, finals week taking a toll lol). But throughout the stress and time management modules and lesson I learned new tips to keep me stay on track and everything in on time and completed to my best ability. I have really taken a liking to the Pomodoro Technique, which is when you study for say 30 minutes and take a 10 minute break and study for another 30 and keep going until you understand the material. I also use the tip, “daily highlight”. It gives you one main focus of the day and something to kind of force yourself to proritize. And for me that has been a game changer because it gives me one main focus and something to put my mind too to get done.
Throughout this class I have learned alot, but the tips that I will continue to use and have genuinely impacted my life for the better, seemed to be the biggest standout for me. They have improved my mental health, even if thatt wasn’t the target outcome and have made my education experience more pleasant and I am very grateful for that and the lessons this class taught me. I am extremely grateful my counselor requested I take this class and will recommend it to anyone who asks, there is a lesson to learn for everyone in their own paths of life, and I believe it genuinely can make a lasting impact on someone who takes it.
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oercommons
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2025-03-18T00:39:24.659596
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Mai-Thi Pham
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"title": "Lesson",
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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/65047/overview
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Education Standards
Annotated-IEP
Annotated Perm to Eval
ER_ANNOTATED
Evaluation-Report
https://www.wrightslaw.com/law/art/history.spec.ed.law.htm
IEP
IEP Scavenger Hunt for Webquest
IEP Scavenger Hunt Webquest
NOREP
NOREP_ANNOTATED
Perm to Eval
History of Special Education and the Special Education Process
Overview
This resource can be used by an individual to learn more about the history of special education and the process of special education.
PL94 - 142 and History of Special Education
Assignments:
ADAPTATIONS AND ACCOMMODATIONS
Observe your surroundings for the next two weeks. What specific adaptations or accommodations do you notice for people with disabilities? Check out buildings, technologies, your home, etc. One example would be Braille on keys of an elevator.
Compile a list of your observations, minimum of 10.
Include photos.
Compile a list of 10 adaptations or accommodations that you feel need to be made.
Point System:
10 points list of 10 observations
10 points 10 photos of observations
10 list of 10 of your own recommendations for needed accommodations
30 Total possible points
Timeline of History of Special Education
Create a timeline of the changes impacted by laws that have made significant adjustments to how we educate the learners with special needs. Begin with the Board vs. Education case in 1954 and travel in time through Every Student Succeeds Act in 2015.
On your timeline, note the year, the name of the law, and a one-paragraph description of how the law changed education. You must add at least things to the timeline.
Points: Name of at least Eight Changes 8
Year 8
Paragraphs 16
Total 32 points
PL94-142 is the public law that actually started the right and privileges for educating students with disabilities. Prior to this law (1975) enactment, students with disabilities were often kept at home or even institutionalized. All the nightmarish stories you may have heard about classrooms next to boiler rooms in the basement of the schools or in trailers behind the schools are true. This law was the pioneering act to make educaiton for learners with disabilities more equitable. Schools went through many transitions from the enactment of this law up to present times, and, the law changed as well over the years.
Please see the link to Wright's Law to learn more about changes to the law, beginning with some case law (Brown vs. Board of Education in 1954), Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), and other case laws building up to the 1975 PA94-142 enactment. PA94-142 provided Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) and Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) to learners with special needs. The law morphed into Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004, No Child Left Behind, and finally into the Every Student Succeeds Act in 2015.
Special Education Process
Assessment:
Scavenger Hunt from Referral to NOREP – 14 points
Use the resources and attachments provided in the Special Education Process section to complete the answers to these questions.
Matching: Write the letter on the line which indicates the correct form to satisfy each action. Two choices will not be used. Several have two possible answers. One point each (10).
1. Placing a student in special education A. Permission to Evaluate
2. Requesting testing B. NOREP
3. Gathering information from parents and teachers C. Evaluation Report
4. The MDT determines placement D. ER
5. Reporting of testing information E. Manifestation Determination
6. Parent must sign to proceed F. Notice of Recommended Placement
G. Permission to Reevaluate
H. Referral
Answer the following questions with one to two sentences. Be sure to capitalize each sentence and use a punctuation mark at the end --- Right? I shouldn’t have to state this. Two (2) points each.
7. Do all persons at the MDT have to agree on the recommended placement?
What form will you use to find this answer? How do they indicate that they agree or disagree and is there something they have to do to indicate their choices?
8. Who can make a request for testing a student for special education services?
What is this process called and how might someone make a request?
9. What information is on the Evaluation Report that might help to determine eligibility for special education? Give at least four things that are reviewed for this purpose.
10. Where would the following types of behaviors be recorded and for what purpose?
- Difficulties in communicating efficiently
- Uneven learning patterns in all domains including cognition, communication, socialization and self-help
- Difficulty learning new tasks, maintaining new skills, and generalizing skills to new environments.
- Difficulty demonstrating problem solving skills when new skills or information is presented in a traditional academic curriculum.
The process of Special Education begins with a referral.
The referral can originate from a parent, teacher or other school personnel. The Individual with Disabilities Education Act, mandates that school districts have the responsibility to identify, find and evaluate students who are suspected of having a disability. This is called child find. The referral should be in writing.
Parents must then sign a Permission to Evaluate Form. See resources attached for Permission to Evaluate form and the annotated version.
Once this form is signed, the School Psychologist will begin gathering information and testing the student to determine eligibility. There is a 45 school days time limit to complete the process of compiling a report with the results. The report will review the information gathered, review of records, testing results, and observation reports. The information will be used to determine if the student has a disability. The disability category will be stated on the Evaluation Report. There is an Evaluation Report attached along with an annotated form.
There may be some categories of disabilities that a School Psychologist is NOT permitted to diagnose, for example one that is health related like Autism Spectrum Disorder or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. In these cases, the diagnosis must be made by a doctor - a physician or a psychiatrist. The diagnosis can then be added to the Evaluation Report in determining eligibility for special education. When determining eligibilty, two things much be found: a disability and a showing a need. Showing a need is often determined when the student is failing.
A meeting is held to review the results of the evaluation. This meeting is called a Multi-Disciplinary Team Meeting (MDT). The persons who should attend are the parents, the Local Education Agency representative (LEA), the school psychologist, the regular education teacher and the special education teacher. [The LEA is usually the principal, who represents the school.] Other people who may attend are the school nurse if there is medication or a health-related disability, the Title I teacher if applicable, a counselor, physical therapist (PT), occupational therapist (OT), or speech therapist (if any of these needs are applicable), or anyone else who has worked with the child or may have significant input. For example, if the student may need Assistive Technology for his/her education, then a specialist in this field may attend the meeting. The parent may invite anyone to the meeting, especially for support, for example a parent advocate.
Once the information on the Evaluation Report is reviewed at the MDT, a determination is made regarding the need for special education placement. Remember, two things must be found: a disability diagnosis and showing a need. Then, another form is used to make the placement, the Notice of Recommended Placement (NOREP). The NOREP will officially place the student in special education. The NOREP is in the attachments along with the annotated form for your review. From the time of the signature on the NOREP, the special education teacher has ten days to complete the Individualized Education Program (IEP).
In the next section, we will look at the IEP.
Individualized Education Program
This is the Key for the Handout on the webquest.
KEY_IEP Scavenger Hunt
| Your answer: | Source – Website used |
What is the general definition for an IEP given in the IDEA Federal Regulations? | written statement for each child with a disability that is developed, reviewed, and revised in a meeting in accordance with §§300.320 through 300.324, and that must include—PLOP, goals, related services, progress, participation with reg. ed. rates, transition services, accommodations and modifications. | IDEA - https://sites.ed.gov/idea/regs/b/d/300.320 |
Give an example of present levels of performance in an IEP for a student with a Learning Disability in Reading? | vary | IDEA - https://sites.ed.gov/idea/regs/b/d/300.320 |
What must occur during the 45 school day time period after the school receives parental consent for an initial evaluation? | Evaluation report is provided to parents. | |
How long will the evaluation process take place? | 45 School Days | |
Give an example of what a full-day self-contained classroom looks like. |
| |
Where would you list information about medications on the IEP? | Special Education Related Services | |
How often do new evaluations occur? | Every 3 years | |
When must the Procedural Safeguards be presented to parents? | Once a year and Upon notice of a disciplinary change of placement Initial referral or parent request for evaluation Parent request for the PSN, AND The first occurrence of a due process complaint or State complaint in a school year | |
Give an example of what transition services might look like. |
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At what age does transition services begin? | 14 or 16 | |
What happens if the parent does not agree with the evaluations? | Right to request an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) at no cost to the parent. | |
How often is the IEP updated? | (i) Reviews the child's IEP periodically, but not less than annually, to determine whether the annual goals for the child are being achieved; and
(ii) Revises the IEP, as appropriate, to address -
(A) Any lack of expected progress toward the annual goals described in § 300.320(a)(2), and in the general education curriculum, if appropriate;
(B) The results of any reevaluation conducted under § 300.303;
(C) Information about the child provided to, or by, the parents, as described under § 300.305(a)(2);
(D) The child's anticipated needs; or
(E) Other matters. |
The Individualized Education Program (IEP) idocuments the support that the child who is identified with a disability will receive. Please review the blank IEP form in the attached resources along with an annotated form. The Special Education teacher is the case manager and will usually complete a draft IEP prior to the meeting to review the IEP. Changes can be made to the draft at the meeting before the IEP is finalized. The meeting is called a to review the IEP and attendees are the same as in the Multi-Disciplinary Team Meeting (MDT). The persons who should attend are the parents, the Local Education Agency representative (LEA), the school psychologist, the regular education teacher and the special education teacher. [The LEA is usually the principal, who represents the school.] Other people who may attend are the school nurse if there is medication or a health-related disability, the Title I teacher if applicable, a counselor, physical therapist (PT), occupational therapist (OT), or speech therapist (if any of these needs are applicable), or anyone else who has worked with the child or may have significant input. For example, if the student may need Assistive Technology for his/her education, then a specialist in this field may attend the meeting. The parent may invite anyone to the meeting, especially for support, for example a parent advocate.
So.....what is an IEP? An IEP is a legal document that clearly defines how a school plans to meet a child’s unique educational needs that result from a disability. The goals of an IEP are twofold: to set reasonable, measurable goals for the child and to also specify the services the school will provide. There are 13 categories of disabilities where an individual can qualify for an IEP. Please see attachment in the resources section for the 13 categories.
The most important three components of the IEP are the Present Levels of Performance (PLOP), goals and services.
PLOP is information about how the child is doing in school and how their disability affects their progress and involvement. Information may include observations, results of standardized tests, as well as special education evaluations. Information about a student’s functional performance include an assessment of language development, social skills, and behavior.
An IEP must include measurable goals for the student that can be reasonably accomplished in a school year. The goals are based on the student’s present level of performance and focus on the student’s needs based on their disability. The IEP includes how the school will measure the goals and how they will provide progress reports. The IEP spells out what kind of special education support and services the child will receive, for instance speech or occupational therapy.
The IEP also contains any accommodations, modifications, and supplementary aids the student will receive. Modifications are changes in what is taught or expected of a student. For example, if a student is reading below grade level, the team must determine which texts or modified content to use. Accommodations are changes in how a student shows what they’ve learned, like an oral exam instead of a written one. Supplementary aids include special supports, such as an aide, using graphic organizers, or using a computer instead of paper and pencil.
In order to learn more about the IEP, complete the scavenger hunt webquest linked below.
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oercommons
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2025-03-18T00:39:24.739719
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Module
|
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"url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/65047/overview",
"title": "History of Special Education and the Special Education Process",
"author": "Interactive"
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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/68973/overview
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What Is Social Stratification?
Overview
- Differentiate between open and closed stratification systems
- Distinguish between caste and class systems
- Understand meritocracy as an ideal system of stratification
Sociologists use the term social stratification to describe the system of social standing. Social stratification refers to a society’s categorization of its people into rankings of socioeconomic tiers based on factors like wealth, income, race, education, and power.
You may remember the word “stratification” from geology class. The distinct vertical layers found in rock, called stratification, are a good way to visualize social structure. Society’s layers are made of people, and society’s resources are distributed unevenly throughout the layers. The people who have more resources represent the top layer of the social structure of stratification. Other groups of people, with progressively fewer and fewer resources, represent the lower layers of our society.
In the United States, people like to believe everyone has an equal chance at success. To a certain extent, Aaron illustrates the belief that hard work and talent—not prejudicial treatment or societal values—determine social rank. This emphasis on self-effort perpetuates the belief that people control their own social standing.
However, sociologists recognize that social stratification is a society-wide system that makes inequalities apparent. While there are always inequalities between individuals, sociologists are interested in larger social patterns. Stratification is not about individual inequalities, but about systematic inequalities based on group membership, classes, and the like. No individual, rich or poor, can be blamed for social inequalities. The structure of society affects a person's social standing. Although individuals may support or fight inequalities, social stratification is created and supported by society as a whole.
Factors that define stratification vary in different societies. In most societies, stratification is an economic system, based on wealth, the net value of money and assets a person has, andincome, a person’s wages or investment dividends. While people are regularly categorized based on how rich or poor they are, other important factors influence social standing. For example, in some cultures, wisdom and charisma are valued, and people who have them are revered more than those who don’t. In some cultures, the elderly are esteemed; in others, the elderly are disparaged or overlooked. Societies’ cultural beliefs often reinforce the inequalities of stratification.
One key determinant of social standing is the social standing of our parents. Parents tend to pass their social position on to their children. People inherit not only social standing but also the cultural norms that accompany a certain lifestyle. They share these with a network of friends and family members. Social standing becomes a comfort zone, a familiar lifestyle, and an identity. This is one of the reasons first-generation college students do not fare as well as other students.
Other determinants are found in a society’s occupational structure. Teachers, for example, often have high levels of education but receive relatively low pay. Many believe that teaching is a noble profession, so teachers should do their jobs for love of their profession and the good of their students—not for money. Yet no successful executive or entrepreneur would embrace that attitude in the business world, where profits are valued as a driving force. Cultural attitudes and beliefs like these support and perpetuate social inequalities.
Recent Economic Changes and U.S. Stratification
As a result of the Great Recession that rocked our nation’s economy in the last few years, many families and individuals found themselves struggling like never before. The nation fell into a period of prolonged and exceptionally high unemployment. While no one was completely insulated from the recession, perhaps those in the lower classes felt the impact most profoundly. Before the recession, many were living paycheck to paycheck or even had been living comfortably. As the recession hit, they were often among the first to lose their jobs. Unable to find replacement employment, they faced more than loss of income. Their homes were foreclosed, their cars were repossessed, and their ability to afford healthcare was taken away. This put many in the position of deciding whether to put food on the table or fill a needed prescription.
While we’re not completely out of the woods economically, there are several signs that we’re on the road to recovery. Many of those who suffered during the recession are back to work and are busy rebuilding their lives. The Affordable Health Care Act has provided health insurance to millions who lost or never had it.
But the Great Recession, like the Great Depression, has changed social attitudes. Where once it was important to demonstrate wealth by wearing expensive clothing items like Calvin Klein shirts and Louis Vuitton shoes, now there’s a new, thriftier way of thinking. In many circles, it has become hip to be frugal. It’s no longer about how much we spend, but about how much we don't spend. Think of shows like Extreme Couponing on TLC and songs like Macklemore’s “Thrift Shop.”
Systems of Stratification
Sociologists distinguish between two types of systems of stratification. Closed systems accommodate little change in social position. They do not allow people to shift levels and do not permit social relationships between levels. Open systems, which are based on achievement, allow movement and interaction between layers and classes. Different systems reflect, emphasize, and foster certain cultural values and shape individual beliefs. Stratification systems include class systems and caste systems, as well as meritocracy.
The Caste System
Caste systems are closed stratification systems in which people can do little or nothing to change their social standing. A caste system is one in which people are born into their social standing and will remain in it their whole lives. People are assigned occupations regardless of their talents, interests, or potential. There are virtually no opportunities to improve a person's social position.
In the Hindu caste tradition, people were expected to work in the occupation of their caste and to enter into marriage according to their caste. Accepting this social standing was considered a moral duty. Cultural values reinforced the system. Caste systems promote beliefs in fate, destiny, and the will of a higher power, rather than promoting individual freedom as a value. A person who lived in a caste society was socialized to accept his or her social standing.
Although the caste system in India has been officially dismantled, its residual presence in Indian society is deeply embedded. In rural areas, aspects of the tradition are more likely to remain, while urban centers show less evidence of this past. In India’s larger cities, people now have more opportunities to choose their own career paths and marriage partners. As a global center of employment, corporations have introduced merit-based hiring and employment to the nation.
The Class System
A class system is based on both social factors and individual achievement. Aclass consists of a set of people who share similar status with regard to factors like wealth, income, education, and occupation. Unlike caste systems, class systems are open. People are free to gain a different level of education or employment than their parents. They can also socialize with and marry members of other classes, which allows people to move from one class to another.
In a class system, occupation is not fixed at birth. Though family and other societal models help guide a person toward a career, personal choice plays a role.
In class systems, people have the option to form exogamous marriages, unions of spouses from different social categories. Marriage in these circumstances is based on values such as love and compatibility rather than on social standing or economics. Though social conformities still exist that encourage people to choose partners within their own class, people are not as pressured to choose marriage partners based solely on those elements. Marriage to a partner from the same social background is anendogamous union.
Meritocracy
Meritocracy is an ideal system based on the belief that social stratification is the result of personal effort—or merit—that determines social standing. High levels of effort will lead to a high social position, and vice versa. The concept of meritocracy is an ideal—because a society has never existed where social rank was based purely on merit. Because of the complex structure of societies, processes like socialization, and the realities of economic systems, social standing is influenced by multiple factors—not merit alone. Inheritance and pressure to conform to norms, for instance, disrupt the notion of a pure meritocracy. While a meritocracy has never existed, sociologists see aspects of meritocracies in modern societies when they study the role of academic and job performance and the systems in place for evaluating and rewarding achievement in these areas.
Status Consistency
Social stratification systems determine social position based on factors like income, education, and occupation. Sociologists use the term status consistency to describe the consistency, or lack thereof, of an individual’s rank across these factors. Caste systems correlate with high status consistency, whereas the more flexible class system has lower status consistency.
To illustrate, let’s consider Susan. Susan earned her high school degree but did not go to college. That factor is a trait of the lower-middle class. She began doing landscaping work, which, as manual labor, is also a trait of lower-middle class or even lower class. However, over time, Susan started her own company. She hired employees. She won larger contracts. She became a business owner and earned a lot of money. Those traits represent the upper-middle class. There are inconsistencies between Susan’s educational level, her occupation, and her income. In a class system, a person can work hard and have little education and still be in middle or upper class, whereas in a caste system that would not be possible. In a class system, low status consistency correlates with having more choices and opportunities.
The Commoner Who Could Be Queen
On April 29, 2011, in London, England, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, married Catherine Middleton, a commoner. It is rare, though not unheard of, for a member of the British royal family to marry a commoner. Kate Middleton has an upper-class background, but does not have royal ancestry. Her father was a former flight dispatcher and her mother a former flight attendant and owner of Party Pieces. According to Grace Wong's 2011 article titled, "Kate Middleton: A family business that built a princess," "[t]he business grew to the point where [her father] quit his job . . . and it's evolved from a mom-and-pop outfit run out of a shed . . . into a venture operated out of three converted farm buildings in Berkshire." Kate and William met when they were both students at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland (Köhler 2010).
Britain’s monarchy arose during the Middle Ages. Its social hierarchy placed royalty at the top and commoners on the bottom. This was generally a closed system, with people born into positions of nobility. Wealth was passed from generation to generation through primogeniture, a law stating that all property would be inherited by the firstborn son. If the family had no son, the land went to the next closest male relation. Women could not inherit property, and their social standing was primarily determined through marriage.
The arrival of the Industrial Revolution changed Britain’s social structure. Commoners moved to cities, got jobs, and made better livings. Gradually, people found new opportunities to increase their wealth and power. Today, the government is a constitutional monarchy with the prime minister and other ministers elected to their positions, and with the royal family’s role being largely ceremonial. The long-ago differences between nobility and commoners have blurred, and the modern class system in Britain is similar to that of the United States (McKee 1996).
Today, the royal family still commands wealth, power, and a great deal of attention. When Queen Elizabeth II retires or passes away, Prince Charles will be first in line to ascend the throne. If he abdicates (chooses not to become king) or dies, the position will go to Prince William. If that happens, Kate Middleton will be called Queen Catherine and hold the position of queen consort. She will be one of the few queens in history to have earned a college degree (Marquand 2011).
There is a great deal of social pressure on her not only to behave as a royal but also to bear children. In fact, Kate and Prince William welcomed their first son, Prince George, on July 22, 2013 and are expecting their second child. The royal family recently changed its succession laws to allow daughters, not just sons, to ascend the throne. Kate’s experience—from commoner to potential queen—demonstrates the fluidity of social position in modern society.
Summary
Stratification systems are either closed, meaning they allow little change in social position, or open, meaning they allow movement and interaction between the layers. A caste system is one in which social standing is based on ascribed status or birth. Class systems are open, with achievement playing a role in social position. People fall into classes based on factors like wealth, income, education, and occupation. A meritocracy is a system of social stratification that confers standing based on personal worth, rewarding effort.
Short Answer
Track the social stratification of your family tree. Did the social standing of your parents differ from the social standing of your grandparents and great-grandparents? What social traits were handed down by your forebears? Are there any exogamous marriages in your history? Does your family exhibit status consistencies or inconsistencies?
What defines communities that have low status consistency? What are the ramifications, both positive and negative, of cultures with low status consistency? Try to think of specific examples to support your ideas.
Review the concept of stratification. Now choose a group of people you have observed and been a part of—for example, cousins, high school friends, classmates, sport teammates, or coworkers. How does the structure of the social group you chose adhere to the concept of stratification?
Further Research
The New York Times investigated social stratification in their series of articles called “Class Matters.” The online accompaniment to the series includes an interactive graphic called “How Class Works,” which tallies four factors—occupation, education, income, and wealth—and places an individual within a certain class and percentile. What class describes you? Test your class rank on the interactive site:http://openstaxcollege.org/l/NY_Times_how_class_works
References
Köhler, Nicholas. 2010. “An Uncommon Princess.” Maclean’s, November 22. Retrieved January 9, 2012 (http://www2.macleans.ca/2010/11/22/an-uncommon-princess/).
McKee, Victoria. 1996. “Blue Blood and the Color of Money.” New York Times, June 9.
Marquand, Robert. 2011. “What Kate Middleton’s Wedding to Prince William Could Do for Britain.” Christian Science Monitor, April 15. Retrieved January 9, 2012 (http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2011/0415/What-Kate-Middleton-s-wedding-to-Prince-William-could-do-for-Britain).
Wong, Grace. 2011. "Kate Middleton: A Family Business That Built a Princess." CNN Money. Retrieved December 22, 2014 (http://money.cnn.com/2011/04/14/smallbusiness/kate-middleton-party-pieces/).
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oercommons
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2025-03-18T00:39:24.765668
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Audra Kallimanis
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The African American “Great Migration” and New European Immigration
Overview
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Identify the factors that prompted African American and European immigration to American cities in the late nineteenth century
- Explain the discrimination and anti-immigration legislation that immigrants faced in the late nineteenth century
New cities were populated with diverse waves of new arrivals, who came to the cities to seek work in the businesses and factories there. While a small percentage of these newcomers were white Americans seeking jobs, most were made up of two groups that had not previously been factors in the urbanization movement: African Americans fleeing the racism of the farms and former plantations in the South, and southern and eastern European immigrants. These new immigrants supplanted the previous waves of northern and western European immigrants, who had tended to move west to purchase land. Unlike their predecessors, the newer immigrants lacked the funds to strike out to the western lands and instead remained in the urban centers where they arrived, seeking any work that would keep them alive.
THE AFRICAN AMERICAN “GREAT MIGRATION”
Between the end of the Civil War and the beginning of the Great Depression, nearly two million African Americans fled the rural South to seek new opportunities elsewhere. While some moved west, the vast majority of this Great Migration, as the large exodus of African Americans leaving the South in the early twentieth century was called, traveled to the Northeast and Upper Midwest. The following cities were the primary destinations for these African Americans: New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Indianapolis. These eight cities accounted for over two-thirds of the total population of the African American migration.
A combination of both “push” and “pull” factors played a role in this movement. Despite the end of the Civil War and the passage of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution (ensuring freedom, the right to vote regardless of race, and equal protection under the law, respectively), African Americans were still subjected to intense racial hatred. The rise of the Ku Klux Klan in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War led to increased death threats, violence, and a wave of lynchings. Even after the formal dismantling of the Klan in the late 1870s, racially motivated violence continued. According to researchers at the Tuskegee Institute, there were thirty-five hundred racially motivated lynchings and other murders committed in the South between 1865 and 1900. For African Americans fleeing this culture of violence, northern and midwestern cities offered an opportunity to escape the dangers of the South.
In addition to this “push” out of the South, African Americans were also “pulled” to the cities by factors that attracted them, including job opportunities, where they could earn a wage rather than be tied to a landlord, and the chance to vote (for men, at least), supposedly free from the threat of violence. Although many lacked the funds to move themselves north, factory owners and other businesses that sought cheap labor assisted the migration. Often, the men moved first then sent for their families once they were ensconced in their new city life. Racism and a lack of formal education relegated these African American workers to many of the lower-paying unskilled or semi-skilled occupations. More than 80 percent of African American men worked menial jobs in steel mills, mines, construction, and meat packing. In the railroad industry, they were often employed as porters or servants (Figure). In other businesses, they worked as janitors, waiters, or cooks. African American women, who faced discrimination due to both their race and gender, found a few job opportunities in the garment industry or laundries, but were more often employed as maids and domestic servants. Regardless of the status of their jobs, however, African Americans earned higher wages in the North than they did for the same occupations in the South, and typically found housing to be more available.
However, such economic gains were offset by the higher cost of living in the North, especially in terms of rent, food costs, and other essentials. As a result, African Americans often found themselves living in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions, much like the tenement slums in which European immigrants lived in the cities. For newly arrived African Americans, even those who sought out the cities for the opportunities they provided, life in these urban centers was exceedingly difficult. They quickly learned that racial discrimination did not end at the Mason-Dixon Line, but continued to flourish in the North as well as the South. European immigrants, also seeking a better life in the cities of the United States, resented the arrival of the African Americans, whom they feared would compete for the same jobs or offer to work at lower wages. Landlords frequently discriminated against them; their rapid influx into the cities created severe housing shortages and even more overcrowded tenements. Homeowners in traditionally white neighborhoods later entered into covenants in which they agreed not to sell to African American buyers; they also often fled neighborhoods into which African Americans had gained successful entry. In addition, some bankers practiced mortgage discrimination, later known as “redlining,” in order to deny home loans to qualified buyers. Such pervasive discrimination led to a concentration of African Americans in some of the worst slum areas of most major metropolitan cities, a problem that remained ongoing throughout most of the twentieth century.
So why move to the North, given that the economic challenges they faced were similar to those that African Americans encountered in the South? The answer lies in noneconomic gains. Greater educational opportunities and more expansive personal freedoms mattered greatly to the African Americans who made the trek northward during the Great Migration. State legislatures and local school districts allocated more funds for the education of both blacks and whites in the North, and also enforced compulsory school attendance laws more rigorously. Similarly, unlike the South where a simple gesture (or lack of a deferential one) could result in physical harm to the African American who committed it, life in larger, crowded northern urban centers permitted a degree of anonymity—and with it, personal freedom—that enabled African Americans to move, work, and speak without deferring to every white person with whom they crossed paths. Psychologically, these gains more than offset the continued economic challenges that black migrants faced.
THE CHANGING NATURE OF EUROPEAN IMMIGRATION
Immigrants also shifted the demographics of the rapidly growing cities. Although immigration had always been a force of change in the United States, it took on a new character in the late nineteenth century. Beginning in the 1880s, the arrival of immigrants from mostly southern and eastern European countries rapidly increased while the flow from northern and western Europe remained relatively constant (Table).
| Region Country | 1870 | 1880 | 1890 | 1900 | 1910 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern and Western Europe | 4,845,679 | 5,499,889 | 7,288,917 | 7,204,649 | 7,306,325 |
| Germany | 1,690,533 | 1,966,742 | 2,784,894 | 2,663,418 | 2,311,237 |
| Ireland | 1,855,827 | 1,854,571 | 1,871,509 | 1,615,459 | 1,352,251 |
| England | 550,924 | 662,676 | 908,141 | 840,513 | 877,719 |
| Sweden | 97,332 | 194,337 | 478,041 | 582,014 | 665,207 |
| Austria | 30,508 | 38,663 | 123,271 | 275,907 | 626,341 |
| Norway | 114,246 | 181,729 | 322,665 | 336,388 | 403,877 |
| Scotland | 140,835 | 170,136 | 242,231 | 233,524 | 261,076 |
| Southern and Eastern Europe | 93,824 | 248,620 | 728,851 | 1,674,648 | 4,500,932 |
| Italy | 17,157 | 44,230 | 182,580 | 484,027 | 1,343,125 |
| Russia | 4,644 | 35,722 | 182,644 | 423,726 | 1,184,412 |
| Poland | 14,436 | 48,557 | 147,440 | 383,407 | 937,884 |
| Hungary | 3,737 | 11,526 | 62,435 | 145,714 | 495,609 |
| Czechoslovakia | 40,289 | 85,361 | 118,106 | 156,891 | 219,214 |
The previous waves of immigrants from northern and western Europe, particularly Germany, Great Britain, and the Nordic countries, were relatively well off, arriving in the country with some funds and often moving to the newly settled western territories. In contrast, the newer immigrants from southern and eastern European countries, including Italy, Greece, and several Slavic countries including Russia, came over due to “push” and “pull” factors similar to those that influenced the African Americans arriving from the South. Many were “pushed” from their countries by a series of ongoing famines, by the need to escape religious, political, or racial persecution, or by the desire to avoid compulsory military service. They were also “pulled” by the promise of consistent, wage-earning work.
Whatever the reason, these immigrants arrived without the education and finances of the earlier waves of immigrants, and settled more readily in the port towns where they arrived, rather than setting out to seek their fortunes in the West. By 1890, over 80 percent of the population of New York would be either foreign-born or children of foreign-born parentage. Other cities saw huge spikes in foreign populations as well, though not to the same degree, due in large part to Ellis Island in New York City being the primary port of entry for most European immigrants arriving in the United States.
The number of immigrants peaked between 1900 and 1910, when over nine million people arrived in the United States. To assist in the processing and management of this massive wave of immigrants, the Bureau of Immigration in New York City, which had become the official port of entry, opened Ellis Island in 1892. Today, nearly half of all Americans have ancestors who, at some point in time, entered the country through the portal at Ellis Island. Doctors or nurses inspected the immigrants upon arrival, looking for any signs of infectious diseases (Figure). Most immigrants were admitted to the country with only a cursory glance at any other paperwork. Roughly 2 percent of the arriving immigrants were denied entry due to a medical condition or criminal history. The rest would enter the country by way of the streets of New York, many unable to speak English and totally reliant on finding those who spoke their native tongue.
Seeking comfort in a strange land, as well as a common language, many immigrants sought out relatives, friends, former neighbors, townspeople, and countrymen who had already settled in American cities. This led to a rise in ethnic enclaves within the larger city. Little Italy, Chinatown, and many other communities developed in which immigrant groups could find everything to remind them of home, from local language newspapers to ethnic food stores. While these enclaves provided a sense of community to their members, they added to the problems of urban congestion, particularly in the poorest slums where immigrants could afford housing.
This Library of Congress exhibit on the history of Jewish immigration to the United States illustrates the ongoing challenge immigrants felt between the ties to their old land and a love for America.
The demographic shift at the turn of the century was later confirmed by the Dillingham Commission, created by Congress in 1907 to report on the nature of immigration in America; the commission reinforced this ethnic identification of immigrants and their simultaneous discrimination. The report put it simply: These newer immigrants looked and acted differently. They had darker skin tone, spoke languages with which most Americans were unfamiliar, and practiced unfamiliar religions, specifically Judaism and Catholicism. Even the foods they sought out at butchers and grocery stores set immigrants apart. Because of these easily identifiable differences, new immigrants became easy targets for hatred and discrimination. If jobs were hard to find, or if housing was overcrowded, it became easy to blame the immigrants. Like African Americans, immigrants in cities were blamed for the problems of the day.
Growing numbers of Americans resented the waves of new immigrants, resulting in a backlash. The Reverend Josiah Strong fueled the hatred and discrimination in his bestselling book, Our Country: Its Possible Future and Its Present Crisis, published in 1885. In a revised edition that reflected the 1890 census records, he clearly identified undesirable immigrants—those from southern and eastern European countries—as a key threat to the moral fiber of the country, and urged all good Americans to face the challenge. Several thousand Americans answered his call by forming the American Protective Association, the chief political activist group to promote legislation curbing immigration into the United States. The group successfully lobbied Congress to adopt both an English language literacy test for immigrants, which eventually passed in 1917, and the Chinese Exclusion Act (discussed in a previous chapter). The group’s political lobbying also laid the groundwork for the subsequent Emergency Quota Act of 1921 and the Immigration Act of 1924, as well as the National Origins Act.
The global timeline of immigration at the Library of Congress offers a summary of immigration policies and the groups affected by it, as well as a compelling overview of different ethnic groups’ immigration stories. Browse through to see how different ethnic groups made their way in the United States.
Section Summary
For both African Americans migrating from the postwar South and immigrants arriving from southeastern Europe, a combination of “push” and “pull” factors influenced their migration to America’s urban centers. African Americans moved away from the racial violence and limited opportunities that existed in the rural South, seeking wages and steady work, as well as the opportunity to vote safely as free men; however, they quickly learned that racial discrimination and violence were not limited to the South. For European immigrants, famine and persecution led them to seek a new life in the United States, where, the stories said, the streets were paved in gold. Of course, in northeastern and midwestern cities, both groups found a more challenging welcome than they had anticipated. City residents blamed recent arrivals for the ills of the cities, from overcrowding to a rise in crime. Activist groups pushed for anti-immigration legislation, seeking to limit the waves of immigrants that sought a better future in the United States.
Review Questions
Why did African Americans consider moving from the rural South to the urban North following the Civil War?
- to be able to buy land
- to avoid slavery
- to find wage-earning work
- to further their education
Hint:
C
Which of the following is true of late nineteenth-century southern and eastern European immigrants, as opposed to their western and northern European predecessors?
- Southern and eastern European immigrants tended to be wealthier.
- Southern and eastern European immigrants were, on the whole, more skilled and able to find better paying employment.
- Many southern and eastern European immigrants acquired land in the West, while western and northern European immigrants tended to remain in urban centers.
- Ellis Island was the first destination for most southern and eastern Europeans.
Hint:
D
What made recent European immigrants the ready targets of more established city dwellers? What was the result of this discrimination?
Hint:
Newer immigrants often had different appearances, spoke unfamiliar languages, and lived their lives—from the religions they practiced to the food they ate—in ways that were alien to many Americans. In all of city life’s more challenging aspects, from competition for jobs to overcrowding in scarce housing, immigrants became easy scapegoats. The Reverend Josiah Strong’s bestselling book, Our Country: Its Possible Future and Its Present Crisis, fueled this discrimination. The American Protective Association, the chief political activist group promoting anti-immigration legislation, formed largely in response to Strong’s call.
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oercommons
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2025-03-18T00:39:24.794829
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05/24/2020
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CHAPTER 7: CONFLICT AND COMMUNICATION
Overview
Introduction to Communication textbook.
Learning Objectives
You will be able to:
•Define interpersonal conflict.
•Compare and contrast the five styles of interpersonal conflict management.
•Explain how perception and culture influence interpersonal conflict.
•List strategies for effectively managing conflict.
7.1 UNDERSTANDING CONFLICT
Who do you have the most conflict with right now? Your answer to this question probably depends on the various contexts in your life. If you still live at home with a parent or parents, you may have daily conflicts with your family as you try to balance your autonomy, or desire for independence, with the practicalities of living under your family’s roof. If you’ve recently moved away to go to college, you may be negotiating roommate conflicts as you adjust to living with someone you may not know at all. You probably also have experiences managing conflict in romantic relationships and in the workplace. So think back and ask yourself, “How well do I handle conflict?” As with all areas of communication, we can improve if we have the background knowledge to identify relevant communication phenomena and the motivation to reflect on and enhance our communication skills.
Interpersonal conflict occurs in interactions where there are real or perceived incompatible goals, scarce resources, or opposing viewpoints. Interpersonal conflict may be expressed verbally or nonverbally along a continuum ranging from a nearly imperceptible cold shoulder to a very obvious blowout. Interpersonal conflict is, however, distinct from interpersonal violence, which goes beyond communication to include abuse. Domestic violence is a serious issue and is discussed in the section “The Dark Side of Relationships.”
Conflict is an inevitable part of close relationships and can take a negative emotional toll. It takes effort to ignore someone or be passive aggressive, and the anger or guilt we may feel after blowing up at someone are valid negative feelings. However, conflict isn’t always negative or unproductive. In fact, numerous research studies have shown that quantity of conflict in a relationship is not as important as how the conflict is handled. Additionally, when conflict is well managed, it has the potential to lead to more rewarding and satisfactory relationships.
LANGUAGE AND CONFLICT
At the interpersonal level, unsupported messages can make others respond defensively, which can lead to feelings of separation and actual separation or dissolution of a relationship. It’s impossible to be supportive in our communication all the time, but consistently unsupportive messages can hurt others’ self-esteem, escalate conflict, and lead to defensiveness. People who regularly use unsupportive messages may create a toxic win/lose climate in a relationship. Six verbal tactics that can lead to feelings of defensiveness and separation are global labels, sarcasm, dragging up the past, negative comparisons, judgmental “you” messages, and threats.
“End Sexual Violence in Conflict” by Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Common Types of Unsupportive Messages
➢Global labels. “You’re a liar.” Labeling someone irresponsible, untrustworthy, selfish, or lazy calls his or her whole identity as a person into question. Such sweeping judgments and generalizations are sure to only escalate a negative situation.
➢Sarcasm. “No, you didn’t miss anything in class on Wednesday. We just sat here and looked at each other.” Even though sarcasm is often disguised as humor, it usually represents passive-aggressive behavior through which a person indirectly communicates negative feelings.
➢Dragging up the past. “I should have known not to trust you when you never paid me back that $100 I let you borrow.” Bringing up negative past experiences is a tactic used by people when they don’t want to discuss a current situation. Sometimes people have built up negative feelings that are suddenly let out by a seemingly small thing in the moment.
➢Negative comparisons. “Jade graduated from college without any credit card debt. I guess you’re just not as responsible as her.” Holding a person up to the supposed standards or characteristics of another person can lead to feelings of inferiority and resentment. Parents and teachers may unfairly compare children to their siblings.
➢Judgmental “you” messages. “You’re never going to be able to hold down a job.” Accusatory messages are usually generalized overstatements about another person that go beyond labeling but still do not describe specific behavior in a productive way.
➢Threats. “If you don’t stop texting back and forth with your ex, both of you are going to regret it.” Threatening someone with violence or some other negative consequence usually signals the end of productive communication. Aside from the potential legal consequences, threats usually overcompensate for a person’s insecurity.These types of messages can lead to conflict. It is important to understand how you respond toconflict so that you can work toward a more productive style if it is warranted.
7.2 CONFLICT MANAGEMENT STYLES
Would you describe yourself as someone who prefers to avoid conflict? Do you like to get your way? Are you good at working with someone to reach a solution that is mutually beneficial? Odds are that you have been in situations where you could answer yes to each of these questions, which underscores the important role context plays in conflict and conflict management styles in particular. The way we view and deal with conflict is learned and contextual. Is the way you handle conflicts similar to the way your parents handle conflict? If you’re of a certain age, you are likely predisposed to answer this question with a certain “No!” It wasn’t until my late twenties and early thirties that I began to see how similar I am to my parents, even though I, like many, spent years trying to distinguish myself from them.
Research does show that there is intergenerational transmission of traits related to conflict management. As children, we test out different conflict resolution styles we observe in our families with our parents and siblings. Later, as we enter adolescence and begin developing platonic and romantic relationships outside the family, we begin testing what we’ve learned from our parents in other settings. If a child has observed and used negative conflict management styles with siblings or parents, he or she is likely to exhibit those behaviors with non–family members.
There has been much research done on different types of conflict management styles, which are communication strategies that attempt to avoid, address, or resolve a conflict. Keep in mind that we don’t always consciously choose a style. We may instead be caught up in emotion and become reactionary. The strategies for more effectively managing conflict that will be discussed later may allow you to slow down the reaction process, become more aware of it, and intervene in the process to improve your communication. A powerful tool to mitigate conflict is information exchange. Asking for more information before you react to a conflict triggering event is a good way to add a buffer between the trigger and your reaction. Another key element is whether or not a communicator is oriented toward self-centered or other centered goals. For example, if your goal is to “win” or make the other person “lose,” you show a high concern for self and a low concern for other. If your goal is to facilitate a “win/win” resolution or outcome, you show a high concern for self and other. In general, strategies that facilitate information exchange and include concern for mutual goals will be more successful at managing conflict.137The five strategies for managing conflict we will discuss are competing, avoiding, accommodating, compromising, and collaborating. Each of these conflict styles accounts for the concern we place on self versus other (see Figure5.1″Five Styles of Interpersonal Conflict Management”).
Figure 5.1 Five Styles of Interpersonal Conflict Management. Adapted from M. Afzalur Rahim, “A Measure of Styles of Handling Interpersonal Conflict,” Academy of Management Journal 26, no. 2 (1983): 368–76
In order to better understand the elements of the five styles of conflict management, we will apply each to the follow scenario. Rosa and D’Shaun have been partners for seventeen years. Rosa is growing frustrated because D’Shaun continues to give money to their teenage daughter, Casey, even though they decided to keep the teen on a fixed allowance to try to teach her more responsibility. While conflicts regarding money and child rearing are very common, we will see the numerous ways that Rosa and D’Shaun could address this problem.
Competing
The competing style indicates a high concern for self and a low concern for other. When we compete, we are striving to “win” the conflict, potentially at the expense or “loss” of the
other person. One way we may gauge our win is by being granted or taking concessions from the other person. For example, if D’Shaun gives Casey extra money behind Rosa’s back, he is taking an indirect competitive route resulting in a “win” for him because he got his way.
The competing style also involves the use of power, which can be noncoercive or coercive. Noncoercive strategies include requesting and persuading. When requesting, we suggest the conflict partner change a behavior. Requesting doesn’t require a high level of information exchange. When we persuade, however, we give our conflict partner reasons to support our request or suggestion, meaning there is more information exchange, which may make persuading more effective than requesting. Rosa could try to persuade D’Shaun to stop giving Casey extra allowance money by bringing up their fixed budget or reminding him that they are saving for a summer vacation.
Coercive strategies violate standard guidelines for ethical communication and may include aggressive communication directed at rousing your partner’s emotions through insults, profanity, and yelling, or through threats of punishment if you do not get your way. If Rosa is the primary income earner in the family, she could use that power to threaten to take D’Shaun’s ATM card away if he continues giving Casey money. In all these scenarios, the “win” that could result is only short term and can lead to conflict escalation. Interpersonal conflict is rarely isolated, meaning there can be ripple effects that connect the current conflict to previous and future conflicts. D’Shaun’s behind-the-scenes money giving or Rosa’s confiscation of the ATM card could lead to built-up negative emotions that could further test their relationship. Competing has been linked to aggression, although the two are not always paired. If assertiveness does not work, there is a chance it could escalate to hostility. There is a pattern of verbal escalation: requests, demands, complaints, angry statements, threats, harassment, and verbal abuse. Aggressive communication can become patterned, which can create a volatile and hostile environment.
“Bad girls” by felipe_gabaldon is licensed under CC BY 2.0 T
he reality television show The Bad Girls Club is a prime example of a chronically hostile and aggressive environment. If you do a Google video search for clips from the show, you will see yelling, screaming, verbal threats, and some examples of physical violence. The producers of the show choose house guests who have histories of aggression, and when the “bad girls” are placed in a house together, they fall into typical patterns, which creates dramatic television moments. Obviously, living in this type of volatile environment would create stressors in any relationship, so it’s important to monitor the use of competing as a conflict resolution strategy to ensure that it does not lapse into aggression.
The competing style of conflict management is not the same thing as having a competitive personality. Competition in relationships isn’t always negative, and people who enjoy engaging in competition may not always do so at the expense of another person’s goals. In fact, research has shown that some couples engage in competitive shared activities like sports or games to maintain and enrich their relationship. And although we may think that competitiveness is gendered, research has often shown that women are just as competitive as men.
Avoiding
The avoiding style of conflict management often indicates a low concern for self and a low concern for other, and no direct communication about the conflict takes place. However, as we will discuss later, in some cultures that emphasize group harmony over individual interests, and even in some situations in the United States, avoiding a conflict can indicate a high level of concern for the other. In general, avoiding doesn’t mean that there is no communication about the conflict. Remember, you cannot not communicate. Even when we try to avoid conflict, we may intentionally or unintentionally give our feelings away through our verbal and nonverbal communication. Rosa’s sarcastic tone as she tells D’Shaun that he’s “Soooo good with money!” and his subsequent eye roll both bring the conflict to the surface without specifically addressing it.
The avoiding style is either passive or indirect, meaning there is little information exchange, which may make this strategy less effective than others. We may decide to avoid conflict for many different reasons, some of which are better than others. If you view the conflict as having little importance to you, it may be better to ignore it. If the person you’re having conflict with will only be working in your office for a week, you may perceive a conflict to be temporary and choose to avoid it and hope that it will solve itself. If you are not emotionally invested in the conflict, you may be able to reframe your perspective and see the situation in a different way, therefore resolving the issue. In all these cases, avoiding doesn’t really require an investment of time, emotion, or communication skill, so there is not much at stake to lose.
Avoidance is not always an easy conflict management choice, because sometimes the person we have conflict with isn’t a temp in our office or a weekend houseguest. While it may be easy to tolerate a problem when you’re not personally invested in it or view it as temporary, when faced with a situation like Rosa and D’Shaun’s, avoidance would just make the problem worse. For example, avoidance could first manifest as changing the subject, then progress from avoiding the issue to avoiding the person altogether,to even ending the relationship. Indirect strategies of hinting and joking also fall under the avoiding style. While these indirect avoidance strategies may lead to a buildup of frustration or even anger, they allow us to vent a little of our built-up steam and may make a conflict situation more bearable. When we hint, we drop clues that we hope our partner will find and piece together to see the problem and hopefully change, thereby solving the problem without any direct communication. In almost all the cases of hinting that I have experienced or heard about, the person dropping the hints overestimates their partner’s detective abilities. For example, when Rosa leaves the bank statement on the kitchen table in hopes that D’Shaun will realize how much extra money he is giving Casey, D’Shaun may simply ignore it or even get irritated with Rosa for not putting the statement with all the other mail. We also overestimate our partner’s ability to decode the jokes we make about a conflict situation. It is more likely that the receiver of the jokes will think you’re genuinely trying to be funny or feel provoked or insulted than realize the conflict situation that you are referencing. So more frustration may develop when the hints and jokes are not decoded, which often leads to a more extreme form of hinting/ joking: passive-aggressive behavior.
Passive-aggressive behavior is a way of dealing with conflict in which one person indirectly communicates their negative thoughts or feelings through nonverbal behaviors, such as not completing a task. For example, Rosa may wait a few days to deposit money into the bank so D’Shaun can’t withdraw it to give to Casey, or D’Shaun may cancel plans for a romantic dinner because he feels like Rosa is questioning his responsibility with money. Although passive-aggressive behavior can feel rewarding in the moment, it is one of the most unproductive ways to deal with conflict. These behaviors may create additional conflicts and may lead to a cycle of passive-aggressiveness in which the other partner begins to exhibit these behaviors as well, while never actually addressing the conflict that originated the behavior. In most avoidance situations, both parties lose. However, as noted above, avoidance can be the most appropriate strategy in some situations—for example, when the conflict is temporary, when the stakes are low or there is little personal investment, or when there is the potential for violence or retaliation.
Accommodating
The accommodating conflict management style indicates a low concern for self and a high concern for other and is often viewed as passive or submissive, in that someone complies with or obliges another without providing personal input. The context for and motivation behind accommodating play an important role in whether or not it is an appropriate strategy. Generally, we accommodate because we are being generous, we are obeying, or we are yielding. If we are being generous, we accommodate because we genuinely want to; if we are obeying, we don’t have a choice but to accommodate (perhaps due to the potential for negative consequences or punishment); and if we yield, we may have our own views or goals but give up on them due to fatigue, time constraints, or because a better solution has been offered
.Accommodating can be appropriate when there is little chance that our own goals can be achieved, when we don’t have much to lose by accommodating, when we feel we are wrong, or when advocating for our own needs could negatively affect the relationship. The occasional accommodation can be useful in maintaining a relationship—remember earlier we discussed putting another’s needs before your own as a way to achieve relational goals.
For example, Rosa may say, “It’s OK that you gave Casey some extra money; she did have to spend more on gas this week since the prices went up.” However, being a team player can slip into being a pushover, which people generally do not appreciate. If Rosa keeps telling D’Shaun, “It’s OK this time,” they may find themselves short on spending money at the end of the month. At that point, Rosa and D’Shaun’s conflict may escalate as they question each other’s motives, or the conflict may spread if they direct their frustration at Casey and blame it on her irresponsibility.
Research has shown that the accommodating style is more likely to occur when there are time restraints and less likely to occur when someone does not want to appear weak.144If you’re standing outside the movie theatre and two movies are starting, you may say, “Let’s just have ityour way,” so you don’t miss the beginning. If you’re a new manager at an electronics store and an employee wants to take Sunday off to watch a football game, you may say no to set an example for the other employees. As with avoiding, there are certain cultural influences we will discuss later that make accommodating a more effective strategy.
“Conflict & Negotiation Styles” by U.S. Institute of Peace is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Compromising
The compromising style shows a moderate concern for self and other and may indicate that there is a low investment in the conflict and/or the relationship. Even though we often hear that the best way to handle a conflict is to compromise, the compromising style isn’t a win/win solution; it is a partial win/lose. In essence, when we compromise, we give up some or most of what we want. It’s true that the conflict gets resolved temporarily, but lingering thoughts of what you gave up could lead to a future conflict. Compromising may be a good strategy when there are time limitations or when prolonging a conflict may lead to relationship deterioration. Compromise may also be good when both parties have equal power or when other resolution strategies have not worked. A negative of compromising is that it may be used as an easy way out of a conflict.
The compromising style is most effective when both parties find the solution agreeable. Rosa and D’Shaun could decide that Casey’s allowance does need to be increased and could each give ten more dollars a week by committing to taking their lunch to work twice a week instead of eating out. They are both giving up something, and if neither of them have a problem with taking their lunch to work, then the compromise was equitable. If the couple agrees that the twenty extra dollars a week should come out of D’Shaun’s golf budget, the compromise isn’t as equitable, and D’Shaun, although he agreed to the compromise, may end up with feelings of resentment. Wouldn’t it be better to both win?
“Accelerate Collaborating for Sustainability Conference 2013 (Guelph, ON)” by The Natural Step Canada is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Collaborating
The collaborating style involves a high degree of concern for self and other and usually indicates investment in the conflict situation and the relationship. Although the collaborating style
takes the most work in terms of communication competence, it ultimately leads to a win/win situation in which neither party has to make concessions because a mutually beneficial solution is discovered or created. The obvious advantage is that both parties are satisfied, which could lead to positive problem solving in the future and strengthen the overall relationship.
For example, Rosa and D’Shaun may agree that Casey’s allowance needs to be increased and may decide to give her twenty more dollars a week in exchange for her babysitting her little brother one night a week. In this case, they didn’t make the conflict personal but focused on the situation and came up with a solution that may end up saving them money. The disadvantage is that this style is often time consuming, and only one person may be willing to use this approach while the other person is eager to compete to meet their goals or willing to accommodate.
Here are some tips for collaborating and achieving a win/win outcome:
➢Do not view the conflict as a contest you are trying to win.
➢Remain flexible and realize there are solutions yet to be discovered.
➢Distinguish the people from the problem (don’t make it personal).
➢Determine what the underlying needs are that are driving the other person’s demands (needs can still be met through different demands).
➢Identify areas of common ground or shared interests that you can work from to develop solutions.
➢Ask questions to allow them to clarify and to help you understand their perspective.
➢Listen carefully and provide verbal and nonverbal feedback.
“Getting Competent” -Handling Roommate Conflicts
Whether you have a roommate by choice, by necessity, or through the random selection process of your school’s housing office, it’s important to be able to get along with the person who shares your living space. While having a roommate offers many benefits such as making a new friend, having someone to experience a new situation like college life with, and having someone to split the cost on your own with, there are also challenges. Some common roommate conflicts involve neatness, noise, having guests, sharing possessions, value conflicts, money conflicts, and personality conflicts. Read the following scenarios and answer the following questions for each one:
1.Which conflict management style, from the five discussed,would you use in this situation?
2.What are the potential strengths of using this style?
3.What are the potential weaknesses of using this style?
Scenario 1: Neatness. Your college dorm has bunk beds, and your roommate takes a lot of time making his bed (the bottom bunk) each morning. He has told you that he doesn’t want anyone sitting on or sleeping in his bed when he is not in the room. While he is away for the weekend, your friend comes to visit and sits on the bottom bunk bed. You tell him what your roommate said, and you try to fix the bed back before he returns to the dorm. When he returns, he notices that his bed has been disturbed and he confronts you about it.
Scenario 2: Noise and having guests. Your roommate has a job waiting tables and gets home around midnight on Thursday nights. She often brings a couple friends from work home with her. They watch television, listen to music, or play video games and talk and laugh. You have an 8 a.m. class on Friday mornings and are usually asleep when she returns. Last Friday, you talked to her and asked her to keep it down in the future. Tonight, their noise has woken you up and you can’t get back to sleep.
Scenario 3: Sharing possessions. When you go out to eat, you often bring back leftovers to have for lunch the next day during your short break between classes. You didn’t have time to eat breakfast, and you’re really excited about having your leftover pizza for lunch until you get home and see your roommate sitting on the couch eating the last slice.
Scenario 4: Money conflicts. Your roommate got mono and missed two weeks of work last month. Since he has a steady job and you have some savings, you cover his portion of the rent and agree that he will pay your portion next month. The next month comes around and he informs you that he only has enough to pay his half.
Scenario 5: Value and personality conflicts. You like to go out to clubs and parties and have friends over, but your roommate is much more of an introvert. You’ve tried to get her to come out with you or join the party at your place, but she’d rather study. One day she tells you that she wants to break the lease so she can move out early to live with one of her friends. You both signed the lease, so you have to agree or she can’t do it. If you break the lease, you automatically lose your portion of the security deposit.
7.3 CULTURE AND CONFLICT
Culture is an important context to consider when studying conflict, and recent research has called into question some of the assumptions of the five conflict management styles discussed so far, which were formulated with a Western bias. For example, while the avoiding style of conflict has been cast as negative, with a low concern for self and other or as a lose/ lose outcome, this research found that participants in the United States, Germany, China, and Japan all viewed avoiding strategies as demonstrating a concern for the other. While there are some generalizations we can make about culture and conflict, it is better to look at more specific patterns of how interpersonal communication and conflict management are related. We can better understand some of the cultural differences in conflict management by further examining the concept of face.
“‘5 April 2017 – The Culture defense” by pedrosimoes7 is licensed under CC BY 2.0
What does it mean to “save face?” This saying generally refers to preventing embarrassment or preserving our reputation or image, which is similar to the concept of face in interpersonal and intercultural communication. Our face is the projected self we desire to put into the world, and facework refers to the communicative strategies we employ to project, maintain, or repair our face or maintain, repair, or challenge another’s face. Face negotiation theory argues that people in all cultures negotiate face through communication encounters, and that cultural factors influence how we engage in facework, especially in conflict situations. These cultural factors influence whether we are more concerned with self-face or other-face and what types of conflict management strategies we may use. One key cultural influence on face negotiation is the distinction between individualistic and collectivistic cultures.
The distinction between individualistic and collectivistic cultures is an important dimension across which all cultures vary. Individualistic cultures like the United States and most of Europe emphasize individual identity over group identity and encourage competition and self-reliance. Collectivistic cultures like Taiwan, Colombia, China, Japan, Vietnam, and Peru value in-group identity over individual identity and value conformity to social norms of the in-group.149However, within the larger cultures, individuals will vary in the degree to which they view themselves as part of a group or as a separate individual, which is called self-construal. Independent self-construal indicates a perception of the self as an individual with unique feelings, thoughts, and motivations. Interdependent self-construal indicates a perception of the self as interrelated with others. Not surprisingly, people from individualistic cultures are more likely to have higher levels of independent self construal, and people from collectivistic cultures are more likely to have higher levels of interdependent self-construal. Self-construal and individualistic or collectivistic cultural orientations affect how people engage in facework and the conflict management styles they employ.Self-construal alone does not have a direct effect on conflict style, but it does affect face concerns, with independent self-construal favoring self face concerns and interdependent self-construal favoring other-face concerns.
There are specific facework strategies for different conflict management styles, and these strategies correspond to self face concerns or other-face concerns.
➢Accommodating. Giving in (self-face concern).
➢Avoiding. Pretending conflict does not exist (other-face concern).
➢Competing. Defending your position, persuading (self-face concern).
➢Collaborating. Apologizing, having a private discussion, remaining calm (other-face concern).
Research done on college students in Germany, Japan, China, and the United States found that those with independent self construal were more likely to engage in competing, and those with interdependent self-construal were more likely to engage
in avoiding or collaborating. And in general, this research found that members of collectivistic cultures were more likely to use the avoiding style of conflict management and less likely to use the integrating or competing styles of conflict management than were members of individualistic cultures. The following examples bring together facework strategies, cultural orientations, and conflict management style: Someone from an individualistic culture may be more likely to engage in competing as a conflict management strategy if they are directly confronted, which may be an attempt to defend their reputation (self-face concern). Someone in a collectivistic culture may be more likely to engage in avoiding or accommodating in order not to embarrass or anger the person confronting them (other-face concern) or out of concern that their reaction could reflect negatively on their family or cultural group (other-face concern).
While these distinctions are useful for categorizing large-scale cultural patterns, it is important not to essentialize or arbitrarily group countries together, because there are measurable differences within cultures. For example, expressing one’s emotions was seen as demonstrating a low concern for other-face in Japan, but this was not so in China, which shows there is variety between similarly collectivistic cultures. Culture always adds layers of complexity to any communication phenomenon, but experiencing and learning from other cultures also enriches our lives and makes us more competent communicators.
7.4 DEALING WITH CONFLICT
Conflict is inevitable and it is not inherently negative. A key part of developing interpersonal communication competence involves being able to effectively manage the conflict you will encounter in all your relationships. One key part of handling conflict better is to notice patterns of conflict in specific relationships and to generally have an idea of what causes you to react negatively and what your reactions usually are.
Identifying Conflict Patterns
Much of the research on conflict patterns has been done on couples in romantic relationships, but the concepts and findings are applicable to other relationships. Four common triggers for conflict are criticism, demand, cumulative annoyance, and rejection.
Criticism
We all know from experience that criticism, or comments that evaluate another person’s personality, behavior, appearance, or life choices, may lead to conflict. Comments do not have to be meant as criticism to be perceived as such. If Gary comes home from college for the weekend and his mom says, “Looks like you put on a few pounds,” she may view this as a statement of fact based on observation. Gary, however, may take the comment personally and respond negatively back to his mom, starting a conflict that will last for the rest of his visit. A simple but useful strategy to manage the trigger of criticism is to follow the old adage “Think before you speak.” In many cases, there are alternative ways to phrase things that may be taken less personally, or we may determine that our comment doesn’t need to be spoken at all. I’ve learned that a majority of the thoughts that we have about another person’s physical appearance, whether positive or negative, do not need to be verbalized. Ask yourself, “What is my motivation for making this comment?” and “Do I have anything to lose by not making this comment?” If your underlying reasons for asking are valid, perhaps there is another way to phrase your observation. If Gary’s mom is worried about his eating habits and health, she could wait until they’re eating dinner and ask him how he likes the food choices at school and what he usually eats.
Demands
Demands also frequently trigger conflict, especially if the demand is viewed as unfair or irrelevant. It’s important to note that demands rephrased as questions may still be or be perceived as demands. Tone of voice and context are important factors here. When you were younger, you may have asked a parent, teacher, or elder for something and heard back “Ask nicely.” As with criticism, thinking before you speak and before you respond can help manage demands and minimize conflict episodes. As we discussed earlier, demands are sometimes met with withdrawal rather than a verbal response. If you are doing the demanding, remember a higher level of information exchange may make your demand clearer or more reasonable to the other person. If you are being demanded of, responding calmly and expressing your thoughts and feelings are likely more effective than withdrawing, which may escalate the conflict.
Cumulative Annoyance
Cumulative annoyance is a building of frustration or anger that occurs over time, eventually resulting in a conflict interaction. For example, your friend shows up late to drive you to class three times in a row. You didn’t say anything the previous times, but on the third time you say, “You’re late again! If you can’t get here on time, I’ll find another way to get to class.” Cumulative annoyance can build up like a pressure cooker, and as it builds up, the intensity of the conflict also builds. Criticism and demands can also play into cumulative annoyance. We have all probably let critical or demanding comments slide, but if they continue, it becomes difficult to hold back, and most of us have a breaking point. The problem here is that all the other incidents come back to your mind as you confront the other person, which usually intensifies the conflict. You’ve likely been surprised when someone has blown up at you due to cumulative annoyance or surprised when someone you have blown up at didn’t know there was a problem building. A good strategy for managing cumulative annoyance is to monitor your level of annoyance and occasionally let some steam out of the pressure cooker by processing through your frustration with a third party or directly addressing what is bothering you with the source.
Rejection
No one likes the feeling of rejection. Rejection can lead to conflict when one person’s comments or behaviors are perceived as ignoring or invalidating the other person.Vulnerability is a component of any close relationship. When we care about someone, we verbally or nonverbally communicate. We may tell our best friend that we miss them, or plan a home-cooked meal for our partner who worked late. The vulnerability that underlies these actions comes from the possibility that our relational partner will not notice or appreciate them. When someone feels exposed or rejected, they often respond with anger to mask their hurt, which ignites a conflict. Managing feelings of rejection is difficult because it is so personal, but controlling the impulse to assume that your relational partner is rejecting you, and engaging in communication rather than reflexive reaction, can help put things in perspective.
If your partner doesn’t get excited about the meal you planned and cooked, it could be because he or she is physically or mentally tired after a long day. Before you jump to a conclusion, it is useful to examine why a person might be acting the way that they are. You can check to see if your perceptions are correct by first attributing different causes to their behaviors, and then asking them about what you perceive. If you did cook a nice meal for someone who worked late, and didn’t let you know in advance, your initial reaction might be one of rejection. This is a good time to look for causes for their behavior other than rejection. Were they forced into working late by their boss? Did they have a deadline they had to meet? Finally, ask about the cause because the answer may indicate that being late had nothing to do with rejecting you. Interpersonal conflict may take the form of serial arguing, which is a repeated pattern of disagreement over an issue. Serial arguments do not necessarily indicate negative or troubled relationships, but any kind of patterned conflict is worth paying attention to.
There are three patterns that occur with serial arguing: repeating, mutual hostility, and arguing with assurances. The first pattern is repeating, which means reminding the other person of your complaint (what you want them to start/ stop doing). The pattern may continue if the other person repeats their response to your reminder. For example, if Marita reminds Kate that she doesn’t appreciate her sarcastic tone, and Kate responds, “I’m soooo sorry, I forgot how perfect you are,” then the reminder has failed to effect the desired change. A predictable pattern of complaint like this leads participants to view the conflict as irresolvable. The second pattern within serial arguments is mutual hostility, which occurs when the frustration of repeated conflict leads to negative emotions and increases the likelihood of verbal aggression. Again, a predictable pattern of hostility makes the conflict seem irresolvable and may lead to relationship deterioration.
Whereas the first two patterns entail an increase in pressure on the participants in the conflict, the third pattern offers some relief. If people in an interpersonal conflict offer verbal assurances of their commitment to the relationship, then the problems associated with the other two patterns of serial arguing may be ameliorated. Even though the conflict may not be solved in the interaction, the verbal assurances of commitment imply that there is a willingness to work on solving the conflict in the future, which provides a sense of stability that can benefit the relationship. If the pattern becomes more of a vicious cycle, it can lead to alienation, polarization, and an overall toxic climate, and the problem may seem so irresolvable that people feel trapped and terminate the relationship.
Two common conflict pitfalls are one-upping and mindreading. One-upping is a quick reaction to communication from another person that escalates the conflict. If Sam comes home late from work and Nicki says, “I wish you would call when you’re going to be late” and Sam responds, “I wish you would get off my back,” the reaction has escalated the conflict. Mindreading is communication in which one person attributes something to the other using generalizations. If Sam says, “You don’t care whether I come home at all or not!” she is presuming to know Nicki’s thoughts and feelings. Nicki is likely to respond defensively, perhaps saying, “You don’t know how I’m feeling!” One-upping and mindreading are often reactions that are more reflexive than deliberate. Remember to stop and consider what may have caused the behavior. Nicki may have received bad news and was eager to get support from Sam when she arrived home. Although Sam perceives Nicki’s comment as criticism and justifies her comments as a reaction to Nicki’s behavior, Nicki’s comment could actually be a sign of their closeness, in that Nicki appreciates Sam’s emotional support. Sam could have said, “I know, I’m sorry, I was on my cell phone for the past hour with a client who had a lot of problems to work out.” Taking a moment to respond mindfully rather than react with a knee-jerk reflex can lead to information exchange, which could deescalate the conflict.
Validating the person with whom you are in conflict can be an effective way to deescalate conflict. While avoiding or retreating may seem like the best option in the moment, one of the key negative traits found in research on married couples’ conflicts was withdrawal, which as we learned before may result in a demand-withdrawal pattern of conflict. Often validation can be as simple as demonstrating good listening skills discussed earlier in this book by making eye contact and giving verbal and nonverbal back-channel cues like saying “mmm-hmm” or nodding your head. This doesn’t mean that you have to give up your own side in a conflict or that you agree with what the other person is saying; rather, you are hearing the other person out, which validates them and may also give you some more information about the conflict that could minimize the likelihood of a reaction rather than a response.
As with all the aspects of communication competence we have discussed so far, you cannot expect that everyone you interact with will have the same knowledge of communication that you have after reading this book. But it often only takes one person
with conflict management skills to make an interaction more effective. Remember that it’s not the quantity of conflict that determines a relationship’s success; it’s how the conflict is managed, and one person’s competent response can deescalate a conflict. Now we turn to a discussion of negotiation steps and skills as a more structured way to manage conflict.
7.5 NEGOTIATION STEPS AND SKILLS
We negotiate daily. We may negotiate with a professor to make up a missed assignment or with our friends to plan activities for the weekend. Negotiation in interpersonal conflict refers to the process of attempting to change or influence conditions within a relationship. The negotiation skills discussed next can be adapted to all types of relational contexts, from romantic partners to coworkers. The stages of negotiating are pre negotiation, opening, exploration, bargaining, and settlement. Pre-Negotiation Stage
In the pre-negotiation stage,you want to prepare for the encounter. If possible, let the other person know you would like to talk to them, and preview the topic, so they will also have the opportunity to prepare. While it may seem awkward to “set a date” to talk about a conflict, if the other person feels like they were blindsided, their reaction could be negative. Make your preview simple and nonthreatening by saying something like “I’ve noticed that we’ve been arguing a lot about who does what chores around the house. Can we sit down and talk tomorrow when we both get home from class?” Obviously, it won’t always be feasible to set a date if the conflict needs to be handled immediately because the consequences are immediate or if you or the other person has limited availability. In that case, you can still prepare, but make sure you allot time for the other person to digest and respond. During this stage you also want to figure out your goals for the interaction by reviewing your instrumental, relational, and self-presentation goals. Is getting something done, preserving the relationship, or presenting yourself in a certain way the most important? For example, you may highly rank the instrumental goal of having a clean house, or the relational goal of having pleasant interactions with your roommate, or the self-presentation goal of appearing nice and cooperative. Whether your roommate is your best friend from high schoolor a stranger the school matched you up with could determine the importance of your relational and self presentation goals. At this point, your goal analysis may lead you away from negotiation—remember, as we discussed earlier, avoiding can be an appropriate and effective conflict management strategy. If you decide to proceed with the negotiation, you will want to determine your ideal outcome and your bottom line, or the point at which you decide to break off negotiation. It’s very important that you realize there is a range between your ideal and your bottom line and that remaining flexible is key to a successful negotiation—remember, through collaboration a new solution could be found that you didn’t think of.
Opening Stage
In the opening stage of the negotiation, you want to set the tone for the interaction because the other person will be likely to reciprocate. Generally, it is good to be cooperative and pleasant, which can help open the door for collaboration. You also want to establish common ground by bringing up overlapping interests and using “we” language. It would not be competent to open the negotiation with “You’re such a slob! Didn’t your mom ever teach you how to take care of yourself?” Instead, you may open the negotiation by making small talk about classes that day and
then move into the issue at hand. You could set a good tone and establish common ground by saying, “We both put a lot of work into setting up and decorating our space, but now that classes have started, I’ve noticed that we’re really busy and some chores are not getting done.” With some planning and a simple opening like that, you can move into the next stage of negotiation.
Exploration Stage
There should be a high level of information exchange in the exploration stage. The overarching goal in this stage is to get a panoramic view of the conflict by sharing your perspective and listening to the other person. In this stage, you will likely learn how the other person is punctuating the conflict. Although you may have been mulling over the mess for a few days, your roommate may just now be aware of the conflict. She may also inform you that she usually cleans on Sundays but didn’t get to last week because she unexpectedly had to visit her parents. The information that you gather here may clarify the situation enough to end the conflict and cease negotiation. If negotiation continues, the information will be key as you move into the bargaining stage.
Bargaining Stage
The bargaining stage is where you make proposals and concessions. The proposal you make should be informed by what you learned in the exploration stage. Flexibility is important here, because you may have to revise your ideal outcome and bottom line based on new information. If your plan was to have a big cleaning day every Thursday, you may now want to propose to have the roommate clean on Sunday while you clean on Wednesday. You want to make sure your opening proposal is reasonable and not presented as an ultimatum. “I don’t ever want to see a dish left in the sink” is different from “When dishes are left in the sink too long, they stink and get gross. Can we agree to not leave any dishes in the sink overnight?” Through the proposals you make, you could end up with a win/win situation. If there are areas of disagreement, however, you may have to make concessions or compromise, which can be a partial win or a partial loss. If you hate doing dishes but don’t mind emptying the trash and recycling, you could propose to assign those chores based on preference. If you both hate doing dishes, you could propose to be responsible for washing your own dishes right after you use them. If you really hate dishes and have some extra money, you could propose to use disposable (and hopefully recyclable) dishes, cups, and utensils.
Settlement Stage
In the settlement stage, you want to decide on one of the proposals and then summarize the chosen proposal and any related concessions. It is possible that each party can have a different view of the agreed solution. If your roommate thinks you are cleaning the bathroom every other day and you plan to clean it on Wednesdays, then there could be future conflict. You could summarize and ask for confirmation by saying, “So, it looks like I’ll be in charge of the trash and recycling, and you’ll load and unload the dishwasher. Then I’ll do a general cleaning on Wednesdays and you’ll do the same on Sundays. Is that right?” Last, you’ll need to follow up on the solution to make sure it’s working for both parties. If your roommate goes home again next Sunday and doesn’t get around to cleaning, you may need to go back to the exploration or bargaining stage.
Key Takeaways
• Interpersonal conflict is an inevitable part of relationships that, although not always negative, can take an emotional toll on relational partners unless they develop skills and strategies for managing conflict.
• Although there is no absolute right or wrong way to handle a conflict, there are five predominant styles of conflict management, which are competing, avoiding, accommodating, compromising, and collaborating.
• Perception plays an important role in conflict management because we are often biased in determining the cause of our own and others’ behaviors in a conflict situation, which necessitates engaging in communication to gain information and perspective.
• Culture influences how we engage in conflict based on our cultural norms regarding individualism or collectivism and concern for self-face or other-face.
• We can handle conflict better by identifying patterns and triggers such as demands, cumulative annoyance, and rejection and by learning to respond mindfully rather than reflexively.
Exercises
◦ Of the five conflict management strategies, is there one that you use more often than others? Why or why not? Do you think people are predisposed to one style over the others based on their personality or other characteristics? If so, what personality traits do you think would lead a person to each style?
◦ Review the example of D’Shaun and Rosa. If you were in their situation, what do you think the best style to use would be and why?
◦ Of the conflict triggers discussed (demands, cumulative annoyance, rejection, one-upping, and mindreading) which one do you find most often triggers a negative reaction from you? What strategies can you use to better manage the trigger and more effectively manage conflict?
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oercommons
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2025-03-18T00:39:24.837622
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Terri Johnson
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"license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
"url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/98196/overview",
"title": "CHAPTER 7: CONFLICT AND COMMUNICATION",
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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/122636/overview
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Peay-Pare to Write: An Introduction to Composition and Rhetoric for ENGL 1010
Overview
Peay-Pare to Write! is the textbook for ENGL 1010 at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, TN. The content aligns with the four major units of the course: Personal Narrative, Rhetorical Analysis, Annotated Bibliography, and Public Argument. In addition to introducing students to the major concepts of the course, this textbook includes links to videos that expand on the content and extensive Instructor Notes to help instructors and graduate lab assistants plan their lessons and assignments.
Chapter 1: Welcome to ENGL 1010!
Instructor Notes for Chapter 1
Welcome to Peay-Pare to Write!
This textbook was designed not only to help students achieve the learning outcomes of ENGL 1010, but also to provide ENGL 1010 instructors with material to plan their lessons. Each chapter in this textbook includes an “Instructors Notes” section with PPT lectures, links to supplementary videos, suggested activities, and handouts. You should feel free to adapt any of the provided materials to fit your teaching style and your students.
Video/Lecture: The Value of Gen Ed and ENGL 1010
Because ENGL 1010 is a required General Education course, it is important for instructors to explain to students early in the semester how they will use the skills practiced in this course. We have created a brief video that covers General Education at APSU and how ENGL 1010 fits into these requirements. You may share the video link with your students in D2L (Video Link: What is Gen Ed?) or use the accompanying PPT to present the information during your class (PPT Link: What is Gen Ed?).
Writing Activity: Writing and the Future
Set a timer for 10-15 minutes and ask students to write about the following question:
- How important do you think writing will be in your future classes in college, your career once you graduate, and your life as a member of your community? Explain your answers.
Get students to share their answers with each other in small groups and as a class. Encourage students to challenge their assumptions about the importance of writing.
Handout: Writer’s Inventory
Use the following handout to determine what writing tools students are already equipped with when they enter your classroom (Handout Link: Writer's Inventory)
By Keely Mohon-Doyle
Welcome to ENGL 1010: English Composition I at Austin Peay State University! ENGL 1010 is the first of two courses in the composition sequence required by the General Education Core. This textbook has been designed to introduce you to the important concepts covered in the course and guide you through the major writing projects you will be asked to complete.
You may notice that each chapter “sounds” a little different. The authors of this text each has their own voice that they have developed during their time as writers. Whether you are coming to us right out of high school, joining us early through Dual Enrollment, transferring in from another college, or returning to academia after time away, we are excited to support you as you develop your own writing voice and practice the skills that will help you succeed as you navigate college, establish your careers, and engage in your communities.
Students as Writers
Although you may not always recognize yourself as such, you are a writer. Every day you engage in acts of writing: texting friends, emailing professors, responding to social media posts, reviewing products, penning fanfiction, completing assignments, reaching out to politicians. The list goes on and on. These acts of writing are often so mundane that you may not think of them as writing. They are just how you communicate with others, but that’s all that writing is…communication. For this reason, you are, in one way or another, an expert.
The difference between your expertise and the expertise of your professors is that they have had more practice at the specific types of writing that are valued in formal, academic settings. This course will build on the skills you have already acquired as an experienced writer, teach you new ones that you may not have used before, and give you the opportunity to thoughtfully and purposefully practice those skills in a space where you can receive feedback and revise to improve.
What to Expect in ENGL 1010: The Basics
We know that it can sometimes be difficult to understand why professors teach the material that they do, particularly at the beginning of a class. We hope to offer some transparency by sharing with you the basic requirements of ENGL 1010 that have been established by the First-Year Writing Committee. While not all sections of the course will be exactly the same, they all share the same student learning outcomes and major writing assignments.
Student Learning Outcomes
Student learning outcomes are the specific goals that your instructor will help you achieve by the end of the semester. In ENGL 1010, the outcomes focus on growing your abilities as writers, readers, rhetors, and researchers.
- Engage in all elements of the writing process, including pre-writing, drafting, peer review, conferencing, and revision.
- Practice critical reading strategies, such as annotating, notetaking, re-reading, and responding.
- Reflect on and learn from past experiences with literacy.
- Practice various forms of expository writing, such as description, explanation, comparison, and process.
- Understand and analyze the importance of rhetorical situation and rhetorical appeals, including logos, ethos, pathos, and kairos.
- Construct and maintain a clear thesis.
- Logically organize and show connections between ideas through proper paragraphing and transitions.
- Begin finding and evaluating outside sources, both popular and scholarly.
- Begin using sources ethically and correctly through quotes, summaries, and paraphrases to support claims.
- Build an argument using sources and rhetorical devices.
- Adhere to the conventions of current MLA style, format, and citation guidelines.
- Develop knowledge of appropriate grammar, mechanics, and style.
Major Writing Assignments
The assignment sequence for ENGL 1010 has been standardized to ensure that all students who have taken the course will practice and attain a similar set of skills. These assignments are scaffolded, meaning they have been designed to slowly build on the skills taught in the course. For example, the Personal Narrative will introduce you to providing concrete descriptions, which you may use in the Rhetorical Analysis to explain the text you are analyzing. The Rhetorical Analysis teaches you how to critically analyze popular texts, but you may also use your analytical skills as you decide which sources are reliable enough to include in your Annotated Bibliography and Public Argument.
While this sequence is standardized, that does not mean that the assignments will be identical from one instructor to another. Instead, instructors are encouraged to create their own unique prompts for each assignment. Here, you can find a basic description of each major writing project in the sequence.
- Unit 1: Personal Narrative: Students should be given the opportunity to view their experience as a valid topic for discussion and a source of knowledge. In this assignment, you will practice narrative skills, such as description and dialogue, as well as reflect on how the experience you have chosen to write about affected you.
- Unit 2: Rhetorical Analysis: The more students become aware of how authors and advertisers and speakers use rhetoric—of how they make use of the rhetorical situation and rhetorical appeals—the better they will become at making informed decisions. In this assignment, you will practice identifying the use of logos, ethos, pathos, and kairos in various types of texts—advertisements, videos, speeches, songs, etc. You may be introduced to the MLA citation style in this assignment.
- Unit 3: Annotated Bibliography: An annotated bibliography is a good way to encourage students to begin research early and serves as a reference for both the content of their sources and their own thoughts about the topic once they begin working on the Public Argument assignment. In this assignment, you will learn to use search engines and databases to find sources, read sources for useful content, evaluate the reliability of sources, and plan for more extensive paper assignments.
- Unit 4: Public Argument: Once students have explored their topic and collected reliable sources, they will practice making their own rhetorically-driven arguments. In this assignment, you will learn how to incorporate sources and personal experience to defend a position. You will acknowledge and address potential counterarguments, and you will write for an audience beyond the classroom.
- Optional Unit: Reflection: Reflecting on the writing process and the skills acquired over the course of the semester can help students see how they have improved and how these skills can transfer to assignments beyond ENGL 1010. Your instructor may ask you to complete brief reflections after each major paper or a longer reflection at the end of the semester.
Understanding What the Instructor Wants and Seeking Support
Your instructor is there to support you through the major writing sequence. They want you to succeed, and they will provide you with feedback and check-in with you throughout the semester. However, you also have to be proactive when you need help on an assignment or have questions about the course. Here are a few places you can go if you have hit a block.
- The Instructor: The instructor is your best source of information about the course. While you can try to catch them at the beginning or end of class, there may not be enough time to provide you with the information you need. Most will offer dedicated office hours each week when you can drop by without an appointment to ask questions. If you have class or other obligations during their office hours, you can email them with your questions or schedule a meeting for another time. Sometimes students avoid these methods of seeking help because they are worried that they are bothering the instructor, but most instructors are happy to see their students taking the initiative to get support. The instructor’s office hours, office number, and email can be found on the course syllabus.
- The Syllabus: The syllabus is another good way to figure out what the professor wants. This document is handed out at the beginning of the class, and the first day is usually dedicated to going over it. It contains information about the course objectives, grading, and major assignments. It also outlines classroom policies about attendance and behavior. Many professors will include contact information for academic support services, as well as other students support services available on campus, such as Student Counseling Services and the SOS Food Pantry.
- The Assignment Sheets and Grading Rubrics: For every major assignment, you will be provided with an assignment sheet that explains the requirements of the assignment. In many cases, the instructor will also provide a grading rubric that tells you how many points are associated with each requirement. You can use these as a checklist as you plan and revise your work.
- D2L Brightspace: D2L is the learning management system (LMS) used at APSU. Each of your courses will have a D2L shell that contains the course documents, readings, lecture materials, assignment sheets, etc. You will likely submit your assignments for grading or engage in online discussions about course topics in this shell. It is also where your professor may provide you with feedback on your work and is where you can keep track of your grade throughout the semester.
- The Writing Center: The Writing Center is one of the free academic services available to students on campus. It is located on the first floor of the Felix G. Woodward Library and provides one-on-one tutoring with a trained writing consultant. You can make an appointment or submit a paper for online feedback by visiting apsu.mywconline.com. For more information about the Writing Center and its services, visit apsu.edu/writingcenter.
Questions for Your Consideration
- Do you consider yourself a good writer? Why or why not?
- What was the last thing you wrote for a class? For fun?
- Based on the information in this chapter, what are your expectations for ENGL 1010?
- What assignment are you the most concerned about and why?
- When you have difficulty working on an assignment, where do you normally seek help?
- How could the skills learned in ENGL 1010 prepare you for work you may be asked to do in your other courses?
Chapter 2: Reading Critically
Instructor Notes for Chapter 2
Video/Lecture: Reading Strategies
We have created a brief video that provides students with strategies for reading critically. You may share the video link with your students in D2L (Video Link: Reading Strategies) or use the accompanying PPT to present the information during your class (PPT Link: Reading Strategies).
Activity Links
The following links contain information and activities to accompany this chapter:
- Reading for Main Ideas and Details: https://www.uc.edu/campus-life/learning-commons/learning-resources/notetaking-resources/main-ideas-vs-details.html
- Detecting Bias: https://libguides.uwgb.edu/bias
- The Five Organizational Structures: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/waymaker-level1-english-gen/chapter/text-text-structures/#:~:text=Researchers%20have%20identified%20five%20basic,contrast%2C%20and%20problem%20and%20solution
- Links to Critical Reading and Writing Worksheets and Activities: https://sunyempire.edu/online-writing-support/resources/critical-reading-writing/
- Teaching Guide Ideas for Graduate Student Instructors: https://gsi.berkeley.edu/media/Teaching-Critical-Reading.pdf
- Critical Reading Exercises: https://www.antioch.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/VWC-Critical-Reading-Exercises.pdf
By Lori Burdette
Expectations for College Reading
All students have different expectations about reading and have had different relationships with texts. Not everyone enjoys reading, nor are they always able to have positive experiences from reading. Therefore, developing critical reading skills can help students’ reading become constructive and valuable. The expectations for college reading include reading specifically and purposefully to understand content, to enhance critical thinking, to prepare for an assignment or an exam, or even to take notes. Therefore, college reading takes more time. You may find yourself needing two or more hours to read the materials for each class. This might sound like a lot, but reading critically not only helps us understand the text, but also helps us develop ways to connect the information we read to other important areas and even other classes. This chapter will address ways to effectively move through a text first by reading to gain information and then by delving deeper to answer questions, analyze situations, argue positions, and evaluate sources, all of which are important parts of the critical reading process. In turn, we will be able to get to the root of issues and enhance critical thinking, analysis, problem-solving, and decision-making and apply those to real world scenarios. Let’s get started!
What is Critical Reading
To improve your writing skills, it is important to improve your reading skills, and the best way to do this is to become a critical reader. Critical readers approach the text with open and interested minds to unlock not only what the text says, but also what the text means. This is an interactive approach that involves communicating with the text in a purposeful and constructive manner so you can participate in and respond to the exchange of information.
Some interactive approaches include:
- Keeping a pen in your hand: As you read, annotate the text. Underline or highlight interesting passages. Write notes in the margins: questions, reactions, connections, etc. Circle new words, so you can look them up later. If you do not or cannot write on the text, keep a reading journal where you can collect your annotations.
- Knowing your speed: How long does it take you to read a page? Students often get in trouble when they attempt to read an assigned text at the last minute. If you know how long it takes you to read, you can ensure that you have plenty of time to read the text carefully and stress free.
- Taking breaks: Some texts may be longer than others, and you’ll want to avoid trying to read them all at once. When you notice your eyes skimming over words, give yourself a break. If you try to power through, you will likely miss out on important information, and it may actually take you longer because you have to read sections again.
- Re-reading for understanding: If you have time, consider reading through the text once quickly to get the main points. Then, read it again to help confirm your understanding of the content and to identify interesting details that you can discuss in class or include in a paper.
Critical reading does not mean to pick apart a text and look for errors or even to criticize a work. Critical reading does mean, however, to consider various features of a work and think about the effect they have on the reader.
How to Read Critically
Reading was one of the first skills we learned in our early education. We all know how to read, but do we know how to read critically? To read critically, we must know WHY we are reading. Before you can truly improve your reading skills, you need to understand what happens in good readers’ minds while they read. You may even do these things already. You just don’t know it…yet. Good readers have developed good habits when they read called strategies that help them understand how to use the basic components of a text to connect to and determine the importance of what they are reading. They also visualize, ask questions, and read between the lines of what they read.
Understand the basic components:
The first strategy is to understand the basic components of a text to connect to and determine the importance of what you are reading so that you can get the most from your reading experience. Basic components of a text include the structure or organizational pattern that is used, key features such as the table of contents, index, glossary, and figures which are the chapter headings, illustrations, and any tables or graphs used.
There are five recognized structures: description, sequence, cause and effect, problem and solution, comparison and contrast. These structures help unlock the purpose of the text and how the information will be presented.
The key features help readers navigate through the text. Components such as the table of contents help readers find the specific chapters, sections, and pages where the information is located within the text. Indexes list topics, names, places, and key terms alphabetically and provide the page numbers for easy access. Glossaries are like mini-dictionaries provided to define terms that were used in the text. Glossaries can be found at the end of the book or sometimes at the end of individual chapters.
Finally, using additional figures in the text such as chapter headings, illustrations, tables, charts, and graphs explain the important ideas, concepts, and theories that are presented.
Determine Importance by Identifying Main Ideas and Supporting Details
As you begin to read, it is important to identify both the main ideas and supporting details of the materials. To find the main idea, ask yourself, “what is the author trying to tell me?” Look for titles, section headings, bold print words, italicized print, or any other indicators that the information is important. Another way to determine the main idea is to look for repeated words or phrases that indicate a topic or common theme.
To find the supporting ideas, look for ways that the author builds upon or supports the main idea. What evidence, backing, or examples does the author provide? Again, look for indicators in the text such as section headings, bold print words, or repeated words or phrases.
Make Connections
Another way to read critically involves making connections. When you make connections, think about how the text connects to you or similar events in your life. Ask yourself how you might react in a similar situation. What life experiences have you had that are similar to the ones described in the text? How can you use this information to expand your learning? Next, consider how the text connects to other books, articles, or materials that you have read. Does the information from the new reading strengthen or weaken concepts from what you’ve previously read. How can you combine information from both texts to expand your knowledge? Finally, use what you have read to make connections to the real world or real-life events. Are the scenarios in the text realistic? Has anything like what you’ve read happened in real life? For example: when you make connections while reading, you might connect what you are reading now to an experience you had as a child or to something you have read for another class. Being able to make connections as you read creates a bond between you and the reading material and promotes critical thinking skills and enhances our learning about not only ourselves, but also the world around us.
Detect Bias
Reading critically helps us to detect any bias as well as recognize disinformation and misinformation present in a piece of writing. Bias refers to ways that authors add slant to their writing by including personal opinions or beliefs that may affect the relationship between the reader and the writer, alter facts, and damage credibility. Since we are bombarded with information daily, it is important to use critical reading strategies to recognize disinformation and misinformation in writing. Disinformation is the act of intentionally misleading the reader while misinformation is simply getting the facts wrong. To detect bias and recognize disinformation and misinformation, critical readers look to other sources to verify information and to seek different points of view. They also look for sarcasm, exaggeration, one-sided writing, unsupported claims, and missing information.
Ask Questions
As you read, ask questions along the way. This not only will help you to understand the material, but also will help you retain the information. Think of questions that will help you make the most out of your reading experience such as questions your instructor might ask on a test or a quiz or questions that will help you connect this reading material to other information you have learned or read.
Define Vocabulary
As you read and question, define and interpret any words or terms that you are not familiar with. Do this by using context clues or even looking up the terms in a dictionary, using the text’s glossary, or reading any footnotes or sub-text that might be in the chapter. To enhance these critical reading strategies, you might also want to take notes or create flashcards.
Use Reflective Thinking Strategies
Critical readers often use reflective thinking strategies to help make inferences and predictions by using what they know to help them learn what they do not know. By “reading between the lines,” good readers can discover meaning from what has not been explicitly stated in the writing. Inferences help readers reflect on their skills and capabilities to help them understand new thoughts and concepts. When you infer, you use what you have read coupled with what you already know to go beyond what is stated on the surface to create meanings. Prediction helps readers make educated guesses based on what they have read and uses that information to determine what will happen next. To infer and predict ask yourself the following questions: what is not stated that I have figured out? What do I predict will happen? Why do I think so? Unfortunately, both inferences and predictions can be wrong. These errors can occur when readers fail to use previous reading strategies such as connecting to the text or asking questions and defining vocabulary.
Visualize
Visualizing or seeing is one of the final critical reading strategies. This strategy can help you to put what you have read into perspective so that you can effectively use the information. This strategy is a checkpoint to see if you have fully read, grasped, and integrated what you have read and incorporated most or all of the previously discussed strategies. Visualizing is a process that allows you to translate what you have read into a mental image and may help improve your overall understanding of a text as well as how the pieces of a text, story, or novel work together. Being able to see the action as it occurs also helps with other reading strategies.
Synthesize
One more final critical reading strategy is synthesizing, and this occurs when you are able to blend your own ideas with the ideas from the text to create new ideas. When you synthesize, you search for distinct, unique, unrelated components and combine them to form new associations and connections. Surprisingly enough, you already do this. You just might not be aware of it.
Read Actively
Before, during, and after reading, be aware of the reading strategies that you might use, are using, or have used. Before reading, familiarize yourself with the text. What sort of information will you be reading? Why are you reading it? What do you expect to find? Are you familiar with this type of reading material? After answering these basic questions develop a reading plan. This includes identifying how much time you have to read the material and how you plan to approach the reading. A reading plan also helps you identify how you will complete other tasks such as asking questions, defining unfamiliar terms, or taking notes.
During reading, incorporate as many reading strategies as possible and read with a pencil or highlighter in hand. Note which reading strategies are helpful and which ones are not as helpful. You might even find yourself developing your own strategies based on your individual situation.
After reading, review your notes. What have you learned that you did not previously know? How have you expanded your knowledge of the topic? Which reading strategies helped and which ones did not? Being able to answer these questions will indicate how well you have read and understood the information as well as your ability to use the information.
Summary
Today, students need critical reading skills more than ever as they are bombarded with a constant stream of information from multiple outlets, and messages, intentions, and agendas can get lost in flowery prose. While it may take more time, critical reading is a necessary process, and it must be developed by using a variety of strategies. Learning to read critically boosts comprehension, critical thinking, attention, observation, and concentration.
Questions for Your Consideration
- What critical reading strategies do you use?
- After a reading assignment, attempt to write what you recall without looking at the text. Then go back and fill in what you might have missed and correct any information that might have been recalled incorrectly. How well did you remember what you had read? What reading strategies might have helped you recall the text in better detail?
- Create flashcards with terms and definitions for any words that you might not understand. On the back of the flashcard, include an original sentence using the word in context. Flashcards can be found at the following sites: Quizlet, Flashcards Machine, Brainscape, Anki, Cram, Genially, Chegg, Flashdecks, and StudyStack Flashcards
Chapter 3: The Writing Process
Instructor Notes for Chapter 3
Video/Lecture: Conducting an Effective Peer Review
Students in ENGL 1010 may not be familiar with peer review or what is expected of them during this activity. We have created a video that covers the purpose of conducting peer review and provides strategies for writing effective feedback. You may share the video link with your students in D2L (Video Link: Conducting an Effective Peer Review) or use the accompanying PPT to present the information during your class (PPT Link: Conducting an Effective Peer Review).
Activity: Peer Review Options
There are a lot of methods you can use to conduct peer review in your classroom. Here are a few examples:
- Open Peer Review: In an open peer review, students review the assignment sheet and the grading rubric to remind themselves of the requirements for the paper. However, they are not told to focus on any of them in particular. Usually, reviewers are asked to provide 3 workable suggestions for improvement and to point out at least 2 areas where the writer succeeded.
- Guided Peer Review: In a guided peer review, you provide the students with a list of questions that the reviewer must answer about their classmate’s paper. These are based on the requirements of the paper. Questions in a guided peer review should not be framed as yes/no questions. Instead, they should ask reviewers to identify specific elements and explain their responses.
- Small Group Peer Review: Peer review can be conducted in small groups (usually 3-4 students depending on the amount of time available). Give each student an appropriate amount of time to provide feedback on their groupmates’ drafts. At the end, make sure the students have enough time to discuss their feedback with each other and ask questions.
- Anonymous Peer Review: Another method of peer review involves collecting all of the drafts and handing them out to reviewers at random. The reviewer can then provide feedback anonymously. If you also code the names of the writers, reviewers will not know whose paper they are reading. This can help with students that are more self-conscious about their work.
- Online Peer Review: Online peer review can be tricky. It is usually best to have students submit their drafts to a shared folder, such as the D2L Discussion forum on an assigned day and require them to respond to 1-2 of their classmates within three days of the original post. If a paper already has two responses, they should review a different paper. Trying to pair students up in advance can be chaotic if one of their groupmates does not post their draft.
Activity: Writing Field Trip
If you are planning a writing day for students to work on drafts or revisions, consider taking them to a new location on campus. If it’s nice out, they may be able to work outside. If not, the library offers plenty of computers and nooks for working. Have students share their progress with you at the end of the class session.
Inform students in advance, so they have enough battery power in their devices or remember to bring pen and paper. Check out any outdoor locations for WIFI and environmental obstacles (like sprinklers).
By Keely Mohon-Doyle
Think about the last time you had to write something, whether that was a paper for a class, a text message to a friend, or a response to a social media post. Did you think about your topic before putting pen to paper, fingers to the keyboard? Did you ask someone to take a quick look at what you wrote to make sure you were on track? Did you tweak the wording or fix a comma? Did you read over it “one last time” before sending your ideas out into the world? If you did any of these, you were practicing the writing process.
The writing process is a way of naming the series of activities that we practice when we write. These activities include prewriting, writing, conferencing, revising, editing, proofreading, and publishing. You may have heard them called “steps”; however, that isn’t quite right. “Steps” implies that you follow one after the other in a specific order to reach the finished product, but the writing process can be messy. You may start by conferencing with your professor to brainstorm ideas before you begin. You may be halfway through a paper and realize that you need to slow down and freewrite to get through a difficult section. You may skip some of these activities entirely. Your process is likely to look different depending on the formality of the writing, the amount of time you have to complete it, what you know about the topic, and any number of other reasons. That’s ok!
In this chapter, we will explain the major activities that make up the writing process and offer suggestions for how to use them effectively.
Prewriting
Prewriting is the act of collecting and organizing your thoughts. This usually happens shortly after you are given an assignment to help you get past the blank page; however, you may need to return to prewriting if you get stuck or if you realize you need to say more about the topic.
While there are many formal methods of prewriting, some of which we will discuss below, not all methods require you to sit at a desk. Sometimes our best prewriting occurs when we are doing everyday things, like walking between classes, shopping for groceries, or hanging out with friends. For this reason, it is a good idea to have a dedicated place to record your thoughts. Some people use journals; others keep notes in their phones. Remember, if you don’t write it down, you will forget it.
Prewriting to Brainstorm
When you begin a project, basic brainstorming can help you figure out what you already know about your topic and what you need to know. Create a list of everything you can think of: ideas, topics, sources, questions. These can act as a springboard for more prewriting, paragraphs, and research.
Prewriting to Expand
Once you have a few ideas on paper, you can work on expanding them. Freewriting is a prewriting exercise where you choose one aspect of your topic and write everything you can think of within a specific timeframe, usually 3-5 minutes. Grammar and spelling aren’t important. Just keep writing. Once you are done, you can do a second freewrite that builds on ideas from the first. Journalistic questions—who, what, where, when, why, how—prompt you to look at your topic from all angles and can suggest areas where you may need to conduct research to fully understand it.
Prewriting to Organize
A good paper makes your ideas easy for a reader to follow, and some prewriting exercises can help you bring order to the chaos of your earlier brainstorming. Clustering is a visual form of prewriting where you place your main topic in the center of the page and draw lines out to related ideas. This method can help you make connections and indicate what paragraphs to include in the paper. Outlining is a formal method of organizing your ideas into paragraphs. Identify the major points you want to make in the paper and number each of these to indicate a paragraph. Under each point, write the corresponding ideas you collected during your earlier prewriting exercises. If one point has too many ideas under it, you will know to split it into two paragraphs. If a point has too few, you will know to combine it with a similar point or add more to create a paragraph. Outlining also gives you the opportunity to test the order of your points to see which one should be first and how they might flow together in the paper.
Writing
Writing is the act of taking your ideas and putting them into a formal structure—a 5-paragraph essay, narrative, research paper, etc.—depending on the requirements of the assignment or writing event. It is where you think about how to transition smoothly from one idea to another, from one point to another. When writing, you must ensure that you fully flesh-out the ideas you collected during prewriting with details, examples, and evidence.
Writing Purpose
It is important for you understand the purpose of your writing assignment before you turn your prewriting into a paper. Re-read the assignment sheet and rubric and make a checklist of the requirements. Review any examples your instructor has provided, looking for organization and specific genre conventions, characteristics specific to that type of writing. Decide who the audience is for your writing. It’s not always the professor. Knowing this information can affect what you decide to include in your paper.
Writing Habits
Even with prewriting to draw from, writing can be hard. Here are a few writing habits to make it easier. Start early. It can be tempting to wait until the last minute to write a paper, particularly if you think you know what you want to say. However, you may still suffer from writer’s block at some point, and it is important to make sure you have space to return to prewriting if needed. Take breaks. Another good reason to start early is so that you can take breaks when you get mentally and physically fatigued. Don’t push through if you feel your eyes glaze over or your stomach rumble. Skip the introduction. The introduction is usually the most difficult paragraph to write because you aren’t completely certain what you’re going to say in the rest of the paper. It’s easier to pick a relevant opening line or produce a thoughtful thesis statement if you know what points you actually make. Manage your resources. If you have notes or sources, make sure that you label them clearly and save them in places where you will have easy access. If you like physical materials, use a dedicated binder. If you like digital materials, save everything to a thumb drive and use descriptive titles for documents. Save often and in different locations. You never know when catastrophe will strike. Make sure you save your work every 10-15 minutes, so, if the power goes out, you don’t lose everything. Save to the cloud or an external thumb drive, so that you can access your work from different computers in case yours takes a tumble.
Writing Environment
The environment in which you work can be just as important to the success of your writing as the prewriting you did to collect ideas. Some people have no problem working in their dorm room with their roommate listening to music across from them. Some people need the complete silence of the library basement. If you are not comfortable and can’t be productive in your writing space, it will take you significantly longer to complete the work. Test out a few locations. Try writing at different times of day. Recognize that the environment you need to complete your writing may not be the same each time.
Conferencing
Conferencing is the act of collaborating with others to improve your writing. Writing is rarely a solitary endeavor. In the workforce, most major writing projects are done by an entire team of people. In college, even when you must complete a paper on your own, you can still ask your professor for help or read a section of your paper to your friend to see if it “sounds right.”
Your Instructor
Your instructor is probably one of the best sources of feedback for your assignment. After all, they assigned it. They will be able to explain the paper topic and structure, help you find sources, and offer suggestions for revisions. While some professors may schedule required conferences to discuss your work, others will leave it up to you to make an appointment when you need help. You can email them a request or just stop by during their office hours.
Peer Review
Peer review is the formal process of sharing your writing with your classmates and receiving feedback. This form of conferencing provides you with multiple perspectives and suggestions from people who are writing papers with the same requirements as your own. Because you are also providing your classmates with feedback on their papers, it also allows you to read examples of how others approached the assignment. Feedback during peer review should be specific. If the paper does not meet the requirements, offer suggestions for how to address the issue, pointing to places in the paper where they could make changes. If you don’t understand something, ask the writer questions that will help them expand their ideas. If you read something that you like, explain to the writer why you thought it was good, so they know to keep doing it.
The Writing Center
The Writing Center is a free resource on campus where you can take any paper at any stage of the writing process. The center is staffed by fellow students who have been trained to serve as writing tutors. If you visit, make sure to bring your assignment sheet, so they will know what your assignment is. You should also have a few questions prepared for the meeting to help the tutor focus their feedback.
Revising, Editing, and Proofreading
We often use revising, editing, and proofreading interchangeably to mean “making changes” to our writing. However, they are distinct acts and indicate macro-, meso-, and micro-levels of change. It is important to know where to start.
Revising (macro-level changes)
Revising is the act of making significant content and organizational changes to your writing with the help of feedback received during conferencing and based on your own perceptions of the effectiveness of your work. It can be one of the most difficult parts of the writing process because it requires you to look critically at the writing you invested so much time into completing and to acknowledge that it would be stronger if you just added a paragraph here, removed a paragraph there, gave a different example on page 2, and flipped paragraphs 4 and 5.
To complete a successful revision, start with the assignment sheet and the grading rubric (if available). Use these documents as a checklist to make sure you are meeting all the requirements. Then, review the feedback provided by your professor and peers. While it is tempting to go with whatever the professor suggested, it is important to note that the professor is just one person with one perspective. They may not have thought of things that your classmates did. It is up to you to decide who offers the better feedback. Additionally, you can decide that you don’t like any of their ideas and come up with an alternative revision on your own. It is your paper; you get to decide. Once you have made your revisions, check the assignment sheet and rubric again and continue revising as needed.
Editing (meso-level changes)
Editing is the act of checking the paper for flow and readability and making changes to sentence order and transitions. To complete a successful edit, read your paper aloud or have someone else read it to you. It may seem strange at first, but reading aloud allows you to hear where you or the reader “stumble” because you are forced to engage with each word. When you read silently, it is easy to slide over these problem areas, particularly if you have been working on the paper for a long time and know what it is supposed to mean. In addition to stumbling, listen for the rhythm of your sentences. Are they all short and choppy or long and elaborate? Do you need to add some variety? Finally, listen for transition words, phrases, and sentences that help make the connections between your ideas clear. If you notice sudden jumps in topic or purpose, insert a transition to smooth it out.
Proofreading (micro-level changes)
Proofreading is the act of checking the paper for grammar, spelling, word choice, and punctuation errors. This serves as the final polish before you submit your paper. To complete a successful proofreading, it is important to take a break between finishing the paper and beginning the proofreading. If you start too soon, you may miss errors due to familiarity. When you do start, know what errors you commonly make and look for them one at a time. If you try to find all of them at once, you are likely to miss some. Start with the last sentence and work your way backward to avoid falling into reading instead of proofreading. This strategy will help you focus on identifying errors rather than the main ideas of a paragraph.
Note: It is important to start with revision first. If you spend 15 minutes fixing all the commas in a paragraph and then realize that the paragraph no longer fits the point you are trying to make, you may be tempted to make it fit…somehow…which will only weaken your paper.
Publishing
Publishing is the act of submitting your writing for others to read. Eventually, you will either feel “done” with your writing or come up against a deadline. At that point, you have to let your writing go out into the world to serve the purpose for which it was created: to be enjoyed by others, to make money, to earn a grade. While that can be nerve-wracking, it is important to remember that writing is never really done, you can always continue the writing process and revisit a “final” draft. For example, the papers you write for this class may earn a grade, but you can continue to improve them for submission in the First-Year Writing Competition and publication in A Gov and Beyond: The First-Year Writing Journal at APSU.
While this long discussion of the writing process may seem like a lot of extra work, using some of the strategies mentioned here can actually help you address problem areas early and avoid writer’s block. Additionally, you are probably already doing many of these activities anyway. This chapter just makes your knowledge more explicit and encourages you to build up these skills.
Questions for Your Consideration
- What is your usual writing process? Do you find it effective? Does it change depending on the paper?
- Do you ever seek feedback from your professor, a tutor, your friends, etc. on your writing?
- How much time do you spend on revising? What types of changes do you tend to make before submitting the final draft?
Chapter 4: Genres of Writing
Instructor Notes for Chapter 4
Video/Lecture: Understanding Genre
We have created a brief video that introduces students to genre and walks them through an example analysis. You may share the video link with your students in D2L (Video Link: Understanding Genre) or use the accompanying PPT to present the information during your class (PPT Link: Understanding Genre).
Class Reading
Use the following link to point students to the reading “You Can Learn to Write in General,” which describes how writing expectations are new in each context:
http://richardcolby.net/writ2000/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/wardle-2017-writing-in-general.pdf
Handout: Genre Analysis Questions
Use the following handout for guiding questions regarding conducting a genre analysis on written texts: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/graduate_writing/documents/Questions-for-Genre-Analysis.pdf
Handout: Genre Analysis Checklist
Use the following handout to show students a checklist for identifying and analyzing genres: https://pressbooks.howardcc.edu/essentials/chapter/checklist-for-identifying-genres/
Handout: In-Class Activities
Use the following link to access a handout with various in-class activities to give students practice with genre analysis: https://www2.cortland.edu/offices/ict/files-to-share/2019%2011-%20Rodrigue,%20Teaching%20Genre%20Activities%20Booklet.pdf
Handbook for Activities
Use the link to the Dynamic Activities for First-Year Composition (2023) handbook which provides a number of activities and student learning outcomes for understanding genre: https://cdn.ncte.org/nctev2/product/7590/samples/a4c04c2f-c9d4-4def-b84d-af69ce2396ea.pdf
By Allie Johnston
As Chapter 3 highlights the stages of the writing process, this chapter will introduce the various genres of writing. Your writing process may vary depending on the writing project you are assigned. For example, if you’re working on a research paper, one part of your act of prewriting would include gathering evidence and seeking research to support your claims. If you are working on the genre of a literacy narrative (as discussed in Chapter 5), your process of prewriting may include some guiding prompts to help you consider your history of reading and writing.
You will be asked to write in several different genres throughout your college career, many of which you have not been asked to complete in high school. You will need to learn how to identify what these genre expectations include in order to succeed on your assignments. Knowing the genre of your writing project is crucial in ensuring your writing is effective for its intended purpose and audience.
Beyond your time at Austin Peay, you will encounter genres all around you. These include professional genres, like memos or reports you may see in your workplace, as well as those you may encounter in your own community.
In this course, English 1010, you will be asked to write different genres for each major assignment. The genres we will cover include:
- Personal Narrative
- Rhetorical Analysis
- Annotated Bibliography
- Public Argument Letter
- Reflection
Defining Genre
Think of your favorite movie genre. You may say romantic comedy, horror, thriller, the list goes on and on! Now, think of your favorite music genre. Maybe you like to listen to rap, country, hip hop, pop, or jazz. Genres are all around us. Genres act as categories that help us know what to expect. We wouldn’t go into a horror movie expecting a warm and fuzzy ending. Just like movies and music, writing has its own genres as well.
This chapter focuses on understanding some of the genres of writing you will encounter in your first-year writing classes here at Austin Peay and beyond.
Guidelines for Completing a Genre Analysis
When you come across a new assignment, you will want to consider what genres your audience would expect and the boundaries you should stay in to meet the expectations of a genre. Genre analysis means paying attention to the patterns of communicating in different situations. There are several steps when it comes to analyzing a genre, including: collecting samples of the genre, discovering the rhetorical situation, noticing recurring patterns, and finally, drawing your own conclusions about what those patterns tell you about expectations in that genre.
As mentioned above, there are four key steps (listed below) to follow for performing a genre analysis. Some genres you may have more familiarity with than others. No matter the genre, the following questions can help you analyze a text effectively. These questions can be a good starting place for conducting analyses. The more genres you analyze, the more confident you will become.
Collect Samples of the Genre
The more samples you can compare, the more accurately you can see the complexity of the genre and notice patterns. For example, if I plan to analyze a podcast, I may begin listening to multiple podcasts to begin understanding elements of that genre.
- What is expected?
- What is considered appropriate versus inappropriate?
Identify the Rhetorical Situation
- Where does the genre appear?
- What topics does the genre focus on?
- Who uses this genre (think about the creator of the genre as well as the readers of the genre)?
- What is this genre’s ultimate purpose (to inform, to entertain, to extend, etc.)?
Discover Patterns
- What information is typically included? What information is excluded?
- How does the genre consider the use of rhetorical appeals (ethos/pathos/logos)? Do the examples of the genre follow a similar tone? Would some tones/approaches be considered inappropriate?
- How is the information delivered? What format is used? Is the genre typically presented in a longer form or more concision?
Draw your Own Conclusions
- What values does the genre’s audience seem to hold?
For example, think about the syllabi you receive during the first week in your college courses. The syllabus itself is a genre. There are certain bits of information you can expect to find within a syllabus, including policies (like on attendance or turning in work late), grade percentages, your professor’s contact information, and more.
Genre and Writing
Now that you’ve conducted your own genre analysis, let’s consider why it’s important to do so. After all, as college students, you’re pressed for time. Why would you spend extra time analyzing a genre instead of jumping right into completing the assignment? Performing a genre analysis can actually save you time by ensuring you approach your assignment correctly and effectively. Understanding the genre in front of you gives you a goal to stay focused on as you complete your task. Completing an assignment is less about guessing what your instructor expects and more about following clear goals, allowing you to make stronger writing choices.
Understanding the genre being asked of you in your writing class allows you to better understand:
- Your purpose for writing
- Your audience and their values
- Your format and organization
- Your word choices
Questions for Your Consideration
You can mix it up and conduct genre analysis on a variety of materials around you! Think of a wedding invitation, a letter, or a consumer manual on how to put together something in your house. Below are two activities using an academic text (a syllabus) and a real-world example (a wedding invitation).
Take a few minutes to conduct your own genre analysis on syllabi you’ve received in college. Follow the typical steps in a genre analysis.
1. Collect samples of the genre: Compare one syllabus to others you have
2. Notice recurring patterns: What do your syllabi have in common? For example, perhaps they all include contact information of the instructor.
3. Draw your own conclusions about the patterns. What are expectations in the genre of syllabi? Are these samples effective when it comes to the genre of a syllabus?
Real-World Application for Your Consideration
Consider the genre of a wedding invitation.
- First, look online for samples of wedding invitations. You can find recommended templates on sites like Minted and Canva.
- Then, begin analyzing the rhetorical situation. Who is typically the creator of wedding invitations? Who is the intended audience? What is this genre’s ultimate purpose (to inform, entertain, persuade, etc.)?
- Next, notice recurring patterns. What information is typically included? What type of information do you expect to be included in the invitation?
- Finally, draw your own observations. What makes an effective wedding invitation? What makes a wedding invitation stand out? What makes it useful?
Chapter 5: Writing Narrative
Instructor Notes for Chapter 5
Video/Lecture: Understanding Narrative Plot Line and Story Arc
We have created a brief video that provides students with strategies for reading critically. You may share the video link with your students in D2L (Video Link: Understanding Narrative Plot Line) or use the accompanying PPT to present the information during your class (PPT Link: Understanding Narrative Plot Lines).
Resource Link for Narrative Writing
https://noredink.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360046927372-Resources-for-Narrative-Writing
Handout: Public Narrative: Self & Us & Now
http://marshallganz.usmblogs.com/files/2012/08/Public-Narrative-Worksheet-Fall-2013-.pdf
Handout: Writing Towards a Climax
https://www.ereadingworksheets.com/writing-worksheets/writing-toward-a-climax.pdf
Activity: Vertical Time
https://www.ereadingworksheets.com/writing-worksheets/using-vertical-time.pdf
Activity: Don’t Tell, Show
https://www.ereadingworksheets.com/writing-worksheets/showing-not-telling-narrative-worksheet.pdf
By Lori Burdette
Narration is one of the most frequently used rhetorical modes second only to the argument. Almost anything that anyone writes contains some type of a narrative. Therefore, it appears in some form in all other rhetorical modes. While the most simplistic definition is expository writing used to convey action and tell a story, it is so much more than that. Writers use narration to share experiences or to explain processes or occurrences throughout a specific time period or even to reflect on the past. By telling a story, whether factual or fiction, they use action, time ordered events, characterization, dialogue, and vivid details along with a convincing plot or story arc to engage readers.
Narrative Requirements
Narratives have only two requirements: they must have a purpose, and they must follow a plot line or story arc. Narratives serve many different purposes. They can instruct, inform, recount, support, and entertain. Narratives also must follow a plot line or story arc. In other words, they are time ordered and have a beginning, a middle, and an end.
Plot Line or Story Arc
The plot line or story arc is a very important aspect of a narrative. In fact, without one, a story cannot exist. A plot line or story arc is the literary element that describes the structure of the story and shows the causal arrangement of events and actions within the story. In narration, story arcs follow a chronological pattern, which means stories must have a beginning, a middle, and an end. The most basic and traditional plot structure is a triangle, which has been described in detail by Aristotle and later by Gustav Freytag.
Aristotle’s Unified Plot
Aristotle used a triangle as shown in diagram one below to describe a story that moved along a linear path, following a chain of cause-and-effect events as it worked toward the solution of a conflict or crisis.
Freytag’s Five-Part Plot Design
Later, Freytag modified Aristotle’s basic triangle pattern by adding a rising action (or complication) and a falling action to the structure. Freytag used the five-part design shown in diagram two on the next page to describe a story’s plot.
Freytag’s triangle is often modified so that it extends slightly before and after the primary rising and falling action. This is similar to a “warm up” and “cool down” of a story.
Components of the Story Arc
The components of the story arc, then, are the exposition, which introduces the story and the situation before the conflict begins. An inciting action is often added to kick off the conflict and help move the story along. The rising action is the series of conflicts and crises that lead to the story’s climax. Without conflict, there cannot be a plot. Conflicts describe the dramatic struggle between two or more competing forces. There are four types of conflict: man vs. man, man vs. nature, man vs. self, and man vs. society. The climax is the most intense point in the story’s plot line. This is the turning point at which the conflict must be resolved either mentally or in action. The falling action describes all of the events that follow the climax as the story line is wrapping up, and the conflicts are nearing resolution. After the conflicts have been resolved, the story can come to a close, which is the conclusion or the tying together of all of the threads and sub-plots, which are any minor stories that occur within the main story.
Point of View
Narratives can be told from different points of view, first-person, second-person, or third-person. Using the first-person point of view, the author tells the story and participates in the action. This point of view uses first-person pronouns such as I, me, we, us, and ours. A first-person point of view is subjective, biased, and often emotionally charged. A second-person “you” point of view is not used as frequently. This point of view requires the speaker to directly address the reader as if he or she were a character in the story and participating in the action. This is also subjective, biased, and emotionally charged. A third-person point of view, on the other hand, is written from the perspective of someone who is not directly involved in the action but rather has observed the action from an outside perspective. This point of view uses third person pronouns such as he, she, it, or they. A third-person point of view is objective, unbiased, and free from unnecessary emotions.
Sensory Descriptions
Narratives also use sensory descriptions to help bring the stories to life and to help the readers bond with the characters, setting, and events. By using the five senses along with emotions, sensory descriptions engage readers by establishing the mood and adding realism to the story. They should be carefully thought out and should be balanced, relevant, and specific. While sensory descriptions add emotional depth to writing, using too many descriptions, irrelevant details, or vague language can be distracting and take away from the overall impact of the story. Therefore, good writers decide whether to use scene or summary descriptions. Telling a story by scene allows readers to visualize each event as vividly and precisely as if they were there. Telling a story by summary allows the readers to relate events concisely, focusing on the most important details and essentials of the event.
No matter which type of narrative you choose to write, the story must cover all of the important details. Use the reporter’s questions to ensure if all of the details have been covered. By asking who, what, when, where, why, and how, the narrative will not leave readers uninformed.
Dialogue
Dialogue also helps bring narratives to life. Used primarily for first person narratives using scene descriptions, dialogue engages readers by moving a story along and revealing the character’s feelings. Similar to descriptions, the incorporation of dialogue must be carefully planned out and placed within a story where it will be most relevant and make the most impact. No one wants to read four pages of a conversation between two or more people. Such excessive use would result in boring and uneventful discourse that fails to realistically describe the action. Below are some helpful tips for creating dialogue:
- Use dialogue to emphasize the most climatic points of a story
- Avoid creating “ping-pong” dialogue that is nothing more than a continuous back and forth discourse between two speakers
- Use action beats to break up dialogue
- Show, don’t tell information in a conversation
- Eliminate excessive words
Reflection
Reflection in narration is a technique that explores a writer’s reaction to past events and helps the writer both learn from those experiences and share them with others. Reflections are typically first-person accounts that are often biased and emotionally charged. Through reflection, writers can analyze the ways in which they have grown and use that to reframe current situations.
Narratives in the Real World
Now that we have discussed what narratives are and how they are made, let us look at narratives in the real world. Earlier in the chapter, we mentioned that narration is one of the most frequently used rhetorical modes second only to the argument. Many careers rely heavily on the use of narratives every day. For instance, health care professionals use narratives to record patient progress. From the time a patient enters the health care facility, medical assistants, nurses, and other providers begin writing a time ordered sequence that details the patient’s condition from the beginning of their treatment to the end of their treatment. Such narratives provide permanent records that can help doctors track medical trends and help decide best alternatives for future care. 911 operators begin gathering information from callers by answering the “reporter’s questions” and by gathering pertinent details. Those details are then relayed to first responders, who will then use narratives of their own to record their actions and observations on the scene. Project managers write narratives that record the specific details of tasks to record productivity, costs, losses, and schedule interruptions. These narratives help businesses record all stages of a project so that the information can be used for similar endeavors in the future.
Questions for Your Consideration
- In what ways do you use narration?
- Can you identify the plot line or story arc in the books that you have read?
Chapter 6: Rhetorical Analysis
Instructor Notes for Chapter 6
Video/Lecture: Conducting a Rhetorical Analysis
We have created a brief video that introduces students to rhetoric and walks them through an example analysis. You may share the video link with your students in D2L (Video Link: Conducting a Rhetorical Analysis) or use the accompanying PPT to present the information during your class (PPT Link: Conducting a Rhetorical Analysis).
Handout: SPACECAT
The SPACECAT handout breaks down speaker, audience, and context. (Handout Link: SPACECAT)
Handout: SOAPS
Use the attached handout and PowerPoint to have students practice applying SOAPS (Subject, Occasion, Audience, Purpose, and Speaker). (Handout Link: SOAPS)
Student Samples:
Refer students to the following sample rhetorical analysis essay, paying close attention to the thesis statement, organization, and rhetorical appeals used:
By Allie Johnston
So far, the chapters have discussed how to approach reading a text and examining its genre. In this chapter, we will look at further tools for examining texts.
What is Rhetoric?
Rhetoric refers to the study and uses of written, spoken, and visual language. Rhetoric can be used in conversations, discussions, negotiations, presentations, and more to convey ideas, influence opinions, and engage with others. Rhetoric helps in crafting persuasive arguments and delivering impactful speeches or presentations. Rhetoric is used everywhere; we typically associate the use of rhetoric with politics when a candidate is persuading a group of people to believe or act upon a certain issue. But rhetoric is included in choices we encounter in our everyday life: the way a billboard was constructed to try and appeal to its viewers; the way a museum is designed to encourage the flow of visitors; the way a stop sign is designed with a recognizable red octagon to let drivers know to brake.
Now that we have a basic understanding of the term “rhetoric,” let’s move into this chapter’s focus: conducting a rhetorical analysis.
Conducting a Rhetorical Analysis
One important aspect of examining a text is called a rhetorical analysis. To understand this term, first let’s break down both words:
Rhetoric means “the art of persuasion.”
Analysis means “breaking down the whole piece for the purpose of examining.”
To perform a rhetorical analysis, we are analyzing the use of author’s strategies to persuade their audience to do or think something, and determining how effective the piece is for its rhetorical situation. The rhetorical situation looks at audience, purpose, medium, and the context.
Audience: the intended recipients of a piece of communication. This includes the key readers or viewers that the creator focused on when composing the message.
Purpose: the intended effect or goal a writer or speaker wants to achieve with their communication.
Medium: the specific method used to deliver the message. This may include a speech, a written essay, a social media post, a video, and more.
Context: the circumstances surrounding the writing, which include the time (when the text was written), location (blog, academic journal, etc.), and the culture surrounding the text.
Rhetorical Triangle
One way to think of analyzing your rhetorical situation is to consider the rhetorical triangle.
It’s important to understand the rhetorical situation in order to determine the author’s choices about content, structure, delivery, and style. For example, think about how you would compose a text message to a friend versus your boss. To your friend, you may use a funny tone, inside jokes only you understand, and even emojis. To your boss, you may prefer to send a more direct message, with a professional tone. You might decide that a text message isn’t the appropriate medium for communicating with your boss. By conducting a rhetorical analysis, you are choosing how to construct and deliver your message most effectively based on your intended audience.
The goal of a rhetorical analysis includes three key parts: to explain what is happening in the text, why the author might have chosen to deliver the message in that way, and how those choices could affect the audience.
Difference in Rhetorical Analysis and Genre Analysis
While a genre analysis examines the conventions of a particular genre (for example, podcasts or newspaper articles), a rhetorical analysis is more specific to one text. It examines an individual author’s strategies in that example and evaluates if they achieved their goal or not.
Dissecting a Text: Questions to Consider
- How effective is the author in supporting their claim?
- Is the evidence used effective for its intended audience? Would the audience value the information presented to support the claim?
- What rhetorical moves is the author making, and how do they support their purpose? Consider word choices and content choices that clearly connect to the author’s purpose for writing.
- What tone is used in the piece? Does the author come across as friendly? In charge? Mad? Point to specific places in the text that create the tone. Consider how they work or do not work.
- Does the author try to appeal to your emotions? In what ways? Are there controversial words used?
- Do you believe the author? Do you trust them as a reliable speaker on this topic? Why or why not?
Identifying Intended Audience
Audience plays a major role in informing an author’s choices. Audience can alter the tone, delivery, and words used to deliver a message. Audience can also determine the use of visuals. As you analyze a text, look for the use of the author’s language that implies what the author assumes their audience values.
Intended Audience
The intended audience refers to the specific group of people a writer or speaker is actively trying to reach with their message, essentially the group they have in mind while crafting their communication.
Actual Audience
The actual audience is the group of people who ultimately encounter and engage with the message, which may include people not originally anticipated by the author.
Rhetorical Appeals
As you examine a text’s content and persuasion strategies, it’s helpful to understand the classical rhetorical appeals: ethos, pathos, logos, and kairos. These are classical Greek terms that come from Aristotle. In order to be rhetorically effective, and author must try to reach their audience in a variety of ways through rhetorical appeals:
Ethos: the persuasive power of the author’s credibility or character
Pathos: the persuasive power of the author’s appeal to emotions and values of the audience
Logos: the persuasive power of the author’s appeal to logic and evidence
Kairos: the importance of timing in an argument
These appeals can overlap. However, recognizing their distinctions can be helpful in navigating an author’s purpose, as well as when constructing your own arguments effectively. In the following sections, we’ll break down each appeal and provide examples.
Appealing to Ethos
Appeals to ethos consider two areas: the values of the audience and the author’s credibility. Audience values can include ideologies the audience holds or things that they find important, for example larger beliefs such as tradition, justice, patriotism, or more specific social, religious, or philosophical values such as feminism, capitalism, socialism, etc.
Ethos can also be considered from the author. Constructed ethos is determined by how the author presents their argument. How do they build the argument?
Example: A young entrepreneur pitches an idea to investors might highlight their successful past projects and detailed market research to build credibility even if they lack extensive experience in the industry.
Situated ethos is determined by the author’s positionality themselves. Are they an expert in the field? Do they have credibility among certain audiences as a celebrity?
Example: A respected doctor gives medical advice on a news program, where their expertise is primarily derived from their professional background and reputation as a physician, not necessarily how they present themselves in that particular interview.
Ethos comes back to the trust the reader feels for the speaker.
Questions to consider when analyzing an author’s ethos:
- Does the writer seem knowledgeable on the subject matter?
- What are the writer’s biases?
- What is the writer’s mood? (Upset? Annoyed? Passionate? Questioning? Happy?)
- What would it be like to spend time with the writer?
Appealing to Pathos
When an author relies on pathos, they are trying to reach the audience through their emotions. Typically, there are four basic ways writers can engage readers at an emotional level. By influencing the reader to identify: 1. With the writer; 2. With the topic; 3. With a particular group of readers; 4. With particular interests, values, beliefs, and emotions.
For example, the company Chiptole is appealing heavily to a viewer’s pathos through the two videos below. As you watch, can you find examples of the creator (Chiptole) trying to engage with viewers through an emotional level?
Questions to consider when analyzing an author’s pathos:
- How does the writer spark your interest in the subject matter?
- How does the writer make you care?
- What language does the writer use?
Appealing to Logos
Logos refers to the logical appeals. The author is using objective evidence and facts. Logical appeals could include: comparison, cause/effect thinking, elaboration, and evidential support through statistics.
Questions to consider when analyzing an author’s logos:
- How is the author trying to persuade the reader through reason?
- How is the author utilizing numbers such as statistics?
When appealing to logos, the writer may support their claims through reasons and evidence. Claims refers to the key points a writer wants the reader to accept. For example, I may claim that Golly G’s has the best ice cream in Clarksville. To support a claim, a writer must use reasons. Typically, a reason follows the claim after the word “because.” Consider my earlier claim: Golly G’s has the best ice cream in Clarksville because it is homemade with a wide variety of flavors.
Appealing to Kairos
Kairos refers to the importance of timing in an argument. In addition to an appropriate tone and structure, the message must come at the right time. For example, you wouldn’t mention your plans of going swimming at the beach on the day of a predicted hurricane.
Once you identify an author’s reasons to support their claims, then you can begin examining how effective those reasons are. Do the provided reasons really support the claim? Do the reasons need additional support? Do the reasons connect to the intended audience’s values and beliefs?
Rhetorical Analysis Example
It can be easier to understand conducting a rhetorical analysis by reviewing a sample.
The advertisement linked above is a McDonald’s ad from 2013 created by the Miami Ad School in Berlin, Germany. We can first break down our rhetorical triangle by noting that the creator is McDonald’s, a fast food chain that specializes in burgers.
Now, we can notice what stands out in this ad. You may notice the color red, the large, centered burger, the white lettering in the middle, etc. What is the intention behind the arrangement of the ad? It brings your eye to the center, to the burger, and to the short message.
Ultimately, the ad seems to be playing into audience member’s emotions (pathos) through the use of hunger to want something filling and meat-focused instead of a salad. This ad implies that the audience is choosing a salad but not actually desiring the salad. The ad excludes vegetarians or those who do not consume meat. The purpose appears to be to sell more burgers/Big Macs to the audience. Now, we would conclude our rhetorical analysis by answering: Is this ad effective in its purpose?
Rhetorical Analysis Application
- First, click on the following link to watch a Superbowl commercial from the company New York Life: Video Sample Link: New York Life Super Bowl LIV Ad.
- Watch the one-minute ad, considering what stands out at you.
- Write out your rhetorical triangle answers
- Now rewatch the ad, paying attention to the rhetorical appeals (ethos, pathos, logos, and kairos). How is the creator of the ad trying to appeal to your emotions, logic, credibility, and overall timing of the message (delivered during the Superbowl after spending millions of dollars to book)?
Questions for Your Consideration
- Think about one of your favorite songs. See if there is a musical video. Watch the video and consider how the lyrics are paired with certain visuals. As you watch, consider the rhetorical situation: What is the purpose of the video? How is it delivered? Who is its intended audience? Remember, you are making educated guesses on these choices.
- Find an advertisement for a business or product. A visual (billboard, social media posting, or magazine ad) works best, but you could also choose a short video commercial. Study the ad for a few minutes. What jumps out at you? What colors are used? What wording is used? What images are used? Now, go a step further to perform a rhetorical analysis. Who is the intended audience? What is the message conveyed? How are rhetorical appeals used (ethos, pathos, logos) or not used?
Chapter 7: Conducting Research
Instructor Notes for Chapter 7
Video/Lecture: How to Evaluate Sources Using the CRAAP Test
We have created a brief video that goes over the elements of CRAAP and how to apply them to potential sources for a paper. You may share the video link with your students in D2L (Video Link: CRAAP Test) or use the accompanying PPT to present the information during your class (PPT Link: CRAAP Test).
Handouts: Evaluating Websites
By Lori Burdette
Introduction
Research is such a daunting word, especially when coupled with anything resembling an essay assignment. However, much of what we do throughout any day is research. Research, by definition, is any action used to answer a question, to solve a problem, to learn a new skill, or even to broaden our knowledge on the things that we already know fairly well. Research purposefully presents NEW information, ideas, and/or proposals in an attempt to SOLVE problems. Therefore, research is basically the process of seeking knowledge, and it’s a good thing for us that there are so many different ways of conducting research. The way that we conduct research depends on the type of answers we are seeking as well as what we intend to do with those answers once we find them.
Types of Research
There are different types of research depending on the types of answers we hope to obtain or the problems we hope to solve.
Basic Research
Basic research is a good starting point used to understand and explain. This type of research is driven by curiosity or an interest in a topic or a particular field of study. This type of research begins with what, how, and why questions. For example: What are shoe horns? How are donuts made? Why were changes made to the traffic pattern on Fourth Street? The goal of basic research is to expand the existing knowledge base rather than to create or invent something new.
Applied Research
Applied research is a bit more in depth and is used to help people understand the nature of human problems and is used to help people more effectively control their environment. This type of research focuses on how questions. For example: How can we solve the parking issue on campus? How can we design a classroom to improve student comfort while increasing student productivity? The goal of applied research is to improve the human condition.
Evaluation Research
Evaluation research is used to measure the worth, quality, value, or effectiveness of a program, policy, product, procedure, and even more. Evaluation research helps people make informed decisions and also helps them identify areas of improvement by assessing whether something is fulfilling its intended objectives. This type of research uses to what extent and what questions. For example: To what extent is the new sports center meeting the expectations of the community, fans, and athletes? What are the positive and negative effects of the changes made to the library’s hours? The goal of evaluation research is to uncover hidden issues, identify areas of improvement, and improve user experiences.
Action Research
Action research is used to solve problems within a program, organization, or community. This approach combines conducting research and taking action through repeated processes such as reflection, planning, implementation, and evaluation. This method is popular in the social sciences where researchers often look toward their own practices with the goal of making improvements. This type of research uses how and what questions. For example: How can students improve their test scores by engaging in group study sessions? What impact does peer tutoring have on student success rates? The goal of action research is to bring about constructive and encouraging transformation by addressing “real-world” concerns.
Steps in the Research Process
The research process is made up of many separate steps designed to make the process easier and to avoid becoming overwhelmed. To begin:
- Decide on a topic or carefully review the topic that has been assigned.
- Narrow the topic to fit the scope of the assignment. By scope we are referring to the page number or word count requirements as well as the time frame during which the assignment will be completed.
- Gather background information by conducting basic research to answer what, how, and why questions
- Create a research question that addresses the issues and concerns surrounding your topic.
- Develop a working thesis that narrows the topic to a single point the readers will understand, names and makes a significant assertion about the topic, conveys the purpose of the research, and provides a preview of how the project will be organized.
Where to Find Sources
There are many ways to find sources depending on the type of information you are looking for. Below, we will discuss a few of the most common methods.
When faced with a research project, most industrious students’ first thoughts are to jump on Google and grab the first thing that pops up. While this may seem like a good idea, it has its share of advantages and disadvantages. On the plus side, internet search engines such as Google are often a good place to start for basic background research for non-academic topics, current events, and corporate or organization information, especially when you don’t know exactly what you are looking for. These preliminary searches often uncover a variety of sources and provide suggestions for more detailed and specific research later on. On the down side, basic internet searches may not produce credible sources, and some search engines like Google are now controlled by AI, which may yield content that is both one-dimensional and possibly even plagiarized.
Google Scholar
Instead of “googling” a subject and hoping for the best, there are some better alternatives such as Google Scholar. This web-based search engine offers an easy-to-use way to access scholarly literature on a variety of topics. The search parameters can be easily adjusted by selecting a specific date or article type. Google Scholar does have a few disadvantages, however. While their source offerings are expansive, they are certainly not comprehensive, and there may be a charge to access many full-text articles.
Library Searches
Today’s libraries are modern, tech-driven, and even fun to use. In fact, most of the materials in today’s libraries not only can be searched, but also can be used WITHOUT ever having to leave the comforts of your dorm, and the best thing is most sources are available to many users simultaneously, so you no longer have to wait days or weeks for that desired source that was “checked out” to another user to be returned.
Library Databases
Public and campus libraries provide a wide variety of sources including access to content specific databases that contain even more materials. All of these can be accessed online via the library’s website. Advanced database searches can be specialized by selecting specific research parameters such as subject, author, publication, date range, full-text, and peer reviewed sources. Databases such as Academic One File are easy to use and contain materials on all subjects.
Evaluating Sources: The CRAAP Test
Most of today’s research is conducted online, often making it difficult to evaluate sources. Therefore, it is necessary for us to scrutinize our results to determine the effectiveness of our online sources. The CRAAP method, below, is one way to evaluate online sources:
- C = Current (When was the information published, posted, revised, or updated? Is the information current or outdated? Are the links functional?)
- R = Relevant (Does the information relate to your topic or answer your research question? Who is the intended audience? Is the information too advanced or too elementary for your needs? Have you looked at a variety of sources before determining to use this one?)
- A = Authoritative (Who or what is the source of the information? Are the author’s or organizational affiliations provided? What are the author’s qualifications to write on the topic? Has contact information such as an author or publisher’s email address been provided? Do the TLDs reveal anything about a source - .com, .gov, .edu, .org, or .net?)
- A = Accurate (How reliable, correct, or truthful is the information? Where does it come from? Is the information supported by evidence? Has the information been peer-reviewed or refereed? Can the information be verified in other sources? Are there any spelling, mechanical, or grammatical errors?)
- P = Purposeful (Why does this information exist? What is the purpose of the information? To sell? To inform? To persuade? To entertain? Do the authors make their intentions clear? Is the information fact, opinion, propaganda? Is the point of view objective or impartial? Are there political, ideological, cultural, religious, institutional, or personal biases?)
Using Research to Aid in Topic Selection
Sometimes developing a topic for an essay can become quite challenging. Therefore, it is often necessary to conduct some basic research to help us choose the perfect topic. If given a topic for the project, conduct some pre-research or background research to find information about the topic that interests you or information that answers the question posed by the assignment. If you are free to choose your own topic, begin with what interests you and conduct basic research to help you brainstorm. For instance, if during your basic research you looked for information on how hurricanes are formed, you can use what you have found to lead to related topics such as disaster recovery, emergency management, emergency preparedness, or even climate change. Most online databases will even suggest related topics. Make a list of anything and everything that you find during those basic information searches including any links you may have used. You will be surprised to discover how one basic search activity can produce several possible topics. Keep in mind that research is an ever-changing process, so do not be afraid to adjust and change your topic as you discover new information and new ideas. The following image illustrates how to use the Academic One File database to search a topic:
Developing the Research Question
All research begins with a question based on the type of answer we hope to find. There are four main types of research questions: descriptive, comparative, relational, and explanatory, each one coinciding with the types of research:
- Descriptive questions are the most basic and ask when, where, why or how an event or occurrence happened.
- Comparative questions help identify the similarities and differences between two or more units or settings.
- Relational questions answer how, why, and to what extent two or more elements are related.
- Explanatory questions help identify cause and effect scenarios.
Well-written research questions give the research project focus; therefore, the research questions should be precise as well as reasonable yet complex enough to yield a thorough answer. For example, an explanatory research question might look something like this: What are the causes of burn-out in first year college students?
Using Research to Support Your Ideas
It is important to support your own ideas and assertions with fact-based evidence that can be found by conducting thorough research. When we research, we are actually looking for materials that agree with or support what we have to say. Again, we begin with what we already know and then fill in the gaps with basic research; we then conduct more specific research to answer any questions not covered by the basic preliminary research. By supporting your own ideas with information that is current, relevant, accurate, authoritative, and purposeful demonstrates your credibility as a researcher to your readers. Documenting the sources that you incorporate into your own writing will be addressed in another chapter.
Organizing Your Research
Conducting research is often challenging, and it is even more challenging keeping track of the resources you have found. Therefore, you will want an effective tool to help you keep track of and organize all of the sources that you have gathered for a project. One such tool is a bibliography, which can be helpful in many ways:
- By keeping track of the sources found about a specific topic
- By avoiding plagiarism by providing complete citations for all sources found
- By establishing depth of scholarship by showing a variety of sources
- By helping other researchers by having a shareable list of sources on a specific topic
There are different types of bibliographies depending on their purpose:
- Subject bibliographies help researchers find significant and applicable materials on a specific subject or field of study. Subject bibliographies are often created during pre-research or basic background research activities.
- Working bibliographies aid in organization during the early stages of a research project. This is a list of all of the sources that you have gathered “so far” as well as citation information and date of access. Working bibliographies are continuously updated throughout the research process.
- Annotated bibliographies are the most detailed and contain the complete citation for the sources along with annotations (two brief paragraphs) that discuss the content of the source as well as the source’s potential usefulness.
How to Create a Bibliography
Complete the following steps to create a bibliography:
- For any bibliography, follow MLA 9th edition formatting for the Works Cited page as the citation format is the same for both
- The words Annotated Bibliography will be centered at the top of the page in bold print (do not use bold print for the Works Cited page).
- All citations are in alphabetical order and formatted using hanging indentation
- Use bold print for the citations in bibliographies only. (Do not use bold print for any part of the Works Cited page).
- For an annotated bibliography, follow each citation with a two-paragraph annotation. Paragraph one is a brief summary of what the article contains (75 – 100 words). Paragraph two is a brief discussion of how the information may or may not be useful (75 – 100 words).
A sample annotated bibliography can be found in the supplementary materials for this chapter.
Summary
While conducting research may seem intimidating at first, knowing what you are looking for and why you are looking for it helps reduce stress and leads to more purposeful and productive research results. Give yourself plenty of time and do not be afraid to reach out to your professor, campus library staff, and even other students for suggestions.
Questions for Your Consideration
- What area of interest sparks your curiosity within your field of study?
- How relevant is this topic to your academic discipline or future career goals?
- What specific question are you trying to answer through your research?
- Explore Google, Google Scholar, and various library databases to help with topic selection.
- Create a research question for each of the four main types: descriptive, comparative, relational, and explanatory.
Chapter 8: Introduction to Argument
Instructor Notes for Chapter 8
Video/Lecture: Writing the Introduction and Thesis Statement
We have created a brief video that goes over how to write an effectiev introduction and thesis statement. You may share the video link with your students in D2L (Video Link: Writing an Introduction and Thesis Statement) or use the accompanying PPT to present the information during your class (PPT Link: Writing an Introduction).
Handout: Public Argument Paper Outline Worksheet
This worksheet provides students with a place to begin organizing their public argument paper and ensures that they will meet the assignment requirements for content. Handout Link: Public Argument Outline Worksheet
Handout: Logical Fallacies (courtesy of Dr. Olja Baker)
The following handout covers some common logical fallacies and can be used in class to help students practice writing examples of their own. Once students have made examples, ask them to share with the class and guess which fallacy is being used and why it is fallacious. (Handout Link: Logical Fallacies Sheet)
Activity: Think, Pair, Share
- Think: Assign students a non-persuasive text and ask them to add persuasion to it
- Pair: Ask students to share how they added persuasion with a partner and explain their strategies
- Share: Share with the class and discuss the most successful strategies
Additional Resources
- Video Link: "How to Write Strong Essay Body Paragraphs" by Scribbr
- Video Link: "Writing a Conclusion Paragraph" by APSU Writing Center
- Website Link: "Organizng Your Argument" by Purdue OWL
By Danielle Ladd-Suits and Lori Burdette
For many people, the word ‘argument’ brings to mind tense conversations and disagreements, maybe even insults. In this chapter, we’ll use ‘quarrel’ to describe a disagreement centered on insult, often rife with logical fallacies. We’ll use the term ‘argument’ to describe a statement or rhetorical question supported by verifiably true evidence. In this chapter, you will learn more about all the considerations that go into making a solid argument and avoiding simple quarrel as much as possible.
Argument vs. Persuasion
The terms argument and persuasion are often used interchangeably. However, there are slight differences between the two. An argument aims to win readers’ agreement with an assertion or claim by engaging their powers of reasoning. Persuasion, on the other hand, aims to influence readers’ actions, or their support for an action, by engaging their belief and feelings. Most effective points-of-view contain elements of both methods.
Components of an Argument
Academic arguments contain the following components:
- Introduction and Thesis Statement: Introduces the topic that is to be argued and provides your stance on the topic
- Evidence: Provides reasons, data, and support needed to defend your stance
- Opposing Views and Rebuttals: Acknowledges and addresses contrasting views on the topic
- Conclusion: Calls the audience to action and suggests how you would like them to respond to the argument
Choosing a Topic for Argument
Before you can write your argument, you must choose a topic. If you are not assigned a topic, read the assignment prompt and make a list of possible topics that would meet the requirements. Determine the assignment’s purpose and what you hope to achieve by writing it. If you have to write to a specific audience, consider what topics concern them. Finally, look for a topic that connects to your experiences, interests, and concerns. The more you care about the topic, the easier and more enjoyable it will be to write the paper.
Think about the required length of the assignment and make sure your topic is narrow enough to be interesting in that space. Argument topics that are too broad in scope often break down because there is not enough room to cover all the important information. If your topic is too narrow, you may have difficulty finding support for your arguments or you may not have enough to talk about.
Keep in mind not all topics are suitable for arguments. A suitable topic begins with a debatable question. Topics of fact cannot be debated. Consider the following:
How are animals used to test cosmetics? vs. Should animals be used to test cosmetics?
The first question will not produce a debatable topic since the answer will be based on known facts and the resulting paper would be a report on these facts rather than an argument. The second question will produce a debatable topic since there will be differing answers based on opinions and points-of-view. Some people may defend animal testing, and some people may protest against it.
Moving from Topic to Thesis Statement
Once you have a debatable topic, it’s time to create a powerful thesis statement. An effective argument thesis states both your stance on the topic and hints at the evidence you will use to support it.
To write a thesis statement for an argument based on your debatable topic question, take the following steps:
- Pinpoint different responses to the question
- Conduct preliminary research on the different views
- Choose your stance and answer the question you developed with a strong claim
- Briefly explain why you make this claim
Let’s look at the debatable topic question we developed in the previous section:
Should animals be used to test cosmetics?
As was mentioned in the previous section, there are at least two possible responses to this question: “yes, animals should be used for testing,” and “no, animals should not be used for testing.” After conducting some quick research, you have decided that your stance is against testing. You write your claim like this:
Animals should not be used to test cosmetics.
Now you need to explain why you hold this stance by hinting at the evidence you will discuss in the paper. The easiest way to do this is to add a “because” statement after the claim; however, your thesis statement could be several sentences long if you want.
Animals should not be used to test cosmetics because it causes harm to animals and current regulations are insufficient to mitigate this harm.
This thesis statement acts as a roadmap for the reader of your argument. They know that your paper will cover information about the harm caused to animals and explain why the regulations are not sufficient.
Common Thesis Statement Errors
When writing your thesis statement, remember to avoid the following:
- Announcing the topic: The thesis should never include phrases such as “this paper will discuss,” “this paper will be about,” or “this paper will focus on,” and so forth.
- Making a statement of fact: Statements of fact cannot be argued.
- Asking a question: The thesis should answer the question.
- Making a thesis that is too broad: The topic can easily stray from the focus.
- Making a thesis that is too narrow: The topic cannot be fully explored and will not be interesting.
- Writing a vague thesis statement: A vague thesis makes the argument unclear and loses reader’s interest from the start.
Writing the Introduction
Writing the introduction is one of the most difficult parts of writing any paper because you may not know what you want to say yet. However, if you have developed your thesis statement it can be a bit easier. Most introductions will be made up of three parts: an attention grabber, background information, and the thesis statement. Think of it as a funnel, going from a broad idea of the topic to your specific claim about it.
An attention grabber is a strategy to get your audience engaged with your topic and wanting to know more, so it should appear in the first few sentences of your paper. The attention grabber could be an interesting quote from one of your sources or a brief anecdote (or story) related to the topic. It could be a statistic or fact that you think will shock your reader. You could even ask a rhetorical question that will get your reader thinking about their stance on the issue. Whatever strategy you choose, make sure the connection to your topic is plain.
Background information serves as the middle section of the introduction. Its job is to provide some context for the attention grabber and make the topic clearer for the reader. It also serves as a transition connecting the attention grabber to the thesis statement.
Supporting Your Claim
In addition to finding a debatable topic, crafting a strong thesis, and writing an attention-grabbing introduction, you must also support your claim with distinctive evidence organized into logical body paragraphs that address one aspect of your claim at a time.
Evidence comes in several forms, including verifiable facts and statistics, credible examples, and expert opinions. It is best to have several pieces of corroborating evidence to support each claim in an argument because it can show that multiple studies have shown the same results or multiple people have held the same opinion. Evidence often includes using outside sources; therefore, you must make sure to use your supporting evidence responsibly by giving credit to the sources and authors that you used in your argument. In doing so, you are also providing your readers with the means to locate this information so that they may explore the topic in detail on their own. Be sure to follow your instructor’s guidelines for documentation. In this class, we use MLA; however, some instructors may also allow other documentation styles such as APA or the Chicago Style.
Between pieces of evidence, a good argument includes sentences that provide context for the evidence and any relevant explanations for clarity. Don’t rely on your sources to explain themselves. This might also include transitions that illustrate connections between pieces of evidence. Depending on how complex the argument is, there may be several claims to defend, and each claim needs its own paragraph and set of supporting evidence.
Logical Fallacies
Logical fallacies are common errors in reasoning that occur when arguments are structured in a way that appears to be logical but is actually flawed. These misleading tactics can be persuasive, but they do not provide a solid foundation for rational discourse. The flaw can appear in any part of the ethos, pathos, logos, or kairos aspects of a statement. Understanding logical fallacies is crucial for critical thinking and constructing well-reasoned arguments. To help you identify some of the most common logical fallacies, we have provided some definitions and examples below.
Ad Hominem: Attacking the person rather than their claims
- Example: Why should we trust George’s opinion on the budget? Just look at how he’s dressed.
Anecdotal Evidence: Making a generalization about a topic based on one story
- Example: It’s ok to go out in the sun without sunscreen. My sister was outside without sunscreen for hours and didn’t get burned.
Appeal to False Authority: Using an authority who is not an expert on the topic to support a claim
- Example: My favorite musician said that eating broccoli causes cancer, so you should stop eating it.
Bandwagon: Supporting a claim by stating that “everyone else” believes it
- Example: Jaywalking is fine because everyone else on campus does it.
False Cause: Claiming that an event caused an effect just because the effect occurred after the event
- Example: A black cat crossed my path, and then I stubbed my toe on the table. The black cat made me stub my toe.
False Dilemma: Offering only a few options when many more nuanced options exist
- Example: Either we spend this money on building a new school or on nothing at all.
Slippery Slope: Claiming that a minor first step will lead to other steps that will end in disaster
- Example: If I forget my wallet, then I won’t be able to get gas. If I can’t get gas, I will be stranded in the middle of nowhere. If I’m stranded in the middle of nowhere, I’ll be attacked by a stranger. So, if I forget my wallet, I will be attacked by a stranger.
Straw Man: Claiming that your opponent holds an easily opposed view that they do not, so you can defeat that view and claim to have defeated your opponent
- Example: (Argument about removing some trees to build a playground) My opponent wants to cut down all the trees in the park for a project that only benefits some people. Clearly we should leave the trees as they are for everyone to enjoy.
Check out “Fallacies” on the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy for more examples: Link to IEP.
Addressing the Opposition
As we mentioned earlier, an argument isn’t an argument if no one disagrees with your claim. At first, it may seem self-defeating to call attention to opposing points-of-view; however, acknowledging counterarguments and opposing viewpoints not only signals that you are well-aware of every side of the argument and of others’ feelings, but it also signals that you are ready establish your credibility as an author and researcher and establish common ground with the opposition. While there is no designated area in the essay for the counterargument, it is best to address the opposition early in the essay or whenever you expect to encounter a disagreement.
Addressing the opposition must be done respectfully, accurately, honestly, and objectively. Think about how you might react if you are reading an argument, and the writer tries to make you look like an idiot by misrepresenting your stance. Are you likely to be swayed by their arguments? Probably not.
It is not enough just to state the opposing point of view. You must then pose your own argument that states why you disagree with the opposing statement and present facts and evidence to support your rebuttal.
Writing the Conclusion
At the end of any argument there should be a final statement that concludes the defense of your claim. The conclusion paragraph should restate the thesis, summarize your overall argument, remind the audience of the importance of the topic, and tell them what to do with the information. This may be a call to specific action, a suggestion for further study, or a connection to a broader universal truth.
Real World Arguments
Argumentation is the most frequently used rhetorical mode and has many practical uses outside the classroom. In fact, argumentation is all around us. For instance, if the office copier breaks down, employees might need to present a case to purchase a new copier over repairing the old one. In doing so, they must provide evidence supporting the cost of the new copier over the cost of repairing the old one in addition to the benefits of replacing the old copier while avoiding any logical fallacies such as appealing to common sense or ignoring the issue fallacies. Not everyone will be on board with the situation, so the employees must also be prepared to face opposition and provide an adequate rebuttal. Scenarios such as this happen every day. Knowing how to create a claim, present valid and factual supporting evidence, address the opposition, and avoid logical fallacies will help ensure successful results.
Questions for Your Consideration
- In what ways do you use argument?
- Think of a recent argument that you have participated in. Can you identify the argument components?
- Can you identify any logical fallacies present in the arguments you have encountered?
- What do you think are the most common strategies people use to support their arguments? Why do they use these strategies?
Chapter 9: Writing for Specific Audiences
Instructor Notes for Chapter 9
Video/Lecture: Writing a Public Argument Letter
We have created a brief video that walks students through how to write a public argument letter. You may share the video link with your students in D2L (Video Link: Writing a Public Argument Letter) or use the accompanying PPT to present the information during your class (PPT Link:Writing a Public Argument Letter).
Activity: Practice Audience Analysis
Ask students to consider a time they made a request to theirfamily members or friends about something they really wanted. For example, having their parents agree to them going on a trip, purchasing something they/ve wanted, or letting them make a certain choice. How did they approach reaching them?
Practice with the chart from the chapter, adding any additional questions they find applicable from the starting list of questions.
| Who is the audience: experts, peers, laypersons? | |
| Does my audience fit into a single demographic or am I addressing a varied group? | |
| How does the specific occasion affect tone? | |
| What order do they need the information in? |
Activity: Writing for Different Audiences
Ask students to describe how they might rewrite the following text to appeal to a preschool class or for a presentation to city council members:
Rain is a natural and essential part of the Earth's water cycle, which is vital for sustaining life on our planet. The process of rain formation begins in the atmosphere with the evaporation of water from the Earth's surface, primarily from the oceans, lakes, rivers, and other bodies of water. This water vapor rises into the sky and cools down, forming clouds. Within clouds, these small water droplets or ice crystals continue to collide and stick together. As more droplets merge, they grow larger and larger until they become too heavy to be supported by the updrafts of air that keep clouds afloat. When the droplets are large enough and the air temperature is above freezing, they fall to the Earth as rain.
Handout: Audience Analysis Worksheets
Additional Resources: Audience Analysis
By Danielle Ladd-Suits and Allie Johnston
Arguments are meant to be read by an audience with the goal of convincing them to see the topic from your point of view. For this reason, you must consider who your audience is from the beginning and tailor your writing to address them. As you may recall from the chapter on rhetorical analysis, there are a variety of components to consider when crafting the statements of an argument. These same rhetorical considerations of ethos, logos, pathos, and kairos can apply to choosing pieces of evidence that accurately convey the crux of your argument to your audience.
Conducting an Audience Analysis
You should conduct an audience analysis at some point during the writing process. An audience analysis helps you understand a crucial element of the rhetorical situation so that you can tailor information to fulfill the specific needs and expectations of the audience you are addressing. It can also help you focus your argument on the issues that will matter to that audience.
As you begin to plan your argument, identify specifics about your audience. Determine the demographics, values, beliefs, and knowledge level of your readers. Are they experts, peers, or laypersons? Are they friendly, neutral, or hostile towards your topic? What power dynamics exist between you and the audience? This analysis will guide your approach to the argument, informing everything from word choice to graphics.
The following questions can be helpful as a starting place for your analysis:
- How many audiences do you have? (list them)
- What do they need? want?
- What is most important to them?
- What are they least likely to care about?
- What order do they need the information in?
- What do you have to say or what are you doing in your research that might surprise them?
- What do you want them to think, learn, or assume about you? What impression do you want your writing or your research to convey?
- Who is the audience: experts, peers, laypersons?
- What is the average age of the audience?
- What education level has my audience achieved?
- What types of jobs does the audience hold?
- Does my audience fit into a single demographic or am I addressing a varied group?
- How does the specific occasion affect tone?
Using a combination of these questions can allow you time to consider your audience from various perspectives. While it may seem time-consuming, answering the questions can help you create a more effective audience analysis earlier on without having to redo your work. The chart below breaks down a sample audience analysis together.
Example Audience Analysis
Let’s walk through conducting an example audience analysis together.
Let’s say I want to write a letter to my neighbors encouraging them to clean up after their pets. Using the guiding questions, I may begin by considering my own ethos/credibility with my neighbors and the dynamics we have. I consider myself to be on friendly terms with my neighbors and as a dog owner myself, to have credibility on the subject matter. There may be some hostility towards the subject since some people may feel targeted, but overall, the subject matter is not threatening. Since I plan to post this on our neighborhood Facebook group, I want the message to be direct and concise with a clear message of encouraging others to clean up after their pets.
Sample Analysis: Encouraging Neighbors to Clean Up After Their Pets
| Who is the audience: experts, peers, laypersons? | Laypersons; fellow neighbors |
|---|---|
| Does my audience fit into a single demographic or am I addressing a varied group? | Varied group |
| How does the specific occasion affect tone? | This situation is not overly serious, and I want to be concise and direct |
| What order do they need the information in? | I should lead with our goal of keeping a clean and enjoyable neighborhood for all and then move into the problem and solutions (using the pet waste stations, bringing own dog bags, picking up after your dog). |
As I draft my post to my audience, I will consider building off my own ethos with them knowing me as a neighbor, quickly address our common goal, and move into solutions for the problem.
Choosing Tone and Language
Striking the right tone builds rapport and makes your argument more persuasive. A formal tone is typically used for academic audiences, while a more casual tone can be appropriate for a blog or opinion piece aimed at a general audience. To check your tone, read your work aloud. If the words don't sound right—too angry, too humble, too excited, etc.—they might not convey the right tone to a reader.
Choose vocabulary and sentence structure that your audience will comprehend easily. Strong words can be powerful in conveying a serious or persuasive tone, while mild words are more suitable for a calm or empathetic tone. Adjectives and adverbs can enhance tone but be mindful of overuse. Choose them strategically to emphasize key points or feelings. Consider the examples in the chart below. What other words have mild and strong versions? When might you use each?
| Base Word | Mild | Strong |
|---|---|---|
| angry | upset | fuming |
| fight | argument | assault |
| walk | stroll | trek |
| meeting | gathering | celebration |
Choosing Rhetorical Appeals and Devices
The rhetorical appeals and devices you choose to include are highly dependent on what you know about your audience. For example, the anticipated age of your audience is important. Younger audiences might respond better to humor and modern references, while older audiences may appreciate more traditional or formal language. Understanding cultural nuances is also essential; certain metaphors or analogies may resonate deeply with one group but be misunderstood by another. Using complex metaphors or technical jargon may be suitable for an academic audience but could alienate a lay audience. When addressing a group of experts, the use of specialized terminology and advanced rhetorical strategies can demonstrate credibility and engagement. In contrast, an uninformed audience may benefit from analogies, repetition, and clear explanations to grasp complex concepts. Additionally, aligning rhetorical devices with the audience's interests can make the content more relatable and engaging.
Choosing Types of Evidence
Depending on your audience and purpose, certain pieces of evidence may be more persuasive or appropriate than others. Different styles of presenting evidence can affect the overall tone and ultimate success. Use examples, statistics, and studies that your readers can relate to and that support your claims. For example, a personal anecdote can be powerful for engaging an emotional response, while empirical evidence is often more convincing in academic or scientific contexts. Use a mix of types to provide a well-rounded argument.
Present all evidence in a clear and accessible manner. This means avoiding jargon, explaining complex concepts, and providing context when necessary. Use visual aids such as charts or graphs to help illustrate data and provide summaries of key points for those who may not have the time or ability to read extensive texts. In addition, include descriptive text and format information for screen readers and other adaptive technologies. Make sure any statistics or studies you reference are current and accurately represented.
Questions for Your Consideration
- What types of audiences do you think you will have to write for once you are out of college?
- How can you find out more information about an audience if you do not know them personally?
- How would your tone, language, use of rhetoric, and evidence change when trying to make the following arguments with your parents vs. with your boss?
- I need a new laptop
- I need a vacation
- I am overworked
Chapter 10: Citing Sources Using MLA 9
Instructor Notes for Chapter 10
Video/Lecture: Citing Sources in Your Paper
Citing sources in-text as they are used can be confusing. We have created a video that covers the basics of citing quotations, paraphrases, and summaries correctly in text. You may share the video link with your students in D2L (Video Link: Citing Sources in Your Paper) or use the accompanying PPT to present the information during your class (PPT Link: Citing Sources in Your Paper).
Activity: Works Cited Citation Practice (courtesy of Jessica White)
The following handout provides students with the publication information for several sources. Ask your students to use the information in this chapter to write the correct Works Cited citation for each. (Handout Link: Works Cited Citation Practice)
By Keely Mohon-Doyle
Throughout your college career, you will be asked to use sources—books, articles, websites, even videos—in your writing to support your claims. It is important that you do so ethically by giving the creators of those sources credit for their words and ideas. Several academic and professional organizations have created standardized styles for giving this credit: journalists use the Associated Press (AP) style; scientists use the American Psychological Association (APA) or the Council of Science Editors (CSE) styles; historians use Chicago style. It is important to ask your professors what style they prefer in their courses.
In the humanities, where ENGL 1010 lives, we use the style created by the Modern Language Association (MLA). This style requires you to cite your sources in-text as you use them and in a Works Cited page at the end of your paper. This chapter will provide you with basic information about how to incorporate material from your sources and provide publication information for your readers.
Please be aware that we do not expect you to read this like a regular chapter. That would be awfully boring, and you likely would not retain much information. Rather, our hope is that you will use it as a reference that you can return to throughout the semester and as you need it in the future.
If you do not see your specific citation situation in this chapter, you can make an appointment with the APSU Writing Center for support or visit the MLA section of the Purdue OWL: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/index.html.
In-Text Citations
Every time you use a source, you must cite it in-text.
Citing a Short Direct Quotation
A direct quotation is the author’s own words. A short quotation may range from a single word to several sentences, but should be as short as possible. To cite a direct quotation, follow these steps:
- Introduction
- Identify where the information comes from by stating the author or authors’ full name the first time you use the source and their last name(s) every time after. Never use just a first name because this can cause confusion if several authors in your Works Cited have the same name.
- Include some of your own words to help transition to the quotation. This is usually done with a dialogue tag.
- Example: Li states,
- Example: According to Smith and Jones,
- Example: In the article by Sarah Stein,
- Quotation
- Place the author’s words in quotation marks (“…”) and copy the exact language used in the source, including emphases found in the original, such as italics, bold, and underline.
- Citation
- Include the first word(s) that appear in the Works Cited page entry for the source, making it easy for your reader to look up. In most cases this is the author’s last name.
- The most basic in-text citation includes the author’s last name and the page number(s) where the quotation can be found.
- Example (known author with page number): (Smith 3)
- If there are two authors, include all authors’ last names. If there are more than two, only use the first author’s name and add “et al.”
- Example (two known authors with page number): (Smith and James 5)
- Example (three or more known authors with page numbers): (Li, et al. 5)
- If no page number is given, but there are clear paragraphs, you can use the author’s last name and paragraph number.
- Example (known author with no page number, paragraphs available): (Stein par. 2)
- If no page numbers are available, just use the author’s last name.
- Example (known author with no page number): (Smith)
- If the author is unknown, use a shortened version of the title and punctuate it using italics (if a book or longer work) or quotation marks (if an article or shorter work).
- Example (unknown author of book with page number): (The Jungle 74-75)
- Example (unknown author of article with page number): (“A Modest Proposal” 1)
- If you are citing a song or a video, you can provide the timestamp for where the information begins.
- Example (timestamp for song or video): (Nelson 1:32)
- Punctuation
- Place the period after the citation. If the quotation ends in an exclamation point or question mark these go inside the quotation marks, but there should still be a period after the citation.
- Explanation
- Tell the reader what the quotation means, how it fits with other elements you have discussed, and/or its importance to your claims. A good rule is to include at least 2-3 lines of your own ideas alongside every quotation. This shows your audience that you have thought through the information.
Example (quoted sentence as focus): In A Psalm for the Wild-Built, the author states, “Hart’s Brow had never been a home for anyone. It was a place designed for temporary use, somewhere you went to, soaked up, and left behind” (Chambers 142). The description of the monastery emphasizes the fact that it was designed to be a retreat where monks and travelers could find comfort before returning to the chaos of their daily lives.
Example (quoted sentence incorporated into writer’s ideas): The robot’s assertion that “It’s a remnant I have” reveals that current robots are not only made out of parts from past robots, but they also hold some of their memories (Chambers 91).
Example (quoted phrases incorporated into writer’s ideas): Chambers uses phrases like “endless stacks of humanity” and “intense feeling of containment” to illustrate the character’s growing unrest in their current position (7). (Note: Here you do not have to include the author’s name in the citation because the author is clear; however, if you feel safer using it every time, that is ok.)
Citing a Long Direct Quotation (Block Quotation)
A long quotation, or block quotation, is a quotation that is more than four lines. To cite a block quotation, use a complete sentence in your own words leading into it followed by a colon (:). Skip to the next line and write the quotation. Do not use quotation marks. Instead, indent the entire quotation half an inch (.5”). Put the citation after the final punctuation. Then, continue your paragraph on the next line.
Example:
In his book Identity in the COVID Years, Rob Cover discusses how hospital policies designed to protect patients had unintended negative consequences for their loved ones:
Across much of the world, risk-averse hospitals participating in practices to reduce the likelihood of in-and-out transmission of COVID-19 prevented visitors, which included preventing families from being with those who were seriously unwell and those who were dying (whether COVID-19 or other causes). The desire to be with the dying other in the shock of the pandemic was for many a palpable force, and the denial through regulatory practices was seen as an injury because it prevented the fulfilment of the deeply felt obligation towards the dying. (Cover 101)
Writing policies that balanced the need to keep people safe and gave people comfort was particularly difficult at the beginning of the pandemic when knowledge of the disease and treatment options were limited.
Citing a Paraphrase or Summary
Sometimes you may need to provide a general overview of all the main points in a source (summary) or you may have to rephrase a section of a source (paraphrase) because there is no perfect quotation that you can incorporate easily into your paper. In these situations, even though you are using your words, the ideas still belong to the author(s) and must be cited. To cite a paraphrase or summary, create a framework that marks the beginning and end of the ideas from the source.
- Introduction
- Introduce the source as you begin to use it using a tag that mentions the author(s).
- Paraphrase or Summary
- Use your own words. Do not use words from the original or just replace them with synonyms. Your paraphrase/summary may be several sentences long.
- Citation
- Place the citation at the end of the last sentence of paraphrase/summary.
- Explanation
- Include your own ideas and interpretations to provide context for the source material in your paper. You should avoid paragraphs that only consist of paraphrased/summarized material.
Example Paraphrase:
Not everyone agrees that Metropolitan Englishes (ME), such as Standard American English, should be the only forms of English students are allowed to use in the classroom. In “The Place for World Englishes in Composition,” Canagarajah argues that, while ME should be taught, students should also be allowed to use the forms of English prevalent in their home countries through the use of code meshing (598). This approach to English may be more relevant to students’ everyday lives, and the conscious act of code meshing may actually help students learn both forms better.
Works Cited Citations
In addition to citing sources as you use them, you must also include a Works Cited page at the end of your paper that provides more detailed publication information about each of your sources. Below you will find citation formats for some of the most common sources.
Book (Basic)
Last Name, First Name. Book Title. Publisher, Year.
Example: Chambers, Becky. A Psalm for the Wild-Built. Tor, 2021.
Book (Work in an edited collection)
Last Name, First Name, and First Name Last Name. “Chapter/Section Title.” Book Title, edited by First Name Last Name of all editors, # edition, Publisher, Year. First and final page numbers.
Example: Aoki, Eric, et al. “The Master Naturalist Imagined: Directed Movement and Simulations at the Draper Museum of Natural History.” Places of Public Memory: The Rhetoric of Museums and Memorials, edited by Greg Dickinson, Carole Blair, and Brian L. Ott, U of Alabama P, 2010, pp. 238-265.
Academic Journal Article
Last Name, First Name. “Article Title.” Journal Title, vol.#, no. #, Year, First and final page numbers. Database, DOI URL. Accessed date.
Example: Canagarajah, Suresh. “The Place of World Englishes in Composition: Pluralization Continued.” CCC, vol. 57, no.4, 2006, pp. 586-619. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.58680/ccc20065061. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
Online News Article
Last Name, First Name. “Article Title.” Newspaper Title, Website, Date Published, URL. Date Accessed.
Note: If the newspaper title and website are the same, just use the newspaper title.)
Example: Zewe, Adam. “Despite Its Impressive Output, Generative AI Doesn’t Have a Coherent Understanding of the World.” MIT News, 5 Nov. 2024, https://news.mit.edu/2024/generative-ai-lacks-coherent-world-understanding-1105. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
Page on a Website
Last Name, First Name. “Page Title.” Website, Date Published, URL. Date Accessed.
Note: If no date is available, you may substitute “n.d.” as a placeholder.
Example: “Writing Center.” APSU, n.d., https://www.apsu.edu/writingcenter/index.php. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
Online Video
Creator’s username. “Video Title.” Website, uploaded by, Date Posted, Web Address. Date Accessed.
Example: Rhimes, Shonda. “My Year of Saying Yes to Everything.” YouTube, uploaded by TED, 9 Mar. 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmj-azFbpkA. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
Formatting the Works Cited Page
Follow these guidelines for creating the Works Cited Page:
- The WC page should be its own page at the end of the essay. Use the “Page Break” feature in Word to make sure it is on its own page.
- Title the page “Works Cited.”
- Put all sources in alphabetical order based on the first word in the citation.
- Double-space the lines.
- If the citation is more than one line long, use a hanging indent. This will indent the second (and third) lines of the citation.
Example Works Cited Page:
Works Cited
Aoki, Eric, et al. “The Master Naturalist Imagined: Directed Movement and Simulations at the Draper Museum of Natural History.” Places of Public Memory: The Rhetoric of Museums and Memorials, edited by Greg Dickinson, Carole Blair, and Brian L. Ott, U of Alabama P, 2010, pp. 238-265.
Canagarajah, Suresh. “The Place of World Englishes in Composition: Pluralization Continued.” CCC, vol. 57, no.4, 2006, pp. 586-619. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.58680/ccc20065061. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
Chambers, Becky. A Psalm for the Wild-Built. Tor, 2021.
Rhimes, Shonda. “My Year of Saying Yes to Everything.” YouTube, uploaded by TED, 9 Mar. 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmj-azFbpkA. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
“Writing Center.” APSU, n.d., https://www.apsu.edu/writingcenter/index.php. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
Zewe, Adam. “Despite Its Impressive Output, Generative AI Doesn’t Have a Coherent Understanding of the World.” MIT News, 5 Nov. 2024, https://news.mit.edu/2024/generative-ai-lacks-coherent-world-understanding-1105. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
Questions for Your Consideration
- What citation style do you think you will use in your major?
- Why is it important to include citations in your paper?
- What is the most confusing part of citing sources in MLA 9?
- Do you see a pattern in how Works Cited citations are formatted?
Chapter 11: Academic Integrity in Writing
Instructor Notes for Chapter 11
Video/Lecture: Avoiding Academic Integrity Violations
We have created a brief video that goes over how to write an effectiev introduction and thesis statement. You may share the video link with your students in D2L (Video Link: Avoiding Academic Integrity Violations) or use the accompanying PPT to present the information during your class (PPT Link: Avoiding Academic Integrity Violations).
Lecture: How Does Turnitin Work?
Many students do not know how instructors use Turnitin to check their papers. Take time in class to explain the tools—similarity report, AI detector, grammar marking, feedback—and how you use them to assess student work. If you allow students to view their reports, particularly on drafts, explain how they can use these to improve their work.
Activity: Indentifying Plagiarism
Provide the students with 5 excerpts from student samples or altered articles that contain intentional plagiarism, accidental plagiarism, and patchwriting. Discuss the following questions:
Which excerpts likely have intentional/accidental plagiarism?
How did you identify information that might be plagiarized?
How could the plagiarism be addressed?
Activity: Generative AI
Ask your students to open ChatGPT or Perplexity on their computers (this could also be done just on the instructor’s computer as a full class discussion). Have them type in a prompt such as “Write a 500-word rhetorical analysis of X advertisement” and analyze the results:
- Does the response meet your expectations and/or the assignment requirements?Is the response accurate? Are there any “hallucinations”?
- Does the response “sound” like me?
- How could you change the prompt to get a better response? How much work does it take to get what you want?
Discuss your findings as a class.
By Keely Mohon-Doyle
Academic integrity is a policy that all members of the university community agree to in order to ensure an environment of ethical research and learning. Academic integrity requires honesty, trust, respect, and an acknowledgement of our academic responsibilities. This chapter will provide an overview of the most common academic integrity violations that occur in writing classrooms, explain why they are problematic, and offer suggestions for how to avoid them.
For information on how Austin Peay addresses academic integrity violations, see the “Code of Student Conduct” in your Student Handbook.
Plagiarism
Most students are familiar with the basic definition of plagiarism: using someone else’s work without giving credit. Here, “work” refers to both the exact words that a person wrote and the unique ideas they developed. The type of source does not matter. Plagiarism is still plagiarism whether a student fails to credit an academic source, a website, a music video, or even a fellow student.
Plagiarism can occur explicitly, such as when a student directly claims the words or ideas are their own, or implicitly, such as when a student neglects giving credit to the source. Plagiarism can be intentional. For example, when a student doesn’t credit sources they used in an assignment where sources weren’t allowed or when they want to appear to have written more than they did. It can also be accidental. A student may forget to label their notes from a source and include information without realizing that they needed to give credit. Unfortunately, it is not always clear to instructors if an act of plagiarism is intentional or accidental.
If you use a source, give credit using the appropriate citation style required by the instructor.
Self-Plagiarism
One form of plagiarism that students may not be familiar with is self-plagiarism. Self-plagiarism is when a student submits an assignment for a grade in one class and then submits it again to a different class for another grade. For example, maybe you wrote a paper on the Renaissance for your history class, and your literature instructor asks for a paper on the historical context for a Renaissance author. You can’t just turn in the history paper to your literature instructor.
You may be wondering, “If I did the work and it seems to fit the assignment, why can’t I use it again?” Well, this gets to the heart of education. If you keep turning in the same paper over and over, you aren’t learning anything new. You aren’t practicing the skills that the assignment was designed to help you practice. Moreover, that Renaissance history paper may seem relevant, but it doesn’t connect the history to the author, which is the main point of the literature assignment. The paper also may not conform to the type of research or organization that is required for a literature paper, so what may have been “A” work for one class is “D” work for another.
Limited exceptions to the self-plagiarism rule do exist. If you notice similarities between assignments, you can speak with your instructors about what you may be allowed to use for both. They may let you use some of the same research or offer some of the same insights. However, it is more likely that they will expect you to approach the assignment from a different angle to help expand your view and knowledge of the topic and to better align with the norms of academic writing in the field. You may also have a class where your instructor expects you to pull from work you did on earlier assignments. In this case, the instructor will make it clear in the prompt.
Patchwriting
Patchwriting is when a student uses sources back-to-back throughout their paper, kind of like piecing together a quilt. These patches may be made up of direct quotes or summaries/paraphrases from sources. Patchwriting is a plagiarism gray area because students who practice it often give credit to their sources. The problem is that patchwriting does not leave much space for the student to include their own ideas and interpretations of the information they are sharing, which is what most instructors are interested in reading. Remember, if your instructor wants to know what X author said about the topic, they would just go read it. They want to see what you think.
The best way to avoid patchwriting is to practice a 1:4 rule: for every line of quote/summary/paraphrase from a source, you should include four lines of you explaining or expanding on the ideas, adding your own interpretations, providing examples, responding to the ideas, or connecting them to other sources you have covered. This will ensure that your “voice” is the most prominent one in your paper.
Collaboration
Collaboration is an important part of the academic experience. Your instructors may collaborate with each other to develop classes and write academic articles. You will likely be asked to work with your classmates to complete assignments. However, some forms of collaboration may be a violation of academic integrity.
Appropriate Collaboration
Collaborative projects and group work are excellent ways for students to practice academic and interpersonal skills and to learn from each other. Small group discussions, group writing assignments, and peer review are some of the strategies that instructors may implement in the classroom to help you practice these skills. Peer review, in particular, allows students to provide each other with feedback they may not otherwise receive and to see how other people with the same assignment have approached the topic in different ways.
Additionally, seeking help from the student support services on campus, such as the Writing Center and Center for Academic Support and Enrichment (CASE), for free tutoring or forming a student study group are forms of collaboration that are encouraged by instructors.
Inappropriate Collaboration
Collaboration becomes inappropriate when it provides some students with an unfair advantage not available to other students or not approved of by the instructor. For example, assignments that are meant to be completed individually should not be done with a group. In this case, visiting student support services is still ok because the trained tutors will offer advice, but they will not complete the work for the student. Similarly, students cannot submit work completed by another student or purchased from an online papermill. Submitting work completed by another student can lead to both students getting reported to the university for an academic integrity violation. Finally, students should not share copies of assignment sheets or tests with students from different sections of a class.
Generative AI
Over the last few years, there have been significant developments in the area of AI, specifically generative AI. Programs like ChatGPT, Grammarly, Research Rabbit, and others seem to promise a way to lighten the academic load and make life a little easier. Type in a prompt and receive answers in seconds; submit a paper and watch your grammar errors disappear. What’s not to love? However, it is important for us to be critical of generative AI (as we should be with any new technology) and learn how to use it ethically as a tool, not a smokescreen hiding academic needs.
Concerns
Generative AI doesn’t “know” things. Instead, it is an advanced algorithm developed by companies and organizations and trained on information from the internet to identify patterns to produce content. This definition, while not complete, raises several concerns about its use as an academic tool. As the product of various companies, the algorithm may produce content that is inherently biased by its designers. This bias may be exasperated by the internet materials used to train it—everything from academic articles to chat forums that peddle in misinformation. Additionally, generative AI is prone to “hallucinations,” or incidents where it makes up information based on patterns it has identified. This is particularly true when it is asked to use sources to support its points. AI has been known to include real article titles and then fabricate the information contained in the article it referenced.
Students may not see the use of generative AI as a form of plagiarism because AI is not a person; however, like sites such as Wikipedia, the information does not come from nothing. It comes from the human-created sources the AI was trained on. Unlike Wikipedia, it does not give credit or provide citations that can be double-checked for accuracy. Instructors will still want to know where your information came from, particularly if it is not considered “common knowledge.”
The most concerning use of generative AI by university students is to complete whole assignments. As was mentioned earlier, the purpose of education is to learn and practice skills that will help you as a student, in your career, and in your community. Assignments for writing classes are not just about creating grammatically correct sentences. Rather, writing assignments require you to practice different forms, think critically about your stance on a topic, conduct research and evaluate sources for accuracy and usefulness, organize your thoughts in a way that is easily understood by others, and add to the conversations that are going on around you. If you do not begin to master these skills in a class like ENGL 1010, when will you?
Ethical Use
Given all of these concerns, it is still possible to use generative AI ethically as a tool to help you grow as a writer. Grammar can be difficult to learn on your own, and programs like Grammarly can help you identify your common grammar errors and provide instruction on how to improve them. To use it as a tool, you should not accept every change blindly. AI has a very specific “voice” that can be overly precise and is not right for every writing situation. Don’t let it overtake your own.
Programs like ChatGPT can be useful if you are working on a paper and get stuck. They can help you brainstorm ideas or arrange them into a working outline that you can adjust to fit your needs and the point you want to make. You could also ask it to “read” over your paper and check it for clarity and the strength of your arguments, but remember that you have other human resources that can also do this. Other programs, like Research Rabbit, have been designed specifically to aid with academic research and can help you collect sources, check them for relevance, and write citations in the appropriate style.
Some instructors may allow you to use generative AI more extensively. In these cases, they will likely require you to provide step-by-step explanations of how you used the AI, including what prompts you used, what information came from the AI, and why you chose to include it. Before using AI, you should review your instructor’s AI policy in their syllabus or ask them what is appropriate use.
Questions for Your Consideration
- How would you define academic integrity?
- What steps can you take to avoid accidental plagiarism?
- Do you find collaboration on assignments useful? Why/why not? How do you ensure that everyone working on a collaborative assignment contributes equally?
- Have you ever used a generative AI to help you with a writing assignment? How did you use it? Was it helpful? Did you notice any “hallucinations”?
Chapter 12: Reflecting on Writing and Transfer for the Future
Instructor Notes for Chapter 12
Video/Lecture: The Importance of Reflecting
We have created a brief video that explains the importance of reflecting on past work. You may share the video link with your students in D2L (Video Link: The Importance of Reflecting) or use the accompanying PPT to present the information during your class (PPT Link: The Importance of Reflecting).
Handout: Reflection Essay
Use the following handout to show students guiding prompts to reflective essay questions: https://www.apsu.edu/writingcenter/writing-resources/Reflective-Essay-Handout-2024.pdf
Handout: Metacognitive Activities
Use the following link to provide students with metacognitive activities to complete in or outside of class: https://resources.depaul.edu/teaching-commons/teaching-guides/learning-activities/Pages/activities-for-metacognition.aspx
Handout: Guiding Reflective Questions
Use this link to give students guiding readings/questions on metacognition and writing: https://pressbooks.howardcc.edu/engl087/chapter/metacognition/
Activity: Glow and Grow
Glow and Grow Activity: Use the following questions on the day major essay are due to promote critical thinking and reflection:
- GROW: If you had more time to work on this essay, what would you focus on? What was most challenging about completing this essay?
- GLOW: What are you most proud of in your essay?
- LEARN: What did you learn from completing this assignment?
Activity: Metacognitive Activities
Opportunities to engage students with metacognitive activities:
- At the end of the day (exit ticket)
- Throughout a unit or assignment sequence
- Activities may be anticipatory, as in a pre-writing assignment or design plan, or they may accompany drafts or stages as a self-assessment or reflective notes on difficulties, successes, or aspirations for revisions.
- At the end of an assignment (cover sheet/ quiz or exam wrapper)
- At the end of a semester (reflective survey / letter to a future student)
- Throughout a semester, in an ongoing reflective journal or portfolio
- This could be handed in at the end of the semester as an assignment in itself or be used to facilitate a cumulative reflective activity
By Allie Johnston
Mindful Reflection
Have you ever needed a minute to just be still? Maybe you find that time to recharge and reflect in your car as you listen to your music; maybe you find a moment of quiet outside in the sunshine. Maybe you find it by sharing a good conversation with friends. Reflection is an important part of life to allow us to pause and recharge before we move forward to the next task on our to-do list. College life, and writing in particular, also require moments of purposeful reflection. It’s easy to quickly move on to the next assignment or essay, but it’s important to pause and consider what you learned.
In writing, reflection involves analyzing and critically examining a personal experience, event, or piece of information, expressing your thoughts, feelings, and insights about it, often with the goal of learning and understanding something new about yourself or the situation at hand.
As you wrap-up your time in English 1010, it’s important to pause and consider all that you have written, learned, and experienced. Many of the skills we’ve addressed can be thought of as tools in your writing toolbox. Some you may use consistently, such as creating drafts. Other tools you may use less frequently or choose to avoid altogether. It’s important to keep checking in on your own writing process and what works for you in certain rhetorical situations.
Metacognition in writing is helpful in recognizing your own strengths and challenges as a writer, understanding the differences in genres and writing assignments, and considering the skills you used and can apply to future situations. Metacognition describes an awareness of this process: the ways we absorb, assimilate, and convey information and participate in knowledge production. In other words, metacognition is thinking about thinking.
When we reflect, it’s helpful to consider what worked for us and what we would adjust for improvement. For example, perhaps in English 1010 you participated in multiple stages of the writing process, creating an outline, rough draft, and final draft. You may reflect on how that experience altered your writing overall. How can you continue building stages of the writing process into your future writing assignments instead of tackling the assignment the night before its due? Are there any stages you would leave out or emphasize more heavily? How can you involve peer review into your writing process when it is not an explicit activity in class?
Formal vs Informal Reflection
Sometimes, your instructor may assign you a formal reflective essay. This may involve specific guiding prompts or questions about an assignment you completed for the class. Informal reflections occur on your own time and involve your own questions. The goal of informal reflections is to brainstorm and decide what steps worked for your own writing process or what you would change moving forward.
Transfer
As you look beyond your time at Austin Peay’s first-year writing, many of the skills you’ve learned will be applied to future situations you encounter. Writing scholars call this idea transfer, the ability to take writing knowledge and practices from one context, like your first-year writing course, and repurpose it in a new and different writing context, such as future courses you take for your major, your career, or in your civic life.
The specific skills you learn in English 1010 can transfer to writing for your future courses and careers. As you encounter new situations, you will continue to draw on skills we’ve covered in your first-year writing course. Consider the rhetorical situation of each new context: who is your audience? What do they value?
For example, perhaps in a science course, you are asked to complete a lab report. Using the skills you’ve gained from first-year writing, you are able to analyze your rhetorical situation and understand the genre expectations of a lab report. Instead of writing how you would for an English class, a lab report involves a different writing style. You will want to prioritize direct, concise writing with a passive voice to put more emphasis on the reactions occurring instead of the person conducting the experiments.
Let’s say you work for a company and are asked to write a memo. At first, you may try to write your memo like you would an academic essay. As you take a step back to consider the purpose of a memo genre and look at examples, you can condense your writing to be brief and include key information necessary for the reader.
These moments of positive transfer allow you to effective transfer knowledge from one context into another. But there can also be two less-positive types of transfer: negative transfer and resistance transfer.
Negative Transfer
Negative transfer occurs when you try and apply a skill or lesson learned in one context to another unsuccessfully. For example, you write a catchy social media caption that generates many likes. It is successful for its context. However, if you were to copy and paste that caption into an academic essay, your work may not be as well-received. This is due to your difference in audience, their values, and the overall genre expectations of the platform of social media versus an academic essay. This does not indicate anything about your own intelligence or writing ability. Instead, it showcases an example of negative transfer, where a skill valued in one context does not always translate to another.
Negative transfer can be avoided by putting into play many of the lessons we’ve discussed in these chapters: analyzing your rhetorical situation (understanding your audience and their values as well as your overall message and context), analyzing the genre conventions of the text you are writing with, and finally, gathering samples to better understand expectations. Negative transfer can still happen, of course, but it’s important to incorporate our reflective writing practices by learning and growing from those mistakes in order to improve for future opportunities.
Negative transfer can be avoided by considering the skills we focused on in Chapter 4 by considering your audience and the appropriateness of your situation. When negative transfer occurs, you can learn from it through your own reflection process. What worked? What did not work?
Resistance Transfer
Resistance transfer occurs when the writer’s past experiences with writing lead to a resistance to new learning, often creating a roadblock. This roadblock can show up through general resistance to completing the task at hand to fear of failure to writer’s block.
If you find yourself in a negative or resistance transfer moment, it’s important to acknowledge your feeling towards that assignment or writing in general. When you acknowledge something—whether by writing about it in a reflective or speaking it aloud to someone else—you can move forward.
Writing Truths
It’s important to keep in mind the following “truths” about writing:
- Writing is a process.
- Purpose, genre, and audience inform the writing situation.
- There’s always something new to learn about writing.
You will continue to evolve as a writer the more you learn and the more you write. You will also learn how to hone your writing process(es), which in turn will help you be able to figure out what’s being asked of you in the writing situation and more effectively transfer writing knowledge and practices.
Reflecting on Your Writing Process
- What habits are you relying on or developing? Are they good or bad habits? What do these do for your writing process? Why? How?
- How are you able to apply class lessons to work when you’re outside of class?
- What kinds of similarities or differences can you recognize among writing assignments?
- How have you improved since the last assignment? How are you growing as a writer?
- Are you fully understanding the texts that you read? How do you know? How are you able to apply them to your writing?
- What is your writing process? How does that process affect your writing overall?
- Where and when do you feel “stuck” as a writer?
Questions for Your Consideration
Consider one of the more challenging essays you completed for this semester. How did you navigate the challenges? What worked for you? What are you most proud of in your completed assignment? If you had more time, what would you continue working on?
|
oercommons
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2025-03-18T00:39:25.136082
|
Allie Johnston
|
{
"license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
"url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/122636/overview",
"title": "Peay-Pare to Write: An Introduction to Composition and Rhetoric for ENGL 1010",
"author": "Keely Mohon-Doyle"
}
|
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/79773/overview
|
Brandon Choque Molina's Calculus 3 Project: How to Visualize Functions of Several Variables with MATLAB
Overview
This Project has been completed as part of a standard Calculus 3 synchronous online course during Spring 2021 Semester at MassBay Community College, Wellesley Hills, MA.
1. How to visualize functions of several variables with MATLAB
CONTENT
1. How to visualize functions of several variables with MATLAB
Table of contents:
1.1. Introduction
1.2. Introduction to MATLAB
1.3. Variables in matlab
1.4. MATLAB: 3D Plot
1.4.1 Line graphs
1.4.1.1. Plot3 function
1.4.1.2. Comet3 function
1.4.2. Surface graphics
1.4.2.1. Mesh function: mesh(z)
1.4.2.2. Mesh function: mesh(x,y,z)
1.4.2.3. Meshgrid function
1.4.2.4. Surf function
1.4.2.5. Shading function
1.4.2.6. colormap function
1.4.3. Three-dimensional graphics
1.4.3.1. Mesh graph with curtain
1.4.3.2. Mesh graph with contour
1.4.3.3. Surf graph with contour
1.4.3.4. Surf graph with light
1.4.3.5. Waterfall graph
1.4.4. Sketch level curves
1.4.4.1. Contour function
1.4.4.2. Contour3 function
1.4.4.3. Clabel function
1.4.4.4. Pseudo Color Graphs
1.5. Conclusion
1.6. References
$$\color{red}{\text{ NOTE: If you want to see the pictures in detail, right click on them and open the image in a new tab.}}$$
1.1. Introduction
So far we have been solving functions of a single independent variable:
But most common calculus problems come using two or more independent variables. For example, the volume of a right circular cylinder, is a function of two variables:
Where: r=radius of the cylinder
h=height of the cylinder
Or the volume of a rectangular solid, is a function of three variables:
Where:
l=length
w= width
h= height
Looking at the examples we can say that the way to write a function of two or more variables is:
Just as it happened to the functions of a single variable, we can learn a lot about a function if we draw its graph.
The graph of a function of two variables is the set of points (x,y,z) that satisfy the function z=f(x,y), with (x,y) in the domain of f. We can interpret geometrically as a surface in the space.
Now that we know what a multivariable function is, it is time to draw the graph. For this we will use the platform MATLAB.
To introduce yourself into the world of equations check my classmate Deidra wiki page:
To understand the different types of coordiante systems needed for this wiki page, check Joshua's wiki page:
1.2. Introduction to MATLAB
What is MATLAB?
MATLAB is a programming platform designed specifically for engineers and scientists.
We can use MATLAB for a range of applications, including deep learning and machine learning, signal processing and communications, image and video processing, control systems, test and measurement, computational finance, and computational biology.
But for this wiki page we willl use MATLAB as a graphic calculator.
Important features that we will use in MATLAB:
clc = clean the command window
clear = clean the workspace (deletes the variables)
% make a comment
; = do not show the step in the command window
1.3. Variables in MATLAB
What a variable?
It a piece of information that changes and updates as you use a function. See it as a container for storing a value.
How do we use a variable in MatLab?
We have 3 steps for making and using a variable:
1) Declare the variable
2) Assign a value to the variable
3) Declare the function
1.4. MATLAB: 3D Plot
MATLAB has the ability to perform several types of 3D graphics, many of them are simple generalizations of functions available for two-dimensional graphing.
Main functions for three-dimensional graphics
plot3 (x, y, z) = Create a three-dimensional line graph
comet3 (x, y, z) = Generate an animated version of plot3
mesh (z) or mesh (x, y, z) = Create a mesh surface graphic
surf (z) or surf (x, y, z) = Create a surface plot
shaded interp = Interpolate between colors
flat shading = Color each section a single color
colormap (map_name) = Select the color pattern
contour (z) or contour (x, y, z) = Generate a contour plot
surfc (z) or surfc (x, y, z) = Create a combined surface plot with a contour plot
pcolor (z) or pcolor (x, y, z) = Create a pseudo-color chart
1.4.1. Line graphs
1.4.1.1. Plot3 function
The plot3 function is similar to the plot function, except that accepts data in three dimensions. The user must give three vectors: x, y, and z. Then these vectors are graphed in a space of three dimensions and are connected with straight lines.
Example:
%Example PLOT3
%We clean the workspace
clear, clc
%We generate our vectors
%x is a row vector of 1000 evenly spaced points between 0 and 10*pi
x=linspace(0,10*pi,1000);
%y and z are our functions to plot
y=cos(x);
z=sin(x);
%we generate a 3D graph in red color with a line thicker than the default of Matlab
plot3(x,y,z,'r','linewidth',3);
%we add a grid
grid on;
%we label the coordinate axes
xlabel('x=angle');
ylabel('y=cos(x)');
zlabel('z=sin(x)');
%Finally, we add a title to our graph
title('Spring using plot3')
1.4.1.2. Comet3 function
The comet3 function is similar to the comet function for two-dimensional, it generates an animation from of the points to be plotted.
Example
%Example COMET3
%We clean the workspace
clear, clc
%We generate our vectors
%t is a row vector between 0 and 10*pi increasing each pi/50
t = 0:pi/50:10*pi;
z = t;
%x and y are our functions to plot
x = sin(t);
y = cos(t);
%we generate an animated 3D graph
comet3(x,y,z);
%We hold the graph, so it will not dissapear with the next plot
hold on;
%We create a new figure window and return the handle to the current
%position
figure(gcf);
%we add a grid
grid on;
%We create a new figure window and return the handle to the current position
%we label the coordinate axes
xlabel('X-axis');
ylabel('Y-axis');
zlabel('Z-axis');
%Finally, we add a title to our graph
title('Spring using comet3');
1.4.2. Surface graphics
Now we will see in detail how we can draw a function of two variables (z = f (x, y)) in a rectangular domain.
These are known as surface graphs and allow you to represent data as a surface.
We will plot with two types of funtion of surface: mesh graphics and surface graphics.
1.4.2.1. Mesh function: mesh(Z)
There are many ways to use mesh graphics. It can be used to give a professional effect to a simple two-dimensional matrix m x n.
mesh(Z) draws a wireframe mesh using X=1:n and Y=1:m, [m,n]=size(Z). The height, Z, is a single-valued function defined over a rectangular grid. Color is proportional to surface height.
Example:
%Example MESH(Z)
%We clean the workspace
clear, clf;
%We generate our matriz
%The columns leads to the X-axis
%The rows to the Y-axis
%and the intersection is the value in Z
%for example: Column x=9, row y=2, it gives z=18
z = [ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10;
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20;
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12];
%We call the function mesh for z
mesh(z),
%we label the coordinate axis
xlabel ('X-axis')
ylabel ('Y-axis')
zlabel('Z-axis')
%we add a grid
grid on;
%Finally, we add a title to our graph
title('Mesh(Z) Surface');
1.4.2.2. Mesh function: mesh(x,y,z)
The mesh function can also be used with three arguments: mesh (x, y, z). The vector x whose length is the number of columns in matrix Z; the length of the vector must be the same than the number of rows in Z. The coordinates of the points that we need to make the grid are of the type (x(j),y(i),z(i,j))
Example:
%Example MESH(X,Y,Z)
%We clean the workspace
clear, clf;
%We generate our matrix
x=linspace(1,50,10);
y=linspace(500,1000,3);
%we generate the value z
z = [ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10;
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20;
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12];
%We call the function mesh for z
mesh(x,y,z)
%we label the coordinate axis
xlabel ('X-axis')
ylabel ('Y-axis')
zlabel('Z-axis')
%we add a grid
grid on;
%Finally, we add a title to our graph
title('Mesh(Z) Surface');
1.4.2.3. Meshgrid function
Let x and y be two vectors containing the coordinates in any direction on the grid (mesh or grid) on which to draw the function. With the meshgrid function two matrices are created, X whose rows are copies of x. and Y whose columns are copies of Y. These matrices represent respectively the x and y coordinates of all points on the grid. The matrix of Z values are calculated from the matrices of X and Y coordinates. Finally we have to draw this matrix Z with the function mesh, whose elements are the function element to element of the elements of X and Y.
Example:
%Example MESHGRID
%We clean the workspace
clear, clf;
%We generate our matrices
x= [-2:0.2:2] ;
y= [-2:0.2:2] ;
%We generate the meshgrid with the values of X and Y
[X,Y]=meshgrid(x,y) ;
%We calculate Z using the function with the X and Y coordinates
Z= X.*exp(-X.^2 - Y.^2);
%We plot this matrix Z with the function mesh
mesh(X,Y,Z);
%we label the coordinate axes
xlabel('X-axis');
ylabel('Y-axis');
zlabel('Z-axis');
%Finally, we add a title to our graph
title('PLOT MESHGRID');
Application Example:
The initial heat distribution in a steel plate is given by the function:
u (x, y) = 80*y^2 * e^(-x^2−0.3*y^2)
With:
−2.1 ≤ x ≤ 2.1 and −6 ≤ y ≤ 6,
Graph the function with a grid growth of 0.15 in both addresses.
Solution:
%Example MESHGRID
%We clean the workspace
clear, clf;
%We generate our matrices
%−2.1 ≤ x ≤ 2.1 with a growth of 0.15
x=[-2.1:0.15:2.1];
%−6 ≤ y ≤ 6, with a growth of 0.15
y=[-6:0.15:6];
%We generate the meshgrid with the values of X and Y
[X,Y]=meshgrid(x,y) ;
%We calculate Z using the function with the X and Y coordinates
Z= 80*Y.^2.*exp(-X.^2 - 0.3*Y.^2);
%We plot this matrix Z with the function mesh
mesh(X,Y,Z);
%we label the coordinate axes
xlabel('X-axis');
ylabel('Y-axis');
zlabel('Z-axis');
%Finally, we add a title to our graph
title('PLOT MESHGRID');
1.4.2.4. Surf function
Surf graphics are similar to mesh graphics, but surf creates a colorful three-dimensional surface instead of a grid.
Surface colors vary with the value of z.
The surf command takes the same input as mesh:
Surf (Z) a single entry, in which case the row and the columns are taken as x and y coordinates.
Surf (x, y, Z) a vector x of dimension n, a vector y of dimension m and a Z matrix of dimension mxn.
Surf (X, Y, Z) three matrices where X and Y were obtained from the meshgrid command.
Example:
%Example SURF
%We clean the workspace
clear, clf;
%We generate our matrices
%−2 ≤ x ≤ 2 with a growth of 0.2
x= [-2 :0.2: 2];
%−2 ≤ y ≤ 2, with a growth of 0.2
y= [-2 :0.2: 2];
%We generate the meshgrid with the values of X and Y
[X,Y]=meshgrid(x,y) ;
%We calculate Z using the function with the X and Y coordinates
Z= X.*exp(-X.^2 - Y.^2);
%Plot, by default, is a single plot. If you want to plot several results you can use "hold on"
%command and plot many results on a plot with a set x range and set y range using the plot command.
%If you want to have multiple plots of different results - say with different ranges - then you use subplot
%first graph
subplot (1,2,1);
%We plot this matrix Z with the function mesh
mesh(X,Y,Z);
%we add a title to our graph
title('MESH');
%we label the coordinate axes for the first subplot
xlabel('X-axis');
ylabel('Y-axis');
zlabel('Z-axis');
%second graph
subplot(1,2,2);;
%We plot this matrix Z with the function mesh
surf(X,Y,Z);
%we add a title to our graph
title('SURF');
%we label the coordinate axes for the second subplot
xlabel('X-axis');
ylabel('Y-axis');
zlabel('Z-axis');
1.4.2.5. Shading function
The shaded scheme for surface plots is controlled by the shading command.
Shading faceted: (default) the mesh is displayed in black color and the surface adopts a color for each mesh region depending on its height.
Shading flat: flattened shading that, like shading faceted, assigns a color for each region of the mesh depending on your height and remove meshes.
Shading interp: interpolated shading that eliminates the meshed and blurs color changes.
Example:
%Example SURF
%We clean the workspace
clear, clf;
%We generate our matrices
%−2 ≤ x ≤ 2 with a growth of 0.2
x= [-2 :0.2: 2];
%−2 ≤ y ≤ 2, with a growth of 0.2
y= [-2 :0.2: 2];
%We generate the meshgrid with the values of X and Y
[X,Y]=meshgrid(x,y) ;
%We calculate Z using the function with the X and Y coordinates
Z= X.*exp(-X.^2 - Y.^2);
%Plot, by default, is a single plot. If you want to plot several results you can use "hold on"
%command and plot many results on a plot with a set x range and set y range using the plot command.
%If you want to have multiple plots of different results - say with different ranges - then you use subplot
%first graph
subplot (1,2,1);
%We plot this matrix Z with the function surf
surf(X,Y,Z);
%we add the function shadin flat
shading flat;
%we add a title to our graph
title('SHADING FLAT');
%we label the coordinate axes for the first subplot
xlabel('X-axis');ylabel('Y-axis');zlabel('Z-axis');
%second graph
subplot(1,2,2);;
%We plot this matrix Z with the function mesh
surf(X,Y,Z);
%we add the function shading interp
shading interp,
%we add a title to our graph
title('SHADING INTERP');
%we label the coordinate axes for the second subplot
xlabel('X-axis');ylabel('Y-axis');zlabel('Z-axis');
1.4.2.6. Colormap function
A colormap is defined as a matrix of three columns, each of which contains a value between 0 and 1, which represents the intensity of one of the fundamental colors: R (red), G (green) and
B (blue).
Colors:
Black 'k' [0 0 0]
White 'w' [1 1 1]
Red 'r' [1 0 0]
Green 'g' [0 1 0]
Blue 'b' [0 0 1]
Yellow 'y' [1 1 0]
Magenta 'm' [1 0 1]
Color maps can be created at will, for example M = [0 0 0; 1 0 0; 0 1 0; 0 0 1; 1 1 0] is a map of color that has black, red, green, blue and yellow.
colormap (FIG,M) selects the function FIG to color and then installs the matrix M as colormap to use for the current figure. If there is none active figure, replace the previous colormap to the following figures to be drawn.
Some color maps are predefined in MATLAB, see the next chart:
Example:
%Example COLORMAP
%We clean the workspace
clear, clf;
%We generate our matrices
%−10 ≤ x ≤ 10 with a growth of 0.5
x = -10:0.5:10;;
%−10 ≤ y ≤ 10, with a growth of 0.5
y= -10:0.5:10;;
%We generate the meshgrid with the values of X and Y
[X,Y]=meshgrid(x,y) ;
%We calculate Z using the function with the X and Y coordinates
Z = sin (sqrt (X .^2 + Y .^2)) ./ sqrt (X .^ 2 + Y .^ 2 + 0.1);
%Plot, by default, is a single plot. If you want to plot several results you can use "hold on"
%command and plot many results on a plot with a set x range and set y range using the plot command.
%If you want to have multiple plots of different results - say with different ranges - then you use subplot
%first graph
subplot (2,2,1);
%We plot this matrix Z with the function surf
surf (X,Y,Z);
%We use the colormap DEFAULT for the fisrt subplot
colormap(subplot (2,2,1),'default');
%we add the function shading interp
shading interp;
%we add a title to our graph
title('COLORMAP: DEFAULT');
%we label the coordinate axes for the first subplot
xlabel('X-axis');ylabel('Y-axis');zlabel('Z-axis');
%second graph
subplot(2,2,2);;
%We plot this matrix Z with the function mesh
surf (X,Y,Z),
%We use the colormap SUMMER for the fisrt subplot
colormap(subplot(2,2,2),'SUMMER');
%we add the function shading interp
shading interp,
%we add a title to our graph
title('COLORMAP: SUMMER');
%we label the coordinate axes for the second subplot
xlabel('X-axis');ylabel('Y-axis');zlabel('Z-axis');
%third graph
subplot(2,2,3);;
%We plot this matrix Z with the function mesh
surf (X,Y,Z),
%We use the colormap COPPER for the fisrt subplot
colormap(subplot(2,2,3),'copper');
%we add the function shading interp
shading interp,
%we add a title to our graph
title('COLORMAP: COPPER');
%we label the coordinate axes for the second subplot
xlabel('X-axis');ylabel('Y-axis');zlabel('Z-axis');
%fourth graph
subplot(2,2,4);;
%We plot this matrix Z with the function mesh
surf (X,Y,Z),
%We use the colormap COPPER for the fisrt subplot
colormap(subplot(2,2,4),'hot');
%we add the function shading interp
shading interp,
%we add a title to our graph
title('COLORMAP: HOT');
%we label the coordinate axes for the second subplot
xlabel('X-axis');ylabel('Y-axis');zlabel('Z-axis');
1.4.3. Three-dimensional graphics
The following graphics are the same as the previous ones already mentioned, with the difference that they add or remove details from the final graphic.
1.4.3.1. Mesh graph with curtain
Meshz(...) is the same as MESH(...) except that a "curtain" or reference plane is drawn beneath.
Example:
%Example MESHZ
%We clean the workspace
clear, clf;
%We generate our matrices
%−10 ≤ x ≤ 10 and −10 ≤ y ≤ 10, both with a growth of 0.5
x = -10:0.5:10;
y = x;
%We generate the meshgrid with the values of X and Y
[X,Y] = meshgrid (x,y);
%We calculate Z using the function with the X and Y coordinates
Z = sin (sqrt (X .^2 + Y .^2)) ./ sqrt (X .^ 2 + Y .^ 2 + 0.1);
%We plot this matrix Z with the function meshz
meshz(X,Y,Z);
%we add a title to our graph
title('FUNCTION MESHZ');
%we label the coordinate axes for the first subplot
xlabel('X-axis');ylabel('Y-axis');zlabel('Z-axis');
1.4.3.2. Mesh graph with contour
Meshc(...) is the same as MESH(...) except that a contour plot is drawn beneath the mesh.
Example:
%Example MESHC
%We clean the workspace
clear, clf;
%We generate our matrices
%−10 ≤ x ≤ 10 and −10 ≤ y ≤ 10, both with a growth of 0.5
x = -10:0.5:10;
y = x;
%We generate the meshgrid with the values of X and Y
[X,Y] = meshgrid (x,y);
%We calculate Z using the function with the X and Y coordinates
Z = sin (sqrt (X .^2 + Y .^2)) ./ sqrt (X .^ 2 + Y .^ 2 + 0.1);
%We plot this matrix Z with the function meshc
meshc(X,Y,Z);
%we add a title to our graph
title('FUNCTION MESHC');
%we label the coordinate axes for the first subplot
xlabel('X-axis');ylabel('Y-axis');zlabel('Z-axis');
1.4.3.3. Surf graph with contour
Surfc(...) is the same as SURF(...) except that a contour plot is drawn beneath the surface.
Example:
%Example SURFC
%We clean the workspace
clear, clf;
%We generate our matrices
%−10 ≤ x ≤ 10 and −10 ≤ y ≤ 10, both with a growth of 0.5
x = -10:0.5:10;
y = x;
%We generate the meshgrid with the values of X and Y
[X,Y] = meshgrid (x,y);
%We calculate Z using the function with the X and Y coordinates
Z = sin (sqrt (X .^2 + Y .^2)) ./ sqrt (X .^ 2 + Y .^ 2 + 0.1);
%We plot this matrix Z with the function surfc
surfc(X,Y,Z);
%we add a title to our graph
title('FUNCTION SURFC');
%we label the coordinate axes for the first subplot
xlabel('X-axis');ylabel('Y-axis');zlabel('Z-axis');
1.4.3.4. Surf graph with light.
Surfl(...) is the same as SURF(...) except that it draws the surface with highlights from a light source.
Example:
%Example SURFL
%We clean the workspace
clear, clf;
%We generate our matrices
%−10 ≤ x ≤ 10 and −10 ≤ y ≤ 10, both with a growth of 0.5
x = -10:0.5:10;
y = x;
%We generate the meshgrid with the values of X and Y
[X,Y] = meshgrid (x,y);
%We calculate Z using the function with the X and Y coordinates
Z = sin (sqrt (X .^2 + Y .^2)) ./ sqrt (X .^ 2 + Y .^ 2 + 0.1);
%We plot this matrix Z with the function surfl
surfl(X,Y,Z);
%we add a title to our graph
title('FUNCTION SURFL');
%we label the coordinate axes for the first subplot
xlabel('X-axis');ylabel('Y-axis');zlabel('Z-axis');
1.4.3.5. Waterfall graph
waterfall(...) is the same as MESH(...) except that the column lines of the mesh are not drawn - thus producing a "waterfall" plot. For column-oriented data analysis, use waterfall(Z') or
waterfall(X',Y',Z').
Example:
%Example WATERFALL ROW ORIENTED
%We clean the workspace
clear, clf;
%We generate our matrices
%−10 ≤ x ≤ 10 and −10 ≤ y ≤ 10, both with a growth of 0.5
x = -10:0.5:10;
y = x;
%We generate the meshgrid with the values of X and Y
[X,Y] = meshgrid (x,y);
%We calculate Z using the function with the X and Y coordinates
Z = sin (sqrt (X .^2 + Y .^2)) ./ sqrt (X .^ 2 + Y .^ 2 + 0.1);
%We plot this matrix Z with the function waterfall
waterfall(X,Y,Z);
%we add a title to our graph
title('FUNCTION WATERFALL');
%we label the coordinate axes for the first subplot
xlabel('X-axis');ylabel('Y-axis');zlabel('Z-axis');
%Example WATERFALL COLUMN ORIENTED
%We clean the workspace
clear, clf;
%We generate our matrices
%−10 ≤ x ≤ 10 and −10 ≤ y ≤ 10, both with a growth of 0.5
x = -10:0.5:10;
y = x;
%We generate the meshgrid with the values of X and Y
[X,Y] = meshgrid (x,y);
%We calculate Z using the function with the X and Y coordinates
Z = sin (sqrt (X .^2 + Y .^2)) ./ sqrt (X .^ 2 + Y .^ 2 + 0.1);
%We plot this matrix Z with the function waterfall
waterfall(X',Y',Z');
%we add a title to our graph
title('FUNCTION WATERFALL COLUMN ORIENTED');
%we label the coordinate axes for the first subplot
xlabel('X-axis');ylabel('Y-axis');zlabel('Z-axis');
1.4.4. Sketch level curves
In the same way that a function of one variable has a graphical representation by a curve in the plane, when the function has two variables it could be represented by a surface in three-dimensional space. This surface would be formed by the points of the form (x, y, z).
1.4.4.1. Contour function.
Contour(X,Y,Z) draws a contour plot of Z using vertices from the mesh defined by X and Y. X and Y can be vectors or matrices.
Example:
%Example contour
%We clean the workspace
clear, clf;
%We generate our matrices
%−10 ≤ x ≤ 10 and −10 ≤ y ≤ 10, both with a growth of 0.5
x = -10:0.5:10;
y = x;
%We generate the meshgrid with the values of X and Y
[X,Y] = meshgrid (x,y);
%We calculate Z using the function with the X and Y coordinates
Z = sin (sqrt (X .^2 + Y .^2)) ./ sqrt (X .^ 2 + Y .^ 2 + 0.1);
%We plot this matrix Z with the function contour
contour(X,Y,Z);
%we add a title to our graph
title('FUNCTION CONTOUR');
%we label the coordinate axes for the first subplot
xlabel('X-axis');ylabel('Y-axis');zlabel('Z-axis');
1.4.4.2. Contour3 function.
Contour3(...) is the same as CONTOUR(...) except the contour lines are drawn in multiple planes. Each line is drawn in a horizontal plane at a height equal to the corresponding contour level.
Example:
%Example contour3
%We clean the workspace
clear, clf;
%We generate our matrices
%−10 ≤ x ≤ 10 and −10 ≤ y ≤ 10, both with a growth of 0.5
x = -10:0.5:10;
y = x;
%We generate the meshgrid with the values of X and Y
[X,Y] = meshgrid (x,y);
%We calculate Z using the function with the X and Y coordinates
Z = sin (sqrt (X .^2 + Y .^2)) ./ sqrt (X .^ 2 + Y .^ 2 + 0.1);
%We plot this matrix Z with the function contour3
contour3(X,Y,Z);
%we add a title to our graph
title('FUNCTION CONTOUR3');
%we label the coordinate axes for the first subplot
xlabel('X-axis');ylabel('Y-axis');zlabel('Z-axis');
1.4.4.3. Clabel function.
The clabel function applied to a graph of contour write the level values that represent the level curves.
Example:
%Example contour3
%We clean the workspace
clear, clf;
%We generate our matrices
%−10 ≤ x ≤ 10 and −10 ≤ y ≤ 10, both with a growth of 0.5
x = -10:0.5:10;
y = x;
%We generate the meshgrid with the values of X and Y
[X,Y] = meshgrid (x,y);
%We calculate Z using the function with the X and Y coordinates
Z = sin (sqrt (X .^2 + Y .^2)) ./ sqrt (X .^ 2 + Y .^ 2 + 0.1);
%We plot this matrix Z with the function contour3
graph=contour3(X,Y,Z);
%We apply the level curves
clabel(graph)
%we add a title to our graph
title('FUNCTION CONTOUR3');
%we label the coordinate axes for the first subplot
xlabel('X-axis');ylabel('Y-axis');zlabel('Z-axis');
1.4.4.4. PseudoColor Graphs
Pseudo-color charts are similar to contour graphs, except instead of lines that highlight a specific contour, a map is generated in a two-dimensional shading on a grid.
MATLAB includes a sample function called peaks which generates the matrices x, y and z from a interesting surface that looks like a Mountain.
Example:
%Example contour3
%We clean the workspace
clear, clf;
%We cal;l the function PEAKS
%We generate the meshgrid with the values of X and Y
[X,Y,Z] = peaks;
%We plot peaks with the function surf
surf(X,Y,Z);
%we add a title to our graph
title('PEAKS');
%we label the coordinate axes for the first subplot
xlabel('X-axis');ylabel('Y-axis');zlabel('Z-axis');
Now let's look at the pseudo color graphs applying different types of shading.
Example:
%We call the function Peaks
[x,y,z] = peaks;
%First graph
subplot(2,2,1);
pcolor(x,y,z);
%Second graph
subplot(2,2,2);
pcolor(x,y,z);
shading interp;
%Third graph
subplot(2,2,3);
pcolor(x,y,z);
shading interp;
hold on;
contour(x,y,z,20,' k ');
%Fourth graph
subplot(2,2,4);
contour(x,y,z);
1.5 Conclusion
Over time, we have been taught to use a formula or a computational algorithm to graph functions. With just a couple of steps you already know what you have to do, you already know the way and you just have to apply it. But many times we come across problems in which it is necessary to graph carefully in order to correctly understand the behavior of a function. That is why this wiki page included several graphic forms, because we should not focus on a single path, we have to relate ideas, organize data and above all maintain a positive and creative attitude.
It has been a pleasure writing this post and I hope it has been an educational experience for you, dear reader.
Thanks you .
Brandon Choque
1.6. References
Mesh, Meshc, Meshz (MATLAB Functions), matlab.izmiran.ru/help/techdoc/ref/mesh.html
Surf, Surfc (MATLAB Functions), matlab.izmiran.ru/help/techdoc/ref/surf.html
“Creating 3-D Plots.” Creating 3-D Plots - MATLAB & Simulink Example, https://www.mathworks.com/help/matlab/visualize/creating-3-d-plots.html
“Peaks Function.” Peaks Function - MATLAB, https://www.mathworks.com/help/matlab/ref/peaks.html
Arnold, David. “Level Curves.” https://www.math.tamu.edu/~mpilant/math696/m696_240/jsamayoa/public_html/levelcurves.pdf
“3D Plots in Matlab: Learn the Types of 3D Plots in MATLAB.” EDUCBA, 4 Mar. 2021, www.educba.com/3d-plots-in-matlab
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oercommons
|
2025-03-18T00:39:25.222462
|
Homework/Assignment
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"url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/79773/overview",
"title": "Brandon Choque Molina's Calculus 3 Project: How to Visualize Functions of Several Variables with MATLAB",
"author": "Activity/Lab"
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|
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/110094/overview
|
https://lifecaremag.com/how-to-keep-a-green-environment/
https://rryshke.files.wordpress.com/2019/06/ecocide-earth1.jpg
https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/causes-problems-solutions-littering.php
https://www.un.org/en/actnow/ten-actions
Climate Change: A Call to Action
Overview
In a world where climate change has never been experienced, it is time to do something. This poster aims to encourage people to act, by raising awareness of the importance of talking about climate change. This poster highlights the respect for nature by using powerful images and colors.
|
oercommons
|
2025-03-18T00:39:25.243035
|
Vanessa Pamisaran
|
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"license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
"url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/110094/overview",
"title": "Climate Change: A Call to Action",
"author": "Reading"
}
|
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/82263/overview
|
Developmental Psych Summer Intensive Syllabus
Overview
This is a detailed syllabus for Developmental Psychology. It includes the outcome and goals of the course and a layout of week by week and unit details to best fit in all of the details of this course in a short 5 weeks.
Developmental Psych Syllabus
This is a detailed syllabus for Developmental Psychology. It includes the outcome and goals of the course and a layout of week by week and unit details to best fit in all of the details of this course in a short 5 weeks.
|
oercommons
|
2025-03-18T00:39:25.259474
|
Sociology
|
{
"license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
"url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/82263/overview",
"title": "Developmental Psych Summer Intensive Syllabus",
"author": "Social Work"
}
|
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/15247/overview
|
Introduction
When U.S. citizens think of governmental power, they most likely think of the presidency. The framers of the Constitution, however, clearly intended that Congress would be the cornerstone of the new republic. After years of tyranny under a king, they had little interest in creating another system with an overly powerful single individual at the top. Instead, while recognizing the need for centralization in terms of a stronger national government with an elected executive wielding its own authority, those at the Constitutional Convention wanted a strong representative assembly at the national level that would use careful consideration, deliberate action, and constituent representation to carefully draft legislation to meet the needs of the new republic. Thus, Article I of the Constitution grants several key powers to Congress, which include overseeing the budget and all financial matters, introducing legislation, confirming or rejecting judicial and executive nominations, and even declaring war.
Today, however, Congress is the institution most criticized by the public, and the most misunderstood. How exactly does Capitol Hill operate (Figure)? What are the different structures and powers of the House of Representatives and the Senate? How are members of Congress elected? How do they reach their decisions about legislation, budgets, and military action? This chapter addresses these aspects and more as it explores “the first branch” of government.
|
oercommons
|
2025-03-18T00:39:25.273583
| null |
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"license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
"url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/15247/overview",
"title": "American Government, Delivering Collective Action: Formal Institutions",
"author": null
}
|
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/15248/overview
|
The Institutional Design of Congress
Learning Objectives
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Describe the role of Congress in the U.S. constitutional system
- Define bicameralism
- Explain gerrymandering and the apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives
- Discuss the three kinds of powers granted to Congress
The origins of the U.S. Constitution and the convention that brought it into existence are rooted in failure—the failure of the Articles of Confederation. After only a handful of years, the states of the union decided that the Articles were simply unworkable. In order to save the young republic, a convention was called, and delegates were sent to assemble and revise the Articles. From the discussions and compromises in this convention emerged Congress in the form we recognize today. In this section, we will explore the debates and compromises that brought about the bicameral (two-chamber) Congress, made up of a House of Representatives and Senate. We will also explore the goals of bicameralism and how it functions. Finally, we will look at the different ways seats are apportioned in the two chambers.
THE GREAT COMPROMISE AND THE BASICS OF BICAMERALISM
Only a few years after the adoption of the Articles of Confederation, the republican experiment seemed on the verge of failure. States deep in debt were printing increasingly worthless paper currency, many were mired in interstate trade battles with each other, and in western Massachusetts, a small group of Revolutionary War veterans angry over the prospect of losing their farms broke into armed open revolt against the state, in what came to be known as Shays’ Rebellion. The conclusion many reached was that the Articles of Confederation were simply not strong enough to keep the young republic together. In the spring of 1787, a convention was called, and delegates from all the states (except Rhode Island, which boycotted the convention) were sent to Philadelphia to hammer out a solution to this central problem.
The meeting these delegates convened became known as the Constitutional Convention of 1787. Although its prescribed purpose was to revise the Articles of Confederation, a number of delegates charted a path toward disposing of the Articles entirely. Under the Articles, the national legislature had been made up of a single chamber composed of an equal number of delegates from each of the states. Large states, like Virginia, felt it would be unfair to continue with this style of legislative institution. As a result, Virginia’s delegates proposed a plan that called for bicameralism, or the division of legislators into two separate assemblies. In this proposed two-chamber Congress, states with larger populations would have more representatives in each chamber. Predictably, smaller states like New Jersey were unhappy with this proposal. In response, they issued their own plan, which called for a single-chamber Congress with equal representation and more state authority (Figure).
The storm of debate over how to allocate power between large and small states was eventually calmed by a third proposal. The Connecticut Compromise, also called the Great Compromise, proposed a bicameral congress with members apportioned differently in each house. The upper house, the Senate, was to have two members from each state. This soothed the fears of the small states. In the lower house, the House of Representatives, membership would be proportional to the population in each state. This measure protected the interests of the large states.
In the final draft of the U.S. Constitution, the bicameral Congress established by the convention of 1787 was given a number of powers and limitations. These are outlined in Article I (Appendix B). This article describes the minimum age of congresspersons (Section 2), requires that Congress meet at least once a year (Section 4), guarantees members’ pay (Section 6), and gives Congress the power to levy taxes, borrow money, and regulate commerce (Section 8). These powers and limitations were the Constitutional Convention’s response to the failings of the Articles of Confederation.
Although the basic design of the House and Senate resulted from a political deal between large and small states, the bicameral legislature established by the convention did not emerge from thin air. The concept had existed in Europe as far back as the medieval era. At that time, the two chambers of a legislature were divided based on class and designed to reflect different types of representation. The names of the two houses in the United Kingdom’s bicameral parliament still reflect this older distinction today: the House of Lords and the House of Commons. Likewise, those at the Constitutional Convention purposely structured the U.S. Senate differently from the House of Representatives in the hopes of encouraging different representative memberships in the two houses. Initially, for example, the power to elect senators was given to the state legislatures instead of to the voting public as it is now. The minimum age requirement is also lower for the House of Representatives: A person must be at least twenty-five years old to serve in the House, whereas one must be at least thirty to be a senator.
The bicameral system established at the Constitutional Convention and still followed today requires the two houses to pass identical bills, or proposed items of legislation. This ensures that after all amending and modifying has occurred, the two houses ultimately reach an agreement about the legislation they send to the president. Passing the same bill in both houses is no easy feat, and this is by design. The framers intended there to be a complex and difficult process for legislation to become law. This challenge serves a number of important and related functions. First, the difficulty of passing legislation through both houses makes it less likely, though hardly impossible, that the Congress will act on fleeting instincts or without the necessary deliberation. Second, the bicameral system ensures that large-scale dramatic reform is exceptionally difficult to pass and that the status quo is more likely to win the day. This maintains a level of conservatism in government, something the landed elite at the convention preferred. Third, the bicameral system makes it difficult for a single faction or interest group to enact laws and restrictions that would unfairly favor it.
The website of the U.S. Congress Visitor Center contains a number of interesting online exhibits and informational tidbits about the U.S. government’s “first branch” (so called because it is described in Article I of the Constitution).
SENATE REPRESENTATION AND HOUSE APPORTIONMENT
The Constitution specifies that every state will have two senators who each serve a six-year term. Therefore, with fifty states in the Union, there are currently one hundred seats in the U.S. Senate. Senators were originally appointed by state legislatures, but in 1913, the Seventeenth Amendment was approved, which allowed for senators to be elected by popular vote in each state. Seats in the House of Representatives are distributed among the states based on each state’s population and each member of the House is elected by voters in a specific congressional district. Each state is guaranteed at least one seat in the House (Table).
| The 114th Congress | ||
|---|---|---|
| House of Representatives | Senate | |
| Total Number of Members | 435 | 100 |
| Number of Members per State | 1 or more, based on population | 2 |
| Length of Term of Office | 2 years | 6 years |
| Minimum Age Requirement | 25 | 30 |
Congressional apportionment today is achieved through the equal proportions method, which uses a mathematical formula to allocate seats based on U.S. Census Bureau population data, gathered every ten years as required by the Constitution. At the close of the first U.S. Congress in 1791, there were sixty-five representatives, each representing approximately thirty thousand citizens. Then, as the territory of the United States expanded, sometimes by leaps and bounds, the population requirement for each new district increased as well. Adjustments were made, but the roster of the House of Representatives continued to grow until it reached 435 members after the 1910 census. Ten years later, following the 1920 census and with urbanization changing populations across the country, Congress failed to reapportion membership because it became deadlocked on the issue. In 1929, an agreement was reached to permanently cap the number of seats in the House at 435.
Redistricting occurs every ten years, after the U.S. Census has established how many persons live in the United States and where. The boundaries of legislative districts are redrawn as needed to maintain similar numbers of voters in each while still maintaining a total number of 435 districts. Because local areas can see their population grow as well as decline over time, these adjustments in district boundaries are typically needed after ten years have passed. Currently, there are seven states with only one representative (Alaska, Delaware, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming), whereas the most populous state, California, has a total of fifty-three congressional districts (Figure).
Two remaining problems in the House are the size of each representative’s constituency—the body of voters who elect him or her—and the challenge of Washington, DC. First, the average number of citizens in a congressional district now tops 700,000. This is arguably too many for House members to remain very close to the people. George Washington advocated for thirty thousand per elected member to retain effective representation in the House. The second problem is that the approximately 675,000 residents of the federal district of Washington (District of Columbia) do not have voting representation. Like those living in the U.S. territories, they merely have a non-voting delegate.There are six non-voting delegations representing American Samoa, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. While these delegates are not able to vote on legislation, they may introduce it and are able to vote in congressional committees and on procedural matters.
The stalemate in the 1920s wasn’t the first time reapportionment in the House resulted in controversy (or the last). The first incident took place before any apportionment had even occurred, while the process was being discussed at the Constitutional Convention. Representatives from large slave-owning states believed their slaves should be counted as part of the total population. States with few or no slaves predictably argued against this. The compromise eventually reached allowed for each slave (who could not vote) to count as three-fifths of a person for purposes of congressional representation. Following the abolition of slavery and the end of Reconstruction, the former slave states in the South took a number of steps to prevent former slaves and their children from voting. Yet because these former slaves were now free persons, they were counted fully toward the states’ congressional representation.
Attempts at African American disenfranchisement continued until the civil rights struggle of the 1960s finally brought about the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The act cleared several final hurdles to voter registration and voting for African Americans. Following its adoption, many Democrats led the charge to create congressional districts that would enhance the power of African American voters. The idea was to create majority-minority districts within states, districts in which African Americans became the majority and thus gained the electoral power to send representatives to Congress.
While the strangely drawn districts succeeded in their stated goals, nearly quintupling the number of African American representatives in Congress in just over two decades, they have frustrated others who claim they are merely a new form of an old practice, gerrymandering. Gerrymandering is the manipulation of legislative district boundaries as a way of favoring a particular candidate. The term combines the word salamander, a reference to the strange shape of these districts, with the name of Massachusetts governor Elbridge Gerry, who in 1812, signed a redistricting plan designed to benefit his party. Despite the questionable ethics behind gerrymandering, the practice is legal, and both major parties have used it to their benefit. It is only when political redistricting appears to dilute the votes of racial minorities that gerrymandering efforts can be challenged under the Voting Rights Act. Other forms of gerrymandering are frequently employed in states where a dominant party seeks to maintain that domination. As we saw in the chapter on political parties, gerrymandering can be a tactic to draw district lines in a way that creates “safe seats” for a particular political party. In states like Maryland, these are safe seats for Democrats. In states like Louisiana, they are safe seats for Republicans (Figure).
Racial Gerrymandering and the Paradox of Minority Representation
In Ohio, one skirts the shoreline of Lake Erie like a snake. In Louisiana, one meanders across the southern part of the state from the eastern shore of Lake Ponchartrain, through much of New Orleans and north along the Mississippi River to Baton Rouge. And in Illinois, another wraps around the city of Chicago and its suburbs in a wandering line that, when seen on a map, looks like the mouth of a large, bearded alligator attempting to drink from Lake Michigan.
These aren’t geographical features or large infrastructure projects. Rather, they are racially gerrymandered congressional districts. Their strange shapes are the product of careful district restructuring organized around the goal of enhancing the votes of minority groups. The alligator-mouth District 4 in Illinois, for example, was drawn to bring a number of geographically autonomous Latino groups in Illinois together in the same congressional district.
While the strategy of creating majority-minority districts has been a success for minorities’ representation in Congress, its long-term effect has revealed a disturbing paradox: Congress as a whole has become less enthusiastic about minority-specific issues. How is this possible? The problem is that by creating districts with high percentages of minority constituents, strategists have made the other districts less diverse. The representatives in those districts are under very little pressure to consider the interests of minority groups. As a result, they typically do not.Steven Hill, “How the Voting Rights Act Hurts Democrats and Minorities,” The Atlantic, 17 June 2013, http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/06/how-the-voting-rights-act-hurts-democrats-and-minorities/276893/.
What changes might help correct this problem? Are majority-minority districts no longer an effective strategy for increasing minority representation in Congress? Are there better ways to achieve a higher level of minority representation?
CONGRESSIONAL POWERS
The authority to introduce and pass legislation is a very strong power. But it is only one of the many that Congress possesses. In general, congressional powers can be divided into three types: enumerated, implied, and inherent. An enumerated power is a power explicitly stated in the Constitution. An implied power is one not specifically detailed in the Constitution but inferred as necessary to achieve the objectives of the national government. And an inherent power, while not enumerated or implied, must be assumed to exist as a direct result of the country’s existence. In this section, we will learn about each type of power and the foundations of legitimacy they claim. We will also learn about the way the different branches of government have historically appropriated powers not previously granted to them and the way congressional power has recently suffered in this process.
Article I, Section 8, of the U.S. Constitution details the enumerated powers of the legislature. These include the power to levy and collect taxes, declare war, raise an army and navy, coin money, borrow money, regulate commerce among the states and with foreign nations, establish federal courts and bankruptcy rules, establish rules for immigration and naturalization, and issue patents and copyrights. Other powers, such as the ability of Congress to override a presidential veto with a two-thirds vote of both houses, are found elsewhere in the Constitution (Article II, Section 7, in the case of the veto override). The first of these enumerated powers, to levy taxes, is quite possibly the most important power Congress possesses. Without it, most of the others, whether enumerated, implied, or inherent, would be largely theoretical. The power to levy and collect taxes, along with the appropriations power, gives Congress what is typically referred to as “the power of the purse” (Figure). This means Congress controls the money.
Some enumerated powers invested in the Congress were included specifically to serve as checks on the other powerful branches of government. These include Congress’s sole power to introduce legislation, the Senate’s final say on many presidential nominations and treaties signed by the president, and the House’s ability to impeach or formally accuse the president or other federal officials of wrongdoing (the first step in removing the person from office; the second step, trial and removal, takes place in the U.S. Senate). Each of these powers also grants Congress oversight of the actions of the president and his or her administration—that is, the right to review and monitor other bodies such as the executive branch. The fact that Congress has the sole power to introduce legislation effectively limits the power of the president to develop the same laws he or she is empowered to enforce. The Senate’s exclusive power to give final approval for many of the president’s nominees, including cabinet members and judicial appointments, compels the president to consider the needs and desires of Congress when selecting top government officials. Finally, removing a president from office who has been elected by the entire country should never be done lightly. Giving this responsibility to a large deliberative body of elected officials ensures it will occur only very rarely.
Despite the fact that the Constitution outlines specific enumerated powers, most of the actions Congress takes on a day-to-day basis are not actually included in this list. The reason is that the Constitution not only gives Congress the power to make laws but also gives it some general direction as to what those laws should accomplish. The “necessary and proper cause” directs Congress “to make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.” Laws that regulate banks, establish a minimum wage, and allow for the construction and maintenance of interstate highways are all possible because of the implied powers granted by the necessary and proper clause. Today, the overwhelming portion of Congress’s work is tied to the necessary and proper clause.
Finally, Congress’s inherent powers are unlike either the enumerated or the implied powers. Inherent powers are not only not mentioned in the Constitution, but they do not even have a convenient clause in the Constitution to provide for them. Instead, they are powers Congress has determined it must assume if the government is going to work at all. The general assumption is that these powers were deemed so essential to any functioning government that the framers saw no need to spell them out. Such powers include the power to control borders of the state, the power to expand the territory of the state, and the power to defend itself from internal revolution or coups. These powers are not granted to the Congress, or to any other branch of the government for that matter, but they exist because the country exists.
Understanding the Limits of Congress’s Power to Regulate
One of the most important constitutional anchors for Congress’s implicit power to regulate all manner of activities within the states is the short clause in Article I, Section 8, which says Congress is empowered to “to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with Indian Tribes.” The Supreme Court’s broad interpretation of this so-called commerce clause has greatly expanded the power and reach of Congress over the centuries.
From the earliest days of the republic until the end of the nineteenth century, the Supreme Court consistently handed down decisions that effectively broadened the Congress’s power to regulate interstate and intrastate commerce.Lainie Rutkow and Jon S. Vernick. 2011. “The U.S. Constitution’s Commerce Clause, the Supreme Court, and Public Health,” Public Health Report 126, No. 5 (September–October): 750–753. The growing country, the demands of its expanding economy, and the way changes in technology and transportation contributed to the shrinking of space between the states demanded that Congress be able to function as a regulator. For a short period in the 1930s when federal authority was expanded to combat the Great Depression, the Court began to interpret the commerce clause far more narrowly. But after this interlude, the court’s interpretation swung in an even-broader direction. This change proved particularly important in the 1960s, when Congress rolled back racial segregation throughout much of the South and beyond, and in the 1970s, as federal environmental regulations and programs took root.
But in United States v. Lopez, a decision issued in 1995, the Court changed course again and, for the first time in half a century, struck down a law as an unconstitutional overstepping of the commerce clause.United States v. Lopez, 514 U.S. 549 (1995). Five years later, the Court did it again, convincing many that the country may be witnessing the beginning of a rollback in Congress’s power to regulate in the states. When the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (also known as the ACA, or Obamacare) came before the Supreme Court in 2012, many believed the Court would strike it down. Instead, the justices took the novel approach of upholding the law based on the Congress’s enumerated power to tax, rather than the commerce clause. The decision was a shock to many.National Federation of Independent Businesses v. Sebelius, 567 U.S. ___ (2012). And, by not upholding the law on the basis of the commerce clause, the Court left open the possibility that it would continue to pursue a narrower interpretation of the clause.
What are the advantages of the Supreme Court’s broad interpretation of the commerce clause? How do you think this interpretation affects the balance of power between the branches of government? Why are some people concerned that the Court’s view of the clause could change?
In the early days of the republic, Congress’s role was rarely if ever disputed. However, with its decision in Marbury v. Madison (1803), the Supreme Court asserted its authority over judicial review and assumed the power to declare laws unconstitutional.Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. 137 (1803). Yet, even after that decision, the Court was reluctant to use this power and didn’t do so for over half a century. Initially, the presidency was also a fairly weak branch of government compared with the legislature. But presidents have sought to increase their power almost from the beginning, typically at the expense of the Congress. By the nature of the enumerated powers provided to the president, it is during wartime that the chief executive is most powerful and Congress least powerful. For example, President Abraham Lincoln, who oversaw the prosecution of the Civil War, stretched the bounds of his legal authority in a number of ways, such as by issuing the Emancipation Proclamation that freed slaves in the confederate states.“Abraham Lincoln: Impact and Legacy,” http://millercenter.org/president/biography/lincoln-impact-and-legacy (May 24, 2016).
In the twentieth century, the modern tussle over power between the Congress and the president really began. There are two primary reasons this struggle emerged. First, as the country grew larger and more complex, the need for the government to assert its regulatory power grew. The executive branch, because of its hierarchical organization with the president at the top, is naturally seen as a more smoothly run governmental machine than the cumbersome Congress. This gives the president advantages in the struggle for power and indeed gives Congress an incentive to delegate authority to the president on processes, such as trade agreements and national monument designations, that would be difficult for the legislature to carry out. The second reason has to do with the president’s powers as commander-in-chief in the realm of foreign policy.
The twin disasters of the Great Depression in the 1930s and World War II, which lasted until the mid-1940s, provided President Franklin D. Roosevelt with a powerful platform from which to expand presidential power. His popularity and his ability to be elected four times allowed him to greatly overshadow Congress. As a result, Congress attempted to restrain the power of the presidency by proposing the Twenty-Second Amendment to the Constitution, which limited a president to only two full terms in office.David M. Jordan. 2011. FDR, Dewey, and the Election of 1944. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 290; Paul G. Willis and George L. Willis. 1952. “The Politics of the Twenty-Second Amendment,” The Western Political Quarterly 5, No. 3: 469–82; Paul B. Davis. 1979. “The Results and Implications of the Enactment of the Twenty-Second Amendment,” Presidential Studies Quarterly 9, No. 3: 289–303. Although this limitation is a significant one, it has not held back the tendency for the presidency to assume increased power.
In the decades following World War II, the United States entered the Cold War, a seemingly endless conflict with the Soviet Union without actual war, and therefore a period that allowed the presidency to assert more authority, especially in foreign affairs. In an exercise of this increased power, in the 1950s, President Harry Truman effectively went around an enumerated power of Congress by sending troops into battle in Korea without a congressional declaration of war (Figure). By the time of the Kennedy administration in the 1960s, the presidency had assumed nearly all responsibility for creating foreign policy, effectively shutting Congress out.
Following the twin scandals of Vietnam and Watergate in the early 1970s, Congress attempted to assert itself as a coequal branch, even in creating foreign policy, but could not hold back the trend. The War Powers Resolution (covered in the foreign policy chapter) was intended to strengthen congressional war powers but ended up clarifying presidential authority in the first sixty days of a military conflict. The war on terrorism after 9/11 has also strengthened the president’s hand. Today, the seemingly endless bickering between the president and the Congress is a reminder of the ongoing struggle for power between the branches, and indeed between the parties, in Washington, DC.
Summary
The weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation convinced the member states to send delegates to a new convention to revise them. What emerged from the debates and compromises of the convention was instead a new and stronger constitution. The Constitution established a bicameral legislature, with a Senate composed of two members from each state and a House of Representatives composed of members drawn from each state in proportion to its population. Today’s Senate has one hundred members representing fifty states, while membership in the House of Representatives has been capped at 435 since 1929. Apportionment in the House is based on population data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau.
The Constitution empowers Congress with enumerated, implied, and inherent powers. Enumerated powers are specifically addressed in the text of the Constitution. Implied powers are not explicitly called out but are inferred as necessary to achieve the objectives of the national goverment. Inherent powers are assumed to exist by virtue of the fact that the country exists. The power of Congress to regulate interstate and intrastate commerce has generally increased, while its power to control foreign policy has declined over the course of the twentieth century.
The Great Compromise successfully resolved differences between ________.
- large and small states
- slave and non-slave states
- the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution
- the House and the Senate
Hint:
A
While each state has two senators, members of the House are apportioned ________.
- according to the state’s geographic size
- based on the state’s economic size
- according to the state’s population
- based on each state’s need
The process of redistricting can present problems for congressional representation because ________.
- districts must include urban and rural areas
- states can gain but never lose districts
- districts are often drawn to benefit partisan groups
- states have been known to create more districts than they have been apportioned
Hint:
C
Which of the following is an implied power of Congress?
- the power to regulate the sale of tobacco in the states
- the power to increase taxes on the wealthiest one percent
- the power to put the president on trial for high crimes
- the power to override a presidential veto
Briefly explain the benefits and drawbacks of a bicameral system.
Hint:
A primary benefit of a bicameral system is the way it demands careful consideration and deliberate action on the part of the legislators. A primary drawback is that it is tougher overall to pass legislation and makes it extremely difficult to push through large-scale reforms.
What are some examples of the enumerated powers granted to Congress in the Constitution?
Why does a strong presidency necessarily sap power from Congress?
Hint:
The executive and legislative branches complement and check each other. The purpose of dividing their roles is to prevent either from becoming too powerful. As a result, when one branch assumes more power, it necessarily assumes that power from the other branch.
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oercommons
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2025-03-18T00:39:25.310423
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"license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
"url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/15248/overview",
"title": "American Government, Delivering Collective Action: Formal Institutions",
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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/15249/overview
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Congressional Elections
Learning Objectives
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Explain how fundamental characteristics of the House and Senate shape their elections
- Discuss campaign funding and the effects of incumbency in the House and Senate
- Analyze the way congressional elections can sometimes become nationalized
The House and Senate operate very differently, partly because their members differ in the length of their terms, as well as in their age and other characteristics. In this section, we will explore why constitutional rules affect the elections for the two types of representatives and the reason the two bodies function differently by design. We also look at campaign finance to better understand how legislators get elected and stay elected.
UNDERSTANDING THE HOUSE AND SENATE
The U.S. Constitution is very clear about who can be elected as a member of the House or Senate. A House member must be a U.S. citizen of at least seven years’ standing and at least twenty-five years old. Senators are required to have nine years’ standing as citizens and be at least thirty years old when sworn in. Representatives serve two-year terms, whereas senators serve six-year terms. Per the Supreme Court decision in U.S. Term Limits v. Thornton (1995), there are currently no term limits for either senators or representatives, despite efforts by many states to impose them in the mid-1990s.U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton, 514 U.S. 779 (1995). House members are elected by the voters in their specific congressional districts. There are currently 435 congressional districts in the United States and thus 435 House members, and each state has a number of House districts roughly proportional to its share of the total U.S. population, with states guaranteed at least one House member. Two senators are elected by each state.
The structural and other differences between the House and Senate have practical consequences for the way the two chambers function. The House of Representatives has developed a stronger and more structured leadership than the Senate. Because its members serve short, two-year terms, they must regularly answer to the demands of their constituency when they run for election or reelection. Even House members of the same party in the same state will occasionally disagree on issues because of the different interests of their specific districts. Thus, the House can be highly partisan at times.
In contrast, members of the Senate are furthest from the demands and scrutiny of their constituents. Because of their longer six-year terms, they will see every member of the House face his or her constituents multiple times before they themselves are forced to seek reelection. Originally, when a state’s two U.S. senators were appointed by the state legislature, the Senate chamber’s distance from the electorate was even greater. Also, unlike members of the House who can seek the narrower interests of their district, senators must maintain a broader appeal in order to earn a majority of the votes across their entire state. In addition, the rules of the Senate allow individual members to slow down or stop legislation they dislike. These structural differences between the two chambers create real differences in the actions of their members. The heat of popular, sometimes fleeting, demands from constituents often glows red hot in the House. The Senate has the flexibility to allow these passions to cool. Dozens of major initiatives were passed by the House and had a willing president, for example, only to be defeated in the Senate. In 2012, the Buffett Rule would have implemented a minimum tax rate of 30 percent on wealthy Americans. Sixty senators had to agree to bring it to a vote, but the bill fell short of that number and died.http://dailysignal.com/2015/11/11/12-bills-that-the-filibuster-stopped-from-becoming-law/ (May 15, 2016). Similarly, although the ACA became widely known as “Obamacare,” the president did not send a piece of legislation to Capitol Hill; he asked Congress to write the bills. Both the House and Senate authored their own versions of the legislation. The House’s version was much bolder and larger in terms of establishing a national health care system. However, it did not stand a chance in the Senate, where a more moderate version of the legislation was introduced. In the end, House leaders saw the Senate version as preferable to doing nothing and ultimately supported it.
CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGN FUNDING
Modern political campaigns in the United States are expensive, and they have been growing more so. For example, in 1986, the costs of running a successful House and Senate campaign were $776,687 and $6,625,932, respectively, in 2014 dollars. By 2014, those values had shot to $1,466,533 and $9,655,660 (Figure).“The Cost of Winning a House and Senate Seat, 1986–2014,” http://www.cfinst.org/pdf/vital/VitalStats_t1.pdf (May 15, 2016). Raising this amount of money takes quite a bit of time and effort. Indeed, a presentation for incoming Democratic representatives suggested a daily Washington schedule of five hours reaching out to donors, while only three or four were to be used for actual congressional work. As this advice reveals, raising money for reelection constitutes a large proportion of the work a congressperson does. This has caused many to wonder whether the amount of money in politics has truly become a corrupting influence. However, overall, the lion’s share of direct campaign contributions in congressional elections comes from individual donors, who are less influential than the political action committees (PACs) that contribute the remainder.http://www.opensecrets.org/overview/wherefrom.php (May 15, 2016).
Nevertheless, the complex problem of funding campaigns has a long history in the United States. For nearly the first hundred years of the republic, there were no federal campaign finance laws. Then, between the late nineteenth century and the start of World War I, Congress pushed through a flurry of reforms intended to bring order to the world of campaign finance. These laws made it illegal for politicians to solicit contributions from civil service workers, made corporate contributions illegal, and required candidates to report their fundraising. As politicians and donors soon discovered, however, these laws were full of loopholes and were easily skirted by those who knew the ins and outs of the system.
Another handful of reform attempts were therefore pushed through in the wake of World War II, but then Congress neglected campaign finance reform for a few decades. That lull ended in the early 1970s when the Federal Election Campaign Act was passed. Among other things, it created the Federal Election Commission (FEC), required candidates to disclose where their money was coming from and where they were spending it, limited individual contributions, and provided for public financing of presidential campaigns.
Another important reform occurred in 2002, when Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Russell Feingold (D-WI) drafted, and Congress passed, the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA), also referred to as the McCain-Feingold Act. The purpose of this law was to limit the use of “soft money,” which is raised for purposes like party-building efforts, get-out-the-vote efforts, and issue-advocacy ads. Unlike “hard money” contributed directly to a candidate, which is heavily regulated and limited, soft money had almost no regulations or limits. It had never been a problem before the mid-1990s, when a number of very imaginative political operatives developed a great many ways to spend this money. After that, soft-money donations skyrocketed. But the McCain-Feingold bill greatly limited this type of fundraising.
McCain-Feingold placed limits on total contributions to political parties, prohibited coordination between candidates and PAC campaigns, and required candidates to include personal endorsements on their political ads. Until 2010, it also limited advertisements run by unions and corporations thirty days before a primary and sixty days before a general election.“Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002,” http://www.fec.gov/pages/bcra/bcra_update.shtml (May 15, 2016); Greg Scott and Gary Mullen, “Thirty Year Report,” September 2005, http://www.fec.gov/info/publications/30year.pdf (May 15, 2016). The FEC’s enforcement of the law spurred numerous court cases challenging it. The most controversial decision was handed down by the Supreme Court in 2010, whose ruling on Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission led to the removal of spending limits on corporations. Justices in the majority argued that the BCRA violated a corporation’s free-speech rights.Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. 310 (2010).
The Citizens United case began as a lawsuit against the FEC filed by Citizens United, a nonprofit organization that wanted to advertise a documentary critical of former senator and Democratic hopeful Hillary Clinton on the eve of the 2008 Democratic primaries. Advertising or showing the film during this time window was prohibited by the McCain-Feingold Act. But the Court found that this type of restriction violated the organization’s First Amendment right to free speech. As critics of the decision predicted at the time, the Court thus opened the floodgates to private soft money flowing into campaigns again.
In the wake of the Citizens United decision, a new type of advocacy group emerged, the super PAC. A traditional PAC is an organization designed to raise hard money to elect or defeat candidates. Such PACs tended to be run by businesses and other groups, like the Teamsters Union and the National Rifle Association, to support their special interests. They are highly regulated in regard to the amount of money they can take in and spend, but super PACs aren’t bound by these regulations. While they cannot give money directly to a candidate or a candidate’s party, they can raise and spend unlimited funds, and they can spend independently of a campaign or party. In the 2012 election cycle, for example, super PACs spent just over $600 million dollars and raised about $200 million more.“2012 Outside Spending, by Super PAC,” https://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/summ.php?cycle=2012&chrt=V&type=S (May 15, 2016).
At the same time, several limits on campaign contributions have been upheld by the courts and remain in place. Individuals may contribute up to $2700 per candidate per election. Individuals may also give $5000 to PACs and $33,400 to a national party committee. PACs that contribute to more than one candidate are permitted to contribute $5000 per candidate per election, and up to $15,000 to a national party. PACs created to give money to only one candidate are limited to only $2700 per candidate, however (Figure).“Contribution Limits for the 2015-2016 Federal Elections,” http://www.fec.gov/info/contriblimitschart1516.pdf (May 15, 2016). The amounts are adjusted every two years, based on inflation. These limits are intended to create a more equal playing field for the candidates, so that candidates must raise their campaign funds from a broad pool of contributors.
The Center for Responsive Politics reports donation amounts that are required by law to be disclosed to the Federal Elections Commission. One finding is that, counter to conventional wisdom, the vast majority of direct campaign contributions come from individual donors, not from PACs and political parties.
INCUMBENCY EFFECTS
Not surprisingly, the jungle of campaign financing regulations and loopholes is more easily navigated by incumbents in Congress than by newcomers. Incumbents are elected officials who currently hold an office. The amount of money they raise against their challengers demonstrates their advantage. In 2014, for example, the average Senate incumbent raised $12,144,933, whereas the average challenger raised only $1,223,566.“Incumbent Advantage,” http://www.opensecrets.org/overview/incumbs.php?cycle=2014 (May 15, 2016). This is one of the many reasons incumbents win a large majority of congressional races each electoral cycle. Incumbents attract more money because people want to give to a winner. In the House, the percentage of incumbents winning reelection has hovered between 85 and 100 percent for the last half century. In the Senate, there is only slightly more variation, given the statewide nature of the race, but it is still a very high majority of incumbents who win reelection (Figure). As these rates show, even in the worst political environments, incumbents are very difficult to defeat.
The historical difficulty of unseating an incumbent in the House or Senate is often referred to as the incumbent advantage or the incumbency effect. The advantage in financing is a huge part of this effect, but it is not the only important part. Incumbents often have a much higher level of name recognition. All things being equal, voters are far more likely to select the name of the person they recall seeing on television and hearing on the radio for the last few years than the name of a person they hardly know. And donors are more likely to want to give to a proven winner.
But more important is the way the party system itself privileges incumbents. A large percentage of congressional districts across the country are “safe seats” in uncompetitive districts, meaning candidates from a particular party are highly likely to consistently win the seat. This means the functional decision in these elections occurs during the primary, not in the general election. Political parties in general prefer to support incumbents in elections, because the general consensus is that incumbents are better candidates, and their record of success lends support to this conclusion. That said, while the political parties themselves to a degree control and regulate the primaries, popular individual candidates and challengers sometimes rule the day. This has especially been the case in recent years as conservative incumbents have been “primaried” by challengers more conservative than they.
The End of Incumbency Advantage?
At the start of 2014, House majority whip Eric Cantor, a representative from Virginia, was at the top of his game. He was handsome, popular with talk show hosts and powerful insiders, an impressive campaign fundraiser and speaker, and apparently destined to become Speaker of the House when the current speaker stepped down. Four months later, Cantor lost the opportunity to run for his own congressional seat in a shocking primary election upset that shook the Washington political establishment to its core.
What happened? How did such a powerful incumbent lose a game in which the cards had been stacked so heavily in his favor? Analyses of the stunning defeat quickly showed there were more chinks in Cantor’s polished armor than most wanted to admit. But his weakness wasn’t that he was unable to play the political game. Rather, he may have learned to play it too well. He became seen as too much of a Washington insider.
Cantor’s ambition, political skill, deep connections to political insiders, and ability to come out squeaky clean after even the dirtiest political tussling should have given him a clear advantage over any competitor. But in the political environment of 2014, when conservative voices around the country criticized the party for ignoring the people and catering to political insiders, his strengths became weaknesses. Indeed, Cantor was the only highest-level Republican representative sacrificed to conservative populism.
Were the winds of change blowing for incumbents? Between 1946 and 2012, only 5 percent of incumbent senators and 2 percent of House incumbents lost their party primaries.Larry J. Sabato, Kyle Kondik, and Geoffrey Skelley, “Long Odds for Most Senate Primary Challenges,” 30 January 2014, http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/articles/long-odds-for-most-senate-primary-challenges/ (May 1, 2016). In 2014, Cantor was one of four House incumbents who did so, while no incumbent senators suffered defeat. All evidence suggests the incumbent advantage, especially in the primary system, is alive and well. The story of Eric Cantor may very well be the classic case of an exception proving the rule.
If you are a challenger running against an incumbent, what are some strategies you could use to make the race competitive? Would Congress operate differently if challengers defeated incumbents more often?
Another reason incumbents wield a great advantage over their challengers is the state power they have at their disposal.David R. Mayhew. 1974. Congress: The Electoral Connection. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. One of the many responsibilities of a sitting congressperson is constituent casework. Constituents routinely reach out to their congressperson for powerful support to solve complex problems, such as applying for and tracking federal benefits or resolving immigration and citizenship challenges.R. Eric Petersen, “Casework in a Congressional Office: Background, Rules, Laws, and Resources,” 24 November 2014, https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL33209.pdf (May 1, 2016). Incumbent members of Congress have paid staff, influence, and access to specialized information that can help their constituents in ways other persons cannot. And congresspersons are hardly reticent about their efforts to support their constituents. Often, they will publicize their casework on their websites or, in some cases, create television advertisements that boast of their helpfulness. Election history has demonstrated that this form of publicity is very effective in garnering the support of voters.
LOCAL AND NATIONAL ELECTIONS
The importance of airing positive constituent casework during campaigns is a testament to the accuracy of saying, “All politics is local.” This phrase, attributed to former Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill (D-MA), essentially means that the most important motivations directing voters are rooted in local concerns. In general, this is true. People naturally feel more driven by the things that affect them on a daily basis. These are concerns like the quality of the roads, the availability of good jobs, and the cost and quality of public education. Good senators and representatives understand this and will seek to use their influence and power in office to affect these issues for the better. This is an age-old strategy for success in office and elections.
Political scientists have taken note of some voting patterns that appear to challenge this common assumption, however. In 1960, political scientist Angus Campbell proposed the surge-and-decline theory to explain these patterns.Angus Campbell. 1960. “Surge and Decline: A Study of Electoral Change.” The Public Opinion Quarterly 24, No. 3: 397–418. Campbell noticed that since the Civil War, with the exception of 1934, the president’s party has consistently lost seats in Congress during the midterm elections. He proposed that the reason was a surge in political stimulation during presidential elections, which contributes to greater turnout and brings in voters who are ordinarily less interested in politics. These voters, Campbell argued, tend to favor the party holding the presidency. In contrast, midterm elections witness the opposite effect. They are less stimulating and have lower turnout because less-interested voters stay home. This shift, in Campbell’s theory, provides an advantage to the party not currently occupying the presidency.
In the decades since Campbell’s influential theory was published, a number of studies have challenged his conclusions. Nevertheless, the pattern of midterm elections benefiting the president’s opposition has persisted.“Midterm congressional elections explained: Why the president’s party typically loses,” 1 October 2014, http://journalistsresource.org/studies/politics/elections/voting-patterns-midterm-congressional-elections-why-presidents-party-typically-loses (May 1, 2016). Only in exceptional years has this pattern been broken: first in 1998 during President Bill Clinton’s second term and the Monica Lewinsky scandal, when exit polls indicated most voters opposed the idea of impeaching the president, and then again in 2002, following the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the ensuing declaration of a “war on terror.”
The evidence does suggest that national concerns, rather than local ones, can function as powerful motivators at the polls. Consider, for example, the role of the Iraq War in bringing about a Democratic rout of the Republicans in the House in 2006 and in the Senate in 2008. Unlike previous wars in Europe and Vietnam, the war in Iraq was fought by a very small percentage of the population.“A Profile of the Modern Military,” 5 October 2011, http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2011/10/05/chapter-6-a-profile-of-the-modern-military/ (May 1, 2016). The vast majority of citizens were not soldiers, few had relatives fighting in the war, and most did not know anyone who directly suffered from the prolonged conflict. Voters in large numbers were motivated by the political and economic disaster of the war to vote for politicians they believed would end it (Figure).
Congressional elections may be increasingly driven by national issues. Just two decades ago, straight-ticket, party-line voting was still relatively rare across most of the country.Dhrumil Mehta and Harry Enten, “The 2014 Senate Elections Were the Most Nationalized In Decades,” 2 December 2014, http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/the-2014-senate-elections-were-the-most-nationalized-in-decades/ (May 1, 2016); Gregory Giroux, “Straight-Ticket Voting Rises As Parties Polarize,” Bloomberg, 29 November 2014, http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2014-11-29/straightticket-voting-rises-as-parties-polarize (May 1, 2016). In much of the South, which began to vote overwhelmingly Republican in presidential elections during the 1960s and 1970s, Democrats were still commonly elected to the House and Senate. The candidates themselves and the important local issues, apart from party affiliation, were important drivers in congressional elections. This began to change in the 1980s and 1990s, as Democratic representatives across the region began to dwindle. And the South isn’t alone; areas in the Northeast and the Northwest have grown increasingly Democratic. Indeed, the 2014 midterm election was the most nationalized election in many decades. Voters who favor a particular party in a presidential election are now much more likely to also support that same party in House and Senate elections than was the case just a few decades ago.
Summary
Since the House is closest to its constituents because reelection is so frequent a need, it tends to be more easily led by fleeting public desires. In contrast, the Senate’s distance from its constituents allows it to act more deliberately. Each type of representative, however, must raise considerable sums of money in order to stay in office. Attempts by Congress to rein in campaign spending have largely failed. Nevertheless, incumbents tend to have the easiest time funding campaigns and retaining their seats. They also benefit from the way parties organize primary elections, which are designed to promote incumbency.
Senate races tend to inspire ________.
- broad discussion of policy issues
- narrow discussion of specific policy issues
- less money than House races
- less media coverage than House races
The saying “All politics is local” roughly means ________.
- the local candidate will always win
- the local constituents want action on national issues
- the local constituents tend to care about things that affect them
- the act of campaigning always occurs at the local level where constituents are
Hint:
C
What does Campbell’s surge-and-decline theory suggest about the outcome of midterm elections?
Explain the factors that make it difficult to oust incumbents.
Hint:
Incumbents chase off would-be challengers because they are able to raise more money given that people want to back a winner and that voters know incumbents by name because they won the office in a previous election. The challengers who do take on incumbents typically lose soundly for the same reasons.
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Congressional Representation
Learning Objectives
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Explain the basics of representation
- Describe the extent to which Congress as a body represents the U.S. population
- Explain the concept of collective representation
- Describe the forces that influence congressional approval ratings
The tension between local and national politics described in the previous section is essentially a struggle between interpretations of representation. Representation is a complex concept. It can mean paying careful attention to the concerns of constituents, understanding that representatives must act as they see fit based on what they feel best for the constituency, or relying on the particular ethnic, racial, or gender diversity of those in office. In this section, we will explore three different models of representation and the concept of descriptive representation. We will look at the way members of Congress navigate the challenging terrain of representation as they serve, and all the many predictable and unpredictable consequences of the decisions they make.
TYPES OF REPRESENTATION: LOOKING OUT FOR CONSTITUENTS
By definition and title, senators and House members are representatives. This means they are intended to be drawn from local populations around the country so they can speak for and make decisions for those local populations, their constituents, while serving in their respective legislative houses. That is, representation refers to an elected leader’s looking out for his or her constituents while carrying out the duties of the office.Steven S. Smith. 1999. The American Congress. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.
Theoretically, the process of constituents voting regularly and reaching out to their representatives helps these congresspersons better represent them. It is considered a given by some in representative democracies that representatives will seldom ignore the wishes of constituents, especially on salient issues that directly affect the district or state. In reality, the job of representing in Congress is often quite complicated, and elected leaders do not always know where their constituents stand. Nor do constituents always agree on everything. Navigating their sometimes contradictory demands and balancing them with the demands of the party, powerful interest groups, ideological concerns, the legislative body, their own personal beliefs, and the country as a whole can be a complicated and frustrating process for representatives.
Traditionally, representatives have seen their role as that of a delegate, a trustee, or someone attempting to balance the two. A representative who sees him- or herself as a delegate believes he or she is empowered merely to enact the wishes of constituents. Delegates must employ some means to identify the views of their constituents and then vote accordingly. They are not permitted the liberty of employing their own reason and judgment while acting as representatives in Congress. This is the delegate model of representation.
In contrast, a representative who understands their role to be that of a trustee believes he or she is entrusted by the constituents with the power to use good judgment to make decisions on the constituents’ behalf. In the words of the eighteenth-century British philosopher Edmund Burke, who championed the trustee model of representation, “Parliament is not a congress of ambassadors from different and hostile interests . . . [it is rather] a deliberative assembly of one nation, with one interest, that of the whole.”Edmund Burke, “Speech to the Electors of Bristol,” 3 November 1774, http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/documents/v1ch13s7.html (May 1, 2016). In the modern setting, trustee representatives will look to party consensus, party leadership, powerful interests, the member’s own personal views, and national trends to better identify the voting choices they should make.
Understandably, few if any representatives adhere strictly to one model or the other. Instead, most find themselves attempting to balance the important principles embedded in each. Political scientists call this the politico model of representation. In it, members of Congress act as either trustee or delegate based on rational political calculations about who is best served, the constituency or the nation.
For example, every representative, regardless of party or conservative versus liberal leanings, must remain firm in support of some ideologies and resistant to others. On the political right, an issue that demands support might be gun rights; on the left, it might be a woman’s right to an abortion. For votes related to such issues, representatives will likely pursue a delegate approach. For other issues, especially complex questions the public at large has little patience for, such as subtle economic reforms, representatives will tend to follow a trustee approach. This is not to say their decisions on these issues run contrary to public opinion. Rather, it merely means they are not acutely aware of or cannot adequately measure the extent to which their constituents support or reject the proposals at hand. It could also mean that the issue is not salient to their constituents. Congress works on hundreds of different issues each year, and constituents are likely not aware of the particulars of most of them.
DESCRIPTIVE REPRESENTATION IN CONGRESS
In some cases, representation can seem to have very little to do with the substantive issues representatives in Congress tend to debate. Instead, proper representation for some is rooted in the racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, gender, and sexual identity of the representatives themselves. This form of representation is called descriptive representation.
At one time, there was relatively little concern about descriptive representation in Congress. A major reason is that until well into the twentieth century, white men of European background constituted an overwhelming majority of the voting population. African Americans were routinely deprived of the opportunity to participate in democracy, and Hispanics and other minority groups were fairly insignificant in number and excluded by the states. While women in many western states could vote sooner, all women were not able to exercise their right to vote nationwide until passage of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920, and they began to make up more than 5 percent of either chamber only in the 1990s.
Many advances in women’s rights have been the result of women’s greater engagement in politics and representation in the halls of government, especially since the founding of the National Organization for Women in 1966 and the National Women’s Political Caucus (NWPC) in 1971. The NWPC was formed by Bella Abzug (Figure), Gloria Steinem, Shirley Chisholm, and other leading feminists to encourage women’s participation in political parties, elect women to office, and raise money for their campaigns. For example, Patsy Mink (D-HI) (Figure), the first Asian American woman elected to Congress, was the coauthor of the Education Amendments Act of 1972, Title IX of which prohibits sex discrimination in education. Mink had been interested in fighting discrimination in education since her youth, when she opposed racial segregation in campus housing while a student at the University of Nebraska. She went to law school after being denied admission to medical school because of her gender. Like Mink, many other women sought and won political office, many with the help of the NWPC. Today, EMILY’s List, a PAC founded in 1985 to help elect pro-choice Democratic women to office, plays a major role in fundraising for female candidates. In the 2012 general election, 80 percent of the candidates endorsed by EMILY’s List won a seat.“Claire McCaskill, Emily’s List Celebrate Women’s Wins in 2012,” 14 November 2012, http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/11/claire-mccaskill-emilys-list-celebrate-womens-wins-in-2012/ (May 1, 2016).
In the wake of the Civil Rights Movement, African American representatives also began to enter Congress in increasing numbers. In 1971, to better represent their interests, these representatives founded the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), an organization that grew out of a Democratic select committee formed in 1969. Founding members of the CBC include John Conyers (D-MI), currently the longest-serving member of the House of Representatives, Charles Rangel (D-NY), and Shirley Chisholm, a founder of the NWPC and the first African American woman to be elected to the House of Representatives (Figure).
In recent decades, Congress has become much more descriptively representative of the United States. The 114th Congress, which began in January 2015, had a historically large percentage of racial and ethnic minorities. African Americans made up the largest percentage, with forty-eight members, while Latinos accounted for thirty-two members, up from nineteen just over a decade before.Jennifer E. Manning, “Membership of the 114th Congress: A Profile,” 1 December 2015, http://www.senate.gov/CRSReports/crs-publish.cfm?pid=%260BL*RLC2%0A (May 15, 2016); “The Congressional Hispanic Caucus and Conference,” http://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/HAIC/Historical-Essays/Strength-Numbers/Caucus-Conference/ (May 15, 2016). Yet, demographically speaking, Congress as a whole is still a long way from where the country is and remains largely white, male, and wealthy. For example, although more than half the U.S. population is female, only 20 percent of Congress is. Congress is also overwhelmingly Christian (Figure).
REPRESENTING CONSTITUENTS
Ethnic, racial, gender, or ideological identity aside, it is a representative’s actions in Congress that ultimately reflect his or her understanding of representation. Congress members’ most important function as lawmakers is writing, supporting, and passing bills. And as representatives of their constituents, they are charged with addressing those constituents’ interests. Historically, this job has included what some have affectionately called “bringing home the bacon” but what many (usually those outside the district in question) call pork-barrel politics. As a term and a practice, pork-barrel politics—federal spending on projects designed to benefit a particular district or set of constituents—has been around since the nineteenth century, when barrels of salt pork were both a sign of wealth and a system of reward. While pork-barrel politics are often deplored during election campaigns, and earmarks—funds appropriated for specific projects—are no longer permitted in Congress (see feature box below), legislative control of local appropriations nevertheless still exists. In more formal language, allocation, or the influencing of the national budget in ways that help the district or state, can mean securing funds for a specific district’s project like an airport, or getting tax breaks for certain types of agriculture or manufacturing.
Language and Metaphor
The language and metaphors of war and violence are common in politics. Candidates routinely “smell blood in the water,” “battle for delegates,” go “head-to-head,” “cripple” their opponent, and “make heads roll.” But references to actual violence aren’t the only metaphorical devices commonly used in politics. Another is mentions of food. Powerful speakers frequently “throw red meat to the crowds;” careful politicians prefer to stick to “meat-and-potato issues;” and representatives are frequently encouraged by their constituents to “bring home the bacon.” And the way members of Congress typically “bring home the bacon” is often described with another agricultural metaphor, the “earmark.”
In ranching, an earmark is a small cut on the ear of a cow or other animal to denote ownership. Similarly, in Congress, an earmark is a mark in a bill that directs some of the bill’s funds to be spent on specific projects or for specific tax exemptions. Since the 1980s, the earmark has become a common vehicle for sending money to various projects around the country. Many a road, hospital, and airport can trace its origins back to a few skillfully drafted earmarks.
Relatively few people outside Congress had ever heard of the term before the 2008 presidential election, when Republican nominee Senator John McCain touted his career-long refusal to use the earmark as a testament to his commitment to reforming spending habits in Washington.“Statement by John McCain on Banning Earmarks,” 13 March 2008, http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=90739 (May 15, 2016); “Press Release - John McCain’s Economic Plan,” 15 April 2008, http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=94082 (May 15, 2016). McCain’s criticism of the earmark as a form of corruption cast a shadow over a previously common legislative practice. As the country sank into recession and Congress tried to use spending bills to stimulate the economy, the public grew more acutely aware of its earmarking habits. Congresspersons then were eager to distance themselves from the practice. In fact, the use of earmarks to encourage Republicans to help pass health care reform actually made the bill less popular with the public.
In 2011, after Republicans took over the House, they outlawed earmarks. But with deadlocks and stalemates becoming more common, some quiet voices have begun asking for a return to the practice. They argue that Congress works because representatives can satisfy their responsibilities to their constituents by making deals. The earmarks are those deals. By taking them away, Congress has hampered its own ability to “bring home the bacon.”
Are earmarks a vital part of legislating or a corrupt practice that was rightly jettisoned? Pick a cause or industry, and investigate whether any earmarks ever favored it, or research the way earmarks have hurt or helped your state or district, and decide for yourself.
Follow-up activity: Find out where your congressional representative stands on the ban on earmarks and write to support or dissuade him or her.
Such budgetary allocations aren’t always looked upon favorably by constituents. Consider, for example, the passage of the ACA in 2010. The desire for comprehensive universal health care had been a driving position of the Democrats since at least the 1960s. During the 2008 campaign, that desire was so great among both Democrats and Republicans that both parties put forth plans. When the Democrats took control of Congress and the presidency in 2009, they quickly began putting together their plan. Soon, however, the politics grew complex, and the proposed plan became very contentious for the Republican Party.
Nevertheless, the desire to make good on a decades-old political promise compelled Democrats to do everything in their power to pass something. They offered sympathetic members of the Republican Party valuable budgetary concessions; they attempted to include allocations they hoped the opposition might feel compelled to support; and they drafted the bill in a purposely complex manner to avoid future challenges. These efforts, however, had the opposite effect. The Republican Party’s constituency interpreted the allocations as bribery and the bill as inherently flawed, and felt it should be scrapped entirely. The more Democrats dug in, the more frustrated the Republicans became (Figure).
The Republican opposition, which took control of the House during the 2010 midterm elections, promised constituents they would repeal the law. Their attempts were complicated, however, by the fact that Democrats still held the Senate and the presidency. Yet, the desire to represent the interests of their constituents compelled Republicans to use another tool at their disposal, the symbolic vote. During the 112th and 113th Congresses, Republicans voted more than sixty times to either repeal or severely limit the reach of the law. They understood these efforts had little to no chance of ever making it to the president’s desk. And if they did, he would certainly have vetoed them. But it was important for these representatives to demonstrate to their constituents that they understood their wishes and were willing to act on them.
Historically, representatives have been able to balance their role as members of a national legislative body with their role as representatives of a smaller community. The Obamacare fight, however, gave a boost to the growing concern that the power structure in Washington divides representatives from the needs of their constituency.Kathleen Parker, “Health-Care Reform’s Sickeningly Sweet Deals,” The Washington Post, 10 March 2010, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/09/AR2010030903068.html (May 1, 2016); Dana Milbank, “Sweeteners for the South,” The Washington Post, 22 November 2009, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/21/AR2009112102272.html (May 1, 2016); Jeffry H. Anderson, “Nebraska’s Dark-Horse Candidate and the Cornhusker Kickback,” The Weekly Standard, 4 May 2014. This has exerted pressure on representatives to the extent that some now pursue a more straightforward delegate approach to representation. Indeed, following the 2010 election, a handful of Republicans began living in their offices in Washington, convinced that by not establishing a residence in Washington, they would appear closer to their constituents at home.Phil Hirschkorn and Wyatt Andrews, “One-Fifth of House Freshmen Sleep in Offices,” CBS News, 22 January 2011, http://www.cbsnews.com/news/one-fifth-of-house-freshmen-sleep-in-offices/ (May 1, 2016).
COLLECTIVE REPRESENTATION AND CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL
The concept of collective representation describes the relationship between Congress and the United States as a whole. That is, it considers whether the institution itself represents the American people, not just whether a particular member of Congress represents his or her district. Predictably, it is far more difficult for Congress to maintain a level of collective representation than it is for individual members of Congress to represent their own constituents. Not only is Congress a mixture of different ideologies, interests, and party affiliations, but the collective constituency of the United States has an even-greater level of diversity. Nor is it a solution to attempt to match the diversity of opinions and interests in the United States with those in Congress. Indeed, such an attempt would likely make it more difficult for Congress to maintain collective representation. Its rules and procedures require Congress to use flexibility, bargaining, and concessions. Yet, it is this flexibility and these concessions, which many now interpret as corruption, that tend to engender the high public disapproval ratings experienced by Congress.
After many years of deadlocks and bickering on Capitol Hill, the national perception of Congress is near an all-time low. According to Gallup polls, Congress has a stunningly poor approval rating of about 16 percent. This is unusual even for a body that has rarely enjoyed a high approval rating. For example, for nearly two decades following the Watergate scandal in the early 1970s, the national approval rating of Congress hovered between 30 and 40 percent.“Congress and the Public,” http://www.gallup.com/poll/1600/congress-public.aspx (May 15, 2016).
Yet, incumbent reelections have remained largely unaffected. The reason has to do with the remarkable ability of many in the United States to separate their distaste for Congress from their appreciation for their own representative. Paradoxically, this tendency to hate the group but love one’s own representative actually perpetuates the problem of poor congressional approval ratings. The reason is that it blunts voters’ natural desire to replace those in power who are earning such low approval ratings.
As decades of polling indicate, few events push congressional approval ratings above 50 percent. Indeed, when the ratings are graphed, the two noticeable peaks are at 57 percent in 1998 and 84 percent in 2001 (Figure). In 1998, according to Gallup polling, the rise in approval accompanied a similar rise in other mood measures, including President Bill Clinton’s approval ratings and general satisfaction with the state of the country and the economy. In 2001, approval spiked after the September 11 terrorist attacks and the Bush administration launched the "War on Terror," sending troops first to Afghanistan and later to Iraq. War has the power to bring majorities of voters to view their Congress and president in an overwhelmingly positive way.“Congress and the Public,” http://www.gallup.com/poll/1600/congress-public.aspx (May 15, 2016).
Nevertheless, all things being equal, citizens tend to rate Congress more highly when things get done and more poorly when things do not get done. For example, during the first half of President Obama’s first term, Congress’s approval rating reached a relative high of about 40 percent. Both houses were dominated by members of the president’s own party, and many people were eager for Congress to take action to end the deep recession and begin to repair the economy. Millions were suffering economically, out of work, or losing their jobs, and the idea that Congress was busy passing large stimulus packages, working on finance reform, and grilling unpopular bank CEOs and financial titans appealed to many. Approval began to fade as the Republican Party slowed the wheels of Congress during the tumultuous debates over Obamacare and reached a low of 9 percent following the federal government shutdown in October 2013.
One of the events that began the approval rating’s downward trend was Congress’s divisive debate over national deficits. A deficit is what results when Congress spends more than it has available. It then conducts additional deficit spending by increasing the national debt. Many modern economists contend that during periods of economic decline, the nation should run deficits, because additional government spending has a stimulative effect that can help restart a sluggish economy. Despite this benefit, voters rarely appreciate deficits. They see Congress as spending wastefully during a time when they themselves are cutting costs to get by.
The disconnect between the common public perception of running a deficit and its legitimate policy goals is frequently exploited for political advantage. For example, while running for the presidency in 2008, Barack Obama slammed the deficit spending of the George W. Bush presidency, saying it was “unpatriotic.” This sentiment echoed complaints Democrats had been issuing for years as a weapon against President Bush’s policies. Following the election of President Obama and the Democratic takeover of the Senate, the concern over deficit spending shifted parties, with Republicans championing a spendthrift policy as a way of resisting Democratic policies.
Find your representative at the U.S. House website and then explore his or her website and social media accounts to see whether the issues on which your representative spends time are the ones you think are most appropriate.
Summary
Some representatives follow the delegate model of representation, acting on the expressed wishes of their constituents, whereas others take a trustee model approach, acting on what they believe is in their constituents’ best interests. However, most representatives combine the two approaches and apply each as political circumstances demand. The standard method by which representatives have shown their fidelity to their constituents, namely “bringing home the bacon” of favorable budget allocations, has come to be interpreted as a form of corruption, or pork-barrel politics.
Representation can also be considered in other ways. Descriptive representation is the level at which Congress reflects the nation’s constituents in terms of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and socioeconomic status. Collective representation is the extent to which the institutional body of Congress represents the population as a whole. Despite the incumbency advantage and high opinion many hold of their own legislators, Congress rarely earns an approval rating above 40 percent, and for a number of years the rating has been well below 20 percent.
A congressperson who pursued a strict delegate model of representation would seek to ________.
- legislate in the way he or she believed constituents wanted, regardless of the anticipated outcome
- legislate in a way that carefully considered the circumstances and issue so as to reach a solution that is best for everyone
- legislate in a way that is best for the nation regardless of the costs for the constituents
- legislate in the way that he or she thinks is best for the constituents
The increasing value constituents have placed on descriptive representation in Congress has had the effect of ________.
- increasing the sensitivity representatives have to their constituents demands
- decreasing the rate at which incumbents are elected
- increasing the number of minority members in Congress
- decreasing the number of majority minority districts
Hint:
C
How has the growing interpretation of earmarks and other budget allocations as corruption influenced the way congresspersons work?
What does polling data suggest about the events that trigger exceptionally high congressional approval ratings?
Hint:
The peaks of congressional approval ratings have each occurred when the United States began military involvements overseas. This suggests that the start of a foreign war is one of the few things that triggers a positive reevaluation of Congress.
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House and Senate Organizations
Learning Objectives
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Explain the division of labor in the House and in the Senate
- Describe the way congressional committees develop and advance legislation
Not all the business of Congress involves bickering, political infighting, government shutdowns, and Machiavellian maneuvering. Congress does actually get work done. Traditionally, it does this work in a very methodical way. In this section, we will explore how Congress functions at the leadership and committee levels. We will learn how the party leadership controls their conferences and how the many committees within Congress create legislation that can then be moved forward or die on the floor.
PARTY LEADERSHIP
The party leadership in Congress controls the actions of Congress. Leaders are elected by the two-party conferences in each chamber. In the House of Representatives, these are the House Democratic Conference and the House Republican Conference. These conferences meet regularly and separately not only to elect their leaders but also to discuss important issues and strategies for moving policy forward. Based on the number of members in each conference, one conference becomes the majority conference and the other becomes the minority conference. Independents like Senator Bernie Sanders will typically join one or the other major party conference, as a matter of practicality and often based on ideological affinity. Without the membership to elect their own leadership, independents would have a very difficult time getting things done in Congress unless they had a relationship with the leaders.
Despite the power of the conferences, however, the most important leadership position in the House is actually elected by the entire body of representatives. This position is called the Speaker of the House and is the only House officer mentioned in the Constitution. The Constitution does not require the Speaker to be a member of the House, although to date, all fifty-four Speakers have been. The Speaker is the presiding officer, the administrative head of the House, the partisan leader of the majority party in the House, and an elected representative of a single congressional district (Figure). As a testament to the importance of the Speaker, since 1947, the holder of this position has been second in line to succeed the president in an emergency, after the vice president.
The Speaker serves until his or her party loses, or until he or she is voted out of the position or chooses to step down. Republican Speaker John Boehner became the latest Speaker to walk away from the position when it appeared his position was in jeopardy. This event shows how the party conference (or caucus) oversees the leadership as much as, if not more than, the leadership oversees the party membership in the chamber. The Speaker is invested with quite a bit of power, such as the ability to assign bills to committees and decide when a bill will be presented to the floor for a vote. The Speaker also rules on House procedures, often delegating authority for certain duties to other members. He or she appoints members and chairs to committees, creates select committees to fulfill a specific purpose and then disband, and can even select a member to be speaker pro tempore, who acts as Speaker in the Speaker’s absence. Finally, when the Senate joins the House in a joint session, the Speaker presides over these sessions, because they are usually held in the House of Representatives.
Below the Speaker, the majority and minority conferences each elect two leadership positions arranged in hierarchical order. At the top of the hierarchy are the floor leaders of each party. These are generally referred to as the majority and minority leaders. The minority leader has a visible if not always a powerful position. As the official leader of the opposition, he or she technically holds the rank closest to that of the Speaker, makes strategy decisions, and attempts to keep order within the minority. However, the majority rules the day in the House, like a cartel. On the majority side, because it holds the speakership, the majority leader also has considerable power. Historically, moreover, the majority leader tends to be in the best position to assume the speakership when the current Speaker steps down.
Below these leaders are the two party’s respective whips. A whip’s job, as the name suggests, is to whip up votes and otherwise enforce party discipline. Whips make the rounds in Congress, telling members the position of the leadership and the collective voting strategy, and sometimes they wave various carrots and sticks in front of recalcitrant members to bring them in line. The remainder of the leadership positions in the House include a handful of chairs and assistantships.
Like the House, the Senate also has majority and minority leaders and whips, each with duties very similar to those of their counterparts in the House. Unlike the House, however, the Senate doesn’t have a Speaker. The duties and powers held by the Speaker in the House fall to the majority leader in the Senate. Another difference is that, according to the U.S. Constitution, the Senate’s president is actually the elected vice president of the United States, but he or she may vote only in case of a tie. Apart from this and very few other exceptions, the president of the Senate does not actually operate in the Senate. Instead, the Constitution allows for the Senate to choose a president pro tempore—usually the most senior senator of the majority party—who presides over the Senate. Despite the title, the job is largely a formal and powerless role. The real power in the Senate is in the hands of the majority leader (Figure) and the minority leader. Like the Speaker of the House, the majority leader is the chief spokesperson for the majority party, but unlike in the House he or she does not run the floor alone. Because of the traditions of unlimited debate and the filibuster, the majority and minority leaders often occupy the floor together in an attempt to keep things moving along. At times, their interactions are intense and partisan, but for the Senate to get things done, they must cooperate to get the sixty votes needed to run this super-majority legislative institution.
THE COMMITTEE SYSTEM
With 535 members in Congress and a seemingly infinite number of domestic, international, economic, agricultural, regulatory, criminal, and military issues to deal with at any given moment, the two chambers must divide their work based on specialization. Congress does this through the committee system. Specialized committees (or subcommittees) in both the House and the Senate are where bills originate and most of the work that sets the congressional agenda takes place. Committees are roughly approximate to a bureaucratic department in the executive branch. There are well over two hundred committees, subcommittees, select committees, and joint committees in the Congress. The core committees are called standing committees. There are twenty standing committees in the House and sixteen in the Senate (Table).
| Congressional Standing and Permanent Select Committees | |
|---|---|
| House of Representatives | Senate |
| Agriculture | Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry |
| Appropriations | Appropriations |
| Armed Services | Armed Services |
| Budget | Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs |
| Education and the Workforce | Budget |
| Energy and Commerce | Commerce, Science, and Transportation |
| Ethics | Energy and Natural Resources |
| Financial Services | Environment and Public Works |
| Foreign Affairs | Ethics (select) |
| Homeland Security | Finance |
| House Administration | Foreign Relations |
| Intelligence (select) | Health, Education, Labor and Pensions |
| Judiciary | Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs |
| Natural Resources | Indian Affairs (select) |
| Oversight and Government Reform | Intelligence (select) |
| Rules | Judiciary |
| Science, Space, and Technology | Rules and Administration |
| Small Business | Small Business and Entrepreneurship |
| Transportation and Infrastructure | Veterans’ Affairs |
| Veterans’ Affairs | |
| Ways and Means |
Members of both parties compete for positions on various committees. These positions are typically filled by majority and minority members to roughly approximate the ratio of majority to minority members in the respective chambers, although committees are chaired by members of the majority party. Committees and their chairs have a lot of power in the legislative process, including the ability to stop a bill from going to the floor (the full chamber) for a vote. Indeed, most bills die in committee. But when a committee is eager to develop legislation, it takes a number of methodical steps. It will reach out to relevant agencies for comment on resolutions to the problem at hand, such as by holding hearings with experts to collect information. In the Senate, committee hearings are also held to confirm presidential appointments (Figure). After the information has been collected, the committee meets to discuss amendments and legislative language. Finally, the committee will send the bill to the full chamber along with a committee report. The report provides the majority opinion about why the bill should be passed, a minority view to the contrary, and estimates of the proposed law’s cost and impact.
Four types of committees exist in the House and the Senate. The first is the standing, or permanent, committee. This committee is the first call for proposed bills, fewer than 10 percent of which are reported out of committee to the floor. The second type is the joint committee. Joint committee members are appointed from both the House and the Senate, and are charged with exploring a few key issues, such as the economy and taxation. However, joint committees have no bill-referral authority whatsoever—they are informational only. A conference committee is used to reconcile different bills passed in both the House and the Senate. The conference committees are appointed on an ad hoc basis as necessary when a bill passes the House and Senate in different forms. Finally, ad hoc, special, or select committees are temporary committees set up to address specific topics. These types of committees often conduct special investigations, such as on aging or ethics.
Committee hearings can become politically driven public spectacles. Consider the House Select Committee on Benghazi, the committee assembled by Republicans to further investigate the 2011 attacks on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya. This prolonged investigation became particularly partisan as Republicans trained their guns on then-secretary of state Hillary Clinton, who was running for the presidency at the time. In two multi-hour hearings in which Secretary Clinton was the only witness, Republicans tended to grandstand in the hopes of gaining political advantage or tripping her up, while Democrats tended to use their time to ridicule Republicans (Figure).Amy Davidson, “The Hillary Hearing,” The New Yorker, 2 November 2015; David A. Graham, “What Conservative Media Say About the Benghazi Hearing,” The Atlantic, 23 October 2015. In the end, the long hearings uncovered little more than the elevated state of partisanship in the House, which had scarcely been a secret before.
Members of Congress bring to their roles a variety of specific experiences, interests, and levels of expertise, and try to match these to committee positions. For example, House members from states with large agricultural interests will typically seek positions on the Agriculture Committee. Senate members with a background in banking or finance may seek positions on the Senate Finance Committee. Members can request these positions from their chambers’ respective leadership, and the leadership also selects the committee chairs.
Committee chairs are very powerful. They control the committee’s budget and choose when the committee will meet, when it will hold hearings, and even whether it will consider a bill (Figure). A chair can convene a meeting when members of the minority are absent or adjourn a meeting when things are not progressing as the majority leadership wishes. Chairs can hear a bill even when the rest of the committee objects. They do not remain in these powerful positions indefinitely, however. In the House, rules prevent committee chairs from serving more than six consecutive years and from serving as the chair of a subcommittee at the same time. A senator may serve only six years as chair of a committee but may, in some instances, also serve as a chair or ranking member of another committee.
Because the Senate is much smaller than the House, senators hold more committee assignments than House members. There are sixteen standing committees in the Senate, and each position must be filled. In contrast, in the House, with 435 members and only twenty standing committees, committee members have time to pursue a more in-depth review of a policy. House members historically defer to the decisions of committees, while senators tend to view committee decisions as recommendations, often seeking additional discussion that could lead to changes.
Take a look at the scores of committees in the House and Senate. The late House Speaker Tip O’Neill once quipped that if you didn’t know a new House member’s name, you could just call him Mr. Chairperson.
Summary
The leader of the House is the Speaker, who also typically the leader of the majority party. In the Senate, the leader is called the majority leader. The minorities in each chamber also have leaders who help create and act on party strategies. The majority leadership in each chamber controls the important committees where legislature is written, amended, and prepared for the floor.
House leaders are more powerful than Senate leaders because of ________.
- the majoritarian nature of the House—a majority can run it like a cartel
- the larger size of the House
- the constitutional position of the House
- the State of the Union address being delivered in the House chamber
A select committee is different from a standing committee because ________.
- a select committee includes member of both chambers, while a standing committee includes only members of the House
- a select committee is used for bill reconciliation, while a standing committee is used for prosecutions
- a select committee must stay in session, while a standing committee goes to recess
- a select committee is convened for a specific and temporary purpose, while a standing committee is permanent
Hint:
D
Explain how the committees demonstrate a division of labor in Congress based on specialization.
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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/15252/overview
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The Legislative Process
Learning Objectives
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Explain the steps in the classic bill-becomes-law diagram
- Describe the modern legislative processes that alter the classic process in some way
A dry description of the function of congressional leadership and the many committees and subcommittees in Congress may suggest that the drafting and amending of legislation is a finely tuned process that has become ever more refined over the course of the last few centuries. In reality, however, committees are more likely to kill legislation than to pass it. And the last few decades have seen a dramatic transformation in the way Congress does business. Creative interpretations of rules and statues have turned small loopholes into the large gateways through which much congressional work now gets done. In this section, we will explore both the traditional legislative route by which a bill becomes a law and the modern incarnation of the process. We will also learn how and why the transformation occurred.
THE CLASSIC LEGISLATIVE PROCESS
The traditional process by which a bill becomes a law is called the classic legislative process. First, legislation must be drafted. Theoretically, anyone can do this. Much successful legislation has been initially drafted by someone who is not a member of Congress, such as a think tank or advocacy group, or the president. However, Congress is under no obligation to read or introduce this legislation, and only a bill introduced by a member of Congress can hope to become law. Even the president must rely on legislators to introduce his or her legislative agenda.
Technically, bills that raise revenue, like tax bills, must begin in the House. This exception is encoded within the Constitution in Article I, Section 7, which states, “All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments as on other Bills.” Yet, despite the seemingly clear language of the Constitution, Congress has found ways to get around this rule.
Once legislation has been proposed, however, the majority leadership consults with the parliamentarian about which committee to send it to. Each chamber has a parliamentarian, an advisor, typically a trained lawyer, who has studied the long and complex rules of the chamber. While Congress typically follows the advice of its parliamentarians, it is not obligated to, and the parliamentarian has no power to enforce his or her interpretation of the rules. Once a committee has been selected, the committee chair is empowered to move the bill through the committee process as he or she sees fit. This occasionally means the chair will refer the bill to one of the committee’s subcommittees.
Whether at the full committee level or in one of the subcommittees, the next step is typically to hold a hearing on the bill. If the chair decides to not hold a hearing, this is tantamount to killing the bill in committee. The hearing provides an opportunity for the committee to hear and evaluate expert opinions on the bill or aspects of it. Experts typically include officials from the agency that would be responsible for executing the bill, the bill’s sponsors from Congress, and industry lobbyists, interest groups, and academic experts from a variety of relevant fields. Typically, the committee will also accept written statements from the public concerning the bill in question. For many bills, the hearing process can be very routine and straightforward.
Once hearings have been completed, the bill enters the markup stage. This is essentially an amending and voting process. In the end, with or without amendments, the committee or subcommittee will vote. If the committee decides not to advance the bill at that time, it is tabled. Tabling a bill typically means the bill is dead, but there is still an option to bring it back up for a vote again. If the committee decides to advance the bill, however, it is printed and goes to the chamber, either the House or the Senate. For the sake of example, we will assume that a bill goes first to the House (although the reverse could be true, and, in fact, bills can move simultaneously through both chambers). Before it reaches the House floor, it must first go through the House Committee on Rules. This committee establishes the rules of debate, such as time limits and limits on the number and type of amendments. After these rules have been established, the bill moves through the floor, where it is debated and amendments can be added. Once the limits of debate and amendments have been reached, the House holds a vote. If a simple majority, 50 percent plus 1, votes to advance the bill, it moves out of the House and into the Senate.
Once in the Senate, the bill is placed on the calendar so it can be debated. Or, more typically, the Senate will also consider the bill (or a companion version) in its own committees. Since the Senate is much smaller than the House, it can afford to be much more flexible in its rules for debate. Typically, senators allow each other to talk and debate as long as the speaker wants, though they can agree as a body to create time limits. But without these limits, debate continues until a motion to table has been offered and voted on.
This flexibility about speaking in the Senate gave rise to a unique tactic, the filibuster. The word “filibuster” comes from the Dutch word vrijbuiter, which means pirate. And the name is appropriate, since a senator who launches a filibuster virtually hijacks the floor of the chamber by speaking for long periods of time, thus preventing the Senate from closing debate and acting on a bill. The tactic was perfected in the 1850s as Congress wrestled with the complicated issue of slavery. After the Civil War, the use of the filibuster became even more common. Eventually, in 1917, the Senate passed Rule 22, which allowed the chamber to hold a cloture vote to end debate. To invoke cloture, the Senate had to get a two-thirds majority. This was difficult to do, but it generally did prevent anyone from hijacking the Senate floor, with the salient exception of Senator Strom Thurmond’s record twenty-four-hour filibuster of the Civil Rights Act.
In 1975, after the heightened partisanship of the civil rights era, the Senate further weakened the filibuster by reducing the number needed for cloture from two-thirds to three-fifths, or sixty votes, where it remains today (except for judicial nominations for which only fifty-five votes are needed to invoke cloture). Moreover, filibusters are not permitted on the annual budget reconciliation act (the Reconciliation Act of 2010 was the act under which the implementing legislation for Obamacare was passed).
The Noble History of the Filibuster?
When most people think of the Senate filibuster, they probably picture actor Jimmy Stewart standing exasperated at a podium and demanding the Senate come to its senses and do the right thing. Even for those not familiar with the classic Frank Capra film Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, the image of a heroic single senator sanding up to the power of the entire chamber while armed only with oratorical skill naturally tends to inspire. Unfortunately, the history of the filibuster is less heartwarming.
This is not to say that noble causes haven’t been championed by filibustering senators; they most certainly have. But they have largely been overshadowed by the outright ridiculous and sometimes racist filibusters of the twentieth century. In the first category, the fifteen-and-a-half-hour marathon of Senator Huey Long of Louisiana stands out: Hoping to retain the need for Senate confirmation of some jobs he wanted to keep from his political enemies, Long spent much of his filibuster analyzing the Constitution, talking about his favorite recipes, and telling amusing stories, as was his custom.
In a defining moment for the filibuster, Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina spoke for twenty-four hours and eighteen minutes against a weak civil rights bill in 1957. A vocal proponent of segregation and white supremacy, Thurmond had made no secret of his views and had earlier run for the presidency on a segregationist platform. Nor was Thurmond the first to use the filibuster to preserve segregation and prevent the expansion of civil rights for African Americans. Groups of dedicated southern senators used the filibuster to prevent the passage of anti-lynching legislation on multiple occasions during the first half of the twentieth century. Later, when faced with the 1964 Civil Rights Act, southern senators staged a fifty-seven-day filibuster to try and kill it. But the momentum of the nation was against them. The bill passed over their obstructionism and helped to reduce segregation.
Is the filibuster the tool of the noble minority attempting to hold back the tide of a powerful minority? Or does its history as a weapon supporting segregation expose it as merely a tactic of obstruction?
Because both the House and the Senate can and often do amend bills, the bills that pass out of each chamber frequently look different. This presents a problem, since the Constitution requires that both chambers pass identical bills. One simple solution is for the first chamber to simply accept the bill that ultimately makes it out of the second chamber. Another solution is for first chamber to further amend the second chamber’s bill and send it back to the second chamber. Congress typically takes one of these two options, but about one in every eight bills cannot be resolved in this way. These bills must be sent to a conference committee that negotiates a reconciliation both chambers can accept without amendment. Only then can the bill progress to the president’s desk for signature or veto. If the president does veto the bill, both chambers must muster a two-thirds vote to overcome the veto and force the president to sign it. If the two-thirds threshold in each chamber cannot be reached, the bill dies (Figure).
For one look at the classic legislative process, visit YouTube to view “I’m Just a Bill” from the ABC Schoolhouse Rock! series.
MODERN LEGISLATION IS DIFFERENT
For much of the nation’s history, the process described above was the standard method by which a bill became a law. Over the course of the last three and a half decades, however, changes in rules and procedure have created a number of alternate routes. Collectively, these different routes constitute what some political scientists have described as a new but unorthodox legislative process. According to political scientist Barbara Sinclair, the primary trigger for the shift away from the classic legislative route was the budget reforms of the 1970s. The 1974 Budget and Impoundment Control Act gave Congress a mechanism for making large, all-encompassing, budget decisions. In the years that followed, the budget process gradually became the vehicle for creating comprehensive policy changes. One large step in this transformation occurred in 1981 when President Ronald Reagan’s administration suggested using the budget to push through his economic reforms.
The benefit of attaching the reforms to the budget resolution was that Congress could force an up or down (yea or nay) vote on the whole package. Such a packaged bill is called an omnibus bill.Glen S. Krutz. 2001. Hitching a Ride: Omnibus Legislating in the U.S. Congress. Columbus, OH: Ohio State University Press. Creating and voting for an omnibus bill allows Congress to quickly accomplish policy changes that would have taken many votes and the expending of great political capital over a long period of time. This and successive similar uses of the budget process convinced many in Congress of the utility of this strategy. During the contentious and ideologically divided 1990s, the budget process became the common problem-solving mechanism in the legislature, thus laying the groundwork for the way legislation works today.
An important characteristic feature of modern legislating is the greatly expanded power and influence of the party leadership over the control of bills. One reason for this change was the heightened partisanship that stretches back to the 1980s and is still with us today. With such high political stakes, the party leadership is reluctant to simply allow the committees to work things out on their own. In the House, the leadership uses special rules to guide bills through the legislative process and toward a particular outcome. Uncommon just a few decades ago, these now widely used rules restrict debate and options, and are designed to focus the attention of members.
The practice of multiple referrals, with which entire bills or portions of those bills are referred to more than one committee, greatly weakened the different specialization monopolies committees held primarily in the House but also to an extent in the Senate. With less control over the bills, committees naturally reached out to the leadership for assistance. Indeed, as a testament to its increasing control, the leadership may sometimes avoid committees altogether, preferring to work things out on the floor. And even when bills move through the committees, the leadership often seeks to adjust the legislation before it reaches the floor.
Another feature of the modern legislative process, exclusively in the Senate, is the application of the modern filibuster. Unlike the traditional filibuster, in which a senator took the floor and held it for as long as possible, the modern filibuster is actually a perversion of the cloture rules adopted to control the filibuster. When partisanship is high, as it has been frequently, the senators can request cloture before any bill can get a vote. This has the effect of increasing the number of votes needed for a bill to advance from a simple majority of fifty-one to a super majority of sixty. The effect is to give the Senate minority great power to obstruct if it is inclined to do so.
The Library of Congress’s Thomas website has provided scholars, citizens, and media with a bounty of readily available data on members and bills for more than two decades.
Summary
In the classic legislative process, bills are introduced and sent to the appropriate committee. Within the committees, hearings are held and the bill is debated and ultimately sent to the floor of the chamber. On the floor, the bill is debated and amended until passed or voted down. If passed, it moves to the second chamber where the debating and amending begins anew. Eventually, if the bill makes it that far, the two chambers meet in a joint committee to reconcile what are now two different bills. Over the last few decades, however, Congress has adopted a very different process whereby large pieces of legislation covering many different items are passed through the budgeting process. This method has had the effect of further empowering the leadership, to the detriment of the committees. The modern legislative process has also been affected by the increasing number of filibuster threats in the Senate and the use of cloture to forestall them.
Stopping a filibuster requires that ________.
- a majority of senators agree on the bill
- the speaker steps away from the podium
- the chamber votes for cloture
- the Speaker or majority leader intervenes
Hint:
C
Saying a bill is being marked up is just another way to say it is being ________.
- tabled
- neglected
- vetoed
- amended
The key means of advancing modern legislation is now ________.
- committees
- the actions of the leadership
- the budget process
- the filibuster
Hint:
C
Briefly explain the difference between the classic model of legislating and the modern process.
The framers of the Constitution designed the Senate to filter the output of the sometimes hasty House. Do you think this was a wise idea? Why or why not?
Congress has consistently expanded its own power to regulate commerce among and between the states. Should Congress have this power or should the Supreme Court reel it in? Why?
What does the trend toward descriptive representation suggest about what constituents value in their legislature? How might Congress overcome the fact that such representation does not always best serve constituents’ interests?
What factors contributed most to the transformation away from the classic legislative process and toward the new style?
Books:
Binder, Sarah A. 1997. Minority Rights, Majority Rule: Partisanship and the Development of Congress. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Davidson, Roger H. and Walter J. Oleszek. 1981. Congress and Its Members. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly Press.
Dodd, Lawrence C. and Bruce Ian Oppenheimer. 1981. Congress Reconsidered. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly Press.
Hofstadter, Richard. 1965. The Paranoid Style in American Politics, and Other Essays. New York: Knopf.
Mann, Thomas E. and Norman J. Ornstein. 2012. It’s Even Worse Than It Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided with the New Politics of Extremism. New York: Basic Books.
Mayhew, David R. 1974. Congress: The Electoral Connection. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Mutch, Robert E. 2014. Buying the Vote: A History of Campaign Finance Reform. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Oleszek, Walter J. 1978. Congressional Procedures and the Policy Process. Washington: Congressional Quarterly Press.
Sinclair, Barbara. 1997. Unorthodox Lawmaking: New Legislative Processes in the U.S. Congress. Washington, DC: CQ Press.
Films:
1939. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.
1957. A Face in the Crowd.
1962. Advise and Consent.
1972. The Candidate.
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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/15253/overview
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Introduction
The presidency is the most visible position in the U.S. government (Figure). During the Constitutional Convention of 1787, delegates accepted the need to empower a relatively strong and vigorous chief executive. But they also wanted this chief executive to be bound by checks from the other branches of the federal government as well as by the Constitution itself. Over time, the power of the presidency has grown in response to circumstances and challenges. However, to this day, a president must still work with the other branches to be most effective. Unilateral actions, in which the president acts alone on important and consequential matters, such as President Barack Obama’s strategy on the Iran nuclear deal, are bound to be controversial and suggest potentially serious problems within the federal government. Effective presidents, especially in peacetime, are those who work with the other branches through persuasion and compromise to achieve policy objectives.
What are the powers, opportunities, and limitations of the presidency? How does the chief executive lead in our contemporary political system? What guides his or her actions, including unilateral actions? If it is most effective to work with others to get things done, how does the president do so? What can get in the way of this goal? This chapter answers these and other questions about the nation’s most visible leader.
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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/15254/overview
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The Design and Evolution of the Presidency
Learning Objectives
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Explain the reason for the design of the executive branch and its plausible alternatives
- Analyze the way presidents have expanded presidential power and why
- Identify the limitations on a president's power
Since its invention at the Constitutional Convention of 1787, the presidential office has gradually become more powerful, giving its occupants a far-greater chance to exercise leadership at home and abroad. The role of the chief executive has changed over time, as various presidents have confronted challenges in domestic and foreign policy in times of war as well as peace, and as the power of the federal government has grown.
INVENTING THE PRESIDENCY
The Articles of Confederation made no provision for an executive branch, although they did use the term “president” to designate the presiding officer of the Confederation Congress, who also handled other administrative duties.Articles of Confederation, Article XI, 1781. The presidency was proposed early in the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia by Virginia’s Edmund Randolph, as part of James Madison’s proposal for a federal government, which became known as the Virginia Plan. Madison offered a rather sketchy outline of the executive branch, leaving open whether what he termed the “national executive” would be an individual or a set of people. He proposed that Congress select the executive, whose powers and authority, and even length of term of service, were left largely undefined. He also proposed a “council of revision” consisting of the national executive and members of the national judiciary, which would review laws passed by the legislature and have the power of veto.Jack Rakove and Susan Zlomke. 1987. “James Madison and the Independent Executive,” Presidential Studies Quarterly 17, No. 2: 293–300.
Early deliberations produced agreement that the executive would be a single person, elected for a single term of seven years by the legislature, empowered to veto legislation, and subject to impeachment and removal by the legislature. New Jersey’s William Paterson offered an alternate model as part of his proposal, typically referred to as the small-state or New Jersey Plan. This plan called for merely amending the Articles of Confederation to allow for an executive branch made up of a committee elected by a unicameral Congress for a single term. Under this proposal, the executive committee would be particularly weak because it could be removed from power at any point if a majority of state governors so desired. Far more extreme was Alexander Hamilton’s suggestion that the executive power be entrusted to a single individual. This individual would be chosen by electors, would serve for life, and would exercise broad powers, including the ability to veto legislation, the power to negotiate treaties and grant pardons in all cases except treason, and the duty to serve as commander-in-chief of the armed forces (Figure).
Debate and discussion continued throughout the summer. Delegates eventually settled upon a single executive, but they remained at a loss for how to select that person. Pennsylvania’s James Wilson, who had triumphed on the issue of a single executive, at first proposed the direct election of the president. When delegates rejected that idea, he responded with the suggestion that electors, chosen throughout the nation, should select the executive. Over time, Wilson’s idea gained ground with delegates who were uneasy at the idea of an election by the legislature, which presented the opportunity for intrigue and corruption. The idea of a shorter term of service combined with eligibility for reelection also became more attractive to delegates. The framers of the Constitution struggled to find the proper balance between giving the president the power to perform the job on one hand and opening the way for a president to abuse power and act like a monarch on the other.
By early September, the Electoral College had emerged as the way to select a president for four years who was eligible for reelection. This process is discussed more fully in the chapter on elections. Today, the Electoral College consists of a body of 538 people called electors, each representing one of the fifty states or the District of Columbia, who formally cast votes for the election of the president and vice president (Figure). In forty-eight states and the District of Columbia, the candidate who wins the popular vote in November receives all the state’s electoral votes. In two states, Nebraska and Maine, the electoral votes are divided: The candidate who wins the popular vote in the state gets two electoral votes, but the winner of each congressional district also receives an electoral vote.
In the original design implemented for the first four presidential elections (1788–89, 1792, 1796, and 1800), the electors cast two ballots (but only one could go to a candidate from the elector’s state), and the person who received a majority won the election. The second-place finisher became vice president. Should no candidate receive a majority of the votes cast, the House of Representatives would select the president, with each state casting a single vote, while the Senate chose the vice president.
While George Washington was elected president twice with this approach, the design resulted in controversy in both the 1796 and 1800 elections. In 1796, John Adams won the presidency, while his opponent and political rival Thomas Jefferson was elected vice president. In 1800, Thomas Jefferson and his running mate Aaron Burr finished tied in the Electoral College. Jefferson was elected president in the House of Representatives on the thirty-sixth ballot. These controversies led to the proposal and ratification of the Twelfth Amendment, which couples a particular presidential candidate with that candidate’s running mate in a unified ticket.Tadahisa Kuroda. 1994. The Origins of the Twelfth Amendment: The Electoral College in the Early Republic, 1787-1804. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing.
For the last two centuries or so, the Twelfth Amendment has worked fairly well. But this doesn’t mean the arrangement is foolproof. For example, the amendment created a separate ballot for the vice president but left the rules for electors largely intact. One of those rules states that the two votes the electors cast cannot both be for “an inhabitant of the same state with themselves.”U.S. Constitution, Article II, Section 1. This rule means that an elector from, say, Louisiana, could not cast votes for a presidential candidate and a vice presidential candidate who were both from Louisiana; that elector could vote for only one of these people. The intent of the rule was to encourage electors from powerful states to look for a more diverse pool of candidates. But what would happen in a close election where the members of the winning ticket were both from the same state?
The nation almost found out in 2000. In the presidential election of that year, the Republican ticket won the election by a very narrow electoral margin. To win the presidency or vice presidency, a candidate must get 270 electoral votes (a majority). George W. Bush and Dick Cheney won by the skin of their teeth with just 271. Both, however, were living in Texas. This should have meant that Texas’s 32 electoral votes could have gone to only one or the other. Cheney anticipated this problem and had earlier registered to vote in Wyoming, where he was originally from and where he had served as a representative years earlier.Alan Clendenning, “Court: Cheney Is Wyoming Resident,” ABC News, 7 December 2000, http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=122289&page=1 (May 1, 2016). It’s hard to imagine that the 2000 presidential election could have been even more complicated than it was, but thanks to that seemingly innocuous rule in Article II of the Constitution, that was a real possibility.
Despite provisions for the election of a vice president (to serve in case of the president’s death, resignation, or removal through the impeachment process), and apart from the suggestion that the vice president should be responsible for presiding over the Senate, the framers left the vice president’s role undeveloped. As a result, the influence of the vice presidency has varied dramatically, depending on how much of a role the vice president is given by the president. Some vice presidents, such as Dan Quayle under President George H. W. Bush, serve a mostly ceremonial function, while others, like Dick Cheney under President George W. Bush, become a partner in governance and rival the White House chief of staff in terms of influence.
Read about James Madison’s evolving views of the presidency and the Electoral College.
In addition to describing the process of election for the presidency and vice presidency, the delegates to the Constitutional Convention also outlined who was eligible for election and how Congress might remove the president. Article II of the Constitution lays out the agreed-upon requirements—the chief executive must be at least thirty-five years old and a “natural born” citizen of the United States (or a citizen at the time of the Constitution’s adoption) who has been an inhabitant of the United States for at least fourteen years.U.S. Constitution, Article II, Section 1. While Article II also states that the term of office is four years and does not expressly limit the number of times a person might be elected president, after Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected four times (from 1932 to 1944), the Twenty-Second Amendment was proposed and ratified, limiting the presidency to two four-year terms.
An important means of ensuring that no president could become tyrannical was to build into the Constitution a clear process for removing the chief executive—impeachment. Impeachment is the act of charging a government official with serious wrongdoing; the Constitution calls this wrongdoing high crimes and misdemeanors. The method the framers designed required two steps and both chambers of the Congress. First, the House of Representatives could impeach the president by a simple majority vote. In the second step, the Senate could remove him or her from office by a two-thirds majority, with the chief justice of the Supreme Court presiding over the trial. Upon conviction and removal of the president, if that occurred, the vice president would become president.
Three presidents have faced impeachment proceedings in the House; none has been both impeached by the House and removed by the Senate. In the wake of the Civil War, President Andrew Johnson faced congressional contempt for decisions made during Reconstruction. President Richard Nixon faced an overwhelming likelihood of impeachment in the House for his cover-up of key information relating to the 1972 break-in at the Democratic Party’s campaign headquarters at the Watergate hotel and apartment complex. Nixon likely would have also been removed by the Senate, since there was strong bipartisan consensus for his impeachment and removal. Instead, he resigned before the House and Senate could exercise their constitutional prerogatives.
The most recent impeachment was of President Bill Clinton, brought on by his lying about an extramarital affair with a White House intern named Monica Lewinsky. House Republicans felt the affair and Clinton’s initial public denial of it rose to a level of wrongdoing worthy of impeachment. House Democrats believed it fell short of an impeachable offense and that a simply censure made better sense. Clinton's trial in the Senate went nowhere because too few Senators wanted to move forward with removing the president.
Thus, impeachment remains a rare event indeed and removal has never occurred. Still, the fact that a president could be impeached and removed is an important reminder of the role of the executive in the broader system of shared powers. The same outcome occurred in the case of Andrew Johnson in the nineteenth century though he came closer to the threshold of votes needed for removal than did Clinton.
The Constitution that emerged from the deliberations in Philadelphia treated the powers of the presidency in concise fashion. The president was to be commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the United States, negotiate treaties with the advice and consent of the Senate, and receive representatives of foreign nations (Figure). Charged to “take care that the laws be faithfully executed,” the president was given broad power to pardon those convicted of federal offenses, except for officials removed through the impeachment process.U.S. Constitution, Article II, Section 3. The chief executive would present to Congress information about the state of the union; call Congress into session when needed; veto legislation if necessary, although a two-thirds supermajority in both houses of Congress could override that veto; and make recommendations for legislation and policy as well as call on the heads of various departments to make reports and offer opinions.
Finally, the president’s job included nominating federal judges, including Supreme Court justices, as well as other federal officials, and making appointments to fill military and diplomatic posts. The number of judicial appointments and nominations of other federal officials is great. In recent decades, two-term presidents have nominated well over three hundred federal judges while in office.“Judgeship Appointments By President,” http://www.uscourts.gov/judges-judgeships/authorized-judgeships/judgeship-appointments-president (May 1, 2016). Moreover, new presidents nominate close to five hundred top officials to their Executive Office of the President, key agencies (such as the Department of Justice), and regulatory commissions (such as the Federal Reserve Board), whose appointments require Senate majority approval.G. Calvin Mackenzie, “The Real Invisible Hand: Presidential Appointees in the Administration of George W. Bush,” http://www.whitehousetransitionproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/PresAppt-GWB.pdf (May 1, 2016).
THE EVOLVING EXECUTIVE BRANCH
No sooner had the presidency been established than the occupants of the office, starting with George Washington, began acting in ways that expanded both its formal and informal powers. For example, Washington established a cabinet or group of advisors to help him administer his duties, consisting of the most senior appointed officers of the executive branch. Today, the heads of the fifteen executive departments serve as the president’s advisers.https://www.justice.gov/about (May 1, 2016). And, in 1793, when it became important for the United States to take a stand in the evolving European conflicts between France and other European powers, especially Great Britain, Washington issued a neutrality proclamation that extended his rights as diplomat-in-chief far more broadly than had at first been conceived.
Later presidents built on the foundation of these powers. Some waged undeclared wars, as John Adams did against the French in the Quasi-War (1798–1800). Others agreed to negotiate for significant territorial gains, as Thomas Jefferson did when he oversaw the purchase of Louisiana from France. Concerned that he might be violating the powers of the office, Jefferson rationalized that his not facing impeachment charges constituted Congress’s tacit approval of his actions. James Monroe used his annual message in 1823 to declare that the United States would consider it an intolerable act of aggression for European powers to intervene in the affairs of the nations of the Western Hemisphere. Later dubbed the Monroe Doctrine, this declaration of principles laid the foundation for the growth of American power in the twentieth century. Andrew Jackson employed the veto as a measure of policy to block legislative initiatives with which he did not agree and acted unilaterally when it came to depositing federal funds in several local banks around the country instead of in the Bank of the United States. This move changed the way vetoes would be used in the future. Jackson’s twelve vetoes were more than those of all prior presidents combined, and he issued them due to policy disagreements (their basis today) rather than as a legal tool to protect against encroachments by Congress on the president’s powers.
Of the many ways in which the chief executive’s power grew over the first several decades, the most significant was the expansion of presidential war powers. While Washington, Adams, and Jefferson led the way in waging undeclared wars, it was President James K. Polk who truly set the stage for the broad growth of this authority. In 1846, as the United States and Mexico were bickering over the messy issue of where Texas’s southern border lay, Polk purposely raised anxieties and ruffled feathers through his envoy in Mexico. He then responded to the newly heightened state of affairs by sending U.S. troops to the Rio Grande, the border Texan expansionists claimed for Texas. Mexico sent troops in response, and the Mexican-American War began soon afterward.Fred Greenstein. 2010. “The Policy-Driven Leadership of James K. Polk: Making the Most of a Weak Presidency,” Presidential Studies Quarterly 40, No. 4: 725–33.
Abraham Lincoln, a member of Congress at the time, was critical of Polk’s actions. Later, however, as president himself, Lincoln used presidential war powers and the concepts of military necessity and national security to undermine the Confederate effort to seek independence for the Southern states. In suspending the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus, Lincoln blurred the boundaries between acceptable dissent and unacceptable disloyalty. He also famously used a unilateral proclamation to issue the Emancipation Proclamation, which cited the military necessity of declaring millions of slaves in Confederate-controlled territory to be free. His successor, Andrew Johnson, became so embroiled with Radical Republicans about ways to implement Reconstruction policies and programs after the Civil War that the House of Representatives impeached him, although the legislators in the Senate were unable to successfully remove him from office.Michael Les Benedict. 1973. “A New Look at the Impeachment of Andrew Johnson,” Political Science Quarterly 88, No. 3: 349–67.
Over the course of the twentieth century, presidents expanded and elaborated upon these powers. The rather vague wording in Article II, which says that the “executive power shall be vested” in the president, has been subject to broad and sweeping interpretation in order to justify actions beyond those specifically enumerated in the document.U.S. Constitution, Article II, Section 1. As the federal bureaucracy expanded, so too did the president’s power to grow agencies like the Secret Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Presidents also further developed the concept of executive privilege, the right to withhold information from Congress, the judiciary, or the public. This right, not enumerated in the Constitution, was first asserted by George Washington to curtail inquiry into the actions of the executive branch.Mark J. Rozel. 1999. “’The Law': Executive Privilege: Definition and Standards of Application,” Presidential Studies Quarterly 29, No. 4: 918–30. The more general defense of its use by White House officials and attorneys ensures that the president can secure candid advice from his or her advisors and staff members.
Increasingly over time, presidents have made more use of their unilateral powers, including executive orders, rules that bypass Congress but still have the force of law if the courts do not overturn them. More recently, presidents have offered their own interpretation of legislation as they sign it via signing statements (discussed later in this chapter) directed to the bureaucratic entity charged with implementation. In the realm of foreign policy, Congress permitted the widespread use of executive agreements to formalize international relations, so long as important matters still came through the Senate in the form of treaties.Glen S. Krutz and Jeffrey S. Peake. 2009. Treaty Politics and the Rise of Executive Agreements: International Commitments in a System of Shared Powers. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. Recent presidents have continued to rely upon an ever more expansive definition of war powers to act unilaterally at home and abroad. Finally, presidents, often with Congress's blessing through the formal delegation of authority, have taken the lead in framing budgets, negotiating budget compromises, and at times impounding funds in an effort to prevail in matters of policy.
The Budget and Accounting Act of 1921
Developing a budget in the nineteenth century was a chaotic mess. Unlike the case today, in which the budgeting process is centrally controlled, Congresses in the nineteenth century developed a budget in a piecemeal process. Federal agencies independently submitted budget requests to Congress, and these requests were then considered through the congressional committee process. Because the government was relatively small in the first few decades of the republic, this approach was sufficient. However, as the size and complexity of the U.S. economy grew over the course of the nineteenth century, the traditional congressional budgeting process was unable to keep up.Charles Stewart. 1989. Budget Reform Politics: The Design of the Appropriations Process in the House of Representatives, 1865-1921. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Things finally came to a head following World War I, when federal spending and debt skyrocketed. Reformers proposed the solution of putting the executive branch in charge of developing a budget that could be scrutinized, amended, and approved by Congress. However, President Woodrow Wilson, owing to a provision tacked onto the bill regarding presidential appointments, vetoed the legislation that would have transformed the budgeting process in this way. His successor, Warren Harding, felt differently and signed the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921. The act gave the president first-mover advantage in the budget process via the first “executive budget.” It also created the first-ever budget staff at the disposal of a president, at the time called the Bureau of the Budget but decades later renamed the Office of Management and Budget (Figure). With this act, Congress willingly delegated significant authority to the executive and made the president the chief budget agenda setter.
The Budget Act of 1921 effectively shifted some congressional powers to the president. Why might Congress have felt it important to centralize the budgeting process in the executive branch? What advantages could the executive branch have over the legislative branch in this regard?
The growth of presidential power is also attributable to the growth of the United States and the power of the national government. As the nation has grown and developed, so has the office. Whereas most important decisions were once made at the state and local levels, the increasing complexity and size of the domestic economy have led people in the United States to look to the federal government more often for solutions. At the same time, the rising profile of the United States on the international stage has meant that the president is a far more important figure as leader of the nation, as diplomat-in-chief, and as commander-in-chief. Finally, with the rise of electronic mass media, a president who once depended on newspapers and official documents to distribute information beyond an immediate audience can now bring that message directly to the people via radio, television, and social media. Major events and crises, such as the Great Depression, two world wars, the Cold War, and the war on terrorism, have further contributed to presidential stature.
Summary
The delegates at the Constitutional Convention proposed creating the office of the president and debated many forms the role might take. The president is elected for a maximum of two four-year terms and can be impeached by Congress for wrongdoing and removed from office. The presidency and presidential power, especially war powers, have expanded greatly over the last two centuries, often with the willing assistance of the legislative branch. Executive privilege and executive orders are two of the presidency’s powerful tools. During the last several decades, historical events and new technologies such as radio, television, and the Internet have further enhanced the stature of the presidency.
Many at the Continental Congress were skeptical of allowing presidents to be directly elected by the legislature because ________.
- they were worried about giving the legislature too much power
- they feared the opportunities created for corruption
- they knew the weaknesses of an electoral college
- they worried about subjecting the commander-in-chief to public scrutiny
Hint:
B
Which of the following is a way George Washington expanded the power of the presidency?
- He refused to run again after serving two terms.
- He appointed the heads of various federal departments as his own advisors.
- He worked with the Senate to draft treaties with foreign countries.
- He submitted his neutrality proclamation to the Senate for approval.
How did presidents who served in the decades directly after Washington expand the powers of the presidency?
Hint:
John Adams expanded the war powers by waging undeclared war, Thomas Jefferson negotiated the purchase of Louisiana from France, and James Monroe took direct control of foreign policymaking when he issued the Monroe Doctrine.
What factors contributed to the growth of presidential power in the twentieth century?
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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/15255/overview
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The Presidential Election Process
Learning Objectives
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Describe changes over time in the way the president and vice president are selected
- Identify the stages in the modern presidential selection process
- Assess the advantages and disadvantages of the Electoral College
The process of electing a president every four years has evolved over time. This evolution has resulted from attempts to correct the cumbersome procedures first offered by the framers of the Constitution and as a result of political parties’ rising power to act as gatekeepers to the presidency. Over the last several decades, the manner by which parties have chosen candidates has trended away from congressional caucuses and conventions and towards a drawn-out series of state contests, called primaries and caucuses, which begin in the winter prior to the November general election.
SELECTING THE CANDIDATE: THE PARTY PROCESS
The framers of the Constitution made no provision in the document for the establishment of political parties. Indeed, parties were not necessary to select the first president, since George Washington ran unopposed. Following the first election of Washington, the political party system gained steam and power in the electoral process, creating separate nomination and general election stages. Early on, the power to nominate presidents for office bubbled up from the party operatives in the various state legislatures and toward what was known as the king caucus or congressional caucus. The caucus or large-scale gathering was made up of legislators in the Congress who met informally to decide on nominees from their respective parties. In somewhat of a countervailing trend in the general election stage of the process, by the presidential election of 1824, many states were using popular elections to choose their electors. This became important in that election when Andrew Jackson won the popular vote and the largest number of electors, but the presidency was given to John Quincy Adams instead. Out of the frustration of Jackson’s supporters emerged a powerful two-party system that took control of the selection process.Daniel Myron Greene. 1908. “The Evolution of the National Political Convention,” The Sewanee Review 16, No. 2: 228–32.
In the decades that followed, party organizations, party leaders, and workers met in national conventions to choose their nominees, sometimes after long struggles that took place over multiple ballots. In this way, the political parties kept a tight control on the selection of a candidate. In the early twentieth century, however, some states began to hold primaries, elections in which candidates vied for the support of state delegations to the party’s nominating convention. Over the course of the century, the primaries gradually became a far more important part of the process, though the party leadership still controlled the route to nomination through the convention system. This has changed in recent decades, and now a majority of the delegates are chosen through primary elections, and the party conventions themselves are little more than a widely publicized rubber-stamping event.
The rise of the presidential primary and caucus system as the main means by which presidential candidates are selected has had a number of anticipated and unanticipated consequences. For one, the campaign season has grown longer and more costly. In 1960, John F. Kennedy declared his intention to run for the presidency just eleven months before the general election. Compare this to Hillary Clinton, who announced her intention to run nearly two years before the 2008 general election. Today’s long campaign seasons are seasoned with a seemingly ever-increasing number of debates among contenders for the nomination. In 2016, when the number of candidates for the Republican nomination became large and unwieldy, two debates among them were held, in which only those candidates polling greater support were allowed in the more important prime-time debate. The runners-up spoke in the other debate.
Finally, the process of going straight to the people through primaries and caucuses has created some opportunities for party outsiders to rise. Neither Ronald Reagan nor Bill Clinton was especially popular with the party leadership of the Republicans or the Democrats (respectively) at the outset. The outsider phenomenon has been most clearly demonstrated, however, in the 2016 presidential nominating process, as those distrusted by the party establishment, such as Senator Ted Cruz and Donald Trump, who never before held political office, raced ahead of party favorites like Jeb Bush early in the primary process (Figure).
The rise of the primary system during the Progressive Era came at the cost of party regulars’ control of the process of candidate selection. Some party primaries even allow registered independents or members of the opposite party to vote. Even so, the process tends to attract the party faithful at the expense of independent voters, who often hold the key to victory in the fall contest. Thus, candidates who want to succeed in the primary contests seek to align themselves with committed partisans, who are often at the ideological extreme. Those who survive the primaries in this way have to moderate their image as they enter the general election if they hope to succeed among the rest of the party adherents and the uncommitted.
Primaries offer tests of candidates’ popular appeal, while state caucuses testify to their ability to mobilize and organize grassroots support among committed followers. Primaries also reward candidates in different ways, with some giving the winner all the state’s convention delegates, while others distribute delegates proportionately according to the distribution of voter support. Finally, the order in which the primary elections and caucus selections are held shape the overall race.Marty Cohen. 2008. The Party Decides: Presidential Nominations before and after Reform. Chicago: University of Chicago. Currently, the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary occur first. These early contests tend to shrink the field as candidates who perform poorly leave the race. At other times in the campaign process, some states will maximize their impact on the race by holding their primaries on the same day that other states do. The media has dubbed these critical groupings “Super Tuesdays,” “Super Saturdays,” and so on. They tend to occur later in the nominating process as parties try to force the voters to coalesce around a single nominee.
The rise of the primary has also displaced the convention itself as the place where party regulars choose their standard bearer. Once true contests in which party leaders fought it out to elect a candidate, by the 1970s, party conventions more often than not simply served to rubber-stamp the choice of the primaries. By the 1980s, the convention drama was gone, replaced by a long, televised commercial designed to extol the party’s greatness (Figure). Without the drama and uncertainty, major news outlets have steadily curtailed their coverage of the conventions, convinced that few people are interested. The 2016 elections seem to support the idea that the primary process produces a nominee rather than party insiders. Outsiders Donald Trump on the Republican side and Senator Bernie Sanders on the Democratic side had much success despite significant concerns about them from party elites. Whether this pattern could be reversed in the case of a closely contested selection process remains to be seen.
ELECTING THE PRESIDENT: THE GENERAL ELECTION
Early presidential elections, conducted along the lines of the original process outlined in the Constitution, proved unsatisfactory. So long as George Washington was a candidate, his election was a foregone conclusion. But it took some manipulation of the votes of electors to ensure that the second-place winner (and thus the vice president) did not receive the same number of votes. When Washington declined to run again after two terms, matters worsened. In 1796, political rivals John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were elected president and vice president, respectively. Yet the two men failed to work well together during Adams’s administration, much of which Jefferson spent at his Virginia residence at Monticello. As noted earlier in this chapter, the shortcomings of the system became painfully evident in 1800, when Jefferson and his running mate Aaron Burr finished tied, thus leaving it to the House of Representatives to elect Jefferson.James Roger Sharp. 2010. The Deadlocked Election of 1800: Jefferson, Burr, and the Union in the Balance. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas.
The Twelfth Amendment, ratified in 1804, provided for the separate election of president and vice president as well as setting out ways to choose a winner if no one received a majority of the electoral votes. Only once since the passage of the Twelfth Amendment, during the election of 1824, has the House selected the president under these rules, and only once, in 1836, has the Senate chosen the vice president. In several elections, such as in 1876 and 1888, a candidate who received less than a majority of the popular vote has claimed the presidency, including cases when the losing candidate secured a majority of the popular vote. A recent case was the 2000 election, in which Democratic nominee Al Gore won the popular vote, while Republican nominee George W. Bush won the Electoral College vote and hence the presidency. The 2016 election brought another such irregularity as Donald Trump comfortably won the Electoral College by narrowly winning the popular vote in several states, while Hillary Clinton collected at least 600,000 more votes nationwide.
Not everyone is satisfied with how the Electoral College fundamentally shapes the election, especially in cases such as those noted above, when a candidate with a minority of the popular vote claims victory over a candidate who drew more popular support. Yet movements for electoral reform, including proposals for a straightforward nationwide direct election by popular vote, have gained little traction.
Supporters of the current system defend it as a manifestation of federalism, arguing that it also guards against the chaos inherent in a multiparty environment by encouraging the current two-party system. They point out that under a system of direct election, candidates would focus their efforts on more populous regions and ignore others.John Samples, “In Defense of the Electoral College,” 10 November 2000, http://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/defense-electoral-college (May 1, 2016). Critics, on the other hand, charge that the current system negates the one-person, one-vote basis of U.S. elections, subverts majority rule, works against political participation in states deemed safe for one party, and might lead to chaos should an elector desert a candidate, thus thwarting the popular will. Despite all this, the system remains in place. It appears that many people are more comfortable with the problems of a flawed system than with the uncertainty of change.Clifton B. Parker, “Now We Know Why It’s Time to Dump the Electoral College,” The Fiscal Times, 12 April 2016, http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/2016/04/12/Now-We-Know-Why-It-s-Time-Dump-Electoral-College.
Electoral College Reform
Following the 2000 presidential election, when then-governor George W. Bush won by a single electoral vote and with over half a million fewer individual votes than his challenger, astonished voters called for Electoral College reform. Years later, however, nothing of any significance had been done. The absence of reform in the wake of such a problematic election is a testament to the staying power of the Electoral College.
Those who insist that the Electoral College should be reformed argue that its potential benefits pale in comparison to the way the Electoral College depresses voter turnout and fails to represent the popular will. In addition to favoring small states, since individual votes there count more than in larger states due to the mathematics involved in the distribution of electors, the Electoral College results in a significant number of “safe” states that receive no real electioneering, such that nearly 75 percent of the country is ignored in the general election.
One potential solution to the problems with the Electoral College is to scrap it all together and replace it with the popular vote. The popular vote would be the aggregated totals of the votes in the fifty states and District of Columbia, as certified by the head election official of each state. A second solution often mentioned is to make the Electoral College proportional. That is, as each state assigns it electoral votes, it would do so based on the popular vote percentage in their state, rather with the winner-take-all approach almost all the states use today.
A third alternative for Electoral College reform has been proposed by an organization called National Popular Vote. The National Popular Vote movement is an interstate compact between multiple states that sign onto the compact. Once a combination of states constituting 270 Electoral College votes supports the movement, each state entering the compact pledges all of its Electoral College votes to the national popular vote winner. This reform does not technically change the Electoral College structure, but it results in a mandated process that makes the Electoral College reflect the popular vote. Thus far, eleven states with a total of 165 electoral votes among them have signed onto the compact.
In what ways does the current Electoral College system protect the representative power of small states and less densely populated regions? Why might it be important to preserve these protections?
Follow-up activity: View the National Popular Vote website to learn more about their position. Consider reaching out to them to learn more, offer your support, or even to argue against their proposal.
See how the Electoral College and the idea of swing states fundamentally shapes elections by experimenting with the interactive Electoral College map at 270 to Win.
The general election usually features a series of debates between the presidential contenders as well as a debate among vice presidential candidates. Because the stakes are high, quite a bit of money and resources are expended on all sides. Attempts to rein in the mounting costs of modern general-election campaigns have proven ineffective. Nor has public funding helped to solve the problem. Indeed, starting with Barack Obama’s 2008 decision to forfeit public funding so as to skirt the spending limitations imposed, candidates now regularly opt to raise more money rather than to take public funding.Jason Scott-Sheets, “Public financing is available for presidential candidates. So what’s not to like about free money?” 14 April 2016, http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2016/04/public-financing-is-available-for-presidential-candidates-so-whats-not-to-like-about-free-money/. In addition, political action committees (PACs), supposedly focused on issues rather than specific candidates, seek to influence the outcome of the race by supporting or opposing a candidate according to the PAC’s own interests. But after all the spending and debating is done, those who have not already voted by other means set out on the first Tuesday following the first Monday in November to cast their votes. Several weeks later, the electoral votes are counted and the president is formally elected (Figure).
Summary
The position of president of the United States was created during the Constitutional Convention. Within a generation of Washington’s administration, powerful political parties had overtaken the nominating power of state legislatures and created their own systems for selecting candidates. At first, party leaders kept tight control over the selection of candidates via the convention process. By the start of the twentieth century, however, primary and caucus voting had brought the power to select candidates directly to the people, and the once-important conventions became rubber-stamping events.
How did the election of 1824 change the way presidents were selected?
- Following this election, presidents were directly elected.
- Jackson’s supporters decided to create a device for challenging the Electoral College.
- The election convinced many that the parties must adopt the king caucus as the primary method for selecting presidents.
- The selection of the candidate with fewer electoral votes triggered the rise of party control over nominations.
Hint:
D
Which of the following is an unintended consequence of the rise of the primary and caucus system?
- Sometimes candidates unpopular with the party leadership reach the top.
- Campaigns have become shorter and more expensive.
- The conventions have become more powerful than the voters.
- Often incumbent presidents will fail to be renominated by the party.
What problems exist with the Electoral College?
Hint:
There are many problems with the Electoral College. First, small states are over-represented in the Electoral College. Second, the state by state set-up of the college, in the modern era, leads to states that are safe wins for one party, leaving a handful of states that get all the attention. Finally, its outcomes can differ from the outcome of actual citizen voting (also known as the national popular vote.
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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/15256/overview
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Organizing to Govern
Learning Objectives
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Explain how incoming and outgoing presidents peacefully transfer power
- Describe how new presidents fill positions in the executive branch
- Discuss how incoming presidents use their early popularity to advance larger policy solutions
It is one thing to win an election; it is quite another to govern, as many frustrated presidents have discovered. Critical to a president’s success in office is the ability to make a deft transition from the previous administration, including naming a cabinet and filling other offices. The new chief executive must also fashion an agenda, which he or she will often preview in general terms in an inaugural address. Presidents usually embark upon their presidency benefitting from their own and the nation’s renewed hope and optimism, although often unrealistic expectations set the stage for subsequent disappointment.
TRANSITION AND APPOINTMENTS
In the immediate aftermath of the election, the incoming and outgoing administrations work together to help facilitate the transfer of power. While the General Services Administration oversees the logistics of the process, such as office assignments, information technology, and the assignment of keys, prudent candidates typically prepare for a possible victory by appointing members of a transition team during the lead-up to the general election. The success of the team’s actions becomes apparent on inauguration day, when the transition of power takes place in what is often a seamless fashion, with people evacuating their offices (and the White House) for their successors.
Read about presidential transitions as well as explore other topics related to the transfer of power at the White House Transition Project website.
Among the president-elect’s more important tasks is the selection of a cabinet. George Washington’s cabinet was made up of only four people, the attorney general and the secretaries of the Departments of War, State, and the Treasury. Currently, however, there are fifteen members of the cabinet, including the Secretaries of Labor, Agriculture, Education, and others (Figure). The most important members—the heads of the Departments of Defense, Justice, State, and the Treasury (echoing Washington’s original cabinet)—receive the most attention from the president, the Congress, and the media. These four departments have been referred to as the inner cabinet, while the others are called the outer cabinet. When selecting a cabinet, presidents consider ability, expertise, influence, and reputation. More recently, presidents have also tried to balance political and demographic representation (gender, race, religion, and other considerations) to produce a cabinet that is capable as well as descriptively representative, meaning that those in the cabinet look like the U.S. population (see the chapter on bureaucracy and the term “representative bureaucracy”). A recent president who explicitly stated this as his goal was Bill Clinton, who talked about an “E.G.G. strategy” for senior-level appointments, where the E stands for ethnicity, G for gender, and the second G for geography.
Once the new president has been inaugurated and can officially nominate people to fill cabinet positions, the Senate confirms or rejects these nominations. At times, though rarely, cabinet nominations have failed to be confirmed or have even been withdrawn because of questions raised about the past behavior of the nominee.Glen S. Krutz, Richard Fleisher, and Jon R. Bond. 1998. “From Abe Fortas to Zoe Baird.” American Political Science Review 92, No. 4: 871–882. Prominent examples of such withdrawals were Senator John Tower for defense secretary (George H. W. Bush) and Zoe Baird for attorney general (Bill Clinton): Senator Tower’s indiscretions involving alcohol and womanizing led to concerns about his fitness to head the military and his rejection by the Senate,Michael Oreskes. 1989. “Senate Rejects Tower, 53–47; First Cabinet Veto since ‘59; Bush Confers on New Choice,” New York Times, 10 March 1989, http://www.nytimes.com/1989/03/10/us/senate-rejects-tower-53-47-first-cabinet-veto-since-59-bush-confers-new-choice.html. whereas Zoe Baird faced controversy and withdrew her nomination when it was revealed, through what the press dubbed “Nannygate,” that house staff of hers were undocumented workers. However, these cases are rare exceptions to the rule, which is to give approval to the nominees that the president wishes to have in the cabinet. Other possible candidates for cabinet posts may decline to be considered for a number of reasons, from the reduction in pay that can accompany entrance into public life to unwillingness to be subjected to the vetting process that accompanies a nomination.
Also subject to Senate approval are a number of non-cabinet subordinate administrators in the various departments of the executive branch, as well as the administrative heads of several agencies and commissions. These include the heads of the Internal Revenue Service, the Central Intelligence Agency, the Office of Management and Budget, the Federal Reserve, the Social Security Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Labor Relations Board, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the president’s own budget department. In addition to preparing the executive budget proposal and overseeing budgetary implementation during the federal fiscal year, the OMB oversees the actions of the executive bureaucracy.
Not all the non-cabinet positions are open at the beginning of an administration, but presidents move quickly to install their preferred choices in most roles when given the opportunity. Finally, new presidents usually take the opportunity to nominate new ambassadors, whose appointments are subject to Senate confirmation. New presidents make thousands of new appointments in their first two years in office. All the senior cabinet agency positions and nominees for all positions in the Executive Office of the President are made as presidents enter office or when positions become vacant during their presidency. Federal judges serve for life. Therefore, vacancies for the federal courts and the U.S. Supreme Court occur gradually as judges retire.
Throughout much of the history of the republic, the Senate has closely guarded its constitutional duty to consent to the president’s nominees, although in the end it nearly always confirms them. Still, the Senate does occasionally hold up a nominee. Benjamin Fishbourn, President George Washington’s nomination for a minor naval post, was rejected largely because he had insulted a particular senator.Mark J. Rozell, William D. Pederson, Frank J. Williams. 2000. George Washington and the Origins of the American Presidency. Portsmouth, NH: Greenwood Publishing Group, 17. Other rejected nominees included Clement Haynsworth and G. Harrold Carswell, nominated for the U.S. Supreme Court by President Nixon; Theodore Sorensen, nominated by President Carter for director of the Central Intelligence Agency; and John Tower, discussed earlier. At other times, the Senate has used its power to rigorously scrutinize the president’s nominees (Figure). Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas, who faced numerous sexual harassment charges from former employees, was forced to sit through repeated questioning of his character and past behavior during Senate hearings, something he referred to as “a high-tech lynching for uppity blacks.”“Hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee on the Nomination of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court,” Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia Library, 11 October 1991.
More recently, the Senate has attempted a new strategy, refusing to hold hearings at all, a strategy of defeat that scholars have referred to as “malign neglect.”Jon R. Bond, Richard Fleisher, and Glen S. Krutz. 2009. “Malign Neglect: Evidence That Delay Has Become the Primary Method of Defeating Presidential Appointments” Congress & the Presidency 36, No. 3: 226–243. Despite the fact that one-third of U.S. presidents have appointed a Supreme Court justice in an election year, when Associate Justice Antonin Scalia died unexpectedly in early 2016, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell declared that the Senate would not hold hearings on a nominee until after the upcoming presidential election.Barbara Perry, “One-third of all U.S. presidents appointed a Supreme Court justice in an election year,” Washington Post, 29 February 2016, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2016/02/29/one-third-of-all-u-s-presidents-appointed-a-supreme-court-justice-in-an-election-year/. McConnell remained adamant even after President Barack Obama, saying he was acting in fulfillment of his constitutional duty, nominated Merrick Garland, longtime chief judge of the federal Circuit Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit. Garland is highly respected by senators from both parties and won confirmation to his DC circuit position by a 76–23 vote in the Senate. When Republican Donald Trump was elected president in the fall, this strategy appeared to pay off. The Republican Senate and Judiciary Committee will welcome a Trump nominee in early 2017.
Other presidential selections are not subject to Senate approval, including the president’s personal staff (whose most important member is the White House chief of staff) and various advisers (most notably the national security adviser). The Executive Office of the President, created by Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR), contains a number of advisory bodies, including the Council of Economic Advisers, the National Security Council, the OMB, and the Office of the Vice President. Presidents also choose political advisers, speechwriters, and a press secretary to manage the politics and the message of the administration. In recent years, the president’s staff has become identified by the name of the place where many of its members work: the West Wing of the White House. These people serve at the pleasure of the president, and often the president reshuffles or reforms the staff during his or her term. Just as government bureaucracy has expanded over the centuries, so has the White House staff, which under Abraham Lincoln numbered a handful of private secretaries and a few minor functionaries. A recent report pegged the number of employees working within the White House over 450.Jennifer Liberto, “It pays to work for the White House,” CNN Money, 2 July 2014, http://money.cnn.com/2014/07/02/news/economy/white-house-salaries/ (May 1, 2016). When the staff in nearby executive buildings of the Executive Office of the President are added in, that number increases four-fold.
No Fun at Recess: Dueling Loopholes and the Limits of Presidential Appointments
When Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia died unexpectedly in early 2016, many in Washington braced for a political sandstorm of obstruction and accusations. Such was the record of Supreme Court nominations during the Obama administration and, indeed, for the last few decades. Nor is this phenomenon restricted to nominations for the highest court in the land. The Senate has been known to occasionally block or slow appointments not because the quality of the nominee was in question but rather as a general protest against the policies of the president and/or as part of the increasing partisan bickering that occurs when the presidency is controlled by one political party and the Senate by the other. This occurred, for example, when the Senate initially refused to nominate anyone to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, established in 2011, because Republicans disliked the existence of the bureau itself.
Such political holdups, however, tend to be the exception rather than the rule. For example, historically, nominees to the presidential cabinet are rarely rejected. And each Congress oversees the approval of around four thousand civilian and sixty-five thousand military appointments from the executive branch.Gary P. Gershman. 2008. The Legislative Branch of Federal Government: People, Process, and Politics. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. The overwhelming majority of these are confirmed in a routine and systematic fashion, and only rarely do holdups occur. But when they do, the Constitution allows for a small presidential loophole called the recess appointment. The relevant part of Article II, Section 2, of the Constitution reads:
“The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.”
The purpose of the provision was to give the president the power to temporarily fill vacancies during times when the Senate was not in session and could not act. But presidents have typically used this loophole to get around a Senate that’s inclined to obstruct. Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush made 139 and 171 recess appointments, respectively. President Obama has made far fewer recess appointments; as of May 1, 2015, he had made only thirty-two.Bruce Drake, “Obama lags his predecessors in recess appointments,” 13 January 2014, http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/01/13/obama-lags-his-predecessors-in-recess-appointments/ (May 1, 2016). One reason this number is so low is another loophole the Senate began using at the end of George W. Bush’s presidency, the pro forma session.
A pro forma session is a short meeting held with the understanding that no work will be done. These sessions have the effect of keeping the Senate officially in session while functionally in recess. In 2012, President Obama decided to ignore the pro forma session and make four recess appointments anyway. The Republicans in the Senate were furious and contested the appointments. Eventually, the Supreme Court had the final say in a 2014 decision that declared unequivocally that “the Senate is in session when it says it is.”National Labor Relations Board v. Canning, 573 U.S. ___ (2014). For now at least, the court’s ruling means that the president’s loophole and the Senate’s loophole cancel each other out. It seems they’ve found the middle ground whether they like it or not.
What might have been the legitimate original purpose of the recess appointment loophole? Do you believe the Senate is unfairly obstructing by effectively ending recesses altogether so as to prevent the president from making appointments without its approval?
The most visible, though arguably the least powerful, member of a president’s cabinet is the vice president. Throughout most of the nineteenth and into the twentieth century, the vast majority of vice presidents took very little action in the office unless fate intervened. Few presidents consulted with their running mates. Indeed, until the twentieth century, many presidents had little to do with the naming of their running mate at the nominating convention. The office was seen as a form of political exile, and that motivated Republicans to name Theodore Roosevelt as William McKinley’s running mate in 1900. The strategy was to get the ambitious politician out of the way while still taking advantage of his popularity. This scheme backfired, however, when McKinley was assassinated and Roosevelt became president (Figure).
Vice presidents were often sent on minor missions or used as mouthpieces for the administration, often with a sharp edge. Richard Nixon’s vice president Spiro Agnew is an example. But in the 1970s, starting with Jimmy Carter, presidents made a far more conscious effort to make their vice presidents part of the governing team, placing them in charge of increasingly important issues. Sometimes, as in the case of Bill Clinton and Al Gore, the partnership appeared to be smooth if not always harmonious. In the case of George W. Bush and his very experienced vice president Dick Cheney, observers speculated whether the vice president might have exercised too much influence. Barack Obama’s choice for a running mate and subsequent two-term vice president, former Senator Joseph Biden, was picked for his experience, especially in foreign policy. President Obama relied on Vice President Biden for advice throughout his tenure. In any case, the vice presidency is no longer quite as weak as it once was, and a capable vice president can do much to augment the president’s capacity to govern across issues if the president so desires.Amy C. Gaudion and Douglas Stuart, “More Than Just a Running Mate,” The New York Times, 19 July 2012, http://campaignstops.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/19/more-than-just-a-running-mate/.
FORGING AN AGENDA
Having secured election, the incoming president must soon decide how to deliver upon what was promised during the campaign. The chief executive must set priorities, chose what to emphasize, and formulate strategies to get the job done. He or she labors under the shadow of a measure of presidential effectiveness known as the first hundred days in office, a concept popularized during Franklin Roosevelt’s first term in the 1930s. While one hundred days is possibly too short a time for any president to boast of any real accomplishments, most presidents do recognize that they must address their major initiatives during their first two years in office. This is the time when the president is most powerful and is given the benefit of the doubt by the public and the media (aptly called the honeymoon period), especially if he or she enters the White House with a politically aligned Congress, as Barack Obama did. However, recent history suggests that even one-party control of Congress and the presidency does not ensure efficient policymaking. This difficulty is due as much to divisions within the governing party as to obstructionist tactics skillfully practiced by the minority party in Congress. Democratic president Jimmy Carter’s battles with a Congress controlled by Democratic majorities provide a good case in point.
The incoming president must deal to some extent with the outgoing president’s last budget proposal. While some modifications can be made, it is more difficult to pursue new initiatives immediately. Most presidents are well advised to prioritize what they want to achieve during the first year in office and not lose control of their agenda. At times, however, unanticipated events can determine policy, as happened in 2001 when nineteen hijackers perpetrated the worst terrorist attack in U.S. history and transformed U.S. foreign and domestic policy in dramatic ways.
Moreover, a president must be sensitive to what some scholars have termed “political time,” meaning the circumstances under which he or she assumes power. Sometimes, the nation is prepared for drastic proposals to solve deep and pressing problems that cry out for immediate solutions, as was the case following the 1932 election of FDR at the height of the Great Depression. Most times, however, the country is far less inclined to accept revolutionary change. Being an effective president means recognizing the difference.Stephen Skowronek. 2011. Presidential Leadership in Political Time: Reprise and Reappraisal. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas.
The first act undertaken by the new president—the delivery of an inaugural address—can do much to set the tone for what is intended to follow. While such an address may be an exercise in rhetorical inspiration, it also allows the president to set forth priorities within the overarching vision of what he or she intends to do. Abraham Lincoln used his inaugural addresses to calm rising concerns in the South that he would act to overturn slavery. Unfortunately, this attempt at appeasement fell on deaf ears, and the country descended into civil war. Franklin Roosevelt used his first inaugural address to boldly proclaim that the country need not fear the change that would deliver it from the grip of the Great Depression, and he set to work immediately enlarging the federal government to that end. John F. Kennedy, who entered the White House at the height of the Cold War, made an appeal to talented young people around the country to help him make the world a better place. He followed up with new institutions like the Peace Corps, which sends young citizens around the world to work as secular missionaries for American values like democracy and free enterprise.
Listen to clips of the most famous inaugural address in presidential history at the Washington Post website.
Summary
It can be difficult for a new president to come to terms with both the powers of the office and the limitations of those powers. Successful presidents assume their role ready to make a smooth transition and to learn to work within the complex governmental system to fill vacant positions in the cabinet and courts, many of which require Senate confirmation. It also means efficiently laying out a political agenda and reacting appropriately to unexpected events. A new president has limited time to get things done and must take action with the political wind at his or her back.
The people who make up the modern president’s cabinet are the heads of the major federal departments and ________.
- must be confirmed by the Senate
- once in office are subject to dismissal by the Senate
- serve two-year terms
- are selected base on the rules of patronage
A very challenging job for new presidents is to ______.
- move into the White House
- prepare and deliver their first State of the Union address
- nominate and gain confirmation for their cabinet and hundreds of other officials
- prepare their first executive budget
Hint:
C
How do presidents work to fulfill their campaign promises once in office?
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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/15257/overview
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The Public Presidency
Learning Objectives
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Explain how technological innovations have empowered presidents
- Identify ways in which presidents appeal to the public for approval
- Explain how the role of first ladies changed over the course of the twentieth century
With the advent of motion picture newsreels and voice recordings in the 1920s, presidents began to broadcast their message to the general public. Franklin Roosevelt, while not the first president to use the radio, adopted this technology to great effect. Over time, as radio gave way to newer and more powerful technologies like television, the Internet, and social media, other presidents have been able magnify their voices to an even-larger degree. Presidents now have far more tools at their disposal to shape public opinion and build support for policies. However, the choice to “go public” does not always lead to political success; it is difficult to convert popularity in public opinion polls into political power. Moreover, the modern era of information and social media empowers opponents at the same time that it provides opportunities for presidents.
THE SHAPING OF THE MODERN PRESIDENCY
From the days of the early republic through the end of the nineteenth century, presidents were limited in the ways they could reach the public to convey their perspective and shape policy. Inaugural addresses and messages to Congress, while circulated in newspapers, proved clumsy devices to attract support, even when a president used plain, blunt language. Some presidents undertook tours of the nation, notably George Washington and Rutherford B. Hayes. Others promoted good relationships with newspaper editors and reporters, sometimes going so far as to sanction a pro-administration newspaper. One president, Ulysses S. Grant, cultivated political cartoonist Thomas Nast to present the president’s perspective in the pages of the magazine Harper’s Weekly.Wendy Wick Reaves. 1987. “Thomas Nast and the President,” American Art Journal 19, No. 1: 61–71. Abraham Lincoln experimented with public meetings recorded by newspaper reporters and public letters that would appear in the press, sometimes after being read at public gatherings (Figure). Most presidents gave speeches, although few proved to have much immediate impact, including Lincoln’s memorable Gettysburg Address.
Rather, most presidents exercised the power of patronage (or appointing people who are loyal and help them out politically) and private deal-making to get what they wanted at a time when Congress usually held the upper hand in such transactions. But even that presidential power began to decline with the emergence of civil service reform in the later nineteenth century, which led to most government officials being hired on their merit instead of through patronage. Only when it came to diplomacy and war were presidents able to exercise authority on their own, and even then, institutional as well as political restraints limited their independence of action.
Theodore Roosevelt came to the presidency in 1901, at a time when movie newsreels were becoming popular. Roosevelt, who had always excelled at cultivating good relationships with the print media, eagerly exploited this new opportunity as he took his case to the people with the concept of the presidency as bully pulpit, a platform from which to push his agenda to the public. His successors followed suit, and they discovered and employed new ways of transmitting their message to the people in an effort to gain public support for policy initiatives. With the popularization of radio in the early twentieth century, it became possible to broadcast the president’s voice into many of the nation’s homes. Most famously, FDR used the radio to broadcast his thirty “fireside chats” to the nation between 1933 and 1944.
In the post–World War II era, television began to replace radio as the medium through which presidents reached the public. This technology enhanced the reach of the handsome young president John F. Kennedy and the trained actor Ronald Reagan. At the turn of the twentieth century, the new technology was the Internet. The extent to which this mass media technology can enhance the power and reach of the president has yet to be fully realized.
Other presidents have used advances in transportation to take their case to the people. Woodrow Wilson traveled the country to advocate formation of the League of Nations. However, he fell short of his goal when he suffered a stroke in 1919 and cut his tour short. Both Franklin Roosevelt in the 1930s and 1940s and Harry S. Truman in the 1940s and 1950s used air travel to conduct diplomatic and military business. Under President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a specific plane, commonly called Air Force One, began carrying the president around the country and the world. This gives the president the ability to take his or her message directly to the far corners of the nation at any time.
GOING PUBLIC: PROMISE AND PITFALLS
The concept of going public involves the president delivering a major television address in the hope that Americans watching the address will be compelled to contact their House and Senate member and that such public pressure will result in the legislators supporting the president on a major piece of legislation. Technological advances have made it more efficient for presidents to take their messages directly to the people than was the case before mass media (Figure). Presidential visits can build support for policy initiatives or serve political purposes, helping the president reward supporters, campaign for candidates, and seek reelection. It remains an open question, however, whether choosing to go public actually enhances a president’s political position in battles with Congress. Political scientist George C. Edwards goes so far as to argue that taking a president’s position public serves to polarize political debate, increase public opposition to the president, and complicate the chances to get something done. It replaces deliberation and compromise with confrontation and campaigning. Edwards believes the best way for presidents to achieve change is to keep issues private and negotiate resolutions that preclude partisan combat. Going public may be more effective in rallying supporters than in gaining additional support or changing minds.George C. Edwards. 2016. Predicting the Presidency: The Potential of Persuasive Leadership. Princeton: Princeton University Press; George C. Edwards and Stephen J. Wayne. 2003. Presidential Leadership: Politics and Policy Making. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.
Today, it is possible for the White House to take its case directly to the people via websites like White House Live, where the public can watch live press briefings and speeches.
THE FIRST LADY: A SECRET WEAPON?
The president is not the only member of the First Family who often attempts to advance an agenda by going public. First ladies increasingly exploited the opportunity to gain public support for an issue of deep interest to them. Before 1933, most first ladies served as private political advisers to their husbands. In the 1910s, Edith Bolling Wilson took a more active but still private role assisting her husband, President Woodrow Wilson, afflicted by a stroke, in the last years of his presidency. However, as the niece of one president and the wife of another, it was Eleanor Roosevelt in the 1930s and 1940s who opened the door for first ladies to do something more.
Eleanor Roosevelt took an active role in championing civil rights, becoming in some ways a bridge between her husband and the civil rights movement. She coordinated meetings between FDR and members of the NAACP, championed antilynching legislation, openly defied segregation laws, and pushed the Army Nurse Corps to allow black women in its ranks. She also wrote a newspaper column and had a weekly radio show. Her immediate successors returned to the less visible role held by her predecessors, although in the early 1960s, Jacqueline Kennedy gained attention for her efforts to refurbish the White House along historical lines, and Lady Bird Johnson in the mid- and late 1960s endorsed an effort to beautify public spaces and highways in the United States. She also established the foundations of what came to be known as the Office of the First Lady, complete with a news reporter, Liz Carpenter, as her press secretary.
Betty Ford took over as first lady in 1974 and became an avid advocate of women’s rights, proclaiming that she was pro-choice when it came to abortion and lobbying for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). She shared with the public the news of her breast cancer diagnosis and subsequent mastectomy. Her successor, Rosalynn Carter, attended several cabinet meetings and pushed for the ratification of the ERA as well as for legislation addressing mental health issues (Figure).
The increasing public political role of the first lady continued in the 1980s with Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No” antidrug campaign and in the early 1990s with Barbara Bush’s efforts on behalf of literacy. The public role of the first lady reach a new level with Hillary Clinton in the 1990s when her husband put her in charge of his efforts to achieve health care reform, a controversial decision that did not meet with political success. Her successors, Laura Bush in the first decade of the twenty-first century and Michelle Obama in the second, returned to the roles played by predecessors in advocating less controversial policies: Laura Bush advocated literacy and education, while Michelle Obama has emphasized physical fitness and healthy diet and exercise. Nevertheless, the public and political profiles of first ladies remain high, and in the future, the president’s spouse will have the opportunity to use that unelected position to advance policies that might well be less controversial and more appealing than those pushed by the president.
A New Role for the First Lady?
While running for the presidency for the first time in 1992, Bill Clinton frequently touted the experience and capabilities of his wife. There was a lot to brag about. Hillary Rodham Clinton was a graduate of Yale Law School, had worked as a member of the impeachment inquiry staff during the height of the Watergate scandal in Nixon’s administration, and had been a staff attorney for the Children’s Defense Fund before becoming the first lady of Arkansas. Acknowledging these qualifications, candidate Bill Clinton once suggested that by electing him, voters would get “two for the price of one.” The clear implication in this statement was that his wife would take on a far larger role than previous first ladies, and this proved to be the case.Rupert Cornwell, “Bill and Hillary’s double trouble: Clinton’s ’two for the price of one’ pledge is returning to haunt him,” Independent, 8 March 1994, http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/bill-and-hillarys-double-trouble-clintons-two-for-the-price-of-one-pledge-is-returning-to-haunt-him-1427937.html (May 1, 2016).
Shortly after taking office, Clinton appointed the first lady to chair the Task Force on National Health Care Reform. This organization was to follow through on his campaign promise to fix the problems in the U.S. healthcare system. Hillary Clinton had privately requested the appointment, but she quickly realized that the complex web of business interests and political aspirations combined to make the topic of health care reform a hornet’s nest. This put the Clinton administration’s first lady directly into partisan battles few if any previous first ladies had ever faced.
As a testament to both the large role the first lady had taken on and the extent to which she had become the target of political attacks, the recommendations of the task force were soon dubbed “Hillarycare” by opponents. In a particularly contentious hearing in the House, the first lady and Republican representative Dick Armey exchanged pointed jabs with each other. At one point, Armey suggested that the reports of her charm were “overstated” after the first lady likened him to Dr. Jack Kevorkian, a physician known for helping patients commit suicide (Figure).Tamar Lewin, “First Person; A Feminism That Speaks For Itself,” New York Times, 3 October 1993, http://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/03/weekinreview/first-person-a-feminism-that-speaks-for-itself.html. The following summer, the first lady attempted to use a national bus tour to popularize the health care proposal, although distaste for her and for the program had reached such a fevered pitch that she sometimes was compelled to wear a bulletproof vest. In the end, the efforts came up short and the reform attempts were abandoned as a political failure. Nevertheless, Hillary Clinton remained a political lightning rod for the rest of the Clinton presidency.
What do the challenges of First Lady Hillary Clinton’s foray into national politics suggest about the dangers of a first lady abandoning the traditionally safe nonpartisan goodwill efforts? What do the actions of the first ladies since Clinton suggest about the lessons learned or not learned?
Summary
Despite the obvious fact that the president is the head of state, the U.S. Constitution actually empowers the occupant of the White House with very little authority. Apart from the president’s war powers, the office holder’s real advantage is the ability to speak to the nation with one voice. Technological changes in the twentieth century have greatly expanded the power of the presidential bully pulpit. The twentieth century also saw a string of more public first ladies. Women like Eleanor Roosevelt and Lady Bird Johnson greatly expanded the power of the first lady’s role, although first ladies who have undertaken more nontraditional roles have encountered significant criticism.
President Theodore Roosevelt’s concept of the bully pulpit was the office’s ________.
- authority to use force, especially military force
- constitutional power to veto legislation
- premier position to pressure through public appeal
- ability to use technology to enhance the voice of the president
Hint:
C
In what ways have first ladies expanded the role of their office over the twentieth century?
How were presidents in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries likely to reach the public? Were these methods effective?
Hint:
Presidents of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries might make speeches or publish letters in newspapers across the country. These methods may have been effective in their day, but not in comparison to the ability of modern presidents with television, radio, and the Internet at their disposal.
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oercommons
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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/15258/overview
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Presidential Governance: Direct Presidential Action
Learning Objectives
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Identify the power presidents have to effect change without congressional cooperation
- Analyze how different circumstances influence the way presidents use unilateral authority
- Explain how presidents persuade others in the political system to support their initiatives
- Describe how historians and political scientists evaluate the effectiveness of a presidency
A president’s powers can be divided into two categories: direct actions the chief executive can take by employing the formal institutional powers of the office and informal powers of persuasion and negotiation essential to working with the legislative branch. When a president governs alone through direct action, it may break a policy deadlock or establish new grounds for action, but it may also spark opposition that might have been handled differently through negotiation and discussion. Moreover, such decisions are subject to court challenge, legislative reversal, or revocation by a successor. What may seem to be a sign of strength is often more properly understood as independent action undertaken in the wake of a failure to achieve a solution through the legislative process, or an admission that such an effort would prove futile. When it comes to national security, international negotiations, or war, the president has many more opportunities to act directly and in some cases must do so when circumstances require quick and decisive action.
DOMESTIC POLICY
The president may not be able to appoint key members of his or her administration without Senate confirmation, but he or she can demand the resignation or removal of cabinet officers, high-ranking appointees (such as ambassadors), and members of the presidential staff. During Reconstruction, Congress tried to curtail the president’s removal power with the Tenure of Office Act (1867), which required Senate concurrence to remove presidential nominees who took office upon Senate confirmation. Andrew Johnson’s violation of that legislation provided the grounds for his impeachment in 1868. Subsequent presidents secured modifications of the legislation before the Supreme Court ruled in 1926 that the Senate had no right to impair the president’s removal power.Myers v. United States, 272 U.S. 52 (1925). In the case of Senate failure to approve presidential nominations, the president is empowered to issue recess appointments (made while the Senate is in recess) that continue in force until the end of the next session of the Senate (unless the Senate confirms the nominee).
The president also exercises the power of pardon without conditions. Once used fairly sparingly—apart from Andrew Johnson’s wholesale pardons of former Confederates during the Reconstruction period—the pardon power has become more visible in recent decades. President Harry S. Truman issued over two thousand pardons and commutations, more than any other post–World War II president.“Bush Issues Pardons, but to a Relative Few,” New York Times, 22 December 2006, http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/22/washington/22pardon.html. President Gerald Ford has the unenviable reputation of being the only president to pardon another president (his predecessor Richard Nixon, who resigned after the Watergate scandal) (Figure). While not as generous as Truman, President Jimmy Carter also issued a great number of pardons, including several for draft dodging during the Vietnam War. President Reagan was reluctant to use the pardon as much, as was President George H. W. Bush. President Clinton pardoned few people for much of his presidency, but did make several last-minute pardons, which led to some controversy. To date, Barack Obama has seldom used his power to pardon.U.S. Department of Justice. “Clemency Statistics.” https://www.justice.gov/pardon/clemency-statistics (May 1, 2016).
Presidents may choose to issue executive orders or proclamations to achieve policy goals. Usually, executive orders direct government agencies to pursue a certain course in the absence of congressional action. A more subtle version pioneered by recent presidents is the executive memorandum, which tends to attract less attention. Many of the most famous executive orders have come in times of war or invoke the president’s authority as commander-in-chief, including Franklin Roosevelt’s order permitting the internment of Japanese Americans in 1942 and Harry Truman’s directive desegregating the armed forces (1948). The most famous presidential proclamation was Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation (1863), which declared slaves in areas under Confederate control to be free (with a few exceptions).
Executive orders are subject to court rulings or changes in policy enacted by Congress. During the Korean War, the Supreme Court revoked Truman’s order seizing the steel industry.Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer, 343 U.S. 579 (1952). These orders are also subject to reversal by presidents who come after, and recent presidents have wasted little time reversing the orders of their predecessors in cases of disagreement. Sustained executive orders, which are those not overturned in courts, typically have some prior authority from Congress that legitimizes them. When there is no prior authority, it is much more likely that an executive order will be overturned by a later president. For this reason, this tool has become less common in recent decades (Figure).
Executive Order 9066
Following the devastating Japanese attacks on the U.S. Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor in 1941, many in the United States feared that Japanese Americans on the West Coast had the potential and inclination to form a fifth column (a hostile group working from the inside) for the purpose of aiding a Japanese invasion. These fears mingled with existing anti-Japanese sentiment across the country and created a paranoia that washed over the West Coast like a large wave. In an attempt to calm fears and prevent any real fifth-column actions, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which authorized the removal of people from military areas as necessary. When the military dubbed the entire West Coast a military area, it effectively allowed for the removal of more than 110,000 Japanese Americans from their homes. These people, many of them U.S. citizens, were moved to relocation centers in the interior of the country. They lived in the camps there for two and a half years (Figure).Julie Des Jardins, “From Citizen to Enemy: The Tragedy of Japanese Internment,” http://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/world-war-ii/essays/from-citizen-enemy-tragedy-japanese-internment (May 1, 2016).
The overwhelming majority of Japanese Americans felt shamed by the actions of the Japanese empire and willingly went along with the policy in an attempt to demonstrate their loyalty to the United States. But at least one Japanese American refused to go along. His name was Fred Korematsu, and he decided to go into hiding in California rather than be taken to the internment camps with his family. He was soon discovered, turned over to the military, and sent to the internment camp in Utah that held his family. But his challenge to the internment system and the president’s executive order continued.
In 1944, Korematsu’s case was heard by the Supreme Court. In a 6–3 decision, the Court ruled against him, arguing that the administration had the constitutional power to sign the order because of the need to protect U.S. interests against the threat of espionage.Korematsu v. United States, 323 U.S. 214 (1944). Forty-four years after this decision, President Reagan issued an official apology for the internment and provided some compensation to the survivors. In 2011, the Justice Department went a step further by filing a notice officially recognizing that the solicitor general of the United States acted in error by arguing to uphold the executive order. (The solicitor general is the official who argues cases for the U.S. government before the Supreme Court.) However, despite these actions, in 2014, the late Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia was documented as saying that while he believed the decision was wrong, it could occur again.Ilya Somin, “Justice Scalia on Kelo and Korematsu,” Washington Post, 8 February 2014, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2014/02/08/justice-scalia-on-kelo-and-korematsu/.
What do the Korematsu case and the internment of over 100,000 Japanese Americans suggest about the extent of the president’s war powers? What does this episode in U.S. history suggest about the weaknesses of constitutional checks on executive power during times of war?
To learn more about the relocation and confinement of Japanese Americans during World War II, visit Heart Mountain online.
Finally, presidents have also used the line-item veto and signing statements to alter or influence the application of the laws they sign. A line-item veto is a type of veto that keeps the majority of a spending bill unaltered but nullifies certain lines of spending within it. While a number of states allow their governors the line-item veto (discussed in the chapter on state and local government), the president acquired this power only in 1996 after Congress passed a law permitting it. President Clinton used the tool sparingly. However, those entities that stood to receive the federal funding he lined out brought suit. Two such groups were the City of New York and the Snake River Potato Growers in Idaho.Glen S. Krutz. 2001. Hitching a Ride: Omnibus Legislating in the U.S. Congress. Columbus, OH: Ohio State University Press. The Supreme Court heard their claims together and just sixteen months later declared unconstitutional the act that permitted the line-item veto.Clinton v. City of New York, 524 U.S. 417 (1998). Since then, presidents have asked Congress to draft a line-item veto law that would be constitutional, although none have made it to the president’s desk.
On the other hand, signing statements are statements issued by a president when agreeing to legislation that indicate how the chief executive will interpret and enforce the legislation in question. Signing statements are less powerful than vetoes, though congressional opponents have complained that they derail legislative intent. Signing statements have been used by presidents since at least James Monroe, but they became far more common in this century.
NATIONAL SECURITY, FOREIGN POLICY, AND WAR
Presidents are more likely to justify the use of executive orders in cases of national security or as part of their war powers. In addition to mandating emancipation and the internment of Japanese Americans, presidents have issued orders to protect the homeland from internal threats. Most notably, Lincoln ordered the suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus in 1861 and 1862 before seeking congressional legislation to undertake such an act. Presidents hire and fire military commanders; they also use their power as commander-in-chief to aggressively deploy U.S. military force. Congress rarely has taken the lead over the course of history, with the War of 1812 being the lone exception. Pearl Harbor was a salient case where Congress did make a clear and formal declaration when asked by FDR. However, since World War II, it has been the president and not Congress who has taken the lead in engaging the United States in military action outside the nation’s boundaries, most notably in Korea, Vietnam, and the Persian Gulf (Figure).
Presidents also issue executive agreements with foreign powers. Executive agreements are formal agreements negotiated between two countries but not ratified by a legislature as a treaty must be. As such, they are not treaties under U.S. law, which require two-thirds of the Senate for ratification. Treaties, presidents have found, are particularly difficult to get ratified. And with the fast pace and complex demands of modern foreign policy, concluding treaties with countries can be a tiresome and burdensome chore. That said, some executive agreements do require some legislative approval, such as those that commit the United States to make payments and thus are restrained by the congressional power of the purse. But for the most part, executive agreements signed by the president require no congressional action and are considered enforceable as long as the provisions of the executive agreement do not conflict with current domestic law.
The American Presidency Project has gathered data outlining presidential activity, including measures for executive orders and signing statements.
THE POWER OF PERSUASION
The framers of the Constitution, concerned about the excesses of British monarchial power, made sure to design the presidency within a network of checks and balances controlled by the other branches of the federal government. Such checks and balances encourage consultation, cooperation, and compromise in policymaking. This is most evident at home, where the Constitution makes it difficult for either Congress or the chief executive to prevail unilaterally, at least when it comes to constructing policy. Although much is made of political stalemate and obstructionism in national political deliberations today, the framers did not want to make it too easy to get things done without a great deal of support for such initiatives.
It is left to the president to employ a strategy of negotiation, persuasion, and compromise in order to secure policy achievements in cooperation with Congress. In 1960, political scientist Richard Neustadt put forward the thesis that presidential power is the power to persuade, a process that takes many forms and is expressed in various ways.Richard E. Neustadt. 1960. Presidential Power and the Modern Presidents New York: Wiley. Yet the successful employment of this technique can lead to significant and durable successes. For example, legislative achievements tend to be of greater duration because they are more difficult to overturn or replace, as the case of health care reform under President Barack Obama suggests. Obamacare has faced court cases and repeated (if largely symbolic) attempts to gut it in Congress. Overturning it will take a new president who opposes it, together with a Congress that can pass the dissolving legislation.
In some cases, cooperation is essential, as when the president nominates and the Senate confirms persons to fill vacancies on the Supreme Court, an increasingly contentious area of friction between branches. While Congress cannot populate the Court on its own, it can frustrate the president’s efforts to do so. Presidents who seek to prevail through persuasion, according to Neustadt, target Congress, members of their own party, the public, the bureaucracy, and, when appropriate, the international community and foreign leaders. Of these audiences, perhaps the most obvious and challenging is Congress.
Read “Power Lessons for Obama” at this website to learn more about applying Richard Neustadt’s framework to the leaders of today.
Much depends on the balance of power within Congress: Should the opposition party hold control of both houses, it will be difficult indeed for the president to realize his or her objectives, especially if the opposition is intent on frustrating all initiatives. However, even control of both houses by the president’s own party is no guarantee of success or even of productive policymaking. For example, neither Bill Clinton nor Barack Obama achieved all they desired despite having favorable conditions for the first two years of their presidencies. In times of divided government (when one party controls the presidency and the other controls one or both chambers of Congress), it is up to the president to cut deals and make compromises that will attract support from at least some members of the opposition party without excessively alienating members of his or her own party. Both Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton proved effective in dealing with divided government—indeed, Clinton scored more successes with Republicans in control of Congress than he did with Democrats in charge.
It is more difficult to persuade members of the president’s own party or the public to support a president’s policy without risking the dangers inherent in going public. There is precious little opportunity for private persuasion while also going public in such instances, at least directly. The way the president and his or her staff handle media coverage of the administration may afford some opportunities for indirect persuasion of these groups. It is not easy to persuade the federal bureaucracy to do the president’s bidding unless the chief executive has made careful appointments. When it comes to diplomacy, the president must relay some messages privately while offering incentives, both positive and negative, in order to elicit desired responses, although at times, people heed only the threat of force and coercion.
While presidents may choose to go public in an attempt to put pressure on other groups to cooperate, most of the time they “stay private” as they attempt to make deals and reach agreements out of the public eye. The tools of negotiation have changed over time. Once chief executives played patronage politics, rewarding friends while attacking and punishing critics as they built coalitions of support. But the advent of civil service reform in the 1880s systematically deprived presidents of that option and reduced its scope and effectiveness. Although the president may call upon various agencies for assistance in lobbying for proposals, such as the Office of Legislative Liaison with Congress, it is often left to the chief executive to offer incentives and rewards. Some of these are symbolic, like private meetings in the White House or an appearance on the campaign trail. The president must also find common ground and make compromises acceptable to all parties, thus enabling everyone to claim they secured something they wanted.
Complicating Neustadt’s model, however, is that many of the ways he claimed presidents could shape favorable outcomes require going public, which as we have seen can produce mixed results. Political scientist Fred Greenstein, on the other hand, touted the advantages of a “hidden hand presidency,” in which the chief executive did most of the work behind the scenes, wielding both the carrot and the stick.Fred I. Greenstein. 1982. The Hidden-Hand Presidency: Eisenhower as Leader. New York: Basic Books. Greenstein singled out President Dwight Eisenhower as particularly skillful in such endeavors.
OPPORTUNITY AND LEGACY
What often shapes a president’s performance, reputation, and ultimately legacy depends on circumstances that are largely out of his or her control. Did the president prevail in a landslide or was it a closely contested election? Did he or she come to office as the result of death, assassination, or resignation? How much support does the president’s party enjoy, and is that support reflected in the composition of both houses of Congress, just one, or neither? Will the president face a Congress ready to embrace proposals or poised to oppose them? Whatever a president’s ambitions, it will be hard to realize them in the face of a hostile or divided Congress, and the options to exercise independent leadership are greater in times of crisis and war than when looking at domestic concerns alone.
Then there is what political scientist Stephen Skowronek calls “political time.”Stephen Skowronek. 2011. Presidential Leadership in Political Time: Reprise and Reappraisal. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas. Some presidents take office at times of great stability with few concerns. Unless there are radical or unexpected changes, a president’s options are limited, especially if voters hoped for a simple continuation of what had come before. Other presidents take office at a time of crisis or when the electorate is looking for significant changes. Then there is both pressure and opportunity for responding to those challenges. Some presidents, notably Theodore Roosevelt, openly bemoaned the lack of any such crisis, which Roosevelt deemed essential for him to achieve greatness as a president.
People in the United States claim they want a strong president. What does that mean? At times, scholars point to presidential independence, even defiance, as evidence of strong leadership. Thus, vigorous use of the veto power in key situations can cause observers to judge a president as strong and independent, although far from effective in shaping constructive policies. Nor is such defiance and confrontation always evidence of presidential leadership skill or greatness, as the case of Andrew Johnson should remind us. When is effectiveness a sign of strength, and when are we confusing being headstrong with being strong? Sometimes, historians and political scientists see cooperation with Congress as evidence of weakness, as in the case of Ulysses S. Grant, who was far more effective in garnering support for administration initiatives than scholars have given him credit for.
These questions overlap with those concerning political time and circumstance. While domestic policymaking requires far more give-and-take and a fair share of cajoling and collaboration, national emergencies and war offer presidents far more opportunity to act vigorously and at times independently. This phenomenon often produces the rally around the flag effect, in which presidential popularity spikes during international crises. A president must always be aware that politics, according to Otto von Bismarck, is the art of the possible, even as it is his or her duty to increase what might be possible by persuading both members of Congress and the general public of what needs to be done.
Finally, presidents often leave a legacy that lasts far beyond their time in office (Figure). Sometimes, this is due to the long-term implications of policy decisions. Critical to the notion of legacy is the shaping of the Supreme Court as well as other federal judges. Long after John Adams left the White House in 1801, his appointment of John Marshall as chief justice shaped American jurisprudence for over three decades. No wonder confirmation hearings have grown more contentious in the cases of highly visible nominees. Other legacies are more difficult to define, although they suggest that, at times, presidents cast a long shadow over their successors. It was a tough act to follow George Washington, and in death, Abraham Lincoln’s presidential stature grew to extreme heights. Theodore and Franklin D. Roosevelt offered models of vigorous executive leadership, while the image and style of John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan influenced and at times haunted or frustrated successors. Nor is this impact limited to chief executives deemed successful: Lyndon Johnson’s Vietnam and Richard Nixon’s Watergate offered cautionary tales of presidential power gone wrong, leaving behind legacies that include terms like Vietnam syndrome and the tendency to add the suffix “-gate” to scandals and controversies.
Summary
While the power of the presidency is typically checked by the other two branches of government, presidents have the unencumbered power to pardon those convicted of federal crimes and to issue executive orders, which don’t require congressional approval but lack the permanence of laws passed by Congress. In matters concerning foreign policy, presidents have at their disposal the executive agreement, which is a much-easier way for two countries to come to terms than a treaty that requires Senate ratification but is also much narrower in scope.
Presidents use various means to attempt to drive public opinion and effect political change. But history has shown that they are limited in their ability to drive public opinion. Favorable conditions can help a president move policies forward. These conditions include party control of Congress and the arrival of crises such as war or economic decline. But as some presidencies have shown, even the most favorable conditions don’t guarantee success.
The passage of the Tenure of Office Act of 1867 was just one instance in a long line of ________.
- struggles for power between the president and the Congress
- unconstitutional presidential power grabbing
- impeachment trials
- arguments over presidential policy
Which of the following is an example of an executive agreement?
- The president negotiates an agreement with China and submits it to the Senate for ratification.
- The president changes a regulation on undocumented immigrant status without congressional approval.
- The president signs legally binding nuclear arms terms with Iran without seeking congressional approval.
- The president issues recommendations to the Department of Justice on what the meaning of a new criminal statute is.
Hint:
C
How have the methods presidents use to negotiate with their party and the opposition changed over time?
What strategies can presidents employ to win people over to their way of thinking?
Hint:
Presidents can use road trips across the country, major speeches, and rewards to people in their camp. Historically, however, these techniques have only rarely been successful. What works best is for a president find a popular position to get out in front of.
What are the opportunities and limitations for presidential leadership in the contemporary political system?
How have presidents used their position to increase the power of the office?
What role has technology played increasing the power and reach of presidents?
Under what conditions will presidents use direct action? When might they prefer passing a formal policy through Congress as a bill?
What do the conditions under which presidents decide to make public pleas suggest about the limits of presidential power?
Edwards, George C. 2016. Predicting the Presidency: The Potential of Persuasive Leadership. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Edwards, George C. and Stephen J. Wayne. 2003. Presidential Leadership: Politics and Policy Making. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.
Erickson, Robert S. and Christopher Wlezien. 2012. The Timeline of Presidential Elections: How Campaigns Do (and Do Not) Matter. Chicago: Chicago University Press.
Greenstein, Fred I. 1982. The Hidden-Hand Presidency: Eisenhower as Leader. New York: Basic Books.
Kernell, Samuel. 1986. Going Public: New Strategies of Presidential Leadership. Washington, DC: CQ Press.
McGinnis, Joe. 1988. The Selling of the President. New York: Penguin Books.
Nelson, Michael. 1984. The Presidency and the Political System. Washington, DC: CQ Press.
Neustadt, Richard E. 1990. Presidential Power and the Modern Presidents: The Politics of Leadership from Roosevelt to Reagan. New York: Free Press.
Pfiffner, James P. 1994. The Modern Presidency. New York: St. Martin’s Press.
Pika, Joseph August, John Anthony Maltese, Norman C. Thomas, and Norman C. Thomas. 2002. The Politics of the Presidency. Washington, DC: CQ Press.
Porter, Roger B. 1980. Presidential Decision Making: The Economic Policy Board. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Skowronek, Stephen. 2011. Presidential Leadership in Political Time: Reprise and Reappraisal. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas.
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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/15259/overview
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Introduction
If democratic institutions struggle to balance individual freedoms and collective well-being, the judiciary is arguably the branch where the individual has the best chance to be heard. For those seeking protection on the basis of sexual orientation, for example, in recent years, the courts have expanded rights, culminating in 2015 when the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples have the right to marry in all fifty states (Figure).Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. __ (2015).
The U.S. courts pride themselves on two achievements: (1) as part of the framers’ system of checks and balances, they protect the sanctity of the U.S. Constitution from breaches by the other branches of government, and (2) they protect individual rights against societal and governmental oppression. At the federal level, nine Supreme Court judges are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate for lifetime appointments. Hence, democratic control over them is indirect at best, but this provides them the independence they need to carry out their duties. However, court power is confined to rulings on those cases the courts decide to hear.In cases of original jurisdiction the courts cannot decide—the U.S. Constitution mandates that the U.S. Supreme Court must hear cases of original jurisdiction.
How do the courts make decisions, and how do they exercise their power to protect individual rights? How are the courts structured, and what distinguishes the Supreme Court from all others? This chapter answers these and other questions in delineating the power of the judiciary in the United States.
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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/15260/overview
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Guardians of the Constitution and Individual Rights
Learning Objectives
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Describe the evolving role of the courts since the ratification of the Constitution
- Explain why courts are uniquely situated to protect individual rights
- Recognize how the courts make public policy
Under the Articles of Confederation, there was no national judiciary. The U.S. Constitution changed that, but its Article III, which addresses “the judicial power of the United States,” is the shortest and least detailed of the three articles that created the branches of government. It calls for the creation of “one supreme Court” and establishes the Court’s jurisdiction, or its authority to hear cases and make decisions about them, and the types of cases the Court may hear. It distinguishes which are matters of original jurisdiction and which are for appellate jurisdiction. Under original jurisdiction, a case is heard for the first time, whereas under appellate jurisdiction, a court hears a case on appeal from a lower court and may change the lower court’s decision. The Constitution also limits the Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction to those rare cases of disputes between states, or between the United States and foreign ambassadors or ministers. So, for the most part, the Supreme Court is an appeals court, operating under appellate jurisdiction and hearing appeals from the lower courts. The rest of the development of the judicial system and the creation of the lower courts were left in the hands of Congress.
To add further explanation to Article III, Alexander Hamilton wrote details about the federal judiciary in Federalist No. 78. In explaining the importance of an independent judiciary separated from the other branches of government, he said “interpretation” was a key role of the courts as they seek to protect people from unjust laws. But he also believed “the Judiciary Department” would “always be the least dangerous” because “with no influence over either the sword or the purse,” it had “neither force nor will, but merely judgment.” The courts would only make decisions, not take action. With no control over how those decisions would be implemented and no power to enforce their choices, they could exercise only judgment, and their power would begin and end there. Hamilton would no doubt be surprised by what the judiciary has become: a key component of the nation’s constitutional democracy, finding its place as the chief interpreter of the Constitution and the equal of the other two branches, though still checked and balanced by them.
The first session of the first U.S. Congress laid the framework for today’s federal judicial system, established in the Judiciary Act of 1789. Although legislative changes over the years have altered it, the basic structure of the judicial branch remains as it was set early on: At the lowest level are the district courts, where federal cases are tried, witnesses testify, and evidence and arguments are presented. A losing party who is unhappy with a district court decision may appeal to the circuit courts, or U.S. courts of appeals, where the decision of the lower court is reviewed. Still further, appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court is possible, but of the thousands of petitions for appeal, the Supreme Court will typically hear fewer than one hundred a year.“The U.S. Supreme Court.” The Judicial Learning Center. http://judiciallearningcenter.org/the-us-supreme-court/ (March 1, 2016).
This public site maintained by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts provides detailed information from and about the judicial branch.
HUMBLE BEGINNINGS
Starting in New York in 1790, the early Supreme Court focused on establishing its rules and procedures and perhaps trying to carve its place as the new government’s third branch. However, given the difficulty of getting all the justices even to show up, and with no permanent home or building of its own for decades, finding its footing in the early days proved to be a monumental task. Even when the federal government moved to the nation’s capital in 1800, the Court had to share space with Congress in the Capitol building. This ultimately meant that “the high bench crept into an undignified committee room in the Capitol beneath the House Chamber.”Bernard Schwartz. 1993. A History of the Supreme Court. New York: Oxford University Press, 16.
It was not until the Court’s 146th year of operation that Congress, at the urging of Chief Justice—and former president—William Howard Taft, provided the designation and funding for the Supreme Court’s own building, “on a scale in keeping with the importance and dignity of the Court and the Judiciary as a coequal, independent branch of the federal government.”“Washington D.C. A National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary.” U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/wash/dc78.htm (March 1, 2016). It was a symbolic move that recognized the Court’s growing role as a significant part of the national government (Figure).
But it took years for the Court to get to that point, and it faced a number of setbacks on the way to such recognition. In their first case of significance, Chisholm v. Georgia (1793), the justices ruled that the federal courts could hear cases brought by a citizen of one state against a citizen of another state, and that Article III, Section 2, of the Constitution did not protect the states from facing such an interstate lawsuit.Chisholm v. Georgia, 2 U.S. 419 (1793). However, their decision was almost immediately overturned by the Eleventh Amendment, passed by Congress in 1794 and ratified by the states in 1795. In protecting the states, the Eleventh Amendment put a prohibition on the courts by stating, “The Judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by Citizens of another State, or by Citizens or Subjects of any Foreign State.” It was an early hint that Congress had the power to change the jurisdiction of the courts as it saw fit and stood ready to use it.
In an atmosphere of perceived weakness, the first chief justice, John Jay, an author of The Federalist Papers and appointed by President George Washington, resigned his post to become governor of New York and later declined President John Adams’s offer of a subsequent term.Associated Press. “What You Should Know About Forgotten Founding Father John Jay,” PBS Newshour. July 4, 2015. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/forgotten-founding-father. In fact, the Court might have remained in a state of what Hamilton called its “natural feebleness” if not for the man who filled the vacancy Jay had refused—the fourth chief justice, John Marshall. Often credited with defining the modern court, clarifying its power, and strengthening its role, Marshall served in the chief’s position for thirty-four years. One landmark case during his tenure changed the course of the judicial branch’s history (Figure).“Life and Legacy.” The John Marshall Foundation. http://www.johnmarshallfoundation.org (March 1, 2016).
In 1803, the Supreme Court declared for itself the power of judicial review, a power to which Hamilton had referred but that is not expressly mentioned in the Constitution. Judicial review is the power of the courts, as part of the system of checks and balances, to look at actions taken by the other branches of government and the states and determine whether they are constitutional. If the courts find an action to be unconstitutional, it becomes null and void. Judicial review was established in the Supreme Court case Marbury v. Madison, when, for the first time, the Court declared an act of Congress to be unconstitutional.Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. 137 (1803). Wielding this power is a role Marshall defined as the “very essence of judicial duty,” and it continues today as one of the most significant aspects of judicial power. Judicial review lies at the core of the court’s ability to check the other branches of government—and the states.
Since Marbury, the power of judicial review has continually expanded, and the Court has not only ruled actions of Congress and the president to be unconstitutional, but it has also extended its power to include the review of state and local actions. The power of judicial review is not confined to the Supreme Court but is also exercised by the lower federal courts and even the state courts. Any legislative or executive action at the federal or state level inconsistent with the U.S. Constitution or a state constitution can be subject to judicial review.Stephen Hass. “Judicial Review.” National Juris University. http://juris.nationalparalegal.edu/(X(1)S(wwbvsi5iswopllt1bfpzfkjd))/JudicialReview.aspx (March 1, 2016).
Marbury v. Madison (1803)
The Supreme Court found itself in the middle of a dispute between the outgoing presidential administration of John Adams and that of incoming president (and opposition party member) Thomas Jefferson. It was an interesting circumstance at the time, particularly because Jefferson and the man who would decide the case—John Marshall—were themselves political rivals.
President Adams had appointed William Marbury to a position in Washington, DC, but his commission was not delivered before Adams left office. So Marbury petitioned the Supreme Court to use its power under the Judiciary Act of 1789 and issue a writ of mandamus to force the new president’s secretary of state, James Madison, to deliver the commission documents. It was a task Madison refused to do. A unanimous Court under the leadership of Chief Justice John Marshall ruled that although Marbury was entitled to the job, the Court did not have the power to issue the writ and order Madison to deliver the documents, because the provision in the Judiciary Act that had given the Court that power was unconstitutional.Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. 137 (1803).
Perhaps Marshall feared a confrontation with the Jefferson administration and thought Madison would refuse his directive anyway. In any case, his ruling shows an interesting contrast in the early Court. On one hand, it humbly declined a power—issuing a writ of mandamus—given to it by Congress, but on the other, it laid the foundation for legitimizing a much more important one—judicial review. Marbury never got his commission, but the Court’s ruling in the case has become more significant for the precedent it established: As the first time the Court declared an act of Congress unconstitutional, it established the power of judicial review, a key power that enables the judicial branch to remain a powerful check on the other branches of government.
Consider the dual nature of John Marshall’s opinion in Marbury v. Madison: On one hand, it limits the power of the courts, yet on the other it also expanded their power. Explain the different aspects of the decision in terms of these contrasting results.
THE COURTS AND PUBLIC POLICY
Even with judicial review in place, the courts do not always stand ready just to throw out actions of the other branches of government. More broadly, as Marshall put it, “it is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is.”Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. 137 (1803). The United States has a common law system in which law is largely developed through binding judicial decisions. With roots in medieval England, the system was inherited by the American colonies along with many other British traditions.“The Common Law and Civil Law Traditions.” The Robbins Collection. School of Law (Boalt Hall). University of California at Berkeley. https://www.law.berkeley.edu/library/robbins/CommonLawCivilLawTraditions.html (March 1, 2016). It stands in contrast to code law systems, which provide very detailed and comprehensive laws that do not leave room for much interpretation and judicial decision-making. With code law in place, as it is in many nations of the world, it is the job of judges to simply apply the law. But under common law, as in the United States, they interpret it. Often referred to as a system of judge-made law, common law provides the opportunity for the judicial branch to have stronger involvement in the process of law-making itself, largely through its ruling and interpretation on a case-by-case basis.
In their role as policymakers, Congress and the president tend to consider broad questions of public policy and their costs and benefits. But the courts consider specific cases with narrower questions, thus enabling them to focus more closely than other government institutions on the exact context of the individuals, groups, or issues affected by the decision. This means that while the legislature can make policy through statute, and the executive can form policy through regulations and administration, the judicial branch can also influence policy through its rulings and interpretations. As cases are brought to the courts, court decisions can help shape policy.
Consider health care, for example. In 2010, President Barack Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), a statute that brought significant changes to the nation’s healthcare system. With its goal of providing more widely attainable and affordable health insurance and health care, “Obamacare” was hailed by some but soundly denounced by others as bad policy. People who opposed the law and understood that a congressional repeal would not happen any time soon looked to the courts for help. They challenged the constitutionality of the law in National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius, hoping the Supreme Court would overturn it.National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius, 567 U.S. __ (2012). The practice of judicial review enabled the law’s critics to exercise this opportunity, even though their hopes were ultimately dashed when, by a narrow 5–4 margin, the Supreme Court upheld the health care law as a constitutional extension of Congress’s power to tax.
Since this 2012 decision, the ACA has continued to face challenges, the most notable of which have also been decided by court rulings. It faced a setback in 2014, for instance, when the Supreme Court ruled in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby that, for religious reasons, some for-profit corporations could be exempt from the requirement that employers provide insurance coverage of contraceptives for their female employees.Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, 573 U.S. __ (2014). But the ACA also attained a victory in King v. Burwell, when the Court upheld the ability of the federal government to provide tax credits for people who bought their health insurance through an exchange created by the law.King v. Burwell, 576 U.S. __ (2015).
With each ACA case it has decided, the Supreme Court has served as the umpire, upholding the law and some of its provisions on one hand, but ruling some aspects of it unconstitutional on the other. Both supporters and opponents of the law have claimed victory and faced defeat. In each case, the Supreme Court has further defined and fine-tuned the law passed by Congress and the president, determining which parts stay and which parts go, thus having its say in the way the act has manifested itself, the way it operates, and the way it serves its public purpose.
In this same vein, the courts have become the key interpreters of the U.S. Constitution, continuously interpreting it and applying it to modern times and circumstances. For example, it was in 2015 that we learned a man’s threat to kill his ex-wife, written in rap lyrics and posted to her Facebook wall, was not a real threat and thus could not be prosecuted as a felony under federal law.Elonis v. United States, 13-983 U.S. __ (2015). Certainly, when the Bill of Rights first declared that government could not abridge freedom of speech, its framers could never have envisioned Facebook—or any other modern technology for that matter.
But freedom of speech, just like many constitutional concepts, has come to mean different things to different generations, and it is the courts that have designed the lens through which we understand the Constitution in modern times. It is often said that the Constitution changes less by amendment and more by the way it is interpreted. Rather than collecting dust on a shelf, the nearly 230-year-old document has come with us into the modern age, and the accepted practice of judicial review has helped carry it along the way.
COURTS AS A LAST RESORT
While the U.S. Supreme Court and state supreme courts exert power over many when reviewing laws or declaring acts of other branches unconstitutional, they become particularly important when an individual or group comes before them believing there has been a wrong. A citizen or group that feels mistreated can approach a variety of institutional venues in the U.S. system for assistance in changing policy or seeking support. Organizing protests, garnering special interest group support, and changing laws through the legislative and executive branches are all possible, but an individual is most likely to find the courts especially well-suited to analyzing the particulars of his or her case.
The adversarial judicial system comes from the common law tradition: In a court case, it is one party versus the other, and it is up to an impartial person or group, such as the judge or jury, to determine which party prevails. The federal court system is most often called upon when a case touches on constitutional rights. For example, when Samantha Elauf, a Muslim woman, was denied a job working for the clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch because a headscarf she wears as religious practice violated the company’s dress code, the Supreme Court ruled that her First Amendment rights had been violated, making it possible for her to sue the store for monetary damages.
Elauf had applied for an Abercrombie sales job in Oklahoma in 2008. Her interviewer recommended her based on her qualifications, but she was never given the job because the clothing retailer wanted to avoid having to accommodate her religious practice of wearing a headscarf, or hijab. In so doing, the Court ruled, Abercrombie violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employers from discriminating on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, and requires them to accommodate religious practices.Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores, 575 U.S. __ (2015).
Rulings like this have become particularly important for members of religious minority groups, including Muslims, Sikhs, and Jews, who now feel more protected from employment discrimination based on their religious attire, head coverings, or beards.Liptak, Adam. “Muslim Woman Denied Job Over Head Scarf Wins in Supreme Court.” New York Times. 1 June 2015. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/02/us/supreme-court-rules-in-samantha-elauf-abercrombie-fitch-case.html?_r=0. Such decisions illustrate how the expansion of individual rights and liberties for particular persons or groups over the years has come about largely as a result of court rulings made for individuals on a case-by-case basis.
Although the United States prides itself on the Declaration of Independence’s statement that “all men are created equal,” and “equal protection of the laws” is a written constitutional principle of the Fourteenth Amendment, the reality is less than perfect. But it is evolving. Changing times and technology have and will continue to alter the way fundamental constitutional rights are defined and applied, and the courts have proven themselves to be crucial in that definition and application.
Societal traditions, public opinion, and politics have often stood in the way of the full expansion of rights and liberties to different groups, and not everyone has agreed that these rights should be expanded as they have been by the courts. Schools were long segregated by race until the Court ordered desegregation in Brown v. Board of Education (1954), and even then, many stood in opposition and tried to block students at the entrances to all-white schools.Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 (1954). Factions have formed on opposite sides of the abortion and handgun debates, because many do not agree that women should have abortion rights or that individuals should have the right to a handgun. People disagree about whether members of the LGBT community should be allowed to marry or whether arrested persons should be read their rights, guaranteed an attorney, and/or have their cell phones protected from police search.
But the Supreme Court has ruled in favor of all these issues and others. Even without unanimous agreement among citizens, Supreme Court decisions have made all these possibilities a reality, a particularly important one for the individuals who become the beneficiaries (Table). The judicial branch has often made decisions the other branches were either unwilling or unable to make, and Hamilton was right in Federalist No. 78 when he said that without the courts exercising their duty to defend the Constitution, “all the reservations of particular rights or privileges would amount to nothing.”
| Examples of Supreme Court Cases Involving Individuals | ||
|---|---|---|
| Case Name | Year | Court’s Decision |
| Brown v. Board of Education | 1954 | Public schools must be desegregated. |
| Gideon v. Wainwright | 1963 | Poor criminal defendants must be provided an attorney. |
| Miranda v. Arizona | 1966 | Criminal suspects must be read their rights. |
| Roe v. Wade | 1973 | Women have a constitutional right to abortion. |
| McDonald v. Chicago | 2010 | An individual has the right to a handgun in his or her home. |
| Riley v. California | 2014 | Police may not search a cell phone without a warrant. |
| Obergefell v. Hodges | 2015 | Same-sex couples have the right to marry in all states. |
The courts seldom if ever grant rights to a person instantly and upon request. In a number of cases, they have expressed reluctance to expand rights without limit, and they still balance that expansion with the government’s need to govern, provide for the common good, and serve a broader societal purpose. For example, the Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of the death penalty, ruling that the Eighth Amendment does not prevent a person from being put to death for committing a capital crime and that the government may consider “retribution and the possibility of deterrence” when it seeks capital punishment for a crime that so warrants it.Gregg v. Georgia, 428 U.S. 153 (1976). In other words, there is a greater good—more safety and security—that may be more important than sparing the life of an individual who has committed a heinous crime.
Yet the Court has also put limits on the ability to impose the death penalty, ruling, for example, that the government may not execute a person with cognitive disabilities, a person who was under eighteen at the time of the crime, or a child rapist who did not kill his victim.Atkins v. Virginia, 536 U.S. 304 (2002); Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551 (2005); Kennedy v. Louisiana, 554 U.S. 407 (2008). So the job of the courts on any given issue is never quite done, as justices continuously keep their eye on government laws, actions, and policy changes as cases are brought to them and then decide whether those laws, actions, and policies can stand or must go. Even with an issue such as the death penalty, about which the Court has made several rulings, there is always the possibility that further judicial interpretation of what does (or does not) violate the Constitution will be needed.
This happened, for example, as recently as 2015 in a case involving the use of lethal injection as capital punishment in the state of Oklahoma, where death-row inmates are put to death through the use of three drugs—a sedative to bring about unconsciousness (midazolam), followed by two others that cause paralysis and stop the heart. A group of these inmates challenged the use of midazolam as unconstitutional. They argued that since it could not reliably cause unconsciousness, its use constituted an Eighth Amendment violation against cruel and unusual punishment and should be stopped by the courts. The Supreme Court rejected the inmates’ claims, ruling that Oklahoma could continue to use midazolam as part of its three-drug protocol.Glossip v. Gross, 576 U.S. __ (2015). But with four of the nine justices dissenting from that decision, a sharply divided Court leaves open a greater possibility of more death-penalty cases to come. The 2015–2016 session alone includes four such cases, challenging death-sentencing procedures in such states as Florida, Georgia, and Kansas.“October Term 2015.” SCOTUSblog. http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/terms/ot2015/?sort=mname (March 1, 2016).
Therefore, we should not underestimate the power and significance of the judicial branch in the United States. Today, the courts have become a relevant player, gaining enough clout and trust over the years to take their place as a separate yet coequal branch.
Summary
From humble beginnings, the judicial branch has evolved over the years to a significance that would have been difficult for the Constitution’s framers to envision. While they understood and prioritized the value of an independent judiciary in a common law system, they could not have predicted the critical role the courts would play in the interpretation of the Constitution, our understanding of the law, the development of public policy, and the preservation and expansion of individual rights and liberties over time.
The Supreme Court’s power of judicial review ________.
- is given to it in the original constitution
- enables it to declare acts of the other branches unconstitutional
- allows it to hear cases
- establishes the three-tiered court system
Hint:
B
The Supreme Court most typically functions as ________.
- a district court
- a trial court
- a court of original jurisdiction
- an appeals court
In Federalist No. 78, Alexander Hamilton characterized the judiciary as the ________ branch of government.
- most unnecessary
- strongest
- least dangerous
- most political
Hint:
C
Explain one positive and one negative aspect of the lifetime term of office for judges and justices in the federal court system. Why do you believe the constitution’s framers chose lifetime terms?
What do you find most significant about having a common law system?
Hint:
The judicial branch is involved in the system of law-making in the United States. Through their interpretation of the law, judges are an important part of the legal system and influence the way law is made and interpreted. They don’t just apply the law; they also make it.
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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/15261/overview
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The Dual Court System
Learning Objectives
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Describe the dual court system and its three tiers
- Explain how you are protected and governed by different U.S. court systems
- Compare the positive and negative aspects of a dual court system
Before the writing of the U.S. Constitution and the establishment of the permanent national judiciary under Article III, the states had courts. Each of the thirteen colonies had also had its own courts, based on the British common law model. The judiciary today continues as a dual court system, with courts at both the national and state levels. Both levels have three basic tiers consisting of trial courts, appellate courts, and finally courts of last resort, typically called supreme courts, at the top (Figure).
To add to the complexity, the state and federal court systems sometimes intersect and overlap each other, and no two states are exactly alike when it comes to the organization of their courts. Since a state’s court system is created by the state itself, each one differs in structure, the number of courts, and even name and jurisdiction. Thus, the organization of state courts closely resembles but does not perfectly mirror the more clear-cut system found at the federal level.Bureau of International Information Programs, United States Department of State. Outline of the U.S. Legal System. 2004. Still, we can summarize the overall three-tiered structure of the dual court model and consider the relationship that the national and state sides share with the U.S. Supreme Court, as illustrated in Figure.
Cases heard by the U.S. Supreme Court come from two primary pathways: (1) the circuit courts, or U.S. courts of appeals (after the cases have originated in the federal district courts), and (2) state supreme courts (when there is a substantive federal question in the case). In a later section of the chapter, we discuss the lower courts and the movement of cases through the dual court system to the U.S. Supreme Court. But first, to better understand how the dual court system operates, we consider the types of cases state and local courts handle and the types for which the federal system is better designed.
COURTS AND FEDERALISM
Courts hear two different types of disputes: criminal and civil. Under criminal law, governments establish rules and punishments; laws define conduct that is prohibited because it can harm others and impose punishment for committing such an act. Crimes are usually labeled felonies or misdemeanors based on their nature and seriousness; felonies are the more serious crimes. When someone commits a criminal act, the government (state or national, depending on which law has been broken) charges that person with a crime, and the case brought to court contains the name of the charging government, as in Miranda v. Arizona discussed below.Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966). On the other hand, civil law cases involve two or more private (non-government) parties, at least one of whom alleges harm or injury committed by the other. In both criminal and civil matters, the courts decide the remedy and resolution of the case, and in all cases, the U.S. Supreme Court is the final court of appeal.
This site provides an interesting challenge: Look at the different cases presented and decide whether each would be heard in the state or federal courts. You can check your results at the end.
Although the Supreme Court tends to draw the most public attention, it typically hears fewer than one hundred cases every year. In fact, the entire federal side—both trial and appellate—handles proportionately very few cases, with about 90 percent of all cases in the U.S. court system being heard at the state level.“State Courts vs. Federal Courts.” The Judicial Learning Center. http://judiciallearningcenter.org/state-courts-vs-federal-courts/ (March 1, 2016). The several hundred thousand cases handled every year on the federal side pale in comparison to the several million handled by the states.
State courts really are the core of the U.S. judicial system, and they are responsible for a huge area of law. Most crimes and criminal activity, such as robbery, rape, and murder, are violations of state laws, and cases are thus heard by state courts. State courts also handle civil matters; personal injury, malpractice, divorce, family, juvenile, probate, and contract disputes and real estate cases, to name just a few, are usually state-level cases.
The federal courts, on the other hand, will hear any case that involves a foreign government, patent or copyright infringement, Native American rights, maritime law, bankruptcy, or a controversy between two or more states. Cases arising from activities across state lines (interstate commerce) are also subject to federal court jurisdiction, as are cases in which the United States is a party. A dispute between two parties not from the same state or nation and in which damages of at least $75,000 are claimed is handled at the federal level. Such a case is known as a diversity of citizenship case.“State Courts vs. Federal Courts.” The Judicial Learning Center. http://judiciallearningcenter.org/state-courts-vs-federal-courts/ (March 1, 2016).
However, some cases cut across the dual court system and may end up being heard in both state and federal courts. Any case has the potential to make it to the federal courts if it invokes the U.S. Constitution or federal law. It could be a criminal violation of federal law, such as assault with a gun, the illegal sale of drugs, or bank robbery. Or it could be a civil violation of federal law, such as employment discrimination or securities fraud. Also, any perceived violation of a liberty protected by the Bill of Rights, such as freedom of speech or the protection against cruel and unusual punishment, can be argued before the federal courts. A summary of the basic jurisdictions of the state and federal sides is provided in Table.
| Jurisdiction of the Courts: State vs. Federal | |
|---|---|
| State Courts | Federal Courts |
| Hear most day-to-day cases, covering 90 percent of all cases | Hear cases that involve a “federal question,” involving the Constitution, federal laws or treaties, or a “federal party” in which the U.S. government is a party to the case |
| Hear both civil and criminal matters | Hear both civil and criminal matters, although many criminal cases involving federal law are tried in state courts |
| Help the states retain their own sovereignty in judicial matters over their state laws, distinct from the national government | Hear cases that involve “interstate” matters, “diversity of citizenship” involving parties of two different states, or between a U.S. citizen and a citizen of another nation (and with a damage claim of at least $75,000) |
While we may certainly distinguish between the two sides of a jurisdiction, looking on a case-by-case basis will sometimes complicate the seemingly clear-cut division between the state and federal sides. It is always possible that issues of federal law may start in the state courts before they make their way over to the federal side. And any case that starts out at the state and/or local level on state matters can make it into the federal system on appeal—but only on points that involve a federal law or question, and usually after all avenues of appeal in the state courts have been exhausted.“U.S. Court System.” Syracuse University. http://www2.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/scales/court.html (March 1, 2016).
Consider the case Miranda v. Arizona.Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966). Ernesto Miranda, arrested for kidnapping and rape, which are violations of state law, was easily convicted and sentenced to prison after a key piece of evidence—his own signed confession—was presented at trial in the Arizona court. On appeal first to the Arizona Supreme Court and then to the U.S. Supreme Court to exclude the confession on the grounds that its admission was a violation of his constitutional rights, Miranda won the case. By a slim 5–4 margin, the justices ruled that the confession had to be excluded from evidence because in obtaining it, the police had violated Miranda’s Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and his Sixth Amendment right to an attorney. In the opinion of the Court, because of the coercive nature of police interrogation, no confession can be admissible unless a suspect is made aware of his rights and then in turn waives those rights. For this reason, Miranda’s original conviction was overturned.
Yet the Supreme Court considered only the violation of Miranda’s constitutional rights, but not whether he was guilty of the crimes with which he was charged. So there were still crimes committed for which Miranda had to face charges. He was therefore retried in state court in 1967, the second time without the confession as evidence, found guilty again based on witness testimony and other evidence, and sent to prison.
Miranda’s story is a good example of the tandem operation of the state and federal court systems. His guilt or innocence of the crimes was a matter for the state courts, whereas the constitutional questions raised by his trial were a matter for the federal courts. Although he won his case before the Supreme Court, which established a significant precedent that criminal suspects must be read their so-called Miranda rights before police questioning, the victory did not do much for Miranda himself. After serving prison time, he was stabbed to death in a bar fight in 1976 while out on parole, and due to a lack of evidence, no one was ever convicted in his death.
THE IMPLICATIONS OF A DUAL COURT SYSTEM
From an individual’s perspective, the dual court system has both benefits and drawbacks. On the plus side, each person has more than just one court system ready to protect his or her rights. The dual court system provides alternate venues in which to appeal for assistance, as Ernesto Miranda’s case illustrates. The U.S. Supreme Court found for Miranda an extension of his Fifth Amendment protections—a constitutional right to remain silent when faced with police questioning. It was a right he could not get solely from the state courts in Arizona, but one those courts had to honor nonetheless.
The fact that a minority voice like Miranda’s can be heard in court, and that his or her grievance can be resolved in his or her favor if warranted, says much about the role of the judiciary in a democratic republic. In Miranda’s case, a resolution came from the federal courts, but it can also come from the state side. In fact, the many differences among the state courts themselves may enhance an individual’s potential to be heard.
State courts vary in the degree to which they take on certain types of cases or issues, give access to particular groups, or promote certain interests. If a particular issue or topic is not taken up in one place, it may be handled in another, giving rise to many different opportunities for an interest to be heard somewhere across the nation. In their research, Paul Brace and Melinda Hall found that state courts are important instruments of democracy because they provide different alternatives and varying arenas for political access. They wrote, “Regarding courts, one size does not fit all, and the republic has survived in part because federalism allows these critical variations.”Paul R. Brace and Melinda Gann Hall. 2005. “Is Judicial Federalism Essential to Democracy? State Courts in the Federal System.” In Institutions of American Democracy, The Judicial Branch, eds. Kermit L. Hall and Kevin T. McGuire. New York: Oxford University Press.
But the existence of the dual court system and variations across the states and nation also mean that there are different courts in which a person could face charges for a crime or for a violation of another person’s rights. Except for the fact that the U.S. Constitution binds judges and justices in all the courts, it is state law that governs the authority of state courts, so judicial rulings about what is legal or illegal may differ from state to state. These differences are particularly pronounced when the laws across the states and the nation are not the same, as we see with marijuana laws today.
Marijuana Laws and the Courts
There are so many differences in marijuana laws between states, and between the states and the national government, that uniform application of treatment in courts across the nation is nearly impossible (Figure). What is legal in one state may be illegal in another, and state laws do not cross state geographic boundary lines—but people do. What’s more, a person residing in any of the fifty states is still subject to federal law.
For example, a person over the age of twenty-one may legally buy marijuana for recreational use in four states and for medicinal purpose in nearly half the states, but could face charges—and time in court—for possession in a neighboring state where marijuana use is not legal. Under federal law, too, marijuana is still regulated as a Schedule 1 (most dangerous) drug, and federal authorities often find themselves pitted against states that have legalized it. Such differences can lead, somewhat ironically, to arrests and federal criminal charges for people who have marijuana in states where it is legal, or to federal raids on growers and dispensaries that would otherwise be operating legally under their state’s law.
Differences among the states have also prompted a number of lawsuits against states with legalized marijuana, as people opposed to those state laws seek relief from (none other than) the courts. They want the courts to resolve the issue, which has left in its wake contradictions and conflicts between states that have legalized marijuana and those that have not, as well as conflicts between states and the national government. These lawsuits include at least one filed by the states of Nebraska and Oklahoma against Colorado. Citing concerns over cross-border trafficking, difficulties with law enforcement, and violations of the Constitution’s supremacy clause, Nebraska and Oklahoma have petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene and rule on the legality of Colorado’s marijuana law, hoping to get it overturned.States of Nebraska and Oklahoma v. State of Colorado. Motion for Leave to File Complaint, Complaint and Brief in Support. December 2014. http://www.scribd.com/doc/250506006/Nebraska-Oklahoma-Lawsuit. The Supreme Court has yet to take up the case.
How do you think differences among the states and differences between federal and state law regarding marijuana use can affect the way a person is treated in court? What, if anything, should be done to rectify the disparities in application of the law across the nation?
Where you are physically located can affect not only what is allowable and what is not, but also how cases are judged. For decades, political scientists have confirmed that political culture affects the operation of government institutions, and when we add to that the differing political interests and cultures at work within each state, we end up with court systems that vary greatly in their judicial and decision-making processes.Joel B. Grossman and Austin Sarat. 1971. “Political Culture and Judicial Research.” Washington University Law Review. 1971 (2) Symposium: Courts, Judges, Politics—Some Political Science Perspectives. http://openscholarship.wustl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2777&context=law_lawreview. Each state court system operates with its own individual set of biases. People with varying interests, ideologies, behaviors, and attitudes run the disparate legal systems, so the results they produce are not always the same. Moreover, the selection method for judges at the state and local level varies. In some states, judges are elected rather than appointed, which can affect their rulings.
Just as the laws vary across the states, so do judicial rulings and interpretations, and the judges who make them. That means there may not be uniform application of the law—even of the same law—nationwide. We are somewhat bound by geography and do not always have the luxury of picking and choosing the venue for our particular case. So, while having such a decentralized and varied set of judicial operations affects the kinds of cases that make it to the courts and gives citizens alternate locations to get their case heard, it may also lead to disparities in the way they are treated once they get there.
Summary
The U.S. judicial system features a dual court model, with courts at both the federal and state levels, and the U.S. Supreme Court at the top. While cases may sometimes be eligible for both state and federal review, each level has its own distinct jurisdiction. There are trial and appellate courts at both levels, but there are also remarkable differences among the states in their laws, politics, and culture, meaning that no two state court systems are exactly alike. The diversity of courts across the nation can have both positive and negative effects for citizens, depending on their situation. While it provides for various opportunities for an issue or interest to be heard, it may also lead to case-by-case treatment of individuals, groups, or issues that is not always the same or even-handed across the nation.
Of all the court cases in the United States, the majority are handled ________.
- by the U.S. Supreme Court
- at the state level
- by the circuit courts
- by the U.S. district courts
Both state and federal courts hear matters that involve ________.
- civil law only
- criminal law only
- both civil and criminal law
- neither civil nor criminal law
Hint:
C
A state case is more likely to be heard by the federal courts when ________.
- it involves a federal question
- a governor requests a federal court hearing
- it involves a criminal matter
- the state courts are unable to come up with a decision
The existence of the dual court system is an unnecessary duplication to some but beneficial to others. Provide at least one positive and one negative characteristic of having overlapping court systems in the United States.
Hint:
Overlapping court systems provide each individual with more than just one court to protect his or her rights. A person seeking a wrong to be righted may have alternate places to pursue his or her case. On the other hand, having overlapping court systems opens the door to the possibility of unequal or disparate administration of justice.
Which court would you consider to be closest to the people? Why?
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oercommons
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2025-03-18T00:39:25.685659
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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/15262/overview
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The Federal Court System
Learning Objectives
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Describe the differences between the U.S. district courts, circuit courts, and the Supreme Court
- Explain the significance of precedent in the courts’ operations
- Describe how judges are selected for their positions
Congress has made numerous changes to the federal judicial system throughout the years, but the three-tiered structure of the system is quite clear-cut today. Federal cases typically begin at the lowest federal level, the district (or trial) court. Losing parties may appeal their case to the higher courts—first to the circuit courts, or U.S. courts of appeals, and then, if chosen by the justices, to the U.S. Supreme Court. Decisions of the higher courts are binding on the lower courts. The precedent set by each ruling, particularly by the Supreme Court’s decisions, both builds on principles and guidelines set by earlier cases and frames the ongoing operation of the courts, steering the direction of the entire system. Reliance on precedent has enabled the federal courts to operate with logic and consistency that has helped validate their role as the key interpreters of the Constitution and the law—a legitimacy particularly vital in the United States where citizens do not elect federal judges and justices but are still subject to their rulings.
THE THREE TIERS OF FEDERAL COURTS
There are ninety-four U.S. district courts in the fifty states and U.S. territories, of which eighty-nine are in the states (at least one in each state). The others are in Washington, DC; Puerto Rico; Guam; the U.S. Virgin Islands; and the Northern Mariana Islands. These are the trial courts of the national system, in which federal cases are tried, witness testimony is heard, and evidence is presented. No district court crosses state lines, and a single judge oversees each one. Some cases are heard by a jury, and some are not.
There are thirteen U.S. courts of appeals, or circuit courts, eleven across the nation and two in Washington, DC (the DC circuit and the federal circuit courts), as illustrated in Figure. Each court is overseen by a rotating panel of three judges who do not hold trials but instead review the rulings of the trial (district) courts within their geographic circuit. As authorized by Congress, there are currently 179 judges. The circuit courts are often referred to as the intermediate appellate courts of the federal system, since their rulings can be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Moreover, different circuits can hold legal and cultural views, which can lead to differing outcomes on similar legal questions. In such scenarios, clarification from the U.S. Supreme Court might be needed.
Today’s federal court system was not an overnight creation; it has been changing and transitioning for more than two hundred years through various acts of Congress. Since district courts are not called for in Article III of the Constitution, Congress established them and narrowly defined their jurisdiction, at first limiting them to handling only cases that arose within the district. Beginning in 1789 when there were just thirteen, the district courts became the basic organizational units of the federal judicial system. Gradually over the next hundred years, Congress expanded their jurisdiction, in particular over federal questions, which enables them to review constitutional issues and matters of federal law. In the Judicial Code of 1911, Congress made the U.S. district courts the sole general-jurisdiction trial courts of the federal judiciary, a role they had previously shared with the circuit courts.“The U.S. District Courts and the Federal Judiciary.” Federal Judicial Center. http://www.fjc.gov/history/home.nsf/page/courts_district.html (March 1, 2016).
The circuit courts started out as the trial courts for most federal criminal cases and for some civil suits, including those initiated by the United States and those involving citizens of different states. But early on, they did not have their own judges; the local district judge and two Supreme Court justices formed each circuit court panel. (That is how the name “circuit” arose—judges in the early circuit courts traveled from town to town to hear cases, following prescribed paths or circuits to arrive at destinations where they were needed.“Circuit Riding.” Encyclopedia Britannica. http://www.britannica.com/topic/circuit-riding (March 1, 2016).) Circuit courts also exercised appellate jurisdiction (meaning they receive appeals on federal district court cases) over most civil suits that originated in the district courts; however, that role ended in 1891, and their appellate jurisdiction was turned over to the newly created circuit courts, or U.S. courts of appeals. The original circuit courts—the ones that did not have “of appeals” added to their name—were abolished in 1911, fully replaced by these new circuit courts of appeals.“The U.S. Circuit Courts and the Federal Judiciary.” Federal Judicial Center. http://www.fjc.gov/history/home.nsf/page/courts_circuit.html (March 1, 2016).
While we often focus primarily on the district and circuit courts of the federal system, other federal trial courts exist that have more specialized jurisdictions, such as the Court of International Trade, Court of Federal Claims, and U.S. Tax Court. Specialized federal appeals courts include the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces and the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. Cases from any of these courts may also be appealed to the Supreme Court, although that result is very rare.
On the U.S. Supreme Court, there are nine justices—one chief justice and eight associate justices. Circuit courts each contain three justices, whereas federal district courts have just one judge each. As the national court of last resort for all other courts in the system, the Supreme Court plays a vital role in setting the standards of interpretation that the lower courts follow. The Supreme Court’s decisions are binding across the nation and establish the precedent by which future cases are resolved in all the system’s tiers.
The U.S. court system operates on the principle of stare decisis (Latin for stand by things decided), which means that today’s decisions are based largely on rulings from the past, and tomorrow’s rulings rely on what is decided today. Stare decisis is especially important in the U.S. common law system, in which the consistency of precedent ensures greater certainty and stability in law and constitutional interpretation, and it also contributes to the solidity and legitimacy of the court system itself. As former Supreme Court justice Benjamin Cardozo summarized it years ago, “Adherence to precedent must then be the rule rather than the exception if litigants are to have faith in the even-handed administration of justice in the courts.”Benjamin N. Cardozo. 1921. The Nature of the Judicial Process. New Haven: Yale University Press. http://www.constitution.org/cmt/cardozo/jud_proc.htm.
With a focus on federal courts and the public, this website reveals the different ways the federal courts affect the lives of U.S. citizens and how those citizens interact with the courts.
When the legal facts of one case are the same as the legal facts of another, stare decisis dictates that they should be decided the same way, and judges are reluctant to disregard precedent without justification. However, that does not mean there is no flexibility or that new precedents or rulings can never be created. They often are. Certainly, court interpretations can change as times and circumstances change—and as the courts themselves change when new judges are selected and take their place on the bench. For example, the membership of the Supreme Court had changed entirely between Plessey v. Ferguson (1896), which brought the doctrine of “separate but equal” and Brown v. Board of Education (1954), which required integration.Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (1896); Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 (1954).
THE SELECTION OF JUDGES
Judges fulfill a vital role in the U.S. judicial system and are carefully selected. At the federal level, the president nominates a candidate to a judgeship or justice position, and the nominee must be confirmed by a majority vote in the U.S. Senate, a function of the Senate’s “advice and consent” role. All judges and justices in the national courts serve lifetime terms of office.
The president sometimes chooses nominees from a list of candidates maintained by the American Bar Association, a national professional organization of lawyers.American Bar Association Coalition for Justice. 2008. “Judicial Selection.” In American Bar Association, eds. American Judicature Society and Malia Reddick. http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/migrated/JusticeCenter/Justice/PublicDocuments/judicial_selection_roadmap.authcheckdam.pdf. The president’s nominee is then discussed (and sometimes hotly debated) in the Senate Judiciary Committee. After a committee vote, the candidate must be confirmed by a majority vote of the full Senate. He or she is then sworn in, taking an oath of office to uphold the Constitution and the laws of the United States.
When a vacancy occurs in a lower federal court, by custom, the president consults with that state’s U.S. senators before making a nomination. Through such senatorial courtesy, senators exert considerable influence on the selection of judges in their state, especially those senators who share a party affiliation with the president. In many cases, a senator can block a proposed nominee just by voicing his or her opposition. Thus, a presidential nominee typically does not get far without the support of the senators from the nominee’s home state.
Most presidential appointments to the federal judiciary go unnoticed by the public, but when a president has the rarer opportunity to make a Supreme Court appointment, it draws more attention. That is particularly true now, when many people get their news primarily from the Internet and social media. It was not surprising to see not only television news coverage but also blogs and tweets about President Obama’s most recent nominees to the high court, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan (Figure).
Presidential nominees for the courts typically reflect the chief executive’s own ideological position. With a confirmed nominee serving a lifetime appointment, a president’s ideological legacy has the potential to live on long after the end of his or her term.American Bar Association Coalition for Justice. 2008. “Judicial Selection.” In American Bar Association, eds. American Judicature Society and Malia Reddick. http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/migrated/JusticeCenter/Justice/PublicDocuments/judicial_selection_roadmap.authcheckdam.pdf. President Obama surely considered the ideological leanings of his two Supreme Court appointees, and both Sotomayor and Kagan have consistently ruled in a more liberal ideological direction. The timing of the two nominations also dovetailed nicely with the Democratic Party’s gaining control of the Senate in the 111th Congress of 2009–2011, which helped guarantee their confirmations.
But some nominees turn out to be surprises or end up ruling in ways that the president who nominated them did not anticipate. Democratic-appointed judges sometimes side with conservatives, just as Republican-appointed judges sometimes side with liberals. Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower reportedly called his nomination of Earl Warren as chief justice—in an era that saw substantial broadening of civil and criminal rights—“the biggest damn fool mistake” he had ever made. Sandra Day O’Connor, nominated by Republican president Ronald Reagan, often became a champion for women’s rights. David Souter, nominated by Republican George H. W. Bush, more often than not sided with the Court’s liberal wing. And even on the present-day court, Anthony Kennedy, a Reagan appointee, has become notorious as the Court’s swing vote, sometimes siding with the more conservative justices but sometimes not. Current chief justice John Roberts, though most typically an ardent member of the Court’s more conservative wing, has twice voted to uphold provisions of the Affordable Care Act.
Once a justice has started his or her lifetime tenure on the Court and years begin to pass, many people simply forget which president nominated him or her. For better or worse, sometimes it is only a controversial nominee who leaves a president’s legacy behind. For example, the Reagan presidency is often remembered for two controversial nominees to the Supreme Court—Robert Bork and Douglas Ginsburg, the former accused of taking an overly conservative and “extremist view of the Constitution”John M. Broder. “Edward M. Kennedy, Senate Stalwart, Is Dead at 77.” New York Times. 26 August 2009. and the latter of having used marijuana while a student and then a professor at Harvard University (Figure). President George W. Bush’s nomination of Harriet Miers was withdrawn in the face of criticism from both sides of the political spectrum, questioning her ideological leanings and especially her qualifications, suggesting she was not ready for the job.Michael A. Fletcher and Charles Babington. “Miers, Under Fire From Right, Withdrawn as Court Nominee.” Washington Post. 28 October 2005. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/27/AR2005102700547.html. After Miers’ withdrawal, the Senate went on to confirm Bush’s subsequent nomination of Samuel Alito, who remains on the Court today. The 2016 presidential election between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump was especially important because the next president is likely to choose three justices.
Presidential legacy and controversial nominations notwithstanding, there is one certainty about the overall look of the federal court system: What was once a predominately white, male, Protestant institution is today much more diverse. As a look at Table reveals, the membership of the Supreme Court has changed with the passing years.
| Supreme Court Justice Firsts | |
|---|---|
| First Catholic | Roger B. Taney (nominated in 1836) |
| First Jew | Louis J. Brandeis (1916) |
| First (and only) former U.S. President | William Howard Taft (1921) |
| First African American | Thurgood Marshall (1967) |
| First Woman | Sandra Day O’Connor (1981) |
| First Hispanic American | Sonia Sotomayor (2009) |
The lower courts are also more diverse today. In the past few decades, the U.S. judiciary has expanded to include more women and minorities at both the federal and state levels.Bureau of International Information Programs. United States Department of State. Outline of the U.S. Legal System. 2004. However, the number of women and people of color on the courts still lags behind the overall number of white men. As of 2009, the federal judiciary consists of 70 percent white men, 15 percent white women, and between 1 and 8 percent African American, Hispanic American, and Asian American men and women.Russell Wheeler. “The Changing Face of the Federal Judiciary.” Governance Studies at Brookings. August 2009. http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/papers/2009/8/federal-judiciary-wheeler/08_federal_judiciary_wheeler.pdf.
Summary
The structure of today’s three-tiered federal court system, largely established by Congress, is quite clear-cut. The system’s reliance on precedent ensures a consistent and stable institution that is still capable of slowly evolving over the years—such as by increasingly reflecting the diverse population it serves. Presidents hope their judicial nominees will make rulings consistent with the chief executive’s own ideological leanings. But the lifetime tenure of federal court members gives them the flexibility to act in ways that may or may not reflect what their nominating president intended. Perfect alignment between nominating president and justice is not expected; a judge might be liberal on most issues but conservative on others, or vice versa. However, presidents have sometimes been surprised by the decisions made by their nominees, such as President Eisenhower was by Justice Earl Warren and President Reagan by Justice Anthony Kennedy.
Besides the Supreme Court, there are lower courts in the national system called ________.
- state and federal courts
- district and circuit courts
- state and local courts
- civil and common courts
Hint:
B
In standing by precedent, a judge relies on the principle of ________.
- stare decisis
- amicus curiae
- judicial activism
- laissez-faire
The justices of the Supreme Court are ________.
- elected by citizens
- chosen by the Congress
- confirmed by the president
- nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate
Hint:
D
Do you believe federal judges should be elected rather than appointed? Why or why not?
When it comes to filling judicial positions in the federal courts, do you believe race, gender, religion, and ethnicity should matter? Why or why not?
Hint:
The United States has become much more diverse, and it is only fitting that the judicial branch more accurately reflects the demographic composition of the population. At the same time, judicial positions should be filled by the most competent and qualified candidates.
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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/15263/overview
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The Supreme Court
Learning Objectives
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Analyze the structure and important features of the Supreme Court
- Explain how the Supreme Court selects cases to hear
- Discuss the Supreme Court’s processes and procedures
The Supreme Court of the United States, sometimes abbreviated SCOTUS, is a one-of-a-kind institution. While a look at the Supreme Court typically focuses on the nine justices themselves, they represent only the top layer of an entire branch of government that includes many administrators, lawyers, and assistants who contribute to and help run the overall judicial system. The Court has its own set of rules for choosing cases, and it follows a unique set of procedures for hearing them. Its decisions not only affect the outcome of the individual case before the justices, but they also create lasting impacts on legal and constitutional interpretation for the future.
THE STRUCTURE OF THE SUPREME COURT
The original court in 1789 had six justices, but Congress set the number at nine in 1869, and it has remained there ever since. There is one chief justice, who is the lead or highest-ranking judge on the Court, and eight associate justices. All nine serve lifetime terms, after successful nomination by the president and confirmation by the Senate.
The current court is fairly diverse in terms of gender, religion (Christians and Jews), ethnicity, and ideology, as well as length of tenure. Some justices have served for three decades, whereas others were only recently appointed by President Obama. Figure lists the names of the eight justices serving on the Court as of November 2016, along with their year of appointment and the president who nominated them.
With the death of Associate Justice Antonin Scalia in February 2016, there remain three current justices who are considered part of the Court’s more conservative wing—Chief Justice Roberts and Associate Justices Thomas and Alito, while four are considered more liberal-leaning—Justices Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan (Figure). Justice Kennedy has become known as the “swing” vote, particularly on decisions like the Court’s same-sex marriage rulings in 2015, because he sometimes takes a more liberal position and sometimes a more conservative one. Had the Democrats retained the presidency in 2016, the replacement for Scalia’s spot on the court could have swung many key votes in a moderate or liberal direction. However, with Republican Donald Trump winning the election and the Republicans retaining Senate control, it is likely that the replacement in 2017 will be more conservative.
While not formally connected with the public the way elected leaders are, the Supreme Court nonetheless offers visitors a great deal of information at its official website.
For unofficial summaries of recent Supreme Court cases or news about the Court, visit the Oyez website or SCOTUS blog.
In fact, none of the justices works completely in an ideological bubble. While their numerous opinions have revealed certain ideological tendencies, they still consider each case as it comes to them, and they don’t always rule in a consistently predictable or expected way. Furthermore, they don’t work exclusively on their own. Each justice has three or four law clerks, recent law school graduates who temporarily work for him or her, do research, help prepare the justice with background information, and assist with the writing of opinions. The law clerks’ work and recommendations influence whether the justices will choose to hear a case, as well as how they will rule. As the profile below reveals, the role of the clerks is as significant as it is varied.
Profile of a United States Supreme Court Clerk
A Supreme Court clerkship is one of the most sought-after legal positions, giving “thirty-six young lawyers each year a chance to leave their fingerprints all over constitutional law.”Dahlia Lithwick. “Who Feeds the Supreme Court?” Slate.com. September 14, 2015. http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2015/09/supreme_court_feeder_judges_men_and_few_women_send_law_clerks_to_scotus.html. A number of current and former justices were themselves clerks, including Chief Justice John Roberts, Justices Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan, and former chief justice William Rehnquist.
Supreme Court clerks are often reluctant to share insider information about their experiences, but it is always fascinating and informative to hear about their jobs. Former clerk Philippa Scarlett, who worked for Justice Stephen Breyer, describes four main responsibilities:“Role of Supreme Court Law Clerk: Interview with Philippa Scarlett.” IIP Digital. United States of America Embassy. http://iipdigital.usembassy.gov/st/english/publication/2013/02/20130211142365.html#axzz3grjRwiG (March 1, 2016).
Review the cases: Clerks participate in a “cert. pool” (short for writ of certiorari, a request that the lower court send up its record of the case for review) and make recommendations about which cases the Court should choose to hear.
Prepare the justices for oral argument: Clerks analyze the filed briefs (short arguments explaining each party’s side of the case) and the law at issue in each case waiting to be heard.
Research and draft judicial opinions: Clerks do detailed research to assist justices in writing an opinion, whether it is the majority opinion or a dissenting or concurring opinion.
Help with emergencies: Clerks also assist the justices in deciding on emergency applications to the Court, many of which are applications by prisoners to stay their death sentences and are sometimes submitted within hours of a scheduled execution.
Explain the role of law clerks in the Supreme Court system. What is your opinion about the role they play and the justices’ reliance on them?
HOW THE SUPREME COURT SELECTS CASES
The Supreme Court begins its annual session on the first Monday in October and ends late the following June. Every year, there are literally thousands of people who would like to have their case heard before the Supreme Court, but the justices will select only a handful to be placed on the docket, which is the list of cases scheduled on the Court’s calendar. The Court typically accepts fewer than 2 percent of the as many as ten thousand cases it is asked to review every year.“Supreme Court Procedures.” United States Courts. http://www.uscourts.gov/about-federal-courts/educational-resources/about-educational-outreach/activity-resources/supreme-1 (March 1, 2016).
Case names, written in italics, list the name of a petitioner versus a respondent, as in Roe v. Wade, for example.Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973). For a case on appeal, you can tell which party lost at the lower level of court by looking at the case name: The party unhappy with the decision of the lower court is the one bringing the appeal and is thus the petitioner, or the first-named party in the case. For example, in Brown v. Board of Education (1954), Oliver Brown was one of the thirteen parents who brought suit against the Topeka public schools for discrimination based on racial segregation.
Most often, the petitioner is asking the Supreme Court to grant a writ of certiorari, a request that the lower court send up its record of the case for review. Once a writ of certiorari (cert. for short) has been granted, the case is scheduled on the Court’s docket. The Supreme Court exercises discretion in the cases it chooses to hear, but four of the nine Justices must vote to accept a case. This is called the Rule of Four.
For decisions about cert., the Court’s Rule 10 (Considerations Governing Review on Writ of Certiorari) takes precedence.”Rule 10. Considerations Governing Review on Certiorari.” Rules of the Supreme Court of the United States. Adopted April 19, 2013, Effective July 1, 2013. http://www.supremecourt.gov/ctrules/2013RulesoftheCourt.pdf. The Court is more likely to grant certiorari when there is a conflict on an issue between or among the lower courts. Examples of conflicts include (1) conflicting decisions among different courts of appeals on the same matter, (2) decisions by an appeals court or a state court conflicting with precedent, and (3) state court decisions that conflict with federal decisions. Occasionally, the Court will fast-track a case that has special urgency, such as Bush v. Gore in the wake of the 2000 election.Bush v. Gore, 531 U.S. 98 (2000).
Past research indicated that the amount of interest-group activity surrounding a case before it is granted cert. has a significant impact on whether the Supreme Court puts the case on its agenda. The more activity, the more likely the case will be placed on the docket.Gregory A. Caldeira and John R. Wright. 1988. “Organized Interests and Agenda-Setting in the U.S. Supreme Court,” American Political Science Review 82: 1109–1128. But more recent research broadens that perspective, suggesting that too much interest-group activity when the Court is considering a case for its docket may actually have diminishing impact and that external actors may have less influence on the work of the Court than they have had in the past.Gregory A. Caldeira, John R. Wright, and Christopher Zorn. 2012. “Organized Interests and Agenda Setting in the U.S. Supreme Court Revisited.” Presentation at the Second Annual Conference on Institutions and Lawmaking, Emory University. http://polisci.emory.edu/home/cslpe/conference-institutions-law-making/2012/papers/caldeira_wright_zorn_cwzpaper.pdf. Still, the Court takes into consideration external influences, not just from interest groups but also from the public, from media attention, and from a very key governmental actor—the solicitor general.
The solicitor general is the lawyer who represents the federal government before the Supreme Court: He or she decides which cases (in which the United States is a party) should be appealed from the lower courts and personally approves each one presented (Figure). Most of the cases the solicitor general brings to the Court will be given a place on the docket. About two-thirds of all Supreme Court cases involve the federal government.“About the Office.” Office of the Solicitor General. The United States Department of Justice. http://www.justice.gov/osg/about-office-1 (March 1, 2016).
The solicitor general determines the position the government will take on a case. The attorneys of his or her office prepare and file the petitions and briefs, and the solicitor general (or an assistant) presents the oral arguments before the Court.
In other cases in which the United States is not the petitioner or the respondent, the solicitor general may choose to intervene or comment as a third party. Before a case is granted cert., the justices will sometimes ask the solicitor general to comment on or file a brief in the case, indicating their potential interest in getting it on the docket. The solicitor general may also recommend that the justices decline to hear a case. Though research has shown that the solicitor general’s special influence on the Court is not unlimited, it remains quite significant. In particular, the Court does not always agree with the solicitor general, and “while justices are not lemmings who will unwittingly fall off legal cliffs for tortured solicitor general recommendations, they nevertheless often go along with them even when we least expect them to.”Ryan C. Black and Ryan J. Owens. “Solicitor General Influence and the United States Supreme Court.” Vanderbilt University. http://www.vanderbilt.edu/csdi/archived/working%20papers/Ryan%20Owens.pdf (March 1, 2016).
Some have credited Donald B. Verrilli, the solicitor general under President Obama, with holding special sway over the five-justice majority ruling on same-sex marriage in June 2015. Indeed, his position that denying homosexuals the right to marry would mean “thousands and thousands of people are going to live out their lives and go to their deaths without their states ever recognizing the equal dignity of their relationships” became a foundational point of the Court’s opinion, written by Justice Kennedy.Mark Joseph Stern., “If SCOTUS Decides in Favor of Marriage Equality, Thank Solicitor General Don Verrilli,” Slate.com. April 29, 2015. http://www.slate.com/blogs/outward/2015/04/29/don_verrilli_solicitor_general_was_the_real_hero_of_scotus_gay_marriage.html. With such power over the Court, the solicitor general is sometimes referred to as “the tenth justice.”
SUPREME COURT PROCEDURES
Once a case has been placed on the docket, briefs, or short arguments explaining each party’s view of the case, must be submitted—first by the petitioner putting forth his or her case, then by the respondent. After initial briefs have been filed, both parties may file subsequent briefs in response to the first. Likewise, people and groups that are not party to the case but are interested in its outcome may file an amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) brief giving their opinion, analysis, and recommendations about how the Court should rule. Interest groups in particular can become heavily involved in trying to influence the judiciary by filing amicus briefs—both before and after a case has been granted cert. And, as noted earlier, if the United States is not party to a case, the solicitor general may file an amicus brief on the government’s behalf.
With briefs filed, the Court hears oral arguments in cases from October through April. The proceedings are quite ceremonial. When the Court is in session, the robed justices make a formal entrance into the courtroom to a standing audience and the sound of a banging gavel. The Court’s marshal presents them with a traditional chant: “The Honorable, the Chief Justice and the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States. Oyez! Oyez! Oyez! [Hear ye!] All persons having business before the Honorable, the Supreme Court of the United States, are admonished to draw near and give their attention, for the Court is now sitting. God save the United States and this Honorable Court!”“The Court and its Procedures.” Supreme Court of the United States. May 26, 2015. It has not gone unnoticed that the Court, which has defended the First Amendment’s religious protection and the traditional separation of church and state, opens its every public session with a mention of God.
During oral arguments, each side’s lawyers have thirty minutes to make their legal case, though the justices often interrupt the presentations with questions. The justices consider oral arguments not as a forum for a lawyer to restate the merits of his or her case as written in the briefs, but as an opportunity to get answers to any questions they may have.“Supreme Court Procedures.” United States Courts. http://www.uscourts.gov/about-federal-courts/educational-resources/about-educational-outreach/activity-resources/supreme-1 (March 1, 2016). When the United States is party to a case, the solicitor general (or one of his or her assistants) will argue the government’s position; even in other cases, the solicitor general may still be given time to express the government’s position on the dispute.
When oral arguments have been concluded, the justices have to decide the case, and they do so in conference, which is held in private twice a week when the Court is in session and once a week when it is not. The conference is also a time to discuss petitions for certiorari, but for those cases already heard, each justice may state his or her views on the case, ask questions, or raise concerns. The chief justice speaks first about a case, then each justice speaks in turn, in descending order of seniority, ending with the most recently appointed justice.“Supreme Court Procedures.” United States Courts. http://www.uscourts.gov/about-federal-courts/educational-resources/about-educational-outreach/activity-resources/supreme-1 (March 1, 2016). The judges take an initial vote in private before the official announcement of their decisions is made public.
Oral arguments are open to the public, but cameras are not allowed in the courtroom, so the only picture we get is one drawn by an artist’s hand, an illustration or rendering. Cameras seem to be everywhere today, especially to provide security in places such as schools, public buildings, and retail stores, so the lack of live coverage of Supreme Court proceedings may seem unusual or old-fashioned. Over the years, groups have called for the Court to let go of this tradition and open its operations to more “sunshine” and greater transparency. Nevertheless, the justices have resisted the pressure and remain neither filmed nor photographed during oral arguments.Jonathan Sherman. “End the Supreme Court's Ban on Cameras.” New York Times. 24 April 2015. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/24/opinion/open-the-supreme-court-to-cameras.html.
Summary
A unique institution, the U.S. Supreme Court today is an interesting mix of the traditional and the modern. On one hand, it still holds to many of the formal traditions, processes, and procedures it has followed for many decades. Its public proceedings remain largely ceremonial and are never filmed or photographed. At the same time, the Court has taken on new cases involving contemporary matters before a nine-justice panel that is more diverse today than ever before. When considering whether to take on a case and then later when ruling on it, the justices rely on a number of internal and external players who assist them with and influence their work, including, but not limited to, their law clerks, the U.S. solicitor general, interest groups, and the mass media.
The Supreme Court consists of ________.
- nine associate justices
- one chief justice and eight associate justices
- thirteen judges
- one chief justice and five associate justices
A case will be placed on the Court’s docket when ________ justices agree to do so.
- four
- five
- six
- all
Hint:
A
One of the main ways interest groups participate in Supreme Court cases is by ________.
- giving monetary contributions to the justices
- lobbying the justices
- filing amicus curiae briefs
- protesting in front of the Supreme Court building
The lawyer who represents the federal government and argues cases before the Supreme Court is the ________.
- solicitor general
- attorney general
- U.S. attorney
- chief justice
Hint:
A
What do the appointments of the Supreme Court’s two newest justices, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, reveal about the changing court system?
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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/15264/overview
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Judicial Decision-Making and Implementation by the Supreme Court
Learning Objectives
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Describe how the Supreme Court decides cases and issues opinions
- Identify the various influences on the Supreme Court
- Explain how the judiciary is checked by the other branches of government
The courts are the least covered and least publicly known of the three branches of government. The inner workings of the Supreme Court and its day-to-day operations certainly do not get as much public attention as its rulings, and only a very small number of its announced decisions are enthusiastically discussed and debated. The Court’s 2015 decision on same-sex marriage was the exception, not the rule, since most court opinions are filed away quietly in the United States Reports, sought out mostly by judges, lawyers, researchers, and others with a particular interest in reading or studying them.
Thus, we sometimes envision the justices formally robed and cloistered away in their chambers, unaffected by the world around them, but the reality is that they are not that isolated, and a number of outside factors influence their decisions. Though they lack their own mechanism for enforcement of their rulings and their power remains checked and balanced by the other branches, the effect of the justices’ opinions on the workings of government, politics, and society in the United States is much more significant than the attention they attract might indicate.
JUDICIAL OPINIONS
Every Court opinion sets precedent for the future. The Supreme Court’s decisions are not always unanimous, however; the published majority opinion, or explanation of the justices’ decision, is the one with which a majority of the nine justices agree. It can represent a vote as narrow as five in favor to four against. A tied vote is rare but can occur at a time of vacancy, absence, or abstention from a case, perhaps where there is a conflict of interest. In the event of a tied vote, the decision of the lower court stands.
Most typically, though, the Court will put forward a majority opinion. If he or she is in the majority, the chief justice decides who will write the opinion. If not, then the most senior justice ruling with the majority chooses the writer. Likewise, the most senior justice in the dissenting group can assign a member of that group to write the dissenting opinion; however, any justice who disagrees with the majority may write a separate dissenting opinion. If a justice agrees with the outcome of the case but not with the majority’s reasoning in it, that justice may write a concurring opinion.
Court decisions are released at different times throughout the Court’s term, but all opinions are announced publicly before the Court adjourns for the summer. Some of the most controversial and hotly debated rulings are released near or on the last day of the term and thus are avidly anticipated (Figure).
One of the most prominent writers on judicial decision-making in the U.S. system is Dr. Forrest Maltzman of George Washington University. Maltzman’s articles, chapters, and manuscripts, along with articles by other prominent authors in the field, are downloadable at this site.
INFLUENCES ON THE COURT
Many of the same players who influence whether the Court will grant cert. in a case, discussed earlier in this chapter, also play a role in its decision-making, including law clerks, the solicitor general, interest groups, and the mass media. But additional legal, personal, ideological, and political influences weigh on the Supreme Court and its decision-making process. On the legal side, courts, including the Supreme Court, cannot make a ruling unless they have a case before them, and even with a case, courts must rule on its facts. Although the courts’ role is interpretive, judges and justices are still constrained by the facts of the case, the Constitution, the relevant laws, and the courts’ own precedent.
A justice’s decisions are influenced by how he or she defines his role as a jurist, with some justices believing strongly in judicial activism, or the need to defend individual rights and liberties, and they aim to stop actions and laws by other branches of government that they see as infringing on these rights. A judge or justice who views the role with an activist lens is more likely to use his or her judicial power to broaden personal liberty, justice, and equality. Still others believe in judicial restraint, which leads them to defer decisions (and thus policymaking) to the elected branches of government and stay focused on a narrower interpretation of the Bill of Rights. These justices are less likely to strike down actions or laws as unconstitutional and are less likely to focus on the expansion of individual liberties. While it is typically the case that liberal actions are described as unnecessarily activist, conservative decisions can be activist as well.
Critics of the judiciary often deride activist courts for involving themselves too heavily in matters they believe are better left to the elected legislative and executive branches. However, as Justice Anthony Kennedy has said, “An activist court is a court that makes a decision you don’t like.”Matt Sedensky. “Justice questions way court nominees are grilled.” The Associated Press. May 14, 2010. http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2010/05/14/justice_questions_way_court_nominees_are_grilled/.
Justices’ personal beliefs and political attitudes also matter in their decision-making. Although we may prefer to believe a justice can leave political ideology or party identification outside the doors of the courtroom, the reality is that a more liberal-thinking judge may tend to make more liberal decisions and a more conservative-leaning judge may tend toward more conservative ones. Although this is not true 100 percent of the time, and an individual’s decisions are sometimes a cause for surprise, the influence of ideology is real, and at a minimum, it often guides presidents to aim for nominees who mirror their own political or ideological image. It is likely not possible to find a potential justice who is completely apolitical.
And the courts themselves are affected by another “court”—the court of public opinion. Though somewhat isolated from politics and the volatility of the electorate, justices may still be swayed by special-interest pressure, the leverage of elected or other public officials, the mass media, and the general public. As times change and the opinions of the population change, the court’s interpretation is likely to keep up with those changes, lest the courts face the danger of losing their own relevance.
Take, for example, rulings on sodomy laws: In 1986, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the State of Georgia’s ban on sodomy,Bowers v. Hardwick, 478 U.S. 186 (1986). but it reversed its decision seventeen years later, invalidating sodomy laws in Texas and thirteen other states.Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558 (2003). No doubt the Court considered what had been happening nationwide: In the 1960s, sodomy was banned in all the states. By 1986, that number had been reduced by about half. By 2002, thirty-six states had repealed their sodomy laws, and most states were only selectively enforcing them. Changes in state laws, along with an emerging LGBT movement, no doubt swayed the Court and led it to the reversal of its earlier ruling with the 2003 decision, Lawrence v. Texas (Figure).Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558 (2003).
Heralded by advocates of gay rights as important progress toward greater equality, the ruling in Lawrence v. Texas illustrates that the Court is willing to reflect upon what is going on in the world. Even with their heavy reliance on precedent and reluctance to throw out past decisions, justices are not completely inflexible and do tend to change and evolve with the times.
The Importance of Jury Duty
Since judges and justices are not elected, we sometimes consider the courts removed from the public; however, this is not always the case, and there are times when average citizens may get involved with the courts firsthand as part of their decision-making process at either the state or federal levels. At some point, if you haven’t already been called, you may receive a summons for jury duty from your local court system. You may be asked to serve on federal jury duty, such as U.S. district court duty or federal grand jury duty, but service at the local level, in the state court system, is much more common.
While your first reaction may be to start planning a way to get out of it, participating in jury service is vital to the operation of the judicial system, because it provides individuals in court the chance to be heard and to be tried fairly by a group of their peers. And jury duty has benefits for those who serve as well. You will no doubt come away better informed about how the judicial system works and ready to share your experiences with others. Who knows? You might even get an unexpected surprise, as some citizens in Dallas, Texas did recently when former President George W. Bush showed up to serve jury duty with them.
Have you ever been called to jury duty? Describe your experience. What did you learn about the judicial process? What advice would you give to someone called to jury duty for the first time? If you’ve never been called to jury duty, what questions do you have for those who have?
THE COURTS AND THE OTHER BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT
Both the executive and legislative branches check and balance the judiciary in many different ways. The president can leave a lasting imprint on the bench through his or her nominations, even long after leaving office. The president may also influence the Court through the solicitor general’s involvement or through the submission of amicus briefs in cases in which the United States is not a party.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt even attempted to stack the odds in his favor in 1937, with a “court-packing scheme” in which he tried to get a bill passed through Congress that would have reorganized the judiciary and enabled him to appoint up to six additional judges to the high court (Figure). The bill never passed, but other presidents have also been accused of trying similar moves at different courts in the federal system. Most recently, some members of Congress suggested that President Obama was attempting to “pack” the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals with three nominees. Obama was filling vacancies, not adding judges, but the “packing” term was still bandied about.Louis Jacobson. “Is Barack Obama trying to ‘pack’ the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals?” Tampa Bay Times, PolitiFact.com. June 5, 2013. http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2013/jun/05/chuck-grassley/barack-obama-trying-pack-dc-circuit-court-appeals/.
Likewise, Congress has checks on the judiciary. It retains the power to modify the federal court structure and its appellate jurisdiction, and the Senate may accept or reject presidential nominees to the federal courts. Faced with a court ruling that overturns one of its laws, Congress may rewrite the law or even begin a constitutional amendment process.
But the most significant check on the Supreme Court is executive and legislative leverage over the implementation and enforcement of its rulings. This process is called judicial implementation. While it is true that courts play a major role in policymaking, they have no mechanism to make their rulings a reality. Remember it was Alexander Hamilton in Federalist No. 78 who remarked that the courts had “neither force nor will, but merely judgment.” And even years later, when the 1832 Supreme Court ruled the State of Georgia’s seizing of Native American lands unconstitutional,Worcester v. Georgia, 31 U.S. (6 Pet.) 515 (1832). President Andrew Jackson is reported to have said, “John Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it,” and the Court’s ruling was basically ignored.“Court History.” Supreme Court History: The First Hundred Years. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/supremecourt/antebellum/history2.html (March 1, 2016). Abraham Lincoln, too, famously ignored Chief Justice Roger B. Taney’s order finding unconstitutional Lincoln’s suspension of habeas corpus rights in 1861, early in the Civil War. Thus, court rulings matter only to the extent they are heeded and followed.
The Court relies on the executive to implement or enforce its decisions and on the legislative branch to fund them. As the Jackson and Lincoln stories indicate, presidents may simply ignore decisions of the Court, and Congress may withhold funding needed for implementation and enforcement. Fortunately for the courts, these situations rarely happen, and the other branches tend to provide support rather than opposition. In general, presidents have tended to see it as their duty to both obey and enforce Court rulings, and Congress seldom takes away the funding needed for the president to do so.
For example, in 1957, President Dwight D. Eisenhower called out the military by executive order to enforce the Supreme Court’s order to racially integrate the public schools in Little Rock, Arkansas. Eisenhower told the nation: “Whenever normal agencies prove inadequate to the task and it becomes necessary for the executive branch of the federal government to use its powers and authority to uphold federal courts, the president’s responsibility is inescapable.”Dwight D. Eisenhower. “Radio and Television Address to the American People on the Situation in Little Rock.” Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Eisenhower, Dwight D., The American Presidency Project. September 24, 1957. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=10909. Executive Order 10730 nationalized the Arkansas National Guard to enforce desegregation because the governor refused to use the state National Guard troops to protect the black students trying to enter the school (Figure).
So what becomes of court decisions is largely due to their credibility, their viability, and the assistance given by the other branches of government. It is also somewhat a matter of tradition and the way the United States has gone about its judicial business for more than two centuries. Although not everyone agrees with the decisions made by the Court, rulings are generally accepted and followed, and the Court is respected as the key interpreter of the laws and the Constitution. Over time, its rulings have become yet another way policy is legitimately made and justice more adequately served in the United States.
Summary
Like the executive and legislative branches, the judicial system wields power that is not absolute. There remain many checks on its power and limits to its rulings. Judicial decisions are also affected by various internal and external factors, including legal, personal, ideological, and political influences. To stay relevant, Court decisions have to keep up with the changing times, and the justices’ decision-making power is subject to the support afforded by the other branches of government in implementation and enforcement. Nevertheless, the courts have evolved into an indispensable part of our government system—a separate and coequal branch that interprets law, makes policy, guards the Constitution, and protects individual rights.
When using judicial restraint, a judge will usually ________.
- refuse to rule on a case
- overrule any act of Congress he or she doesn’t like
- defer to the decisions of the elected branches of government
- make mostly liberal rulings
Hint:
C
When a Supreme Court ruling is made, justices may write a ________ to show they agree with the majority but for different reasons.
- brief
- dissenting opinion
- majority opinion
- concurring opinion
Which of the following is a check that the legislative branch has over the courts?
- Senate approval is needed for the appointment of justices and federal judges.
- Congress may rewrite a law the courts have declared unconstitutional.
- Congress may withhold funding needed to implement court decisions.
- all of the above
Hint:
D
What are the core factors that determine how judges decide in court cases?
Discuss some of the difficulties involved in the implementation and enforcement of judicial decisions.
Hint:
The judicial branch has no power of its own over implementation of enforcement of its rulings and is thus dependent on the other two branches to make this happen, relying on the executive to enforce its decisions and on the legislature to fund it. Hamilton said the judiciary has “no influence over either the sword or the purse” and “neither force nor will, but merely judgment,” stressing the court system’s reliance on assistance from the other two branches.
In what ways is the court system better suited to protect the individual than are the elected branches of the government?
On what types of policy issues do you expect the judicial branch to be especially powerful, and on which do you expect it to exert less power?
Discuss the relationship of the judicial branch to the other branches of government. In what ways is the judicial more powerful than other branches? In what ways is SCOTUS less powerful than other branches? Explain.
What should be the most important considerations when filling judge and justice positions at the federal level? Why?
The shirking of jury duty is a real problem in the United States. Give some reasons for this and suggest what can be done about it.
Take a closer look at some of the operational norms of the Supreme Court, such as the Rule of Four or the prohibition on cameras in the courtroom. What is your opinion about them as long-standing traditions, and which (if any), do you believe should be changed? Explain your answer.
Books written by current and former justices:
Breyer, Stephen. 2006. Active Liberty: Interpreting the Democratic Constitution. New York: Vintage; 2010; Making Democracy Work: A Judge’s View. New York: Knopf.
O’Connor, Sandra Day. 2004. The Majesty of the Law: Reflections of a Supreme Court Justice. New York: Random House.
Rehnquist, William. 2002. The Supreme Court. New York: Vintage.
Scalia, Antonin. 1998. A Matter of Interpretation: The Federal Courts and the Law. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Sotomayor, Sonia. 2014. My Beloved World. New York: Vintage Books.
Stevens, John Paul. 2011. Five Chiefs: A Supreme Court Memoir. New York: Little, Brown.
Thomas, Clarence. 2008. My Grandfather’s Son: A Memoir. New York: Harper.
Books about the U.S. court system:
Coyle, Marcia. 2013. The Roberts Court: The Struggle for the Constitution. New York: Simon and Schuster.
Ferguson, Andrew G. 2013. Why Jury Duty Matters: A Citizen’s Guide to Constitutional Action. New York: New York University Press.
Millhiser, Ian. 2015. Injustices: The Supreme Court’s History of Comforting the Comfortable and Afflicting the Afflicted. New York: Nation Books.
Peppers, Todd C., and Artemus Ward. 2012. In Chambers: Stories of Supreme Court Law Clerks and Their Justices. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press.
Tobin, Jeffrey. 2012. The Oath: The Obama White House and the Supreme Court. New York: Doubleday.
Vile, John R. 2014. Essential Supreme Court Decisions: Summaries of Leading Cases in U.S. Constitutional Law, 16th ed. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.
Films:
1981. The First Monday in October.
1993. The Pelican Brief.
HBO. 2000. Recount.
2015. Confirmation.
2015. On the Basis of Sex.
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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/15265/overview
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Introduction
Controversial national policy decisions by lawmakers and justices tend to grab headlines and dominate social media, while state and local government matters often evoke less enthusiasm. Yet, if we think about which level of government most directly affects us on a daily basis, it is undoubtedly the level closest to us, including our city, county, school districts, and state government. Whether it is by maintaining roads we drive on each day, supplying clean water with which we brush our teeth, or allocating financial support to higher education, state and local government provides resources that shape our everyday lives, including your final tuition bill (Figure).
How do state and local governments gain the authority to make these decisions, and how are their actions guided by cultural and other differences between the states? What tensions exist between national and state governments on policy matters, and what unique powers do mayors and governors enjoy? By answering these and other questions, this chapter explores the role of state and local governments in our lives.
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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/15266/overview
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State Power and Delegation
Learning Objectives
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Explain how the balance of power between national and state governments shifted with the drafting and ratification of the Constitution
- Identify parts of the Constitution that grant power to the national government and parts that support states’ rights
- Identify two fiscal policies by which the federal government exerts control over state policy decisions
When the framers met at the Constitutional Convention in 1787, they had many competing tensions to resolve. For instance, they had to consider how citizens would be represented in the national government, given population differences between the states. In addition, they had to iron out differences of opinion about where to concentrate political power. Would the legislative branch have more authority than the executive branch, and would state governments retain as many rights as they had enjoyed under the Articles of Confederation?
Here we look at the manner in which power was divided between the national and state governments, first under the Articles of Confederation and then under the U.S. Constitution. As you read, observe the shifting power dynamic between the national government and subnational governments at the state and local level.
STATE POWER AT THE FOUNDING
Before the ratification of the Constitution, the state governments’ power far exceeded that held by the national government. This distribution of authority was the result of a conscious decision and was reflected in the structure and framework of the Articles of Confederation. The national government was limited, lacking both a president to oversee domestic and foreign policy and a system of federal courts to settle disputes between the states.
Restricting power at the national level gave the states a great deal of authority over and independence from the federal government. Each state legislature appointed its own Congressional representatives, subject to recall by the states, and each state was given the authority to collect taxes from its citizens. But limiting national government power was not the delegates’ only priority. They also wanted to prevent any given state from exceeding the authority and independence of the others. The delegates ultimately worked to create a level playing field between the individual states that formed the confederation. For instance, the Articles of Confederation could not be amended without the approval of each state, and each state received one vote in Congress, regardless of population.“Articles of Confederation,” https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/SMAN-107/pdf/SMAN-107-pg935.pdf (March 14, 2016).
It wasn’t long after the Articles of Confederation were established that cracks began to appear in their foundation. Congress struggled to conduct business and to ensure the financial credibility of the new country’s government. One difficulty was its inability to compel the individual states to cover their portion of Revolutionary War debt. Attempts to recoup these funds through the imposition of tariffs were vetoed by states with a vested financial interest in their failure.“Tax History Museum: The Revolutionary War to the War of 1812 (1777–1815),” http://www.taxhistory.org/www/website.nsf/Web/THM1777?OpenDocument (March 14, 2016).
Given the inherent weaknesses in the system set up by the Articles, in 1787 the delegates came together once again to consider amendments to the Articles, but they ended up instead considering a new design for the government (Figure). To produce more long-term stability, they needed to establish a more effective division of power between the federal and state governments. Ultimately, the framers settled on a system in which power would be shared: The national government had its core duties, the state governments had their duties, and other duties were shared equally between them. Today this structure of power sharing is referred to as federalism.
The Constitution allocated more power to the federal government by effectively adding two new branches: a president to head the executive branch and the Supreme Court to head the judicial branch. The specific delegated or expressed powers granted to Congress and to the president were clearly spelled out in the body of the Constitution under Article I, Section 8, and Article II, Sections 2 and 3.
In addition to these expressed powers, the national government was given implied powers that, while not clearly stated, are inferred. These powers stem from the elastic clause in Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution, which provides Congress the authority “to make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the Foregoing powers.” This statement has been used to support the federal government’s playing a role in controversial policy matters, such as the provision of healthcare, the expansion of power to levy and collect taxes, and regulation of interstate commerce. Finally, Article VI declared that the U.S. Constitution and any laws or treaties made in connection with that document were to supersede constitutions and laws made at the state level. This clause, better known as the supremacy clause, makes clear that any conflict in law between the central (or federal) government and the regional (or state) governments is typically resolved in favor of the central government.
Although the U.S. Constitution clearly allocated more power to the federal government than had been the case under the Articles of Confederation, the framers still respected the important role of the states in the new government. The states were given a host of powers independent of those enjoyed by the national government. As one example, they now had the power to establish local governments and to account for the structure, function, and responsibilities of these governments within their state constitutions. This gave states sovereignty, or supreme and independent authority, over county, municipal, school and other special districts.
States were also given the power to ratify amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Throughout U.S. history, all amendments to the Constitution except one have been proposed by Congress and then ratified by either three-fourths of the state legislatures or three-fourths of the state conventions called for ratification purposes. This process ensures that the states have a voice in any changes to the Constitution. The Twenty-First Amendment (repealing the Eighteenth Amendment’s prohibition on alcohol) was the only amendment ratified using the state ratifying convention method. Although this path has never been taken, the U.S. Constitution even allows for state legislatures to take a direct and very active role in the amendment proposal process. If at least two-thirds of the state legislatures apply for a national convention, constitutional amendments can be proposed at the convention.
Debating the Need for a National Convention
As of 2015, twenty-seven states had passed applications to hold a national convention. These states are pushing for the opportunity to propose a constitutional amendment requiring the national government to balance its budget in the same way most states are mandated to do. For a national convention to be held, at least thirty-four states must submit applications. Thus, only seven states currently stand in the way of the first national convention in U.S. history.Reid Wilson, “Conservative Lawmakers Weigh Bid to Call for Constitutional Convention,” Washington Post, 4 April 2015. http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/conservative-lawmakers-weigh-bid-to-call-for-constitutional-convention/2015/04/04/b25d4f1e-db02-11e4-ba28-f2a685dc7f89_story.html.
Proponents see the convention as an opportunity to propose an amendment they argue is necessary to reduce federal spending and promote fiscal responsibility. Conservatives and Tea Party members believe reducing the deficit is important to maintaining the country’s future economic health and its competitive strength in global markets. They also believe the growing roster of states favoring a convention may encourage Congress to take action on its own.
Opponents feel a balanced budget amendment is not realistic given the need for emergency spending in the event of an economic recession. They also worry about the spending cuts and/or tax increases the federal government would have to impose to consistently balance the budget. Some states fear a balanced-budget requirement would limit the federal government’s ability to provide them with continued fiscal support. Finally, other opponents argue that states balance only their operating budgets, while themselves assuming massive amounts of debt for capital projects.
But perhaps the greatest fear is of the unknown. A national convention is unprecedented, and there is no limit to the number of amendments delegates to such a convention might propose. However, such changes would still need to be ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures or state conventions before they could take effect.
What are the potential benefits of a national constitutional convention? What are the risks? Are the benefits worth the risks? Why or why not?
Despite the Constitution’s broad grants of state authority, one of the central goals of the Anti-Federalists, a group opposed to several components of the Constitution, was to preserve state government authority, protect the small states, and keep government power concentrated in the hands of the people. For this reason, the Tenth Amendment was included in the Bill of Rights to create a class of powers, known as reserved powers, exclusive to state governments. The amendment specifically reads, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” In essence, if the Constitution does not decree that an activity should be performed by the national government and does not restrict the state government from engaging in it, then the state is seen as having the power to perform the function. In other words, the power is reserved to the states.
Besides reserved powers, the states also retained concurrent powers, or responsibilities shared with the national government. As part of this package of powers, the state and federal governments each have the right to collect income tax from their citizens and corporate tax from businesses. They also share responsibility for building and maintaining the network of interstates and highways and for making and enforcing laws (Figure). For instance, many state governments have laws regulating motorcycle and bicycle helmet use, banning texting and driving, and prohibiting driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
THE EVOLUTION OF STATE POWER
Throughout U.S. history, the national and state governments have battled for dominance over the implementation of public policy and the funding of important political programs. Upon taking office in 1933 during the Great Depression (1929–1939), President Franklin D. Roosevelt initiated a series of legislative proposals to boost the economy and put people back to work. The enacted programs allowed the federal government to play a broader role in revitalizing the economy while greatly expanding its power. However, this result was not without its critics. Initially, the Supreme Court overturned several key legislative proposals passed under Roosevelt, reasoning that they represented an overreach of presidential authority and were unconstitutional, such as Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States.A. L. A. Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States, 295 U.S. 495 (1935). Eventually, however, the Supreme Court shifted direction to reflect public opinion, which was decisively behind the president and the need for government intervention in a time of economic turmoil.William E. Leuchtenburg, “When Franklin Roosevelt Clashed with the Supreme Court—and Lost,” Smithsonian Magazine, May 2005. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/when-franklin-roosevelt-clashed-with-the-supreme-court-and-lost-78497994/.
Just three decades later, during the 1964 presidential election campaign, incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson declared a “War on Poverty,” instituting a package of Great Society programs designed to improve circumstances for lower-income Americans across the nation. The new programs included Medicare and Medicaid, which are health insurance programs for seniors and low-income citizens respectively, and the food stamp program, which provides food assistance to low-income families. These initiatives greatly expanded the role of the federal government in providing a social safety net.Karen Tumulty, “‘Great Society’ Agenda Led to Great—and Lasting—Philosophical Divide,” Washington Post, 8 January 2014. http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/great-society-agenda-led-to-great--and-lasting--philosophical-divide/2014/01/08/b082e5d0-786d-11e3-b1c5-739e63e9c9a7_story.html. State and local governments became partners in their implementation and also came to rely on the financial support they received from the federal government in the form of program grants.Michael Schuyler. 19 February 2014. “A Short History of Government Taxing and Spending in the United States,” http://taxfoundation.org/article/short-history-government-taxing-and-spending-united-states.
As the federal government’s role in policy creation expanded, so did its level of spending. Spending by the federal government began to surpass that of state and local governments shortly after 1940 (Figure). It spiked temporarily during the Great Depression and again during World War II, resuming a slow climb with the implementation of Johnson’s Great Society programs noted above.
Growing financial resources gave the federal government increased power over subnational governments. This increased power was because it could use categorical grants to dictate the terms and conditions state governments had to meet to qualify for financial assistance in a specific policy area. Over time, the federal government even began to require state and local governments to comply with legislative and executive authorizations when funding was not attached. These requests from the federal government are referred to as unfunded mandates and are a source of dissatisfaction to political actors at the state and local level. To provide more transparency to state and local governments and reduce the federal government’s use of mandates, the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act was passed in 1995. This act requires the Congressional Budget Office to provide information about the cost of any proposed government mandate that exceeds a specified threshold before the bill can be considered in Congress.Philip Joyce, “Is the Era of Unfunded Federal Mandates Over?” Governing, 16 April 2014. http://www.governing.com/columns/smart-mgmt/col-is-era-unfunded-federal-mandates-over.html.
Explore the latest news on federal mandates at the Congressional Budget Office and the Catalog of Cost Shifts to States at the National Conference of State Legislatures website.
Despite the national government’s power to pass and fund policy that affects lower-level governments, states still have gained considerable headway since the late twentieth century. For instance, with the passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act in 1996, known as the welfare reform bill, states were given great discretion over the provision of welfare. The federal government reduced its level of monetary support for the program and, in exchange, the states gained more authority over its implementation. States were able to set more restrictive work requirements, to place caps on the number of family members who could receive aid, and to limit the length of time someone could qualify for government assistance.“State Policy Choices under Welfare Reform,” http://www.brookings.edu/research/papers/2002/04/welfare-gais (March 14, 2016).
Since then, states have been granted the flexibility to set policy across a number of controversial policy areas. For instance, a wide array of states require parental consent for abortions performed on minors, set waiting periods before an abortion can be performed, or require patients to undergo an ultrasound before the procedure. As another example, currently, almost half the states allow for the use of medical marijuana and three states have fully legalized it, despite the fact that this practice stands in contradiction to federal law that prohibits the use and distribution of marijuana.
For more on these two controversial policy areas, explore ”An Overview of State Abortion Laws” and ”State Medical Marijuana Laws.”
Today, it is not uncommon to see a patchwork of legal decisions granting states more discretion in some policy areas, such as marijuana use, while providing the federal government more authority in others, such as same-sex marriage. Decisions about which level controls policy can reflect the attitudes of government officials and the public, political ideology and the strategic advantage of setting policy on a state-by-state basis, and the necessity of setting uniform policy in the face of an economic downturn or unanticipated national security threat. What has not changed over time is the central role of the U.S. Supreme Court’s views in determining how power should be distributed in a federalist system.
POWER AT THE SUBSTATE LEVEL
The U.S. Constitution is silent on the dispersion of power between states and localities within each state. The fact that states are mentioned specifically and local jurisdictions are not has traditionally meant that power independent of the federal government resides first with the state. Through their own constitutions and statutes, states decide what to require of local jurisdictions and what to delegate. This structure represents the legal principle of Dillon’s Rule, named for Iowa Supreme Court justice John F. Dillon. Dillon argued that state actions trump those of the local government and have supremacy.“Why Existing Law Won’t Stop Corporations from Harming Your Community,” August 31, 2015. http://celdf.org/2015/08/why-existing-law-wont-stop-corporations-from-harming-your-community/ (March 14, 2016). In this view, cities and towns exist at the pleasure of the state, which means the state can step in and dissolve them or even take them over. Indeed, most states have supremacy clauses over local governments in their constitutions.
However, for practical purposes, state and local governments must work together to ensure that citizens receive adequate services. Given the necessity of cooperation, many states have granted local governments some degree of autonomy and given them discretion to make policy or tax decisions.Jesse J. Richardson, Jr. 5 August 2011. “Dillon’s Rule is from Mars, Home Rule is from Venus: Local Government Autonomy and the Rules of Statutory Construction,” Publius 41, No. 4: 662–685. This added independence is called home rule, and the transfer of power is typically spelled out within a charter. Charters are similar to state constitutions: they provide a framework and a detailed accounting of local government responsibilities and areas of authority. Potential conflicts can come up over home rule. For example, in 2015, the State of Texas overruled a fracking ban imposed by the City of Denton.Max B. Baker, “Denton City Council Repeals Fracking Ban,” Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 16 June 2015. http://www.star-telegram.com/news/business/barnett-shale/article24627469.html.
Like state governments, local governments prioritize spending on building and maintaining the transportation infrastructure, supporting educational institutions, promoting community protection, and funding healthcare.Roberton Williams and Yuri Shadunsky. “State and Local Tax Policy: What are the Sources of Revenue for Local Governments?” http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/briefing-book/state-local/revenues/local_revenue.cfm (March 14, 2016). As shown in Figure, local governments, just like state governments, receive a sizeable chunk of their revenue from grants and transfers from other levels of the government. The next biggest source of revenue for local governments is property tax collections.
Property taxes can be assessed on homes, land, and businesses. The local government’s reliance on property tax revenue can be problematic for a number of reasons. First, unlike sales tax, the collection of which is spaced out in small increments across multiple transactions, property tax is collected in one or two lump sums and is therefore highly visible and unpopular.Charles E. Gilliland. November 2013. “Property Taxes: The Bad, the Good, and the Ugly,” Texas A&M University - Real Estate Center, TR 2037. https://assets.recenter.tamu.edu/documents/articles/2037.pdf. In fact, in response to tax rate increases, many states have placed legal or constitutional limits on regional governments’ ability to raise property taxes. The trend began in California with the 1978 passage of Proposition 13. This citizen-driven initiative capped the real estate tax at 1 percent of the cash value of property and stopped the practice of reassessing properties for tax purposes whenever a home in the neighborhood was sold.“What is Proposition 13?” http://www.californiataxdata.com/pdf/Prop13.pdf (March 14, 2016). After its passage, a number of other states followed suit, making it more difficult for states to reap the rewards of sharp increases in the market value of property.
Another drawback to local governments’ reliance on property tax is that property values vary with the economic health of a given area, the quality of school districts, and the overall desirability of a state, municipality, or county. Significant parcels of land in many cities are also tax-exempt, including property occupied by colleges, churches, and other nonprofit organizations. Boston is a good example as almost 50 percent of the assessed value of property is tax-exempt.Yolanda Perez, John Avault, and Jim Vrabel. December 2002. “Tax Exempt Property in Boston,” Boston Redevelopment Authority Policy Development and Research Report 562, http://www.californiataxdata.com/pdf/Prop13.pdf. College towns face the same challenge.
When the mortgage crisis began in 2007, property values decreased in many areas of the country, and many homeowners defaulted on their mortgages because their homes were now worth less than they had borrowed to buy them. With the decline in property values, local governments faced a loss in tax revenue at the same time states were cutting back on aid; tax collections were also down because of economic conditions and the inability to derive income tax from internet sales. A number of municipalities filed for bankruptcy in the face of fiscal distress during the economic recession. Perhaps the best known municipality was Detroit, Michigan, which filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy in 2013 (Figure).
Detroit filed for bankruptcy due to massive debt obligations and demands for repayment that it could not meet due to a perfect storm of economic and democratic factors. The city owed money to investors who had loaned it money, and it had liabilities resulting from its failure to fulfill its pension and healthcare obligations to city workers. The bankruptcy allowed the city time to develop an exit strategy and negotiate with creditors and union representatives in an effort to restructure its debt load.Channon Hodge and David Gillen, “What Bankruptcy Means for Detroit,” New York Times, 4 December 2013. http://www.nytimes.com/video/business/100000002583690/what-bankruptcy-means-for-detroit.html. Indeed, Detroit recently emerged from bankruptcy and has started to rebuild economically.
Detroit’s fiscal condition only highlights the unique challenges municipalities face. Local governments have to provide many of the same services as state and national governments, but they are often constrained by the boundaries the state prescribes. They may not have the authority to raise revenue above a certain threshold, and they do not have the ability to pass expenses on to another level of government because they lack sovereignty.
Summary
The power structure of government established in the Articles of Confederation was rebalanced in the Constitution to ensure that both the central and the regional governments had some degree of authority and autonomy. Federal and state governments have managed to work out sharing power throughout history, with the federal government often using fiscal policy to encourage compliance from the states. The taxing power of local governments means they face unique pressures during economic downturns.
________ dictate the terms and conditions state governments would have to meet in order to qualify for financial assistance in a specific policy area.
- Categorical grants
- Block grants
- Unfunded mandates
- Crossover sanctions
Hint:
A
The Tenth Amendment created a class of powers exclusive to state governments. These powers are referred to as ________.
- enumerated powers
- implied powers
- reserved powers
- none of the above
Dillon’s Rule gives local governments the freedom and flexibility to make decisions for themselves.
- True
- False
Hint:
B
Under the Articles of Confederation, the federal government was quite weak relative to the states. What changes were made to strengthen the role of the federal government under the U.S. Constitution?
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2025-03-18T00:39:25.829447
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State Political Culture
Learning Objectives
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Compare Daniel Elazar’s three forms of political culture
- Describe how cultural differences between the states can shape attitudes about the role of government and citizen participation
- Discuss the main criticisms of Daniel Elazar’s theory
Some states, such as Alaska, are endowed with natural resources. They can use their oil or natural gas reserves to their advantage to fund education or reduce taxes. Other states, like Florida, are favored with a climate that attracts tourists and retirees each winter, drawing in revenues to support infrastructure improvements throughout the state. These differences can lead to strategic advantages in the economic fortunes of a state, which can translate into differences in the levels of taxes that must be collected from citizens.
But their economic fortunes are only one component of what makes individual states unique. Theorists have long proposed that states are also unique as a function of their differing political cultures, or their attitudes and beliefs about the functions and expectations of the government. In the book, American Federalism: A View from the States, Daniel Elazar first theorized in 1966 that the United States could be divided into three distinct political cultures: moralistic, individualistic, and traditionalistic (Figure). The diffusion of these cultures throughout the United States is attributed to the migratory patterns of immigrants who settled in and spread out across the country from the east to the west coast. These settlers had distinct political and religious values that influenced their beliefs about the proper role of government, the need for citizen involvement in the democratic process, and the role of political parties.
MORALISTIC POLITICAL CULTURE
In Elazar’s framework, states with a moralistic political culture see the government as a means to better society and promote the general welfare. They expect political officials to be honest in their dealings with others, put the interests of the people they serve above their own, and commit to improving the area they represent. The political process is seen in a positive light and not as a vehicle tainted by corruption. In fact, citizens in moralistic cultures have little patience for corruption and believe that politicians should be motivated by a desire to benefit the community rather than by a need to profit financially from service.
Moralistic states thus tend to support an expanded role for government. They are more likely to believe government should promote the general welfare by allocating funds to programs that will benefit the poor. In addition, they see it as the duty of public officials to advocate for new programs that will benefit marginal citizens or solve public policy problems, even when public pressure to do so is nonexistent.
The moralistic political culture developed among the Puritans in upper New England. After several generations, these settlers moved westward, and their values diffused across the top of the United States to the upper Great Lakes. In the middle of the 1800s, Scandinavians and Northern Europeans joined this group of settlers and reinforced the Puritans’ values. Together, these groups pushed further west through the northern portion of the Midwest and West and then along the West Coast.Daniel Elazar. 1972. American Federalism: A View from the States, 2nd ed. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company.
States that identify with this culture value citizen engagement and desire citizen participation in all forms of political affairs. In Elazar’s model, citizens from moralistic states should be more likely to donate their time and/or resources to political campaigns and to vote. This occurs for two main reasons. First, state law is likely to make it easier for residents to register and to vote because mass participation is valued. Second, citizens who hail from moralistic states should be more likely to vote because elections are truly contested. In other words, candidates will be less likely to run unopposed and more likely to face genuine competition from a qualified opponent. According to Elazar, the heightened competition is a function of individuals’ believing that public service is a worthwhile endeavor and an honorable profession.
Oregon’s Efforts to Expand the Voting Franchise
In 1998, Oregon became the first state to switch to mail-in voting when citizens passed a ballot measure for it to take effect. In March 2015, Governor Kate Brown took another step to expand the voting franchise. She signed a bill into law that makes voter registration automatic for all citizens in the state with a driver’s license. These citizens will now be automatically registered to vote in elections and will receive a mail-in ballot before Election Day unless they specifically opt out with the Oregon secretary of state’s office.
In the United States, Oregon is the first to institute automatic voter registration, and it anticipates adding several hundred thousand residents to its voter participation list with the passage of this bill.Maria L. La Ganga, “Under New Oregon law, All Eligible Voters are Registered Unless They Opt Out,” Los Angeles Times, 17 March 2015. http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-oregon-automatic-voter-registration-20150317-story.html. However, the new law lacks the support of Republicans in the state legislature. These party members believe automatic registration makes the voting process too easy for citizens and coerces them into voting.Jeff Guo, “It’s Official: New Oregon Law Will Automatically Register People to Vote,” Washington Post, 17 March 2015. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2015/03/17/its-official-new-oregon-law-will-automatically-register-people-to-vote/. Others argue that Oregon’s new law is a positive move. They believe the change is a step in the right direction for democracy and will encourage participation in elections. If Oregon’s law were to be adopted across the United States, it would affect about fifty million citizens, the number who are believed to be eligible to vote but who remain unregistered.Alec MacGillis. 18 March 2015. “The Oregon Trail: The State’s New Governor is Going on the Offensive in the Battle for Voting Rights,” http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2015/03/kate_brown_and_automatic_voter_registration_oregon_s_new_governor_has_gone.html.
What are the benefits of Oregon’s automatic voter registration policy? Are there any drawbacks? What advantages and disadvantages might arise if this policy were adopted nationwide?
Finally, in Elazar’s view, citizens in moralistic cultures are more likely to support individuals who earn their positions in government on merit rather than as a reward for party loyalty. In theory, there is less incentive to be corrupt if people acquire positions based on their qualifications. In addition, moralistic cultures are more open to third-party participation. Voters want to see political candidates compete who are motivated by the prospect of supporting the broader community, regardless of their party identification.
INDIVIDUALISTIC POLITICAL CULTURE
States that align with Elazar’s individualistic political culture see the government as a mechanism for addressing issues that matter to individual citizens and for pursuing individual goals. People in this culture interact with the government in the same manner they would interact with a marketplace. They expect the government to provide goods and services they see as essential, and the public officials and bureaucrats who provide them expect to be compensated for their efforts. The focus is on meeting individual needs and private goals rather than on serving the best interests of everyone in the community. New policies will be enacted if politicians can use them to garner support from voters or other interested stakeholders, or if there is great demand for these services on the part of individuals.
According to Elazar, the individualist political culture originated with settlers from non-Puritan England and Germany. The first settlements were in the mid-Atlantic region of New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey and diffused into the middle portion of the United States in a fairly straight line from Ohio to Wyoming.
Given their focus on pursuing individual objectives, states with an individualistic mindset will tend to advance tax breaks as a way of trying to boost a state’s economy or as a mechanism for promoting individual initiative and entrepreneurship. For instance, New Jersey governor Chris Christie made headlines in 2015 when discussing the incentives he used to attract businesses to the state. Christie encouraged a number of businesses to move to Camden, where unemployment has risen to almost 14 percent, by providing them with hundreds of millions of dollars in tax breaks.Dean DeChiaro, “$830M in Tax Breaks Later, Christie Says His Camden Plan Won’t Work for America,” U.S. News and World Report, 19 August 2015. http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/08/19/830m-in-tax-breaks-later-christie-says-his-camden-plan-wont-work-for-america. The governor hopes these corporate incentives will spur job creation for citizens who need employment in an economically depressed area of the state.
Since this theoretical lens assumes that the objective of politics and the government is to advance individual interests, Elazar argues that individuals are motivated to become engaged in politics only if they have a personal interest in this area or wish to be in charge of the provision of government benefits. They will tend to remain involved if they get enjoyment from their participation or rewards in the form of patronage appointments or financial compensation. As a result of these personal motivations, citizens in individualistic states will tend to be more tolerant of corruption among their political leaders and less likely to see politics as a noble profession in which all citizens should engage.
Finally, Elazar argues that in individualistic states, electoral competition does not seek to identify the candidate with the best ideas. Instead it pits against each other political parties that are well organized and compete directly for votes. Voters are loyal to the candidates who hold the same party affiliation they do. As a result, unlike the case in moralistic cultures, voters do not pay much attention to the personalities of the candidates when deciding how to vote and are less tolerant of third-party candidates.
TRADITIONALISTIC POLITICAL CULTURE
Given the prominence of slavery in its formation, a traditionalistic political culture, in Elazar’s argument, sees the government as necessary to maintaining the existing social order, the status quo. Only elites belong in the political enterprise, and as a result, new public policies will be advanced only if they reinforce the beliefs and interests of those in power.
Elazar associates traditionalistic political culture with the southern portion of the United States, where it developed in the upper regions of Virginia and Kentucky before spreading to the Deep South and the Southwest. Like the individualistic culture, the traditionalistic culture believes in the importance of the individual. But instead of profiting from corporate ventures, settlers in traditionalistic states tied their economic fortunes to the necessity of slavery on plantations throughout the South.
When elected officials do not prioritize public policies that benefit them, those on the social and economic fringes of society can be plagued by poverty and pervasive health problems. For example, although Figure shows that poverty is a problem across the entire United States, the South has the highest incidence. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the South also leads the nation in self-reported obesity, closely followed by the Midwest.“Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity: Data, Trends and Maps,” http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/prevalence-maps.html (March 14, 2016). These statistics present challenges for lawmakers not only in the short term but also in the long term, because they must prioritize fiscal constraints in the face of growing demand for services.
While moralistic cultures expect and encourage political participation by all citizens, traditionalistic cultures are more likely to see it as a privilege reserved for only those who meet the qualifications. As a result, voter participation will generally be lower in a traditionalistic culture, and there will be more barriers to participation (e.g., a requirement to produce a photo ID at the voting booth). Conservatives argue that these laws reduce or eliminate fraud on the part of voters, while liberals believe they disproportionally disenfranchise the poor and minorities and constitute a modern-day poll tax.
Visit the National Conference of State Legislatures for an overview of Voter Identification Requirements by state.
Finally, under a traditionalistic political culture, Elazar argues that party competition will tend to occur between factions within a dominant party. Historically, the Democratic Party dominated the political structure in the South before realignment during the civil rights era. Today, depending on the office being sought, the parties are more likely to compete for voters.
CRITIQUES OF ELAZAR’S THEORY
Several critiques have come to light since Elazar first introduced his theory of state political culture fifty years ago. The original theory rested on the assumption that new cultures could arise with the influx of settlers from different parts of the world; however, since immigration patterns have changed over time, it could be argued that the three cultures no longer match the country’s current reality. Today’s immigrants are less likely to come from European countries and are more likely to originate in Latin American and Asian countries.Jie Zong and Jeanne Batalova. 26 February 2015. “Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States,” http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/frequently-requested-statistics-immigrants-and-immigration-united-states. In addition, advances in technology and transportation have made it easier for citizens to travel across state lines and to relocate. Therefore, the pattern of diffusion on which the original theory rests may no longer be accurate, because people are moving around in more, and often unpredictable, directions.
It is also true that people migrate for more reasons than simple economics. They may be motivated by social issues such as widespread unemployment, urban decay, or low-quality health care of schools. Such trends may aggravate existing differences, for example the difference between urban and rural lifestyles (e.g., the city of Atlanta vs. other parts of Georgia), which are not accounted for in Elazar’s classification. Finally, unlike economic or demographic characteristics that lend themselves to more precise measurement, culture is a comprehensive concept that can be difficult to quantify. This can limit its explanatory power in political science research.
Summary
Daniel Elazar’s theory argues, based on the cultural values of early immigrants who settled in different regions of the country, the United States is made up of three component cultures: individualistic, moralistic, and traditionalistic. Each culture views aspects of government and politics differently, particularly the nature and purpose of political competition and the role of citizen participation. Critics of the theory say the arrival of recent immigrants from other parts of the globe, the divide between urban and rural lifestyles in a particular state, and new patterns of diffusion and settlement across states and regions mean the theory is no longer an entirely accurate description of reality.
In a ________ political culture, the government is seen as a mechanism for maintaining the existing social order or status quo.
- moralistic
- individualistic
- traditionalistic
- nativistic
Hint:
C
Under a ________ political culture, citizens will tend to be more tolerant of corruption from their political leaders and less likely to see politics as a noble profession in which all citizens should engage.
- moralistic
- individualistic
- traditionalistic
- nativistic
________ was the first state to institute all mail-in voting and automatic voter registration.
- California
- Oregon
- Washington
- New York
Hint:
B
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Governors and State Legislatures
Learning Objectives
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Identify the formal powers and responsibilities of modern-day governors
- List the basic functions performed by state legislatures
- Describe how state legislatures vary in size, diversity, party composition, and professionalism
Public opinion regarding Congress has reached a dismal low, with more than 80 percent of those surveyed in 2014 saying they do not feel most members of Congress deserve to be reelected.Lindsey Cook, “Americans Still Hate Congress,” U.S. News and World Report, 18 August 2014. http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/data-mine/2014/08/18/americans-still-hate-congress. This attitude stems from partisan rivalry, media coverage that has capitalized on the conflict, fiscal shutdowns, and the general perception that Congress is no longer engaged in lawmaking.
The picture looks quite different at the subnational level, at least where lawmaking is concerned. State representatives and senators have been actively engaged in the lawmaking function, grabbing national attention at times for their controversial and highly partisan policies. Governors have been active in promoting their own policy agendas, either in cooperation with the state legislature or in opposition to it. Among the early 2016 Republican presidential contenders, nine were current or former state governors.Wilson Andrews, Alicia Parlapiano, and Karen Yourish, “Who is Running for President?” New York Times, 4 March 2016. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/us/elections/2016-presidential-candidates.html?_r=0. Increasingly, governors are using their office and the policies they have signed into law as a platform to gain national attention and to give voters a sense of their priorities should they ascend to the highest office in the country, the presidency.
GOVERNORS IN CHARGE
Anyone elected to the office of governor assumes tremendous responsibility overnight. He or she becomes the spokesperson for the entire state and their political party, accepts blame or praise for handling decision-making in times of crisis, oversees the implementation of public policy, and helps shepherd legislation through the lawmaking process. These tasks require a great deal of skill and demand that governors exhibit different strengths and personality traits. Governors must learn to work well with other lawmakers, bureaucrats, cabinet officials, and with the citizens who elected them to office in the first place. The water crisis in Flint, Michigan, provides a good case in point.
Governors have tremendous power over the legislative branch because they serve year-round and hold office alone. They also command wide press coverage by virtue of being the leading elected official in their state. Finally, while there are variations in degree across the states, most governors have more power relative to their state legislatures than does the U.S. president relative to the U.S. Congress. State executive power flows from factors such as the propensity of state legislatures to meet for only part of the year and their resulting reliance for information on the governor and his/her administration, stronger formal tools (e.g., line-item vetoes), budget-cutting discretion, and the fact that state legislators typically hold down another job besides that of legislator.
Three of the governor’s chief functions are to influence the legislative process through an executive budget proposal, a policy agenda, and vetoes. Just as the president gives a State of the Union address once a year, so too do governors give an annual State of the State address before the state legislature (Figure). In this speech, they discuss economic and political achievements, cite data that supports their accomplishments, and overview the major items on their legislative agenda. This speech signals to members of the state legislature what priorities are high on the governor’s list. Those who share the governor’s party affiliation will work with him or her to see these goals achieved. Given that governors need the cooperation of state legislators to get their bills introduced and steered through the lawmaking process, they make developing good relationships with lawmakers a priority. This can entail helping lawmakers address the concerns of their constituents, inviting legislators to social events and meals, and scheduling weekly meetings with legislative leaders and committee chairs to discuss policy.Alan Rosenthal. 2013. The Best Job in Politics; Exploring How Governors Succeed as Policy Leaders. Thousand Oaks, CA: CQ Press.
In addition to providing a basic list of policy priorities, governors also initiate a budget proposal in most states. Here they indicate funding priorities and spell out the amounts that will be appropriated to various state agencies under their discretion. When the economy is strong, governors may find themselves in the enviable position of having a surplus of tax revenue. That allows them some flexibility to decide whether they want to reduce taxes, direct funds toward a new initiative or program, allocate more funds to current programs, restore funds that were cut during times of fiscal distress, or save surplus revenue in a rainy-day account.Elaine S. Povich, “Many State Governors Have Budget Problems with Their Own Parties,” Governing, 4 February 2013. http://www.governing.com/news/headlines/many-state-governors-have-budget-problems-with-their-own-parties.html. Moreover, when cuts must be made, especially when the legislature is not in session, it is typically the governor or his or her finance director who makes the call on what gets cut.
Having introduced his or her priorities, the governor will work on the sidelines to steer favored bills through the legislative process. This may entail holding meetings with committee chairs or other influential lawmakers concerning their legislative priorities, working with the media to try to get favorable coverage of legislative priorities, targeting advocacy organizations to maintain pressure on resistant lawmakers, or testifying in legislative hearings about the possible impacts of the legislation.“Governors’ Powers and Authority,” http://www.nga.org/cms/home/management-resources/governors-powers-and-authority.html (March 14, 2016).
Once legislation has made its way through the lawmaking process, it comes to the governor’s desk for signature. If a governor signs the bill, it becomes law, and if the governor does not like the terms of the legislation he or she can veto, or reject, the entire bill. The bill can then become law only if a supermajority of legislators overrides the veto by voting in favor of the bill. Since it is difficult for two-thirds or more of state legislators to come together to override a veto (it requires many members of the governor’s own party to vote against him or her), the simple act of threatening to veto can be enough to get legislators to make concessions to the governor before he or she will pass the legislation.
The ability to veto legislation is just one of the formal powers governors have at their disposal. Formal powers are powers the governor may exercise that are specifically outlined in state constitutions or state law.Laura van Assendelft. 1997. Governors, Agenda Setting, and Divided Government. Lanham, MD: University Press of America. Unlike U.S. presidents, many governors also have additional veto powers at their disposal, which enhances their ability to check the actions of the legislative branch. For instance, most states provide governors the power of the line-item veto. The line-item veto gives governors the ability to strike out a line or individual portions of a bill while letting the remainder pass into law. In addition, approximately 30 percent of governors have the power of an amendatory veto, which allows them to send a bill back to the legislature and request a specific amendment to it. Finally, a small number of governors, including the governor of Texas, also have the power of a reduction veto, which allows them to reduce the budget proposed in a piece of legislation.National Conference of State Legislatures. “The Veto Process.” In General Legislative Procedures. Washington, DC: National Conference of State Legislatures, 6-29–6-64. http://www.ncsl.org/documents/legismgt/ilp/98tab6pt3.pdf (March 14, 2016).
The Vanna White and Frankenstein Vetoes in Wisconsin
Although the line-item, reduction, and amendatory vetoes give governors tremendous power to adjust legislation and to check the legislative branch, the most powerful and controversial vetoes, which have allowed governors to make selective deletions from a bill before signing, are dubbed the “Vanna White” veto and the “Frankenstein” veto. (Vanna White hosts the popular game show “Wheel of Fortune,” in which contestants guess what a phrase is based on a limited number of letters. As they guess the letters, White indicates the correct letters within the puzzle.) These powers have a colorful history in the state of Wisconsin, where voters have limited their influence on two occasions.
The first occurred in 1990 when voters passed a provision restricting the governor’s ability to use the “Vanna White” veto to change a bill by crossing out specific letters within a given word in order to create a new word. After this restriction took effect, the “Frankenstein” veto came into practice, which allowed a governor to remove individual words, numbers, or passages from a bill and string the remaining text together (like the fictional Dr. Frankenstein’s monster) in an effort to alter the original intent of the legislation.Monica Davey, “Wisconsin Voters Excise Editing from Governor’s Veto Powers,” New York Times, 3 April 2008. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/03/us/03wisconsin.html?_r=0.
As an example of the Frankenstein veto, when an appropriations bill was sent to Wisconsin governor James E. Doyle for signature in 2005, Doyle scrapped over seven hundred words from a passage that would have appropriated millions of dollars to transportation. The words that remained in the bill redirected those funds to education. Lawmakers were outraged, but they were not able to override the veto.Daniel C. Vock. 24 April 2007. “Govs Enjoy Quirky Veto Power,” http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2007/04/24/govs-enjoy-quirky-veto-power.
Then, in 2007, Governor Doyle used the veto once again to raise property taxes almost 2 percent.Steven Walters, “Voters Drive Stake into ‘Frankenstein Veto’,” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 2 April 2008. http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/29395824.html. As a result of these controversial moves, the state house and senate passed a referendum to end the ability of governors to create a new sentence by combining words from two or more other sentences. A legislative referendum is a measure passed by the state legislature, such as a constitutional amendment, that goes to the voters for final approval.National Conference of State Legislatures. 20 September 2012. “Initiative, Referendum and Recall,” http://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/initiative-referendum-and-recall-overview.aspx. This referendum went to the voters for approval or rejection in the 2008 election, and the voters banned the practice. Governors in Wisconsin and all the states still have tremendous power to shape legislation, however, through the other types of vetoes discussed in this chapter.
Should any state governor have the powers referred to as the “Vanna White” and “Frankenstein” vetoes? What advantage, if any, might state residents gain from their governor’s ability to alter the intent of a bill the legislature has approved and then sign it into law?
Besides the formal power to prepare the budget and veto legislation, legislators also have the power to call special sessions of the legislature for a wide array of reasons. For instance, sessions may be called to address budgetary issues during an economic downturn, to put together a redistricting plan, or to focus intensively on a particular issue the governor wants rectified immediately.National Conference of State Legislatures. 6 May 2009. “Special Sessions,” http://www.ncsl.org/research/about-state-legislatures/special-sessions472.aspx. In some states, only the governor has the power to call a special session, while in other states this power is shared between the legislative and the executive branches.
For more details on the calling of legislative Special Sessions, visit the National Conference of State Legislatures website.
Although governors have a great deal of power in the legislative arena, this is not their only area of influence. First, as leaders in their political party, governors often work to raise money for other political figures who are up for reelection. A governor who has high public approval ratings may also make campaign appearances on behalf of candidates in tough reelection fights across the state. Governors can draw in supporters, contributions, and media attention that can be beneficial to other political aspirants, and the party will expect them to do their part to ensure the greatest possible number of victories for their candidates. Second, as the spokesperson for their state, governors make every effort to sell the state’s virtues and unique characteristics, whether to the media, to other citizens across the United States, to potential business owners, or to legislative leaders in Washington, DC. Governors want to project a positive image of their state that will encourage tourism, relocation, and economic investment within its boundaries. Collectively, governors make a mark through the National Governors Association, which is a powerful lobbying force in the nation’s capital.
For example, Texas governor Greg Abbott made headlines in 2015 for writing to the CEO of General Electric (GE), urging the company to relocate its corporate headquarters from Connecticut, which had just raised its corporate tax rate, to Texas.Patrick Svitek, “Abbott Tries Wooing General Electric to Texas,” The Texas Tribune, 10 June 2015. https://www.texastribune.org/2015/06/10/abbott-looks-woo-general-electric-connecticut/. As his state’s spokesperson, Abbott promoted Texas’s friendly corporate tax structure and investment in transportation and education funding in hopes of enticing GE to relocate there and bring economic opportunities with it. The company has since decided to relocate to Boston, after receiving incentives, worth up to $145 million, from Massachusetts officials.Ted Mann and Jon Kamp, “General Electric to Move Headquarters to Boston,” The Wall Street Journal, 13 January 2016. http://www.wsj.com/articles/general-electric-plans-to-move-headquarters-to-boston-1452703676. Another example involved Texas governor Rick Perry touring California in 2014 in order to bring prospective businesses from the Golden State to Texas.
In March 2015, the governor of Virginia, Terry McAuliffe, and the mayor of Chicago, Rahm Emanuel, both sent letters to corporate heads in Indiana after controversy erupted around the passage of that state’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act.“Virginia Governor Tries to Woo Indiana Businesses,” http://www.nbcwashington.com/blogs/first-read-dmv/Virginia-Governor-Tries-to-Woo-Indiana-Businesses-298087131.html (March 14, 2016). This bill is designed to restrict government intrusion into people’s religious beliefs unless there is a compelling state interest. It also provides individuals and businesses with the ability to sue if they feel their religious rights have been violated. However, opponents feared the law would be used as a means to discriminate against members of the LGBT community, based on business owners’ religious objections to providing services for same-sex couples.Stephanie Wang, “What the ‘Religious Freedom’ Law Really Means for Indiana,” Indy Star, 3 April 2015. http://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/2015/03/29/religious-freedom-law-really-means-indiana/70601584/ In the media firestorm that followed the Indiana law’s passage, several prominent companies announced they would consider taking their business elsewhere or cancelling event contracts in the state if the bill were not amended.James Gherardi. March 25, 2015. “Indiana Businesses Concerned Over Economic Impact of Religious Freedom Bill,” http://cbs4indy.com/2015/03/25/indiana-businesses-concerned-over-economic-impact-of-religious-freedom-bill/. This led opportunistic leaders in the surrounding area to make appeals to these companies in the hope of luring them out of Indiana. Ultimately, the bill was clarified, likely due in part to corporate pressure on the state to do so.Tony Cook, Tom LoBianco, and Brian Eason, “Gov. Mike Pence signs RFRA Fix,” Indy Star, 2 April 2015. http://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/2015/04/01/indiana-rfra-deal-sets-limited-protections-for-lgbt/70766920/. The clarification made it clear that the law could not be used to refuse employment, housing, or service based on an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity.German Lopez. April 2, 2015. “How Indiana’s Religious Freedom Law Sparked a Battle Over LGBT Rights,” http://www.vox.com/2015/3/31/8319493/indiana-rfra-lgbt.
Controversial legislation like the Religious Freedom Restoration Act is only one of the many environmental factors that can make or break a governor’s reputation and popularity. Other challenges and crises that may face governors include severe weather, terrorist attacks, immigration challenges, and budget shortfalls.
New Jersey governor Chris Christie gained national attention in 2012 over his handling of the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, which caused an estimated $65 billion worth of damage and cost the lives of over 150 individuals along the East Coast of the United States.29 October 2014. “These Images Show Just How Much Some Neighborhoods Were Changed by Hurricane Sandy,” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/29/hurricane-sandy-second-anniversary-images_n_6054274.html. Christie was famously photographed with President Obama during their joint tour of the damaged areas, and the governor subsequently praised the president for his response (Figure). Some later criticized Christie for his remarks because of the close proximity between the president’s visit and Election Day, along with the fact that the Republican governor and Democratic president were from opposite sides of the political aisle. Critics felt the governor had betrayed his party and that the publicity helped the president win reelection.Michael Barbaro, “After Obama, Christie Wants a G.O.P. Hug,” New York Times, 19 November 2012. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/20/us/politics/after-embrace-of-obama-chris-christie-woos-a-wary-gop.html?_r=0. Others praised the governor for cooperating with the president and reaching across the partisan divide to secure federal support for his state in a time of crisis.Teresa Welsh, “Is Chris Christie a GOP Traitor for His Obama Hurricane Praise?” U.S. News and World Report, 1 November 2012. http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2012/11/01/is-chris-christie-a-gop-traitor-for-praising-obamas-response-to-hurricane-sandy
If severe winter weather is forecasted or in the event of civil unrest, governors also have the power to call upon the National Guard to assist residents and first responders or aid in storm recovery (Figure). When governors declare a state of emergency, National Guard troops can be activated to go into local areas and assist with emergency efforts in whatever capacity they are needed.Susan Gardner, “Baltimore Erupts into Chaos: Governor activates National Guard,” 27 April 2015. http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/04/27/1380756/-Baltimore-erupts-into-chaos-Governor-activates-National-Guard#. In 2015, many governors in the New England region called press conferences, worked with snow-removal crews and local government officials, set up emergency shelters, and activated travel bans or curfews in the face of crippling snowstorms.Shira Schoenberg. 2 February 2015. “Governor Calls on 500 Massachusetts National Guard Troops to Dig State Out from Snowstorms,” http://www.masslive.com/news/boston/index.ssf/2015/02/in_unprecedented_move_500_nati.html. When winter storms fail to bring predicted levels of snow, however, politicians can be left to field criticism that they instigated unnecessary panic.Leslie Larson and Jennifer Fermino, “Cuomo and de Blasio Tell Storm Critics ‘Better Safe Than Sorry’,” New York Daily News, 27 January 2015. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/cuomo-de-blasio-critics-better-safe-article-1.2093306. Governors feel the weight of their decisions as they try to balance the political risks of overreacting and the human costs of letting the state be caught unprepared for these and other major natural disasters. As the chief spokesperson, they take all the blame or all the credit for their actions. With that said, it is important to note that presidents can enlist the National Guard for federal service as well.
Governors also have the power to spare or enhance the lives of individuals convicted of crimes in their state. Although they may choose to exercise this formal power only during the closing days of their term, if at all, most governors have the authority to grant pardons just as U.S. presidents do. A pardon absolves someone of blame for a crime and can secure his or her release from prison. Governors can also commute sentences, reducing the time an individual must serve,“Pardons, Reprieves, Commutations and Respites,” http://www.sos.wv.gov/public-services/execrecords/Pages/Pardons.aspx (March 14, 2016). if there are doubts about the person’s guilt, concerns about his or her mental health, or reason to feel the punishment was inappropriately harsh. In the past ten years, the governors of New Jersey and Illinois have commuted the sentences of all inmates on death row before repealing the death penalty in their states.“Clemency Process by State,” http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/clemency?did=126&scid=13#process (March 14, 2016).
Despite the tremendous formal powers that go with the job, being governor is still personally and professionally challenging. The demands of the job are likely to restrict time with family and require forgoing privacy. In addition, governors will often face circumstances beyond their control. For instance, the state legislature may include a majority of members who do not share the governor’s party affiliation. This can make working together more challenging and lead to less cooperation during the legislative session. Another challenge for governors is the plural executive, which refers to the fact that many state officials, such as the lieutenant governor, attorney general, and secretary of state are elected independently from the governor; hence, the governor has no direct control over them the way a president might have sway over U.S. executive officials. Governors can also face spending restrictions due to the economic climate in their state. They may have to make unpopular decisions that weaken their support among voters. The federal government can mandate that states perform some function without giving them any funds to do so. Finally, as we saw above, governors can be swept up in crises or natural disasters they did not anticipate and could not have foreseen. This can drain their energy and hamper their ability to generate good public policy.Rosenthal, The Best Job in Politics; Exploring How Governors Succeed as Policy Leaders.
THE FUNCTIONS OF STATE LEGISLATURES
State legislatures serve three primary functions. They perform a lawmaking function by researching, writing, and passing legislation. Members represent their districts and work to meet requests for help from citizens within it. Finally, legislatures perform an oversight function for the executive branch.
All state representatives and senators serve on committees that examine, research, investigate, and vote on legislation that relates to the committee’s purpose, such as agriculture, transportation, or education. The number of bills introduced in any given session varies. Some state legislatures have more restrictive rules concerning the number of bills any one member can sponsor. Legislators get ideas for bills from lobbyists of various types of interest groups, ranging from corporate groups to labor unions to advocacy organizations. Ideas for bills also come from laws passed in other state legislatures, from policy that diffuses from the federal government, from constituents or citizens in the officeholder’s district who approach them with problems they would like to see addressed with new laws, and from their own personal policy agenda, which they brought to office with them. Finally, as we explored previously, legislators also work with the governor’s agenda in the course of each legislative session, and they must pass a budget for their state either every year or every two years.
Most bills die in committee and never receive a second or third reading on the floor of the legislature. Lawmaking requires frequent consensus, not just among the legislators in a given house but also between the two chambers. In order for a bill to become law, it must pass through both the state house and the state senate in identical form before going to the governor’s desk for final signature.
Besides generating public policy, state legislatures try to represent the interests of their constituents. Edmund Burke was a political philosopher who theorized that representatives are either delegates or trustees.Edmund Burke. 1969. “The English Constitutional System.” In Representation. Hanna Pitkin. New York: Atherton Press. A delegate legislator represents the will of those who elected him or her to office and acts in their expressed interest, even when it goes against personal belief about what is ultimately in the constituency’s best interest. On the other hand, trustees believe they were elected to exercise their own judgment and know best because they have the time and expertise to study and understand an issue. Thus, a trustee will be willing to vote against the desire of the constituency so long as he or she believes it is in the people’s best interest. A trustee will also be more likely to vote his or her conscience on issues that are personal to him or her, such as on same-sex marriage or abortion rights.
Regardless of whether representatives adopt a delegate or a trustee mentality, they will all see it as their duty to address the concerns and needs of the people they represent. Typically, this will entail helping members in the district who need assistance or have problems with the government they want addressed. For instance, a constituent may write an elected official asking for help dealing with the bureaucracy such as in a decision made by tax commission, requesting a letter of recommendation for acceptance into a military academy, or proposing a piece of legislation the member can help turn into a law.
Legislators also try to bring particularized benefits back to their district. These benefits might include money that can be spent on infrastructure improvements or grants for research. Finally, members will accept requests from local government officials or other constituents to attend parades, ribbon-cutting ceremonies, or other celebratory events within their district (Figure). They will also work with teachers and faculty to visit classes or meet with students on field trips to the state capitol.
The last primary function of state legislators is to oversee the bureaucracy’s implementation of public policy, ensuring it occurs in the manner the legislature intended. State legislatures may request that agency heads provide testimony about spending in hearings, or they may investigate particular bureaucratic agencies to ensure that funds are being disbursed as desired.Ohio Legislative Service Commission. 2015–2016. “Legislative Oversight.” In A Guidebook for Ohio Legislators, 14th ed. Columbus, OH: Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Since legislators have many other responsibilities and some meet for only a few months each year, they may wait to investigate until a constituent or lobbyist brings a problem to their attention.
THE COMPOSITION OF STATE LEGISLATURES
In most states, the legislative function is divided between two bodies: a state house and a state senate. The only exception is Nebraska, which has a unicameral state senate of forty-nine members. State legislatures vary a great deal in terms of the number of legislators in the house and senate, the range of diversity across the membership, the partisan composition of the chamber relative to the governor’s affiliation, and the degree of legislative professionalism. This variation can lead to differences in the type of policies passed and the amount of power legislatures wield relative to that of the governor.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, at forty members, Alaska’s is the smallest state (or lower) house, while New Hampshire’s is the largest at four hundred. State senates range in size from twenty members in Alaska to sixty-seven members in Minnesota. The size of the institution can have consequences for the number of citizens each member represents; larger bodies have a smaller legislator-to-constituent ratio (assuming even populations). Larger institutions can also complicate legislative business because reaching consensus is more difficult with more participants.National Conference of State Legislatures. 11 March 2013. “Number of Legislators and Length of Terms in Years,” http://www.ncsl.org/research/about-state-legislatures/number-of-legislators-and-length-of-terms.aspx.
The term length in the state house is frequently two years, while in the state senate it is more commonly four years. These differences have consequences, too, because representatives in the state house, with the next election always right around the corner, will need to focus on their reelection campaigns more frequently than senators. On the other hand, state senators may have more time to focus on public policy and become policy generalists because they each must serve on multiple committees due to their smaller numbers.
The number of legislators and term length varies by state.
In 2015, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, women made up 24.3 percent of the nation’s state legislators. However, the number varies a great deal across states (Figure). For instance, in Colorado and Vermont, women account for just over 40 percent of the state legislative membership. However, they make up less than 15 percent of the legislatures in Alabama, Louisiana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, West Virginia, and Wyoming.National Conference of State Legislatures. 4 September 2015. “Women in State Legislatures for 2015,” http://www.ncsl.org/legislators-staff/legislators/womens-legislative-network/women-in-state-legislatures-for-2015.aspx.
Data on minority representatives is more difficult to obtain, but 2009 estimates from the National Conference of State Legislatures paired with census estimates from 2010 show that African Americans and Latinos are both underrepresented in state government relative to their percentage of the population. In 2009, African Americans made up approximately 9 percent of state legislators, compared to the 13 percent of the population they constitute nationwide. On the other hand, Latino representatives made up approximately 3 percent of state legislators relative to their 14 percent of the total population in the United States.National Conference of State Legislatures. 10 January 2008. “African-American Legislators 2009,” http://www.ncsl.org/research/about-state-legislatures/african-american-legislators-in-2009.aspx; “2009 Latino Legislators.” http://www.ncsl.org/research/about-state-legislatures/latino-legislators-overview.aspx (March 14, 2016). The proportion of Latinos in the legislature is highest in Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas, while the proportion of African Americans is highest in Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi.
Scholars in political science have spent a great deal of time researching the impact of women and minorities on the legislative process and on voter participation and trust. Some research demonstrates that female and minority representatives are more likely to advocate for policies that are of interest to or will benefit minorities, women, and children.Chris T. Owens. 2005. “Black Substantive Representation in State Legislatures from 1971–1999,” Social Science Quarterly 84, No. 5: 779–791; Robert R. Preuhs. 2005. “Descriptive Representation, Legislative Leadership, and Direct Democracy: Latino Influence on English Only Laws in the States, 1984–2002,” State Politics and Policy Quarterly 5, No. 3: 203–224; Sue Thomas. 1991. “The Impact of Women on State Legislative Policies.” The Journal of Politics 53, No. 4: 958–976. Other research suggests that the presence of African American and Latino representatives increases voter turnout by these groups.Rene Rocha, Caroline Tolbert, Daniel Bowen, and Christopher Clark. 2010. “Race and Turnout: Does Descriptive Representation in State Legislatures Increase Minority Voting?” Political Research Quarterly 63, No. 4: 890–907. Thus, increased diversity in state legislatures can have consequences for voter engagement and for the type of legislation pursued and passed within these bodies.
You can compare the numbers and percentages of women in state legislature, state by state.
You can also compare the numbers and percentages of African American representatives.
Similar information about Latino representation in state legislatures is also available.
In 2014, twenty-six states had Republican majorities in the state house and senate, while in twenty states Democratic majorities were the norm. In just four states, party control was split so that the Democratic Party maintained control of one house while the Republican Party maintained control of the other.“2014 Legislative Partisan Composition,” http://www.ncsl.org/portals/1/ImageLibrary/WebImages/Elections/2014_Leg_Party_Control_map.gif (March 14, 2016). Figure illustrates the partisan composition across the United States. Note that states in New England and the West Coast are more likely to be unified behind the Democratic Party, while Republicans control legislatures throughout the South and in large parts of the Midwest. This alignment largely reflects differing political ideologies, with the more liberal, urban areas of the country leaning Democratic while the more conservative, rural areas are Republican.
Like diversity, party composition has consequences for policymaking. Governors who are not from the same party as the one controlling the legislature can find it more difficult to achieve their agenda. This governing circumstance is popularly referred to as divided government. In a time of divided government, a governor may have to work harder to build relationships and to broker consensus. In addition, when state party control is divided between the legislative and executive branches, the governor may find that legislators are more likely to muster the numbers to overturn at least some of their vetoes. In contrast, when the governor’s own party controls the legislature—a situation known as unified government—conventional wisdom suggests that they will have a smoother and more productive relationship with the legislature.
Party composition also matters for the overall legislative agenda. The party in power will elect party members to the top leadership posts in the state house and senate, and it will determine who sits on each of the committees. Committees are chaired by members of the majority party, and the composition of these committees is skewed toward members affiliated with the party in power. This gives the majority party an advantage in meeting its policy objectives and relegates the minority party to the position of obstructionists. In addition, while Republicans and Democrats are both concerned about education, health care, transportation, and other major policy areas, the two parties have different philosophies about what is in the best interest of their citizens and where funds should be allocated to meet those needs. The result is vastly different approaches to handling pressing public policy problems across the states.
As a whole, state legislatures have become progressively more professional. Political scientist Peverill Squire, at several points throughout his career, has measured the degree of state legislative professionalism with a ranking across the fifty states.Peverill Squire. 2007. “Measuring State Legislative Professionalism: The Squire Index Revisited.” State Politics & Policy Quarterly 7, No. 2: 211–227. Legislative professionalism is assessed according to three key factors: state legislators’ salary, the length of time they are in session, and the number of staff at their disposal. Members of professional or full-time legislatures tend to consider legislative service their full-time occupation, and they are paid enough not to require a second occupation. They also have larger staffs to assist with their work, and they tend to be in session for much of the year. On the other end of the spectrum are citizen, or part-time, legislatures. Representatives and senators in these legislatures do not enjoy the same perks as their counterparts in professional legislatures. Generally, salary is much lower and so is staff assistance. Members typically need to seek outside employment to supplement their income from legislative work, and the legislature will meet for only a brief period of time during the year.
Between these two extremes are hybrid legislatures. Their members are compensated at a higher rate than in citizen legislatures, but they are still likely to need outside employment to make an income equal to what they were making prior to taking office. These representatives and senators will have some staff assistance but not as much as in a professional legislature. Finally, members in hybrid legislatures will not consider their service to constitute a full-time occupation, but they will spend more than part of their time conducting legislative business. As Figure shows, California, New York, and Pennsylvania are home to some of the most professional legislatures in the country. On the other hand, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Wyoming, and South Dakota are among the states that rank lowest on legislative professionalism.National Conference of State Legislatures. 1 June 2014. “Table 2. Average Job Time, Compensation and Staff Size by Category of Legislature,” http://www.ncsl.org/research/about-state-legislatures/full-and-part-time-legislatures.aspx#average.
Like the other indicators discussed above, legislative professionalism also affects the business of state legislatures. In professional legislatures, elections tend to be more competitive, and the cost of running for a seat is higher because the benefits of being elected are greater. This makes these seats more attractive, and candidates will tend not to run unless they perceive themselves as well qualified. Since the benefits are more generous, elected officials will tend to stay in office longer and develop more policy expertise as a result. This experience can give professional legislatures an edge when dealing with the governor, because they are likely to be in session for about the same amount of time per year as the governor and have the necessary staff to assist them with researching and writing public policy.Peverill, “Measuring State Legislative Professionalism: The Squire Index Revisited.”
The legislative pay varies across states.
Compare the size of legislative staffs across states for the years 1979, 1988, 1996, 2003, and 2009.
Summary
Governors are called upon to work with the state legislature in the lawmaking process, to be the head of their political party, and to be the chief spokespersons and crisis managers for their states. State constitution or state statutes give many governors the power to veto legislation, pardon or commute the sentences of convicted criminals, author a state budget, and call a special session of the state legislature. The three key functions performed by state legislatures are lawmaking, constituency service, and oversight. Legislatures differ in size, diversity, party composition, and level of professionalism across the fifty states.
A ________ is an officeholder who represents the will of those who elected him or her and acts in constituents’ expressed interest.
- delegate
- trustee
- politico
- citizen
In a ________ legislature, members tend to have low salaries, shorter sessions, and few staff members to assist them with their legislative functions.
- professional
- citizen
- hybrid
- unicameral
Hint:
B
A(n) ________ veto allows the governor to cross out budget lines in the legislature-approved budget, while signing the remainder of the budget into law.
- amendatory
- line-item
- reduction
- Frankenstein
Which branch would you consider to be closest to the people? Why?
Hint:
The state legislature, particularly the state house, where members represent fewer people per district. Constituency service is part of the job of a state representative or senator, and house members’ need to be frequently reelected means they will have to pay attention to the electorate.
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2025-03-18T00:39:25.896487
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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/15269/overview
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State Legislative Term Limits
Learning Objectives
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Describe the history of state legislative term limits
- Compare the costs and benefits of term limits
Term limits restrict the length of time a member can serve in the state legislature by capping either lifetime service or the number of consecutive terms. The term limits movement gained momentum in the 1990s, spreading across a wide array of state legislative institutions. Today, fifteen states have imposed term limits on their state house and state senate members. On the other hand, six states, one as recently as 2004, have repealed the term limits imposed on them by the electorate, through either judicial action in the state Supreme Courts or through legislative action in the state legislature.National Conference of State Legislatures. 13 March 2015. “The Term-Limited States,” http://www.ncsl.org/research/about-state-legislatures/chart-of-term-limits-states.aspx.
THE BASICS OF TERM LIMITS
Under consecutive term limits, a member can serve for only a specified period of time in either the state house or the state senate, most commonly eight years. To try to regain a seat in the legislature once the limit has been met, the member will have to wait to run for office again. If the member succeeds, the clock will reset and the legislator may once again serve up to the limit set by the state. In states with a lifetime ban, such as Oklahoma, members can serve only one time for the number of years allotted, and they are not permitted to run for office again (Figure).See note 65.
The first term limits were enacted in 1990 in California, Colorado, and Oklahoma. In 1992, eight more states followed suit in one large wave. The last state to enact term limits on legislative members was Nebraska in 2000.See note 65. However, term limits did not stay in effect in all these states; many state supreme courts repealed them and declared them unconstitutional for a variety of reasons (Figure). For instance, in Massachusetts and Washington, term limits were deemed unconstitutional because they affected candidate qualifications to compete for a given office. The courts ruled that changes to those qualifications could be made only by amending the state constitution, not by voters changing the state law.National Conference of State Legislatures. “Term Limits and the Courts,” http://www.ncsl.org/research/about-state-legislatures/summaries-of-term-limits-cases.aspx (March 14, 2016).
ADVANTAGES OF TERM LIMITS
In many cases, the movement to institute term limits was initiated by voters and passed through citizen initiatives, which allow citizens to place a proposed law or constitutional amendment on the ballot for a popular vote.National Conference of State Legislatures. 20 September 2012. “Initiative, Referendum and Recall,” http://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/initiative-referendum-and-recall-overview.aspx. Proponents of term limits felt new blood was needed in state legislatures to bring fresh ideas and perspectives to lawmaking. In addition, they hoped term limits would compel turnover among members by shortening the time anyone could serve and by reducing the tendency for elected officials to make legislative service their career. In conjunction with this thinking, some supporters hoped term limits would increase the motivation to make good public policy. If members were less focused on reelection and knew they could not serve more than a certain number of years, perhaps they would get right down to the business of making laws and produce innovative policy within a narrow window of time.John Carey, Richard Niemi, and Lynda Powell. 2000. Term Limits in State Legislatures. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
For other proponents, the hope was that term limits would increase diversity within the chamber by encouraging more women, members of racial and ethnic minority groups, members of the minority party, and people with unconventional occupations to run for office because seats would be open more frequently. In addition, supporters speculated that increased turnover might prompt higher rates of electoral competition and voter interest. Finally, they believed the loss of long-term legislators due to term limits would allow new members and younger legislators to assume leadership positions within the chamber and committees, creating another way to bring fresh approaches to the lawmaking process. See note 70.
Working to Expand Term Limits
One pro–term limits advocacy group, U.S. Term Limits, is dedicated to the expansion of term limits across the United States. Its members work to prevent states from repealing limits that are already in place. They also support efforts by citizens to institute term limits in states where they are not currently in place, and in Congress, where the Supreme Court declared them unconstitutional.“The U.S. Term Limits Pledge,” http://ustermlimitsamendment.org/about-us/ (March 14, 2016).
If you support their cause, you can follow the link below to learn more about these efforts or to participate directly. Write a letter to the editor encouraging the adoption of term limits in a given state, or encourage your member of Congress to sign a pledge agreeing to cosponsor and vote for an amendment to the Constitution to adopt term limits. You can also sign an online petition to support the adoption of term limits at the federal level or make a donation to a term-limit advocacy group.
What is your state’s policy on term limits? If limits are in place, how have they changed your representation in the state capitol? If they are not in place, what effect would adopting them have on your representation? There is no comparable national movement against term limits, why do you think that is the case? Based on your answers, do you favor term limits or not, and why?
For more information about supporting term limits, visit U.S. Terms, an advocacy group for term limits.
DISADVANTAGES OF TERM LIMITS
Although proponents have many reasons for supporting term limits, opponents also have compelling reasons for not supporting their implementation in the state legislature. In addition, research by political scientists has uncovered a number of negative consequences since term limits took effect.
Although proponents argued that term limits would increase legislative diversity, research comparing the rate of female and minority representation in term-limited and non-term-limited states does not bear out this expectation. There is no statistically significant difference in diversity between the two groups of states.Stanley Caress and Todd Kunioka. 2012. Term Limits and Their Consequences: The Aftermath of Legislative Reform. New York: State University of New York Press. Although term limits may have produced more open seats, additional barriers to holding office can still exist and affect the willingness of women and minorities to run for office. In addition, women and minorities are subject to the same term limits as men, and given their low numbers among candidates for office, on balance a legislature can lose more women or minorities than it gains.
Term limits also affect the power structure between the legislative and executive branches and the key sources from whom legislators draw information about bills before the chamber. Research demonstrates that, post-term limits, legislators became more likely to consult with lobbyists to gain information about legislation under consideration than had been the case before term limits.Lyke Thompson, Charles Elder, and Richard Elling. 2004. Political and Institutional Effects of Term Limits. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. This is likely the result of legislators having less policy expertise and political experience as a function of having fewer years in office, being younger when they first enter legislative service, reducing institutional memory and expertise within the chamber as a whole due to member turnover, or all the above. Interest groups may thus enjoy greater ability to set the agenda and push for policy that favors their organization. This same research also found that under term limits state legislators feel they have lost power relative to the governor and to various bureaucratic agency officials.See note above. This presumed loss of power could damage the state legislature’s ability to adequately check the actions of the executive branch and to perform legislative functions, such as oversight.
Finally, term limits could affect voter enthusiasm and turnout if voters are disappointed they cannot retain legislators they like or have developed a positive relationship with. Once term limits take effect, all legislators are at the voters’ mercy, regardless of the skill or talent they may bring to the office.
Summary
Whether they cap lifetime service or consecutive terms, term limits have become popular in many states, though some have overturned them as unconstitutional. Proponents believe term limits increase voter participation, encourage more women and minorities to run for office, and help bring diversity and fresh ideas to the legislature. Opponents point to research showing that diversity has not increased in term-limit states, and that younger and less experienced legislators tend to rely more on lobbyists for information about proposed bills. Finally, voters disappointed at losing their favorites may fail to go to the polls.
Under consecutive term limits, legislators can serve one time for the number of years allotted and are not permitted to ever compete for the office again.
- True
- False
The most common term limit across the states that have imposed them is ________ years.
- four
- six
- eight
- twelve
Hint:
C
When term limits have been overturned, the most common method was ________.
- a bill passed by the state legislature
- a decision by the state Supreme Court
- a voter referendum
- a governor’s decree
Term limits have produced a statistically significant increase in the number of women serving in state legislatures.
- True
- False
Hint:
B
Currently, ________ states have term limits in place.
- five
- ten
- fifteen
- twenty
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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/15270/overview
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County and City Government
Learning Objectives
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Identify the differences between county and municipal governments in terms of their responsibilities and funding sources
- Describe the two primary types of municipal government and the three basic types of county government
County and city governments make up an important component of the overall structure of the government. Not only do they affect citizens directly; it is also easier for citizens to interact with local government officials because their offices and the community’s school board or city council meetings are often close by. Despite this fact, voter turnout in local elections tends to be lower than in state and national elections. Municipal and county governments differ in structure and purpose in several ways.
COUNTY GOVERNMENT
County governments serve a larger geographical area than cities and towns, but a smaller area than states. They are created by the state government and typically operate under provisions set out in the state constitution. As such, they are essentially administrative units of the state. Census estimates from 2012 indicate that there are just over three thousand counties in the United States.Brian Lavin. 30 August 2012. “Census Bureau Reports There are 89,004 Local Governments in the United States (CB12-161),” https://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/governments/cb12-161.html. County systems usually take one of three basic forms: the commission system, the council-administrator system, and the council-elected executive system.
The most common form of county government is the commission system. Under this structure, an elected commission, which generally consists of a small number of commissioners, serves as the governing body within the county, performing all legislative and executive functions. These include adopting a budget, passing county resolutions, and hiring and firing county officials.Frank Coppa. 2000. County Government: A Guide to Efficient and Accountable Government. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing.
Under the council-administrator system, the voters elect council members to serve for a specified period of time, and the council in turn appoints an administrator to oversee the operation of the government. The administrator serves at the directive of the council and can be terminated by the council. The goal of this arrangement is to divide administrative and policymaking responsibilities between the elected council and the appointed administrator.Coppa, County Government: A Guide to Efficient and Accountable Government.
Under a council-elected executive system, the voters elect both the members of the council and the executive. The executive performs functions similar to those of the state governor. For instance, he or she can veto the actions of the council, draft a budget, and provide suggestions regarding public policy.Coppa, County Government: A Guide to Efficient and Accountable Government.
Although the tasks they perform can vary from state to state, most counties have a courthouse that houses county officials, such as the sheriff, the county clerk, the assessor, the treasurer, the coroner, and the engineer. These officials carry out a variety of important functions and oversee the responsibilities of running a county government. For instance, the county coroner investigates the cause of death when suspicious circumstances are present. The county clerk oversees the registration of voters and also certifies election results for the county. In addition, this officeholder typically keeps the official birth, death, and marriage records. The county treasurer oversees the collection and distribution of funds within the county, while the county assessor conducts property tax evaluations and informs individual citizens or business owners of their right to contest the appraised value of their property. Finally, a county engineer will oversee the maintenance and construction of county infrastructure.Coppa, County Government: A Guide to Efficient and Accountable Government. In short, counties help to maintain roads and bridges, courthouses and jails, parks and pools, and public libraries, hospitals, and clinics.http://www.naco.org/counties (March 14, 2016). To provide these services, county governments typically rely on property tax revenue, a portion of sales tax receipts, and funds from intergovernmental transfers by way of federal or state grants.
CITY GOVERNMENT
Municipal governments oversee the operation and functions of cities and towns. Census estimates for 2012 show just over 19,500 municipal governments and nearly 16,500 township governments in the United States.Lavin, “Census Bureau Reports There are 89,004 Local Governments in the United States (CB12-161).” The vast majority of municipal governments operate on one of two governing models: a mayor-council system or a council-manager system.
Under the mayor-council system voters elect both a mayor and members of the city council. The city council performs legislative functions and the mayor the executive functions. Under this system, the mayor may be given a great deal of authority or only limited powers.“Forms of Municipal Government,” http://www.nlc.org/build-skills-and-networks/resources/cities-101/city-structures/forms-of-municipal-government (March 14, 2016). Under a strong mayor system, the mayor will be able to veto the actions of the council, appoint and fire the heads of city departments, and produce a budget. Under a weak mayor system, the mayor has little authority compared to the council and acts in a ceremonial capacity as a spokesperson for the city.“Mayoral Powers,” http://www.nlc.org/build-skills-and-networks/resources/cities-101/city-officials/mayoral-powers (March 14, 2016).
In a council-manager system of government, either the members of the city council are elected by voters along with a mayor who presides over the council, or the voters elect members of the city council and the mayor is chosen from among them. In either case, the city council will then appoint a city manager to carry out the administrative functions of the municipal government. This frees the city council to address political functions such as setting policy and formulating the budget.“Forms of Municipal Government.”
Municipal governments are responsible for providing clean water as well as sewage and garbage disposal. They must maintain city facilities, such as parks, streetlights, and stadiums (Figure). In addition, they address zoning and building regulations, promote the city’s economic development, and provide law enforcement, public transportation, and fire protection. Municipal governments typically rely on property tax revenue, user fees from trash collection and the provision of water and sewer services, a portion of sales tax receipts, and taxes on business.
The International City/County Management Association (ICMA) provides networking opportunities, professional development, and statistical data in order to support local government leaders and other individuals throughout the world. Visit the ICMA Priorities page to learn what makes a better leader and how you might improve your local community.
Summary
County governments can adopt the commission system, the council-administrator system, and the council-elected executive system of government to carry out their functions, which usually include the work of the sheriff, the county clerk, the assessor, the treasurer, the coroner, and the engineer. Municipal governments can use the mayor-council system or the council-manager system and manage services such as the provision of clean water, park maintenance, and local law enforcement. Cities and counties both rely on tax revenues, especially property taxes, to fund their provision of services.
Under the mayor-council system, the ________.
- legislative and executive responsibilities are separated
- political and administrative functions are separated
- mayor chairs the city council
- city council selects the mayor
Hint:
A
Which of the following is not one of the three forms of county government?
- the commission system
- the council-elected executive system
- the mayor-council system
- the council-administrator system
What are the primary responsibilities of municipal governments?
Hint:
Municipal governments are responsible for providing clean water as well as sewage and garbage disposal. They maintain city facilities, such as parks, streetlights, and stadiums. In addition, they address zoning and building regulations, promote economic development, and provide law enforcement, public transportation, and fire protection.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of having so many levels of subnational governments in the United States? Explain.
In which level of substate government would you be most likely to get involved? Why?
Is it preferable for representatives in the state legislature to behave as trustees or as delegates? Why?
Do term limits seem to have more advantages or disadvantages? Defend your answer.
Council of State Governments. 2014. The Book of the States. Lexington, KY: The Council of State Governments.
Elazar, Daniel. 1972. American Federalism: A View from the States, 2nd ed. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company.
Governing: The State and Localities (http://www.governing.com/).
National Association of Counties (http://www.naco.org/).
National Conference of State Legislatures (http://www.ncsl.org/).
National Governors Association (http://www.nga.org/cms/home.html).
National League of Cities (http://www.nlc.org/).
Rosenthal, Alan. 2013. The Best Job in Politics; Exploring How Governors Succeed as Policy Leaders. Thousand Oaks, CA: CQ Press.
———. 2004. Heavy Lifting: The Job of State Legislatures. Thousand Oaks, CA: CQ Press.
Wright, Ralph. 2005. Inside the Statehouse: Lessons from the Speaker. Washington, DC: CQ Press.
United States Census Bureau, “Quick Facts: United States” (http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/index.html).
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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/15525/overview
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Introduction
Overview
- The Stock Market Crash of 1929
- President Hoover’s Response
- The Depths of the Great Depression
- Assessing the Hoover Years on the Eve of the New Deal
On March 4, 1929, at his presidential inauguration, Herbert Hoover stated, “I have no fears for the future of our country. It is bright with hope.” Most Americans shared his optimism. They believed that the prosperity of the 1920s would continue, and that the country was moving closer to a land of abundance for all. Little could Hoover imagine that barely a year into his presidency, shantytowns known as “Hoovervilles” would emerge on the fringes of most major cities (Figure), newspapers covering the homeless would be called “Hoover blankets,” and pants pockets, turned inside-out to show their emptiness, would become “Hoover flags.”
The stock market crash of October 1929 set the Great Depression into motion, but other factors were at the root of the problem, propelled onward by a series of both human-made and natural catastrophes. Anticipating a short downturn and living under an ethos of free enterprise and individualism, Americans suffered mightily in the first years of the Depression. As conditions worsened and the government failed to act, they grew increasingly desperate for change. While Hoover could not be blamed for the Great Depression, his failure to address the nation’s hardships would remain his legacy.
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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/15526/overview
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The Stock Market Crash of 1929
Overview
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Identify the causes of the stock market crash of 1929
- Assess the underlying weaknesses in the economy that resulted in America’s spiraling from prosperity to depression so quickly
- Explain how a stock market crash might contribute to a nationwide economic disaster
Herbert Hoover became president at a time of ongoing prosperity in the country. Americans hoped he would continue to lead the country through still more economic growth, and neither he nor the country was ready for the unraveling that followed. But Hoover’s moderate policies, based upon a strongly held belief in the spirit of American individualism, were not enough to stem the ever-growing problems, and the economy slipped further and further into the Great Depression.
While it is misleading to view the stock market crash of 1929 as the sole cause of the Great Depression, the dramatic events of that October did play a role in the downward spiral of the American economy. The crash, which took place less than a year after Hoover was inaugurated, was the most extreme sign of the economy’s weakness. Multiple factors contributed to the crash, which in turn caused a consumer panic that drove the economy even further downhill, in ways that neither Hoover nor the financial industry was able to restrain. Hoover, like many others at the time, thought and hoped that the country would right itself with limited government intervention. This was not the case, however, and millions of Americans sank into grinding poverty.
THE EARLY DAYS OF HOOVER’S PRESIDENCY
Upon his inauguration, President Hoover set forth an agenda that he hoped would continue the “Coolidge prosperity” of the previous administration. While accepting the Republican Party’s presidential nomination in 1928, Hoover commented, “Given the chance to go forward with the policies of the last eight years, we shall soon with the help of God be in sight of the day when poverty will be banished from this nation forever.” In the spirit of normalcy that defined the Republican ascendancy of the 1920s, Hoover planned to immediately overhaul federal regulations with the intention of allowing the nation’s economy to grow unfettered by any controls. The role of the government, he contended, should be to create a partnership with the American people, in which the latter would rise (or fall) on their own merits and abilities. He felt the less government intervention in their lives, the better.
Yet, to listen to Hoover’s later reflections on Franklin Roosevelt’s first term in office, one could easily mistake his vision for America for the one held by his successor. Speaking in 1936 before an audience in Denver, Colorado, he acknowledged that it was always his intent as president to ensure “a nation built of home owners and farm owners. We want to see more and more of them insured against death and accident, unemployment and old age,” he declared. “We want them all secure.” Herbert Hoover, address delivered in Denver, Colorado, 30 October 1936, compiled in Hoover, Addresses Upon the American Road, 1933-1938 (New York, 1938), p. 216. This particular quotation is frequently misidentified as part of Hoover’s inaugural address in 1932. Such humanitarianism was not uncommon to Hoover. Throughout his early career in public service, he was committed to relief for people around the world. In 1900, he coordinated relief efforts for foreign nationals trapped in China during the Boxer Rebellion. At the outset of World War I, he led the food relief effort in Europe, specifically helping millions of Belgians who faced German forces. President Woodrow Wilson subsequently appointed him head of the U.S. Food Administration to coordinate rationing efforts in America as well as to secure essential food items for the Allied forces and citizens in Europe.
Hoover’s first months in office hinted at the reformist, humanitarian spirit that he had displayed throughout his career. He continued the civil service reform of the early twentieth century by expanding opportunities for employment throughout the federal government. In response to the Teapot Dome Affair, which had occurred during the Harding administration, he invalidated several private oil leases on public lands. He directed the Department of Justice, through its Bureau of Investigation, to crack down on organized crime, resulting in the arrest and imprisonment of Al Capone. By the summer of 1929, he had signed into law the creation of a Federal Farm Board to help farmers with government price supports, expanded tax cuts across all income classes, and set aside federal funds to clean up slums in major American cities. To directly assist several overlooked populations, he created the Veterans Administration and expanded veterans’ hospitals, established the Federal Bureau of Prisons to oversee incarceration conditions nationwide, and reorganized the Bureau of Indian Affairs to further protect Native Americans. Just prior to the stock market crash, he even proposed the creation of an old-age pension program, promising fifty dollars monthly to all Americans over the age of sixty-five—a proposal remarkably similar to the social security benefit that would become a hallmark of Roosevelt’s subsequent New Deal programs. As the summer of 1929 came to a close, Hoover remained a popular successor to Calvin “Silent Cal” Coolidge, and all signs pointed to a highly successful administration.
THE GREAT CRASH
The promise of the Hoover administration was cut short when the stock market lost almost one-half its value in the fall of 1929, plunging many Americans into financial ruin. However, as a singular event, the stock market crash itself did not cause the Great Depression that followed. In fact, only approximately 10 percent of American households held stock investments and speculated in the market; yet nearly a third would lose their lifelong savings and jobs in the ensuing depression. The connection between the crash and the subsequent decade of hardship was complex, involving underlying weaknesses in the economy that many policymakers had long ignored.
What Was the Crash?
To understand the crash, it is useful to address the decade that preceded it. The prosperous 1920s ushered in a feeling of euphoria among middle-class and wealthy Americans, and people began to speculate on wilder investments. The government was a willing partner in this endeavor: The Federal Reserve followed a brief postwar recession in 1920–1921 with a policy of setting interest rates artificially low, as well as easing the reserve requirements on the nation’s largest banks. As a result, the money supply in the U.S. increased by nearly 60 percent, which convinced even more Americans of the safety of investing in questionable schemes. They felt that prosperity was boundless and that extreme risks were likely tickets to wealth. Named for Charles Ponzi, the original “Ponzi schemes” emerged early in the 1920s to encourage novice investors to divert funds to unfounded ventures, which in reality simply used new investors’ funds to pay off older investors as the schemes grew in size. Speculation, where investors purchased into high-risk schemes that they hoped would pay off quickly, became the norm. Several banks, including deposit institutions that originally avoided investment loans, began to offer easy credit, allowing people to invest, even when they lacked the money to do so. An example of this mindset was the Florida land boom of the 1920s: Real estate developers touted Florida as a tropical paradise and investors went all in, buying land they had never seen with money they didn’t have and selling it for even higher prices.
Selling Optimism and Risk
Advertising offers a useful window into the popular perceptions and beliefs of an era. By seeing how businesses were presenting their goods to consumers, it is possible to sense the hopes and aspirations of people at that moment in history. Maybe companies are selling patriotism or pride in technological advances. Maybe they are pushing idealized views of parenthood or safety. In the 1920s, advertisers were selling opportunity and euphoria, further feeding the notions of many Americans that prosperity would never end.
In the decade before the Great Depression, the optimism of the American public was seemingly boundless. Advertisements from that era show large new cars, timesaving labor devices, and, of course, land. This advertisement for California real estate illustrates how realtors in the West, much like the ongoing Florida land boom, used a combination of the hard sell and easy credit (Figure). “Buy now!!” the ad shouts. “You are sure to make money on these.” In great numbers, people did. With easy access to credit and hard-pushing advertisements like this one, many felt that they could not afford to miss out on such an opportunity. Unfortunately, overspeculation in California and hurricanes along the Gulf Coast and in Florida conspired to burst this land bubble, and would-be millionaires were left with nothing but the ads that once pulled them in.
The Florida land boom went bust in 1925–1926. A combination of negative press about the speculative nature of the boom, IRS investigations into the questionable financial practices of several land brokers, and a railroad embargo that limited the delivery of construction supplies into the region significantly hampered investor interest. The subsequent Great Miami Hurricane of 1926 drove most land developers into outright bankruptcy. However, speculation continued throughout the decade, this time in the stock market. Buyers purchased stock “on margin”—buying for a small down payment with borrowed money, with the intention of quickly selling at a much higher price before the remaining payment came due—which worked well as long as prices continued to rise. Speculators were aided by retail stock brokerage firms, which catered to average investors anxious to play the market but lacking direct ties to investment banking houses or larger brokerage firms. When prices began to fluctuate in the summer of 1929, investors sought excuses to continue their speculation. When fluctuations turned to outright and steady losses, everyone started to sell. As September began to unfold, the Dow Jones Industrial Average peaked at a value of 381 points, or roughly ten times the stock market’s value, at the start of the 1920s.
Several warning signs portended the impending crash but went unheeded by Americans still giddy over the potential fortunes that speculation might promise. A brief downturn in the market on September 18, 1929, raised questions among more-seasoned investment bankers, leading some to predict an end to high stock values, but did little to stem the tide of investment. Even the collapse of the London Stock Exchange on September 20 failed to fully curtail the optimism of American investors. However, when the New York Stock Exchange lost 11 percent of its value on October 24—often referred to as “Black Thursday”—key American investors sat up and took notice. In an effort to forestall a much-feared panic, leading banks, including Chase National, National City, J.P. Morgan, and others, conspired to purchase large amounts of blue chip stocks (including U.S. Steel) in order to keep the prices artificially high. Even that effort failed in the growing wave of stock sales. Nevertheless, Hoover delivered a radio address on Friday in which he assured the American people, “The fundamental business of the country . . . is on a sound and prosperous basis.”
As newspapers across the country began to cover the story in earnest, investors anxiously awaited the start of the following week. When the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost another 13 percent of its value on Monday morning, many knew the end of stock market speculation was near. The evening before the infamous crash was ominous. Jonathan Leonard, a newspaper reporter who regularly covered the stock market beat, wrote of how Wall Street “lit up like a Christmas tree.” Brokers and businessmen who feared the worst the next day crowded into restaurants and speakeasies (a place where alcoholic beverages were illegally sold). After a night of heavy drinking, they retreated to nearby hotels or flop-houses (cheap boarding houses), all of which were overbooked, and awaited sunrise. Children from nearby slums and tenement districts played stickball in the streets of the financial district, using wads of ticker tape for balls. Although they all awoke to newspapers filled with predictions of a financial turnaround, as well as technical reasons why the decline might be short-lived, the crash on Tuesday morning, October 29, caught few by surprise.
No one even heard the opening bell on Wall Street that day, as shouts of “Sell! Sell!” drowned it out. In the first three minutes alone, nearly three million shares of stock, accounting for $2 million of wealth, changed hands. The volume of Western Union telegrams tripled, and telephone lines could not meet the demand, as investors sought any means available to dump their stock immediately. Rumors spread of investors jumping from their office windows. Fistfights broke out on the trading floor, where one broker fainted from physical exhaustion. Stock trades happened at such a furious pace that runners had nowhere to store the trade slips, and so they resorted to stuffing them into trash cans. Although the stock exchange’s board of governors briefly considered closing the exchange early, they subsequently chose to let the market run its course, lest the American public panic even further at the thought of closure. When the final bell rang, errand boys spent hours sweeping up tons of paper, tickertape, and sales slips. Among the more curious finds in the rubbish were torn suit coats, crumpled eyeglasses, and one broker’s artificial leg. Outside a nearby brokerage house, a policeman allegedly found a discarded birdcage with a live parrot squawking, “More margin! More margin!”
On Black Tuesday, October 29, stock holders traded over sixteen million shares and lost over $14 billion in wealth in a single day. To put this in context, a trading day of three million shares was considered a busy day on the stock market. People unloaded their stock as quickly as they could, never minding the loss. Banks, facing debt and seeking to protect their own assets, demanded payment for the loans they had provided to individual investors. Those individuals who could not afford to pay found their stocks sold immediately and their life savings wiped out in minutes, yet their debt to the bank still remained (Figure).
The financial outcome of the crash was devastating. Between September 1 and November 30, 1929, the stock market lost over one-half its value, dropping from $64 billion to approximately $30 billion. Any effort to stem the tide was, as one historian noted, tantamount to bailing Niagara Falls with a bucket. The crash affected many more than the relatively few Americans who invested in the stock market. While only 10 percent of households had investments, over 90 percent of all banks had invested in the stock market. Many banks failed due to their dwindling cash reserves. This was in part due to the Federal Reserve lowering the limits of cash reserves that banks were traditionally required to hold in their vaults, as well as the fact that many banks invested in the stock market themselves. Eventually, thousands of banks closed their doors after losing all of their assets, leaving their customers penniless. While a few savvy investors got out at the right time and eventually made fortunes buying up discarded stock, those success stories were rare. Housewives who speculated with grocery money, bookkeepers who embezzled company funds hoping to strike it rich and pay the funds back before getting caught, and bankers who used customer deposits to follow speculative trends all lost. While the stock market crash was the trigger, the lack of appropriate economic and banking safeguards, along with a public psyche that pursued wealth and prosperity at all costs, allowed this event to spiral downward into a depression.
The National Humanities Center has brought together a selection of newspaper commentary from the 1920s, from before the crash to its aftermath. Read through to see what journalists and financial analysts thought of the situation at the time.
Causes of the Crash
The crash of 1929 did not occur in a vacuum, nor did it cause the Great Depression. Rather, it was a tipping point where the underlying weaknesses in the economy, specifically in the nation’s banking system, came to the fore. It also represented both the end of an era characterized by blind faith in American exceptionalism and the beginning of one in which citizens began increasingly to question some long-held American values. A number of factors played a role in bringing the stock market to this point and contributed to the downward trend in the market, which continued well into the 1930s. In addition to the Federal Reserve’s questionable policies and misguided banking practices, three primary reasons for the collapse of the stock market were international economic woes, poor income distribution, and the psychology of public confidence.
After World War I, both America’s allies and the defeated nations of Germany and Austria contended with disastrous economies. The Allies owed large amounts of money to U.S. banks, which had advanced them money during the war effort. Unable to repay these debts, the Allies looked to reparations from Germany and Austria to help. The economies of those countries, however, were struggling badly, and they could not pay their reparations, despite the loans that the U.S. provided to assist with their payments. The U.S. government refused to forgive these loans, and American banks were in the position of extending additional private loans to foreign governments, who used them to repay their debts to the U.S. government, essentially shifting their obligations to private banks. When other countries began to default on this second wave of private bank loans, still more strain was placed on U.S. banks, which soon sought to liquidate these loans at the first sign of a stock market crisis.
Poor income distribution among Americans compounded the problem. A strong stock market relies on today’s buyers becoming tomorrow’s sellers, and therefore it must always have an influx of new buyers. In the 1920s, this was not the case. Eighty percent of American families had virtually no savings, and only one-half to 1 percent of Americans controlled over a third of the wealth. This scenario meant that there were no new buyers coming into the marketplace, and nowhere for sellers to unload their stock as the speculation came to a close. In addition, the vast majority of Americans with limited savings lost their accounts as local banks closed, and likewise lost their jobs as investment in business and industry came to a screeching halt.
Finally, one of the most important factors in the crash was the contagion effect of panic. For much of the 1920s, the public felt confident that prosperity would continue forever, and therefore, in a self-fulfilling cycle, the market continued to grow. But once the panic began, it spread quickly and with the same cyclical results; people were worried that the market was going down, they sold their stock, and the market continued to drop. This was partly due to Americans’ inability to weather market volatility, given the limited cash surpluses they had on hand, as well as their psychological concern that economic recovery might never happen.
IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE CRASH
After the crash, Hoover announced that the economy was “fundamentally sound.” On the last day of trading in 1929, the New York Stock Exchange held its annual wild and lavish party, complete with confetti, musicians, and illegal alcohol. The U.S. Department of Labor predicted that 1930 would be “a splendid employment year.” These sentiments were not as baseless as it may seem in hindsight. Historically, markets cycled up and down, and periods of growth were often followed by downturns that corrected themselves. But this time, there was no market correction; rather, the abrupt shock of the crash was followed by an even more devastating depression. Investors, along with the general public, withdrew their money from banks by the thousands, fearing the banks would go under. The more people pulled out their money in bank runs, the closer the banks came to insolvency (Figure).
The contagion effect of the crash grew quickly. With investors losing billions of dollars, they invested very little in new or expanded businesses. At this time, two industries had the greatest impact on the country’s economic future in terms of investment, potential growth, and employment: automotive and construction. After the crash, both were hit hard. In November 1929, fewer cars were built than in any other month since November 1919. Even before the crash, widespread saturation of the market meant that few Americans bought them, leading to a slowdown. Afterward, very few could afford them. By 1933, Stutz, Locomobile, Durant, Franklin, Deusenberg, and Pierce-Arrow automobiles, all luxury models, were largely unavailable; production had ground to a halt. They would not be made again until 1949. In construction, the drop-off was even more dramatic. It would be another thirty years before a new hotel or theater was built in New York City. The Empire State Building itself stood half empty for years after being completed in 1931.
The damage to major industries led to, and reflected, limited purchasing by both consumers and businesses. Even those Americans who continued to make a modest income during the Great Depression lost the drive for conspicuous consumption that they exhibited in the 1920s. People with less money to buy goods could not help businesses grow; in turn, businesses with no market for their products could not hire workers or purchase raw materials. Employers began to lay off workers. The country’s gross national product declined by over 25 percent within a year, and wages and salaries declined by $4 billion. Unemployment tripled, from 1.5 million at the end of 1929 to 4.5 million by the end of 1930. By mid-1930, the slide into economic chaos had begun but was nowhere near complete.
THE NEW REALITY FOR AMERICANS
For most Americans, the crash affected daily life in myriad ways. In the immediate aftermath, there was a run on the banks, where citizens took their money out, if they could get it, and hid their savings under mattresses, in bookshelves, or anywhere else they felt was safe. Some went so far as to exchange their dollars for gold and ship it out of the country. A number of banks failed outright, and others, in their attempts to stay solvent, called in loans that people could not afford to repay. Working-class Americans saw their wages drop: Even Henry Ford, the champion of a high minimum wage, began lowering wages by as much as a dollar a day. Southern cotton planters paid workers only twenty cents for every one hundred pounds of cotton picked, meaning that the strongest picker might earn sixty cents for a fourteen-hour day of work. Cities struggled to collect property taxes and subsequently laid off teachers and police.
The new hardships that people faced were not always immediately apparent; many communities felt the changes but could not necessarily look out their windows and see anything different. Men who lost their jobs didn’t stand on street corners begging; they disappeared. They might be found keeping warm by a trashcan bonfire or picking through garbage at dawn, but mostly, they stayed out of public view. As the effects of the crash continued, however, the results became more evident. Those living in cities grew accustomed to seeing long breadlines of unemployed men waiting for a meal (Figure). Companies fired workers and tore down employee housing to avoid paying property taxes. The landscape of the country had changed.
The hardships of the Great Depression threw family life into disarray. Both marriage and birth rates declined in the decade after the crash. The most vulnerable members of society—children, women, minorities, and the working class—struggled the most. Parents often sent children out to beg for food at restaurants and stores to save themselves from the disgrace of begging. Many children dropped out of school, and even fewer went to college. Childhood, as it had existed in the prosperous twenties, was over. And yet, for many children living in rural areas where the affluence of the previous decade was not fully developed, the Depression was not viewed as a great challenge. School continued. Play was simple and enjoyed. Families adapted by growing more in gardens, canning, and preserving, wasting little food if any. Home-sewn clothing became the norm as the decade progressed, as did creative methods of shoe repair with cardboard soles. Yet, one always knew of stories of the “other” families who suffered more, including those living in cardboard boxes or caves. By one estimate, as many as 200,000 children moved about the country as vagrants due to familial disintegration.
Women’s lives, too, were profoundly affected. Some wives and mothers sought employment to make ends meet, an undertaking that was often met with strong resistance from husbands and potential employers. Many men derided and criticized women who worked, feeling that jobs should go to unemployed men. Some campaigned to keep companies from hiring married women, and an increasing number of school districts expanded the long-held practice of banning the hiring of married female teachers. Despite the pushback, women entered the workforce in increasing numbers, from ten million at the start of the Depression to nearly thirteen million by the end of the 1930s. This increase took place in spite of the twenty-six states that passed a variety of laws to prohibit the employment of married women. Several women found employment in the emerging pink collar occupations, viewed as traditional women’s work, including jobs as telephone operators, social workers, and secretaries. Others took jobs as maids and housecleaners, working for those fortunate few who had maintained their wealth.
White women’s forays into domestic service came at the expense of minority women, who had even fewer employment options. Unsurprisingly, African American men and women experienced unemployment, and the grinding poverty that followed, at double and triple the rates of their white counterparts. By 1932, unemployment among African Americans reached near 50 percent. In rural areas, where large numbers of African Americans continued to live despite the Great Migration of 1910–1930, depression-era life represented an intensified version of the poverty that they traditionally experienced. Subsistence farming allowed many African Americans who lost either their land or jobs working for white landholders to survive, but their hardships increased. Life for African Americans in urban settings was equally trying, with blacks and working-class whites living in close proximity and competing for scarce jobs and resources.
Life for all rural Americans was difficult. Farmers largely did not experience the widespread prosperity of the 1920s. Although continued advancements in farming techniques and agricultural machinery led to increased agricultural production, decreasing demand (particularly in the previous markets created by World War I) steadily drove down commodity prices. As a result, farmers could barely pay the debt they owed on machinery and land mortgages, and even then could do so only as a result of generous lines of credit from banks. While factory workers may have lost their jobs and savings in the crash, many farmers also lost their homes, due to the thousands of farm foreclosures sought by desperate bankers. Between 1930 and 1935, nearly 750,000 family farms disappeared through foreclosure or bankruptcy. Even for those who managed to keep their farms, there was little market for their crops. Unemployed workers had less money to spend on food, and when they did purchase goods, the market excess had driven prices so low that farmers could barely piece together a living. A now-famous example of the farmer’s plight is that, when the price of coal began to exceed that of corn, farmers would simply burn corn to stay warm in the winter.
As the effects of the Great Depression worsened, wealthier Americans had particular concern for “the deserving poor”—those who had lost all of their money due to no fault of their own. This concept gained greater attention beginning in the Progressive Era of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when early social reformers sought to improve the quality of life for all Americans by addressing the poverty that was becoming more prevalent, particularly in emerging urban areas. By the time of the Great Depression, social reformers and humanitarian agencies had determined that the “deserving poor” belonged to a different category from those who had speculated and lost. However, the sheer volume of Americans who fell into this group meant that charitable assistance could not begin to reach them all. Some fifteen million “deserving poor,” or a full one-third of the labor force, were struggling by 1932. The country had no mechanism or system in place to help so many; however, Hoover remained adamant that such relief should rest in the hands of private agencies, not with the federal government (Figure).
Unable to receive aid from the government, Americans thus turned to private charities; churches, synagogues, and other religious organizations; and state aid. But these organizations were not prepared to deal with the scope of the problem. Private aid organizations showed declining assets as well during the Depression, with fewer Americans possessing the ability to donate to such charities. Likewise, state governments were particularly ill-equipped. Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first to institute a Department of Welfare in New York in 1929. City governments had equally little to offer. In New York City in 1932, family allowances were $2.39 per week, and only one-half of the families who qualified actually received them. In Detroit, allowances fell to fifteen cents a day per person, and eventually ran out completely. In most cases, relief was only in the form of food and fuel; organizations provided nothing in the way of rent, shelter, medical care, clothing, or other necessities. There was no infrastructure to support the elderly, who were the most vulnerable, and this population largely depended on their adult children to support them, adding to families’ burdens (Figure).
During this time, local community groups, such as police and teachers, worked to help the neediest. New York City police, for example, began contributing 1 percent of their salaries to start a food fund that was geared to help those found starving on the streets. In 1932, New York City schoolteachers also joined forces to try to help; they contributed as much as $250,000 per month from their own salaries to help needy children. Chicago teachers did the same, feeding some eleven thousand students out of their own pockets in 1931, despite the fact that many of them had not been paid a salary in months. These noble efforts, however, failed to fully address the level of desperation that the American public was facing.
Section Summary
The prosperous decade leading up to the stock market crash of 1929, with easy access to credit and a culture that encouraged speculation and risk-taking, put into place the conditions for the country’s fall. The stock market, which had been growing for years, began to decline in the summer and early fall of 1929, precipitating a panic that led to a massive stock sell-off in late October. In one month, the market lost close to 40 percent of its value. Although only a small percentage of Americans had invested in the stock market, the crash affected everyone. Banks lost millions and, in response, foreclosed on business and personal loans, which in turn pressured customers to pay back their loans, whether or not they had the cash. As the pressure mounted on individuals, the effects of the crash continued to spread. The state of the international economy, the inequitable income distribution in the United States, and, perhaps most importantly, the contagion effect of panic all played roles in the continued downward spiral of the economy.
In the immediate aftermath of the crash, the government was confident that the economy would rebound. But several factors led it to worsen instead. One significant issue was the integral role of automobiles and construction in American industry. With the crash, there was no money for either auto purchases or major construction projects; these industries therefore suffered, laying off workers, cutting wages, and reducing benefits. Affluent Americans considered the deserving poor—those who lost their money due to no fault of their own—to be especially in need of help. But at the outset of the Great Depression, there were few social safety nets in place to provide them with the necessary relief. While some families retained their wealth and middle-class lifestyle, many more were plunged quite suddenly into poverty and often homelessness. Children dropped out of school, mothers and wives went into domestic service, and the fabric of American society changed inexorably.
Review Questions
Which of the following is a cause of the stock market crash of 1929?
- too many people invested in the market
- investors made risky investments with borrowed money
- the federal government invested heavily in business stock
- World War I created optimal conditions for an eventual crash
Hint:
B
Which of the following groups would not be considered “the deserving poor” by social welfare groups and humanitarians in the 1930s?
- vagrant children
- unemployed workers
- stock speculators
- single mothers
Hint:
C
What were Hoover’s plans when he first entered office, and how were these reflective of the years that preceded the Great Depression?
Hint:
At the outset of his presidency, Hoover planned to establish an agenda that would promote continued economic prosperity and eradicate poverty. He planned to eliminate federal regulations of the economy, which he believed would allow for maximum growth. For Americans themselves, he advocated a spirit of rugged individualism: Americans could bring about their own success or failure in partnership with the government, but remain unhindered by unnecessary government intervention in their everyday lives. These philosophies and policies reflected both the prosperity and optimism of the previous decade and a continuation of the postwar “return to normalcy” championed by Hoover’s Republican predecessors.
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2025-03-18T00:39:26.001764
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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/15527/overview
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President Hoover’s Response
Overview
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Explain Herbert Hoover’s responses to the Great Depression and how they reflected his political philosophy
- Identify the local, city, and state efforts to combat the Great Depression
- Analyze the frustration and anger that a majority of Americans directed at Herbert Hoover
President Hoover was unprepared for the scope of the depression crisis, and his limited response did not begin to help the millions of Americans in need. The steps he took were very much in keeping with his philosophy of limited government, a philosophy that many had shared with him until the upheavals of the Great Depression made it clear that a more direct government response was required. But Hoover was stubborn in his refusal to give “handouts,” as he saw direct government aid. He called for a spirit of volunteerism among America’s businesses, asking them to keep workers employed, and he exhorted the American people to tighten their belts and make do in the spirit of “rugged individualism.” While Hoover’s philosophy and his appeal to the country were very much in keeping with his character, it was not enough to keep the economy from plummeting further into economic chaos.
The steps Hoover did ultimately take were too little, too late. He created programs for putting people back to work and helping beleaguered local and state charities with aid. But the programs were small in scale and highly specific as to who could benefit, and they only touched a small percentage of those in need. As the situation worsened, the public grew increasingly unhappy with Hoover. He left office with one of the lowest approval ratings of any president in history.
THE INITIAL REACTION
In the immediate aftermath of Black Tuesday, Hoover sought to reassure Americans that all was well. Reading his words after the fact, it is easy to find fault. In 1929 he said, “Any lack of confidence in the economic future or the strength of business in the United States is foolish.” In 1930, he stated, “The worst is behind us.” In 1931, he pledged federal aid should he ever witness starvation in the country; but as of that date, he had yet to see such need in America, despite the very real evidence that children and the elderly were starving to death. Yet Hoover was neither intentionally blind nor unsympathetic. He simply held fast to a belief system that did not change as the realities of the Great Depression set in.
Hoover believed strongly in the ethos of American individualism: that hard work brought its own rewards. His life story testified to that belief. Hoover was born into poverty, made his way through college at Stanford University, and eventually made his fortune as an engineer. This experience, as well as his extensive travels in China and throughout Europe, shaped his fundamental conviction that the very existence of American civilization depended upon the moral fiber of its citizens, as evidenced by their ability to overcome all hardships through individual effort and resolve. The idea of government handouts to Americans was repellant to him. Whereas Europeans might need assistance, such as his hunger relief work in Belgium during and after World War I, he believed the American character to be different. In a 1931 radio address, he said, “The spread of government destroys initiative and thus destroys character.”
Likewise, Hoover was not completely unaware of the potential harm that wild stock speculation might create if left unchecked. As secretary of commerce, Hoover often warned President Coolidge of the dangers that such speculation engendered. In the weeks before his inauguration, he offered many interviews to newspapers and magazines, urging Americans to curtail their rampant stock investments, and even encouraged the Federal Reserve to raise the discount rate to make it more costly for local banks to lend money to potential speculators. However, fearful of creating a panic, Hoover never issued a stern warning to discourage Americans from such investments. Neither Hoover, nor any other politician of that day, ever gave serious thought to outright government regulation of the stock market. This was even true in his personal choices, as Hoover often lamented poor stock advice he had once offered to a friend. When the stock nose-dived, Hoover bought the shares from his friend to assuage his guilt, vowing never again to advise anyone on matters of investment.
In keeping with these principles, Hoover’s response to the crash focused on two very common American traditions: He asked individuals to tighten their belts and work harder, and he asked the business community to voluntarily help sustain the economy by retaining workers and continuing production. He immediately summoned a conference of leading industrialists to meet in Washington, DC, urging them to maintain their current wages while America rode out this brief economic panic. The crash, he assured business leaders, was not part of a greater downturn; they had nothing to worry about. Similar meetings with utility companies and railroad executives elicited promises for billions of dollars in new construction projects, while labor leaders agreed to withhold demands for wage increases and workers continued to labor. Hoover also persuaded Congress to pass a $160 million tax cut to bolster American incomes, leading many to conclude that the president was doing all he could to stem the tide of the panic. In April 1930, the New York Times editorial board concluded that “No one in his place could have done more.”
However, these modest steps were not enough. By late 1931, when it became clear that the economy would not improve on its own, Hoover recognized the need for some government intervention. He created the President’s Emergency Committee for Employment (PECE), later renamed the President’s Organization of Unemployment Relief (POUR). In keeping with Hoover’s distaste of what he viewed as handouts, this organization did not provide direct federal relief to people in need. Instead, it assisted state and private relief agencies, such as the Red Cross, Salvation Army, YMCA, and Community Chest. Hoover also strongly urged people of means to donate funds to help the poor, and he himself gave significant private donations to worthy causes. But these private efforts could not alleviate the widespread effects of poverty.
Congress pushed for a more direct government response to the hardship. In 1930–1931, it attempted to pass a $60 million bill to provide relief to drought victims by allowing them access to food, fertilizer, and animal feed. Hoover stood fast in his refusal to provide food, resisting any element of direct relief. The final bill of $47 million provided for everything except food but did not come close to adequately addressing the crisis. Again in 1931, Congress proposed the Federal Emergency Relief Bill, which would have provided $375 million to states to help provide food, clothing, and shelter to the homeless. But Hoover opposed the bill, stating that it ruined the balance of power between states and the federal government, and in February 1932, it was defeated by fourteen votes.
However, the president’s adamant opposition to direct-relief federal government programs should not be viewed as one of indifference or uncaring toward the suffering American people. His personal sympathy for those in need was boundless. Hoover was one of only two presidents to reject his salary for the office he held. Throughout the Great Depression, he donated an average of $25,000 annually to various relief organizations to assist in their efforts. Furthermore, he helped to raise $500,000 in private funds to support the White House Conference on Child Health and Welfare in 1930. Rather than indifference or heartlessness, Hoover’s steadfast adherence to a philosophy of individualism as the path toward long-term American recovery explained many of his policy decisions. “A voluntary deed,” he repeatedly commented, “is infinitely more precious to our national ideal and spirit than a thousand-fold poured from the Treasury.”
As conditions worsened, however, Hoover eventually relaxed his opposition to federal relief and formed the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) in 1932, in part because it was an election year and Hoover hoped to keep his office. Although not a form of direct relief to the American people in greatest need, the RFC was much larger in scope than any preceding effort, setting aside $2 billion in taxpayer money to rescue banks, credit unions, and insurance companies. The goal was to boost confidence in the nation’s financial institutions by ensuring that they were on solid footing. This model was flawed on a number of levels. First, the program only lent money to banks with sufficient collateral, which meant that most of the aid went to large banks. In fact, of the first $61 million loaned, $41 million went to just three banks. Small town and rural banks got almost nothing. Furthermore, at this time, confidence in financial institutions was not the primary concern of most Americans. They needed food and jobs. Many had no money to put into the banks, no matter how confident they were that the banks were safe.
Hoover’s other attempt at federal assistance also occurred in 1932, when he endorsed a bill by Senator Robert Wagner of New York. This was the Emergency Relief and Construction Act. This act authorized the RFC to expand beyond loans to financial institutions and allotted $1.5 billion to states to fund local public works projects. This program failed to deliver the kind of help needed, however, as Hoover severely limited the types of projects it could fund to those that were ultimately self-paying (such as toll bridges and public housing) and those that required skilled workers. While well intended, these programs maintained the status quo, and there was still no direct federal relief to the individuals who so desperately needed it.
PUBLIC REACTION TO HOOVER
Hoover’s steadfast resistance to government aid cost him the reelection and has placed him squarely at the forefront of the most unpopular presidents, according to public opinion, in modern American history. His name became synonymous with the poverty of the era: “Hoovervilles” became the common name for homeless shantytowns (Figure) and “Hoover blankets” for the newspapers that the homeless used to keep warm. A “Hoover flag” was a pants pocket—empty of all money—turned inside out. By the 1932 election, hitchhikers held up signs reading: “If you don’t give me a ride, I’ll vote for Hoover.” Americans did not necessarily believe that Hoover caused the Great Depression. Their anger stemmed instead from what appeared to be a willful refusal to help regular citizens with direct aid that might allow them to recover from the crisis.
FRUSTRATION AND PROTEST: A BAD SITUATION GROWS WORSE FOR HOOVER
Desperation and frustration often create emotional responses, and the Great Depression was no exception. Throughout 1931–1932, companies trying to stay afloat sharply cut worker wages, and, in response, workers protested in increasingly bitter strikes. As the Depression unfolded, over 80 percent of automotive workers lost their jobs. Even the typically prosperous Ford Motor Company laid off two-thirds of its workforce.
In 1932, a major strike at the Ford Motor Company factory near Detroit resulted in over sixty injuries and four deaths. Often referred to as the Ford Hunger March, the event unfolded as a planned demonstration among unemployed Ford workers who, to protest their desperate situation, marched nine miles from Detroit to the company’s River Rouge plant in Dearborn. At the Dearborn city limits, local police launched tear gas at the roughly three thousand protestors, who responded by throwing stones and clods of dirt. When they finally reached the gates of the plant, protestors faced more police and firemen, as well as private security guards. As the firemen turned hoses onto the protestors, the police and security guards opened fire. In addition to those killed and injured, police arrested fifty protestors. One week later, sixty thousand mourners attended the public funerals of the four victims of what many protesters labeled police brutality. The event set the tone for worsening labor relations in the U.S.
Farmers also organized and protested, often violently. The most notable example was the Farm Holiday Association. Led by Milo Reno, this organization held significant sway among farmers in Iowa, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and the Dakotas. Although they never comprised a majority of farmers in any of these states, their public actions drew press attention nationwide. Among their demands, the association sought a federal government plan to set agricultural prices artificially high enough to cover the farmers’ costs, as well as a government commitment to sell any farm surpluses on the world market. To achieve their goals, the group called for farm holidays, during which farmers would neither sell their produce nor purchase any other goods until the government met their demands. However, the greatest strength of the association came from the unexpected and seldom-planned actions of its members, which included barricading roads into markets, attacking nonmember farmers, and destroying their produce. Some members even raided small town stores, destroying produce on the shelves. Members also engaged in “penny auctions,” bidding pennies on foreclosed farm land and threatening any potential buyers with bodily harm if they competed in the sale. Once they won the auction, the association returned the land to the original owner. In Iowa, farmers threatened to hang a local judge if he signed any more farm foreclosures. At least one death occurred as a direct result of these protests before they waned following the election of Franklin Roosevelt.
One of the most notable protest movements occurred toward the end of Hoover’s presidency and centered on the Bonus Expeditionary Force, or Bonus Army, in the spring of 1932. In this protest, approximately fifteen thousand World War I veterans marched on Washington to demand early payment of their veteran bonuses, which were not due to be paid until 1945. The group camped out in vacant federal buildings and set up camps in Anacostia Flats near the Capitol building (Figure).
Many veterans remained in the city in protest for nearly two months, although the U.S. Senate officially rejected their request in July. By the middle of that month, Hoover wanted them gone. He ordered the police to empty the buildings and clear out the camps, and in the exchange that followed, police fired into the crowd, killing two veterans. Fearing an armed uprising, Hoover then ordered General Douglas MacArthur, along with his aides, Dwight Eisenhower and George Patton, to forcibly remove the veterans from Anacostia Flats. The ensuing raid proved catastrophic, as the military burned down the shantytown and injured dozens of people, including a twelve-week-old infant who was killed when accidentally struck by a tear gas canister (Figure).
As Americans bore witness to photographs and newsreels of the U.S. Army forcibly removing veterans, Hoover’s popularity plummeted even further. By the summer of 1932, he was largely a defeated man. His pessimism and failure mirrored that of the nation’s citizens. America was a country in desperate need: in need of a charismatic leader to restore public confidence as well as provide concrete solutions to pull the economy out of the Great Depression.
Whether he truly believed it or simply thought the American people wanted to hear it, Hoover continued to state publicly that the country was getting back on track. Listen as he speaks about the “Success of Recovery” at a campaign stop in Detroit, Michigan on October 22, 1932.
Section Summary
President Hoover’s deeply held philosophy of American individualism, which he maintained despite extraordinary economic circumstances, made him particularly unsuited to deal with the crisis of the Great Depression. He greatly resisted government intervention, considering it a path to the downfall of American greatness. His initial response of asking Americans to find their own paths to recovery and seeking voluntary business measures to stimulate the economy could not stem the tide of the Depression. Ultimately, Hoover did create some federal relief programs, such as the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC), which sought to boost public confidence in financial institutions by ensuring that they were on solid footing. When this measure did little to help impoverished individuals, he signed the Emergency Relief Act, which allowed the RFC to invest in local public works projects. But even this was too little, too late. The severe limits on the types of projects funded and type of workers used meant that most Americans saw no benefit.
The American public ultimately responded with anger and protest to Hoover’s apparent inability to create solutions. Protests ranged from factory strikes to farm riots, culminating in the notorious Bonus Army protest in the spring of 1932. Veterans from World War I lobbied to receive their bonuses immediately, rather than waiting until 1945. The government denied them, and in the ensuing chaos, Hoover called in the military to disrupt the protest. The violence of this act was the final blow for Hoover, whose popularity was already at an all-time low.
Review Questions
Which of the following protests was directly related to federal policies, and thus had the greatest impact in creating a negative public perception of the Hoover presidency?
- the Farm Holiday Association
- the Ford Motor Company labor strikes
- the Bonus Expeditionary Force
- the widespread appearance of “Hooverville” shantytowns
Hint:
C
Which of the following groups or bodies did not offer direct relief to needy people?
- the federal government
- local police and schoolteachers
- churches and synagogues
- wealthy individuals
Hint:
A
What attempts did Hoover make to offer federal relief? How would you evaluate the success or failure of these programs?
Hint:
Hoover formed the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) in 1932. This represented a significant effort, although it did not provide any direct aid to needy Americans. The RFC set aside $2 billion in taxpayer money to rescue banks, credit unions, and insurance companies, hoping to promote Americans’ confidence in financial institutions. However, by lending money only to banks with sufficient collateral, he ensured that most of the recipients of the aid were large banks. Additionally, most Americans at this time did not have assets to place into banks, however confident they may have felt. In 1932, Hoover also endorsed the Emergency Relief and Construction Act, which allotted $1.5 billion to states to fund local public works projects. Hoover’s limitations upon the types of projects that could receive funding and the types of workers who could participate, however, limited the program’s utility.
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2025-03-18T00:39:26.031846
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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/15528/overview
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The Depths of the Great Depression
Overview
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Identify the challenges that everyday Americans faced as a result of the Great Depression and analyze the government’s initial unwillingness to provide assistance
- Explain the particular challenges that African Americans faced during the crisis
- Identify the unique challenges that farmers in the Great Plains faced during this period
From industrial strongholds to the rural Great Plains, from factory workers to farmers, the Great Depression affected millions. In cities, as industry slowed, then sometimes stopped altogether, workers lost jobs and joined breadlines, or sought out other charitable efforts. With limited government relief efforts, private charities tried to help, but they were unable to match the pace of demand. In rural areas, farmers suffered still more. In some parts of the country, prices for crops dropped so precipitously that farmers could not earn enough to pay their mortgages, losing their farms to foreclosure. In the Great Plains, one of the worst droughts in history left the land barren and unfit for growing even minimal food to live on.
The country’s most vulnerable populations, such as children, the elderly, and those subject to discrimination, like African Americans, were the hardest hit. Most white Americans felt entitled to what few jobs were available, leaving African Americans unable to find work, even in the jobs once considered their domain. In all, the economic misery was unprecedented in the country’s history.
STARVING TO DEATH
By the end of 1932, the Great Depression had affected some sixty million people, most of whom wealthier Americans perceived as the “deserving poor.” Yet, at the time, federal efforts to help those in need were extremely limited, and national charities had neither the capacity nor the will to elicit the large-scale response required to address the problem. The American Red Cross did exist, but Chairman John Barton Payne contended that unemployment was not an “Act of God” but rather an “Act of Man,” and therefore refused to get involved in widespread direct relief efforts. Clubs like the Elks tried to provide food, as did small groups of individually organized college students. Religious organizations remained on the front lines, offering food and shelter. In larger cities, breadlines and soup lines became a common sight. At one count in 1932, there were as many as eighty-two breadlines in New York City.
Despite these efforts, however, people were destitute and ultimately starving. Families would first run through any savings, if they were lucky enough to have any. Then, the few who had insurance would cash out their policies. Cash surrender payments of individual insurance policies tripled in the first three years of the Great Depression, with insurance companies issuing total payments in excess of $1.2 billion in 1932 alone. When those funds were depleted, people would borrow from family and friends, and when they could get no more, they would simply stop paying rent or mortgage payments. When evicted, they would move in with relatives, whose own situation was likely only a step or two behind. The added burden of additional people would speed along that family’s demise, and the cycle would continue. This situation spiraled downward, and did so quickly. Even as late as 1939, over 60 percent of rural households, and 82 percent of farm families, were classified as “impoverished.” In larger urban areas, unemployment levels exceeded the national average, with over half a million unemployed workers in Chicago, and nearly a million in New York City. Breadlines and soup kitchens were packed, serving as many as eighty-five thousand meals daily in New York City alone. Over fifty thousand New York citizens were homeless by the end of 1932.
Children, in particular, felt the brunt of poverty. Many in coastal cities would roam the docks in search of spoiled vegetables to bring home. Elsewhere, children begged at the doors of more well-off neighbors, hoping for stale bread, table scraps, or raw potato peelings. Said one childhood survivor of the Great Depression, “You get used to hunger. After the first few days it doesn’t even hurt; you just get weak.” In 1931 alone, there were at least twenty documented cases of starvation; in 1934, that number grew to 110. In rural areas where such documentation was lacking, the number was likely far higher. And while the middle class did not suffer from starvation, they experienced hunger as well.
By the time Hoover left office in 1933, the poor survived not on relief efforts, but because they had learned to be poor. A family with little food would stay in bed to save fuel and avoid burning calories. People began eating parts of animals that had normally been considered waste. They scavenged for scrap wood to burn in the furnace, and when electricity was turned off, it was not uncommon to try and tap into a neighbor’s wire. Family members swapped clothes; sisters might take turns going to church in the one dress they owned. As one girl in a mountain town told her teacher, who had said to go home and get food, “I can’t. It’s my sister’s turn to eat.”
For his book on the Great Depression, Hard Times, author Studs Terkel interviewed hundreds of Americans from across the country. He subsequently selected over seventy interviews to air on a radio show that was based in Chicago. Visit Studs Terkel: Conversations with America to listen to those interviews, during which participants reflect on their personal hardships as well as on national events during the Great Depression.
BLACK AND POOR: AFRICAN AMERICANS AND THE GREAT DEPRESSION
Most African Americans did not participate in the land boom and stock market speculation that preceded the crash, but that did not stop the effects of the Great Depression from hitting them particularly hard. Subject to continuing racial discrimination, blacks nationwide fared even worse than their hard-hit white counterparts. As the prices for cotton and other agricultural products plummeted, farm owners paid workers less or simply laid them off. Landlords evicted sharecroppers, and even those who owned their land outright had to abandon it when there was no way to earn any income.
In cities, African Americans fared no better. Unemployment was rampant, and many whites felt that any available jobs belonged to whites first. In some Northern cities, whites would conspire to have African American workers fired to allow white workers access to their jobs. Even jobs traditionally held by black workers, such as household servants or janitors, were now going to whites. By 1932, approximately one-half of all black Americans were unemployed. Racial violence also began to rise. In the South, lynching became more common again, with twenty-eight documented lynchings in 1933, compared to eight in 1932. Since communities were preoccupied with their own hardships, and organizing civil rights efforts was a long, difficult process, many resigned themselves to, or even ignored, this culture of racism and violence. Occasionally, however, an incident was notorious enough to gain national attention.
One such incident was the case of the Scottsboro Boys (Figure). In 1931, nine black boys, who had been riding the rails, were arrested for vagrancy and disorderly conduct after an altercation with some white travelers on the train. Two young white women, who had been dressed as boys and traveling with a group of white boys, came forward and said that the black boys had raped them. The case, which was tried in Scottsboro, Alabama, reignited decades of racial hatred and illustrated the injustice of the court system. Despite significant evidence that the women had not been raped at all, along with one of the women subsequently recanting her testimony, the all-white jury quickly convicted the boys and sentenced all but one of them to death. The verdict broke through the veil of indifference toward the plight of African Americans, and protests erupted among newspaper editors, academics, and social reformers in the North. The Communist Party of the United States offered to handle the case and sought retrial; the NAACP later joined in this effort. In all, the case was tried three separate times. The series of trials and retrials, appeals, and overturned convictions shone a spotlight on a system that provided poor legal counsel and relied on all-white juries. In October 1932, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed with the Communist Party’s defense attorneys that the defendants had been denied adequate legal representation at the original trial, and that due process as provided by the Fourteenth Amendment had been denied as a result of the exclusion of any potential black jurors. Eventually, most of the accused received lengthy prison terms and subsequent parole, but avoided the death penalty. The Scottsboro case ultimately laid some of the early groundwork for the modern American civil rights movement. Alabama granted posthumous pardons to all defendants in 2013.
Read Voices from Scottsboro for the perspectives of both participants and spectators in the Scottsboro case, from the initial trial to the moment, in 1976, when one of the women sued for slander.
ENVIRONMENTAL CATASTROPHE MEETS ECONOMIC HARDSHIP: THE DUST BOWL
Despite the widely held belief that rural Americans suffered less in the Great Depression due to their ability to at least grow their own food, this was not the case. Farmers, ranchers, and their families suffered more than any group other than African Americans during the Depression.
From the turn of the century through much of World War I, farmers in the Great Plains experienced prosperity due to unusually good growing conditions, high commodity prices, and generous government farming policies that led to a rush for land. As the federal government continued to purchase all excess produce for the war effort, farmers and ranchers fell into several bad practices, including mortgaging their farms and borrowing money against future production in order to expand. However, after the war, prosperity rapidly dwindled, particularly during the recession of 1921. Seeking to recoup their losses through economies of scale in which they would expand their production even further to take full advantage of their available land and machinery, farmers plowed under native grasses to plant acre after acre of wheat, with little regard for the long-term repercussions to the soil. Regardless of these misguided efforts, commodity prices continued to drop, finally plummeting in 1929, when the price of wheat dropped from two dollars to forty cents per bushel.
Exacerbating the problem was a massive drought that began in 1931 and lasted for eight terrible years. Dust storms roiled through the Great Plains, creating huge, choking clouds that piled up in doorways and filtered into homes through closed windows. Even more quickly than it had boomed, the land of agricultural opportunity went bust, due to widespread overproduction and overuse of the land, as well as to the harsh weather conditions that followed, resulting in the creation of the Dust Bowl (Figure).
Livestock died, or had to be sold, as there was no money for feed. Crops intended to feed the family withered and died in the drought. Terrifying dust storms became more and more frequent, as “black blizzards” of dirt blew across the landscape and created a new illness known as “dust pneumonia.” In 1935 alone, over 850 million tons of topsoil blew away. To put this number in perspective, geologists estimate that it takes the earth five hundred years to naturally regenerate one inch of topsoil; yet, just one significant dust storm could destroy a similar amount. In their desperation to get more from the land, farmers had stripped it of the delicate balance that kept it healthy. Unaware of the consequences, they had moved away from such traditional practices as crop rotation and allowing land to regain its strength by permitting it to lie fallow between plantings, working the land to death.
For farmers, the results were catastrophic. Unlike most factory workers in the cities, in most cases, farmers lost their homes when they lost their livelihood. Most farms and ranches were originally mortgaged to small country banks that understood the dynamics of farming, but as these banks failed, they often sold rural mortgages to larger eastern banks that were less concerned with the specifics of farm life. With the effects of the drought and low commodity prices, farmers could not pay their local banks, which in turn lacked funds to pay the large urban banks. Ultimately, the large banks foreclosed on the farms, often swallowing up the small country banks in the process. It is worth noting that of the five thousand banks that closed between 1930 and 1932, over 75 percent were country banks in locations with populations under 2,500. Given this dynamic, it is easy to see why farmers in the Great Plains remained wary of big city bankers.
For farmers who survived the initial crash, the situation worsened, particularly in the Great Plains where years of overproduction and rapidly declining commodity prices took their toll. Prices continued to decline, and as farmers tried to stay afloat, they produced still more crops, which drove prices even lower. Farms failed at an astounding rate, and farmers sold out at rock-bottom prices. One farm in Shelby, Nebraska was mortgaged at $4,100 and sold for $49.50. One-fourth of the entire state of Mississippi was auctioned off in a single day at a foreclosure auction in April 1932.
Not all farmers tried to keep their land. Many, especially those who had arrived only recently, in an attempt to capitalize on the earlier prosperity, simply walked away (Figure). In hard-hit Oklahoma, thousands of farmers packed up what they could and walked or drove away from the land they thought would be their future. They, along with other displaced farmers from throughout the Great Plains, became known as Okies. Okies were an emblem of the failure of the American breadbasket to deliver on its promise, and their story was made famous in John Steinbeck’s novel, The Grapes of Wrath.
Experience the Interactive Dust Bowl to see how decisions compounded to create peoples’ destiny. Click through to see what choices you would make and where that would take you.
Caroline Henderson on the Dust Bowl
Now we are facing a fourth year of failure. There can be no wheat for us in 1935 in spite of all our careful and expensive work in preparing ground, sowing and re-sowing our allocated acreage. Native grass pastures are permanently damaged, in many cases hopelessly ruined, smothered under by drifted sand. Fences are buried under banks of thistles and hard packed earth or undermined by the eroding action of the wind and lying flat on the ground. Less traveled roads are impassable, covered deep under by sand or the finer silt-like loam. Orchards, groves and hedge-rows cultivated for many years with patient care are dead or dying . . . Impossible it seems not to grieve that the work of hands should prove so perishable. —Caroline Henderson, Shelton, Oklahoma, 1935
Much like other farm families whose livelihoods were destroyed by the Dust Bowl, Caroline Henderson describes a level of hardship that many Americans living in Depression-ravaged cities could never understand. Despite their hard work, millions of Americans were losing both their produce and their homes, sometimes in as little as forty-eight hours, to environmental catastrophes. Lacking any other explanation, many began to question what they had done to incur God’s wrath. Note in particular Henderson’s references to “dead,” “dying,” and “perishable,” and contrast those terms with her depiction of the “careful and expensive work” undertaken by their own hands. Many simply could not understand how such a catastrophe could have occurred.
CHANGING VALUES, CHANGING CULTURE
In the decades before the Great Depression, and particularly in the 1920s, American culture largely reflected the values of individualism, self-reliance, and material success through competition. Novels like F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Sinclair Lewis’s Babbit portrayed wealth and the self-made man in America, albeit in a critical fashion. In film, many silent movies, such as Charlie Chaplin’s The Gold Rush, depicted the rags-to-riches fable that Americans so loved. With the shift in U.S. fortunes, however, came a shift in values, and with it, a new cultural reflection. The arts revealed a new emphasis on the welfare of the whole and the importance of community in preserving family life. While box office sales briefly declined at the beginning of the Depression, they quickly rebounded. Movies offered a way for Americans to think of better times, and people were willing to pay twenty-five cents for a chance to escape, at least for a few hours.
Even more than escapism, other films at the close of the decade reflected on the sense of community and family values that Americans struggled to maintain throughout the entire Depression. John Ford’s screen version of Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath came out in 1940, portraying the haunting story of the Joad family’s exodus from their Oklahoma farm to California in search of a better life. Their journey leads them to realize that they need to join a larger social movement—communism—dedicated to bettering the lives of all people. Tom Joad says, “Well, maybe it's like Casy says, a fella ain’t got a soul of his own, but on’y a piece of a soul—the one big soul that belongs to ever’body.” The greater lesson learned was one of the strength of community in the face of individual adversity.
Another trope was that of the hard-working everyman against greedy banks and corporations. This was perhaps best portrayed in the movies of Frank Capra, whose Mr. Smith Goes to Washington was emblematic of his work. In this 1939 film, Jimmy Stewart plays a legislator sent to Washington to finish out the term of a deceased senator. While there, he fights corruption to ensure the construction of a boy’s camp in his hometown rather than a dam project that would only serve to line the pockets of a few. He ultimately engages in a two-day filibuster, standing up to the power players to do what’s right. The Depression era was a favorite of Capra’s to depict in his films, including It’s a Wonderful Life, released in 1946. In this film, Jimmy Stewart runs a family-owned savings and loan, which at one point faces a bank run similar to those seen in 1929–1930. In the end, community support helps Stewart retain his business and home against the unscrupulous actions of a wealthy banker who sought to bring ruin to his family.
“Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?”
They used to tell me I was building a dream, and so I followed the mob
When there was earth to plow or guns to bear, I was always there, right on the job
They used to tell me I was building a dream, with peace and glory ahead
Why should I be standing in line, just waiting for bread?
Once I built a railroad, I made it run, made it race against time
Once I built a railroad, now it’s done, Brother, can you spare a dime?
Once I built a tower up to the sun, brick and rivet and lime
Once I built a tower, now it’s done, Brother, can you spare a dime?
—Jay Gorney and “Yip” Harburg
“Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” first appeared in 1932, written for the Broadway musical New Americana by Jay Gorney, a composer who based the song’s music on a Russian lullaby, and Edgar Yipsel “Yip” Harburg, a lyricist who would go on to win an Academy Award for the song “Over the Rainbow” from The Wizard of Oz (1939).
With its lyrics speaking to the plight of the common man during the Great Depression and the refrain appealing to the same sense of community later found in the films of Frank Capra, “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” quickly became the de facto anthem of the Great Depression. Recordings by Bing Crosby, Al Jolson, and Rudy Vallee all enjoyed tremendous popularity in the 1930s.
For more on “Brother Can You Spare a Dime?” and the Great Depression, visit ArtsEdge to explore the Kennedy Center’s digital resources and learn the “Story Behind the Song.”
Finally, there was a great deal of pure escapism in the popular culture of the Depression. Even the songs found in films reminded many viewers of the bygone days of prosperity and happiness, from Al Dubin and Henry Warren’s hit “We’re in the Money” to the popular “Happy Days are Here Again.” The latter eventually became the theme song of Franklin Roosevelt’s 1932 presidential campaign. People wanted to forget their worries and enjoy the madcap antics of the Marx Brothers, the youthful charm of Shirley Temple, the dazzling dances of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers (Figure), or the comforting morals of the Andy Hardy series. The Hardy series—nine films in all, produced by MGM from 1936 to 1940—starred Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney, and all followed the adventures of a small-town judge and his son. No matter what the challenge, it was never so big that it could not be solved with a musical production put on by the neighborhood kids, bringing together friends and family members in a warm display of community values.
All of these movies reinforced traditional American values, which suffered during these hard times, in part due to declining marriage and birth rates, and increased domestic violence. At the same time, however, they reflected an increased interest in sex and sexuality. While the birth rate was dropping, surveys in Fortune magazine in 1936–1937 found that two-thirds of college students favored birth control, and that 50 percent of men and 25 percent of women admitted to premarital sex, continuing a trend among younger Americans that had begun to emerge in the 1920s. Contraceptive sales soared during the decade, and again, culture reflected this shift. Blonde bombshell Mae West was famous for her sexual innuendoes, and her flirtatious persona was hugely popular, although it got her banned on radio broadcasts throughout the Midwest. Whether West or Garland, Chaplin or Stewart, American film continued to be a barometer of American values, and their challenges, through the decade.
Section Summary
The Great Depression affected huge segments of the American population—sixty million people by one estimate. But certain groups were hit harder than the rest. African Americans faced discrimination in finding employment, as white workers sought even low-wage jobs like housecleaning. Southern blacks moved away from their farms as crop prices failed, migrating en masse to Northern cities, which had little to offer them. Rural Americans were also badly hit. The eight-year drought that began shortly after the stock market crash exacerbated farmers’ and ranchers’ problems. The cultivation of greater amounts of acreage in the preceding decades meant that land was badly overworked, and the drought led to massive and terrible dust storms, creating the region’s nickname, the Dust Bowl. Some farmers tried to remain and buy up more land as neighbors went broke; others simply fled their failed farms and moved away, often to the large-scale migrant farms found in California, to search for a better life that few ever found. Maltreated by Californians who wished to avoid the unwanted competition for jobs that these “Okies” represented, many of the Dust Bowl farmers were left wandering as a result.
There was very little in the way of public assistance to help the poor. While private charities did what they could, the scale of the problem was too large for them to have any lasting effects. People learned to survive as best they could by sending their children out to beg, sharing clothing, and scrounging wood to feed the furnace. Those who could afford it turned to motion pictures for escape. Movies and books during the Great Depression reflected the shift in American cultural norms, away from rugged individualism toward a more community-based lifestyle.
Review Questions
Which of the following hardships did African Americans not typically face during the Great Depression?
- lower farm wages in the South
- the belief that white workers needed jobs more than their black counterparts
- white workers taking historically “black” jobs, such as maids and janitors
- widespread race riots in large urban centers
Hint:
D
Which of the following was not a key factor in the conditions that led to the Dust Bowl?
- previous overcultivation of farmland
- decreasing American demand for farm produce
- unfavorable weather conditions
- poor farming techniques regarding proper irrigation and acreage rotation
Hint:
B
What did the popular movies of the Depression reveal about American values at that time? How did these values contrast with the values Americans held before the Depression?
Hint:
American films in the 1930s served to both assuage the fears and frustrations of many Americans suffering through the Depression and reinforce the idea that communal efforts—town and friends working together—would help to address the hardships. Previous emphasis upon competition and individualism slowly gave way to notions of “neighbor helping neighbor” and seeking group solutions to common problems. The Andy Hardy series, in particular, combined entertainment with the concept of family coming together to solve shared problems. The themes of greed, competition, and capitalist-driven market decisions no longer commanded a large audience among American moviegoers.
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Assessing the Hoover Years on the Eve of the New Deal
Overview
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Identify the successes and failures of Herbert Hoover’s presidency
- Determine the fairness and accuracy of assessments of Hoover’s presidency
As so much of the Hoover presidency is circumscribed by the onset of the Great Depression, one must be careful in assessing his successes and failures, so as not to attribute all blame to Hoover. Given the suffering that many Americans endured between the fall of 1929 and Franklin Roosevelt’s inauguration in the spring of 1933, it is easy to lay much of the blame at Hoover’s doorstep (Figure). However, the extent to which Hoover was constrained by the economic circumstances unfolding well before he assumed office offers a few mitigating factors. Put simply, Hoover did not cause the stock market crash. However, his stubborn adherence to a questionable belief in “American individualism,” despite mounting evidence that people were starving, requires that some blame be attributed to his policies (or lack thereof) for the depth and length of the Depression. Yet, Hoover’s presidency was much more than simply combating the Depression. To assess the extent of his inability to provide meaningful national leadership through the darkest months of the Depression, his other policies require consideration.
HOOVER’S FOREIGN POLICY
Although it was a relatively quiet period for U.S. diplomacy, Hoover did help to usher in a period of positive relations, specifically with several Latin American neighbors. This would establish the basis for Franklin Roosevelt’s “Good Neighbor” policy. Following a goodwill tour of Central American countries immediately following his election in 1928, Hoover shaped the subsequent Clark Memorandum—released in 1930—which largely repudiated the previous Roosevelt Corollary, establishing a basis for unlimited American military intervention throughout Latin America. To the contrary, through the memorandum, Hoover asserted that greater emphasis should be placed upon the older Monroe Doctrine, in which the U.S. pledged assistance to her Latin American neighbors should any European powers interfere in Western Hemisphere affairs. Hoover further strengthened relations to the south by withdrawing American troops from Haiti and Nicaragua. Additionally, he outlined with Secretary of State Henry Stimson the Hoover-Stimson Doctrine, which announced that the United States would never recognize claims to territories seized by force (a direct response to the recent Japanese invasion of Manchuria).
Other diplomatic overtures met with less success for Hoover. Most notably, in an effort to support the American economy during the early stages of the Depression, the president signed into law the Smoot-Hawley Tariff in 1930. The law, which raised tariffs on thousands of imports, was intended to increase sales of American-made goods, but predictably angered foreign trade partners who in turn raised their tariffs on American imports, thus shrinking international trade and closing additional markets to desperate American manufacturers. As a result, the global depression worsened further. A similar attempt to spur the world economy, known as the Hoover Moratorium, likewise met with great opposition and little economic benefit. Issued in 1931, the moratorium called for a halt to World War I reparations to be paid by Germany to France, as well as forgiveness of Allied war debts to the U.S.
HOOVER AND CIVIL RIGHTS
Holding true to his belief in individualism, Hoover saw little need for significant civil rights legislation during his presidency, including any overtures from the NAACP to endorse federal anti-lynching legislation. He felt African Americans would benefit more from education and assimilation than from federal legislation or programs; yet he failed to recognize that, at this time in history, federal legislation and programs were required to ensure equal opportunities.
Hoover did give special attention to the improvement of Native American conditions, beginning with his selection of Charles Curtis as his vice-presidential running mate in the 1928 election. Curtis, of the Kaw Tribe, became the country’s first Native American to hold so high an elected office. Hoover subsequently appointed Charles Rhoads as the new commissioner of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and advocated, with Rhoads’ assistance, for Native American self-sufficiency and full assimilation as Americans under the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924. During Hoover’s presidency, federal expenditures for Native American schools and health care doubled.
Cartoons, especially political cartoons, provide a window into the frustrations and worries of an age. Browse the political cartoons at The Changing Face of Herbert Hoover to better understand the historical context of Herbert Hoover’s presidency.
A FINAL ASSESSMENT
Herbert Hoover’s presidency, embarked upon with much promise following his election in November 1928, produced a legacy of mixed reactions. Some Americans blamed him for all of the economic and social woes from which they suffered for the next decade; all blamed him for simply not responding to their needs. As contemporary commentator and actor Will Rogers said at the time, “If an American was lucky enough to find an apple to eat in the Depression and bit into it only to find a worm, they would blame Hoover for the worm.” Likewise, subsequent public opinion polls of presidential popularity, as well as polls of professional historians, routinely rate Hoover in the bottom seven of all U.S. presidents in terms of overall success.
However, Hoover the president was a product of his time. Americans sought a president in 1928 who would continue the policies of normalcy with which many associated the prosperity they enjoyed. They wanted a president who would forego government interference and allow industrial capitalism to grow unfettered. Hoover, from his days as the secretary of commerce, was the ideal candidate. In fact, he was too ideal when the Great Depression actually hit. Holding steadfast to his philosophy of “American individualism,” Hoover proved largely incapable of shifting into economic crisis mode when Americans came to realize that prosperity could not last forever. Desperate to help, but unwilling to compromise on his philosophy, Hoover could not manage a comprehensive solution to the worldwide depression that few foresaw. Only when reelection was less than a year away did a reluctant Hoover initiate significant policies, but even then, they did not provide direct relief. By the start of 1932, unemployment hovered near 25 percent, and thousands of banks and factories were closing their doors. Combined with Hoover’s ill-timed response to the Bonus Army crisis, his political fate was sealed. Americans would look to the next president for a solution. “Democracy is a harsh employer,” Hoover concluded, as he awaited all but certain defeat in the November election of 1932 (Figure).
Section Summary
In Hoover, Americans got the president they had wanted, at least at first. He was third in a line of free-market Republican presidents, elected to continue the policies that had served the economy so well. But when the stock market crashed in 1929, and the underlying weaknesses in the economy came to the fore, Hoover did not act with clear intentionality and speed. His record as a president will likely always bear the taint of his unwillingness to push through substantial government aid, but, despite that failing, his record is not without minor accomplishments. Hoover’s international policies, particularly in regard to Latin America, served the country well. And while his attitude toward civil rights mirrored his conviction that government intervention was a negative force, he did play a key role changing living conditions for Native Americans. In all, it was his—and the country’s—bad luck that his presidency ultimately required a very different philosophy than the one that had gotten him elected.
Review Questions
Which assessment of Herbert Hoover’s presidency is most accurate?
- Hoover’s policies caused the stock market crash and subsequent depression.
- Although he did not cause the stock market crash, Hoover deserves criticism for his inadequate response to it.
- Hoover pledged a great deal of direct federal aid to unemployed Americans, overtaxing the federal budget and worsening the financial crisis.
- Hoover disapproved of American capitalism and therefore attempted to forestall any concrete solutions to the Depression.
Hint:
B
Which of the following phrases best characterizes Herbert Hoover’s foreign policy agenda?
- interventionist, in terms of unwanted interference in other nations’ affairs
- militaristic, in terms of strengthening American armed forces
- isolationist, in terms of preventing America’s interaction with other nations
- mutual respect, in terms of being available to support others when called upon, but not interfering unnecessarily in their affairs
Hint:
D
Critical Thinking Questions
What were the possible causes of the Great Depression? To what extent could a stock market crash of the intensity of 1929 occur again in America?
Why did people feel so confident before the stock market crash of 1929? What were some factors that led to irrational investing?
Why was Herbert Hoover’s response to the initial months of the Great Depression so limited in scope?
How did the cultural products of the Great Depression serve to reflect, shape, and assuage Americans’ fears and concerns during this volatile period? How do our cultural products—such as books, movies, and music—reflect and reinforce our values in our own times?
To what extent did the Great Depression catalyze important changes in Americans’ perceptions of themselves, their national identity, and the role of their government? What evidence of these shifts can you find in the politics and values of our own times?
Why is Herbert Hoover so often blamed for the Great Depression? To what extent is such an assessment fair or accurate?
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Introduction
Overview
- The Rise of Franklin Roosevelt
- The First New Deal
- The Second New Deal
The election of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signaled both immediate relief for the American public as well as a permanent shift in the role of the federal government in guiding the economy and providing direct assistance to the people, albeit through expensive programs that made extensive budget deficits commonplace. For many, the immediate relief was, at a minimum, psychological: Herbert Hoover was gone, and the situation could not grow worse under Roosevelt. But as his New Deal unfolded, Americans learned more about the fundamental changes their new president brought with him to the Oval Office. In the span of little more than one hundred days, the country witnessed a wave of legislation never seen before or since.
Roosevelt understood the need to “save the patient,” to borrow a medical phrase he often employed, as well as to “cure the ill.” This meant both creating jobs, through such programs as the Works Progress Administration, which provided employment to over eight million Americans (Figure), as well as reconfiguring the structure of the American economy. In pursuit of these two goals, Americans re-elected Roosevelt for three additional terms in the White House and became full partners in the reshaping of their country.
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The Rise of Franklin Roosevelt
Overview
By the end of this section, you should be able to:
- Describe the events of the 1932 presidential election and identify the characteristics that made Franklin Roosevelt a desirable candidate
- Explain why Congress amended the U.S. Constitution to reduce the period of time between presidential elections and inaugurations
Franklin Roosevelt was part of the political establishment and the wealthy elite, but in the 1932 presidential campaign, he did not want to be perceived that way. Roosevelt felt that the country needed sweeping change, and he ran a campaign intended to convince the American people that he could deliver that change. It was not the specifics of his campaign promises that were different; in fact, he gave very few details and likely did not yet have a clear idea of how he would raise the country out of the Great Depression. But he campaigned tirelessly, talking to thousands of people, appearing at his party’s national convention, and striving to show the public that he was a different breed of politician. As Hoover grew more morose and physically unwell in the face of the campaign, Roosevelt thrived. He was elected in a landslide by a country ready for the change he had promised.
THE ELECTION OF FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT
By the 1932 presidential election, Hoover’s popularity was at an all-time low. Despite his efforts to address the hardships that many Americans faced, his ineffectual response to the Great Depression left Americans angry and ready for change. Franklin Roosevelt, though born to wealth and educated at the best schools, offered the change people sought. His experience in politics had previously included a seat in the New York State legislature, a vice-presidential nomination, and a stint as governor of New York. During the latter, he introduced many state-level reforms that later formed the basis of his New Deal as well as worked with several advisors who later formed the Brains Trust that advised his federal agenda.
Roosevelt exuded confidence, which the American public desperately wished to see in their leader (Figure). And, despite his affluence, Americans felt that he could relate to their suffering due to his own physical hardships; he had been struck with polio a decade earlier and was essentially paralyzed from the waist down for the remainder of his life. Roosevelt understood that the public sympathized with his ailment; he likewise developed a genuine empathy for public suffering as a result of his illness. However, he never wanted to be photographed in his wheelchair or appear infirm in any way, for fear that the public’s sympathy would transform into concern over his physical ability to discharge the duties of the Oval Office.
Roosevelt also recognized the need to convey to the voting public that he was not simply another member of the political aristocracy. At a time when the country not only faced its most severe economic challenges to date, but Americans began to question some of the fundamental principles of capitalism and democracy, Roosevelt sought to show that he was different—that he could defy expectations—and through his actions could find creative solutions to address the nation’s problems while restoring public confidence in fundamental American values. As a result, he not only was the first presidential candidate to appear in person at a national political convention to accept his party’s nomination but also flew there through terrible weather from New York to Chicago in order to do so—a risky venture in what was still the early stages of flight as public transportation. At the Democratic National Convention in 1932, he coined the famous phrase: “I pledge myself to a new deal for the American people.” The New Deal did not yet exist, but to the American people, any positive and optimistic response to the Great Depression was a welcome one.
Hoover assumed at first that Roosevelt would be easy to defeat, confident that he could never carry the eastern states and the business vote. He was sorely mistaken. Everywhere he went, Hoover was met with antagonism; anti-Hoover signs and protests were the norm. Hoover’s public persona declined rapidly. Many news accounts reported that he seemed physically unwell, with an ashen face and shaking hands. Often, he seemed as though he would faint, and an aide constantly remained nearby with a chair in case he fell. In contrast, Roosevelt thrived on the campaign. He commented, “I have looked into the faces of thousands of Americans, and they have the frightened look of lost children.”
The election results that November were never really in question: With three million more people voting than in 1928, Roosevelt won by a popular count of twenty-three million to fifteen million. He carried all but six states while winning over 57 percent of the popular vote. Whether they voted due to animosity towards Hoover for his relative inactivity, or out of hope for what Roosevelt would accomplish, the American public committed themselves to a new vision. Historians identify this election as the beginning of a new Democratic coalition, bringing together African Americans, other ethnic minorities, and organized labor as a voting bloc upon whom the party would rely for many of its electoral victories over the next fifty years. Unlike some European nations where similar challenges caused democratic constitutions to crumble and give way to radical ideologies and authoritarian governments, the Roosevelt administration changed the nation’s economic fortunes with reforms, preserved the constitution, and expanded rather than limited the reach of democratic principles into the market economy. As a result, radical alternatives, such as the Fascist movement or Communist Party, remained on the margins of the nation’s political culture.
THE INTERREGNUM
After the landslide election, the country—and Hoover—had to endure the interregnum, the difficult four months between the election and President Roosevelt’s inauguration in March 1933. Congress did not pass a single significant piece of legislation during this period, although Hoover spent much of the time trying to get Roosevelt to commit publicly to a legislative agenda of Hoover’s choosing. Roosevelt remained gracious but refused to begin his administration as the incumbent’s advisor without any legal authority necessary to change policy. Unwilling to tie himself to Hoover’s legacy of failed policies, Roosevelt kept quiet when Hoover supported the passage of a national sales tax. Meanwhile, the country suffered from Hoover’s inability to further drive a legislative agenda through Congress. It was the worst winter since the beginning of the Great Depression, and the banking sector once again suffered another round of panics. While Roosevelt kept his distance from the final tremors of the Hoover administration, the country continued to suffer in wait. In part as a response to the challenges of this time, the U.S. Constitution was subsequently amended to reduce the period from election to inauguration to the now-commonplace two months.
Any ideas that Roosevelt held almost did not come to fruition, thanks to a would-be assassin’s bullet. On February 15, 1933, after delivering a speech from his open car in Miami’s Bayfront Park, local Italian bricklayer Giuseppe Zangara emerged from a crowd of well-wishers to fire six shots from his revolver. Although Roosevelt emerged from the assassination attempt unscathed, Zangara wounded five individuals that day, including Chicago Mayor Tony Cermak, who attended the speech in the hopes of resolving any long-standing differences with the president-elect. Roosevelt and his driver immediately rushed Cermak to the hospital where he died three days later. Roosevelt’s calm and collected response to the event reassured many Americans of his ability to lead the nation through the challenges they faced. All that awaited was Roosevelt’s inauguration before his ideas would unfold to the expectant public.
So what was Roosevelt’s plan? Before he took office, it seems likely that he was not entirely sure. Certain elements were known: He believed in positive government action to solve the Depression; he believed in federal relief, public works, social security, and unemployment insurance; he wanted to restore public confidence in banks; he wanted stronger government regulation of the economy; and he wanted to directly help farmers. But how to take action on these beliefs was more in question. A month before his inauguration, he said to his advisors, “Let’s concentrate upon one thing: Save the people and the nation, and if we have to change our minds twice every day to accomplish that end, we should do it.”
Unlike Hoover, who professed an ideology of “American individualism,” an adherence that rendered him largely incapable of widespread action, Roosevelt remained pragmatic and open-minded to possible solutions. To assist in formulating a variety of relief and recovery programs, Roosevelt turned to a group of men who had previously orchestrated his election campaign and victory. Collectively known as the “Brains Trust” (a phrase coined by a New York Times reporter to describe the multiple “brains” on Roosevelt’s advisory team), the group most notably included Rexford Tugwell, Raymond Moley, and Adolph Berle. Moley, credited with bringing the group into existence, was a government professor who advocated for a new national tax policy to help the nation recover from its economic woes. Tugwell, who eventually focused his energy on the country’s agricultural problems, saw an increased role for the federal government in setting wages and prices across the economy. Berle was a mediating influence, who often advised against a centrally controlled economy, but did see the role that the federal government could play in mediating the stark cycles of prosperity and depression that, if left unchecked, could result in the very situation in which the country presently found itself. Together, these men, along with others, advised Roosevelt through the earliest days of the New Deal and helped to craft significant legislative programs for congressional review and approval.
INAUGURATION DAY: A NEW BEGINNING
March 4, 1933, dawned gray and rainy. Roosevelt rode in an open car along with outgoing president Hoover, facing the public, as he made his way to the U.S. Capitol. Hoover’s mood was somber, still personally angry over his defeat in the general election the previous November; he refused to crack a smile at all during the ride among the crowd, despite Roosevelt’s urging to the contrary. At the ceremony, Roosevelt rose with the aid of leg braces equipped under his specially tailored trousers and placed his hand on a Dutch family Bible as he took his solemn oath. At that very moment, the rain stopped and the sun began to shine directly on the platform, and those present would later claim that it was as though God himself was shining down on Roosevelt and the American people in that moment (Figure).
Bathed in the sunlight, Roosevelt delivered one of the most famous and oft-quoted inaugural addresses in history. He encouraged Americans to work with him to find solutions to the nation’s problems and not to be paralyzed by fear into inaction. Borrowing a wartime analogy provided by Moley, who served as his speechwriter at the time, Roosevelt called upon all Americans to assemble and fight an essential battle against the forces of economic depression. He famously stated, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Upon hearing his inaugural address, one observer in the crowd later commented, “Any man who can talk like that in times like these is worth every ounce of support a true American has.” To borrow the popular song title of the day, “happy days were here again.” Foregoing the traditional inaugural parties, the new president immediately returned to the White House to begin his work to save the nation.
Visit the American Presidency Project to listen to Roosevelt’s first inaugural speech and identify ways he conveyed optimism and a spirit of community to his listeners.
Section Summary
Franklin Roosevelt was a wealthy, well-educated, and popular politician whose history of polio made him a more sympathetic figure to the public. He did not share any specifics of his plan to bring the country out of the Great Depression, but his attitude of optimism and possibility contrasted strongly with Hoover’s defeated misery. The 1932 election was never really in question, and Roosevelt won in a landslide. During the four-month interregnum, however, Americans continued to endure President Hoover’s failed policies, which led the winter of 1932–1933 to be the worst of the Depression, with unemployment rising to record levels.
When Roosevelt took office in March 1933, he infused the country with a sense of optimism. He still did not have a formal plan but rather invited the American people to join him in the spirit of experimentation. Roosevelt did bring certain beliefs to office: the belief in an active government that would take direct action on federal relief, public works, social services, and direct aid to farmers. But as much as his policies, Roosevelt’s own personality and engaging manner helped the country feel that they were going to get back on track.
Review Questions
Which of the following best describes Roosevelt’s attempts to push his political agenda in the last months of Hoover’s presidency?
- Roosevelt spoke publicly on the issue of direct relief.
- Roosevelt met privately with Hoover to convince him to institute certain policy shifts before his presidency ended.
- Roosevelt awaited his inauguration before introducing any plans.
- Roosevelt met secretly with members of Congress to attempt to win their favor.
Hint:
C
Which of the following policies did Roosevelt not include among his early ideas for a New Deal?
- public works
- government regulation of the economy
- elimination of the gold standard
- aid to farmers
Hint:
D
What was the purpose of Roosevelt’s “Brains Trust?”
Hint:
Roosevelt recruited his “Brains Trust” to advise him in his inception of a variety of relief and recovery programs. Among other things, the members of this group pushed for a new national tax policy; addressed the nation’s agricultural problems; advocated an increased role for the federal government in setting wages and prices; and believed that the federal government could temper the boom-and-bust cycles that rendered the economy unstable. These advisors helped to craft the legislative programs that Roosevelt presented to Congress.
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2025-03-18T00:39:26.134819
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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/15532/overview
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The First New Deal
Overview
By the end of this section, you should be able to:
- Identify the key pieces of legislation included in Roosevelt’s “First New Deal”
- Assess the strengths, weaknesses, and general effectiveness of the First New Deal
- Explain Roosevelt’s overall vision for addressing the structural problems in the U.S. economy
Much like a surgeon assessing the condition of an emergency room patient, Roosevelt began his administration with a broad, if not specific, strategy in mind: a combination of relief and recovery programs designed to first save the patient (in this case, the American people), and then to find a long-term cure (reform through federal regulation of the economy). What later became known as the “First New Deal” ushered in a wave of legislative activity seldom before seen in the history of the country. By the close of 1933, in an effort to stem the crisis, Congress had passed over fifteen significant pieces of legislation—many of the circulated bills allegedly still wet with ink from the printing presses as members voted upon them. Most bills could be grouped around issues of relief, recovery, and reform. At the outset of the First New Deal, specific goals included 1) bank reform; 2) job creation; 3) economic regulation; and 4) regional planning.
REFORM: THE BANKING CRISIS
When Roosevelt took office, he faced one of the worst moments in the country’s banking history. States were in disarray. New York and Illinois had ordered the closure of their banks in the hopes of avoiding further “bank runs,” which occurred when hundreds (if not thousands) of individuals ran to their banks to withdraw all of their savings. In all, over five thousand banks had been shuttered. Within forty-eight hours of his inauguration, Roosevelt proclaimed an official bank holiday and called Congress into a special session to address the crisis. The resulting Emergency Banking Act of 1933 was signed into law on March 9, 1933, a scant eight hours after Congress first saw it. The law officially took the country off the gold standard, a restrictive practice that, although conservative and traditionally viewed as safe, severely limited the circulation of paper money. Those who held gold were told to sell it to the U.S. Treasury for a discounted rate of a little over twenty dollars per ounce. Furthermore, dollar bills were no longer redeemable in gold. The law also gave the comptroller of currency the power to reorganize all national banks faced with insolvency, a level of federal oversight seldom seen prior to the Great Depression. Between March 11 and March 14, auditors from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, the Treasury Department, and other federal agencies swept through the country, examining each bank. By March 15, 70 percent of the banks were declared solvent and allowed to reopen.
On March 12, the day before the banks were set to reopen, Roosevelt held his first “fireside chat” (Figure). In this initial radio address to the American people, he explained what the bank examiners had been doing over the previous week. He assured people that any bank open the next day had the federal government’s stamp of approval. The combination of his reassuring manner and the promise that the government was addressing the problems worked wonders in changing the popular mindset. Just as the culture of panic had contributed to the country’s downward spiral after the crash, so did this confidence-inducing move help to build it back up. Consumer confidence returned, and within weeks, close to $1 billion in cash and gold had been brought out from under mattresses and hidden bookshelves, and re-deposited in the nation’s banks. The immediate crisis had been quelled, and the public was ready to believe in their new president.
The Power of Hearth and Home
Fireside chats—Roosevelt’s weekly radio addresses—underscored Roosevelt’s savvy in understanding how best to reach people. Using simple terms and a reassuring tone, he invoked a family patriarch sitting by the fire, explaining to those who trusted him how he was working to help them. It is worth noting how he explained complex financial concepts quite simply, but at the same time, complimented the American people on their “intelligent support.” One of his fireside chats is provided below:
I recognize that the many proclamations from State capitols and from Washington, the legislation, the Treasury regulations, etc., couched for the most part in banking and legal terms, should be explained for the benefit of the average citizen. I owe this in particular because of the fortitude and good temper with which everybody has accepted the inconvenience and hardships of the banking holiday. I know that when you understand what we in Washington have been about I shall continue to have your cooperation as fully as I have had your sympathy and help during the past week. . . .
The success of our whole great national program depends, of course, upon the cooperation of the public—on its intelligent support and use of a reliable system. . . . After all, there is an element in the readjustment of our financial system more important than currency, more important than gold, and that is the confidence of the people. Confidence and courage are the essentials of success in carrying out our plan. You people must have faith; you must not be stampeded by rumors or guesses. Let us unite in banishing fear. We have provided the machinery to restore our financial system; it is up to you to support and make it work. It is your problem no less than it is mine. Together we cannot fail.
—Franklin D. Roosevelt, March 12, 1933
A huge part of Roosevelt’s success in turning around the country can be seen in his addresses like these: He built support and galvanized the public. Ironically, Roosevelt, the man who famously said we have nothing to fear but fear itself, had a significant fear: fire. Being paralyzed with polio, he was very afraid of being left near a fireplace. But he knew the power of the hearth and home, and drew on this mental image to help the public view him the way that he hoped to be seen.
Listen to one of Roosevelt's fireside chat speeches. What kind of feeling does his language and demeanor evoke?
In June 1933, Roosevelt replaced the Emergency Banking Act with the more permanent Glass-Steagall Banking Act. This law prohibited commercial banks from engaging in investment banking, therefore stopping the practice of banks speculating in the stock market with deposits. This law also created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or FDIC, which insured personal bank deposits up to $2,500. Other measures designed to boost confidence in the overall economy beyond the banking system included passage of the Economy Act, which fulfilled Roosevelt’s campaign pledge to reduce government spending by reducing salaries, including his own and those of the Congress. He also signed into law the Securities Act, which required full disclosure to the federal government from all corporations and investment banks that wanted to market stocks and bonds. Roosevelt also sought new revenue through the Beer Tax. As the Twenty-First Amendment, which would repeal the Eighteenth Amendment establishing Prohibition, moved towards ratification, this law authorized the manufacture of 3.2 percent beer and levied a tax on it.
THE FIRST HUNDRED DAYS
In his first hundred days in office, the new president pushed forward an unprecedented number of new bills, all geared towards stabilizing the economy, providing relief to individuals, creating jobs, and helping businesses. A sympathetic Democrat-controlled Congress helped propel his agenda forward.
Relief: Employment for the Masses
Even as he worked to rebuild the economy, Roosevelt recognized that the unemployed millions required jobs more quickly than the economy could provide. In a push to create new jobs, Roosevelt signed the Wagner-Peyser Act, creating the United States Employment Service, which promised states matching funds if they created local employment opportunities. He also authorized $500 million in direct grants through the Federal Emergency Relief Act (FERA). This money went directly to states to infuse relief agencies with the much-needed resources to help the nearly fifteen million unemployed. These two bills illustrate Roosevelt’s dual purposes of providing short-term emergency help and building employment opportunities that would strengthen the economy in the long term.
Roosevelt was aware of the need for immediate help, but he mostly wanted to create more jobs. FERA overseer Harry Hopkins, who later was in charge of the Civil Works Administration (CWA), shared this sentiment. With Hopkins at its helm, the CWA, founded in early 1933, went on to put millions of men and women to work. At its peak, there were some four million Americans repairing bridges, building roads and airports, and undertaking other public projects. Another work program was the Civilian Conservation Corps Relief Act (CCC). The CCC provided government jobs for young men aged fourteen to twenty-four who came from relief families. They would earn thirty dollars per month planting trees, fighting forest fires, and refurbishing historic sites and parks, building an infrastructure that families would continue to enjoy for generations to come. Within the first two months, the CCC employed its first 250,000 men and eventually established about twenty-five hundred camps (Figure).
The various programs that made up the First New Deal are listed in the table below (Table).
| New Deal Legislation | Years Enacted | Brief Description |
|---|---|---|
| Agricultural Adjustment Administration | 1933–1935 | Farm program designed to raise process by curtailing production |
| Civil Works Administration | 1933–1934 | Temporary job relief program |
| Civilian Conservation Corps | 1933–1942 | Employed young men to work in rural areas |
| Farm Credit Administration | 1933-today | Low interest mortgages for farm owners |
| Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation | 1933–today | Insure private bank deposits |
| Federal Emergency Relief Act | 1933 | Direct monetary relief to poor unemployed Americans |
| Glass-Steagall Act | 1933 | Regulate investment banking |
| Homeowners Loan Corporation | 1933–1951 | Government mortgages that allowed people to keep their homes |
| Indian Reorganization Act | 1933 | Abandoned federal policy of assimilation |
| National Recovery Administration | 1933–1935 | Industries agree to codes of fair practice to set price, wage, production levels |
| Public Works Administration | 1933–1938 | Large public works projects |
| Resettlement Administration | 1933–1935 | Resettles poor tenant farmers |
| Securities Act of 1933 | 1933–today | Created SEC; regulates stock transactions |
| Tennessee Valley Authority | 1933–today | Regional development program; brought electrification to the valley |
The final element of Roosevelt’s efforts to provide relief to those in desperate straits was the Home Owners’ Refinancing Act. Created by the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC), the program rescued homeowners from foreclosure by refinancing their mortgages. Not only did this save the homes of countless homeowners, but it also saved many of the small banks who owned the original mortgages by relieving them of that responsibility. Later New Deal legislation created the Federal Housing Authority, which eventually standardized the thirty-year mortgage and promoted the housing boom of the post-World War II era. A similar program, created through the Emergency Farm Mortgage Act and Farm Credit Act, provided the same service for farm mortgages.
In this American Experience interview, Neil Maher, author of Nature’s New Deal: The Civilian Conservation Corps and Roots of the Modern Environmental Movement, provides a comprehensive look into what the CCC offered the country—and the president—on issues as diverse as economics, race, and recreation.
Rescuing Farms and Factories
While much of the legislation of the first hundred days focused on immediate relief and job creation through federal programs, Roosevelt was committed to addressing the underlying problems inherent in the American economy. In his efforts to do so, he created two of the most significant pieces of New Deal legislation: the Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) and the National Industry Recovery Act (NIRA).
Farms around the country were suffering, but from different causes. In the Great Plains, drought conditions meant that little was growing at all, while in the South, bumper crops and low prices meant that farmers could not sell their goods at prices that could sustain them. The AAA offered some direct relief: Farmers received $4.5 million through relief payments. But the larger part of the program paid southern farmers to reduce their production: Wheat, cotton, corn, hogs, tobacco, rice, and milk farmers were all eligible. Passed into law on May 12, 1933, it was designed to boost prices to a level that would alleviate rural poverty and restore profitability to American agriculture. These price increases would be achieved by encouraging farmers to limit production in order to increase demand while receiving cash payments in return. Corn producers would receive thirty cents per bushel for corn they did not grow. Hog farmers would get five dollars per head for hogs not raised. The program would be financed by a tax on processing plants, passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices.
This was a bold attempt to help farmers address the systemic problems of overproduction and lower commodity prices. Despite previous efforts to regulate farming through subsidies, never before had the federal government intervened on this scale; the notion of paying farmers not to produce crops was unheard of. One significant problem, however, was that, in some cases, there was already an excess of crops, in particular, cotton and hogs, which clogged the marketplace. A bumper crop in 1933, combined with the slow implementation of the AAA, led the government to order the plowing under of ten million acres of cotton, and the butchering of six million baby pigs and 200,000 sows. Although it worked to some degree—the price of cotton increased from six to twelve cents per pound—this move was deeply problematic. Critics saw it as the ultimate example of corrupt capitalism: a government destroying food, while its citizens were starving, in order to drive up prices.
Another problem plaguing this relief effort was the disparity between large commercial farms, which received the largest payments and set the quotas, and the small family farms that felt no relief. Large farms often cut production by laying off sharecroppers or evicting tenant farmers, making the program even worse for them than for small farm owners. Their frustration led to the creation of the Southern Tenant Farmers Union (STFU), an interracial organization that sought to gain government relief for these most disenfranchised of farmers. The STFU organized, protested, and won its members some wage increases through the mid-1930s, but the overall plight of these workers remained dismal. As a result, many of them followed the thousands of Dust Bowl refugees to California (Figure).
Labor Songs and the Southern Tenant Farmers Union
And if the growers get in the way, we’re gonna roll right over them
We’re gonna roll right over them, we’re gonna roll right over them
And if the growers get in the way, we’re gonna roll right over them
We’re gonna roll this union on
—John Handcox, “Roll the Union On”
“Mean Things Happening in This Land,” “Roll the Union On,” and “Strike in Arkansas” are just a few of the folk songs written by John Handcox. A union organizer and STFU member, Handcox became the voice of the worker’s struggle, writing dozens of songs that have continued to be sung by labor activists and folk singers over the years. Handcox joined the STFU in 1935, and used his songs to rally others, stating, “I found out singing was more inspiring than talking . . . to get the attention of the people.”
Racially integrated and with active women members, the STFU was ahead of its time. Although criticized by other union leaders for its relationship with the Communist Party in creating the “Popular Front” for labor activism in 1934, the STFU succeeded in organizing strikes and bringing national attention to the issues that tenant farmers faced. While the programs Roosevelt put in place did not do enough to help these farmers, the STFU—and Handcox’s music—remains a relevant part of the country’s labor movement.
The AAA did succeed on some fronts. By the spring of 1934, farmers had formed over four thousand local committees, with more than three million farmers agreeing to participate. They signed individual contracts agreeing to take land out of production in return for government payments, and checks began to arrive by the end of 1934. For some farmers, especially those with large farms, the program spelled relief.
While Roosevelt hoped the AAA would help farms and farmers, he also sought aid for the beleaguered manufacturing sector. The Emergency Railroad Transportation Act created a national railroad office to encourage cooperation among different railroad companies, hoping to shore up an industry essential to the stability of the manufacturing sector, but one that had been devastated by mismanagement. More importantly, the NIRA suspended antitrust laws and allowed businesses and industries to work together in order to establish codes of fair competition, including issues of price setting and minimum wages. New Deal officials believed that allowing these collaborations would help industries stabilize prices and production levels in the face of competitive overproduction and declining profits; however, at the same time, many felt it important to protect workers from potentially unfair agreements.
A new government agency, the National Recovery Administration (NRA), was central to this plan, and mandated that businesses accept a code that included minimum wages and maximum work hours. In order to protect workers from potentially unfair agreements among factory owners, every industry had its own “code of fair practice” that included workers’ rights to organize and use collective bargaining to ensure that wages rose with prices (Figure). Headed by General Hugh S. Johnson, the NRA worked to create over five hundred different codes for different industries. The administration of such a complex plan naturally created its own problems. While codes for key industries such as automotive and steel made sense, Johnson pushed to create similar codes for dog food manufacturers, those who made shoulder pads for women’s clothing, and even burlesque shows (regulating the number of strippers in any one show).
The NIRA also created the Public Works Administration (PWA). The PWA set aside $3.3 billion to build public projects such as highways, federal buildings, and military bases. Although this program suffered from political squabbles over appropriations for projects in various congressional districts, as well as significant underfunding of public housing projects, it ultimately offered some of the most lasting benefits of the NIRA. Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes ran the program, which completed over thirty-four thousand projects, including the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and the Queens-Midtown Tunnel in New York. Between 1933 and 1939, the PWA accounted for the construction of over one-third of all new hospitals and 70 percent of all new public schools in the country.
Another challenge faced by the NRA was that the provision granting workers the right to organize appeared to others as a mandate to do so. In previously unorganized industries, such as oil and gas, rubber, and service occupations, workers now sought groups that would assist in their organization, bolstered by the encouragement they now felt from the government. The Communist Party took advantage of the opportunity to assist in the hope of creating widespread protests against the American industrial structure. The number of strikes nationwide doubled between 1932 and 1934, with over 1.5 million workers going on strike in 1934 alone, often in protests that culminated in bloodshed. A strike at the Auto-Lite plant in Toledo, Ohio, that summer resulted in ten thousand workers from other factories joining in sympathy with their fellow workers to attack potential strike-breakers with stones and bricks. Simultaneously in Minneapolis, a teamsters strike resulted in frequent, bloody confrontations between workers and police, leading the governor to contemplate declaring martial law before the companies agreed to negotiate better wages and conditions for the workers. Finally, a San Francisco strike among 14,000 longshoremen closed the city’s waterfront and eventually led to a city-wide general strike of over 130,000 workers, essentially paralyzing the city. Clashes between workers, and police and National Guardsmen left many strikers bloodied, and at least two dead.
Although Roosevelt’s relief efforts provided jobs to many and benefitted communities with the construction of several essential building projects, the violence that erupted amid clashes between organized labor and factories backed by police and the authorities exposed a fundamental flaw in the president’s approach. Immediate relief did not address long-existing, inherent class inequities that left workers exposed to poor working conditions, low wages, long hours, and little protection. For many workers, life on the job was not much better than life as an unemployed American. Employment programs may have put men back to work and provided much needed relief, but the fundamental flaws in the system required additional attention—attention that Roosevelt was unable to pay in the early days of the New Deal. Critics were plentiful, and the president would be forced to address them in the years ahead.
Regional Planning
Regionally, Roosevelt’s work was most famously seen in the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) (Figure), a federal agency tasked with the job of planning and developing the area through flood control, reforestation, and hydroelectric power. Employing several thousand Americans on a project that Roosevelt envisioned as a template for future regional redevelopment, the TVA revitalized a river valley that landowners had badly over-farmed, leaving behind eroded soil that lacked essential nutrients for future farming. Under the direction of David Lilienthal, beginning in 1933, the TVA workers erected a series of dams to harness the Tennessee River in the creation of much-needed hydroelectric power. The arrival of both electric lighting and machinery to the region eased the lives of the people who lived there, as well as encouraged industrial growth. The TVA also included an educational component, teaching farmers important lessons about crop rotation, soil replenishment, fertilizing, and reforestation.
The TVA was not without its critics, however, most notably among the fifteen thousand families who were displaced due to the massive construction projects. Although eventually the project benefited farmers with the introduction of new farming and fertilizing techniques, as well as the added benefit of electric power, many local citizens were initially mistrustful of the TVA and the federal government’s agenda. Likewise, as with several other New Deal programs, women did not directly benefit from these employment opportunities, as they were explicitly excluded for the benefit of men who most Americans still considered the family’s primary breadwinner. However, with the arrival of electricity came new industrial ventures, including several textile mills up and down the valley, several of which offered employment to women. Throughout his presidency, Roosevelt frequently pointed to the TVA as one of the glowing accomplishments of the New Deal and its ability to bring together the machinery of the federal government along with private interests to revitalize a regional economy. Just months before his death in 1945, he continued to speak of the possibility of creating other regional authorities throughout the country.
ASSESSING THE FIRST NEW DEAL
While many were pleased with the president’s bold plans, there were numerous critics of the New Deal, discussed in the following section. The New Deal was far from perfect, but Roosevelt’s quickly implemented policies reversed the economy’s long slide. It put new capital into ailing banks. It rescued homeowners and farmers from foreclosure and helped people keep their homes. It offered some direct relief to the unemployed poor. It gave new incentives to farmers and industry alike, and put people back to work in an effort to both create jobs and boost consumer spending. The total number of working Americans rose from twenty-four to twenty-seven million between 1933 and 1935, in contrast to the seven-million-worker decline during the Hoover administration. Perhaps most importantly, the First New Deal changed the pervasive pessimism that had held the country in its grip since the end of 1929. For the first time in years, people had hope.
It was the hard work of Roosevelt’s advisors—the “Brains Trust” of scholars and thinkers from leading universities—as well as Congress and the American public who helped the New Deal succeed as well as it did. Ironically, it was the American people’s volunteer spirit, so extolled by Hoover, that Roosevelt was able to harness. The first hundred days of his administration was not a master plan that Roosevelt dreamed up and executed on his own. In fact, it was not a master plan at all, but rather a series of, at times, disjointed efforts made from different assumptions. But after taking office and analyzing the crisis, Roosevelt and his advisors did feel that they had a larger sense of what had caused the Great Depression and thus attempted a variety of solutions to fix it. They believed that it was caused by abuses on the part of a small group of bankers and businessmen, aided by Republican policies that built wealth for a few at the expense of many. The answer, they felt, was to root out these abuses through banking reform, as well as adjust production and consumption of both farm and industrial goods. This adjustment would come about by increasing the purchasing power of everyday people, as well as through regulatory policies like the NRA and AAA. While it may seem counterintuitive to raise crop prices and set prices on industrial goods, Roosevelt’s advisors sought to halt the deflationary spiral and economic uncertainty that had prevented businesses from committing to investments and consumers from parting with their money.
Section Summary
After assuming the presidency, Roosevelt lost no time in taking bold steps to fight back against the poverty and unemployment plaguing the country. He immediately created a bank holiday and used the time to bring before Congress legislation known as the Emergency Banking Act, which allowed federal agencies to examine all banks before they reopened, thus restoring consumer confidence. He then went on, in his historic first hundred days, to sign numerous other significant pieces of legislation that were geared towards creating jobs, shoring up industry and agriculture, and providing relief to individuals through both refinancing options and direct handouts. Not all of his programs were effective, and many generated significant criticism. Overall, however, these programs helped to stabilize the economy, restore confidence, and change the pessimistic mindset that had overrun the country.
Review Questions
Which of the following was not a policy undertaken by the NIRA?
- agreement among industries to set prices
- agreement among industries to reinvest profits into their firms
- agreement among industries to set production levels
- recognition of the right of workers to form unions
Hint:
B
What type of help did the CWA provide?
- direct relief
- farm refinancing
- bank reform
- employment opportunities
Hint:
D
In what ways did the New Deal both provide direct relief and create new jobs? Which programs served each of these goals?
Hint:
The most prominent of Roosevelt’s job-creation programs included the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Public Works Administration (the latter under the auspices of the National Industrial Recovery Act). Both employed millions of Americans to work on thousands of projects. While programs such as the Tennessee Valley Authority were not incepted solely for the purpose of generating jobs, they nevertheless created thousands of employment opportunities in service of their greater goals. Direct relief came primarily in the form of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, which lent over $3 billion to states to operate direct relief programs from 1933 to 1935, as well as undertook several employment projects.
How did the NRA seek to protect workers? What difficulties did this agency face?
Hint:
The National Recovery Administration (NRA) established a “code of fair practice” for every industry. Business owners were made to accept a set minimum wage and maximum number of work hours, as well as to recognize workers’ rights to organize and use collective bargaining. While the NRA established over five hundred different codes, it proved difficult to adapt this plan successfully for diverse industries with very different characteristics and practices.
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2025-03-18T00:39:26.173027
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"title": "U.S. History, Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal, 1932-1941",
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}
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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/15533/overview
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The Second New Deal
Overview
By the end of this section, you should be able to:
- Identify key pieces of legislation from the Second New Deal
- Assess the entire New Deal, especially in terms of its impact on women, African Americans, and Native Americans
Roosevelt won his second term in a landslide, but that did not mean he was immune to criticism. His critics came from both the left and the right, with conservatives deeply concerned over his expansion of government spending and power, and liberals angered that he had not done more to help those still struggling. Adding to Roosevelt’s challenges, the Supreme Court struck down several key elements of the First New Deal, angering Roosevelt and spurring him to try and stack the courts in his second term. Still, he entered his new term with the unequivocal support of the voting public, and he wasted no time beginning the second phase of his economic plan. While the First New Deal focused largely on stemming the immediate suffering of the American people, the Second New Deal put in place legislation that changed America’s social safety net for good.
CHALLENGES FROM CRITICS ON ALL SIDES
While many people supported Roosevelt, especially in the first few years of his presidency, the New Deal did receive significant criticism, both from conservatives who felt that it was a radical agenda to ruin the country’s model of free enterprise, and from liberals who felt that it did not provide enough help to those who needed it most (Figure).
Industrialists and wealthy Americans led the conservative criticism against the president. Whether attacking his character or simply stating that he was moving away from American values toward fascism and socialism, they sought to undermine his power and popularity. Most notably, the American Liberty League—comprised largely of conservative Democrats who lamented the excesses of several of Roosevelt’s New Deal programs—labeled the AAA as fascist and proclaimed later New Deal programs to be key threats to the very nature of democracy. Additional criticism came from the National Association of Manufacturers, which urged businessmen to outright ignore portions of the NRA that promoted collective bargaining, as well as subsequent labor protection legislation. In 1935, the U.S. Supreme Court dealt the most crushing blow to Roosevelt’s vision, striking down several key pieces of the New Deal as unconstitutional. They found that both the AAA and the NIRA overreached federal authority. The negation of some of his most ambitious economic recovery efforts frustrated Roosevelt greatly, but he was powerless to stop it at this juncture.
Meanwhile, others felt that Roosevelt had not done enough. Dr. Francis E. Townsend of California was one who felt that Roosevelt had failed to adequately address the country’s tremendous problems. Townsend, who was a retired dentist, proposed an expansive pension plan for the elderly. The Townsend Plan, as it was known, gained a great deal of popularity: It recommended paying every citizen over sixty who retired from work the sum of $200 per month, provided they spend it in thirty days. Another figure who gained national attention was Father Charles Coughlin. He was a “radio priest” from Michigan who, although he initially supported the New Deal, subsequently argued that Roosevelt stopped far too short in his defense of labor, monetary reform, and the nationalization of key industries. The president’s plan, he proclaimed, was inadequate. He created the National Union for Social Justice and used his weekly radio show to gain followers.
A more direct political threat to Roosevelt came from muckraker Upton Sinclair, who pursued the California governorship in 1934 through a campaign based upon criticism of the New Deal’s shortcomings. In his “End Poverty in California” program, Sinclair called for a progressive income tax, a pension program for the elderly, and state seizure of factories and farms where property taxes remained unpaid. The state would then offer jobs to the unemployed to work those farms and factories in a cooperative mode. Although Sinclair lost the election to his Republican opponent, he did draw local and national attention to several of his ideas.
The biggest threat to the president, however, came from corrupt but beloved Louisiana senator Huey “Kingfish” Long (Figure). His disapproval of Roosevelt came in part from his own ambitions for higher office; Long stated that the president was not doing enough to help people and proposed his own Share Our Wealth program. Under this plan, Long recommended the liquidation of all large personal fortunes in order to fund direct payments to less fortunate Americans. He foresaw giving $5,000 to every family, $2,500 to every worker, as well as a series of elderly pensions and education funds. Despite his questionable math, which numerous economists quickly pointed out rendered his program unworkable, by 1935, Long had a significant following of over four million people. If he had not been assassinated by the son-in-law of a local political rival, he may well have been a contender against Roosevelt for the 1936 presidential nomination.
ANSWERING THE CHALLENGE
Roosevelt recognized that some of the criticisms of the New Deal were valid. Although he was still reeling from the Supreme Court’s invalidation of key statutes, he decided to face his re-election bid in 1936 by unveiling another wave of legislation that he dubbed the Second New Deal. In the first week of June 1935, Roosevelt called congressional leaders into the White House and gave them a list of “must-pass” legislation that he wanted before they adjourned for the summer. Whereas the policies of the first hundred days may have shored up public confidence and stopped the most drastic of the problems, the second hundred days changed the face of America for the next sixty years.
The Banking Act of 1935 was the most far-reaching revision of banking laws since the creation of the Federal Reserve System in 1914. Previously, regional reserve banks, particularly the New York Reserve Bank—controlled by the powerful Morgan and Rockefeller families—had dominated policy-making at the Federal Reserve. Under the new system, there would be a seven-member board of governors to oversee regional banks. They would have control over reserve requirements, discount rates, board member selection, and more. Not surprisingly, this new board kept initial interest rates quite low, allowing the federal government to borrow billions of dollars of additional cash to fund major relief and recovery programs.
In 1935, Congress also passed the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act, which authorized the single largest expenditure at that time in the country’s history: $4.8 billion. Almost one-third of those funds were invested in a new relief agency, the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Harry Hopkins, formerly head of the CWA, took on the WPA and ran it until 1943. In that time, the program provided employment relief to over eight million Americans, or approximately 20 percent of the country’s workforce. The WPA funded the construction of more than 2,500 hospitals, 5,900 schools, 570,000 miles of road, and more. The WPA also created the Federal One Project, which employed approximately forty thousand artists in theater, art, music, and writing. They produced state murals, guidebooks, concerts, and drama performances all around the country (Figure). Additionally, the project funded the collection of oral histories, including those of former slaves, which provided a valuable addition to the nation’s understanding of slave life. Finally, the WPA also included the National Youth Administration (NYA), which provided work-study jobs to over 500,000 college students and four million high school students.
Browse the Born in Slavery collection to examine personal accounts of former slaves, recorded between 1936 and 1938, as part of the Federal Writers' Project of the WPA.
With the implementation of the Second New Deal, Roosevelt also created the country’s present-day social safety net. The Social Security Act established programs intended to help the most vulnerable: the elderly, the unemployed, the disabled, and the young. It included a pension fund for all retired people—except domestic workers and farmers, which therefore left many women and African Americans beyond the scope of its benefits—over the age of sixty-five, to be paid through a payroll tax on both employee and employer. Related to this act, Congress also passed a law on unemployment insurance, to be funded by a tax on employers, and programs for unwed mothers, as well as for those who were blind, deaf, or disabled. It is worth noting that some elements of these reforms were pulled from Roosevelt detractors Coughlin and Townsend; the popularity of their movements gave the president more leverage to push forward this type of legislation.
To the benefit of industrial workers, Roosevelt signed into law the Wagner Act, also known as the National Labor Relations Act. The protections previously afforded to workers under the NIRA were inadvertently lost when the Supreme Court struck down the original law due to larger regulatory concerns, leaving workers vulnerable. Roosevelt sought to salvage this important piece of labor legislation, doing so with the Wagner Act. The act created the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to once again protect American workers’ right to unionize and bargain collectively, as well as to provide a federal vehicle for labor grievances to be heard. Although roundly criticized by the Republican Party and factory owners, the Wagner Act withstood several challenges and eventually received constitutional sanction by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1937. The law received the strong support of John L. Lewis and the Congress of Industrial Organizations who had long sought government protection of industrial unionism, from the time they split from the American Federation of Labor in 1935 over disputes on whether to organize workers along craft or industrial lines. Following passage of the law, Lewis began a widespread publicity campaign urging industrial workers to join “the president’s union.” The relationship was mutually beneficial to Roosevelt, who subsequently received the endorsement of Lewis’s United Mine Workers union in the 1936 presidential election, along with a sizeable $500,000 campaign contribution. The Wagner Act permanently established government-secured workers’ rights and protections from their employers, and it marked the beginning of labor’s political support for the Democratic Party.
The various programs that made up the Second New Deal are listed in the table below (Table).
| New Deal Legislation | Years Enacted | Brief Description |
|---|---|---|
| Fair Labor Standards Act | 1938–today | Established minimum wage and forty-hour workweek |
| Farm Security Administration | 1935–today | Provides poor farmers with education and economic support programs |
| Federal Crop Insurance Corporation | 1938–today | Insures crops and livestock against loss of revenue |
| National Labor Relations Act | 1935–today | Recognized right of workers to unionize & collectively bargain |
| National Youth Administration | 1935–1939 (part of WPA) | Part-time employment for college and high school students |
| Rural Electrification Administration | 1935–today | Provides public utilities to rural areas |
| Social Security Act | 1935–today | Aid to retirees, unemployed, disabled |
| Surplus Commodities Program | 1936–today | Provides food to the poor (still exists in Food Stamps program) |
| Works Progress Administration | 1935–1943 | Jobs program (including artists and youth) |
THE FINAL PIECES
Roosevelt entered the 1936 presidential election on a wave of popularity, and he beat Republican opponent Alf Landon by a nearly unanimous Electoral College vote of 523 to 8. Believing it to be his moment of strongest public support, Roosevelt chose to exact a measure of revenge against the U.S. Supreme Court for challenging his programs and to pressure them against challenging his more recent Second New Deal provisions. To this end, Roosevelt created the informally named “Supreme Court Packing Plan” and tried to pack the court in his favor by expanding the number of justices and adding new ones who supported his views. His plan was to add one justice for every current justice over the age of seventy who refused to step down. This would have allowed him to add six more justices, expanding the bench from nine to fifteen. Opposition was quick and thorough from both the Supreme Court and Congress, as well as from his own party. The subsequent retirement of Justice Van Devanter from the court, as well as the sudden death of Senator Joe T. Robinson, who championed Roosevelt’s plan before the Senate, all but signaled Roosevelt’s defeat. However, although he never received the support to make these changes, Roosevelt appeared to succeed in politically intimidating the current justices into supporting his newer programs, and they upheld both the Wagner Act and the Social Security Act. Never again during his presidency would the Supreme Court strike down any significant elements of his New Deal.
Roosevelt was not as successful in addressing the nation’s growing deficit. When he entered the presidency in 1933, Roosevelt did so with traditionally held fiscal beliefs, including the importance of a balanced budget in order to maintain public confidence in federal government operations. However, the severe economic conditions of the depression quickly convinced the president of the importance of government spending to create jobs and relief for the American people. As he commented to a crowd in Pittsburgh in 1936, “To balance our budget in 1933 or 1934 or 1935 would have been a crime against the American people. To do so . . . we should have had to set our face against human suffering with callous indifference. When Americans suffered, we refused to pass by on the other side. Humanity came first.” However, after his successful re-election, Roosevelt anticipated that the economy would recover enough by late 1936 that he could curtail spending by 1937. This reduction in spending, he hoped, would curb the deficit. As the early months of 1937 unfolded, Roosevelt’s hopes seemed supported by the most recent economic snapshot of the country. Production, wages, and profits had all returned to pre-1929 levels, while unemployment was at its lowest rate in the decade, down from 25 percent to 14 percent. But no sooner did Roosevelt cut spending when a recession hit. Two million Americans were newly out of work as unemployment quickly rose by 5 percent and industrial production declined by a third. Breadlines began to build again, while banks prepared to close.
Historians continue to debate the causes of this recession within a depression. Some believe the fear of increased taxes forced factory owners to curtail planned expansion; others blame the Federal Reserve for tightening the nation’s money supply. Roosevelt, however, blamed the downturn on his decision to significantly curtail federal government spending in job relief programs such as the WPA. Several of his closest advisors, including Harry Hopkins, Henry Wallace, and others, urged him to adopt the new economic theory espoused by British economic John Maynard Keynes, who argued that deficit spending was necessary in advanced capitalist economies in order to maintain employment and stimulate consumer spending. Convinced of the necessity of such an approach, Roosevelt asked Congress in the spring of 1938 for additional emergency relief spending. Congress immediately authorized $33 billion for PWA and WPA work projects. Although World War II would provide the final impetus for lasting economic recovery, Roosevelt’s willingness to adapt in 1938 avoided another disaster.
Roosevelt signed the last substantial piece of New Deal legislation in the summer of 1938. The Fair Labor Standards Act established a federal minimum wage—at the time, forty cents per hour—a maximum workweek of forty hours (with an opportunity for four additional hours of work at overtime wages), and prohibited child labor for those under age sixteen. Roosevelt was unaware that the war would soon dominate his legacy, but this proved to be his last major piece of economic legislation in a presidency that changed the fabric of the country forever.
IN THE FINAL ANALYSIS
The legacy of the New Deal is in part seen in the vast increase in national power: The federal government accepted responsibility for the nation’s economic stability and prosperity. In retrospect, the majority of historians and economists judge it to have been a tremendous success. The New Deal not only established minimum standards for wages, working conditions, and overall welfare, it also allowed millions of Americans to hold onto their homes, farms, and savings. It laid the groundwork for an agenda of expanded federal government influence over the economy that continued through President Harry Truman’s “Fair Deal” in the 1950s and President Lyndon Johnson’s call for a “Great Society” in the 1960s. The New Deal state that embraced its responsibility for the citizens’ welfare and proved willing to use its power and resources to spread the nation’s prosperity lasted well into the 1980s, and many of its tenets persist today. Many would also agree that the postwar economic stability of the 1950s found its roots in the stabilizing influences introduced by social security, the job stability that union contracts provided, and federal housing mortgage programs introduced in the New Deal. The environment of the American West in particular, benefited from New Deal projects such as the Soil Conservation program.
Still, Roosevelt’s programs also had their critics. Following the conservative rise initiated by presidential candidate Barry Goldwater in 1964, and most often associated with the Ronald Reagan era of the 1980s, critics of the welfare state pointed to Roosevelt’s presidency as the start of a slippery slope towards entitlement and the destruction of the individualist spirit upon which the United States had presumably developed in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Although the growth of the GDP between 1934 and 1940 approached an average of 7.5 percent—higher than in any other peacetime period in U.S. history, critics of the New Deal point out that unemployment still hovered around 15 percent in 1940. While the New Deal resulted in some environmental improvements, it also inaugurated a number of massive infrastructural projects, such as the Grand Coulee Dam on the Columbia River, that came with grave environmental consequences. And other shortcomings of the New Deal were obvious and deliberate at the time.
African Americans under the New Deal
Critics point out that not all Americans benefited from the New Deal. African Americans in particular were left out, with overt discrimination in hiring practices within the federal job programs, such as the CCC, CWA, and WPA. The NRA was oftentimes criticized as the “Negro Run Around” or “Negroes Ruined Again” program. As well, the AAA left tenant farmers and sharecroppers, many of whom were black, with no support. Even Social Security originally excluded domestic workers, a primary source of employment for African American women. Facing such criticism early in his administration, Roosevelt undertook some efforts to ensure a measure of equality in hiring practices for the relief agencies, and opportunities began to present themselves by 1935. The WPA eventually employed 350,000 African Americans annually, accounting for nearly 15 percent of its workforce. By the close of the CCC in 1938, this program had employed over 300,000 African Americans, increasing the black percentage of its workforce from 3 percent at the outset to nearly 11 percent at its close. Likewise, in 1934, the PWA began to require that all government projects under its purview hire African Americans using a quota that reflected their percentage of the local population being served. Additionally, among several important WPA projects, the Federal One Project included a literacy program that eventually reached over one million African American children, helping them learn how to read and write.
On the issue of race relations themselves, Roosevelt has a mixed legacy. Within his White House, Roosevelt had a number of African American appointees, although most were in minor positions. Unofficially, Roosevelt relied upon advice from the Federal Council on Negro Affairs, also known as his “Black Cabinet.” This group included a young Harvard economist, Dr. Robert Weaver, who subsequently became the nation’s first black cabinet secretary in 1966, as President Lyndon Johnson’s Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Aubrey Williams, the director of the NYA, hired more black administrators than any other federal agency, and appointed them to oversee projects throughout the country. One key figure in the NYA was Mary McLeod Bethune (Figure), a prominent African American educator tapped by Roosevelt to act as the director of the NYA’s Division of Negro Affairs. Bethune had been a spokesperson and an educator for years; with this role, she became one of the president’s foremost African American advisors. During his presidency, Roosevelt became the first to appoint a black federal judge, as well as the first commander-in-chief to promote an African American to brigadier general. Most notably, he became the first president to publicly speak against lynching as a “vile form of collective murder.”
Mary McLeod Bethune on Racial Justice
Democracy is for me, and for twelve million black Americans, a goal towards which our nation is marching. It is a dream and an ideal in whose ultimate realization we have a deep and abiding faith. For me, it is based on Christianity, in which we confidently entrust our destiny as a people. Under God’s guidance in this great democracy, we are rising out of the darkness of slavery into the light of freedom. Here my race has been afforded [the] opportunity to advance from a people 80 percent illiterate to a people 80 percent literate; from abject poverty to the ownership and operation of a million farms and 750,000 homes; from total disfranchisement to participation in government; from the status of chattels to recognized contributors to the American culture.
When Mary McLeod Bethune spoke these words, she spoke on behalf of a race of American citizens for whom the Great Depression was much more than economic hardship. For African Americans, the Depression once again exposed the racism and inequality that gripped the nation economically, socially, and politically. Her work as a member of President Franklin Roosevelt’s unofficial “Black Cabinet” as well as the Director of the Division of Negro Affairs for the NYA, presented her an opportunity to advance African American causes on all fronts—but especially in the area of black literacy. As part of the larger WPA, she also influenced employment programs in the arts and public work sectors, and routinely had the president’s ear on matters related to racial justice.
Listen to this audio clip of Eleanor Roosevelt interviewing Mary McLeod Bethune. By listening to her talking to Bethune and offering up her support, it becomes clear how compelling the immensely popular first lady was when speaking about programs of close personal interest to her. How do you think this would have been received by Roosevelt’s supporters?
However, despite these efforts, Roosevelt also understood the precariousness of his political position. In order to maintain a coalition of Democrats to support his larger relief and recovery efforts, Roosevelt could not afford to alienate Southern Democrats who might easily bolt should he openly advocate for civil rights. While he spoke about the importance of anti-lynching legislation, he never formally pushed Congress to propose such a law. He did publicly support the abolition of the poll tax, which Congress eventually accomplished in 1941. Likewise, although agency directors adopted changes to ensure job opportunities for African Americans at the federal level, at the local level, few advancements were made, and African Americans remained at the back of the employment lines. Despite such failures, however, Roosevelt deserves credit for acknowledging the importance of race relations and civil rights. At the federal level, more than any of his predecessors since the Civil War, Roosevelt remained aware of the role that the federal government can play in initiating important discussions about civil rights, as well as encouraging the development of a new cadre of civil rights leaders.
Although unable to bring about sweeping civil rights reforms for African Americans in the early stages of his administration, Roosevelt was able to work with Congress to significantly improve the lives of Indians. In 1934, he signed into law the Indian Reorganization Act (sometimes referred to as the “Indian New Deal”). This law formally abandoned the assimilationist policies set forth in the Dawes Severalty Act of 1887. Rather than forcing Indians to adapt to American culture, the new program encouraged them to develop forms of local self-government, as well as to preserve their artifacts and heritage. John Collier, the Commissioner on Indian Bureau Affairs from 1933 to 1945, championed this legislation and saw it as an opportunity to correct past injustices that land allotment and assimilation had wrought upon Indians. Although the re-establishment of communal tribal lands would prove to be difficult, Collier used this law to convince federal officials to return nearly two million acres of government-held land to various tribes in order to move the process along. Although subsequent legislation later circumscribed the degree to which tribes were allowed to self-govern on reservations, Collier’s work is still viewed as a significant step in improving race relations with Indians and preserving their heritage.
Women and the New Deal
For women, Roosevelt’s policies and practices had a similarly mixed effect. Wage discrimination in federal jobs programs was rampant, and relief policies encouraged women to remain home and leave jobs open for men. This belief was well in line with the gender norms of the day. Several federal relief programs specifically forbade husbands and wives’ both drawing jobs or relief from the same agency. The WPA became the first specific New Deal agency to openly hire women—specifically widows, single women, and the wives of disabled husbands. While they did not take part in construction projects, these women did undertake sewing projects to provide blankets and clothing to hospitals and relief agencies. Likewise, several women took part in the various Federal One art projects. Despite the obvious gender limitations, many women strongly supported Roosevelt’s New Deal, as much for its direct relief handouts for women as for its employment opportunities for men. One such woman was Mary (Molly) Dewson. A longtime activist in the women’s suffrage movement, Dewson worked for women’s rights and ultimately rose to be the Director of the Women’s Division of the Democratic Party. Dewson and Mary McLeod Bethune, the national champion of African American education and literacy who rose to the level of Director of the Division of Negro Affairs for the NYA, understood the limitations of the New Deal, but also the opportunities for advancement it presented during very trying times. Rather than lamenting what Roosevelt could not or would not do, they felt, and perhaps rightly so, that Roosevelt would do more than most to help women and African Americans achieve a piece of the new America he was building.
Among the few, but notable, women who directly impacted Roosevelt’s policies was Frances Perkins, who as Secretary of Labor was the first female member of any presidential cabinet, and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, who was a strong and public advocate for social causes. Perkins, one of only two original Cabinet members to stay with Roosevelt for his entire presidency, was directly involved in the administration of the CCC, PWA, NRA, and the Social Security Act. Among several important measures, she took greatest pleasure in championing minimum wage statutes as well as the penultimate piece of New Deal legislation, the Fair Labor Standards Act. Roosevelt came to trust Perkins’ advice with few questions or concerns, and steadfastly supported her work through the end of his life (Figure 26_03_Perkins).
Molly Dewson and Women Democrats
In her effort to get President Roosevelt re-elected in 1936, Dewson commented, “We don’t make the old-fashioned plea to the women that our nominee is charming, and all that. We appeal to the intelligence of the country’s women. Ours were economic issues and we found the women ready to listen.”
As head of the Women’s Division of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in 1932, Molly Dewson proved to be an influential supporter of President Franklin Roosevelt and one of his key advisors regarding issues pertaining to women’s rights. Agreeing with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt that “Women must learn to play the games as men do,” Dewson worked diligently in her position with the DNC to ensure that women could serve as delegates and alternates to the national conventions. Her approach, and her realization that women were intelligent enough to make rational choices, greatly appealed to Roosevelt. Her methods were perhaps not too different from his own, as he spoke to the public through his fireside chats. Dewson’s impressive organizational skills on behalf of the party earned her the nickname “the little general” from President Roosevelt.
However, Eleanor Roosevelt, more so than any other individual, came to represent the strongest influence upon the president; and she used her unique position to champion several causes for women, African Americans, and the rural poor (Figure). She married Franklin Roosevelt, who was her fifth cousin, in 1905 and subsequently had six children, one of whom died at only seven months old. A strong supporter of her husband’s political ambitions, Eleanor campaigned by his side through the failed vice-presidential bid in 1920 and on his behalf after he was diagnosed with polio in 1921. When she discovered letters of her husband’s affair with her social secretary, Lucy Mercer, the marriage became less one of romance and more one of a political partnership that would continue—strained at times—until the president’s death in 1945.
Historians agree that the first lady used her presence in the White House, in addition to the leverage of her failed marriage and knowledge of her husband’s infidelities, to her advantage. She promoted several causes that the president himself would have had difficulty championing at the time. From newspaper and magazine articles she authored, to a busy travel schedule that saw her regularly cross the country, the first lady sought to remind Americans that their plight was foremost on the minds of all working in the White House. Eleanor was so active in her public appearances that, by 1940, she began holding regular press conferences to answer reporters’ questions. Among her first substantial projects was the creation of Arthurdale—a resettlement community for displaced coal miners in West Virginia. Although the planned community became less of an administration priority as the years progressed (eventually folding in 1940), for seven years, Eleanor remained committed to its success as a model of assistance for the rural poor.
Exposed to issues of racial segregation in the Arthurdale experiment, Eleanor subsequently supported many civil rights causes through the remainder of the Roosevelt presidency. When it further became clear that racial discrimination was rampant in the administration of virtually all New Deal job programs—especially in the southern states—she continued to pressure her husband for remedies. In 1934, she openly lobbied for passage of the federal anti-lynching bill that the president privately supported but could not politically endorse. Despite the subsequent failure of the Senate to pass such legislation, Eleanor succeeded in arranging a meeting between her husband and then-NAACP president Walter White to discuss anti-lynching and other pertinent calls for civil rights legislation.
White was only one of Eleanor’s African American guests to the White House. Breaking with precedent, and much to the disdain of many White House officials, the first lady routinely invited prominent African Americans to dine with her and the president. Most notably, when the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) refused to permit internationally renowned black opera contralto Marian Anderson to sing in Constitution Hall, Eleanor resigned her membership in the DAR and arranged for Anderson to sing at a public concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, followed by her appearance at a state dinner at the White House in honor of the king and queen of England. With regard to race relations in particular, Eleanor Roosevelt was able to accomplish what her husband—for delicate political reasons—could not: become the administration’s face for civil rights.
Section Summary
Despite his popularity, Roosevelt had significant critics at the end of the First New Deal. Some on the right felt that he had moved the country in a dangerous direction towards socialism and fascism, whereas others on the left felt that he had not gone far enough to help the still-struggling American people. Reeling after the Supreme Court struck down two key pieces of New Deal legislation, the AAA and NIRA, Roosevelt pushed Congress to pass a new wave of bills to provide jobs, banking reforms, and a social safety net. The laws that emerged—the Banking Act, the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act, and the Social Security Act—still define our country today.
Roosevelt won his second term in a landslide and continued to push for legislation that would help the economy. The jobs programs employed over eight million people and, while systematic discrimination hurt both women and African American workers, these programs were still successful in getting people back to work. The last major piece of New Deal legislation that Roosevelt passed was the Fair Labor Standards Act, which set a minimum wage, established a maximum-hour workweek, and forbade child labor. This law, as well as Social Security, still provides much of the social safety net in the United States today.
While critics and historians continue to debate whether the New Deal ushered in a permanent change to the political culture of the country, from one of individualism to the creation of a welfare state, none deny the fact that Roosevelt’s presidency expanded the role of the federal government in all people’s lives, generally for the better. Even if the most conservative of presidential successors would question this commitment, the notion of some level of government involvement in economic regulation and social welfare had largely been settled by 1941. Future debates would be about the extent and degree of that involvement.
Review Questions
Which of the following statements accurately describes Mary McLeod Bethune?
- She was a prominent supporter of the Townsend Plan.
- She was a key figure in the NYA.
- She was Eleanor Roosevelt’s personal secretary.
- She was a labor organizer.
Hint:
B
The Social Security Act borrowed some ideas from which of the following?
- the Townsend Plan
- the Division of Negro Affairs
- the Education Trust
- the NIRA
Hint:
A
What was the first New Deal agency to hire women openly?
- the NRA
- the WPA
- the AAA
- the TVA
Hint:
B
What were the major goals and accomplishments of the Indian New Deal?
Hint:
The Indian Reorganization Act, or Indian New Deal, of 1934 put an end to the policies set forth in the Dawes Severalty Act of 1887. Rather than encouraging assimilation, the new act promoted Indians’ development of local self-government and the preservation of Indian artifacts and heritage. John Collier, the Commissioner on Indian Bureau Affairs, was able to use the law to push for federal officials’ return of nearly two million acres of government-held land to various tribes.
Critical Thinking Questions
To what extent was Franklin Roosevelt’s overwhelming victory in the 1932 presidential election a reflection of his own ideas for change? To what extent did it represent public discontent with Herbert Hoover’s lack of answers?
Whom did the New Deal help the least? What hardships did these individuals continue to suffer? Why were Roosevelt’s programs unsuccessful in the alleviation of their adversities?
Was Franklin Roosevelt successful at combatting the Great Depression? How did the New Deal affect future generations of Americans?
What were the key differences between the First New Deal and the Second New Deal? On the whole, what did each New Deal set out to accomplish?
What challenges did Roosevelt face in his work on behalf of African Americans? What impact did the New Deal have ultimately on race relations?
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oercommons
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2025-03-18T00:39:26.216534
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"title": "U.S. History, Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal, 1932-1941",
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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/15309/overview
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Introduction
Our lives involve regular, dramatic changes in the degree to which we are aware of our surroundings and our internal states. While awake, we feel alert and aware of the many important things going on around us. Our experiences change dramatically while we are in deep sleep and once again when we are dreaming.
This chapter will discuss states of consciousness with a particular emphasis on sleep. The different stages of sleep will be identified, and sleep disorders will be described. The chapter will close with discussions of altered states of consciousness produced by psychoactive drugs, hypnosis, and meditation.
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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/15310/overview
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What Is Consciousness?
Overview
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Understand what is meant by consciousness
- Explain how circadian rhythms are involved in regulating the sleep-wake cycle, and how circadian cycles can be disrupted
- Discuss the concept of sleep debt
Consciousness describes our awareness of internal and external stimuli. Awareness of internal stimuli includes feeling pain, hunger, thirst, sleepiness, and being aware of our thoughts and emotions. Awareness of external stimuli includes seeing the light from the sun, feeling the warmth of a room, and hearing the voice of a friend.
We experience different states of consciousness and different levels of awareness on a regular basis. We might even describe consciousness as a continuum that ranges from full awareness to a deep sleep. Sleep is a state marked by relatively low levels of physical activity and reduced sensory awareness that is distinct from periods of rest that occur during wakefulness. Wakefulness is characterized by high levels of sensory awareness, thought, and behavior. In between these extremes are states of consciousness related to daydreaming, intoxication as a result of alcohol or other drug use, meditative states, hypnotic states, and altered states of consciousness following sleep deprivation. We might also experience unconscious states of being via drug-induced anesthesia for medical purposes. Often, we are not completely aware of our surroundings, even when we are fully awake. For instance, have you ever daydreamed while driving home from work or school without really thinking about the drive itself? You were capable of engaging in the all of the complex tasks involved with operating a motor vehicle even though you were not aware of doing so. Many of these processes, like much of psychological behavior, are rooted in our biology.
BIOLOGICAL RHYTHMS
Biological rhythms are internal rhythms of biological activity. A woman’s menstrual cycle is an example of a biological rhythm—a recurring, cyclical pattern of bodily changes. One complete menstrual cycle takes about 28 days—a lunar month—but many biological cycles are much shorter. For example, body temperature fluctuates cyclically over a 24-hour period (Figure). Alertness is associated with higher body temperatures, and sleepiness with lower body temperatures.
This pattern of temperature fluctuation, which repeats every day, is one example of a circadian rhythm. A circadian rhythm is a biological rhythm that takes place over a period of about 24 hours. Our sleep-wake cycle, which is linked to our environment’s natural light-dark cycle, is perhaps the most obvious example of a circadian rhythm, but we also have daily fluctuations in heart rate, blood pressure, blood sugar, and body temperature. Some circadian rhythms play a role in changes in our state of consciousness.
If we have biological rhythms, then is there some sort of biological clock? In the brain, the hypothalamus, which lies above the pituitary gland, is a main center of homeostasis. Homeostasis is the tendency to maintain a balance, or optimal level, within a biological system.
The brain’s clock mechanism is located in an area of the hypothalamus known as the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). The axons of light-sensitive neurons in the retina provide information to the SCN based on the amount of light present, allowing this internal clock to be synchronized with the outside world (Klein, Moore, & Reppert, 1991; Welsh, Takahashi, & Kay, 2010) (Figure).
PROBLEMS WITH CIRCADIAN RHYTHMS
Generally, and for most people, our circadian cycles are aligned with the outside world. For example, most people sleep during the night and are awake during the day. One important regulator of sleep-wake cycles is the hormone melatonin. The pineal gland, an endocrine structure located inside the brain that releases melatonin, is thought to be involved in the regulation of various biological rhythms and of the immune system during sleep (Hardeland, Pandi-Perumal, & Cardinali, 2006). Melatonin release is stimulated by darkness and inhibited by light.
There are individual differences with regards to our sleep-wake cycle. For instance, some people would say they are morning people, while others would consider themselves to be night owls. These individual differences in circadian patterns of activity are known as a person’s chronotype, and research demonstrates that morning larks and night owls differ with regard to sleep regulation (Taillard, Philip, Coste, Sagaspe, & Bioulac, 2003). Sleep regulation refers to the brain’s control of switching between sleep and wakefulness as well as coordinating this cycle with the outside world.
Watch this brief video describing circadian rhythms and how they affect sleep.
Disruptions of Normal Sleep
Whether lark, owl, or somewhere in between, there are situations in which a person’s circadian clock gets out of synchrony with the external environment. One way that this happens involves traveling across multiple time zones. When we do this, we often experience jet lag. Jet lag is a collection of symptoms that results from the mismatch between our internal circadian cycles and our environment. These symptoms include fatigue, sluggishness, irritability, and insomnia (i.e., a consistent difficulty in falling or staying asleep for at least three nights a week over a month’s time) (Roth, 2007).
Individuals who do rotating shift work are also likely to experience disruptions in circadian cycles. Rotating shift work refers to a work schedule that changes from early to late on a daily or weekly basis. For example, a person may work from 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Monday, 3:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, and 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. In such instances, the individual’s schedule changes so frequently that it becomes difficult for a normal circadian rhythm to be maintained. This often results in sleeping problems, and it can lead to signs of depression and anxiety. These kinds of schedules are common for individuals working in health care professions and service industries, and they are associated with persistent feelings of exhaustion and agitation that can make someone more prone to making mistakes on the job (Gold et al., 1992; Presser, 1995).
Rotating shift work has pervasive effects on the lives and experiences of individuals engaged in that kind of work, which is clearly illustrated in stories reported in a qualitative study that researched the experiences of middle-aged nurses who worked rotating shifts (West, Boughton & Byrnes, 2009). Several of the nurses interviewed commented that their work schedules affected their relationships with their family. One of the nurses said,
If you’ve had a partner who does work regular job 9 to 5 office hours . . . the ability to spend time, good time with them when you’re not feeling absolutely exhausted . . . that would be one of the problems that I’ve encountered. (West et al., 2009, p. 114)
While disruptions in circadian rhythms can have negative consequences, there are things we can do to help us realign our biological clocks with the external environment. Some of these approaches, such as using a bright light as shown in Figure, have been shown to alleviate some of the problems experienced by individuals suffering from jet lag or from the consequences of rotating shift work. Because the biological clock is driven by light, exposure to bright light during working shifts and dark exposure when not working can help combat insomnia and symptoms of anxiety and depression (Huang, Tsai, Chen, & Hsu, 2013).
Watch this video to hear tips on how to overcome jet lag.
Insufficient Sleep
When people have difficulty getting sleep due to their work or the demands of day-to-day life, they accumulate a sleep debt. A person with a sleep debt does not get sufficient sleep on a chronic basis. The consequences of sleep debt include decreased levels of alertness and mental efficiency. Interestingly, since the advent of electric light, the amount of sleep that people get has declined. While we certainly welcome the convenience of having the darkness lit up, we also suffer the consequences of reduced amounts of sleep because we are more active during the nighttime hours than our ancestors were. As a result, many of us sleep less than 7–8 hours a night and accrue a sleep debt. While there is tremendous variation in any given individual’s sleep needs, the National Sleep Foundation (n.d.) cites research to estimate that newborns require the most sleep (between 12 and 18 hours a night) and that this amount declines to just 7–9 hours by the time we are adults.
If you lie down to take a nap and fall asleep very easily, chances are you may have sleep debt. Given that college students are notorious for suffering from significant sleep debt (Hicks, Fernandez, & Pelligrini, 2001; Hicks, Johnson, & Pelligrini, 1992; Miller, Shattuck, & Matsangas, 2010), chances are you and your classmates deal with sleep debt-related issues on a regular basis. Table shows recommended amounts of sleep at different ages.
| Age | Nightly Sleep Needs |
|---|---|
| 0–3 months | 12–18 hours |
| 3 months–1 year | 14–15 hours |
| 1–3 years | 12–14 hours |
| 3–5 years | 11–13 hours |
| 5–10 years | 10–11 hours |
| 10–18 years | 8–10 hours |
| 18 and older | 7–9 hours |
Sleep debt and sleep deprivation have significant negative psychological and physiological consequences Figure. As mentioned earlier, lack of sleep can result in decreased mental alertness and cognitive function. In addition, sleep deprivation often results in depression-like symptoms. These effects can occur as a function of accumulated sleep debt or in response to more acute periods of sleep deprivation. It may surprise you to know that sleep deprivation is associated with obesity, increased blood pressure, increased levels of stress hormones, and reduced immune functioning (Banks & Dinges, 2007). A sleep deprived individual generally will fall asleep more quickly than if she were not sleep deprived. Some sleep-deprived individuals have difficulty staying awake when they stop moving (example sitting and watching television or driving a car). That is why individuals suffering from sleep deprivation can also put themselves and others at risk when they put themselves behind the wheel of a car or work with dangerous machinery. Some research suggests that sleep deprivation affects cognitive and motor function as much as, if not more than, alcohol intoxication (Williamson & Feyer, 2000).
To assess your own sleeping habits, read this article about sleep needs.
The amount of sleep we get varies across the lifespan. When we are very young, we spend up to 16 hours a day sleeping. As we grow older, we sleep less. In fact, a meta-analysis, which is a study that combines the results of many related studies, conducted within the last decade indicates that by the time we are 65 years old, we average fewer than 7 hours of sleep per day (Ohayon, Carskadon, Guilleminault, & Vitiello, 2004). As the amount of time we sleep varies over our lifespan, presumably the sleep debt would adjust accordingly.
Summary
States of consciousness vary over the course of the day and throughout our lives. Important factors in these changes are the biological rhythms, and, more specifically, the circadian rhythms generated by the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). Typically, our biological clocks are aligned with our external environment, and light tends to be an important cue in setting this clock. When people travel across multiple time zones or work rotating shifts, they can experience disruptions of their circadian cycles that can lead to insomnia, sleepiness, and decreased alertness. Bright light therapy has shown to be promising in dealing with circadian disruptions. If people go extended periods of time without sleep, they will accrue a sleep debt and potentially experience a number of adverse psychological and physiological consequences.
Review Questions
The body’s biological clock is located in the ________.
- hippocampus
- thalamus
- hypothalamus
- pituitary gland
Hint:
C
________ occurs when there is a chronic deficiency in sleep.
- jet lag
- rotating shift work
- circadian rhythm
- sleep debt
Hint:
D
________ cycles occur roughly once every 24 hours.
- biological
- circadian
- rotating
- conscious
Hint:
B
________ is one way in which people can help reset their biological clocks.
- Light-dark exposure
- coffee consumption
- alcohol consumption
- napping
Hint:
A
Critical Thinking Questions
Healthcare professionals often work rotating shifts. Why is this problematic? What can be done to deal with potential problems?
Hint:
Given that rotating shift work can lead to exhaustion and decreased mental efficiency, individuals working under these conditions are more likely to make mistakes on the job. The implications for this in the health care professions are obvious. Those in health care professions could be educated about the benefits of light-dark exposure to help alleviate such problems.
Generally, humans are considered diurnal which means we are awake during the day and asleep during the night. Many rodents, on the other hand, are nocturnal. Why do you think different animals have such different sleep-wake cycles?
Hint:
Different species have different evolutionary histories, and they have adapted to their environments in different ways. There are a number of different possible explanations as to why a given species is diurnal or nocturnal. Perhaps humans would be most vulnerable to threats during the evening hours when light levels are low. Therefore, it might make sense to be in shelter during this time. Rodents, on the other hand, are faced with a number of predatory threats, so perhaps being active at night minimizes the risk from predators such as birds that use their visual senses to locate prey.
Personal Application Questions
We experience shifts in our circadian clocks in the fall and spring of each year with time changes associated with daylight saving time. Is springing ahead or falling back easier for you to adjust to, and why do you think that is?
What do you do to adjust to the differences in your daily schedule throughout the week? Are you running a sleep debt when daylight saving time begins or ends?
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Sleep and Why We Sleep
Overview
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Describe areas of the brain involved in sleep
- Understand hormone secretions associated with sleep
- Describe several theories aimed at explaining the function of sleep
We spend approximately one-third of our lives sleeping. Given the average life expectancy for U.S. citizens falls between 73 and 79 years old (Singh & Siahpush, 2006), we can expect to spend approximately 25 years of our lives sleeping. Some animals never sleep (e.g., several fish and amphibian species); other animals can go extended periods of time without sleep and without apparent negative consequences (e.g., dolphins); yet some animals (e.g., rats) die after two weeks of sleep deprivation (Siegel, 2008). Why do we devote so much time to sleeping? Is it absolutely essential that we sleep? This section will consider these questions and explore various explanations for why we sleep.
WHAT IS SLEEP?
You have read that sleep is distinguished by low levels of physical activity and reduced sensory awareness. As discussed by Siegel (2008), a definition of sleep must also include mention of the interplay of the circadian and homeostatic mechanisms that regulate sleep. Homeostatic regulation of sleep is evidenced by sleep rebound following sleep deprivation. Sleep rebound refers to the fact that a sleep-deprived individual will tend to take a shorter time to fall asleep during subsequent opportunities for sleep. Sleep is characterized by certain patterns of activity of the brain that can be visualized using electroencephalography (EEG), and different phases of sleep can be differentiated using EEG as well (Figure).
Sleep-wake cycles seem to be controlled by multiple brain areas acting in conjunction with one another. Some of these areas include the thalamus, the hypothalamus, and the pons. As already mentioned, the hypothalamus contains the SCN—the biological clock of the body—in addition to other nuclei that, in conjunction with the thalamus, regulate slow-wave sleep. The pons is important for regulating rapid eye movement (REM) sleep (National Institutes of Health, n.d.).
Sleep is also associated with the secretion and regulation of a number of hormones from several endocrine glands including: melatonin, follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), and growth hormone (National Institutes of Health, n.d.). You have read that the pineal gland releases melatonin during sleep (Figure). Melatonin is thought to be involved in the regulation of various biological rhythms and the immune system (Hardeland et al., 2006). During sleep, the pituitary gland secretes both FSH and LH which are important in regulating the reproductive system (Christensen et al., 2012; Sofikitis et al., 2008). The pituitary gland also secretes growth hormone, during sleep, which plays a role in physical growth and maturation as well as other metabolic processes (Bartke, Sun, & Longo, 2013).
WHY DO WE SLEEP?
Given the central role that sleep plays in our lives and the number of adverse consequences that have been associated with sleep deprivation, one would think that we would have a clear understanding of why it is that we sleep. Unfortunately, this is not the case; however, several hypotheses have been proposed to explain the function of sleep.
Adaptive Function of Sleep
One popular hypothesis of sleep incorporates the perspective of evolutionary psychology. Evolutionary psychology is a discipline that studies how universal patterns of behavior and cognitive processes have evolved over time as a result of natural selection. Variations and adaptations in cognition and behavior make individuals more or less successful in reproducing and passing their genes to their offspring. One hypothesis from this perspective might argue that sleep is essential to restore resources that are expended during the day. Just as bears hibernate in the winter when resources are scarce, perhaps people sleep at night to reduce their energy expenditures. While this is an intuitive explanation of sleep, there is little research that supports this explanation. In fact, it has been suggested that there is no reason to think that energetic demands could not be addressed with periods of rest and inactivity (Frank, 2006; Rial et al., 2007), and some research has actually found a negative correlation between energetic demands and the amount of time spent sleeping (Capellini, Barton, McNamara, Preston, & Nunn, 2008).
Another evolutionary hypothesis of sleep holds that our sleep patterns evolved as an adaptive response to predatory risks, which increase in darkness. Thus we sleep in safe areas to reduce the chance of harm. Again, this is an intuitive and appealing explanation for why we sleep. Perhaps our ancestors spent extended periods of time asleep to reduce attention to themselves from potential predators. Comparative research indicates, however, that the relationship that exists between predatory risk and sleep is very complex and equivocal. Some research suggests that species that face higher predatory risks sleep fewer hours than other species (Capellini et al., 2008), while other researchers suggest there is no relationship between the amount of time a given species spends in deep sleep and its predation risk (Lesku, Roth, Amlaner, & Lima, 2006).
It is quite possible that sleep serves no single universally adaptive function, and different species have evolved different patterns of sleep in response to their unique evolutionary pressures. While we have discussed the negative outcomes associated with sleep deprivation, it should be pointed out that there are many benefits that are associated with adequate amounts of sleep. A few such benefits listed by the National Sleep Foundation (n.d.) include maintaining healthy weight, lowering stress levels, improving mood, and increasing motor coordination, as well as a number of benefits related to cognition and memory formation.
Cognitive Function of Sleep
Another theory regarding why we sleep involves sleep’s importance for cognitive function and memory formation (Rattenborg, Lesku, Martinez-Gonzalez, & Lima, 2007). Indeed, we know sleep deprivation results in disruptions in cognition and memory deficits (Brown, 2012), leading to impairments in our abilities to maintain attention, make decisions, and recall long-term memories. Moreover, these impairments become more severe as the amount of sleep deprivation increases (Alhola & Polo-Kantola, 2007). Furthermore, slow-wave sleep after learning a new task can improve resultant performance on that task (Huber, Ghilardi, Massimini, & Tononi, 2004) and seems essential for effective memory formation (Stickgold, 2005). Understanding the impact of sleep on cognitive function should help you understand that cramming all night for a test may be not effective and can even prove counterproductive.
Watch this brief video describing sleep deprivation in college students.
Here’s another brief video describing sleep tips for college students.
Sleep has also been associated with other cognitive benefits. Research indicates that included among these possible benefits are increased capacities for creative thinking (Cai, Mednick, Harrison, Kanady, & Mednick, 2009; Wagner, Gais, Haider, Verleger, & Born, 2004), language learning (Fenn, Nusbaum, & Margoliash, 2003; Gómez, Bootzin, & Nadel, 2006), and inferential judgments (Ellenbogen, Hu, Payne, Titone, & Walker, 2007). It is possible that even the processing of emotional information is influenced by certain aspects of sleep (Walker, 2009).
Watch this brief video describing the relationship between sleep and memory.
Summary
We devote a very large portion of time to sleep, and our brains have complex systems that control various aspects of sleep. Several hormones important for physical growth and maturation are secreted during sleep. While the reason we sleep remains something of a mystery, there is some evidence to suggest that sleep is very important to learning and memory.
Review Questions
Growth hormone is secreted by the ________ while we sleep.
- pineal gland
- thyroid
- pituitary gland
- pancreas
Hint:
C
The ________ plays a role in controlling slow-wave sleep.
- hypothalamus
- thalamus
- pons
- both a and b
Hint:
D
________ is a hormone secreted by the pineal gland that plays a role in regulating biological rhythms and immune function.
- growth hormone
- melatonin
- LH
- FSH
Hint:
B
________ appears to be especially important for enhanced performance on recently learned tasks.
- melatonin
- slow-wave sleep
- sleep deprivation
- growth hormone
Hint:
B
Critical Thinking Questions
If theories that assert sleep is necessary for restoration and recovery from daily energetic demands are correct, what do you predict about the relationship that would exist between individuals’ total sleep duration and their level of activity?
Hint:
Those individuals (or species) that expend the greatest amounts of energy would require the longest periods of sleep.
How could researchers determine if given areas of the brain are involved in the regulation of sleep?
Hint:
Researchers could use lesion or brain stimulation techniques to determine how deactivation or activation of a given brain region affects behavior. Furthermore, researchers could use any number of brain imaging techniques like fMRI or CT scans to come to these conclusions.
Differentiate the evolutionary theories of sleep and make a case for the one with the most compelling evidence.
Hint:
One evolutionary theory of sleep holds that sleep is essential for restoration of resources that are expended during the demands of day-to-day life. A second theory proposes that our sleep patterns evolved as an adaptive response to predatory risks, which increase in darkness. The first theory has little or no empirical support, and the second theory is supported by some, though not all, research.
Personal Application Question
Have you (or someone you know) ever experienced significant periods of sleep deprivation because of simple insomnia, high levels of stress, or as a side effect from a medication? What were the consequences of missing out on sleep?
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Stages of Sleep
Overview
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Differentiate between REM and non-REM sleep
- Describe the differences between the four stages of non-REM sleep
- Understand the role that REM and non-REM sleep play in learning and memory
Sleep is not a uniform state of being. Instead, sleep is composed of several different stages that can be differentiated from one another by the patterns of brain wave activity that occur during each stage. These changes in brain wave activity can be visualized using EEG and are distinguished from one another by both the frequency and amplitude of brain waves (Figure). Sleep can be divided into two different general phases: REM sleep and non-REM (NREM) sleep. Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is characterized by darting movements of the eyes under closed eyelids. Brain waves during REM sleep appear very similar to brain waves during wakefulness. In contrast, non-REM (NREM) sleep is subdivided into four stages distinguished from each other and from wakefulness by characteristic patterns of brain waves. The first four stages of sleep are NREM sleep, while the fifth and final stage of sleep is REM sleep. In this section, we will discuss each of these stages of sleep and their associated patterns of brain wave activity.
NREM STAGES OF SLEEP
The first stage of NREM sleep is known as stage 1 sleep. Stage 1 sleep is a transitional phase that occurs between wakefulness and sleep, the period during which we drift off to sleep. During this time, there is a slowdown in both the rates of respiration and heartbeat. In addition, stage 1 sleep involves a marked decrease in both overall muscle tension and core body temperature.
In terms of brain wave activity, stage 1 sleep is associated with both alpha and theta waves. The early portion of stage 1 sleep produces alpha waves, which are relatively low frequency (8–13Hz), high amplitude patterns of electrical activity (waves) that become synchronized (Figure). This pattern of brain wave activity resembles that of someone who is very relaxed, yet awake. As an individual continues through stage 1 sleep, there is an increase in theta wave activity. Theta waves are even lower frequency (4–7 Hz), higher amplitude brain waves than alpha waves. It is relatively easy to wake someone from stage 1 sleep; in fact, people often report that they have not been asleep if they are awoken during stage 1 sleep.
As we move into stage 2 sleep, the body goes into a state of deep relaxation. Theta waves still dominate the activity of the brain, but they are interrupted by brief bursts of activity known as sleep spindles (Figure). A sleep spindle is a rapid burst of higher frequency brain waves that may be important for learning and memory (Fogel & Smith, 2011; Poe, Walsh, & Bjorness, 2010). In addition, the appearance of K-complexes is often associated with stage 2 sleep. A K-complex is a very high amplitude pattern of brain activity that may in some cases occur in response to environmental stimuli. Thus, K-complexes might serve as a bridge to higher levels of arousal in response to what is going on in our environments (Halász, 1993; Steriade & Amzica, 1998).
Stage 3 and stage 4 of sleep are often referred to as deep sleep or slow-wave sleep because these stages are characterized by low frequency (up to 4 Hz), high amplitude delta waves (Figure). During this time, an individual’s heart rate and respiration slow dramatically. It is much more difficult to awaken someone from sleep during stage 3 and stage 4 than during earlier stages. Interestingly, individuals who have increased levels of alpha brain wave activity (more often associated with wakefulness and transition into stage 1 sleep) during stage 3 and stage 4 often report that they do not feel refreshed upon waking, regardless of how long they slept (Stone, Taylor, McCrae, Kalsekar, & Lichstein, 2008).
REM SLEEP
As mentioned earlier, REM sleep is marked by rapid movements of the eyes. The brain waves associated with this stage of sleep are very similar to those observed when a person is awake, as shown in Figure, and this is the period of sleep in which dreaming occurs. It is also associated with paralysis of muscle systems in the body with the exception of those that make circulation and respiration possible. Therefore, no movement of voluntary muscles occurs during REM sleep in a normal individual; REM sleep is often referred to as paradoxical sleep because of this combination of high brain activity and lack of muscle tone. Like NREM sleep, REM has been implicated in various aspects of learning and memory (Wagner, Gais, & Born, 2001), although there is disagreement within the scientific community about how important both NREM and REM sleep are for normal learning and memory (Siegel, 2001).
If people are deprived of REM sleep and then allowed to sleep without disturbance, they will spend more time in REM sleep in what would appear to be an effort to recoup the lost time in REM. This is known as the REM rebound, and it suggests that REM sleep is also homeostatically regulated. Aside from the role that REM sleep may play in processes related to learning and memory, REM sleep may also be involved in emotional processing and regulation. In such instances, REM rebound may actually represent an adaptive response to stress in nondepressed individuals by suppressing the emotional salience of aversive events that occurred in wakefulness (Suchecki, Tiba, & Machado, 2012).
While sleep deprivation in general is associated with a number of negative consequences (Brown, 2012), the consequences of REM deprivation appear to be less profound (as discussed in Siegel, 2001). In fact, some have suggested that REM deprivation can actually be beneficial in some circumstances. For instance, REM sleep deprivation has been demonstrated to improve symptoms of people suffering from major depression, and many effective antidepressant medications suppress REM sleep (Riemann, Berger, & Volderholzer, 2001; Vogel, 1975).
It should be pointed out that some reviews of the literature challenge this finding, suggesting that sleep deprivation that is not limited to REM sleep is just as effective or more effective at alleviating depressive symptoms among some patients suffering from depression. In either case, why sleep deprivation improves the mood of some patients is not entirely understood (Giedke & Schwärzler, 2002). Recently, however, some have suggested that sleep deprivation might change emotional processing so that various stimuli are more likely to be perceived as positive in nature (Gujar, Yoo, Hu, & Walker, 2011). The hypnogram below (Figure) shows a person’s passage through the stages of sleep.
View this video that describes the various stages of sleep.
Dreams
The meaning of dreams varies across different cultures and periods of time. By the late 19th century, German psychiatrist Sigmund Freud had become convinced that dreams represented an opportunity to gain access to the unconscious. By analyzing dreams, Freud thought people could increase self-awareness and gain valuable insight to help them deal with the problems they faced in their lives. Freud made distinctions between the manifest content and the latent content of dreams. Manifest content is the actual content, or storyline, of a dream. Latent content, on the other hand, refers to the hidden meaning of a dream. For instance, if a woman dreams about being chased by a snake, Freud might have argued that this represents the woman’s fear of sexual intimacy, with the snake serving as a symbol of a man’s penis.
Freud was not the only theorist to focus on the content of dreams. The 20th century Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung believed that dreams allowed us to tap into the collective unconscious. The collective unconscious, as described by Jung, is a theoretical repository of information he believed to be shared by everyone. According to Jung, certain symbols in dreams reflected universal archetypes with meanings that are similar for all people regardless of culture or location.
The sleep and dreaming researcher Rosalind Cartwright, however, believes that dreams simply reflect life events that are important to the dreamer. Unlike Freud and Jung, Cartwright’s ideas about dreaming have found empirical support. For example, she and her colleagues published a study in which women going through divorce were asked several times over a five month period to report the degree to which their former spouses were on their minds. These same women were awakened during REM sleep in order to provide a detailed account of their dream content. There was a significant positive correlation between the degree to which women thought about their former spouses during waking hours and the number of times their former spouses appeared as characters in their dreams (Cartwright, Agargun, Kirkby, & Friedman, 2006). Recent research (Horikawa, Tamaki, Miyawaki, & Kamitani, 2013) has uncovered new techniques by which researchers may effectively detect and classify the visual images that occur during dreaming by using fMRI for neural measurement of brain activity patterns, opening the way for additional research in this area.
Recently, neuroscientists have also become interested in understanding why we dream. For example, Hobson (2009) suggests that dreaming may represent a state of protoconsciousness. In other words, dreaming involves constructing a virtual reality in our heads that we might use to help us during wakefulness. Among a variety of neurobiological evidence, John Hobson cites research on lucid dreams as an opportunity to better understand dreaming in general. Lucid dreams are dreams in which certain aspects of wakefulness are maintained during a dream state. In a lucid dream, a person becomes aware of the fact that they are dreaming, and as such, they can control the dream’s content (LaBerge, 1990).
Summary
The different stages of sleep are characterized by the patterns of brain waves associated with each stage. As a person transitions from being awake to falling asleep, alpha waves are replaced by theta waves. Sleep spindles and K-complexes emerge in stage 2 sleep. Stage 3 and stage 4 are described as slow-wave sleep that is marked by a predominance of delta waves. REM sleep involves rapid movements of the eyes, paralysis of voluntary muscles, and dreaming. Both NREM and REM sleep appear to play important roles in learning and memory. Dreams may represent life events that are important to the dreamer. Alternatively, dreaming may represent a state of protoconsciousness, or a virtual reality, in the mind that helps a person during consciousness.
Review Questions
________ is(are) described as slow-wave sleep.
- stage 1
- stage 2
- stage 3 and stage 4
- REM sleep
Hint:
C
Sleep spindles and K-complexes are most often associated with ________ sleep.
- stage 1
- stage 2
- stage 3 and stage 4
- REM
Hint:
B
Symptoms of ________ may be improved by REM deprivation.
- schizophrenia
- Parkinson’s disease
- depression
- generalized anxiety disorder
Hint:
C
The ________ content of a dream refers to the true meaning of the dream.
- latent
- manifest
- collective unconscious
- important
Hint:
A
Critical Thinking Questions
Freud believed that dreams provide important insight into the unconscious mind. He maintained that a dream’s manifest content could provide clues into an individual’s unconscious. What potential criticisms exist for this particular perspective?
Hint:
The subjective nature of dream analysis is one criticism. Psychoanalysts are charged with helping their clients interpret the true meaning of a dream. There is no way to refute or confirm whether or not these interpretations are accurate. The notion that “sometimes a cigar is just a cigar” (sometimes attributed to Freud but not definitively shown to be his) makes it clear that there is no systematic, objective system in place for dream analysis.
Some people claim that sleepwalking and talking in your sleep involve individuals acting out their dreams. Why is this particular explanation unlikely?
Hint:
Dreaming occurs during REM sleep. One of the hallmarks of this particular stage of sleep is the paralysis of the voluntary musculature which would make acting out dreams improbable.
Personal Application Question
Researchers believe that one important function of sleep is to facilitate learning and memory. How does knowing this help you in your college studies? What changes could you make to your study and sleep habits to maximize your mastery of the material covered in class?
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Sleep Problems and Disorders
Overview
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Describe the symptoms and treatments of insomnia
- Recognize the symptoms of several parasomnias
- Describe the symptoms and treatments for sleep apnea
- Recognize risk factors associated with sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and steps to prevent it
- Describe the symptoms and treatments for narcolepsy
Many people experience disturbances in their sleep at some point in their lives. Depending on the population and sleep disorder being studied, between 30% and 50% of the population suffers from a sleep disorder at some point in their lives (Bixler, Kales, Soldatos, Kaels, & Healey, 1979; Hossain & Shapiro, 2002; Ohayon, 1997, 2002; Ohayon & Roth, 2002). This section will describe several sleep disorders as well as some of their treatment options.
INSOMNIA
Insomnia, a consistent difficulty in falling or staying asleep, is the most common of the sleep disorders. Individuals with insomnia often experience long delays between the times that they go to bed and actually fall asleep. In addition, these individuals may wake up several times during the night only to find that they have difficulty getting back to sleep. As mentioned earlier, one of the criteria for insomnia involves experiencing these symptoms for at least three nights a week for at least one month’s time (Roth, 2007).
It is not uncommon for people suffering from insomnia to experience increased levels of anxiety about their inability to fall asleep. This becomes a self-perpetuating cycle because increased anxiety leads to increased arousal, and higher levels of arousal make the prospect of falling asleep even more unlikely. Chronic insomnia is almost always associated with feeling overtired and may be associated with symptoms of depression.
There may be many factors that contribute to insomnia, including age, drug use, exercise, mental status, and bedtime routines. Not surprisingly, insomnia treatment may take one of several different approaches. People who suffer from insomnia might limit their use of stimulant drugs (such as caffeine) or increase their amount of physical exercise during the day. Some people might turn to over-the-counter (OTC) or prescribed sleep medications to help them sleep, but this should be done sparingly because many sleep medications result in dependence and alter the nature of the sleep cycle, and they can increase insomnia over time. Those who continue to have insomnia, particularly if it affects their quality of life, should seek professional treatment.
Some forms of psychotherapy, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, can help sufferers of insomnia. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is a type of psychotherapy that focuses on cognitive processes and problem behaviors. The treatment of insomnia likely would include stress management techniques and changes in problematic behaviors that could contribute to insomnia (e.g., spending more waking time in bed). Cognitive-behavioral therapy has been demonstrated to be quite effective in treating insomnia (Savard, Simard, Ivers, & Morin, 2005; Williams, Roth, Vatthauer, & McCrae, 2013).
PARASOMNIAS
A parasomnia is one of a group of sleep disorders in which unwanted, disruptive motor activity and/or experiences during sleep play a role. Parasomnias can occur in either REM or NREM phases of sleep. Sleepwalking, restless leg syndrome, and night terrors are all examples of parasomnias (Mahowald & Schenck, 2000).
Sleepwalking
In sleepwalking, or somnambulism, the sleeper engages in relatively complex behaviors ranging from wandering about to driving an automobile. During periods of sleepwalking, sleepers often have their eyes open, but they are not responsive to attempts to communicate with them. Sleepwalking most often occurs during slow-wave sleep, but it can occur at any time during a sleep period in some affected individuals (Mahowald & Schenck, 2000).
Historically, somnambulism has been treated with a variety of pharmacotherapies ranging from benzodiazepines to antidepressants. However, the success rate of such treatments is questionable. Guilleminault et al. (2005) found that sleepwalking was not alleviated with the use of benzodiazepines. However, all of their somnambulistic patients who also suffered from sleep-related breathing problems showed a marked decrease in sleepwalking when their breathing problems were effectively treated.
A Sleepwalking Defense?
On January 16, 1997, Scott Falater sat down to dinner with his wife and children and told them about difficulties he was experiencing on a project at work. After dinner, he prepared some materials to use in leading a church youth group the following morning, and then he attempted repair the family’s swimming pool pump before retiring to bed. The following morning, he awoke to barking dogs and unfamiliar voices from downstairs. As he went to investigate what was going on, he was met by a group of police officers who arrested him for the murder of his wife (Cartwright, 2004; CNN, 1999).
Yarmila Falater’s body was found in the family’s pool with 44 stab wounds. A neighbor called the police after witnessing Falater standing over his wife’s body before dragging her into the pool. Upon a search of the premises, police found blood-stained clothes and a bloody knife in the trunk of Falater’s car, and he had blood stains on his neck.
Remarkably, Falater insisted that he had no recollection of hurting his wife in any way. His children and his wife’s parents all agreed that Falater had an excellent relationship with his wife and they couldn’t think of a reason that would provide any sort of motive to murder her (Cartwright, 2004).
Scott Falater had a history of regular episodes of sleepwalking as a child, and he had even behaved violently toward his sister once when she tried to prevent him from leaving their home in his pajamas during a sleepwalking episode. He suffered from no apparent anatomical brain anomalies or psychological disorders. It appeared that Scott Falater had killed his wife in his sleep, or at least, that is the defense he used when he was tried for his wife’s murder (Cartwright, 2004; CNN, 1999). In Falater’s case, a jury found him guilty of first degree murder in June of 1999 (CNN, 1999); however, there are other murder cases where the sleepwalking defense has been used successfully. As scary as it sounds, many sleep researchers believe that homicidal sleepwalking is possible in individuals suffering from the types of sleep disorders described below (Broughton et al., 1994; Cartwright, 2004; Mahowald, Schenck, & Cramer Bornemann, 2005; Pressman, 2007).
REM Sleep Behavior Disorder (RBD)
REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) occurs when the muscle paralysis associated with the REM sleep phase does not occur. Individuals who suffer from RBD have high levels of physical activity during REM sleep, especially during disturbing dreams. These behaviors vary widely, but they can include kicking, punching, scratching, yelling, and behaving like an animal that has been frightened or attacked. People who suffer from this disorder can injure themselves or their sleeping partners when engaging in these behaviors. Furthermore, these types of behaviors ultimately disrupt sleep, although affected individuals have no memories that these behaviors have occurred (Arnulf, 2012).
This disorder is associated with a number of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease. In fact, this relationship is so robust that some view the presence of RBD as a potential aid in the diagnosis and treatment of a number of neurodegenerative diseases (Ferini-Strambi, 2011). Clonazepam, an anti-anxiety medication with sedative properties, is most often used to treat RBD. It is administered alone or in conjunction with doses of melatonin (the hormone secreted by the pineal gland). As part of treatment, the sleeping environment is often modified to make it a safer place for those suffering from RBD (Zangini, Calandra-Buonaura, Grimaldi, & Cortelli, 2011).
Other Parasomnias
A person with restless leg syndrome has uncomfortable sensations in the legs during periods of inactivity or when trying to fall asleep. This discomfort is relieved by deliberately moving the legs, which, not surprisingly, contributes to difficulty in falling or staying asleep. Restless leg syndrome is quite common and has been associated with a number of other medical diagnoses, such as chronic kidney disease and diabetes (Mahowald & Schenck, 2000). There are a variety of drugs that treat restless leg syndrome: benzodiazepines, opiates, and anticonvulsants (Restless Legs Syndrome Foundation, n.d.).
Night terrors result in a sense of panic in the sufferer and are often accompanied by screams and attempts to escape from the immediate environment (Mahowald & Schenck, 2000). Although individuals suffering from night terrors appear to be awake, they generally have no memories of the events that occurred, and attempts to console them are ineffective. Typically, individuals suffering from night terrors will fall back asleep again within a short time. Night terrors apparently occur during the NREM phase of sleep (Provini, Tinuper, Bisulli, & Lagaresi, 2011)Generally, treatment for night terrors is unnecessary unless there is some underlying medical or psychological condition that is contributing to the night terrors (Mayo Clinic, n.d.).
SLEEP APNEA
Sleep apnea is defined by episodes during which a sleeper’s breathing stops. These episodes can last 10–20 seconds or longer and often are associated with brief periods of arousal. While individuals suffering from sleep apnea may not be aware of these repeated disruptions in sleep, they do experience increased levels of fatigue. Many individuals diagnosed with sleep apnea first seek treatment because their sleeping partners indicate that they snore loudly and/or stop breathing for extended periods of time while sleeping (Henry & Rosenthal, 2013). Sleep apnea is much more common in overweight people and is often associated with loud snoring. Surprisingly, sleep apnea may exacerbate cardiovascular disease (Sánchez-de-la-Torre, Campos-Rodriguez, & Barbé, 2012). While sleep apnea is less common in thin people, anyone, regardless of their weight, who snores loudly or gasps for air while sleeping, should be checked for sleep apnea.
While people are often unaware of their sleep apnea, they are keenly aware of some of the adverse consequences of insufficient sleep. Consider a patient who believed that as a result of his sleep apnea he “had three car accidents in six weeks. They were ALL my fault. Two of them I didn’t even know I was involved in until afterwards” (Henry & Rosenthal, 2013, p. 52). It is not uncommon for people suffering from undiagnosed or untreated sleep apnea to fear that their careers will be affected by the lack of sleep, illustrated by this statement from another patient, “I’m in a job where there’s a premium on being mentally alert. I was really sleepy… and having trouble concentrating…. It was getting to the point where it was kind of scary” (Henry & Rosenthal, 2013, p. 52).
There are two types of sleep apnea: obstructive sleep apnea and central sleep apnea. Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when an individual’s airway becomes blocked during sleep, and air is prevented from entering the lungs. In central sleep apnea, disruption in signals sent from the brain that regulate breathing cause periods of interrupted breathing (White, 2005).
One of the most common treatments for sleep apnea involves the use of a special device during sleep. A continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device includes a mask that fits over the sleeper’s nose and mouth, which is connected to a pump that pumps air into the person’s airways, forcing them to remain open, as shown in Figure. Some newer CPAP masks are smaller and cover only the nose. This treatment option has proven to be effective for people suffering from mild to severe cases of sleep apnea (McDaid et al., 2009). However, alternative treatment options are being explored because consistent compliance by users of CPAP devices is a problem. Recently, a new EPAP (expiratory positive air pressure) device has shown promise in double-blind trials as one such alternative (Berry, Kryger, & Massie, 2011).
SIDS
In sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) an infant stops breathing during sleep and dies. Infants younger than 12 months appear to be at the highest risk for SIDS, and boys have a greater risk than girls. A number of risk factors have been associated with SIDS including premature birth, smoking within the home, and hyperthermia. There may also be differences in both brain structure and function in infants that die from SIDS (Berkowitz, 2012; Mage & Donner, 2006; Thach, 2005).
The substantial amount of research on SIDS has led to a number of recommendations to parents to protect their children (Figure). For one, research suggests that infants should be placed on their backs when put down to sleep, and their cribs should not contain any items which pose suffocation threats, such as blankets, pillows or padded crib bumpers (cushions that cover the bars of a crib). Infants should not have caps placed on their heads when put down to sleep in order to prevent overheating, and people in the child’s household should abstain from smoking in the home. Recommendations like these have helped to decrease the number of infant deaths from SIDS in recent years (Mitchell, 2009; Task Force on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, 2011).
NARCOLEPSY
Unlike the other sleep disorders described in this section, a person with narcolepsy cannot resist falling asleep at inopportune times. These sleep episodes are often associated with cataplexy, which is a lack of muscle tone or muscle weakness, and in some cases involves complete paralysis of the voluntary muscles. This is similar to the kind of paralysis experienced by healthy individuals during REM sleep (Burgess & Scammell, 2012; Hishikawa & Shimizu, 1995; Luppi et al., 2011). Narcoleptic episodes take on other features of REM sleep. For example, around one third of individuals diagnosed with narcolepsy experience vivid, dream-like hallucinations during narcoleptic attacks (Chokroverty, 2010).
Surprisingly, narcoleptic episodes are often triggered by states of heightened arousal or stress. The typical episode can last from a minute or two to half an hour. Once awakened from a narcoleptic attack, people report that they feel refreshed (Chokroverty, 2010). Obviously, regular narcoleptic episodes could interfere with the ability to perform one’s job or complete schoolwork, and in some situations, narcolepsy can result in significant harm and injury (e.g., driving a car or operating machinery or other potentially dangerous equipment).
Generally, narcolepsy is treated using psychomotor stimulant drugs, such as amphetamines (Mignot, 2012). These drugs promote increased levels of neural activity. Narcolepsy is associated with reduced levels of the signaling molecule hypocretin in some areas of the brain (De la Herrán-Arita & Drucker-Colín, 2012; Han, 2012), and the traditional stimulant drugs do not have direct effects on this system. Therefore, it is quite likely that new medications that are developed to treat narcolepsy will be designed to target the hypocretin system.
There is a tremendous amount of variability among sufferers, both in terms of how symptoms of narcolepsy manifest and the effectiveness of currently available treatment options. This is illustrated by McCarty’s (2010) case study of a 50-year-old woman who sought help for the excessive sleepiness during normal waking hours that she had experienced for several years. She indicated that she had fallen asleep at inappropriate or dangerous times, including while eating, while socializing with friends, and while driving her car. During periods of emotional arousal, the woman complained that she felt some weakness in the right side of her body. Although she did not experience any dream-like hallucinations, she was diagnosed with narcolepsy as a result of sleep testing. In her case, the fact that her cataplexy was confined to the right side of her body was quite unusual. Early attempts to treat her condition with a stimulant drug alone were unsuccessful. However, when a stimulant drug was used in conjunction with a popular antidepressant, her condition improved dramatically.
Summary
Many individuals suffer from some type of sleep disorder or disturbance at some point in their lives. Insomnia is a common experience in which people have difficulty falling or staying asleep. Parasomnias involve unwanted motor behavior or experiences throughout the sleep cycle and include RBD, sleepwalking, restless leg syndrome, and night terrors. Sleep apnea occurs when individuals stop breathing during their sleep, and in the case of sudden infant death syndrome, infants will stop breathing during sleep and die. Narcolepsy involves an irresistible urge to fall asleep during waking hours and is often associated with cataplexy and hallucination.
Review Questions
________ is loss of muscle tone or control that is often associated with narcolepsy.
- RBD
- CPAP
- cataplexy
- insomnia
Hint:
C
An individual may suffer from ________ if there is a disruption in the brain signals that are sent to the muscles that regulate breathing.
- central sleep apnea
- obstructive sleep apnea
- narcolepsy
- SIDS
Hint:
A
The most common treatment for ________ involves the use of amphetamine-like medications.
- sleep apnea
- RBD
- SIDS
- narcolepsy
Hint:
D
________ is another word for sleepwalking.
- insomnia
- somnambulism
- cataplexy
- narcolepsy
Hint:
B
Critical Thinking Questions
One of the recommendations that therapists will make to people who suffer from insomnia is to spend less waking time in bed. Why do you think spending waking time in bed might interfere with the ability to fall asleep later?
Hint:
Answers will vary. One possible explanation might invoke principles of associative learning. If the bed represents a place for socializing, studying, eating, and so on, then it is possible that it will become a place that elicits higher levels of arousal, which would make falling asleep at the appropriate time more difficult. Answers could also consider self-perpetuating cycle referred to when describing insomnia. If an individual is having trouble falling asleep and that generates anxiety, it might make sense to remove him from the context where sleep would normally take place to try to avoid anxiety being associated with that context.
How is narcolepsy with cataplexy similar to and different from REM sleep?
Hint:
Similarities include muscle atony and the hypnagogic hallucinations associated with narcoleptic episodes. The differences involve the uncontrollable nature of narcoleptic attacks and the fact that these come on in situations that would normally not be associated with sleep of any kind (e.g., instances of heightened arousal or emotionality).
Personal Application Question
What factors might contribute to your own experiences with insomnia?
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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/15314/overview
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Substance Use and Abuse
Overview
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Describe the diagnostic criteria for substance use disorders
- Identify the neurotransmitter systems affected by various categories of drugs
- Describe how different categories of drugs effect behavior and experience
While we all experience altered states of consciousness in the form of sleep on a regular basis, some people use drugs and other substances that result in altered states of consciousness as well. This section will present information relating to the use of various psychoactive drugs and problems associated with such use. This will be followed by brief descriptions of the effects of some of the more well-known drugs commonly used today.
SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS
The fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) is used by clinicians to diagnose individuals suffering from various psychological disorders. Drug use disorders are addictive disorders, and the criteria for specific substance (drug) use disorders are described in DSM-5. A person who has a substance use disorder often uses more of the substance than they originally intended to and continues to use that substance despite experiencing significant adverse consequences. In individuals diagnosed with a substance use disorder, there is a compulsive pattern of drug use that is often associated with both physical and psychological dependence.
Physical dependence involves changes in normal bodily functions—the user will experience withdrawal from the drug upon cessation of use. In contrast, a person who has psychological dependence has an emotional, rather than physical, need for the drug and may use the drug to relieve psychological distress. Tolerance is linked to physiological dependence, and it occurs when a person requires more and more drug to achieve effects previously experienced at lower doses. Tolerance can cause the user to increase the amount of drug used to a dangerous level—even to the point of overdose and death.
Drug withdrawal includes a variety of negative symptoms experienced when drug use is discontinued. These symptoms usually are opposite of the effects of the drug. For example, withdrawal from sedative drugs often produces unpleasant arousal and agitation. In addition to withdrawal, many individuals who are diagnosed with substance use disorders will also develop tolerance to these substances. Psychological dependence, or drug craving, is a recent addition to the diagnostic criteria for substance use disorder in DSM-5. This is an important factor because we can develop tolerance and experience withdrawal from any number of drugs that we do not abuse. In other words, physical dependence in and of itself is of limited utility in determining whether or not someone has a substance use disorder.
DRUG CATEGORIES
The effects of all psychoactive drugs occur through their interactions with our endogenous neurotransmitter systems. Many of these drugs, and their relationships, are shown in Figure. As you have learned, drugs can act as agonists or antagonists of a given neurotransmitter system. An agonist facilitates the activity of a neurotransmitter system, and antagonists impede neurotransmitter activity.
Alcohol and Other Depressants
Ethanol, which we commonly refer to as alcohol, is in a class of psychoactive drugs known as depressants (Figure). A depressant is a drug that tends to suppress central nervous system activity. Other depressants include barbiturates and benzodiazepines. These drugs share in common their ability to serve as agonists of the gamma-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) neurotransmitter system. Because GABA has a quieting effect on the brain, GABA agonists also have a quieting effect; these types of drugs are often prescribed to treat both anxiety and insomnia.
Acute alcohol administration results in a variety of changes to consciousness. At rather low doses, alcohol use is associated with feelings of euphoria. As the dose increases, people report feeling sedated. Generally, alcohol is associated with decreases in reaction time and visual acuity, lowered levels of alertness, and reduction in behavioral control. With excessive alcohol use, a person might experience a complete loss of consciousness and/or difficulty remembering events that occurred during a period of intoxication (McKim & Hancock, 2013). In addition, if a pregnant woman consumes alcohol, her infant may be born with a cluster of birth defects and symptoms collectively called fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) or fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS).
With repeated use of many central nervous system depressants, such as alcohol, a person becomes physically dependent upon the substance and will exhibit signs of both tolerance and withdrawal. Psychological dependence on these drugs is also possible. Therefore, the abuse potential of central nervous system depressants is relatively high.
Drug withdrawal is usually an aversive experience, and it can be a life-threatening process in individuals who have a long history of very high doses of alcohol and/or barbiturates. This is of such concern that people who are trying to overcome addiction to these substances should only do so under medical supervision.
Stimulants
Stimulants are drugs that tend to increase overall levels of neural activity. Many of these drugs act as agonists of the dopamine neurotransmitter system. Dopamine activity is often associated with reward and craving; therefore, drugs that affect dopamine neurotransmission often have abuse liability. Drugs in this category include cocaine, amphetamines (including methamphetamine), cathinones (i.e., bath salts), MDMA (ecstasy), nicotine, and caffeine.
Cocaine can be taken in multiple ways. While many users snort cocaine, intravenous injection and ingestion are also common. The freebase version of cocaine, known as crack, is a potent, smokable version of the drug. Like many other stimulants, cocaine agonizes the dopamine neurotransmitter system by blocking the reuptake of dopamine in the neuronal synapse.
Crack Cocaine
Crack (Figure) is often considered to be more addictive than cocaine itself because it is smokable and reaches the brain very quickly. Crack is often less expensive than other forms of cocaine; therefore, it tends to be a more accessible drug for individuals from impoverished segments of society. During the 1980s, many drug laws were rewritten to punish crack users more severely than cocaine users. This led to discriminatory sentencing with low-income, inner-city minority populations receiving the harshest punishments. The wisdom of these laws has recently been called into question, especially given research that suggests crack may not be more addictive than other forms of cocaine, as previously thought (Haasen & Krausz, 2001; Reinerman, 2007).
Read this interesting newspaper article describing myths about crack cocaine.
Amphetamines have a mechanism of action quite similar to cocaine in that they block the reuptake of dopamine in addition to stimulating its release (Figure). While amphetamines are often abused, they are also commonly prescribed to children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It may seem counterintuitive that stimulant medications are prescribed to treat a disorder that involves hyperactivity, but the therapeutic effect comes from increases in neurotransmitter activity within certain areas of the brain associated with impulse control.
In recent years, methamphetamine (meth) use has become increasingly widespread. Methamphetamine is a type of amphetamine that can be made from ingredients that are readily available (e.g., medications containing pseudoephedrine, a compound found in many over-the-counter cold and flu remedies). Despite recent changes in laws designed to make obtaining pseudoephedrine more difficult, methamphetamine continues to be an easily accessible and relatively inexpensive drug option (Shukla, Crump, & Chrisco, 2012).
The cocaine, amphetamine, cathinones, and MDMA users seek a euphoric high, feelings of intense elation and pleasure, especially in those users who take the drug via intravenous injection or smoking. Repeated use of these stimulants can have significant adverse consequences. Users can experience physical symptoms that include nausea, elevated blood pressure, and increased heart rate. In addition, these drugs can cause feelings of anxiety, hallucinations, and paranoia (Fiorentini et al., 2011). Normal brain functioning is altered after repeated use of these drugs. For example, repeated use can lead to overall depletion among the monoamine neurotransmitters (dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin). People may engage in compulsive use of these stimulant substances in part to try to reestablish normal levels of these neurotransmitters (Jayanthi & Ramamoorthy, 2005; Rothman, Blough, & Baumann, 2007).
Caffeine is another stimulant drug. While it is probably the most commonly used drug in the world, the potency of this particular drug pales in comparison to the other stimulant drugs described in this section. Generally, people use caffeine to maintain increased levels of alertness and arousal. Caffeine is found in many common medicines (such as weight loss drugs), beverages, foods, and even cosmetics (Herman & Herman, 2013). While caffeine may have some indirect effects on dopamine neurotransmission, its primary mechanism of action involves antagonizing adenosine activity (Porkka-Heiskanen, 2011).
While caffeine is generally considered a relatively safe drug, high blood levels of caffeine can result in insomnia, agitation, muscle twitching, nausea, irregular heartbeat, and even death (Reissig, Strain, & Griffiths, 2009; Wolt, Ganetsky, & Babu, 2012). In 2012, Kromann and Nielson reported on a case study of a 40-year-old woman who suffered significant ill effects from her use of caffeine. The woman used caffeine in the past to boost her mood and to provide energy, but over the course of several years, she increased her caffeine consumption to the point that she was consuming three liters of soda each day. Although she had been taking a prescription antidepressant, her symptoms of depression continued to worsen and she began to suffer physically, displaying significant warning signs of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Upon admission to an outpatient clinic for treatment of mood disorders, she met all of the diagnostic criteria for substance dependence and was advised to dramatically limit her caffeine intake. Once she was able to limit her use to less than 12 ounces of soda a day, both her mental and physical health gradually improved. Despite the prevalence of caffeine use and the large number of people who confess to suffering from caffeine addiction, this was the first published description of soda dependence appearing in scientific literature.
Nicotine is highly addictive, and the use of tobacco products is associated with increased risks of heart disease, stroke, and a variety of cancers. Nicotine exerts its effects through its interaction with acetylcholine receptors. Acetylcholine functions as a neurotransmitter in motor neurons. In the central nervous system, it plays a role in arousal and reward mechanisms. Nicotine is most commonly used in the form of tobacco products like cigarettes or chewing tobacco; therefore, there is a tremendous interest in developing effective smoking cessation techniques. To date, people have used a variety of nicotine replacement therapies in addition to various psychotherapeutic options in an attempt to discontinue their use of tobacco products. In general, smoking cessation programs may be effective in the short term, but it is unclear whether these effects persist (Cropley, Theadom, Pravettoni, & Webb, 2008; Levitt, Shaw, Wong, & Kaczorowski, 2007; Smedslund, Fisher, Boles, & Lichtenstein, 2004).
Opioids
An opioid is one of a category of drugs that includes heroin, morphine, methadone, and codeine. Opioids have analgesic properties; that is, they decrease pain. Humans have an endogenous opioid neurotransmitter system—the body makes small quantities of opioid compounds that bind to opioid receptors reducing pain and producing euphoria. Thus, opioid drugs, which mimic this endogenous painkilling mechanism, have an extremely high potential for abuse. Natural opioids, called opiates, are derivatives of opium, which is a naturally occurring compound found in the poppy plant. There are now several synthetic versions of opiate drugs (correctly called opioids) that have very potent painkilling effects, and they are often abused. For example, the National Institutes of Drug Abuse has sponsored research that suggests the misuse and abuse of the prescription pain killers hydrocodone and oxycodone are significant public health concerns (Maxwell, 2006). In 2013, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommended tighter controls on their medical use.
Historically, heroin has been a major opioid drug of abuse (Figure). Heroin can be snorted, smoked, or injected intravenously. Like the stimulants described earlier, the use of heroin is associated with an initial feeling of euphoria followed by periods of agitation. Because heroin is often administered via intravenous injection, users often bear needle track marks on their arms and, like all abusers of intravenous drugs, have an increased risk for contraction of both tuberculosis and HIV.
Aside from their utility as analgesic drugs, opioid-like compounds are often found in cough suppressants, anti-nausea, and anti-diarrhea medications. Given that withdrawal from a drug often involves an experience opposite to the effect of the drug, it should be no surprise that opioid withdrawal resembles a severe case of the flu. While opioid withdrawal can be extremely unpleasant, it is not life-threatening (Julien, 2005). Still, people experiencing opioid withdrawal may be given methadone to make withdrawal from the drug less difficult. Methadone is a synthetic opioid that is less euphorigenic than heroin and similar drugs. Methadone clinics help people who previously struggled with opioid addiction manage withdrawal symptoms through the use of methadone. Other drugs, including the opioid buprenorphine, have also been used to alleviate symptoms of opiate withdrawal.
Codeine is an opioid with relatively low potency. It is often prescribed for minor pain, and it is available over-the-counter in some other countries. Like all opioids, codeine does have abuse potential. In fact, abuse of prescription opioid medications is becoming a major concern worldwide (Aquina, Marques-Baptista, Bridgeman, & Merlin, 2009; Casati, Sedefov, & Pfeiffer-Gerschel, 2012).
Hallucinogens
A hallucinogen is one of a class of drugs that results in profound alterations in sensory and perceptual experiences (Figure). In some cases, users experience vivid visual hallucinations. It is also common for these types of drugs to cause hallucinations of body sensations (e.g., feeling as if you are a giant) and a skewed perception of the passage of time.
As a group, hallucinogens are incredibly varied in terms of the neurotransmitter systems they affect. Mescaline and LSD are serotonin agonists, and PCP (angel dust) and ketamine (an animal anesthetic) act as antagonists of the NMDA glutamate receptor. In general, these drugs are not thought to possess the same sort of abuse potential as other classes of drugs discussed in this section.
To learn more about some of the most commonly abused prescription and street drugs, check out the Commonly Abused Drugs Chart and the Commonly Abused Prescription Drugs Chart from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Medical Marijuana
While the possession and use of marijuana is illegal in most states, it is now legal in Washington and Colorado to possess limited quantities of marijuana for recreational use (Figure). In contrast, medical marijuana use is now legal in nearly half of the United States and in the District of Columbia. Medical marijuana is marijuana that is prescribed by a doctor for the treatment of a health condition. For example, people who undergo chemotherapy will often be prescribed marijuana to stimulate their appetites and prevent excessive weight loss resulting from the side effects of chemotherapy treatment. Marijuana may also have some promise in the treatment of a variety of medical conditions (Mather, Rauwendaal, Moxham-Hall, & Wodak, 2013; Robson, 2014; Schicho & Storr, 2014).
While medical marijuana laws have been passed on a state-by-state basis, federal laws still classify this as an illicit substance, making conducting research on the potentially beneficial medicinal uses of marijuana problematic. There is quite a bit of controversy within the scientific community as to the extent to which marijuana might have medicinal benefits due to a lack of large-scale, controlled research (Bostwick, 2012). As a result, many scientists have urged the federal government to allow for relaxation of current marijuana laws and classifications in order to facilitate a more widespread study of the drug’s effects (Aggarwal et al., 2009; Bostwick, 2012; Kogan & Mechoulam, 2007).
Until recently, the United States Department of Justice routinely arrested people involved and seized marijuana used in medicinal settings. In the latter part of 2013, however, the United States Department of Justice issued statements indicating that they would not continue to challenge state medical marijuana laws. This shift in policy may be in response to the scientific community’s recommendations and/or reflect changing public opinion regarding marijuana.
Summary
Substance use disorder is defined in DSM-5 as a compulsive pattern of drug use despite negative consequences. Both physical and psychological dependence are important parts of this disorder. Alcohol, barbiturates, and benzodiazepines are central nervous system depressants that affect GABA neurotransmission. Cocaine, amphetamine, cathinones, and MDMA are all central nervous stimulants that agonize dopamine neurotransmission, while nicotine and caffeine affect acetylcholine and adenosine, respectively. Opiate drugs serve as powerful analgesics through their effects on the endogenous opioid neurotransmitter system, and hallucinogenic drugs cause pronounced changes in sensory and perceptual experiences. The hallucinogens are variable with regards to the specific neurotransmitter systems they affect.
Review Questions
________ occurs when a drug user requires more and more of a given drug in order to experience the same effects of the drug.
- withdrawal
- psychological dependence
- tolerance
- reuptake
Hint:
C
Cocaine blocks the reuptake of ________.
- GABA
- glutamate
- acetylcholine
- dopamine
Hint:
D
________ refers to drug craving.
- psychological dependence
- antagonism
- agonism
- physical dependence
Hint:
A
LSD affects ________ neurotransmission.
- dopamine
- serotonin
- acetylcholine
- norepinephrine
Hint:
B
Critical Thinking Questions
The negative health consequences of both alcohol and tobacco products are well-documented. A drug like marijuana, on the other hand, is generally considered to be as safe, if not safer than these legal drugs. Why do you think marijuana use continues to be illegal in many parts of the United States?
Hint:
One possibility involves the cultural acceptance and long history of alcohol and tobacco use in our society. No doubt, money comes into play as well. Growing tobacco and producing alcohol on a large scale is a well-regulated and taxed process. Given that marijuana is essentially a weed that requires little care to grow, it would be much more difficult to regulate its production. Recent events suggest that cultural attitudes regarding marijuana are changing, and it is quite likely that its illicit status will be adapted accordingly.
Why are programs designed to educate people about the dangers of using tobacco products just as important as developing tobacco cessation programs?
Hint:
Given that currently available programs designed to help people quit using tobacco products are not necessarily effective in the long term, programs designed to prevent people from using these products in the first place may be the best hope for dealing with the enormous public health concerns associated with tobacco use.
Personal Application Question
Many people experiment with some sort of psychoactive substance at some point in their lives. Why do you think people are motivated to use substances that alter consciousness?
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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/15315/overview
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Other States of Consciousness
Overview
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Define hypnosis and meditation
- Understand the similarities and differences of hypnosis and meditation
Our states of consciousness change as we move from wakefulness to sleep. We also alter our consciousness through the use of various psychoactive drugs. This final section will consider hypnotic and meditative states as additional examples of altered states of consciousness experienced by some individuals.
HYPNOSIS
Hypnosis is a state of extreme self-focus and attention in which minimal attention is given to external stimuli. In the therapeutic setting, a clinician may use relaxation and suggestion in an attempt to alter the thoughts and perceptions of a patient. Hypnosis has also been used to draw out information believed to be buried deeply in someone’s memory. For individuals who are especially open to the power of suggestion, hypnosis can prove to be a very effective technique, and brain imaging studies have demonstrated that hypnotic states are associated with global changes in brain functioning (Del Casale et al., 2012; Guldenmund, Vanhaudenhuyse, Boly, Laureys, & Soddu, 2012).
Historically, hypnosis has been viewed with some suspicion because of its portrayal in popular media and entertainment (Figure). Therefore, it is important to make a distinction between hypnosis as an empirically based therapeutic approach versus as a form of entertainment. Contrary to popular belief, individuals undergoing hypnosis usually have clear memories of the hypnotic experience and are in control of their own behaviors. While hypnosis may be useful in enhancing memory or a skill, such enhancements are very modest in nature (Raz, 2011).
How exactly does a hypnotist bring a participant to a state of hypnosis? While there are variations, there are four parts that appear consistent in bringing people into the state of suggestibility associated with hypnosis (National Research Council, 1994). These components include:
- The participant is guided to focus on one thing, such as the hypnotist’s words or a ticking watch.
- The participant is made comfortable and is directed to be relaxed and sleepy.
- The participant is told to be open to the process of hypnosis, trust the hypnotist and let go.
- The participant is encouraged to use his or her imagination.
These steps are conducive to being open to the heightened suggestibility of hypnosis.
People vary in terms of their ability to be hypnotized, but a review of available research suggests that most people are at least moderately hypnotizable (Kihlstrom, 2013). Hypnosis in conjunction with other techniques is used for a variety of therapeutic purposes and has shown to be at least somewhat effective for pain management, treatment of depression and anxiety, smoking cessation, and weight loss (Alladin, 2012; Elkins, Johnson, & Fisher, 2012; Golden, 2012; Montgomery, Schnur, & Kravits, 2012).
Some scientists are working to determine whether the power of suggestion can affect cognitive processes such as learning, with a view to using hypnosis in educational settings (Wark, 2011). Furthermore, there is some evidence that hypnosis can alter processes that were once thought to be automatic and outside the purview of voluntary control, such as reading (Lifshitz, Aubert Bonn, Fischer, Kashem, & Raz, 2013; Raz, Shapiro, Fan, & Posner, 2002). However, it should be noted that others have suggested that the automaticity of these processes remains intact (Augustinova & Ferrand, 2012).
How does hypnosis work? Two theories attempt to answer this question: One theory views hypnosis as dissociation and the other theory views it as the performance of a social role. According to the dissociation view, hypnosis is effectively a dissociated state of consciousness, much like our earlier example where you may drive to work, but you are only minimally aware of the process of driving because your attention is focused elsewhere. This theory is supported by Ernest Hilgard’s research into hypnosis and pain. In Hilgard’s experiments, he induced participants into a state of hypnosis, and placed their arms into ice water. Participants were told they would not feel pain, but they could press a button if they did; while they reported not feeling pain, they did, in fact, press the button, suggesting a dissociation of consciousness while in the hypnotic state (Hilgard & Hilgard, 1994).
Taking a different approach to explain hypnosis, the social-cognitive theory of hypnosis sees people in hypnotic states as performing the social role of a hypnotized person. As you will learn when you study social roles, people’s behavior can be shaped by their expectations of how they should act in a given situation. Some view a hypnotized person’s behavior not as an altered or dissociated state of consciousness, but as their fulfillment of the social expectations for that role.
MEDITATION
Meditation is the act of focusing on a single target (such as the breath or a repeated sound) to increase awareness of the moment. While hypnosis is generally achieved through the interaction of a therapist and the person being treated, an individual can perform meditation alone. Often, however, people wishing to learn to meditate receive some training in techniques to achieve a meditative state. A meditative state, as shown by EEG recordings of newly-practicing meditators, is not an altered state of consciousness per se; however, patterns of brain waves exhibited by expert meditators may represent a unique state of consciousness (Fell, Axmacher, & Haupt, 2010).
Although there are a number of different techniques in use, the central feature of all meditation is clearing the mind in order to achieve a state of relaxed awareness and focus (Chen et al., 2013; Lang et al., 2012). Mindfulness meditation has recently become popular. In the variation of meditation, the meditator’s attention is focused on some internal process or an external object (Zeidan, Grant, Brown, McHaffie, & Coghill, 2012).
Meditative techniques have their roots in religious practices (Figure), but their use has grown in popularity among practitioners of alternative medicine. Research indicates that meditation may help reduce blood pressure, and the American Heart Association suggests that meditation might be used in conjunction with more traditional treatments as a way to manage hypertension, although there is not sufficient data for a recommendation to be made (Brook et al., 2013). Like hypnosis, meditation also shows promise in stress management, sleep quality (Caldwell, Harrison, Adams, Quin, & Greeson, 2010), treatment of mood and anxiety disorders (Chen et al., 2013; Freeman et al., 2010; Vøllestad, Nielsen, & Nielsen, 2012), and pain management (Reiner, Tibi, & Lipsitz, 2013).
Feeling stressed? Think meditation might help? This instructional video teaches how to use Buddhist meditation techniques to alleviate stress.
Watch this video describe the results of a brain imaging study in individuals who underwent specific mindfulness-meditative techniques.
Summary
Hypnosis is a focus on the self that involves suggested changes of behavior and experience. Meditation involves relaxed, yet focused, awareness. Both hypnotic and meditative states may involve altered states of consciousness that have potential application for the treatment of a variety of physical and psychological disorders.
Review Questions
________ is most effective in individuals that are very open to the power of suggestion.
- hypnosis
- meditation
- mindful awareness
- cognitive therapy
Hint:
A
________ has its roots in religious practice.
- hypnosis
- meditation
- cognitive therapy
- behavioral therapy
Hint:
B
Meditation may be helpful in ________.
- pain management
- stress control
- treating the flu
- both a and b
Hint:
D
Research suggests that cognitive processes, such as learning, may be affected by ________.
- hypnosis
- meditation
- mindful awareness
- progressive relaxation
Hint:
A
Critical Thinking Questions
What advantages exist for researching the potential health benefits of hypnosis?
Hint:
Healthcare and pharmaceutical costs continue to skyrocket. If alternative approaches to dealing with these problems could be developed that would be relatively inexpensive, then the potential benefits are many.
What types of studies would be most convincing regarding the effectiveness of meditation in the treatment for some type of physical or mental disorder?
Hint:
Ideally, double-blind experimental trials would be best suited to speak to the effectiveness of meditation. At the very least, some sort of randomized control trial would be very informative.
Personal Application Question
Under what circumstances would you be willing to consider hypnosis and/or meditation as a treatment option? What kind of information would you need before you made a decision to use these techniques?
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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/15493/overview
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Introduction
Overview
- Urbanization and Its Challenges
- The African American “Great Migration” and New European Immigration
- Relief from the Chaos of Urban Life
- Change Reflected in Thought and Writing
“We saw the big woman with spikes on her head.” So begins Sadie Frowne’s first memory of arriving in the United States. Many Americans experienced in their new home what the thirteen-year-old Polish girl had seen in the silhouette of the Statue of Liberty (Figure): a wondrous world of new opportunities fraught with dangers. Sadie and her mother, for instance, had left Poland after her father’s death. Her mother died shortly thereafter, and Sadie had to find her own way in New York, working in factories and slowly assimilating to life in a vast multinational metropolis. Her story is similar to millions of others, as people came to the United States seeking a better future than the one they had at home.
The future they found, however, was often grim. While many believed in the land of opportunity, the reality of urban life in the United States was more chaotic and difficult than people expected. In addition to the challenges of language, class, race, and ethnicity, these new arrivals dealt with low wages, overcrowded buildings, poor sanitation, and widespread disease. The land of opportunity, it seemed, did not always deliver on its promises.
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Urbanization and Its Challenges
Overview
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Explain the growth of American cities in the late nineteenth century
- Identify the key challenges that Americans faced due to urbanization, as well as some of the possible solutions to those challenges
Urbanization occurred rapidly in the second half of the nineteenth century in the United States for a number of reasons. The new technologies of the time led to a massive leap in industrialization, requiring large numbers of workers. New electric lights and powerful machinery allowed factories to run twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Workers were forced into grueling twelve-hour shifts, requiring them to live close to the factories.
While the work was dangerous and difficult, many Americans were willing to leave behind the declining prospects of preindustrial agriculture in the hope of better wages in industrial labor. Furthermore, problems ranging from famine to religious persecution led a new wave of immigrants to arrive from central, eastern, and southern Europe, many of whom settled and found work near the cities where they first arrived. Immigrants sought solace and comfort among others who shared the same language and customs, and the nation’s cities became an invaluable economic and cultural resource.
Although cities such as Philadelphia, Boston, and New York sprang up from the initial days of colonial settlement, the explosion in urban population growth did not occur until the mid-nineteenth century (Figure). At this time, the attractions of city life, and in particular, employment opportunities, grew exponentially due to rapid changes in industrialization. Before the mid-1800s, factories, such as the early textile mills, had to be located near rivers and seaports, both for the transport of goods and the necessary water power. Production became dependent upon seasonal water flow, with cold, icy winters all but stopping river transportation entirely. The development of the steam engine transformed this need, allowing businesses to locate their factories near urban centers. These factories encouraged more and more people to move to urban areas where jobs were plentiful, but hourly wages were often low and the work was routine and grindingly monotonous.
Eventually, cities developed their own unique characters based on the core industry that spurred their growth. In Pittsburgh, it was steel; in Chicago, it was meat packing; in New York, the garment and financial industries dominated; and Detroit, by the mid-twentieth century, was defined by the automobiles it built. But all cities at this time, regardless of their industry, suffered from the universal problems that rapid expansion brought with it, including concerns over housing and living conditions, transportation, and communication. These issues were almost always rooted in deep class inequalities, shaped by racial divisions, religious differences, and ethnic strife, and distorted by corrupt local politics.
This 1884 Bureau of Labor Statistics report from Boston looks in detail at the wages, living conditions, and moral code of the girls who worked in the clothing factories there.
THE KEYS TO SUCCESSFUL URBANIZATION
As the country grew, certain elements led some towns to morph into large urban centers, while others did not. The following four innovations proved critical in shaping urbanization at the turn of the century: electric lighting, communication improvements, intracity transportation, and the rise of skyscrapers. As people migrated for the new jobs, they often struggled with the absence of basic urban infrastructures, such as better transportation, adequate housing, means of communication, and efficient sources of light and energy. Even the basic necessities, such as fresh water and proper sanitation—often taken for granted in the countryside—presented a greater challenge in urban life.
Electric Lighting
Thomas Edison patented the incandescent light bulb in 1879. This development quickly became common in homes as well as factories, transforming how even lower- and middle-class Americans lived. Although slow to arrive in rural areas of the country, electric power became readily available in cities when the first commercial power plants began to open in 1882. When Nikola Tesla subsequently developed the AC (alternating current) system for the Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company, power supplies for lights and other factory equipment could extend for miles from the power source. AC power transformed the use of electricity, allowing urban centers to physically cover greater areas. In the factories, electric lights permitted operations to run twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. This increase in production required additional workers, and this demand brought more people to cities.
Gradually, cities began to illuminate the streets with electric lamps to allow the city to remain alight throughout the night. No longer did the pace of life and economic activity slow substantially at sunset, the way it had in smaller towns. The cities, following the factories that drew people there, stayed open all the time.
Communications Improvements
The telephone, patented in 1876, greatly transformed communication both regionally and nationally. The telephone rapidly supplanted the telegraph as the preferred form of communication; by 1900, over 1.5 million telephones were in use around the nation, whether as private lines in the homes of some middle- and upper-class Americans, or jointly used “party lines” in many rural areas. By allowing instant communication over larger distances at any given time, growing telephone networks made urban sprawl possible.
In the same way that electric lights spurred greater factory production and economic growth, the telephone increased business through the more rapid pace of demand. Now, orders could come constantly via telephone, rather than via mail-order. More orders generated greater production, which in turn required still more workers. This demand for additional labor played a key role in urban growth, as expanding companies sought workers to handle the increasing consumer demand for their products.
Intracity Transportation
As cities grew and sprawled outward, a major challenge was efficient travel within the city—from home to factories or shops, and then back again. Most transportation infrastructure was used to connect cities to each other, typically by rail or canal. Prior to the 1880s, the most common form of transportation within cities was the omnibus. This was a large, horse-drawn carriage, often placed on iron or steel tracks to provide a smoother ride. While omnibuses worked adequately in smaller, less congested cities, they were not equipped to handle the larger crowds that developed at the close of the century. The horses had to stop and rest, and horse manure became an ongoing problem.
In 1887, Frank Sprague invented the electric trolley, which worked along the same concept as the omnibus, with a large wagon on tracks, but was powered by electricity rather than horses. The electric trolley could run throughout the day and night, like the factories and the workers who fueled them. But it also modernized less important industrial centers, such as the southern city of Richmond, Virginia. As early as 1873, San Francisco engineers adopted pulley technology from the mining industry to introduce cable cars and turn the city’s steep hills into elegant middle-class communities. However, as crowds continued to grow in the largest cities, such as Chicago and New York, trolleys were unable to move efficiently through the crowds of pedestrians (Figure). To avoid this challenge, city planners elevated the trolley lines above the streets, creating elevated trains, or L-trains, as early as 1868 in New York City, and quickly spreading to Boston in 1887 and Chicago in 1892. Finally, as skyscrapers began to dominate the air, transportation evolved one step further to move underground as subways. Boston’s subway system began operating in 1897, and was quickly followed by New York and other cities.
The Rise of Skyscrapers
The last limitation that large cities had to overcome was the ever-increasing need for space. Eastern cities, unlike their midwestern counterparts, could not continue to grow outward, as the land surrounding them was already settled. Geographic limitations such as rivers or the coast also hampered sprawl. And in all cities, citizens needed to be close enough to urban centers to conveniently access work, shops, and other core institutions of urban life. The increasing cost of real estate made upward growth attractive, and so did the prestige that towering buildings carried for the businesses that occupied them. Workers completed the first skyscraper in Chicago, the ten-story Home Insurance Building, in 1885 (Figure). Although engineers had the capability to go higher, thanks to new steel construction techniques, they required another vital invention in order to make taller buildings viable: the elevator. In 1889, the Otis Elevator Company, led by inventor James Otis, installed the first electric elevator. This began the skyscraper craze, allowing developers in eastern cities to build and market prestigious real estate in the hearts of crowded eastern metropoles.
Jacob Riis and the Window into “How the Other Half Lives”
Jacob Riis was a Danish immigrant who moved to New York in the late nineteenth century and, after experiencing poverty and joblessness first-hand, ultimately built a career as a police reporter. In the course of his work, he spent much of his time in the slums and tenements of New York’s working poor. Appalled by what he found there, Riis began documenting these scenes of squalor and sharing them through lectures and ultimately through the publication of his book, How the Other Half Lives, in 1890 (Figure).
By most contemporary accounts, Riis was an effective storyteller, using drama and racial stereotypes to tell his stories of the ethnic slums he encountered. But while his racial thinking was very much a product of his time, he was also a reformer; he felt strongly that upper and middle-class Americans could and should care about the living conditions of the poor. In his book and lectures, he argued against the immoral landlords and useless laws that allowed dangerous living conditions and high rents. He also suggested remodeling existing tenements or building new ones. He was not alone in his concern for the plight of the poor; other reporters and activists had already brought the issue into the public eye, and Riis’s photographs added a new element to the story.
To tell his stories, Riis used a series of deeply compelling photographs. Riis and his group of amateur photographers moved through the various slums of New York, laboriously setting up their tripods and explosive chemicals to create enough light to take the photographs. His photos and writings shocked the public, made Riis a well-known figure both in his day and beyond, and eventually led to new state legislation curbing abuses in tenements.
THE IMMEDIATE CHALLENGES OF URBAN LIFE
Congestion, pollution, crime, and disease were prevalent problems in all urban centers; city planners and inhabitants alike sought new solutions to the problems caused by rapid urban growth. Living conditions for most working-class urban dwellers were atrocious. They lived in crowded tenement houses and cramped apartments with terrible ventilation and substandard plumbing and sanitation. As a result, disease ran rampant, with typhoid and cholera common. Memphis, Tennessee, experienced waves of cholera (1873) followed by yellow fever (1878 and 1879) that resulted in the loss of over ten thousand lives. By the late 1880s, New York City, Baltimore, Chicago, and New Orleans had all introduced sewage pumping systems to provide efficient waste management. Many cities were also serious fire hazards. An average working-class family of six, with two adults and four children, had at best a two-bedroom tenement. By one 1900 estimate, in the New York City borough of Manhattan alone, there were nearly fifty thousand tenement houses. The photographs of these tenement houses are seen in Jacob Riis’s book, How the Other Half Lives, discussed in the feature above. Citing a study by the New York State Assembly at this time, Riis found New York to be the most densely populated city in the world, with as many as eight hundred residents per square acre in the Lower East Side working-class slums, comprising the Eleventh and Thirteenth Wards.
Visit New York City, Tenement Life to get an impression of the everyday life of tenement dwellers on Manhattan’s Lower East Side.
Churches and civic organizations provided some relief to the challenges of working-class city life. Churches were moved to intervene through their belief in the concept of the social gospel. This philosophy stated that all Christians, whether they were church leaders or social reformers, should be as concerned about the conditions of life in the secular world as the afterlife, and the Reverend Washington Gladden was a major advocate. Rather than preaching sermons on heaven and hell, Gladden talked about social changes of the time, urging other preachers to follow his lead. He advocated for improvements in daily life and encouraged Americans of all classes to work together for the betterment of society. His sermons included the message to “love thy neighbor” and held that all Americans had to work together to help the masses. As a result of his influence, churches began to include gymnasiums and libraries as well as offer evening classes on hygiene and health care. Other religious organizations like the Salvation Army and the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) expanded their reach in American cities at this time as well. Beginning in the 1870s, these organizations began providing community services and other benefits to the urban poor.
In the secular sphere, the settlement house movement of the 1890s provided additional relief. Pioneering women such as Jane Addams in Chicago and Lillian Wald in New York led this early progressive reform movement in the United States, building upon ideas originally fashioned by social reformers in England. With no particular religious bent, they worked to create settlement houses in urban centers where they could help the working class, and in particular, working-class women, find aid. Their help included child daycare, evening classes, libraries, gym facilities, and free health care. Addams opened her now-famous Hull House (Figure) in Chicago in 1889, and Wald’s Henry Street Settlement opened in New York six years later. The movement spread quickly to other cities, where they not only provided relief to working-class women but also offered employment opportunities for women graduating college in the growing field of social work. Oftentimes, living in the settlement houses among the women they helped, these college graduates experienced the equivalent of living social classrooms in which to practice their skills, which also frequently caused friction with immigrant women who had their own ideas of reform and self-improvement.
The success of the settlement house movement later became the basis of a political agenda that included pressure for housing laws, child labor laws, and worker’s compensation laws, among others. Florence Kelley, who originally worked with Addams in Chicago, later joined Wald’s efforts in New York; together, they created the National Child Labor Committee and advocated for the subsequent creation of the Children’s Bureau in the U.S. Department of Labor in 1912. Julia Lathrop—herself a former resident of Hull House—became the first woman to head a federal government agency, when President William Howard Taft appointed her to run the bureau. Settlement house workers also became influential leaders in the women’s suffrage movement as well as the antiwar movement during World War I.
Jane Addams Reflects on the Settlement House Movement
Jane Addams was a social activist whose work took many forms. She is perhaps best known as the founder of Hull House in Chicago, which later became a model for settlement houses throughout the country. Here, she reflects on the role that the settlement played.
Life in the Settlement discovers above all what has been called ‘the extraordinary pliability of human nature,’ and it seems impossible to set any bounds to the moral capabilities which might unfold under ideal civic and educational conditions. But in order to obtain these conditions, the Settlement recognizes the need of cooperation, both with the radical and the conservative, and from the very nature of the case the Settlement cannot limit its friends to any one political party or economic school.
The Settlement casts side none of those things which cultivated men have come to consider reasonable and goodly, but it insists that those belong as well to that great body of people who, because of toilsome and underpaid labor, are unable to procure them for themselves. Added to this is a profound conviction that the common stock of intellectual enjoyment should not be difficult of access because of the economic position of him who would approach it, that those ‘best results of civilization’ upon which depend the finer and freer aspects of living must be incorporated into our common life and have free mobility through all elements of society if we would have our democracy endure.
The educational activities of a Settlement, as well its philanthropic, civic, and social undertakings, are but differing manifestations of the attempt to socialize democracy, as is the very existence of the Settlement itself.
In addition to her pioneering work in the settlement house movement, Addams also was active in the women’s suffrage movement as well as an outspoken proponent for international peace efforts. She was instrumental in the relief effort after World War I, a commitment that led to her winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931.
Section Summary
Urbanization spread rapidly in the mid-nineteenth century due to a confluence of factors. New technologies, such as electricity and steam engines, transformed factory work, allowing factories to move closer to urban centers and away from the rivers that had previously been vital sources of both water power and transportation. The growth of factories—as well as innovations such as electric lighting, which allowed them to run at all hours of the day and night—created a massive need for workers, who poured in from both rural areas of the United States and from eastern and southern Europe. As cities grew, they were unable to cope with this rapid influx of workers, and the living conditions for the working class were terrible. Tight living quarters, with inadequate plumbing and sanitation, led to widespread illness. Churches, civic organizations, and the secular settlement house movement all sought to provide some relief to the urban working class, but conditions remained brutal for many new city dwellers.
Review Questions
Which of the following four elements was not essential for creating massive urban growth in late nineteenth-century America?
- electric lighting
- communication improvements
- skyscrapers
- settlement houses
Hint:
D
Which of the following did the settlement house movement offer as a means of relief for working-class women?
- childcare
- job opportunities
- political advocacy
- relocation services
Hint:
A
What technological and economic factors combined to lead to the explosive growth of American cities at this time?
Hint:
At the end of the nineteenth century, a confluence of events made urban life more desirable and more possible. Technologies such as electricity and the telephone allowed factories to build and grow in cities, and skyscrapers enabled the relatively small geographic areas to continue expanding. The new demand for workers spurred a massive influx of job-seekers from both rural areas of the United States and from eastern and southern Europe. Urban housing—as well as services such as transportation and sanitation—expanded accordingly, though cities struggled to cope with the surging demand. Together, technological innovations and an exploding population led American cities to grow as never before.
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2025-03-18T00:39:26.489823
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The African American “Great Migration” and New European Immigration
Overview
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Identify the factors that prompted African American and European immigration to American cities in the late nineteenth century
- Explain the discrimination and anti-immigration legislation that immigrants faced in the late nineteenth century
New cities were populated with diverse waves of new arrivals, who came to the cities to seek work in the businesses and factories there. While a small percentage of these newcomers were white Americans seeking jobs, most were made up of two groups that had not previously been factors in the urbanization movement: African Americans fleeing the racism of the farms and former plantations in the South, and southern and eastern European immigrants. These new immigrants supplanted the previous waves of northern and western European immigrants, who had tended to move west to purchase land. Unlike their predecessors, the newer immigrants lacked the funds to strike out to the western lands and instead remained in the urban centers where they arrived, seeking any work that would keep them alive.
THE AFRICAN AMERICAN “GREAT MIGRATION”
Between the end of the Civil War and the beginning of the Great Depression, nearly two million African Americans fled the rural South to seek new opportunities elsewhere. While some moved west, the vast majority of this Great Migration, as the large exodus of African Americans leaving the South in the early twentieth century was called, traveled to the Northeast and Upper Midwest. The following cities were the primary destinations for these African Americans: New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Indianapolis. These eight cities accounted for over two-thirds of the total population of the African American migration.
A combination of both “push” and “pull” factors played a role in this movement. Despite the end of the Civil War and the passage of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution (ensuring freedom, the right to vote regardless of race, and equal protection under the law, respectively), African Americans were still subjected to intense racial hatred. The rise of the Ku Klux Klan in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War led to increased death threats, violence, and a wave of lynchings. Even after the formal dismantling of the Klan in the late 1870s, racially motivated violence continued. According to researchers at the Tuskegee Institute, there were thirty-five hundred racially motivated lynchings and other murders committed in the South between 1865 and 1900. For African Americans fleeing this culture of violence, northern and midwestern cities offered an opportunity to escape the dangers of the South.
In addition to this “push” out of the South, African Americans were also “pulled” to the cities by factors that attracted them, including job opportunities, where they could earn a wage rather than be tied to a landlord, and the chance to vote (for men, at least), supposedly free from the threat of violence. Although many lacked the funds to move themselves north, factory owners and other businesses that sought cheap labor assisted the migration. Often, the men moved first then sent for their families once they were ensconced in their new city life. Racism and a lack of formal education relegated these African American workers to many of the lower-paying unskilled or semi-skilled occupations. More than 80 percent of African American men worked menial jobs in steel mills, mines, construction, and meat packing. In the railroad industry, they were often employed as porters or servants (Figure). In other businesses, they worked as janitors, waiters, or cooks. African American women, who faced discrimination due to both their race and gender, found a few job opportunities in the garment industry or laundries, but were more often employed as maids and domestic servants. Regardless of the status of their jobs, however, African Americans earned higher wages in the North than they did for the same occupations in the South, and typically found housing to be more available.
However, such economic gains were offset by the higher cost of living in the North, especially in terms of rent, food costs, and other essentials. As a result, African Americans often found themselves living in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions, much like the tenement slums in which European immigrants lived in the cities. For newly arrived African Americans, even those who sought out the cities for the opportunities they provided, life in these urban centers was exceedingly difficult. They quickly learned that racial discrimination did not end at the Mason-Dixon Line, but continued to flourish in the North as well as the South. European immigrants, also seeking a better life in the cities of the United States, resented the arrival of the African Americans, whom they feared would compete for the same jobs or offer to work at lower wages. Landlords frequently discriminated against them; their rapid influx into the cities created severe housing shortages and even more overcrowded tenements. Homeowners in traditionally white neighborhoods later entered into covenants in which they agreed not to sell to African American buyers; they also often fled neighborhoods into which African Americans had gained successful entry. In addition, some bankers practiced mortgage discrimination, later known as “redlining,” in order to deny home loans to qualified buyers. Such pervasive discrimination led to a concentration of African Americans in some of the worst slum areas of most major metropolitan cities, a problem that remained ongoing throughout most of the twentieth century.
So why move to the North, given that the economic challenges they faced were similar to those that African Americans encountered in the South? The answer lies in noneconomic gains. Greater educational opportunities and more expansive personal freedoms mattered greatly to the African Americans who made the trek northward during the Great Migration. State legislatures and local school districts allocated more funds for the education of both blacks and whites in the North, and also enforced compulsory school attendance laws more rigorously. Similarly, unlike the South where a simple gesture (or lack of a deferential one) could result in physical harm to the African American who committed it, life in larger, crowded northern urban centers permitted a degree of anonymity—and with it, personal freedom—that enabled African Americans to move, work, and speak without deferring to every white person with whom they crossed paths. Psychologically, these gains more than offset the continued economic challenges that black migrants faced.
THE CHANGING NATURE OF EUROPEAN IMMIGRATION
Immigrants also shifted the demographics of the rapidly growing cities. Although immigration had always been a force of change in the United States, it took on a new character in the late nineteenth century. Beginning in the 1880s, the arrival of immigrants from mostly southern and eastern European countries rapidly increased while the flow from northern and western Europe remained relatively constant (Table).
| Region Country | 1870 | 1880 | 1890 | 1900 | 1910 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern and Western Europe | 4,845,679 | 5,499,889 | 7,288,917 | 7,204,649 | 7,306,325 |
| Germany | 1,690,533 | 1,966,742 | 2,784,894 | 2,663,418 | 2,311,237 |
| Ireland | 1,855,827 | 1,854,571 | 1,871,509 | 1,615,459 | 1,352,251 |
| England | 550,924 | 662,676 | 908,141 | 840,513 | 877,719 |
| Sweden | 97,332 | 194,337 | 478,041 | 582,014 | 665,207 |
| Austria | 30,508 | 38,663 | 123,271 | 275,907 | 626,341 |
| Norway | 114,246 | 181,729 | 322,665 | 336,388 | 403,877 |
| Scotland | 140,835 | 170,136 | 242,231 | 233,524 | 261,076 |
| Southern and Eastern Europe | 93,824 | 248,620 | 728,851 | 1,674,648 | 4,500,932 |
| Italy | 17,157 | 44,230 | 182,580 | 484,027 | 1,343,125 |
| Russia | 4,644 | 35,722 | 182,644 | 423,726 | 1,184,412 |
| Poland | 14,436 | 48,557 | 147,440 | 383,407 | 937,884 |
| Hungary | 3,737 | 11,526 | 62,435 | 145,714 | 495,609 |
| Czechoslovakia | 40,289 | 85,361 | 118,106 | 156,891 | 219,214 |
The previous waves of immigrants from northern and western Europe, particularly Germany, Great Britain, and the Nordic countries, were relatively well off, arriving in the country with some funds and often moving to the newly settled western territories. In contrast, the newer immigrants from southern and eastern European countries, including Italy, Greece, and several Slavic countries including Russia, came over due to “push” and “pull” factors similar to those that influenced the African Americans arriving from the South. Many were “pushed” from their countries by a series of ongoing famines, by the need to escape religious, political, or racial persecution, or by the desire to avoid compulsory military service. They were also “pulled” by the promise of consistent, wage-earning work.
Whatever the reason, these immigrants arrived without the education and finances of the earlier waves of immigrants, and settled more readily in the port towns where they arrived, rather than setting out to seek their fortunes in the West. By 1890, over 80 percent of the population of New York would be either foreign-born or children of foreign-born parentage. Other cities saw huge spikes in foreign populations as well, though not to the same degree, due in large part to Ellis Island in New York City being the primary port of entry for most European immigrants arriving in the United States.
The number of immigrants peaked between 1900 and 1910, when over nine million people arrived in the United States. To assist in the processing and management of this massive wave of immigrants, the Bureau of Immigration in New York City, which had become the official port of entry, opened Ellis Island in 1892. Today, nearly half of all Americans have ancestors who, at some point in time, entered the country through the portal at Ellis Island. Doctors or nurses inspected the immigrants upon arrival, looking for any signs of infectious diseases (Figure). Most immigrants were admitted to the country with only a cursory glance at any other paperwork. Roughly 2 percent of the arriving immigrants were denied entry due to a medical condition or criminal history. The rest would enter the country by way of the streets of New York, many unable to speak English and totally reliant on finding those who spoke their native tongue.
Seeking comfort in a strange land, as well as a common language, many immigrants sought out relatives, friends, former neighbors, townspeople, and countrymen who had already settled in American cities. This led to a rise in ethnic enclaves within the larger city. Little Italy, Chinatown, and many other communities developed in which immigrant groups could find everything to remind them of home, from local language newspapers to ethnic food stores. While these enclaves provided a sense of community to their members, they added to the problems of urban congestion, particularly in the poorest slums where immigrants could afford housing.
This Library of Congress exhibit on the history of Jewish immigration to the United States illustrates the ongoing challenge immigrants felt between the ties to their old land and a love for America.
The demographic shift at the turn of the century was later confirmed by the Dillingham Commission, created by Congress in 1907 to report on the nature of immigration in America; the commission reinforced this ethnic identification of immigrants and their simultaneous discrimination. The report put it simply: These newer immigrants looked and acted differently. They had darker skin tone, spoke languages with which most Americans were unfamiliar, and practiced unfamiliar religions, specifically Judaism and Catholicism. Even the foods they sought out at butchers and grocery stores set immigrants apart. Because of these easily identifiable differences, new immigrants became easy targets for hatred and discrimination. If jobs were hard to find, or if housing was overcrowded, it became easy to blame the immigrants. Like African Americans, immigrants in cities were blamed for the problems of the day.
Growing numbers of Americans resented the waves of new immigrants, resulting in a backlash. The Reverend Josiah Strong fueled the hatred and discrimination in his bestselling book, Our Country: Its Possible Future and Its Present Crisis, published in 1885. In a revised edition that reflected the 1890 census records, he clearly identified undesirable immigrants—those from southern and eastern European countries—as a key threat to the moral fiber of the country, and urged all good Americans to face the challenge. Several thousand Americans answered his call by forming the American Protective Association, the chief political activist group to promote legislation curbing immigration into the United States. The group successfully lobbied Congress to adopt both an English language literacy test for immigrants, which eventually passed in 1917, and the Chinese Exclusion Act (discussed in a previous chapter). The group’s political lobbying also laid the groundwork for the subsequent Emergency Quota Act of 1921 and the Immigration Act of 1924, as well as the National Origins Act.
The global timeline of immigration at the Library of Congress offers a summary of immigration policies and the groups affected by it, as well as a compelling overview of different ethnic groups’ immigration stories. Browse through to see how different ethnic groups made their way in the United States.
Section Summary
For both African Americans migrating from the postwar South and immigrants arriving from southeastern Europe, a combination of “push” and “pull” factors influenced their migration to America’s urban centers. African Americans moved away from the racial violence and limited opportunities that existed in the rural South, seeking wages and steady work, as well as the opportunity to vote safely as free men; however, they quickly learned that racial discrimination and violence were not limited to the South. For European immigrants, famine and persecution led them to seek a new life in the United States, where, the stories said, the streets were paved in gold. Of course, in northeastern and midwestern cities, both groups found a more challenging welcome than they had anticipated. City residents blamed recent arrivals for the ills of the cities, from overcrowding to a rise in crime. Activist groups pushed for anti-immigration legislation, seeking to limit the waves of immigrants that sought a better future in the United States.
Review Questions
Why did African Americans consider moving from the rural South to the urban North following the Civil War?
- to be able to buy land
- to avoid slavery
- to find wage-earning work
- to further their education
Hint:
C
Which of the following is true of late nineteenth-century southern and eastern European immigrants, as opposed to their western and northern European predecessors?
- Southern and eastern European immigrants tended to be wealthier.
- Southern and eastern European immigrants were, on the whole, more skilled and able to find better paying employment.
- Many southern and eastern European immigrants acquired land in the West, while western and northern European immigrants tended to remain in urban centers.
- Ellis Island was the first destination for most southern and eastern Europeans.
Hint:
D
What made recent European immigrants the ready targets of more established city dwellers? What was the result of this discrimination?
Hint:
Newer immigrants often had different appearances, spoke unfamiliar languages, and lived their lives—from the religions they practiced to the food they ate—in ways that were alien to many Americans. In all of city life’s more challenging aspects, from competition for jobs to overcrowding in scarce housing, immigrants became easy scapegoats. The Reverend Josiah Strong’s bestselling book, Our Country: Its Possible Future and Its Present Crisis, fueled this discrimination. The American Protective Association, the chief political activist group promoting anti-immigration legislation, formed largely in response to Strong’s call.
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2025-03-18T00:39:26.521229
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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/15496/overview
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Relief from the Chaos of Urban Life
Overview
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Identify how each class of Americans—working class, middle class, and upper class—responded to the challenges associated with urban life
- Explain the process of machine politics and how it brought relief to working-class Americans
Settlement houses and religious and civic organizations attempted to provide some support to working-class city dwellers through free health care, education, and leisure opportunities. Still, for urban citizens, life in the city was chaotic and challenging. But how that chaos manifested and how relief was sought differed greatly, depending on where people were in the social caste—the working class, the upper class, or the newly emerging professional middle class—in addition to the aforementioned issues of race and ethnicity. While many communities found life in the largest American cities disorganized and overwhelming, the ways they answered these challenges were as diverse as the people who lived there. Broad solutions emerged that were typically class specific: The rise of machine politics and popular culture provided relief to the working class, higher education opportunities and suburbanization benefitted the professional middle class, and reminders of their elite status gave comfort to the upper class. And everyone, no matter where they fell in the class system, benefited from the efforts to improve the physical landscapes of the fast-growing urban environment.
THE LIFE AND STRUGGLES OF THE URBAN WORKING CLASS
For the working-class residents of America’s cities, one practical way of coping with the challenges of urban life was to take advantage of the system of machine politics, while another was to seek relief in the variety of popular culture and entertainment found in and around cities. Although neither of these forms of relief was restricted to the working class, they were the ones who relied most heavily on them.
Machine Politics
The primary form of relief for working-class urban Americans, and particularly immigrants, came in the form of machine politics. This phrase referred to the process by which every citizen of the city, no matter their ethnicity or race, was a ward resident with an alderman who spoke on their behalf at city hall. When everyday challenges arose, whether sanitation problems or the need for a sidewalk along a muddy road, citizens would approach their alderman to find a solution. The aldermen knew that, rather than work through the long bureaucratic process associated with city hall, they could work within the “machine” of local politics to find a speedy, mutually beneficial solution. In machine politics, favors were exchanged for votes, votes were given in exchange for fast solutions, and the price of the solutions included a kickback to the boss. In the short term, everyone got what they needed, but the process was neither transparent nor democratic, and it was an inefficient way of conducting the city’s business.
One example of a machine political system was the Democratic political machine Tammany Hall in New York, run by machine boss William Tweed with assistance from George Washington Plunkitt (Figure). There, citizens knew their immediate problems would be addressed in return for their promise of political support in future elections. In this way, machines provided timely solutions for citizens and votes for the politicians. For example, if in Little Italy there was a desperate need for sidewalks in order to improve traffic to the stores on a particular street, the request would likely get bogged down in the bureaucratic red tape at city hall. Instead, store owners would approach the machine. A district captain would approach the “boss” and make him aware of the problem. The boss would contact city politicians and strongly urge them to appropriate the needed funds for the sidewalk in exchange for the promise that the boss would direct votes in their favor in the upcoming election. The boss then used the funds to pay one of his friends for the sidewalk construction, typically at an exorbitant cost, with a financial kickback to the boss, which was known as graft. The sidewalk was built more quickly than anyone hoped, in exchange for the citizens’ promises to vote for machine-supported candidates in the next elections. Despite its corrupt nature, Tammany Hall essentially ran New York politics from the 1850s until the 1930s. Other large cities, including Boston, Philadelphia, Cleveland, St. Louis, and Kansas City, made use of political machines as well.
Popular Culture and Entertainment
Working-class residents also found relief in the diverse and omnipresent offerings of popular culture and entertainment in and around cities. These offerings provided an immediate escape from the squalor and difficulties of everyday life. As improved means of internal transportation developed, working-class residents could escape the city and experience one of the popular new forms of entertainment—the amusement park. For example, Coney Island on the Brooklyn shoreline consisted of several different amusement parks, the first of which opened in 1895 (Figure). At these parks, New Yorkers enjoyed wild rides, animal attractions, and large stage productions designed to help them forget the struggles of their working-day lives. Freak “side” shows fed the public’s curiosity about physical deviance. For a mere ten cents, spectators could watch a high-diving horse, take a ride to the moon to watch moon maidens eat green cheese, or witness the electrocution of an elephant, a spectacle that fascinated the public both with technological marvels and exotic wildlife. The treatment of animals in many acts at Coney Island and other public amusement parks drew the attention of middle-class reformers such as the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Despite questions regarding the propriety of many of the acts, other cities quickly followed New York’s lead with similar, if smaller, versions of Coney Island’s attractions.
The American Experience Timeline of Coney Island shows a timeline, photo gallery, and other elements of Coney Island. Look to see what elements of American culture, from the hot dog to the roller coaster, debuted there.
Another common form of popular entertainment was vaudeville—large stage variety shows that included everything from singing, dancing, and comedy acts to live animals and magic. The vaudeville circuit gave rise to several prominent performers, including magician Harry Houdini, who began his career in these variety shows before his fame propelled him to solo acts. In addition to live theater shows, it was primarily working-class citizens who enjoyed the advent of the nickelodeon, a forerunner to the movie theater. The first nickelodeon opened in Pittsburgh in 1905, where nearly one hundred visitors packed into a storefront theater to see a traditional vaudeville show interspersed with one-minute film clips. Several theaters initially used the films as “chasers” to indicate the end of the show to the live audience so they would clear the auditorium. However, a vaudeville performers’ strike generated even greater interest in the films, eventually resulting in the rise of modern movie theaters by 1910.
One other major form of entertainment for the working class was professional baseball (Figure). Club teams transformed into professional baseball teams with the Cincinnati Red Stockings, now the Cincinnati Reds, in 1869. Soon, professional teams sprang up in several major American cities. Baseball games provided an inexpensive form of entertainment, where for less than a dollar, a person could enjoy a double-header, two hot dogs, and a beer. But more importantly, the teams became a way for newly relocated Americans and immigrants of diverse backgrounds to develop a unified civic identity, all cheering for one team. By 1876, the National League had formed, and soon after, cathedral-style ballparks began to spring up in many cities. Fenway Park in Boston (1912), Forbes Field in Pittsburgh (1909), and the Polo Grounds in New York (1890) all became touch points where working-class Americans came together to support a common cause.
Other popular sports included prize-fighting, which attracted a predominantly male, working- and middle-class audience who lived vicariously through the triumphs of the boxers during a time where opportunities for individual success were rapidly shrinking, and college football, which paralleled a modern corporation in its team hierarchy, divisions of duties, and emphasis on time management.
THE UPPER CLASS IN THE CITIES
The American financial elite did not need to crowd into cities to find work, like their working-class counterparts. But as urban centers were vital business cores, where multi-million-dollar financial deals were made daily, those who worked in that world wished to remain close to the action. The rich chose to be in the midst of the chaos of the cities, but they were also able to provide significant measures of comfort, convenience, and luxury for themselves.
Wealthy citizens seldom attended what they considered the crass entertainment of the working class. Instead of amusement parks and baseball games, urban elites sought out more refined pastimes that underscored their knowledge of art and culture, preferring classical music concerts, fine art collections, and social gatherings with their peers. In New York, Andrew Carnegie built Carnegie Hall in 1891, which quickly became the center of classical music performances in the country. Nearby, the Metropolitan Museum of Art opened its doors in 1872 and still remains one of the largest collections of fine art in the world. Other cities followed suit, and these cultural pursuits became a way for the upper class to remind themselves of their elevated place amid urban squalor.
As new opportunities for the middle class threatened the austerity of upper-class citizens, including the newer forms of transportation that allowed middle-class Americans to travel with greater ease, wealthier Americans sought unique ways to further set themselves apart in society. These included more expensive excursions, such as vacations in Newport, Rhode Island, winter relocation to sunny Florida, and frequent trips aboard steamships to Europe. For those who were not of the highly respected “old money,” but only recently obtained their riches through business ventures, the relief they sought came in the form of one book—the annual Social Register. First published in 1886 by Louis Keller in New York City, the register became a directory of the wealthy socialites who populated the city. Keller updated it annually, and people would watch with varying degrees of anxiety or complacency to see their names appear in print. Also called the Blue Book, the register was instrumental in the planning of society dinners, balls, and other social events. For those of newer wealth, there was relief found simply in the notion that they and others witnessed their wealth through the publication of their names in the register.
A NEW MIDDLE CLASS
While the working class were confined to tenement houses in the cities by their need to be close to their work and the lack of funds to find anyplace better, and the wealthy class chose to remain in the cities to stay close to the action of big business transactions, the emerging middle class responded to urban challenges with their own solutions. This group included the managers, salesmen, engineers, doctors, accountants, and other salaried professionals who still worked for a living, but were significantly better educated and compensated than the working-class poor. For this new middle class, relief from the trials of the cities came through education and suburbanization.
In large part, the middle class responded to the challenges of the city by physically escaping it. As transportation improved and outlying communities connected to urban centers, the middle class embraced a new type of community—the suburbs. It became possible for those with adequate means to work in the city and escape each evening, by way of a train or trolley, to a house in the suburbs. As the number of people moving to the suburbs grew, there also grew a perception among the middle class that the farther one lived from the city and the more amenities one had, the more affluence one had achieved.
Although a few suburbs existed in the United States prior to the 1880s (such as Llewellyn Park, New Jersey), the introduction of the electric railway generated greater interest and growth during the last decade of the century. The ability to travel from home to work on a relatively quick and cheap mode of transportation encouraged more Americans of modest means to consider living away from the chaos of the city. Eventually, Henry Ford’s popularization of the automobile, specifically in terms of a lower price, permitted more families to own cars and thus consider suburban life. Later in the twentieth century, both the advent of the interstate highway system, along with federal legislation designed to allow families to construct homes with low-interest loans, further sparked the suburban phenomenon.
New Roles for Middle-Class Women
Social norms of the day encouraged middle-class women to take great pride in creating a positive home environment for their working husbands and school-age children, which reinforced the business and educational principles that they practiced on the job or in school. It was at this time that the magazines Ladies Home Journal and Good Housekeeping began distribution, to tremendous popularity (Figure).
While the vast majority of middle-class women took on the expected role of housewife and homemaker, some women were finding paths to college. A small number of men’s colleges began to open their doors to women in the mid-1800s, and co-education became an option. Some of the most elite universities created affiliated women’s colleges, such as Radcliffe College with Harvard, and Pembroke College with Brown University. But more importantly, the first women’s colleges opened at this time. Mount Holyoke, Vassar, Smith, and Wellesley Colleges, still some of the best known women’s schools, opened their doors between 1865 and 1880, and, although enrollment was low (initial class sizes ranged from sixty-one students at Vassar to seventy at Wellesley, seventy-one at Smith, and up to eighty-eight at Mount Holyoke), the opportunity for a higher education, and even a career, began to emerge for young women. These schools offered a unique, all-women environment in which professors and a community of education-seeking young women came together. While most college-educated young women still married, their education offered them new opportunities to work outside the home, most frequently as teachers, professors, or in the aforementioned settlement house environments created by Jane Addams and others.
Education and the Middle Class
Since the children of the professional class did not have to leave school and find work to support their families, they had opportunities for education and advancement that would solidify their position in the middle class. They also benefited from the presence of stay-at-home mothers, unlike working-class children, whose mothers typically worked the same long hours as their fathers. Public school enrollment exploded at this time, with the number of students attending public school tripling from seven million in 1870 to twenty-one million in 1920. Unlike the old-fashioned one-room schoolhouses, larger schools slowly began the practice of employing different teachers for each grade, and some even began hiring discipline-specific instructors. High schools also grew at this time, from one hundred high schools nationally in 1860 to over six thousand by 1900.
The federal government supported the growth of higher education with the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890. These laws set aside public land and federal funds to create land-grant colleges that were affordable to middle-class families, offering courses and degrees useful in the professions, but also in trade, commerce, industry, and agriculture (Figure). Land-grant colleges stood in contrast to the expensive, private Ivy League universities such as Harvard and Yale, which still catered to the elite. Iowa became the first state to accept the provisions of the original Morrill Act, creating what later became Iowa State University. Other states soon followed suit, and the availability of an affordable college education encouraged a boost in enrollment, from 50,000 students nationwide in 1870 to over 600,000 students by 1920.
College curricula also changed at this time. Students grew less likely to take traditional liberal arts classes in rhetoric, philosophy, and foreign language, and instead focused on preparing for the modern work world. Professional schools for the study of medicine, law, and business also developed. In short, education for the children of middle-class parents catered to class-specific interests and helped ensure that parents could establish their children comfortably in the middle class as well.
“CITY BEAUTIFUL”
While the working poor lived in the worst of it and the wealthy elite sought to avoid it, all city dwellers at the time had to deal with the harsh realities of urban sprawl. Skyscrapers rose and filled the air, streets were crowded with pedestrians of all sorts, and, as developers worked to meet the always-increasing demand for space, the few remaining green spaces in the city quickly disappeared. As the U.S. population became increasingly centered in urban areas while the century drew to a close, questions about the quality of city life—particularly with regard to issues of aesthetics, crime, and poverty—quickly consumed many reformers’ minds. Those middle-class and wealthier urbanites who enjoyed the costlier amenities presented by city life—including theaters, restaurants, and shopping—were free to escape to the suburbs, leaving behind the poorer working classes living in squalor and unsanitary conditions. Through the City Beautiful movement, leaders such as Frederick Law Olmsted and Daniel Burnham sought to champion middle- and upper-class progressive reforms. They improved the quality of life for city dwellers, but also cultivated middle-class-dominated urban spaces in which Americans of different ethnicities, racial origins, and classes worked and lived.
Olmsted, one of the earliest and most influential designers of urban green space, and the original designer of Central Park in New York, worked with Burnham to introduce the idea of the City Beautiful movement at the Columbian Exposition in 1893. There, they helped to design and construct the “White City”—so named for the plaster of Paris construction of several buildings that were subsequently painted a bright white—an example of landscaping and architecture that shone as an example of perfect city planning. From wide-open green spaces to brightly painted white buildings, connected with modern transportation services and appropriate sanitation, the “White City” set the stage for American urban city planning for the next generation, beginning in 1901 with the modernization of Washington, DC. This model encouraged city planners to consider three principal tenets: First, create larger park areas inside cities; second, build wider boulevards to decrease traffic congestion and allow for lines of trees and other greenery between lanes; and third, add more suburbs in order to mitigate congested living in the city itself (Figure). As each city adapted these principles in various ways, the City Beautiful movement became a cornerstone of urban development well into the twentieth century.
Section Summary
The burgeoning cities brought together both rich and poor, working class and upper class; however, the realities of urban dwellers’ lives varied dramatically based on where they fell in the social chain. Entertainment and leisure-time activities were heavily dependent on one’s status and wealth. For the working poor, amusement parks and baseball games offered inexpensive entertainment and a brief break from the squalor of the tenements. For the emerging middle class of salaried professionals, an escape to the suburbs kept them removed from the city’s chaos outside of working hours. And for the wealthy, immersion in arts and culture, as well as inclusion in the Social Register, allowed them to socialize exclusively with those they felt were of the same social status. The City Beautiful movement benefitted all city dwellers, with its emphasis on public green spaces, and more beautiful and practical city boulevards. In all, these different opportunities for leisure and pleasure made city life manageable for the citizens who lived there.
Review Questions
Which of the following was a popular pastime for working-class urban dwellers?
- football games
- opera
- museums
- amusement parks
Hint:
D
Which of the following was a disadvantage of machine politics?
- Immigrants did not have a voice.
- Taxpayers ultimately paid higher city taxes due to graft.
- Only wealthy parts of the city received timely responses.
- Citizens who voiced complaints were at risk for their safety.
Hint:
B
In what way did education play a crucial role in the emergence of the middle class?
Hint:
Better public education and the explosion of high schools meant that the children of the middle class were better educated than any previous generation. While college had previously been mostly restricted to children of the upper class, the creation of land-grant colleges made college available on a wide scale. The curricula at these new colleges matched the needs of the middle class, offering practical professional training rather than the liberal arts focus that the Ivy League schools embraced. Thus, children of the emerging middle class were able to access the education and training needed to secure their place in the professional class for generations to come.
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oercommons
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2025-03-18T00:39:26.552067
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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/15497/overview
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Change Reflected in Thought and Writing
Overview
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Explain how American writers, both fiction and nonfiction, helped Americans to better understand the changes they faced in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries
- Identify some of the influential women and African American writers of the era
In the late nineteenth century, Americans were living in a world characterized by rapid change. Western expansion, dramatic new technologies, and the rise of big business drastically influenced society in a matter of a few decades. For those living in the fast-growing urban areas, the pace of change was even faster and harder to ignore. One result of this time of transformation was the emergence of a series of notable authors, who, whether writing fiction or nonfiction, offered a lens through which to better understand the shifts in American society.
UNDERSTANDING SOCIAL PROGRESS
One key idea of the nineteenth century that moved from the realm of science to the murkier ground of social and economic success was Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution. Darwin was a British naturalist who, in his 1859 work On the Origin of Species, made the case that species develop and evolve through natural selection, not through divine intervention. The idea quickly drew fire from the Anglican Church (although a liberal branch of Anglicans embraced the notion of natural selection being part of God’s plan) and later from many others, both in England and abroad, who felt that the theory directly contradicted the role of God in the earth’s creation. Although biologists, botanists, and most of the scientific establishment widely accepted the theory of evolution at the time of Darwin’s publication, which they felt synthesized much of the previous work in the field, the theory remained controversial in the public realm for decades.
Political philosopher Herbert Spencer took Darwin’s theory of evolution further, coining the actual phrase “survival of the fittest,” and later helping to popularize the phrase social Darwinism to posit that society evolved much like a natural organism, wherein some individuals will succeed due to racially and ethnically inherent traits, and their ability to adapt. This model allowed that a collection of traits and skills, which could include intelligence, inherited wealth, and so on, mixed with the ability to adapt, would let all Americans rise or fall of their own accord, so long as the road to success was accessible to all. William Graham Sumner, a sociologist at Yale, became the most vocal proponent of social Darwinism. Not surprisingly, this ideology, which Darwin himself would have rejected as a gross misreading of his scientific discoveries, drew great praise from those who made their wealth at this time. They saw their success as proof of biological fitness, although critics of this theory were quick to point out that those who did not succeed often did not have the same opportunities or equal playing field that the ideology of social Darwinism purported. Eventually, the concept fell into disrepute in the 1930s and 1940s, as eugenicists began to utilize it in conjunction with their racial theories of genetic superiority.
Other thinkers of the day took Charles Darwin’s theories in a more nuanced direction, focusing on different theories of realism that sought to understand the truth underlying the changes in the United States. These thinkers believed that ideas and social constructs must be proven to work before they could be accepted. Philosopher William James was one of the key proponents of the closely related concept of pragmatism, which held that Americans needed to experiment with different ideas and perspectives to find the truth about American society, rather than assuming that there was truth in old, previously accepted models. Only by tying ideas, thoughts, and statements to actual objects and occurrences could one begin to identify a coherent truth, according to James. His work strongly influenced the subsequent avant-garde and modernist movements in literature and art, especially in understanding the role of the observer, artist, or writer in shaping the society they attempted to observe. John Dewey built on the idea of pragmatism to create a theory of instrumentalism, which advocated the use of education in the search for truth. Dewey believed that education, specifically observation and change through the scientific method, was the best tool by which to reform and improve American society as it continued to grow ever more complex. To that end, Dewey strongly encouraged educational reforms designed to create an informed American citizenry that could then form the basis for other, much-needed progressive reforms in society.
In addition to the new medium of photography, popularized by Riis, novelists and other artists also embraced realism in their work. They sought to portray vignettes from real life in their stories, partly in response to the more sentimental works of their predecessors. Visual artists such as George Bellows, Edward Hopper, and Robert Henri, among others, formed the Ashcan School of Art, which was interested primarily in depicting the urban lifestyle that was quickly gripping the United States at the turn of the century. Their works typically focused on working-class city life, including the slums and tenement houses, as well as working-class forms of leisure and entertainment (Figure).
Novelists and journalists also popularized realism in literary works. Authors such as Stephen Crane, who wrote stark stories about life in the slums or during the Civil War, and Rebecca Harding Davis, who in 1861 published Life in the Iron Mills, embodied this popular style. Mark Twain also sought realism in his books, whether it was the reality of the pioneer spirit, seen in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, published in 1884, or the issue of corruption in The Gilded Age, co-authored with Charles Dudley Warner in 1873. The narratives and visual arts of these realists could nonetheless be highly stylized, crafted, and even fabricated, since their goal was the effective portrayal of social realities they thought required reform. Some authors, such as Jack London, who wrote Call of the Wild, embraced a school of thought called naturalism, which concluded that the laws of nature and the natural world were the only truly relevant laws governing humanity (Figure).
Kate Chopin, widely regarded as the foremost woman short story writer and novelist of her day, sought to portray a realistic view of women’s lives in late nineteenth-century America, thus paving the way for more explicit feminist literature in generations to come. Although Chopin never described herself as a feminist per se, her reflective works on her experiences as a southern woman introduced a form of creative nonfiction that captured the struggles of women in the United States through their own individual experiences. She also was among the first authors to openly address the race issue of miscegenation. In her work Desiree’s Baby, Chopin specifically explores the Creole community of her native Louisiana in depths that exposed the reality of racism in a manner seldom seen in literature of the time.
African American poet, playwright, and novelist of the realist period, Paul Laurence Dunbar dealt with issues of race at a time when most reform-minded Americans preferred to focus on other issues. Through his combination of writing in both standard English and black dialect, Dunbar delighted readers with his rich portrayals of the successes and struggles associated with African American life. Although he initially struggled to find the patronage and financial support required to develop a full-time literary career, Dunbar’s subsequent professional relationship with literary critic and Atlantic Monthly editor William Dean Howells helped to firmly cement his literary credentials as the foremost African American writer of his generation. As with Chopin and Harding, Dunbar’s writing highlighted parts of the American experience that were not well understood by the dominant demographic of the country. In their work, these authors provided readers with insights into a world that was not necessarily familiar to them and also gave hidden communities—be it iron mill workers, southern women, or African American men—a sense of voice.
Mark Twain’s lampoon of author Horatio Alger demonstrates Twain’s commitment to realism by mocking the myth set out by Alger, whose stories followed a common theme in which a poor but honest boy goes from rags to riches through a combination of “luck and pluck.” See how Twain twists Alger’s hugely popular storyline in this piece of satire.
Kate Chopin: An Awakening in an Unpopular Time
Author Kate Chopin grew up in the American South and later moved to St. Louis, where she began writing stories to make a living after the death of her husband. She published her works throughout the late 1890s, with stories appearing in literary magazines and local papers. It was her second novel, The Awakening, which gained her notoriety and criticism in her lifetime, and ongoing literary fame after her death (Figure).
The Awakening, set in the New Orleans society that Chopin knew well, tells the story of a woman struggling with the constraints of marriage who ultimately seeks her own fulfillment over the needs of her family. The book deals far more openly than most novels of the day with questions of women’s sexual desires. It also flouted nineteenth-century conventions by looking at the protagonist’s struggles with the traditional role expected of women.
While a few contemporary reviewers saw merit in the book, most criticized it as immoral and unseemly. It was censored, called “pure poison,” and critics railed against Chopin herself. While Chopin wrote squarely in the tradition of realism that was popular at this time, her work covered ground that was considered “too real” for comfort. After the negative reception of the novel, Chopin retreated from public life and discontinued writing. She died five years after its publication. After her death, Chopin’s work was largely ignored, until scholars rediscovered it in the late twentieth century, and her books and stories came back into print. The Awakening in particular has been recognized as vital to the earliest edges of the modern feminist movement.
Excerpts from interviews with David Chopin, Kate Chopin’s grandson, and a scholar who studies her work provide interesting perspectives on the author and her views.
CRITICS OF MODERN AMERICA
While many Americans at this time, both everyday working people and theorists, felt the changes of the era would lead to improvements and opportunities, there were critics of the emerging social shifts as well. Although less popular than Twain and London, authors such as Edward Bellamy, Henry George, and Thorstein Veblen were also influential in spreading critiques of the industrial age. While their critiques were quite distinct from each other, all three believed that the industrial age was a step in the wrong direction for the country.
In the 1888 novel Looking Backward, 2000-1887, Edward Bellamy portrays a utopian America in the year 2000, with the country living in peace and harmony after abandoning the capitalist model and moving to a socialist state. In the book, Bellamy predicts the future advent of credit cards, cable entertainment, and “super-store” cooperatives that resemble a modern day Wal-Mart. Looking Backward proved to be a popular bestseller (third only to Uncle Tom’s Cabin and Ben Hur among late nineteenth-century publications) and appealed to those who felt the industrial age of big business was sending the country in the wrong direction. Eugene Debs, who led the national Pullman Railroad Strike in 1894, later commented on how Bellamy’s work influenced him to adopt socialism as the answer to the exploitative industrial capitalist model. In addition, Bellamy’s work spurred the publication of no fewer than thirty-six additional books or articles by other writers, either supporting Bellamy’s outlook or directly criticizing it. In 1897, Bellamy felt compelled to publish a sequel, entitled Equality, in which he further explained ideas he had previously introduced concerning educational reform and women’s equality, as well as a world of vegetarians who speak a universal language.
Another author whose work illustrated the criticisms of the day was nonfiction writer Henry George, an economist best known for his 1879 work Progress and Poverty, which criticized the inequality found in an industrial economy. He suggested that, while people should own that which they create, all land and natural resources should belong to all equally, and should be taxed through a “single land tax” in order to disincentivize private land ownership. His thoughts influenced many economic progressive reformers, as well as led directly to the creation of the now-popular board game, Monopoly.
Another critique of late nineteenth-century American capitalism was Thorstein Veblen, who lamented in The Theory of the Leisure Class (1899) that capitalism created a middle class more preoccupied with its own comfort and consumption than with maximizing production. In coining the phrase “conspicuous consumption,” Veblen identified the means by which one class of nonproducers exploited the working class that produced the goods for their consumption. Such practices, including the creation of business trusts, served only to create a greater divide between the haves and have-nots in American society, and resulted in economic inefficiencies that required correction or reform.
Section Summary
Americans were overwhelmed by the rapid pace and scale of change at the close of the nineteenth century. Authors and thinkers tried to assess the meaning of the country’s seismic shifts in culture and society through their work. Fiction writers often used realism in an attempt to paint an accurate portrait of how people were living at the time. Proponents of economic developments and cultural changes cited social Darwinism as an acceptable model to explain why some people succeeded and others failed, whereas other philosophers looked more closely at Darwin’s work and sought to apply a model of proof and pragmatism to all ideas and institutions. Other sociologists and philosophers criticized the changes of the era, citing the inequities found in the new industrial economy and its negative effects on workers.
Review Questions
Which of the following statements accurately represents Thorstein Veblen’s argument in The Theory of the Leisure Class?
- All citizens of an industrial society would rise or fall based on their own innate merits.
- The tenets of naturalism were the only laws through which society should be governed.
- The middle class was overly focused on its own comfort and consumption.
- Land and natural resources should belong equally to all citizens.
Hint:
C
Which of the following was not an element of realism?
- social Darwinism
- instrumentalism
- naturalism
- pragmatism
Hint:
A
In what ways did writers, photographers, and visual artists begin to embrace more realistic subjects in their work? How were these responses to the advent of the industrial age and the rise of cities?
Hint:
The growth of the industrial economy and the dramatic growth of cities created new, harsh realities that were often hidden from the public eye. Writers and artists, responding both to this fact and to the sentimentalism that characterized the writing and art of their predecessors, began to depict subjects that reflected the new truth. Photographers like Jacob Riis sought to present to the public the realities of working-class life and labor. Novelists began to portray true-to-life vignettes in their stories. Visual artists such as George Bellows, Edward Hopper, and Robert Henri formed the Ashcan School of Art, which depicted the often gritty realities of working-class city life, leisure, and entertainment.
Critical Thinking Questions
What triumphs did the late nineteenth century witness in the realms of industrial growth, urbanization, and technological innovation? What challenges did these developments pose for urban dwellers, workers, and recent immigrants? How did city officials and everyday citizens respond to these challenges?
What were the effects of urbanization on the working, middle, and elite classes of American society? Conversely, how did the different social classes and their activities change the scope, character, and use of urban spaces?
How do you think that different classes of city dwellers would have viewed the City Beautiful movement? What potential benefits and drawbacks of this new direction in urban planning might members of each class have cited?
How was Darwin’s work on the evolution of species exploited by proponents of the industrial age? Why might they have latched on to this idea in particular?
Historians often mine the arts for clues to the social, cultural, political, and intellectual shifts that characterized a given era. How do the many works of visual art, literature, and social philosophy that emerged from this period reflect the massive changes that were taking place? How were Americans—both those who created these works and those who read or viewed them—struggling to understand the new reality through art, literature, and scholarship?
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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/15472/overview
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Introduction
Overview
- The Origins and Outbreak of the Civil War
- Early Mobilization and War
- 1863: The Changing Nature of the War
- The Union Triumphant
In May 1864, General Ulysses S. Grant ordered the Union’s Army of the Potomac to cross the Rapidan River in Virginia. Grant knew that Confederate general Robert E. Lee would defend the Confederate capital at Richmond at all costs, committing troops that might otherwise be sent to the Shenandoah or the Deep South to stop Union general William Tecumseh Sherman from capturing Atlanta, a key Confederate city. For two days, the Army of the Potomac fought Lee’s troops in the Wilderness, a wooded area along the Rapidan River. Nearly ten thousand Confederate soldiers were killed or wounded, as were more than seventeen thousand Union troops. A few weeks later, the armies would meet again at the Battle of Cold Harbor, where another fifteen thousand men would be wounded or killed. As in many battles, the bodies of those who died were left on the field where they fell. A year later, African Americans, who were often called upon to perform menial labor for the Union army (Figure), collected the skeletal remains of the dead for a proper burial. The state of the graves of many Civil War soldiers partly inspired the creation of Memorial Day, a day set aside for visiting and decorating the graves of the dead.
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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/15473/overview
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The Origins and Outbreak of the Civil War
Overview
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Explain the major events that occurred during the Secession Crisis
- Describe the creation and founding principles of the Confederate States of America
The 1860 election of Abraham Lincoln was a turning point for the United States. Throughout the tumultuous 1850s, the Fire-Eaters of the southern states had been threatening to leave the Union. With Lincoln’s election, they prepared to make good on their threats. Indeed, the Republican president-elect appeared to be their worst nightmare. The Republican Party committed itself to keeping slavery out of the territories as the country expanded westward, a position that shocked southern sensibilities. Meanwhile, southern leaders suspected that Republican abolitionists would employ the violent tactics of John Brown to deprive southerners of their slave property. The threat posed by the Republican victory in the election of 1860 spurred eleven southern states to leave the Union to form the Confederate States of America, a new republic dedicated to maintaining and expanding slavery. The Union, led by President Lincoln, was unwilling to accept the departure of these states and committed itself to restoring the country. Beginning in 1861 and continuing until 1865, the United States engaged in a brutal Civil War that claimed the lives of over 600,000 soldiers. By 1863, the conflict had become not only a war to save the Union, but also a war to end slavery in the United States. Only after four years of fighting did the North prevail. The Union was preserved, and the institution of slavery had been destroyed in the nation.
THE CAUSES OF THE CIVIL WAR
Lincoln’s election sparked the southern secession fever into flame, but it did not cause the Civil War. For decades before Lincoln took office, the sectional divisions in the country had been widening. Both the Northern and southern states engaged in inflammatory rhetoric and agitation, and violent emotions ran strong on both sides. Several factors played into the ultimate split between the North and the South.
One key irritant was the question of slavery’s expansion westward. The debate over whether new states would be slave or free reached back to the controversy over statehood for Missouri beginning in 1819 and Texas in the 1830s and early 1840s. This question arose again after the Mexican-American War (1846–1848), when the government debated whether slavery would be permitted in the territories taken from Mexico. Efforts in Congress to reach a compromise in 1850 fell back on the principle of popular sovereignty—letting the people in the new territories south of the 1820 Missouri Compromise line decide whether to allow slavery. This same principle came to be applied to the Kansas-Nebraska territories in 1854, a move that added fuel to the fire of sectional conflict by destroying the Missouri Compromise boundary and leading to the birth of the Republican Party. In the end, popular sovereignty proved to be no solution at all. This was especially true in “Bleeding Kansas” in the mid-1850s, as pro- and antislavery forces battled each another in an effort to gain the upper hand.
The small but very vocal abolitionist movement further contributed to the escalating tensions between the North and the South. Since the 1830s, abolitionists, led by journalist and reformer William Lloyd Garrison, had cast slavery as a national sin and called for its immediate end. For three decades, the abolitionists—a minority even within the antislavery movement—had had a significant effect on American society by bringing the evils of slavery into the public consciousness. By the 1850s, some of the most radical abolitionists, such as John Brown, had resorted to violence in their efforts to destroy the institution of slavery.
The formation of the Liberty Party (1840), the Free-Soil Party (1848), and the Republican Party (1854), all of which strongly opposed the spread of slavery to the West, brought the question solidly into the political arena. Although not all those who opposed the westward expansion of slavery had a strong abolitionist bent, the attempt to limit slaveholders’ control of their human property stiffened the resolve of southern leaders to defend their society at all costs. Prohibiting slavery’s expansion, they argued, ran counter to fundamental American property rights. Across the country, people of all political stripes worried that the nation’s arguments would cause irreparable rifts in the country.
Despite the ruptures and tensions, by the 1860s, some hope of healing the nation still existed. Before Lincoln took office, John Crittenden, a senator from Kentucky who had helped form the Constitutional Union Party during the 1860 presidential election, attempted to diffuse the explosive situation by offering six constitutional amendments and a series of resolutions, known as the Crittenden Compromise. Crittenden’s goal was to keep the South from seceding, and his strategy was to transform the Constitution to explicitly protect slavery forever. Specifically, Crittenden proposed an amendment that would restore the 36°30′ line from the Missouri Compromise and extend it all the way to the Pacific Ocean, protecting and ensuring slavery south of the line while prohibiting it north of the line (Figure). He further proposed an amendment that would prohibit Congress from abolishing slavery anywhere it already existed or from interfering with the interstate slave trade.
Republicans, including President-elect Lincoln, rejected Crittenden’s proposals because they ran counter to the party’s goal of keeping slavery out of the territories. The southern states also rejected Crittenden’s attempts at compromise, because it would prevent slaveholders from taking their human chattel north of the 36°30′ line. On December 20, 1860, only a few days after Crittenden’s proposal was introduced in Congress, South Carolina began the march towards war when it seceded from the United States. Three more states of the Deep South—Mississippi, Florida, and Alabama—seceded before the U.S. Senate rejected Crittenden’s proposal on January 16, 1861. Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas joined them in rapid succession on January 19, January 26, and February 1, respectively (Figure). In many cases, these secessions occurred after extremely divided conventions and popular votes. A lack of unanimity prevailed in much of the South.
Explore the causes, battles, and aftermath of the Civil War at the interactive website offered by the National Parks Service.
THE CREATION OF THE CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA
The seven Deep South states that seceded quickly formed a new government. In the opinion of many Southern politicians, the federal Constitution that united the states as one nation was a contract by which individual states had agreed to be bound. However, they maintained, the states had not sacrificed their autonomy and could withdraw their consent to be controlled by the federal government. In their eyes, their actions were in keeping with the nature of the Constitution and the social contract theory of government that had influenced the founders of the American Republic.
The new nation formed by these men would not be a federal union, but a confederation. In a confederation, individual member states agree to unite under a central government for some purposes, such as defense, but to retain autonomy in other areas of government. In this way, states could protect themselves, and slavery, from interference by what they perceived to be an overbearing central government. The constitution of the Confederate States of America (CSA), or the Confederacy, drafted at a convention in Montgomery, Alabama, in February 1861, closely followed the 1787 Constitution. The only real difference between the two documents centered on slavery. The Confederate Constitution declared that the new nation existed to defend and perpetuate racial slavery, and the leadership of the slaveholding class. Specifically, the constitution protected the interstate slave trade, guaranteed that slavery would exist in any new territory gained by the Confederacy, and, perhaps most importantly, in Article One, Section Nine, declared that “No . . . law impairing or denying the right of property in negro slaves shall be passed.” Beyond its focus on slavery, the Confederate Constitution resembled the 1787 U.S. Constitution. It allowed for a Congress composed of two chambers, a judicial branch, and an executive branch with a president to serve for six years.
The convention delegates chose Jefferson Davis of Mississippi to lead the new provisional government as president and Alexander Stephens of Georgia to serve as vice president until elections could be held in the spring and fall of 1861. By that time, four new states—Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina—had joined the CSA. As 1861 progressed, the Confederacy claimed Missouri and Kentucky, even though no ordinance of secession had been approved in those states. Southern nationalism ran high, and the Confederacy, buoyed by its sense of purpose, hoped that their new nation would achieve eminence in the world.
By the time Lincoln reached Washington, DC, in February 1861, the CSA had already been established. The new president confronted an unprecedented crisis. A conference held that month with delegates from the Southern states failed to secure a promise of peace or to restore the Union. On inauguration day, March 4, 1861, the new president repeated his views on slavery: “I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so.” His recognition of slavery in the South did nothing to mollify slaveholders, however, because Lincoln also pledged to keep slavery from expanding into the new western territories. Furthermore, in his inaugural address, Lincoln made clear his commitment to maintaining federal power against the secessionists working to destroy it. Lincoln declared that the Union could not be dissolved by individual state actions, and, therefore, secession was unconstitutional.
Read Lincoln’s entire inaugural address at the Yale Avalon project’s website. How would Lincoln’s audience have responded to this speech?
FORT SUMTER
President Lincoln made it clear to Southern secessionists that he would fight to maintain federal property and to keep the Union intact. Other politicians, however, still hoped to avoid the use of force to resolve the crisis. In February 1861, in an effort to entice the rebellious states to return to the Union without resorting to force, Thomas Corwin, a representative from Ohio, introduced a proposal to amend the Constitution in the House of Representatives. His was but one of several measures proposed in January and February 1861, to head off the impending conflict and save the United States. The proposed amendment would have made it impossible for Congress to pass any law abolishing slavery. The proposal passed the House on February 28, 1861, and the Senate passed the proposal on March 2, 1861. It was then sent to the states to be ratified. Once ratified by three-quarters of state legislatures, it would become law. In his inaugural address, Lincoln stated that he had no objection to the amendment, and his predecessor James Buchanan had supported it. By the time of Lincoln’s inauguration, however, seven states had already left the Union. Of the remaining states, Ohio ratified the amendment in 1861, and Maryland and Illinois did so in 1862. Despite this effort at reconciliation, the Confederate states did not return to the Union.
Indeed, by the time of the Corwin amendment’s passage through Congress, Confederate forces in the Deep South had already begun to take over federal forts. The loss of Fort Sumter, in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina, proved to be the flashpoint in the contest between the new Confederacy and the federal government. A small Union garrison of fewer than one hundred soldiers and officers held the fort, making it a vulnerable target for the Confederacy. Fire-Eaters pressured Jefferson Davis to take Fort Sumter and thereby demonstrate the Confederate government’s resolve. Some also hoped that the Confederacy would gain foreign recognition, especially from Great Britain, by taking the fort in the South’s most important Atlantic port. The situation grew dire as local merchants refused to sell food to the fort’s Union soldiers, and by mid-April, the garrison’s supplies began to run out. President Lincoln let it be known to Confederate leaders that he planned to resupply the Union forces. His strategy was clear: The decision to start the war would rest squarely on the Confederates, not on the Union. On April 12, 1861, Confederate forces in Charleston began a bombardment of Fort Sumter (Figure). Two days later, the Union soldiers there surrendered.
The attack on Fort Sumter meant war had come, and on April 15, 1861, Lincoln called upon loyal states to supply armed forces to defeat the rebellion and regain Fort Sumter. Faced with the need to choose between the Confederacy and the Union, border states and those of the Upper South, which earlier had been reluctant to dissolve their ties with the United States, were inspired to take action. They quickly voted for secession. A convention in Virginia that had been assembled earlier to consider the question of secession voted to join the Confederacy on April 17, two days after Lincoln called for troops. Arkansas left the Union on May 6 along with Tennessee one day later. North Carolina followed on May 20.
Not all residents of the border states and the Upper South wished to join the Confederacy, however. Pro-Union feelings remained strong in Tennessee, especially in the eastern part of the state where slaves were few and consisted largely of house servants owned by the wealthy. The state of Virginia—home of revolutionary leaders and presidents such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe—literally was split on the issue of secession. Residents in the north and west of the state, where few slaveholders resided, rejected secession. These counties subsequently united to form “West Virginia,” which entered the Union as a free state in 1863. The rest of Virginia, including the historic lands along the Chesapeake Bay that were home to such early American settlements as Jamestown and Williamsburg, joined the Confederacy. The addition of this area gave the Confederacy even greater hope and brought General Robert E. Lee, arguably the best military commander of the day, to their side. In addition, the secession of Virginia brought Washington, DC, perilously close to the Confederacy, and fears that the border state of Maryland would also join the CSA, thus trapping the U.S. capital within Confederate territories, plagued Lincoln.
The Confederacy also gained the backing of the Five Civilized Tribes, as they were called, in the Indian Territory. The Five Civilized Tribes comprised the Choctaws, Chickasaws, Creeks, Seminoles, and Cherokees. The tribes supported slavery and many members owned slaves. These Indian slaveholders, who had been forced from their lands in Georgia and elsewhere in the Deep South during the presidency of Andrew Jackson, now found unprecedented common cause with white slaveholders. The CSA even allowed them to send delegates to the Confederate Congress.
While most slaveholding states joined the Confederacy, four crucial slave states remained in the Union (Figure). Delaware, which was technically a slave state despite its tiny slave population, never voted to secede. Maryland, despite deep divisions, remained in the Union as well. Missouri became the site of vicious fighting and the home of pro-Confederate guerillas but never joined the Confederacy. Kentucky declared itself neutral, although that did little to stop the fighting that occurred within the state. In all, these four states deprived the Confederacy of key resources and soldiers.
Section Summary
The election of Abraham Lincoln to the presidency in 1860 proved to be a watershed event. While it did not cause the Civil War, it was the culmination of increasing tensions between the proslavery South and the antislavery North. Before Lincoln had even taken office, seven Deep South states had seceded from the Union to form the CSA, dedicated to maintaining racial slavery and white supremacy. Last-minute efforts to reach a compromise, such as the proposal by Senator Crittenden and the Corwin amendment, went nowhere. The time for compromise had come to an end. With the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter, the Civil War began.
Review Questions
Which of the following does not represent a goal of the Confederate States of America?
- to protect slavery from any effort to abolish it
- to protect the domestic slave trade
- to ensure that slavery would be allowed to spread into western territories
- to ensure that the international slave trade would be allowed to continue
Hint:
D
Which was not a provision of the Crittenden Compromise?
- that the Five Civilized Tribes would be admitted into the Confederacy
- that the 36°30′ line from the Missouri Compromise would be restored and extended
- that Congress would be prohibited from abolishing slavery where it already existed
- that the interstate slave trade would be allowed to continue
Hint:
A
Why did the states of the Deep South secede from the Union sooner than the states of the Upper South and the border states?
Hint:
Slavery was more deeply entrenched in the Deep South than it was in the Upper South or the border states. The Deep South was home to larger numbers of both slaveholders and slaves. Pro-Union sentiment remained strong in parts of the Upper South and border states, particularly those areas with smaller populations of slaveholders.
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Early Mobilization and War
Overview
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Assess the strengths and weaknesses of the Confederacy and the Union
- Explain the strategic importance of the Battle of Bull Run and the Battle of Shiloh
In 1861, enthusiasm for war ran high on both sides. The North fought to restore the Union, which Lincoln declared could never be broken. The Confederacy, which by the summer of 1861 consisted of eleven states, fought for its independence from the United States. The continuation of slavery was a central issue in the war, of course, although abolitionism and western expansion also played roles, and Northerners and Southerners alike flocked eagerly to the conflict. Both sides thought it would be over quickly. Militarily, however, the North and South were more equally matched than Lincoln had realized, and it soon became clear that the war effort would be neither brief nor painless. In 1861, Americans in both the North and South romanticized war as noble and positive. Soon the carnage and slaughter would awaken them to the horrors of war.
THE FIRST BATTLE OF BULL RUN
After the fall of Fort Sumter on April 15, 1861, Lincoln called for seventy-five thousand volunteers from state militias to join federal forces. His goal was a ninety-day campaign to put down the Southern rebellion. The response from state militias was overwhelming, and the number of Northern troops exceeded the requisition. Also in April, Lincoln put in place a naval blockade of the South, a move that gave tacit recognition of the Confederacy while providing a legal excuse for the British and the French to trade with Southerners. The Confederacy responded to the blockade by declaring that a state of war existed with the United States. This official pronouncement confirmed the beginning of the Civil War. Men rushed to enlist, and the Confederacy turned away tens of thousands who hoped to defend the new nation.
Many believed that a single, heroic battle would decide the contest. Some questioned how committed Southerners really were to their cause. Northerners hoped that most Southerners would not actually fire on the American flag. Meanwhile, Lincoln and military leaders in the North hoped a quick blow to the South, especially if they could capture the Confederacy’s new capital of Richmond, Virginia, would end the rebellion before it went any further. On July 21, 1861, the two armies met near Manassas, Virginia, along Bull Run Creek, only thirty miles from Washington, DC. So great was the belief that this would be a climactic Union victory that many Washington socialites and politicians brought picnic lunches to a nearby area, hoping to witness history unfolding before them. At the First Battle of Bull Run, also known as First Manassas, some sixty thousand troops assembled, most of whom had never seen combat, and each side sent eighteen thousand into the fray. The Union forces attacked first, only to be pushed back. The Confederate forces then carried the day, sending the Union soldiers and Washington, DC, onlookers scrambling back from Virginia and destroying Union hopes of a quick, decisive victory. Instead, the war would drag on for four long, deadly years (Figure).
BALANCE SHEET: THE UNION AND THE CONFEDERACY
As it became clearer that the Union would not be dealing with an easily quashed rebellion, the two sides assessed their strengths and weaknesses. At the onset on the war, in 1861 and 1862, they stood as relatively equal combatants.
The Confederates had the advantage of being able to wage a defensive war, rather than an offensive one. They had to protect and preserve their new boundaries, but they did not have to be the aggressors against the Union. The war would be fought primarily in the South, which gave the Confederates the advantages of the knowledge of the terrain and the support of the civilian population. Further, the vast coastline from Texas to Virginia offered ample opportunities to evade the Union blockade. And with the addition of the Upper South states, especially Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas, the Confederacy gained a much larger share of natural resources and industrial might than the Deep South states could muster.
Still, the Confederacy had disadvantages. The South’s economy depended heavily on the export of cotton, but with the naval blockade, the flow of cotton to England, the region’s primary importer, came to an end. The blockade also made it difficult to import manufactured goods. Although the secession of the Upper South added some industrial assets to the Confederacy, overall, the South lacked substantive industry or an extensive railroad infrastructure to move men and supplies. To deal with the lack of commerce and the resulting lack of funds, the Confederate government began printing paper money, leading to runaway inflation (Figure). The advantage that came from fighting on home territory quickly turned to a disadvantage when Confederate armies were defeated and Union forces destroyed Southern farms and towns, and forced Southern civilians to take to the road as refugees. Finally, the population of the South stood at fewer than nine million people, of whom nearly four million were black slaves, compared to over twenty million residents in the North. These limited numbers became a major factor as the war dragged on and the death toll rose.
The Union side held many advantages as well. Its larger population, bolstered by continued immigration from Europe throughout the 1860s, gave it greater manpower reserves to draw upon. The North’s greater industrial capabilities and extensive railroad grid made it far better able to mobilize men and supplies for the war effort. The Industrial Revolution and the transportation revolution, beginning in the 1820s and continuing over the next several decades, had transformed the North. Throughout the war, the North was able to produce more war materials and move goods more quickly than the South. Furthermore, the farms of New England, the Mid-Atlantic, the Old Northwest, and the prairie states supplied Northern civilians and Union troops with abundant food throughout the war. Food shortages and hungry civilians were common in the South, where the best land was devoted to raising cotton, but not in the North.
Unlike the South, however, which could hunker down to defend itself and needed to maintain relatively short supply lines, the North had to go forth and conquer. Union armies had to establish long supply lines, and Union soldiers had to fight on unfamiliar ground and contend with a hostile civilian population off the battlefield. Furthermore, to restore the Union—Lincoln’s overriding goal, in 1861—the United States, after defeating the Southern forces, would then need to pacify a conquered Confederacy, an area of over half a million square miles with nearly nine million residents. In short, although it had better resources and a larger population, the Union faced a daunting task against the well-positioned Confederacy.
MILITARY STALEMATE
The military forces of the Confederacy and the Union battled in 1861 and early 1862 without either side gaining the upper hand. The majority of military leaders on both sides had received the same military education and often knew one another personally, either from their time as students at West Point or as commanding officers in the Mexican-American War. This familiarity allowed them to anticipate each other’s strategies. Both sides believed in the use of concentrated armies charged with taking the capital city of the enemy. For the Union, this meant the capture of the Confederate capital in Richmond, Virginia, whereas Washington, DC, stood as the prize for Confederate forces. After hopes of a quick victory faded at Bull Run, the months dragged on without any major movement on either side (Figure).
General George B. McClellan, the general in chief of the army, responsible for overall control of Union land forces, proved especially reluctant to engage in battle with the Confederates. In direct command of the Army of the Potomac, the Union fighting force operating outside Washington, DC, McClellan believed, incorrectly, that Confederate forces were too strong to defeat and was reluctant to risk his troops in battle. His cautious nature made him popular with his men but not with the president or Congress. By 1862, however, both President Lincoln and the new Secretary of War Edwin Stanton had tired of waiting. The Union put forward a new effort to bolster troop strength, enlisting one million men to serve for three-year stints in the Army of the Potomac. In January 1862, Lincoln and Stanton ordered McClellan to invade the Confederacy with the goal of capturing Richmond.
To that end, General McClellan slowly moved 100,000 soldiers of the Army of the Potomac toward Richmond but stopped a few miles outside the city. As he did so, a Confederate force led by Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson moved north to take Washington, DC. To fend off Jackson’s attack, somewhere between one-quarter and one-third of McClellan’s soldiers, led by Major General Irvin McDowell, returned to defend the nation’s capital, a move that Jackson hoped would leave the remaining troops near Richmond more vulnerable. Having succeeding in drawing off a sizable portion of the Union force, he joined General Lee to launch an attack on McClellan’s remaining soldiers near Richmond. From June 25 to July 1, 1862, the two sides engaged in the brutal Seven Days Battles that killed or wounded almost twenty thousand Confederate and ten thousand Union soldiers. McClellan’s army finally returned north, having failed to take Richmond.
General Lee, flush from his success at keeping McClellan out of Richmond, tried to capitalize on the Union’s failure by taking the fighting northward. He moved his forces into northern Virginia, where, at the Second Battle of Bull Run, the Confederates again defeated the Union forces. Lee then pressed into Maryland, where his troops met the much larger Union forces near Sharpsburg, at Antietam Creek. The ensuing one-day battle on September 17, 1862, led to a tremendous loss of life. Although there are varying opinions about the total number of deaths, eight thousand soldiers were killed or wounded, more than on any other single day of combat. Once again, McClellan, mistakenly believing that the Confederate troops outnumbered his own, held back a significant portion of his forces. Lee withdrew from the field first, but McClellan, fearing he was outnumbered, refused to pursue him.
The Union army’s inability to destroy Lee’s army at Antietam made it clear to Lincoln that McClellan would never win the war, and the president was forced to seek a replacement. Lincoln wanted someone who could deliver a decisive Union victory. He also personally disliked McClellan, who referred to the president as a “baboon” and a “gorilla,” and constantly criticized his decisions. Lincoln chose General Ambrose E. Burnside to replace McClellan as commander of the Army of the Potomac, but Burnside’s efforts to push into Virginia failed in December 1862, as Confederates held their position at Fredericksburg and devastated Burnside’s forces with heavy artillery fire. The Union’s defeat at Fredericksburg harmed morale in the North but bolstered Confederate spirits. By the end of 1862, the Confederates were still holding their ground in Virginia. Burnside’s failure led Lincoln to make another change in leadership, and Joseph “Fighting Joe” Hooker took over command of the Army of the Potomac in January 1863.
General Ulysses S. Grant’s Army of the West, operating in Kentucky, Tennessee, and the Mississippi River Valley, had been more successful. In the western campaign, the goal of both the Union and the Confederacy was to gain control of the major rivers in the west, especially the Mississippi. If the Union could control the Mississippi, the Confederacy would be split in two. The fighting in this campaign initially centered in Tennessee, where Union forces commanded by Grant pushed Confederate troops back and gained control of the state. The major battle in the western theater took place at Pittsburgh Landing, Tennessee, on April 6 and 7, 1862. Grant’s army was camped on the west side of the Tennessee River near a small log church called Shiloh, which gave the battle its name. On Sunday morning, April 6, Confederate forces under General Albert Sidney Johnston attacked Grant’s encampment with the goal of separating them from their supply line on the Tennessee River and driving them into the swamps on the river’s western side, where they could be destroyed. Union general William Tecumseh Sherman tried to rally the Union forces as Grant, who had been convalescing from an injured leg when the attack began and was unable to walk without crutches, called for reinforcements and tried to mount a defense. Many of Union troops fled in terror.
Unfortunately for the Confederates, Johnston was killed on the afternoon of the first day. Leadership of the Southern forces fell to General P. G. T. Beauregard, who ordered an assault at the end of that day. This assault was so desperate that one of the two attacking columns did not even have ammunition. Heavily reinforced Union forces counterattacked the next day, and the Confederate forces were routed. Grant had maintained the Union foothold in the western part of the Confederacy. The North could now concentrate on its efforts to gain control of the Mississippi River, splitting the Confederacy in two and depriving it of its most important water route.
Read a first-hand account from a Confederate soldier at the Battle at Shiloh, followed by the perspective of a Union soldier at the same battle.
In the spring and summer of 1862, the Union was successful in gaining control of part of the Mississippi River. In April 1862, the Union navy under Admiral David Farragut fought its way past the forts that guarded New Orleans and fired naval guns upon the below-sea-level city. When it became obvious that New Orleans could no longer be defended, Confederate major general Marshall Lovell sent his artillery upriver to Vicksburg, Mississippi. Armed civilians in New Orleans fought the Union forces that entered the city. They also destroyed ships and military supplies that might be used by the Union. Upriver, Union naval forces also bombarded Fort Pillow, forty miles from Memphis, Tennessee, a Southern industrial center and one of the largest cities in the Confederacy. On June 4, 1862, the Confederate defenders abandoned the fort. On June 6, Memphis fell to the Union after the ships defending it were destroyed.
Section Summary
Many in both the North and the South believed that a short, decisive confrontation in 1861 would settle the question of the Confederacy. These expectations did not match reality, however, and the war dragged on into a second year. Both sides mobilized, with advantages and disadvantages on each side that led to a rough equilibrium. The losses of battles at Manassas and Fredericksburg, Virginia, kept the North from achieving the speedy victory its generals had hoped for, but the Union did make gains and continued to press forward. While they could not capture the Southern capital of Richmond, they were victorious in the Battle of Shiloh and captured New Orleans and Memphis. Thus, the Confederates lost major ground on the western front.
Review Questions
All the following were strengths of the Union except ________.
- a large population
- substantial industry
- an extensive railroad
- the ability to fight defensively, rather than offensively
Hint:
D
All the following were strengths of the Confederacy except ________.
- the ability to wage a defensive war
- shorter supply lines
- the resources of the Upper South states
- a strong navy
Hint:
D
What military successes and defeats did the Union experience in 1862?
Hint:
In the eastern part of the Confederacy, the Army of the Potomac met with mixed success. The Union army failed to capture Richmond and won at Antietam only because the Confederates withdrew from the field first. In the western part of the Confederacy, the Army of the West won the Battle of Shiloh, and the Union navy captured New Orleans and Memphis.
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oercommons
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2025-03-18T00:39:26.655117
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"license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
"url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/15474/overview",
"title": "U.S. History, The Civil War, 1860–1865",
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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/15475/overview
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1863: The Changing Nature of the War
Overview
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Explain what is meant by the term “total war” and provide examples
- Describe mobilization efforts in the North and the South
- Explain why 1863 was a pivotal year in the war
Wars have their own logic; they last far longer than anyone anticipates at the beginning of hostilities. As they drag on, the energy and zeal that marked the entry into warfare often wane, as losses increase and people on both sides suffer the tolls of war. The American Civil War is a case study of this characteristic of modern war.
Although Northerners and Southerners both anticipated that the battle between the Confederacy and the Union would be settled quickly, it soon became clear to all that there was no resolution in sight. The longer the war continued, the more it began to affect life in both the North and the South. Increased need for manpower, the issue of slavery, and the ongoing challenges of keeping the war effort going changed the way life on both sides as the conflict progressed.
MASS MOBILIZATION
By late 1862, the course of the war had changed to take on the characteristics of total war, in which armies attempt to demoralize the enemy by both striking military targets and disrupting their opponent’s ability to wage war through destruction of their resources. In this type of war, armies often make no distinction between civilian and military targets. Both the Union and Confederate forces moved toward total war, although neither side ever entirely abolished the distinction between military and civilian. Total war also requires governments to mobilize all resources, extending their reach into their citizens’ lives as never before. Another reality of war that became apparent in 1862 and beyond was the influence of combat on the size and scope of government. Both the Confederacy and the Union governments had to continue to grow in order to manage the logistics of recruiting men and maintaining, feeding, and equipping an army.
Confederate Mobilization
The Confederate government in Richmond, Virginia, exercised sweeping powers to ensure victory, in stark contradiction to the states’ rights sentiments held by many Southern leaders. The initial emotional outburst of enthusiasm for war in the Confederacy waned, and the Confederate government instituted a military draft in April 1862. Under the terms of the draft, all men between the ages of eighteen and thirty-five would serve three years. The draft had a different effect on men of different socioeconomic classes. One loophole permitted men to hire substitutes instead of serving in the Confederate army. This provision favored the wealthy over the poor, and led to much resentment and resistance. Exercising its power over the states, the Confederate Congress denied state efforts to circumvent the draft.
In order to fund the war, the Confederate government also took over the South’s economy. The government ran Southern industry and built substantial transportation and industrial infrastructure to make the weapons of war. Over the objections of slaveholders, it impressed slaves, seizing these workers from their owners and forcing them to work on fortifications and rail lines. Concerned about the resistance to and unhappiness with the government measures, in 1862, the Confederate Congress gave President Davis the power to suspend the writ of habeas corpus, the right of those arrested to be brought before a judge or court to determine whether there is cause to hold the prisoner. With a stated goal of bolstering national security in the fledgling republic, this change meant that the Confederacy could arrest and detain indefinitely any suspected enemy without giving a reason. This growth of the Confederate central government stood as a glaring contradiction to the earlier states’ rights argument of pro-Confederate advocates.
The war efforts were costing the new nation dearly. Nevertheless, the Confederate Congress heeded the pleas of wealthy plantation owners and refused to place a tax on slaves or cotton, despite the Confederacy’s desperate need for the revenue that such a tax would have raised. Instead, the Confederacy drafted a taxation plan that kept the Southern elite happy but in no way met the needs of the war. The government also resorted to printing immense amounts of paper money, which quickly led to runaway inflation. Food prices soared, and poor, white Southerners faced starvation. In April 1863, thousands of hungry people rioted in Richmond, Virginia (Figure). Many of the rioters were mothers who could not feed their children. The riot ended when President Davis threatened to have Confederate forces open fire on the crowds.
One of the reasons that the Confederacy was so economically devastated was its ill-advised gamble that cotton sales would continue during the war. The government had high hopes that Great Britain and France, which both used cotton as the raw material in their textile mills, would ensure the South’s economic strength—and therefore victory in the war—by continuing to buy. Furthermore, the Confederate government hoped that Great Britain and France would make loans to their new nation in order to ensure the continued flow of raw materials. These hopes were never realized. Great Britain in particular did not wish to risk war with the United States, which would have meant the invasion of Canada. The United States was also a major source of grain for Britain and an important purchaser of British goods. Furthermore, the blockade made Southern trade with Europe difficult. Instead, Great Britain, the major consumer of American cotton, found alternate sources in India and Egypt, leaving the South without the income or alliance it had anticipated.
Dissent within the Confederacy also affected the South’s ability to fight the war. Confederate politicians disagreed over the amount of power that the central government should be allowed to exercise. Many states’ rights advocates, who favored a weak central government and supported the sovereignty of individual states, resented President Davis’s efforts to conscript troops, impose taxation to pay for the war, and requisition necessary resources. Governors in the Confederate states often proved reluctant to provide supplies or troops for the use of the Confederate government. Even Jefferson Davis’s vice president Alexander Stephens opposed conscription, the seizure of slave property to work for the Confederacy, and suspension of habeas corpus. Class divisions also divided Confederates. Poor whites resented the ability of wealthy slaveholders to excuse themselves from military service. Racial tensions plagued the South as well. On those occasions when free blacks volunteered to serve in the Confederate army, they were turned away, and enslaved African Americans were regarded with fear and suspicion, as whites whispered among themselves about the possibility of slave insurrections.
Union Mobilization
Mobilization for war proved to be easier in the North than it was in the South. During the war, the federal government in Washington, DC, like its Southern counterpart, undertook a wide range of efforts to ensure its victory over the Confederacy. To fund the war effort and finance the expansion of Union infrastructure, Republicans in Congress drastically expanded government activism, impacting citizens’ everyday lives through measures such as new types of taxation. The government also contracted with major suppliers of food, weapons, and other needed materials. Virtually every sector of the Northern economy became linked to the war effort.
In keeping with their longstanding objective of keeping slavery out of the newly settled western territories, the Republicans in Congress (the dominant party) passed several measures in 1862. First, the Homestead Act provided generous inducements for Northerners to relocate and farm in the West. Settlers could lay claim to 160 acres of federal land by residing on the property for five years and improving it. The act not only motivated free-labor farmers to move west, but it also aimed to increase agricultural output for the war effort. The federal government also turned its attention to creating a transcontinental railroad to facilitate the movement of people and goods across the country. Congress chartered two companies, the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific, and provided generous funds for these two businesses to connect the country by rail.
The Republican emphasis on free labor, rather than slave labor, also influenced the 1862 Land Grant College Act, commonly known as the Morrill Act after its author, Vermont Republican senator Justin Smith Morrill. The measure provided for the creation of agricultural colleges, funded through federal grants, to teach the latest agricultural techniques. Each state in the Union would be granted thirty thousand acres of federal land for the use of these institutions of higher education.
Congress paid for the war using several strategies. They levied a tax on the income of the wealthy, as well as a tax on all inheritances. They also put high tariffs in place. Finally, they passed two National Bank Acts, one in 1863 and one in 1864, calling on the U.S. Treasury to issue war bonds and on Union banks to buy the bonds. A Union campaign to convince individuals to buy the bonds helped increase sales. The Republicans also passed the Legal Tender Act of 1862, calling for paper money—known as greenbacks—to be printed Figure). Some $150 million worth of greenbacks became legal tender, and the Northern economy boomed, although high inflation also resulted.
Like the Confederacy, the Union turned to conscription to provide the troops needed for the war. In March 1863, Congress passed the Enrollment Act, requiring all unmarried men between the ages of twenty and twenty-five, and all married men between the ages of thirty-five and forty-five—including immigrants who had filed for citizenship—to register with the Union to fight in the Civil War. All who registered were subject to military service, and draftees were selected by a lottery system (Figure). As in the South, a loophole in the law allowed individuals to hire substitutes if they could afford it. Others could avoid enlistment by paying $300 to the federal government. In keeping with the Supreme Court decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford, African Americans were not citizens and were therefore exempt from the draft.
Like the Confederacy, the Union also took the step of suspending habeas corpus rights, so those suspected of pro-Confederate sympathies could be arrested and held without being given the reason. Lincoln had selectively suspended the writ of habeas corpus in the slave state of Maryland, home to many Confederate sympathizers, in 1861 and 1862, in an effort to ensure that the Union capital would be safe. In March 1863, he signed into law the Habeas Corpus Suspension Act, giving him the power to detain suspected Confederate operatives throughout the Union. The Lincoln administration also closed down three hundred newspapers as a national security measure during the war.
In both the North and the South, the Civil War dramatically increased the power of the belligerent governments. Breaking all past precedents in American history, both the Confederacy and the Union employed the power of their central governments to mobilize resources and citizens.
Women’s Mobilization
As men on both sides mobilized for the war, so did women. In both the North and the South, women were forced to take over farms and businesses abandoned by their husbands as they left for war. Women organized themselves into ladies’ aid societies to sew uniforms, knit socks, and raise money to purchase necessities for the troops. In the South, women took wounded soldiers into their homes to nurse. In the North, women volunteered for the United States Sanitary Commission, which formed in June 1861. They inspected military camps with the goal of improving cleanliness and reducing the number of soldiers who died from disease, the most common cause of death in the war. They also raised money to buy medical supplies and helped with the injured. Other women found jobs in the Union army as cooks and laundresses. Thousands volunteered to care for the sick and wounded in response to a call by reformer Dorothea Dix, who was placed in charge of the Union army’s nurses. According to rumor, Dix sought respectable women over the age of thirty who were “plain almost to repulsion in dress” and thus could be trusted not to form romantic liaisons with soldiers. Women on both sides also acted as spies and, disguised as men, engaged in combat.
EMANCIPATION
Early in the war, President Lincoln approached the issue of slavery cautiously. While he disapproved of slavery personally, he did not believe that he had the authority to abolish it. Furthermore, he feared that making the abolition of slavery an objective of the war would cause the border slave states to join the Confederacy. His one objective in 1861 and 1862 was to restore the Union.
Lincoln’s Evolving Thoughts on Slavery
President Lincoln wrote the following letter to newspaper editor Horace Greeley on August 22, 1862. In it, Lincoln states his position on slavery, which is notable for being a middle-of-the-road stance. Lincoln’s later public speeches on the issue take the more strident antislavery tone for which he is remembered.
I would save the Union. I would save it the shortest way under the Constitution. The sooner the national authority can be restored the nearer the Union will be “the Union as it was.” If there be those who would not save the Union unless they could at the same time save Slavery, I do not agree with them. If there be those who would not save the Union unless they could at the same time destroy Slavery, I do not agree with them. My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or destroy Slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves, I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would also do that. What I do about Slavery and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save this Union, and what I forbear, I forbear because I do not believe it would help to save the Union. I shall do less whenever I shall believe what I am doing hurts the cause, and I shall do more whenever I shall believe doing more will help the cause. I shall try to correct errors when shown to be errors; and I shall adopt new views so fast as they shall appear to be true views. I have here stated my purpose according to my view of official duty, and I intend no modification of my oft-expressed personal wish that all men, everywhere, could be free. Yours, A. LINCOLN.
How would you characterize Lincoln’s public position in August 1862? What was he prepared to do for slaves, and under what conditions?
Since the beginning of the war, thousands of slaves had fled to the safety of Union lines. In May 1861, Union general Benjamin Butler and others labeled these refugees from slavery contrabands. Butler reasoned that since Southern states had left the United States, he was not obliged to follow federal fugitive slave laws. Slaves who made it through the Union lines were shielded by the U.S. military and not returned to slavery. The intent was not only to assist slaves but also to deprive the South of a valuable source of manpower.
Congress began to define the status of these ex-slaves in 1861 and 1862. In August 1861, legislators approved the Confiscation Act of 1861, empowering the Union to seize property, including slaves, used by the Confederacy. The Republican-dominated Congress took additional steps, abolishing slavery in Washington, DC, in April 1862. Congress passed a second Confiscation Act in July 1862, which extended freedom to runaway slaves and those captured by Union armies. In that month, Congress also addressed the issue of slavery in the West, banning the practice in the territories. This federal law made the 1846 Wilmot Proviso and the dreams of the Free-Soil Party a reality. However, even as the Union government took steps to aid individual slaves and to limit the practice of slavery, it passed no measure to address the institution of slavery as a whole.
Lincoln moved slowly and cautiously on the issue of abolition. His primary concern was the cohesion of the Union and the bringing of the Southern states back into the fold. However, as the war dragged on and many thousands of contrabands made their way north, Republicans in Congress continued to call for the end of slavery. Throughout his political career, Lincoln’s plans for former slaves had been to send them to Liberia. As late as August 1862, he had hoped to interest African Americans in building a colony for former slaves in Central America, an idea that found favor neither with black leaders nor with abolitionists, and thus was abandoned by Lincoln. Responding to Congressional demands for an end to slavery, Lincoln presented an ultimatum to the Confederates on September 22, 1862, shortly after the Confederate retreat at Antietam. He gave the Confederate states until January 1, 1863, to rejoin the Union. If they did, slavery would continue in the slave states. If they refused to rejoin, however, the war would continue and all slaves would be freed at its conclusion. The Confederacy took no action. It had committed itself to maintaining its independence and had no interest in the president’s ultimatum.
On January 1, 1863, Lincoln made good on his promise and signed the Emancipation Proclamation. It stated “That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.” The proclamation did not immediately free the slaves in the Confederate states. Although they were in rebellion against the United States, the lack of the Union army’s presence in such areas meant that the president’s directive could not be enforced. The proclamation also did not free slaves in the border states, because these states were not, by definition, in rebellion. Lincoln relied on his powers as commander-in-chief in issuing the Emancipation Proclamation. He knew the proclamation could be easily challenged in court, but by excluding the territories still outside his control, slaveholders and slave governments could not sue him. Moreover, slave states in the Union, such as Kentucky, could not sue because the proclamation did not apply to them. Slaveholders in Kentucky knew full well that if the institution were abolished throughout the South, it would not survive in a handful of border territories. Despite the limits of the proclamation, Lincoln dramatically shifted the objective of the war increasingly toward ending slavery. The Emancipation Proclamation became a monumental step forward on the road to changing the character of the United States.
Read through the full text of the Emancipation Proclamation at the National Archives website.
The proclamation generated quick and dramatic reactions. The news created euphoria among slaves, as it signaled the eventual end of their bondage. Predictably, Confederate leaders raged against the proclamation, reinforcing their commitment to fight to maintain slavery, the foundation of the Confederacy. In the North, opinions split widely on the issue. Abolitionists praised Lincoln’s actions, which they saw as the fulfillment of their long campaign to strike down an immoral institution. But other Northerners, especially Irish, working-class, urban dwellers loyal to the Democratic Party and others with racist beliefs, hated the new goal of emancipation and found the idea of freed slaves repugnant. At its core, much of this racism had an economic foundation: Many Northerners feared competing with emancipated slaves for scarce jobs.
In New York City, the Emancipation Proclamation, combined with unhappiness over the Union draft, which began in March 1863, fanned the flames of white racism. Many New Yorkers supported the Confederacy for business reasons, and, in 1861, the city’s mayor actually suggested that New York City leave the Union. On July 13, 1863, two days after the first draft lottery took place, this racial hatred erupted into violence. A volunteer fire company whose commander had been drafted initiated a riot, and the violence spread quickly across the city. The rioters chose targets associated either with the Union army or with African Americans. An armory was destroyed, as was a Brooks Brothers’ store, which supplied uniforms to the army. White mobs attacked and killed black New Yorkers and destroyed an African American orphanage (Figure). On the fourth day of the riots, federal troops dispatched by Lincoln arrived in the city and ended the violence. Millions of dollars in property had been destroyed. More than one hundred people died, approximately one thousand were left injured, and about one-fifth of the city’s African American population fled New York in fear.
UNION ADVANCES
The war in the west continued in favor of the North in 1863. At the start of the year, Union forces controlled much of the Mississippi River. In the spring and summer of 1862, they had captured New Orleans—the most important port in the Confederacy, through which cotton harvested from all the Southern states was exported—and Memphis. Grant had then attempted to capture Vicksburg, Mississippi, a commercial center on the bluffs above the Mississippi River. Once Vicksburg fell, the Union would have won complete control over the river. A military bombardment that summer failed to force a Confederate surrender. An assault by land forces also failed in December 1862.
In April 1863, the Union began a final attempt to capture Vicksburg. On July 3, after more than a month of a Union siege, during which Vicksburg’s residents hid in caves to protect themselves from the bombardment and ate their pets to stay alive, Grant finally achieved his objective. The trapped Confederate forces surrendered. The Union had succeeded in capturing Vicksburg and splitting the Confederacy (Figure). This victory inflicted a serious blow to the Southern war effort.
As Grant and his forces pounded Vicksburg, Confederate strategists, at the urging of General Lee, who had defeated a larger Union army at Chancellorsville, Virginia, in May 1863, decided on a bold plan to invade the North. Leaders hoped this invasion would force the Union to send troops engaged in the Vicksburg campaign east, thus weakening their power over the Mississippi. Further, they hoped the aggressive action of pushing north would weaken the Union’s resolve to fight. Lee also hoped that a significant Confederate victory in the North would convince Great Britain and France to extend support to Jefferson Davis’s government and encourage the North to negotiate peace.
Beginning in June 1863, General Lee began to move the Army of Northern Virginia north through Maryland. The Union army—the Army of the Potomac—traveled east to end up alongside the Confederate forces. The two armies met at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where Confederate forces had gone to secure supplies. The resulting battle lasted three days, July 1–3 (Figure) and remains the biggest and costliest battle ever fought in North America. The climax of the Battle of Gettysburg occurred on the third day. In the morning, after a fight lasting several hours, Union forces fought back a Confederate attack on Culp’s Hill, one of the Union’s defensive positions. To regain a perceived advantage and secure victory, Lee ordered a frontal assault, known as Pickett’s Charge (for Confederate general George Pickett), against the center of the Union lines on Cemetery Ridge. Approximately fifteen thousand Confederate soldiers took part, and more than half lost their lives, as they advanced nearly a mile across an open field to attack the entrenched Union forces. In all, more than a third of the Army of Northern Virginia had been lost, and on the evening of July 4, Lee and his men slipped away in the rain. General George Meade did not pursue them. Both sides suffered staggering losses. Total casualties numbered around twenty-three thousand for the Union and some twenty-eight thousand among the Confederates. With its defeats at Gettysburg and Vicksburg, both on the same day, the Confederacy lost its momentum. The tide had turned in favor of the Union in both the east and the west.
Following the Battle of Gettysburg, the bodies of those who had fallen were hastily buried. Attorney David Wills, a resident of Gettysburg, campaigned for the creation of a national cemetery on the site of the battlefield, and the governor of Pennsylvania tasked him with creating it. President Lincoln was invited to attend the cemetery’s dedication. After the featured orator had delivered a two-hour speech, Lincoln addressed the crowd for several minutes. In his speech, known as the Gettysburg Address, which he had finished writing while a guest in David Wills’ home the day before the dedication, Lincoln invoked the Founding Fathers and the spirit of the American Revolution. The Union soldiers who had died at Gettysburg, he proclaimed, had died not only to preserve the Union, but also to guarantee freedom and equality for all.
Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address
Several months after the battle at Gettysburg, Lincoln traveled to Pennsylvania and, speaking to an audience at the dedication of the new Soldiers’ National Ceremony near the site of the battle, he delivered his now-famous Gettysburg Address to commemorate the turning point of the war and the soldiers whose sacrifices had made it possible. The two-minute speech was politely received at the time, although press reactions split along party lines. Upon receiving a letter of congratulations from Massachusetts politician and orator William Everett, whose speech at the ceremony had lasted for two hours, Lincoln said he was glad to know that his brief address, now virtually immortal, was not “a total failure.”
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
It is for us the living . . . to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
—Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address, November 19, 1863
What did Lincoln mean by “a new birth of freedom”? What did he mean when he said “a government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth”?
Acclaimed filmmaker Ken Burns has created a documentary about a small boys’ school in Vermont where students memorize the Gettysburg Address. It explores the value the address has in these boys’ lives, and why the words still matter.
Section Summary
The year 1863 proved decisive in the Civil War for two major reasons. First, the Union transformed the purpose of the struggle from restoring the Union to ending slavery. While Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation actually succeeded in freeing few slaves, it made freedom for African Americans a cause of the Union. Second, the tide increasingly turned against the Confederacy. The success of the Vicksburg Campaign had given the Union control of the Mississippi River, and Lee’s defeat at Gettysburg had ended the attempted Confederate invasion of the North.
Review Questions
Which of the following did the North not do to mobilize for war?
- institute a military draft
- form a military alliance with Great Britain
- print paper money
- pass the Homestead Act
Hint:
B
Why is 1863 considered a turning point in the Civil War?
Hint:
At the beginning of 1863, Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed all slaves in areas under rebellion. This changed the war from one in which the North fought to preserve the Union to one in which it fought to free enslaved African Americans. On the battlefield, Union forces led by Grant captured Vicksburg, Mississippi, splitting the Confederacy in two and depriving it of a major avenue of transportation. In the east, General Meade stopped a Confederate invasion of the North at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/15476/overview
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The Union Triumphant
Overview
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Describe the reasons why many Americans doubted that Abraham Lincoln would be reelected
- Explain how the Union forces overpowered the Confederacy
By the outset of 1864, after three years of war, the Union had mobilized its resources for the ongoing struggle on a massive scale. The government had overseen the construction of new railroad lines and for the first time used standardized rail tracks that allowed the North to move men and materials with greater ease. The North’s economy had shifted to a wartime model. The Confederacy also mobilized, perhaps to a greater degree than the Union, its efforts to secure independence and maintain slavery. Yet the Confederacy experienced ever-greater hardships after years of war. Without the population of the North, it faced a shortage of manpower. The lack of industry, compared to the North, undercut the ability to sustain and wage war. Rampant inflation as well as food shortages in the South lowered morale.
THE RELATIONSHIP WITH EUROPE
From the beginning of the war, the Confederacy placed great hope in being recognized and supported by Great Britain and France. European intervention in the conflict remained a strong possibility, but when it did occur, it was not in a way anticipated by either the Confederacy or the Union.
Napoleon III of France believed the Civil War presented an opportunity for him to restore a French empire in the Americas. With the United States preoccupied, the time seemed ripe for action. Napoleon’s target was Mexico, and in 1861, a large French fleet took Veracruz. The French then moved to capture Mexico City, but the advance came to an end when Mexican forces defeated the French in 1862. Despite this setback, France eventually did conquer Mexico, establishing a regime that lasted until 1867. Rather than coming to the aid of the Confederacy, France used the Civil War to provide a pretext for efforts to reestablish its former eighteenth-century colonial holdings.
Still, the Confederacy had great confidence that it would find an ally in Great Britain despite the antislavery sentiment there. Southerners hoped Britain’s dependence on cotton for its textile mills would keep the country on their side. The fact that the British proved willing to build and sell ironclad ships intended to smash through the Union naval blockade further raised Southern hopes. The Confederacy purchased two of these armored blockade runners, the CSS Florida and the CSS Alabama. Both were destroyed during the war.
The Confederacy’s staunch commitment to slavery eventually worked against British recognition and support, since Great Britain had abolished slavery in 1833. The 1863 Emancipation Proclamation ended any doubts the British had about the goals of the Union cause. In the aftermath of the proclamation, many in Great Britain cheered for a Union victory. Ultimately, Great Britain, like France, disappointed the Confederacy’s hope of an alliance, leaving the outnumbered and out-resourced states that had left the Union to fend for themselves.
AFRICAN AMERICAN SOLDIERS
At the beginning of the war, in 1861 and 1862, Union forces had used contrabands, or escaped slaves, for manual labor. The Emancipation Proclamation, however, led to the enrollment of African American men as Union soldiers. Huge numbers, former slaves as well as free blacks from the North, enlisted, and by the end of the war in 1865, their numbers had swelled to over 190,000. Racism among whites in the Union army ran deep, however, fueling the belief that black soldiers could never be effective or trustworthy. The Union also feared for the fate of captured black soldiers. Although many black soldiers saw combat duty, these factors affected the types of tasks assigned to them. Many black regiments were limited to hauling supplies, serving as cooks, digging trenches, and doing other types of labor, rather than serving on the battlefield (Figure).
African American soldiers also received lower wages than their white counterparts: ten dollars per month, with three dollars deducted for clothing. White soldiers, in contrast, received thirteen dollars monthly, with no deductions. Abolitionists and their Republican supporters in Congress worked to correct this discriminatory practice, and in 1864, black soldiers began to receive the same pay as white soldiers plus retroactive pay to 1863 (Figure).
For their part, African American soldiers welcomed the opportunity to prove themselves. Some 85 percent were former slaves who were fighting for the liberation of all slaves and the end of slavery. When given the opportunity to serve, many black regiments did so heroically. One such regiment, the Fifty-Fourth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteers, distinguished itself at Fort Wagner in South Carolina by fighting valiantly against an entrenched Confederate position. They willingly gave their lives for the cause.
The Confederacy, not surprisingly, showed no mercy to African American troops. In April 1864, Southern forces attempted to take Fort Pillow in Tennessee from the Union forces that had captured it in 1862. Confederate troops under Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest, the future founder of the Ku Klux Klan, quickly overran the fort, and the Union defenders surrendered. Instead of taking the African American soldiers prisoner, as they did the white soldiers, the Confederates executed them. The massacre outraged the North, and the Union refused to engage in any future exchanges of prisoners with the Confederacy.
THE CAMPAIGNS OF 1864 AND 1865
In the final years of the war, the Union continued its efforts on both the eastern and western fronts while bringing the war into the Deep South. Union forces increasingly engaged in total war, not distinguishing between military and civilian targets. They destroyed everything that lay in their path, committed to breaking the will of the Confederacy and forcing an end to the war. General Grant, mastermind of the Vicksburg campaign, took charge of the war effort. He understood the advantage of having large numbers of soldiers at his disposal and recognized that Union soldiers could be replaced, whereas the Confederates, whose smaller population was feeling the strain of the years of war, could not. Grant thus pushed forward relentlessly, despite huge losses of men. In 1864, Grant committed his forces to destroying Lee’s army in Virginia.
In the Virginia campaign, Grant hoped to use his larger army to his advantage. But at the Battle of the Wilderness, fought from May 5 to May 7, Confederate forces stopped Grant’s advance. Rather than retreating, he pushed forward. At the Battle of Spotsylvania on May 8 through 12, Grant again faced determined Confederate resistance, and again his advance was halted. As before, he renewed the Union campaign. At the Battle of Cold Harbor in early June, Grant had between 100,000 and 110,000 soldiers, whereas the Confederates had slightly more than half that number. Again, the Union advance was halted, if only momentarily, as Grant awaited reinforcements. An attack on the Confederate position on June 3 resulted in heavy casualties for the Union, and nine days later, Grant led his army away from Cold Harbor to Petersburg, Virginia, a rail center that supplied Richmond. The immense losses that Grant’s forces suffered severely hurt Union morale. The war seemed unending, and with the tremendous loss of life, many in the North began to question the war and desire peace. Undaunted by the changing opinion in the North and hoping to destroy the Confederate rail network in the Upper South, however, Grant laid siege to Petersburg for nine months. As the months wore on, both sides dug in, creating miles of trenches and gun emplacements.
The other major Union campaigns of 1864 were more successful and gave President Lincoln the advantage that he needed to win reelection in November. In August 1864, the Union navy captured Mobile Bay. General Sherman invaded the Deep South, advancing slowly from Tennessee into Georgia, confronted at every turn by the Confederates, who were commanded by Johnston. When President Davis replaced Johnston with General John B. Hood, the Confederates made a daring but ultimately costly direct attack on the Union army that failed to drive out the invaders. Atlanta fell to Union forces on September 2, 1864. The fall of Atlanta held tremendous significance for the war-weary Union and helped to reverse the North’s sinking morale. In keeping with the logic of total war, Sherman’s forces cut a swath of destruction to Savannah. On Sherman’s March to the Sea, the Union army, seeking to demoralize the South, destroyed everything in its path, despite strict instructions regarding the preservation of civilian property. Although towns were left standing, houses and barns were burned. Homes were looted, food was stolen, crops were destroyed, orchards were burned, and livestock was killed or confiscated. Savannah fell on December 21, 1864—a Christmas gift for Lincoln, Sherman proclaimed. In 1865, Sherman’s forces invaded South Carolina, capturing Charleston and Columbia. In Columbia, the state capital, the Union army burned slaveholders’ homes and destroyed much of the city. From South Carolina, Sherman’s force moved north in an effort to join Grant and destroy Lee’s army.
Dolly Sumner Lunt on Sherman’s March to the Sea
The following account is by Dolly Sumner Lunt, a widow who ran her Georgia cotton plantation after the death of her husband. She describes General Sherman’s march to Savannah, where he enacted the policy of total war by burning and plundering the landscape to inhibit the Confederates’ ability to keep fighting.
Alas! little did I think while trying to save my house from plunder and fire that they were forcing my boys [slaves] from home at the point of the bayonet. One, Newton, jumped into bed in his cabin, and declared himself sick. Another crawled under the floor,—a lame boy he was,—but they pulled him out, placed him on a horse, and drove him off. Mid, poor Mid! The last I saw of him, a man had him going around the garden, looking, as I thought, for my sheep, as he was my shepherd. Jack came crying to me, the big tears coursing down his cheeks, saying they were making him go. I said: ‘Stay in my room.’
But a man followed in, cursing him and threatening to shoot him if he did not go; so poor Jack had to yield. . . .
Sherman himself and a greater portion of his army passed my house that day. All day, as the sad moments rolled on, were they passing not only in front of my house, but from behind; they tore down my garden palings, made a road through my back-yard and lot field, driving their stock and riding through, tearing down my fences and desolating my home—wantonly doing it when there was no necessity for it. . . .
About ten o’clock they had all passed save one, who came in and wanted coffee made, which was done, and he, too, went on. A few minutes elapsed, and two couriers riding rapidly passed back. Then, presently, more soldiers came by, and this ended the passing of Sherman’s army by my place, leaving me poorer by thirty thousand dollars than I was yesterday morning. And a much stronger Rebel!
According to this account, what was the reaction of slaves to the arrival of the Union forces? What did the Union forces do with the slaves? For Lunt, did the strategy of total war work as planned?
THE ELECTION OF 1864
Despite the military successes for the Union army in 1863, in 1864, Lincoln’s status among many Northern voters plummeted. Citing the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, many saw him as a dictator, bent on grabbing power while senselessly and uncaringly drafting more young men into combat. Arguably, his greatest liability, however, was the Emancipation Proclamation and the enlistment of African American soldiers. Many whites in the North found this deeply offensive, since they still believed in racial inequality. The 1863 New York City Draft Riots illustrated the depth of white anger.
Northern Democrats railed against Lincoln and the war. Republicans labeled these vocal opponents of the President Copperheads, a term that many antiwar Democrats accepted. As the anti-Lincoln poster below illustrates, his enemies tried to paint him as an untrustworthy and suspect leader (Figure). It seemed to most in the North that the Democratic candidate, General George B. McClellan, who did not support abolition and was replaced with another commander by Lincoln, would win the election.
The Republican Party also split over the issue of reelecting Lincoln. Those who found him timid and indecisive, and favored extending full rights to African Americans, as well as completely refashioning the South after its defeat, earned the name Radicals. A moderate faction of Republicans opposed the Radicals. For his part, Lincoln did not align himself with either group.
The tide of the election campaign turned in favor of Lincoln, however, in the fall of 1864. Above all else, Union victories, including the fall of Atlanta in September and General Philip Sheridan’s successes in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, bolstered Lincoln’s popularity and his reelection bid. In November 1864, despite earlier forecasts to the contrary, Lincoln was reelected. Lincoln won all but three states—New Jersey and the border states of Delaware and Kentucky. To the chagrin of his opponent, McClellan, even Union army troops voted overwhelmingly for the incumbent President.
THE WAR ENDS
By the spring of 1865, it had become clear to both sides that the Confederacy could not last much longer. Most of its major cities, ports, and industrial centers—Atlanta, Savannah, Charleston, Columbia, Mobile, New Orleans, and Memphis—had been captured. In April 1865, Lee had abandoned both Petersburg and Richmond. His goal in doing so was to unite his depleted army with Confederate forces commanded by General Johnston. Grant effectively cut him off. On April 9, 1865, Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Court House in Virginia (Figure). By that time, he had fewer than 35,000 soldiers, while Grant had some 100,000. Meanwhile, Sherman’s army proceeded to North Carolina, where General Johnston surrendered on April 19, 1865. The Civil War had come to an end. The war had cost the lives of more than 600,000 soldiers. Many more had been wounded. Thousands of women were left widowed. Children were left without fathers, and many parents were deprived of a source of support in their old age. In some areas, where local volunteer units had marched off to battle, never to return, an entire generation of young women was left without marriage partners. Millions of dollars’ worth of property had been destroyed, and towns and cities were laid to waste. With the conflict finally over, the very difficult work of reconciling North and South and reestablishing the United States lay ahead.
Section Summary
Having failed to win the support it expected from either Great Britain or France, the Confederacy faced a long war with limited resources and no allies. Lincoln won reelection in 1864, and continued to pursue the Union campaign, not only in the east and west, but also with a drive into the South under the leadership of General Sherman, whose March to the Sea through Georgia destroyed everything in its path. Cut off and outnumbered, Confederate general Lee surrendered to Union general Grant on April 9 at Appomattox Court House in Virginia. Within days of Lee’s surrender, Confederate troops had lay down their arms, and the devastating war came to a close.
Review Questions
Which of the following is not a reason why many people opposed Lincoln’s reelection in 1864?
- He appeared to have overstepped his authority by suspending the writ of habeas corpus.
- He issued the Emancipation Proclamation.
- He had replaced General George B. McClellan.
- He was seen as a power-hungry dictator.
Hint:
C
What was General Sherman’s objective on his March to the Sea?
- to destroy military and civilian resources wherever possible
- to free black prisoners of war
- to join his army to that of General Grant
- to capture General Robert E. Lee
Hint:
A
Critical Thinking Questions
Could the differences between the North and South have been worked out in late 1860 and 1861? Could war have been avoided? Provide evidence to support your answer.
Why did the North prevail in the Civil War? What might have turned the tide of the war against the North?
If you were in charge of the Confederate war effort, what strategy or strategies would you have pursued? Conversely, if you had to devise the Union strategy, what would you propose? How does your answer depend on your knowledge of how the war actually played out?
What do you believe to be the enduring qualities of the Gettysburg Address? Why has this two-minute speech so endured?
What role did women and African Americans play in the war?
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Introduction
Overview
- Inventors of the Age
- From Invention to Industrial Growth
- Building Industrial America on the Backs of Labor
- A New American Consumer Culture
“The electric age was ushered into being in this last decade of the nineteenth century today when President Cleveland, by pressing a button, started the mighty machinery, rushing waters and revolving wheels in the World’s Columbian exhibition.” With this announcement about the official start of the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893 (Figure), the Salt Lake City Herald captured the excitement and optimism of the machine age. “In the previous expositions,” the editorial continued, “the possibilities of electricity had been limited to the mere starting of the engines in the machinery hall, but in this it made thousands of servants do its bidding . . . the magic of electricity did the duty of the hour.”
The fair, which commemorated the four hundredth anniversary of Columbus’s journey to America, was a potent symbol of the myriad inventions that changed American life and contributed to the significant economic growth of the era, as well as the new wave of industrialization that swept the country. While businessmen capitalized upon such technological innovations, the new industrial working class faced enormous challenges. Ironically, as the World’s Fair welcomed its first visitors, the nation was spiraling downward into the worst depression of the century. Subsequent frustrations among working-class Americans laid the groundwork for the country’s first significant labor movement.
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Inventors of the Age
Overview
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Explain how the ideas and products of late nineteenth-century inventors contributed to the rise of big business
- Explain how the inventions of the late nineteenth century changed everyday American life
The late nineteenth century was an energetic era of inventions and entrepreneurial spirit. Building upon the mid-century Industrial Revolution in Great Britain, as well as answering the increasing call from Americans for efficiency and comfort, the country found itself in the grip of invention fever, with more people working on their big ideas than ever before. In retrospect, harnessing the power of steam and then electricity in the nineteenth century vastly increased the power of man and machine, thus making other advances possible as the century progressed.
Facing an increasingly complex everyday life, Americans sought the means by which to cope with it. Inventions often provided the answers, even as the inventors themselves remained largely unaware of the life-changing nature of their ideas. To understand the scope of this zeal for creation, consider the U.S. Patent Office, which, in 1790—its first decade of existence—recorded only 276 inventions. By 1860, the office had issued a total of 60,000 patents. But between 1860 and 1890, that number exploded to nearly 450,000, with another 235,000 in the last decade of the century. While many of these patents came to naught, some inventions became lynchpins in the rise of big business and the country’s move towards an industrial-based economy, in which the desire for efficiency, comfort, and abundance could be more fully realized by most Americans.
AN EXPLOSION OF INVENTIVE ENERGY
From corrugated rollers that could crack hard, homestead-grown wheat into flour to refrigerated train cars and garment-sewing machines (Figure), new inventions fueled industrial growth around the country. As late as 1880, fully one-half of all Americans still lived and worked on farms, whereas fewer than one in seven—mostly men, except for long-established textile factories in which female employees tended to dominate—were employed in factories. However, the development of commercial electricity by the close of the century, to complement the steam engines that already existed in many larger factories, permitted more industries to concentrate in cities, away from the previously essential water power. In turn, newly arrived immigrants sought employment in new urban factories. Immigration, urbanization, and industrialization coincided to transform the face of American society from primarily rural to significantly urban. From 1880 to 1920, the number of industrial workers in the nation quadrupled from 2.5 million to over 10 million, while over the same period urban populations doubled, to reach one-half of the country’s total population.
In offices, worker productivity benefited from the typewriter, invented in 1867, the cash register, invented in 1879, and the adding machine, invented in 1885. These tools made it easier than ever to keep up with the rapid pace of business growth. Inventions also slowly transformed home life. The vacuum cleaner arrived during this era, as well as the flush toilet. These indoor “water closets” improved public health through the reduction in contamination associated with outhouses and their proximity to water supplies and homes. Tin cans and, later, Clarence Birdseye’s experiments with frozen food, eventually changed how women shopped for, and prepared, food for their families, despite initial health concerns over preserved foods. With the advent of more easily prepared food, women gained valuable time in their daily schedules, a step that partially laid the groundwork for the modern women’s movement. Women who had the means to purchase such items could use their time to seek other employment outside of the home, as well as broaden their knowledge through education and reading. Such a transformation did not occur overnight, as these inventions also increased expectations for women to remain tied to the home and their domestic chores; slowly, the culture of domesticity changed.
Perhaps the most important industrial advancement of the era came in the production of steel. Manufacturers and builders preferred steel to iron, due to its increased strength and durability. After the Civil War, two new processes allowed for the creation of furnaces large enough and hot enough to melt the wrought iron needed to produce large quantities of steel at increasingly cheaper prices. The Bessemer process, named for English inventor Henry Bessemer, and the open-hearth process, changed the way the United States produced steel and, in doing so, led the country into a new industrialized age. As the new material became more available, builders eagerly sought it out, a demand that steel mill owners were happy to supply.
In 1860, the country produced thirteen thousand tons of steel. By 1879, American furnaces were producing over one million tons per year; by 1900, this figure had risen to ten million. Just ten years later, the United States was the top steel producer in the world, at over twenty-four million tons annually. As production increased to match the overwhelming demand, the price of steel dropped by over 80 percent. When quality steel became cheaper and more readily available, other industries relied upon it more heavily as a key to their growth and development, including construction and, later, the automotive industry. As a result, the steel industry rapidly became the cornerstone of the American economy, remaining the primary indicator of industrial growth and stability through the end of World War II.
ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL AND THE TELEPHONE
Advancements in communications matched the pace of growth seen in industry and home life. Communication technologies were changing quickly, and they brought with them new ways for information to travel. In 1858, British and American crews laid the first transatlantic cable lines, enabling messages to pass between the United States and Europe in a matter of hours, rather than waiting the few weeks it could take for a letter to arrive by steamship. Although these initial cables worked for barely a month, they generated great interest in developing a more efficient telecommunications industry. Within twenty years, over 100,000 miles of cable crisscrossed the ocean floors, connecting all the continents. Domestically, Western Union, which controlled 80 percent of the country’s telegraph lines, operated nearly 200,000 miles of telegraph routes from coast to coast. In short, people were connected like never before, able to relay messages in minutes and hours rather than days and weeks.
One of the greatest advancements was the telephone, which Alexander Graham Bell patented in 1876 (Figure). While he was not the first to invent the concept, Bell was the first one to capitalize on it; after securing the patent, he worked with financiers and businessmen to create the National Bell Telephone Company. Western Union, which had originally turned down Bell’s machine, went on to commission Thomas Edison to invent an improved version of the telephone. It is actually Edison’s version that is most like the modern telephone used today. However, Western Union, fearing a costly legal battle they were likely to lose due to Bell’s patent, ultimately sold Edison’s idea to the Bell Company. With the communications industry now largely in their control, along with an agreement from the federal government to permit such control, the Bell Company was transformed into the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, which still exists today as AT&T. By 1880, fifty thousand telephones were in use in the United States, including one at the White House. By 1900, that number had increased to 1.35 million, and hundreds of American cities had obtained local service for their citizens. Quickly and inexorably, technology was bringing the country into closer contact, changing forever the rural isolation that had defined America since its beginnings.
Visit the Library of Congress to examine the controversy over the invention of the telephone. While Alexander Graham Bell is credited with the invention, several other inventors played a role in its development; however, Bell was the first to patent the device.
THOMAS EDISON AND ELECTRIC LIGHTING
Although Thomas Alva Edison (Figure) is best known for his contributions to the electrical industry, his experimentation went far beyond the light bulb. Edison was quite possibly the greatest inventor of the turn of the century, saying famously that he “hoped to have a minor invention every ten days and a big thing every month or so.” He registered 1,093 patents over his lifetime and ran a world-famous laboratory, Menlo Park, which housed a rotating group of up to twenty-five scientists from around the globe.
Edison became interested in the telegraph industry as a boy, when he worked aboard trains selling candy and newspapers. He soon began tinkering with telegraph technology and, by 1876, had devoted himself full time to lab work as an inventor. He then proceeded to invent a string of items that are still used today: the phonograph, the mimeograph machine, the motion picture projector, the dictaphone, and the storage battery, all using a factory-oriented assembly line process that made the rapid production of inventions possible.
In 1879, Edison invented the item that has led to his greatest fame: the incandescent light bulb. He allegedly explored over six thousand different materials for the filament, before stumbling upon tungsten as the ideal substance. By 1882, with financial backing largely from financier J. P. Morgan, he had created the Edison Electric Illuminating Company, which began supplying electrical current to a small number of customers in New York City. Morgan guided subsequent mergers of Edison’s other enterprises, including a machine works firm and a lamp company, resulting in the creation of the Edison General Electric Company in 1889.
The next stage of invention in electric power came about with the contribution of George Westinghouse. Westinghouse was responsible for making electric lighting possible on a national scale. While Edison used “direct current” or DC power, which could only extend two miles from the power source, in 1886, Westinghouse invented “alternating current” or AC power, which allowed for delivery over greater distances due to its wavelike patterns. The Westinghouse Electric Company delivered AC power, which meant that factories, homes, and farms—in short, anything that needed power—could be served, regardless of their proximity to the power source. A public relations battle ensued between the Westinghouse and Edison camps, coinciding with the invention of the electric chair as a form of prisoner execution. Edison publicly proclaimed AC power to be best adapted for use in the chair, in the hope that such a smear campaign would result in homeowners becoming reluctant to use AC power in their houses. Although Edison originally fought the use of AC power in other devices, he reluctantly adapted to it as its popularity increased.
Not all of Edison’s ventures were successful. Read about Edison’s Folly to learn the story behind his greatest failure. Was there some benefit to his efforts? Or was it wasted time and money?
Section Summary
Inventors in the late nineteenth century flooded the market with new technological advances. Encouraged by Great Britain’s Industrial Revolution, and eager for economic development in the wake of the Civil War, business investors sought the latest ideas upon which they could capitalize, both to transform the nation as well as to make a personal profit. These inventions were a key piece of the massive shift towards industrialization that followed. For both families and businesses, these inventions eventually represented a fundamental change in their way of life. Although the technology spread slowly, it did spread across the country. Whether it was a company that could now produce ten times more products with new factories, or a household that could communicate with distant relations, the old way of doing things was disappearing.
Communication technologies, electric power production, and steel production were perhaps the three most significant developments of the time. While the first two affected both personal lives and business development, the latter influenced business growth first and foremost, as the ability to produce large steel elements efficiently and cost-effectively led to permanently changes in the direction of industrial growth.
Review Questions
Which of these was not a successful invention of the era?
- high-powered sewing machines
- movies with sound
- frozen foods
- typewriters
Hint:
B
What was the major advantage of Westinghouse’s “alternating current” power invention?
- It was less prone to fire.
- It cost less to produce.
- It allowed machines to be farther from the power source.
- It was not under Edison’s control.
Hint:
C
How did the burst of new inventions during this era fuel the process of urbanization?
Hint:
New inventions fueled industrial growth, and the development of commercial electricity—along with the use of steam engines—allowed industries that had previously situated themselves close to sources of water power to shift away from those areas and move their production into cities. Immigrants sought employment in these urban factories and settled nearby, transforming the country’s population from mostly rural to largely urban.
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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/15490/overview
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From Invention to Industrial Growth
Overview
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Explain how the inventions of the late nineteenth century contributed directly to industrial growth in America
- Identify the contributions of Andrew Carnegie, John Rockefeller, and J. P. Morgan to the new industrial order emerging in the late nineteenth century
- Describe the visions, philosophies, and business methods of the leaders of the new industrial order
As discussed previously, new processes in steel refining, along with inventions in the fields of communications and electricity, transformed the business landscape of the nineteenth century. The exploitation of these new technologies provided opportunities for tremendous growth, and business entrepreneurs with financial backing and the right mix of business acumen and ambition could make their fortunes. Some of these new millionaires were known in their day as robber barons, a negative term that connoted the belief that they exploited workers and bent laws to succeed. Regardless of how they were perceived, these businessmen and the companies they created revolutionized American industry.
RAILROADS AND ROBBER BARONS
Earlier in the nineteenth century, the first transcontinental railroad and subsequent spur lines paved the way for rapid and explosive railway growth, as well as stimulated growth in the iron, wood, coal, and other related industries. The railroad industry quickly became the nation’s first “big business.” A powerful, inexpensive, and consistent form of transportation, railroads accelerated the development of virtually every other industry in the country. By 1890, railroad lines covered nearly every corner of the United States, bringing raw materials to industrial factories and finished goods to consumer markets. The amount of track grew from 35,000 miles at the end of the Civil War to over 200,000 miles by the close of the century. Inventions such as car couplers, air brakes, and Pullman passenger cars allowed the volume of both freight and people to increase steadily. From 1877 to 1890, both the amount of goods and the number of passengers traveling the rails tripled.
Financing for all of this growth came through a combination of private capital and government loans and grants. Federal and state loans of cash and land grants totaled $150 million and 185 million acres of public land, respectively. Railroads also listed their stocks and bonds on the New York Stock Exchange to attract investors from both within the United States and Europe. Individual investors consolidated their power as railroads merged and companies grew in size and power. These individuals became some of the wealthiest Americans the country had ever known. Midwest farmers, angry at large railroad owners for their exploitative business practices, came to refer to them as “robber barons,” as their business dealings were frequently shady and exploitative. Among their highly questionable tactics was the practice of differential shipping rates, in which larger business enterprises received discounted rates to transport their goods, as opposed to local producers and farmers whose higher rates essentially subsidized the discounts.
Jay Gould was perhaps the first prominent railroad magnate to be tarred with the “robber baron” brush. He bought older, smaller, rundown railroads, offered minimal improvements, and then capitalized on factory owners’ desires to ship their goods on this increasingly popular and more cost-efficient form of transportation. His work with the Erie Railroad was notorious among other investors, as he drove the company to near ruin in a failed attempt to attract foreign investors during a takeover attempt. His model worked better in the American West, where the railroads were still widely scattered across the country, forcing farmers and businesses to pay whatever prices Gould demanded in order to use his trains. In addition to owning the Union Pacific Railroad that helped to construct the original transcontinental railroad line, Gould came to control over ten thousand miles of track across the United States, accounting for 15 percent of all railroad transportation. When he died in 1892, Gould had a personal worth of over $100 million, although he was a deeply unpopular figure.
In contrast to Gould’s exploitative business model, which focused on financial profit more than on tangible industrial contributions, Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt was a “robber baron” who truly cared about the success of his railroad enterprise and its positive impact on the American economy. Vanderbilt consolidated several smaller railroad lines, called trunk lines, to create the powerful New York Central Railroad Company, one of the largest corporations in the United States at the time (Figure). He later purchased stock in the major rail lines that would connect his company to Chicago, thus expanding his reach and power while simultaneously creating a railroad network to connect Chicago to New York City. This consolidation provided more efficient connections from Midwestern suppliers to eastern markets. It was through such consolidation that, by 1900, seven major railroad tycoons controlled over 70 percent of all operating lines. Vanderbilt’s personal wealth at his death (over $100 million in 1877), placed him among the top three wealthiest individuals in American history.
GIANTS OF WEALTH: CARNEGIE, ROCKEFELLER, AND MORGAN
The post-Civil War inventors generated ideas that transformed the economy, but they were not big businessmen. The evolution from technical innovation to massive industry took place at the hands of the entrepreneurs whose business gambles paid off, making them some of the richest Americans of their day. Steel magnate Andrew Carnegie, oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller, and business financier J. P. Morgan were all businessmen who grew their respective businesses to a scale and scope that were unprecedented. Their companies changed how Americans lived and worked, and they themselves greatly influenced the growth of the country.
Andrew Carnegie and The Gospel of Wealth
Andrew Carnegie, steel magnate, has the prototypical rags-to-riches story. Although such stories resembled more myth than reality, they served to encourage many Americans to seek similar paths to fame and fortune. In Carnegie, the story was one of few derived from fact. Born in Scotland, Carnegie immigrated with his family to Pennsylvania in 1848. Following a brief stint as a “bobbin boy,” changing spools of thread at a Pittsburgh clothing manufacturer at age thirteen, he subsequently became a telegram messenger boy. As a messenger, he spent much of his time around the Pennsylvania Railroad office and developed parallel interests in railroads, bridge building, and, eventually, the steel industry.
Ingratiating himself to his supervisor and future president of the Pennsylvania Railroad, Tom Scott, Carnegie worked his way into a position of management for the company and subsequently began to invest some of his earnings, with Scott’s guidance. One particular investment, in the booming oil fields of northwest Pennsylvania in 1864, resulted in Carnegie earning over $1 million in cash dividends, thus providing him with the capital necessary to pursue his ambition to modernize the iron and steel industries, transforming the United States in the process. Having seen firsthand during the Civil War, when he served as Superintendent of Military Railways and telegraph coordinator for the Union forces, the importance of industry, particularly steel, to the future growth of the country, Carnegie was convinced of his strategy. His first company was the J. Edgar Thompson Steel Works, and, a decade later, he bought out the newly built Homestead Steel Works from the Pittsburgh Bessemer Steel Company. By the end of the century, his enterprise was running an annual profit in excess of $40 million (Figure).
Although not a scientific expert in steel, Carnegie was an excellent promoter and salesman, able to locate financial backing for his enterprise. He was also shrewd in his calculations on consolidation and expansion, and was able to capitalize on smart business decisions. Always thrifty with the profits he earned, a trait owed to his upbringing, Carnegie saved his profits during prosperous times and used them to buy out other steel companies at low prices during the economic recessions of the 1870s and 1890s. He insisted on up-to-date machinery and equipment, and urged the men who worked at and managed his steel mills to constantly think of innovative ways to increase production and reduce cost.
Carnegie, more than any other businessman of the era, championed the idea that America’s leading tycoons owed a debt to society. He believed that, given the circumstances of their successes, they should serve as benefactors to the less fortunate public. For Carnegie, poverty was not an abstract concept, as his family had been a part of the struggling masses. He desired to set an example of philanthropy for all other prominent industrialists of the era to follow. Carnegie’s famous essay, The Gospel of Wealth, featured below, expounded on his beliefs. In it, he borrowed from Herbert Spencer’s theory of social Darwinism, which held that society developed much like plant or animal life through a process of evolution in which the most fit and capable enjoyed the greatest material and social success.
Andrew Carnegie on Wealth
Carnegie applauded American capitalism for creating a society where, through hard work, ingenuity, and a bit of luck, someone like himself could amass a fortune. In return for that opportunity, Carnegie wrote that the wealthy should find proper uses for their wealth by funding hospitals, libraries, colleges, the arts, and more. The Gospel of Wealth spelled out that responsibility.
Poor and restricted are our opportunities in this life; narrow our horizon; our best work most imperfect; but rich men should be thankful for one inestimable boon. They have it in their power during their lives to busy themselves in organizing benefactions from which the masses of their fellows will derive lasting advantage, and thus dignify their own lives. . . .
This, then, is held to be the duty of the man of Wealth: First, to set an example of modest, unostentatious living, shunning display or extravagance; to provide moderately for the legitimate wants of those dependent upon him; and after doing so to consider all surplus revenues which come to him simply as trust funds, which he is called upon to administer, and strictly bound as a matter of duty to administer in the manner which, in his judgment, is best calculated to produce the most beneficial results for the community—the man of wealth thus becoming the mere agent and trustee for his poorer brethren, bringing to their service his superior wisdom, experience and ability to administer, doing for them better than they would or could do for themselves. . . .
In bestowing charity, the main consideration should be to help those who will help themselves; to provide part of the means by which those who desire to improve may do so; to give those who desire to use the aids by which they may rise; to assist, but rarely or never to do all. Neither the individual nor the race is improved by alms-giving. Those worthy of assistance, except in rare cases, seldom require assistance. The really valuable men of the race never do, except in cases of accident or sudden change. Every one has, of course, cases of individuals brought to his own knowledge where temporary assistance can do genuine good, and these he will not overlook. But the amount which can be wisely given by the individual for individuals is necessarily limited by his lack of knowledge of the circumstances connected with each. He is the only true reformer who is as careful and as anxious not to aid the unworthy as he is to aid the worthy, and, perhaps, even more so, for in alms-giving more injury is probably done by rewarding vice than by relieving virtue.
—Andrew Carnegie, The Gospel of Wealth
Social Darwinism added a layer of pseudoscience to the idea of the self-made man, a desirable thought for all who sought to follow Carnegie’s example. The myth of the rags-to-riches businessman was a potent one. Author Horatio Alger made his own fortune writing stories about young enterprising boys who beat poverty and succeeded in business through a combination of “luck and pluck.” His stories were immensely popular, even leading to a board game (Figure) where players could hope to win in the same way that his heroes did.
John D. Rockefeller and Business Integration Models
Like Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller was born in 1839 of modest means, with a frequently absent traveling salesman of a father who sold medicinal elixirs and other wares. Young Rockefeller helped his mother with various chores and earned extra money for the family through the sale of family farm products. When the family moved to a suburb of Cleveland in 1853, he had an opportunity to take accounting and bookkeeping courses while in high school and developed a career interest in business. While living in Cleveland in 1859, he learned of Colonel Edwin Drake who had struck “black gold,” or oil, near Titusville, Pennsylvania, setting off a boom even greater than the California Gold Rush of the previous decade. Many sought to find a fortune through risky and chaotic “wildcatting,” or drilling exploratory oil wells, hoping to strike it rich. But Rockefeller chose a more certain investment: refining crude oil into kerosene, which could be used for both heating and lamps. As a more efficient source of energy, as well as less dangerous to produce, kerosene quickly replaced whale oil in many businesses and homes. Rockefeller worked initially with family and friends in the refining business located in the Cleveland area, but by 1870, Rockefeller ventured out on his own, consolidating his resources and creating the Standard Oil Company of Ohio, initially valued at $1 million.
Rockefeller was ruthless in his pursuit of total control of the oil refining business. As other entrepreneurs flooded the area seeking a quick fortune, Rockefeller developed a plan to crush his competitors and create a true monopoly in the refining industry. Beginning in 1872, he forged agreements with several large railroad companies to obtain discounted freight rates for shipping his product. He also used the railroad companies to gather information on his competitors. As he could now deliver his kerosene at lower prices, he drove his competition out of business, often offering to buy them out for pennies on the dollar. He hounded those who refused to sell out to him, until they were driven out of business. Through his method of growth via mergers and acquisitions of similar companies—known as horizontal integration —Standard Oil grew to include almost all refineries in the area. By 1879, the Standard Oil Company controlled nearly 95 percent of all oil refining businesses in the country, as well as 90 percent of all the refining businesses in the world. Editors of the New York World lamented of Standard Oil in 1880 that, “When the nineteenth century shall have passed into history, the impartial eyes of the reviewers will be amazed to find that the U.S. . . . tolerated the presence of the most gigantic, the most cruel, impudent, pitiless and grasping monopoly that ever fastened itself upon a country.”
Seeking still more control, Rockefeller recognized the advantages of controlling the transportation of his product. He next began to grow his company through vertical integration, wherein a company handles all aspects of a product’s lifecycle, from the creation of raw materials through the production process to the delivery of the final product. In Rockefeller’s case, this model required investment and acquisition of companies involved in everything from barrel-making to pipelines, tanker cars to railroads. He came to own almost every type of business and used his vast power to drive competitors from the market through intense price wars. Although vilified by competitors who suffered from his takeovers and considered him to be no better than a robber baron, several observers lauded Rockefeller for his ingenuity in integrating the oil refining industry and, as a result, lowering kerosene prices by as much as 80 percent by the end of the century. Other industrialists quickly followed suit, including Gustavus Swift, who used vertical integration to dominate the U.S. meatpacking industry in the late nineteenth century.
In order to control the variety of interests he now maintained in industry, Rockefeller created a new legal entity, known as a trust. In this arrangement, a small group of trustees possess legal ownership of a business that they operate for the benefit of other investors. In 1882, all thirty-seven stockholders in the various Standard Oil enterprises gave their stock to nine trustees who were to control and direct all of the company’s business ventures. State and federal challenges arose, due to the obvious appearance of a monopoly, which implied sole ownership of all enterprises composing an entire industry. When the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that the Standard Oil Company must dissolve, as its monopoly control over all refining operations in the U.S. was in violation of state and federal statutes, Rockefeller shifted to yet another legal entity, called a holding company model. The holding company model created a central corporate entity that controlled the operations of multiple companies by holding the majority of stock for each enterprise. While not technically a “trust” and therefore not vulnerable to anti-monopoly laws, this consolidation of power and wealth into one entity was on par with a monopoly; thus, progressive reformers of the late nineteenth century considered holding companies to epitomize the dangers inherent in capitalistic big business, as can be seen in the political cartoon below (Figure). Impervious to reformers’ misgivings, other businessmen followed Rockefeller’s example. By 1905, over three hundred business mergers had occurred in the United States, affecting more than 80 percent of all industries. By that time, despite passage of federal legislation such as the Sherman Anti-Trust Act in 1890, 1 percent of the country’s businesses controlled over 40 percent of the nation’s economy.
The PBS video on Robber Barons or Industrial Giants presents a lively discussion of whether the industrialists of the nineteenth century were really “robber barons” or if they were “industrial giants.”
J. Pierpont Morgan
Unlike Carnegie and Rockefeller, J. P. Morgan was no rags-to-riches hero. He was born to wealth and became much wealthier as an investment banker, making wise financial decisions in support of the hard-working entrepreneurs building their fortunes. Morgan’s father was a London banker, and Morgan the son moved to New York in 1857 to look after the family’s business interests there. Once in America, he separated from the London bank and created the J. Pierpont Morgan and Company financial firm. The firm bought and sold stock in growing companies, investing the family’s wealth in those that showed great promise, turning an enormous profit as a result. Investments from firms such as his were the key to the success stories of up-and-coming businessmen like Carnegie and Rockefeller. In return for his investment, Morgan and other investment bankers demanded seats on the companies’ boards, which gave them even greater control over policies and decisions than just investment alone. There were many critics of Morgan and these other bankers, particularly among members of a U.S. congressional subcommittee who investigated the control that financiers maintained over key industries in the country. The subcommittee referred to Morgan’s enterprise as a form of “money trust” that was even more powerful than the trusts operated by Rockefeller and others. Morgan argued that his firm, and others like it, brought stability and organization to a hypercompetitive capitalist economy, and likened his role to a kind of public service.
Ultimately, Morgan’s most notable investment, and greatest consolidation, was in the steel industry, when he bought out Andrew Carnegie in 1901. Initially, Carnegie was reluctant to sell, but after repeated badgering by Morgan, Carnegie named his price: an outrageously inflated sum of $500 million. Morgan agreed without hesitation, and then consolidated Carnegie’s holdings with several smaller steel firms to create the U.S. Steel Corporation. U.S. Steel was subsequently capitalized at $1.4 billion. It was the country’s first billion-dollar firm. Lauded by admirers for the efficiency and modernization he brought to investment banking practices, as well as for his philanthropy and support of the arts, Morgan was also criticized by reformers who subsequently blamed his (and other bankers’) efforts for contributing to the artificial bubble of prosperity that eventually burst in the Great Depression of the 1930s. What none could doubt was that Morgan’s financial aptitude and savvy business dealings kept him in good stead. A subsequent U.S. congressional committee, in 1912, reported that his firm held 341 directorships in 112 corporations that controlled over $22 billion in assets. In comparison, that amount of wealth was greater than the assessed value of all the land in the United States west of the Mississippi River.
Section Summary
As the three tycoons profiled in this section illustrate, the end of the nineteenth century was a period in history that offered tremendous financial rewards to those who had the right combination of skill, ambition, and luck. Whether self-made millionaires like Carnegie or Rockefeller, or born to wealth like Morgan, these men were the lynchpins that turned inventors’ ideas into industrial growth. Steel production, in particular, but also oil refining techniques and countless other inventions, changed how industries in the country could operate, allowing them to grow in scale and scope like never before.
It is also critical to note how these different men managed their businesses and ambition. Where Carnegie felt strongly that it was the job of the wealthy to give back in their lifetime to the greater community, his fellow tycoons did not necessarily agree. Although he contributed to many philanthropic efforts, Rockefeller’s financial success was built on the backs of ruined and bankrupt companies, and he came to be condemned by progressive reformers who questioned the impact on the working class as well as the dangers of consolidating too much power and wealth into one individual’s hands. Morgan sought wealth strictly through the investment in, and subsequent purchase of, others’ hard work. Along the way, the models of management they adopted—horizontal and vertical integration, trusts, holding companies, and investment brokerages—became commonplace in American businesses. Very quickly, large business enterprises fell under the control of fewer and fewer individuals and trusts. In sum, their ruthlessness, their ambition, their generosity, and their management made up the workings of America’s industrial age.
Review Questions
Which of the following “robber barons” was notable for the exploitative way he made his fortune in railroads?
- Jay Gould
- Cornelius Vanderbilt
- Andrew Carnegie
- J. Pierpont Morgan
Hint:
A
Which of the following does not represent one of the management strategies that John D. Rockefeller used in building his empire?
- horizontal integration
- vertical integration
- social Darwinism
- the holding company model
Hint:
C
Why was Rockefeller’s use of horizontal integration such an effective business tool at this time? Were his choices legal? Why or why not?
Hint:
Horizontal integration enabled Rockefeller to gain tremendous control over the oil industry and use that power to influence vendors and competitors. For example, he could pressure railroads into giving him lower rates because of the volume of his products. He undercut competitors, forcing them to set their prices so low that they could barely stay in business—at which point he could buy them out. Through horizontal integration, he was able to create a virtual monopoly and set the terms for business. While his business model of a holding company was technically legal, it held as much power as a monopoly and did not allow for other businesses to grow and compete.
What differentiated a “robber baron” from other “captains of industry” in late nineteenth-century America?
Hint:
“Captains of industry” (such as Carnegie or Rockefeller) are noted for their new business models, entrepreneurial approaches, and, to varying degrees, philanthropic efforts, all of which transformed late nineteenth-century America. “Robber barons” (such as Gould) are noted for their self-centered drive for profit at the expense of workers and the general public, who seldom benefitted to any great degree. The terms, however, remain a gray area, as one could characterize the ruthless business practices of Rockefeller, or some of Carnegie’s tactics with regard to workers’ efforts to organize, as similar to the methods of robber barons. Nevertheless, “captains of industry” are noted for contributions that fundamentally changed and typically improved the nation, whereas “robber barons” can seldom point to such concrete contributions.
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2025-03-18T00:39:26.797214
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"url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/15490/overview",
"title": "U.S. History, Industrialization and the Rise of Big Business, 1870-1900",
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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/15491/overview
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Building Industrial America on the Backs of Labor
Overview
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Explain the qualities of industrial working-class life in the late nineteenth century
- Analyze both workers’ desire for labor unions and the reasons for unions’ inability to achieve their goals
The growth of the American economy in the last half of the nineteenth century presented a paradox. The standard of living for many American workers increased. As Carnegie said in The Gospel of Wealth, “the poor enjoy what the rich could not before afford. What were the luxuries have become the necessaries of life. The laborer has now more comforts than the landlord had a few generations ago.” In many ways, Carnegie was correct. The decline in prices and the cost of living meant that the industrial era offered many Americans relatively better lives in 1900 than they had only decades before. For some Americans, there were also increased opportunities for upward mobility. For the multitudes in the working class, however, conditions in the factories and at home remained deplorable. The difficulties they faced led many workers to question an industrial order in which a handful of wealthy Americans built their fortunes on the backs of workers.
WORKING-CLASS LIFE
Between the end of the Civil War and the turn of the century, the American workforce underwent a transformative shift. In 1865, nearly 60 percent of Americans still lived and worked on farms; by the early 1900s, that number had reversed itself, and only 40 percent still lived in rural areas, with the remainder living and working in urban and early suburban areas. A significant number of these urban and suburban dwellers earned their wages in factories. Advances in farm machinery allowed for greater production with less manual labor, thus leading many Americans to seek job opportunities in the burgeoning factories in the cities. Not surprisingly, there was a concurrent trend of a decrease in American workers being self-employed and an increase of those working for others and being dependent on a factory wage system for their living.
Yet factory wages were, for the most part, very low. In 1900, the average factory wage was approximately twenty cents per hour, for an annual salary of barely six hundred dollars. According to some historical estimates, that wage left approximately 20 percent of the population in industrialized cities at, or below, the poverty level. An average factory work week was sixty hours, ten hours per day, six days per week, although in steel mills, the workers put in twelve hours per day, seven days a week. Factory owners had little concern for workers’ safety. According to one of the few available accurate measures, as late as 1913, nearly 25,000 Americans lost their lives on the job, while another 700,000 workers suffered from injuries that resulted in at least one missed month of work. Another element of hardship for workers was the increasingly dehumanizing nature of their work. Factory workers executed repetitive tasks throughout the long hours of their shifts, seldom interacting with coworkers or supervisors. This solitary and repetitive work style was a difficult adjustment for those used to more collaborative and skill-based work, whether on farms or in crafts shops. Managers embraced Fredrick Taylor’s principles of scientific management, also called “stop-watch management,” where he used stop-watch studies to divide manufacturing tasks into short, repetitive segments. A mechanical engineer by training, Taylor encouraged factory owners to seek efficiency and profitability over any benefits of personal interaction. Owners adopted this model, effectively making workers cogs in a well-oiled machine.
One result of the new breakdown of work processes was that factory owners were able to hire women and children to perform many of the tasks. From 1870 through 1900, the number of women working outside the home tripled. By the end of this period, five million American women were wage earners, with one-quarter of them working factory jobs. Most were young, under twenty-five, and either immigrants themselves or the daughters of immigrants. Their foray into the working world was not seen as a step towards empowerment or equality, but rather a hardship born of financial necessity. Women’s factory work tended to be in clothing or textile factories, where their appearance was less offensive to men who felt that heavy industry was their purview. Other women in the workforce worked in clerical positions as bookkeepers and secretaries, and as salesclerks. Not surprisingly, women were paid less than men, under the pretense that they should be under the care of a man and did not require a living wage.
Factory owners used the same rationale for the exceedingly low wages they paid to children. Children were small enough to fit easily among the machines and could be hired for simple work for a fraction of an adult man’s pay. The image below (Figure) shows children working the night shift in a glass factory. From 1870 through 1900, child labor in factories tripled. Growing concerns among progressive reformers over the safety of women and children in the workplace would eventually result in the development of political lobby groups. Several states passed legislative efforts to ensure a safe workplace, and the lobby groups pressured Congress to pass protective legislation. However, such legislation would not be forthcoming until well into the twentieth century. In the meantime, many working-class immigrants still desired the additional wages that child and women labor produced, regardless of the harsh working conditions.
WORKER PROTESTS AND VIOLENCE
Workers were well aware of the vast discrepancy between their lives and the wealth of the factory owners. Lacking the assets and legal protection needed to organize, and deeply frustrated, some working communities erupted in spontaneous violence. The coal mines of eastern Pennsylvania and the railroad yards of western Pennsylvania, central to both respective industries and home to large, immigrant, working enclaves, saw the brunt of these outbursts. The combination of violence, along with several other factors, blunted any significant efforts to organize workers until well into the twentieth century.
Business owners viewed organization efforts with great mistrust, capitalizing upon widespread anti-union sentiment among the general public to crush unions through open shops, the use of strikebreakers, yellow-dog contracts (in which the employee agrees to not join a union as a pre-condition of employment), and other means. Workers also faced obstacles to organization associated with race and ethnicity, as questions arose on how to address the increasing number of low-paid African American workers, in addition to the language and cultural barriers introduced by the large wave of southeastern European immigration to the United States. But in large part, the greatest obstacle to effective unionization was the general public’s continued belief in a strong work ethic and that an individual work ethic—not organizing into radical collectives—would reap its own rewards. As violence erupted, such events seemed only to confirm widespread popular sentiment that radical, un-American elements were behind all union efforts.
In the 1870s, Irish coal miners in eastern Pennsylvania formed a secret organization known as the Molly Maguires, named for the famous Irish patriot. Through a series of scare tactics that included kidnappings, beatings, and even murder, the Molly Maguires sought to bring attention to the miners’ plight, as well as to cause enough damage and concern to the mine owners that the owners would pay attention to their concerns. Owners paid attention, but not in the way that the protesters had hoped. They hired detectives to pose as miners and mingle among the workers to obtain the names of the Molly Maguires. By 1875, they had acquired the names of twenty-four suspected Maguires, who were subsequently convicted of murder and violence against property. All were convicted and ten were hanged in 1876, at a public “Day of the Rope.” This harsh reprisal quickly crushed the remaining Molly Maguires movement. The only substantial gain the workers had from this episode was the knowledge that, lacking labor organization, sporadic violent protest would be met by escalated violence.
Public opinion was not sympathetic towards labor’s violent methods as displayed by the Molly Maguires. But the public was further shocked by some of the harsh practices employed by government agents to crush the labor movement, as seen the following year in the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. After incurring a significant pay cut earlier that year, railroad workers in West Virginia spontaneously went on strike and blocked the tracks (Figure). As word spread of the event, railroad workers across the country joined in sympathy, leaving their jobs and committing acts of vandalism to show their frustration with the ownership. Local citizens, who in many instances were relatives and friends, were largely sympathetic to the railroad workers’ demands.
The most significant violent outbreak of the railroad strike occurred in Pittsburgh, beginning on July 19. The governor ordered militiamen from Philadelphia to the Pittsburgh roundhouse to protect railroad property. The militia opened fire to disperse the angry crowd and killed twenty individuals while wounding another twenty-nine. A riot erupted, resulting in twenty-four hours of looting, violence, fire, and mayhem, and did not die down until the rioters wore out in the hot summer weather. In a subsequent skirmish with strikers while trying to escape the roundhouse, militiamen killed another twenty individuals. Violence erupted in Maryland and Illinois as well, and President Hayes eventually sent federal troops into major cities to restore order. This move, along with the impending return of cooler weather that brought with it the need for food and fuel, resulted in striking workers nationwide returning to the railroad. The strike had lasted for forty-five days, and they had gained nothing but a reputation for violence and aggression that left the public less sympathetic than ever. Dissatisfied laborers began to realize that there would be no substantial improvement in their quality of life until they found a way to better organize themselves.
WORKER ORGANIZATION AND THE STRUGGLES OF UNIONS
Prior to the Civil War, there were limited efforts to create an organized labor movement on any large scale. With the majority of workers in the country working independently in rural settings, the idea of organized labor was not largely understood. But, as economic conditions changed, people became more aware of the inequities facing factory wage workers. By the early 1880s, even farmers began to fully recognize the strength of unity behind a common cause.
Models of Organizing: The Knights of Labor and American Federation of Labor
In 1866, seventy-seven delegates representing a variety of different occupations met in Baltimore to form the National Labor Union (NLU). The NLU had ambitious ideas about equal rights for African Americans and women, currency reform, and a legally mandated eight-hour workday. The organization was successful in convincing Congress to adopt the eight-hour workday for federal employees, but their reach did not progress much further. The Panic of 1873 and the economic recession that followed as a result of overspeculation on railroads and the subsequent closing of several banks—during which workers actively sought any employment regardless of the conditions or wages—as well as the death of the NLU’s founder, led to a decline in their efforts.
A combination of factors contributed to the debilitating Panic of 1873, which triggered what the public referred to at the time as the “Great Depression” of the 1870s. Most notably, the railroad boom that had occurred from 1840 to 1870 was rapidly coming to a close. Overinvestment in the industry had extended many investors’ capital resources in the form of railroad bonds. However, when several economic developments in Europe affected the value of silver in America, which in turn led to a de facto gold standard that shrunk the U.S. monetary supply, the amount of cash capital available for railroad investments rapidly declined. Several large business enterprises were left holding their wealth in all but worthless railroad bonds. When Jay Cooke & Company, a leader in the American banking industry, declared bankruptcy on the eve of their plans to finance the construction of a new transcontinental railroad, the panic truly began. A chain reaction of bank failures culminated with the New York Stock Exchange suspending all trading for ten days at the end of September 1873. Within a year, over one hundred railroad enterprises had failed; within two years, nearly twenty thousand businesses had failed. The loss of jobs and wages sent workers throughout the United States seeking solutions and clamoring for scapegoats.
Although the NLU proved to be the wrong effort at the wrong time, in the wake of the Panic of 1873 and the subsequent frustration exhibited in the failed Molly Maguires uprising and the national railroad strike, another, more significant, labor organization emerged. The Knights of Labor (KOL) was more able to attract a sympathetic following than the Molly Maguires and others by widening its base and appealing to more members. Philadelphia tailor Uriah Stephens grew the KOL from a small presence during the Panic of 1873 to an organization of national importance by 1878. That was the year the KOL held their first general assembly, where they adopted a broad reform platform, including a renewed call for an eight-hour workday, equal pay regardless of gender, the elimination of convict labor, and the creation of greater cooperative enterprises with worker ownership of businesses. Much of the KOL’s strength came from its concept of “One Big Union”—the idea that it welcomed all wage workers, regardless of occupation, with the exception of doctors, lawyers, and bankers. It welcomed women, African Americans, Native Americans, and immigrants, of all trades and skill levels. This was a notable break from the earlier tradition of craft unions, which were highly specialized and limited to a particular group. In 1879, a new leader, Terence V. Powderly, joined the organization, and he gained even more followers due to his marketing and promotional efforts. Although largely opposed to strikes as effective tactics, through their sheer size, the Knights claimed victories in several railroad strikes in 1884–1885, including one against notorious “robber baron” Jay Gould, and their popularity consequently rose among workers. By 1886, the KOL had a membership in excess of 700,000.
In one night, however, the KOL’s popularity—and indeed the momentum of the labor movement as a whole—plummeted due to an event known as the Haymarket affair, which occurred on May 4, 1886, in Chicago’s Haymarket Square (Figure). There, an anarchist group had gathered in response to a death at an earlier nationwide demonstration for the eight-hour workday. At the earlier demonstration, clashes between police and strikers at the International Harvester Company of Chicago led to the death of a striking worker. The anarchist group decided to hold a protest the following night in Haymarket Square, and, although the protest was quiet, the police arrived armed for conflict. Someone in the crowd threw a bomb at the police, killing one officer and injuring another. The seven anarchists speaking at the protest were arrested and charged with murder. They were sentenced to death, though two were later pardoned and one committed suicide in prison before his execution.
The press immediately blamed the KOL as well as Powderly for the Haymarket affair, despite the fact that neither the organization nor Powderly had anything to do with the demonstration. Combined with the American public’s lukewarm reception to organized labor as a whole, the damage was done. The KOL saw its membership decline to barely 100,000 by the end of 1886. Nonetheless, during its brief success, the Knights illustrated the potential for success with their model of “industrial unionism,” which welcomed workers from all trades.
The Haymarket Rally
On May 1, 1886, recognized internationally as a day for labor celebration, labor organizations around the country engaged in a national rally for the eight-hour workday. While the number of striking workers varied around the country, estimates are that between 300,000 and 500,000 workers protested in New York, Detroit, Chicago, and beyond. In Chicago, clashes between police and protesters led the police to fire into the crowd, resulting in fatalities. Afterward, angry at the deaths of the striking workers, organizers quickly organized a “mass meeting,” per the poster below (Figure).
While the meeting was intended to be peaceful, a large police presence made itself known, prompting one of the event organizers to state in his speech, “There seems to prevail the opinion in some quarters that this meeting has been called for the purpose of inaugurating a riot, hence these warlike preparations on the part of so-called ‘law and order.’ However, let me tell you at the beginning that this meeting has not been called for any such purpose. The object of this meeting is to explain the general situation of the eight-hour movement and to throw light upon various incidents in connection with it.” The mayor of Chicago later corroborated accounts of the meeting, noted that it was a peaceful rally, but as it was winding down, the police marched into the crowd, demanding they disperse. Someone in the crowd threw a bomb, killing one policeman immediately and wounding many others, some of whom died later. Despite the aggressive actions of the police, public opinion was strongly against the striking laborers. The New York Times, after the events played out, reported on it with the headline “Rioting and Bloodshed in the Streets of Chicago: Police Mowed Down with Dynamite.” Other papers echoed the tone and often exaggerated the chaos, undermining organized labor’s efforts and leading to the ultimate conviction and hanging of the rally organizers. Labor activists considered those hanged after the Haymarket affair to be martyrs for the cause and created an informal memorial at their gravesides in Park Forest, Illinois.
This article about the “Rioting and Bloodshed in the Streets of Chicago” reveals how the New York Times reported on the Haymarket affair. Assess whether the article gives evidence of the information it lays out. Consider how it portrays the events, and how different, more sympathetic coverage might have changed the response of the general public towards immigrant workers and labor unions.
During the effort to establish industrial unionism in the form of the KOL, craft unions had continued to operate. In 1886, twenty different craft unions met to organize a national federation of autonomous craft unions. This group became the American Federation of Labor (AFL), led by Samuel Gompers from its inception until his death in 1924. More so than any of its predecessors, the AFL focused almost all of its efforts on economic gains for its members, seldom straying into political issues other than those that had a direct impact upon working conditions. The AFL also kept a strict policy of not interfering in each union’s individual business. Rather, Gompers often settled disputes between unions, using the AFL to represent all unions of matters of federal legislation that could affect all workers, such as the eight-hour workday.
By 1900, the AFL had 500,000 members; by 1914, its numbers had risen to one million, and by 1920 they claimed four million working members. Still, as a federation of craft unions, it excluded many factory workers and thus, even at its height, represented only 15 percent of the nonfarm workers in the country. As a result, even as the country moved towards an increasingly industrial age, the majority of American workers still lacked support, protection from ownership, and access to upward mobility.
The Decline of Labor: The Homestead and Pullman Strikes
While workers struggled to find the right organizational structure to support a union movement in a society that was highly critical of such worker organization, there came two final violent events at the close of the nineteenth century. These events, the Homestead Steel Strike of 1892 and the Pullman Strike of 1894, all but crushed the labor movement for the next forty years, leaving public opinion of labor strikes lower than ever and workers unprotected.
At the Homestead factory of the Carnegie Steel Company, workers represented by the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers enjoyed relatively good relations with management until Henry C. Frick became the factory manager in 1889. When the union contract was up for renewal in 1892, Carnegie—long a champion of living wages for his employees—had left for Scotland and trusted Frick—noted for his strong anti-union stance—to manage the negotiations. When no settlement was reached by June 29, Frick ordered a lockout of the workers and hired three hundred Pinkerton detectives to protect company property. On July 6, as the Pinkertons arrived on barges on the river, union workers along the shore engaged them in a gunfight that resulted in the deaths of three Pinkertons and six workers. One week later, the Pennsylvania militia arrived to escort strike-breakers into the factory to resume production. Although the lockout continued until November, it ended with the union defeated and individual workers asking for their jobs back. A subsequent failed assassination attempt by anarchist Alexander Berkman on Frick further strengthened public animosity towards the union.
Two years later, in 1894, the Pullman Strike was another disaster for unionized labor. The crisis began in the company town of Pullman, Illinois, where Pullman “sleeper” cars were manufactured for America’s railroads. When the depression of 1893 unfolded in the wake of the failure of several northeastern railroad companies, mostly due to overconstruction and poor financing, company owner George Pullman fired three thousand of the factory’s six thousand employees, cut the remaining workers’ wages by an average of 25 percent, and then continued to charge the same high rents and prices in the company homes and store where workers were required to live and shop. Workers began the strike on May 11, when Eugene V. Debs, the president of the American Railway Union, ordered rail workers throughout the country to stop handling any trains that had Pullman cars on them. In practicality, almost all of the trains fell into this category, and, therefore, the strike created a nationwide train stoppage, right on the heels of the depression of 1893. Seeking justification for sending in federal troops, President Grover Cleveland turned to his attorney general, who came up with a solution: Attach a mail car to every train and then send in troops to ensure the delivery of the mail. The government also ordered the strike to end; when Debs refused, he was arrested and imprisoned for his interference with the delivery of U.S. mail. The image below (Figure) shows the standoff between federal troops and the workers. The troops protected the hiring of new workers, thus rendering the strike tactic largely ineffective. The strike ended abruptly on July 13, with no labor gains and much lost in the way of public opinion.
George Estes on the Order of Railroad Telegraphers
The following excerpt is a reflection from George Estes, an organizer and member of the Order of Railroad Telegraphers, a labor organization at the end of the nineteenth century. His perspective on the ways that labor and management related to each other illustrates the difficulties at the heart of their negotiations. He notes that, in this era, the two groups saw each other as enemies and that any gain by one was automatically a loss by the other.
I have always noticed that things usually have to get pretty bad before they get any better. When inequities pile up so high that the burden is more than the underdog can bear, he gets his dander up and things begin to happen. It was that way with the telegraphers’ problem. These exploited individuals were determined to get for themselves better working conditions—higher pay, shorter hours, less work which might not properly be classed as telegraphy, and the high and mighty Mr. Fillmore [railroad company president] was not going to stop them. It was a bitter fight. At the outset, Mr. Fillmore let it be known, by his actions and comments, that he held the telegraphers in the utmost contempt.
With the papers crammed each day with news of labor strife—and with two great labor factions at each other’s throats, I am reminded of a parallel in my own early and more active career. Shortly before the turn of the century, in 1898 and 1899 to be more specific, I occupied a position with regard to a certain class of skilled labor, comparable to that held by the Lewises and Greens of today. I refer, of course, to the telegraphers and station agents. These hard-working gentlemen—servants of the public—had no regular hours, performed a multiplicity of duties, and, considering the service they rendered, were sorely and inadequately paid. A telegrapher’s day included a considerable number of chores that present-day telegraphers probably never did or will do in the course of a day’s work. He used to clean and fill lanterns, block lights, etc. Used to do the janitor work around the small town depot, stoke the pot-bellied stove of the waiting-room, sweep the floors, picking up papers and waiting-room litter. . . .
Today, capital and labor seem to understand each other better than they did a generation or so ago. Capital is out to make money. So is labor—and each is willing to grant the other a certain amount of tolerant leeway, just so he doesn’t go too far. In the old days there was a breach as wide as the Pacific separating capital and labor. It wasn’t money altogether in those days, it was a matter of principle. Capital and labor couldn’t see eye to eye on a single point. Every gain that either made was at the expense of the other, and was fought tooth and nail. No difference seemed ever possible of amicable settlement. Strikes were riots. Murder and mayhem was common. Railroad labor troubles were frequent. The railroads, in the nineties, were the country’s largest employers. They were so big, so powerful, so perfectly organized themselves—I mean so in accord among themselves as to what treatment they felt like offering the man who worked for them—that it was extremely difficult for labor to gain a single advantage in the struggle for better conditions.
—George Estes, interview with Andrew Sherbert, 1938
Section Summary
After the Civil War, as more and more people crowded into urban areas and joined the ranks of wage earners, the landscape of American labor changed. For the first time, the majority of workers were employed by others in factories and offices in the cities. Factory workers, in particular, suffered from the inequity of their positions. Owners had no legal restrictions on exploiting employees with long hours in dehumanizing and poorly paid work. Women and children were hired for the lowest possible wages, but even men’s wages were barely enough upon which to live.
Poor working conditions, combined with few substantial options for relief, led workers to frustration and sporadic acts of protest and violence, acts that rarely, if ever, gained them any lasting, positive effects. Workers realized that change would require organization, and thus began early labor unions that sought to win rights for all workers through political advocacy and owner engagement. Groups like the National Labor Union and Knights of Labor both opened their membership to any and all wage earners, male or female, black or white, regardless of skill. Their approach was a departure from the craft unions of the very early nineteenth century, which were unique to their individual industries. While these organizations gained members for a time, they both ultimately failed when public reaction to violent labor strikes turned opinion against them. The American Federation of Labor, a loose affiliation of different unions, grew in the wake of these universal organizations, although negative publicity impeded their work as well. In all, the century ended with the vast majority of American laborers unrepresented by any collective or union, leaving them vulnerable to the power wielded by factory ownership.
Review Questions
What was one of the key goals for which striking workers fought in the late nineteenth century?
- health insurance
- disability pay
- an eight-hour workday
- women’s right to hold factory jobs
Hint:
C
Which of the following was not a key goal of the Knights of Labor?
- an end to convict labor
- a graduated income tax on personal wealth
- equal pay regardless of gender
- the creation of cooperative business enterprises
Hint:
B
What were the core differences in the methods and agendas of the Knights of Labor and the American Federation of Labor?
Hint:
The Knights of Labor (KOL) had a broad and open base, inviting all types of workers, including women and African Americans, into their ranks. The KOL also sought political gains for workers throughout the country, regardless of their membership. In contrast, the American Federation of Labor (AFL) was a loose affiliation of separate unions, with each group remaining intact and distinct. The AFL did not advocate for national labor issues, but restricted its efforts to helping improve economic conditions for its members.
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2025-03-18T00:39:26.831693
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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/15492/overview
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A New American Consumer Culture
Overview
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Describe the characteristics of the new consumer culture that emerged at the end of the nineteenth century
Despite the challenges workers faced in their new roles as wage earners, the rise of industry in the United States allowed people to access and consume goods as never before. The rise of big business had turned America into a culture of consumers desperate for time-saving and leisure commodities, where people could expect to find everything they wanted in shops or by mail order. Gone were the days where the small general store was the only option for shoppers; at the end of the nineteenth century, people could take a train to the city and shop in large department stores like Macy’s in New York, Gimbel’s in Philadelphia, and Marshall Fields in Chicago. Chain stores, like A&P and Woolworth’s, both of which opened in the 1870s, offered options to those who lived farther from major urban areas and clearly catered to classes other than the wealthy elite. Industrial advancements contributed to this proliferation, as new construction techniques permitted the building of stores with higher ceilings for larger displays, and the production of larger sheets of plate glass lent themselves to the development of larger store windows, glass countertops, and display cases where shoppers could observe a variety of goods at a glance. L. Frank Baum, of Wizard of Oz fame, later founded the National Association of Window Trimmers in 1898, and began publishing The Store Window journal to advise businesses on space usage and promotion.
Even families in rural America had new opportunities to purchase a greater variety of products than ever before, at ever decreasing prices. Those far from chain stores could benefit from the newly developed business of mail-order catalogs, placing orders by telephone. Aaron Montgomery Ward established the first significant mail-order business in 1872, with Sears, Roebuck & Company following in 1886. Sears distributed over 300,000 catalogs annually by 1897, and later broke the one million annual mark in 1907. Sears in particular understood that farmers and rural Americans sought alternatives to the higher prices and credit purchases they were forced to endure at small-town country stores. By clearly stating the prices in his catalog, Richard Sears steadily increased his company’s image of their catalog serving as “the consumer’s bible.” In the process, Sears, Roebuck & Company supplied much of America’s hinterland with products ranging from farm supplies to bicycles, toilet paper to automobiles, as seen below in a page from the catalog (Figure).
The tremendous variety of goods available for sale required businesses to compete for customers in ways they had never before imagined. Suddenly, instead of a single option for clothing or shoes, customers were faced with dozens, whether ordered by mail, found at the local chain store, or lined up in massive rows at department stores. This new level of competition made advertising a vital component of all businesses. By 1900, American businesses were spending almost $100 million annually on advertising. Competitors offered “new and improved” models as frequently as possible in order to generate interest. From toothpaste and mouthwash to books on entertaining guests, new goods were constantly offered. Newspapers accommodated the demand for advertising by shifting their production to include full-page advertisements, as opposed to the traditional column width, agate-type advertisements that dominated mid-nineteenth century newspapers (similar to classified advertisements in today’s publications). Likewise, professional advertising agencies began to emerge in the 1880s, with experts in consumer demand bidding for accounts with major firms.
It may seem strange that, at a time when wages were so low, people began buying readily; however, the slow emergence of a middle class by the end of the century, combined with the growing practice of buying on credit, presented more opportunities to take part in the new consumer culture. Stores allowed people to open accounts and purchase on credit, thus securing business and allowing consumers to buy without ready cash. Then, as today, the risks of buying on credit led many into debt. As advertising expert Roland Marchand described in his Parable on the Democracy of Goods, in an era when access to products became more important than access to the means of production, Americans quickly accepted the notion that they could live a better lifestyle by purchasing the right clothes, the best hair cream, and the shiniest shoes, regardless of their class. For better or worse, American consumerism had begun.
Advertising in the Industrial Age: Credit, Luxury, and the Advent of “New and Improved”
Before the industrial revolution, most household goods were either made at home or purchased locally, with limited choices. By the end of the nineteenth century, factors such as the population’s move towards urban centers and the expansion of the railroad changed how Americans shopped for, and perceived, consumer goods. As mentioned above, advertising took off, as businesses competed for customers.
Many of the elements used widely in nineteenth-century advertisements are familiar. Companies sought to sell luxury, safety, and, as the ad for the typewriter below shows (Figure), the allure of the new-and-improved model. One advertising tactic that truly took off in this era was the option to purchase on credit. For the first time, mail order and mass production meant that the aspiring middle class could purchase items that could only be owned previously by the wealthy. While there was a societal stigma for buying everyday goods on credit, certain items, such as fine furniture or pianos, were considered an investment in the move toward entry into the middle class.
Additionally, farmers and housewives purchased farm equipment and sewing machines on credit, considering these items investments rather than luxuries. For women, the purchase of a sewing machine meant that a shirt could be made in one hour, instead of fourteen. The Singer Sewing Machine Company was one of the most aggressive at pushing purchase on credit. They advertised widely, and their “Dollar Down, Dollar a Week” campaign made them one of the fastest-growing companies in the country.
For workers earning lower wages, these easy credit terms meant that the middle-class lifestyle was within their reach. Of course, it also meant they were in debt, and changes in wages, illness, or other unexpected expenses could wreak havoc on a household’s tenuous finances. Still, the opportunity to own new and luxurious products was one that many Americans, aspiring to improve their place in society, could not resist.
Section Summary
While tensions between owners and workers continued to grow, and wage earners struggled with the challenges of industrial work, the culture of American consumerism was changing. Greater choice, easier access, and improved goods at lower prices meant that even lower-income Americans, whether rural and shopping via mail order, or urban and shopping in large department stores, had more options. These increased options led to a rise in advertising, as businesses competed for customers. Furthermore, the opportunity to buy on credit meant that Americans could have their goods, even without ready cash. The result was a population that had a better standard of living than ever before, even as they went into debt or worked long factory hours to pay for it.
Review Questions
Which of the following did not contribute to the growth of a consumer culture in the United States at the close of the nineteenth century?
- personal credit
- advertising
- greater disposable income
- mail-order catalogs
Hint:
C
Briefly explain Roland Marchand’s argument in the Parable of the Democracy of Goods.
Hint:
Marchand argues that in the new era of consumerism, workers’ desire for access to consumer goods replaces their desire for access to the means of production of those goods. So long as Americans could buy products that advertisers convinced them would make them look and feel wealthy, they did not need to fight for access to the means of wealth.
Critical Thinking Questions
Consider the fact that the light bulb and the telephone were invented only three years apart. Although it took many more years for such devices to find their way into common household use, they eventually wrought major changes in a relatively brief period of time. What effects did these inventions have on the lives of those who used them? Are there contemporary analogies in your lifetime of significant changes due to inventions or technological innovations?
Industrialization, immigration, and urbanization all took place on an unprecedented scale during this era. What were the relationships of these processes to one another? How did each process serve to catalyze and fuel the others?
Describe the various attempts at labor organization in this era, from the Molly Maguires to the Knights of Labor and American Federation of Labor. How were the goals, philosophies, and tactics of these groups similar and different? How did their agendas represent the concerns and grievances of their members and of workers more generally?
Describe the various violent clashes between labor and management that occurred during this era. What do these events reveal about how each group had come to view the other?
How did the new industrial order represent both new opportunities and new limitations for rural and working-class urban Americans?
How did the emergent consumer culture change what it meant to be “American” at the turn of the century?
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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/15456/overview
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Introduction
Overview
- Political Corruption in Postbellum America
- Key Political Issues: Patronage, Tariffs, and Gold
- Farmers Revolt in the Populist Era
- Social and Labor Unrest in the 1890s
Nine new slave states entered the Union between 1789 and 1860, rapidly expanding and transforming the South into a region of economic growth built on slave labor. In the image above (Figure), innumerable slaves load cargo onto a steamship in the Port of New Orleans, the commercial center of the antebellum South, while two well-dressed white men stand by talking. Commercial activity extends as far as the eye can see.
By the mid-nineteenth century, southern commercial centers like New Orleans had become home to the greatest concentration of wealth in the United States. While most white southerners did not own slaves, they aspired to join the ranks of elite slaveholders, who played a key role in the politics of both the South and the nation. Meanwhile, slavery shaped the culture and society of the South, which rested on a racial ideology of white supremacy and a vision of the United States as a white man’s republic. Slaves endured the traumas of slavery by creating their own culture and using the Christian message of redemption to find hope for a world of freedom without violence.
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"title": "U.S. History, Cotton is King: The Antebellum South, 1800–1860",
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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/15457/overview
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The Economics of Cotton
Overview
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Explain the labor-intensive processes of cotton production
- Describe the importance of cotton to the Atlantic and American antebellum economy
In the antebellum era—that is, in the years before the Civil War—American planters in the South continued to grow Chesapeake tobacco and Carolina rice as they had in the colonial era. Cotton, however, emerged as the antebellum South’s major commercial crop, eclipsing tobacco, rice, and sugar in economic importance. By 1860, the region was producing two-thirds of the world’s cotton. In 1793, Eli Whitney revolutionized the production of cotton when he invented the cotton gin, a device that separated the seeds from raw cotton. Suddenly, a process that was extraordinarily labor-intensive when done by hand could be completed quickly and easily. American plantation owners, who were searching for a successful staple crop to compete on the world market, found it in cotton.
As a commodity, cotton had the advantage of being easily stored and transported. A demand for it already existed in the industrial textile mills in Great Britain, and in time, a steady stream of slave-grown American cotton would also supply northern textile mills. Southern cotton, picked and processed by American slaves, helped fuel the nineteenth-century Industrial Revolution in both the United States and Great Britain.
KING COTTON
Almost no cotton was grown in the United States in 1787, the year the federal constitution was written. However, following the War of 1812, a huge increase in production resulted in the so-called cotton boom, and by midcentury, cotton became the key cash crop (a crop grown to sell rather than for the farmer’s sole use) of the southern economy and the most important American commodity. By 1850, of the 3.2 million slaves in the country’s fifteen slave states, 1.8 million were producing cotton; by 1860, slave labor was producing over two billion pounds of cotton per year. Indeed, American cotton soon made up two-thirds of the global supply, and production continued to soar. By the time of the Civil War, South Carolina politician James Hammond confidently proclaimed that the North could never threaten the South because “cotton is king.”
The crop grown in the South was a hybrid: Gossypium barbadense, known as Petit Gulf cotton, a mix of Mexican, Georgia, and Siamese strains. Petit Gulf cotton grew extremely well in different soils and climates. It dominated cotton production in the Mississippi River Valley—home of the new slave states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Missouri—as well as in other states like Texas. Whenever new slave states entered the Union, white slaveholders sent armies of slaves to clear the land in order to grow and pick the lucrative crop. The phrase “to be sold down the river,” used by Harriet Beecher Stowe in her 1852 novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin, refers to this forced migration from the upper southern states to the Deep South, lower on the Mississippi, to grow cotton.
The slaves who built this cotton kingdom with their labor started by clearing the land. Although the Jeffersonian vision of the settlement of new U.S. territories entailed white yeoman farmers single-handedly carving out small independent farms, the reality proved quite different. Entire old-growth forests and cypress swamps fell to the axe as slaves labored to strip the vegetation to make way for cotton. With the land cleared, slaves readied the earth by plowing and planting. To ambitious white planters, the extent of new land available for cotton production seemed almost limitless, and many planters simply leapfrogged from one area to the next, abandoning their fields every ten to fifteen years after the soil became exhausted. Theirs was a world of mobility and restlessness, a constant search for the next area to grow the valuable crop. Slaves composed the vanguard of this American expansion to the West.
Cotton planting took place in March and April, when slaves planted seeds in rows around three to five feet apart. Over the next several months, from April to August, they carefully tended the plants. Weeding the cotton rows took significant energy and time. In August, after the cotton plants had flowered and the flowers had begun to give way to cotton bolls (the seed-bearing capsule that contains the cotton fiber), all the plantation’s slaves—men, women, and children—worked together to pick the crop (Figure). On each day of cotton picking, slaves went to the fields with sacks, which they would fill as many times as they could. The effort was laborious, and a white “driver” employed the lash to make slaves work as quickly as possible.
Cotton planters projected the amount of cotton they could harvest based on the number of slaves under their control. In general, planters expected a good “hand,” or slave, to work ten acres of land and pick two hundred pounds of cotton a day. An overseer or master measured each individual slave’s daily yield. Great pressure existed to meet the expected daily amount, and some masters whipped slaves who picked less than expected.
Cotton picking occurred as many as seven times a season as the plant grew and continued to produce bolls through the fall and early winter. During the picking season, slaves worked from sunrise to sunset with a ten-minute break at lunch; many slaveholders tended to give them little to eat, since spending on food would cut into their profits. Other slaveholders knew that feeding slaves could increase productivity and therefore provided what they thought would help ensure a profitable crop. The slaves’ day didn’t end after they picked the cotton; once they had brought it to the gin house to be weighed, they then had to care for the animals and perform other chores. Indeed, slaves often maintained their own gardens and livestock, which they tended after working the cotton fields, in order to supplement their supply of food.
Sometimes the cotton was dried before it was ginned (put through the process of separating the seeds from the cotton fiber). The cotton gin allowed a slave to remove the seeds from fifty pounds of cotton a day, compared to one pound if done by hand. After the seeds had been removed, the cotton was pressed into bales. These bales, weighing about four hundred to five hundred pounds, were wrapped in burlap cloth and sent down the Mississippi River.
Visit the Internet Archive to watch a 1937 WPA film showing cotton bales being loaded onto a steamboat.
As the cotton industry boomed in the South, the Mississippi River quickly became the essential water highway in the United States. Steamboats, a crucial part of the transportation revolution thanks to their enormous freight-carrying capacity and ability to navigate shallow waterways, became a defining component of the cotton kingdom. Steamboats also illustrated the class and social distinctions of the antebellum age. While the decks carried precious cargo, ornate rooms graced the interior. In these spaces, whites socialized in the ship’s saloons and dining halls while black slaves served them (Figure).
Investors poured huge sums into steamships. In 1817, only seventeen plied the waters of western rivers, but by 1837, there were over seven hundred steamships in operation. Major new ports developed at St. Louis, Missouri; Memphis, Tennessee; and other locations. By 1860, some thirty-five hundred vessels were steaming in and out of New Orleans, carrying an annual cargo made up primarily of cotton that amounted to $220 million worth of goods (approximately $6.5 billion in 2014 dollars).
New Orleans had been part of the French empire before the United States purchased it, along with the rest of the Louisiana Territory, in 1803. In the first half of the nineteenth century, it rose in prominence and importance largely because of the cotton boom, steam-powered river traffic, and its strategic position near the mouth of the Mississippi River. Steamboats moved down the river transporting cotton grown on plantations along the river and throughout the South to the port at New Orleans. From there, the bulk of American cotton went to Liverpool, England, where it was sold to British manufacturers who ran the cotton mills in Manchester and elsewhere. This lucrative international trade brought new wealth and new residents to the city. By 1840, New Orleans alone had 12 percent of the nation’s total banking capital, and visitors often commented on the great cultural diversity of the city. In 1835, Joseph Holt Ingraham wrote: “Truly does New-Orleans represent every other city and nation upon earth. I know of none where is congregated so great a variety of the human species.” Slaves, cotton, and the steamship transformed the city from a relatively isolated corner of North America in the eighteenth century to a thriving metropolis that rivaled New York in importance (Figure).
THE DOMESTIC SLAVE TRADE
The South’s dependence on cotton was matched by its dependence on slaves to harvest the cotton. Despite the rhetoric of the Revolution that “all men are created equal,” slavery not only endured in the American republic but formed the very foundation of the country’s economic success. Cotton and slavery occupied a central—and intertwined—place in the nineteenth-century economy.
In 1807, the U.S. Congress abolished the foreign slave trade, a ban that went into effect on January 1, 1808. After this date, importing slaves from Africa became illegal in the United States. While smuggling continued to occur, the end of the international slave trade meant that domestic slaves were in very high demand. Fortunately for Americans whose wealth depended upon the exploitation of slave labor, a fall in the price of tobacco had caused landowners in the Upper South to reduce their production of this crop and use more of their land to grow wheat, which was far more profitable. While tobacco was a labor-intensive crop that required many people to cultivate it, wheat was not. Former tobacco farmers in the older states of Virginia and Maryland found themselves with “surplus” slaves whom they were obligated to feed, clothe, and shelter. Some slaveholders responded to this situation by freeing slaves; far more decided to sell their excess bondsmen. Virginia and Maryland therefore took the lead in the domestic slave trade, the trading of slaves within the borders of the United States.
The domestic slave trade offered many economic opportunities for white men. Those who sold their slaves could realize great profits, as could the slave brokers who served as middlemen between sellers and buyers. Other white men could benefit from the trade as owners of warehouses and pens in which slaves were held, or as suppliers of clothing and food for slaves on the move. Between 1790 and 1859, slaveholders in Virginia sold more than half a million slaves. In the early part of this period, many of these slaves were sold to people living in Kentucky, Tennessee, and North and South Carolina. By the 1820s, however, people in Kentucky and the Carolinas had begun to sell many of their slaves as well. Maryland slave dealers sold at least 185,000 slaves. Kentucky slaveholders sold some seventy-one thousand individuals. Most of the slave traders carried these slaves further south to Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi. New Orleans, the hub of commerce, boasted the largest slave market in the United States and grew to become the nation’s fourth-largest city as a result. Natchez, Mississippi, had the second-largest market. In Virginia, Maryland, the Carolinas, and elsewhere in the South, slave auctions happened every day.
All told, the movement of slaves in the South made up one of the largest forced internal migrations in the United States. In each of the decades between 1820 and 1860, about 200,000 people were sold and relocated. The 1800 census recorded over one million African Americans, of which nearly 900,000 were slaves. By 1860, the total number of African Americans increased to 4.4 million, and of that number, 3.95 million were held in bondage. For many slaves, the domestic slave trade incited the terror of being sold away from family and friends.
Solomon Northup Remembers the New Orleans Slave Market
Solomon Northup was a free black man living in Saratoga, New York, when he was kidnapped and sold into slavery in 1841. He later escaped and wrote a book about his experiences: Twelve Years a Slave. Narrative of Solomon Northup, a Citizen of New-York, Kidnapped in Washington City in 1841 and Rescued in 1853 (the basis of a 2013 Academy Award–winning film). This excerpt derives from Northup’s description of being sold in New Orleans, along with fellow slave Eliza and her children Randall and Emily.
One old gentleman, who said he wanted a coachman, appeared to take a fancy to me. . . .
The same man also purchased Randall. The little fellow was made to jump, and run across the floor, and perform many other feats, exhibiting his activity and condition. All the time the trade was going on, Eliza was crying aloud, and wringing her hands. She besought the man not to buy him, unless he also bought her self and Emily. . . . Freeman turned round to her, savagely, with his whip in his uplifted hand, ordering her to stop her noise, or he would flog her. He would not have such work—such snivelling; and unless she ceased that minute, he would take her to the yard and give her a hundred lashes. . . . Eliza shrunk before him, and tried to wipe away her tears, but it was all in vain. She wanted to be with her children, she said, the little time she had to live. All the frowns and threats of Freeman, could not wholly silence the afflicted mother.
What does Northup’s narrative tell you about the experience of being a slave? How does he characterize Freeman, the slave trader? How does he characterize Eliza?
THE SOUTH IN THE AMERICAN AND WORLD MARKETS
The first half of the nineteenth century saw a market revolution in the United States, one in which industrialization brought changes to both the production and the consumption of goods. Some southerners of the time believed that their region’s reliance on a single cash crop and its use of slaves to produce it gave the South economic independence and made it immune from the effects of these changes, but this was far from the truth. Indeed, the production of cotton brought the South more firmly into the larger American and Atlantic markets. Northern mills depended on the South for supplies of raw cotton that was then converted into textiles. But this domestic cotton market paled in comparison to the Atlantic market. About 75 percent of the cotton produced in the United States was eventually exported abroad. Exporting at such high volumes made the United States the undisputed world leader in cotton production. Between the years 1820 and 1860, approximately 80 percent of the global cotton supply was produced in the United States. Nearly all the exported cotton was shipped to Great Britain, fueling its burgeoning textile industry and making the powerful British Empire increasingly dependent on American cotton and southern slavery.
The power of cotton on the world market may have brought wealth to the South, but it also increased its economic dependence on other countries and other parts of the United States. Much of the corn and pork that slaves consumed came from farms in the West. Some of the inexpensive clothing, called “slops,” and shoes worn by slaves were manufactured in the North. The North also supplied the furnishings found in the homes of both wealthy planters and members of the middle class. Many of the trappings of domestic life, such as carpets, lamps, dinnerware, upholstered furniture, books, and musical instruments—all the accoutrements of comfortable living for southern whites—were made in either the North or Europe. Southern planters also borrowed money from banks in northern cities, and in the southern summers, took advantage of the developments in transportation to travel to resorts at Saratoga, New York; Litchfield, Connecticut; and Newport, Rhode Island.
Section Summary
In the years before the Civil War, the South produced the bulk of the world’s supply of cotton. The Mississippi River Valley slave states became the epicenter of cotton production, an area of frantic economic activity where the landscape changed dramatically as land was transformed from pinewoods and swamps into cotton fields. Cotton’s profitability relied on the institution of slavery, which generated the product that fueled cotton mill profits in the North. When the international slave trade was outlawed in 1808, the domestic slave trade exploded, providing economic opportunities for whites involved in many aspects of the trade and increasing the possibility of slaves’ dislocation and separation from kin and friends. Although the larger American and Atlantic markets relied on southern cotton in this era, the South depended on these other markets for food, manufactured goods, and loans. Thus, the market revolution transformed the South just as it had other regions.
Review Questions
Which of the following was not one of the effects of the cotton boom?
- U.S. trade increased with France and Spain.
- Northern manufacturing expanded.
- The need for slave labor grew.
- Port cities like New Orleans expanded.
Hint:
A
The abolition of the foreign slave trade in 1807 led to _______.
- a dramatic decrease in the price and demand for slaves
- the rise of a thriving domestic slave trade
- a reform movement calling for the complete end to slavery in the United States
- the decline of cotton production
Hint:
B
Why did some southerners believe their region was immune to the effects of the market revolution? Why was this thinking misguided?
Hint:
Some southerners believed that their region’s monopoly over the lucrative cotton crop—on which both the larger American and Atlantic markets depended—and their possession of a slave labor force allowed the South to remain independent from the market revolution. However, the very cotton that provided the South with such economic potency also increased its reliance on the larger U.S. and world markets, which supplied—among other things—the food and clothes slaves needed, the furniture and other manufactured goods that defined the southern standard of comfortable living, and the banks from which southerners borrowed needed funds.
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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/15458/overview
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African Americans in the Antebellum United States
Overview
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Discuss the similarities and differences in the lives of slaves and free blacks
- Describe the independent culture and customs that slaves developed
In addition to cotton, the great commodity of the antebellum South was human chattel. Slavery was the cornerstone of the southern economy. By 1850, about 3.2 million slaves labored in the United States, 1.8 million of whom worked in the cotton fields. Slaves faced arbitrary power abuses from whites; they coped by creating family and community networks. Storytelling, song, and Christianity also provided solace and allowed slaves to develop their own interpretations of their condition.
LIFE AS A SLAVE
Southern whites frequently relied upon the idea of paternalism—the premise that white slaveholders acted in the best interests of slaves, taking responsibility for their care, feeding, discipline, and even their Christian morality—to justify the existence of slavery. This grossly misrepresented the reality of slavery, which was, by any measure, a dehumanizing, traumatizing, and horrifying human disaster and crime against humanity. Nevertheless, slaves were hardly passive victims of their conditions; they sought and found myriad ways to resist their shackles and develop their own communities and cultures.
Slaves often used the notion of paternalism to their advantage, finding opportunities within this system to engage in acts of resistance and win a degree of freedom and autonomy. For example, some slaves played into their masters’ racism by hiding their intelligence and feigning childishness and ignorance. The slaves could then slow down the workday and sabotage the system in small ways by “accidentally” breaking tools, for example; the master, seeing his slaves as unsophisticated and childlike, would believe these incidents were accidents rather than rebellions. Some slaves engaged in more dramatic forms of resistance, such as poisoning their masters slowly. Other slaves reported rebellious slaves to their masters, hoping to gain preferential treatment. Slaves who informed their masters about planned slave rebellions could often expect the slaveholder’s gratitude and, perhaps, more lenient treatment. Such expectations were always tempered by the individual personality and caprice of the master.
Slaveholders used both psychological coercion and physical violence to prevent slaves from disobeying their wishes. Often, the most efficient way to discipline slaves was to threaten to sell them. The lash, while the most common form of punishment, was effective but not efficient; whippings sometimes left slaves incapacitated or even dead. Slave masters also used punishment gear like neck braces, balls and chains, leg irons, and paddles with holes to produce blood blisters. Slaves lived in constant terror of both physical violence and separation from family and friends (Figure).
Under southern law, slaves could not marry. Nonetheless, some slaveholders allowed marriages to promote the birth of children and to foster harmony on plantations. Some masters even forced certain slaves to form unions, anticipating the birth of more children (and consequently greater profits) from them. Masters sometimes allowed slaves to choose their own partners, but they could also veto a match. Slave couples always faced the prospect of being sold away from each other, and, once they had children, the horrifying reality that their children could be sold and sent away at any time.
Browse a collection of first-hand narratives of slaves and former slaves at the National Humanities Center to learn more about the experience of slavery.
Slave parents had to show their children the best way to survive under slavery. This meant teaching them to be discreet, submissive, and guarded around whites. Parents also taught their children through the stories they told. Popular stories among slaves included tales of tricksters, sly slaves, or animals like Brer Rabbit, who outwitted their antagonists (Figure). Such stories provided comfort in humor and conveyed the slaves’ sense of the wrongs of slavery. Slaves’ work songs commented on the harshness of their life and often had double meanings—a literal meaning that whites would not find offensive and a deeper meaning for slaves.
African beliefs, including ideas about the spiritual world and the importance of African healers, survived in the South as well. Whites who became aware of non-Christian rituals among slaves labeled such practices as witchcraft. Among Africans, however, the rituals and use of various plants by respected slave healers created connections between the African past and the American South while also providing a sense of community and identity for slaves. Other African customs, including traditional naming patterns, the making of baskets, and the cultivation of certain native African plants that had been brought to the New World, also endured.
African Americans and Christian Spirituals
Many slaves embraced Christianity. Their masters emphasized a scriptural message of obedience to whites and a better day awaiting slaves in heaven, but slaves focused on the uplifting message of being freed from bondage.
The styles of worship in the Methodist and Baptist churches, which emphasized emotional responses to scripture, attracted slaves to those traditions and inspired some to become preachers. Spiritual songs that referenced the Exodus (the biblical account of the Hebrews’ escape from slavery in Egypt), such as “Roll, Jordan, Roll,” allowed slaves to freely express messages of hope, struggle, and overcoming adversity (Figure).
What imagery might the Jordan River suggest to slaves working in the Deep South? What lyrics in this song suggest redemption and a better world ahead?
Listen to a rendition of “Roll, Jordan, Roll” from the movie based on Solomon Northup’s memoir and life.
THE FREE BLACK POPULATION
Complicating the picture of the antebellum South was the existence of a large free black population. In fact, more free blacks lived in the South than in the North; roughly 261,000 lived in slave states, while 226,000 lived in northern states without slavery. Most free blacks did not live in the Lower, or Deep South: the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Texas. Instead, the largest number lived in the upper southern states of Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, and later Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee, and the District of Columbia.
Part of the reason for the large number of free blacks living in slave states were the many instances of manumission—the formal granting of freedom to slaves—that occurred as a result of the Revolution, when many slaveholders put into action the ideal that “all men are created equal” and freed their slaves. The transition in the Upper South to the staple crop of wheat, which did not require large numbers of slaves to produce, also spurred manumissions. Another large group of free blacks in the South had been free residents of Louisiana before the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, while still other free blacks came from Cuba and Haiti.
Most free blacks in the South lived in cities, and a majority of free blacks were lighter-skinned women, a reflection of the interracial unions that formed between white men and black women. Everywhere in the United States blackness had come to be associated with slavery, the station at the bottom of the social ladder. Both whites and those with African ancestry tended to delineate varying degrees of lightness in skin color in a social hierarchy. In the slaveholding South, different names described one’s distance from blackness or whiteness: mulattos (those with one black and one white parent), quadroons (those with one black grandparent), and octoroons (those with one black great-grandparent) (Figure). Lighter-skinned blacks often looked down on their darker counterparts, an indication of the ways in which both whites and blacks internalized the racism of the age.
Some free blacks in the South owned slaves of their own. Andrew Durnford, for example, was born in New Orleans in 1800, three years before the Louisiana Purchase. His father was white, and his mother was a free black. Durnford became an American citizen after the Louisiana Purchase, rising to prominence as a Louisiana sugar planter and slaveholder. William Ellison, another free black who amassed great wealth and power in the South, was born a slave in 1790 in South Carolina. After buying his freedom and that of his wife and daughter, he proceeded to purchase his own slaves, whom he then put to work manufacturing cotton gins. By the eve of the Civil War, Ellison had become one of the richest and largest slaveholders in the entire state.
The phenomenon of free blacks amassing large fortunes within a slave society predicated on racial difference, however, was exceedingly rare. Most free blacks in the South lived under the specter of slavery and faced many obstacles. Beginning in the early nineteenth century, southern states increasingly made manumission of slaves illegal. They also devised laws that divested free blacks of their rights, such as the right to testify against whites in court or the right to seek employment where they pleased. Interestingly, it was in the upper southern states that such laws were the harshest. In Virginia, for example, legislators made efforts to require free blacks to leave the state. In parts of the Deep South, free blacks were able to maintain their rights more easily. The difference in treatment between free blacks in the Deep South and those in the Upper South, historians have surmised, came down to economics. In the Deep South, slavery as an institution was strong and profitable. In the Upper South, the opposite was true. The anxiety of this economic uncertainty manifested in the form of harsh laws that targeted free blacks.
SLAVE REVOLTS
Slaves resisted their enslavement in small ways every day, but this resistance did not usually translate into mass uprisings. Slaves understood that the chances of ending slavery through rebellion were slim and would likely result in massive retaliation; many also feared the risk that participating in such actions would pose to themselves and their families. White slaveholders, however, constantly feared uprisings and took drastic steps, including torture and mutilation, whenever they believed that rebellions might be simmering. Gripped by the fear of insurrection, whites often imagined revolts to be in the works even when no uprising actually happened.
At least two major slave uprisings did occur in the antebellum South. In 1811, a major rebellion broke out in the sugar parishes of the booming territory of Louisiana. Inspired by the successful overthrow of the white planter class in Haiti, Louisiana slaves took up arms against planters. Perhaps as many five hundred slaves joined the rebellion, led by Charles Deslondes, a mixed-race slave driver on a sugar plantation owned by Manuel Andry.
The revolt began in January 1811 on Andry’s plantation. Deslondes and other slaves attacked the Andry household, where they killed the slave master’s son (although Andry himself escaped). The rebels then began traveling toward New Orleans, armed with weapons gathered at Andry’s plantation. Whites mobilized to stop the rebellion, but not before Deslondes and the other rebelling slaves set fire to three plantations and killed numerous whites. A small white force led by Andry ultimately captured Deslondes, whose body was mutilated and burned following his execution. Other slave rebels were beheaded, and their heads placed on pikes along the Mississippi River.
The second rebellion, led by the slave Nat Turner, occurred in 1831 in Southampton County, Virginia. Turner had suffered not only from personal enslavement, but also from the additional trauma of having his wife sold away from him. Bolstered by Christianity, Turner became convinced that like Christ, he should lay down his life to end slavery. Mustering his relatives and friends, he began the rebellion August 22, killing scores of whites in the county. Whites mobilized quickly and within forty-eight hours had brought the rebellion to an end. Shocked by Nat Turner’s Rebellion, Virginia’s state legislature considered ending slavery in the state in order to provide greater security. In the end, legislators decided slavery would remain and that their state would continue to play a key role in the domestic slave trade.
SLAVE MARKETS
As discussed above, after centuries of slave trade with West Africa, Congress banned the further importation of slaves beginning in 1808. The domestic slave trade then expanded rapidly. As the cotton trade grew in size and importance, so did the domestic slave trade; the cultivation of cotton gave new life and importance to slavery, increasing the value of slaves. To meet the South’s fierce demand for labor, American smugglers illegally transferred slaves through Florida and later through Texas. Many more slaves arrived illegally from Cuba; indeed, Cubans relied on the smuggling of slaves to prop up their finances. The largest number of slaves after 1808, however, came from the massive, legal internal slave market in which slave states in the Upper South sold enslaved men, women, and children to states in the Lower South. For slaves, the domestic trade presented the full horrors of slavery as children were ripped from their mothers and fathers and families destroyed, creating heartbreak and alienation.
Some slaveholders sought to increase the number of slave children by placing male slaves with fertile female slaves, and slave masters routinely raped their female slaves. The resulting births played an important role in slavery’s expansion in the first half of the nineteenth century, as many slave children were born as a result of rape. One account written by a slave named William J. Anderson captures the horror of sexual exploitation in the antebellum South. Anderson wrote about how a Mississippi slaveholder
divested a poor female slave of all wearing apparel, tied her down to stakes, and whipped her with a handsaw until he broke it over her naked body. In process of time he ravished [raped] her person, and became the father of a child by her. Besides, he always kept a colored Miss in the house with him. This is another curse of Slavery—concubinage and illegitimate connections—which is carried on to an alarming extent in the far South. A poor slave man who lives close by his wife, is permitted to visit her but very seldom, and other men, both white and colored, cohabit with her. It is undoubtedly the worst place of incest and bigamy in the world. A white man thinks nothing of putting a colored man out to carry the fore row [front row in field work], and carry on the same sport with the colored man’s wife at the same time.
Anderson, a devout Christian, recognized and explains in his narrative that one of the evils of slavery is the way it undermines the family. Anderson was not the only critic of slavery to emphasize this point. Frederick Douglass, a Maryland slave who escaped to the North in 1838, elaborated on this dimension of slavery in his 1845 narrative. He recounted how slave masters had to sell their own children whom they had with slave women to appease the white wives who despised their offspring.
The selling of slaves was a major business enterprise in the antebellum South, representing a key part of the economy. White men invested substantial sums in slaves, carefully calculating the annual returns they could expect from a slave as well as the possibility of greater profits through natural increase. The domestic slave trade was highly visible, and like the infamous Middle Passage that brought captive Africans to the Americas, it constituted an equally disruptive and horrifying journey now called the second middle passage. Between 1820 and 1860, white American traders sold a million or more slaves in the domestic slave market. Groups of slaves were transported by ship from places like Virginia, a state that specialized in raising slaves for sale, to New Orleans, where they were sold to planters in the Mississippi Valley. Other slaves made the overland trek from older states like North Carolina to new and booming Deep South states like Alabama.
New Orleans had the largest slave market in the United States (Figure). Slaveholders brought their slaves there from the East (Virginia, Maryland, and the Carolinas) and the West (Tennessee and Kentucky) to be sold for work in the Mississippi Valley. The slave trade benefited whites in the Chesapeake and Carolinas, providing them with extra income: A healthy young male slave in the 1850s could be sold for $1,000 (approximately $30,000 in 2014 dollars), and a planter who could sell ten such slaves collected a windfall.
In fact, by the 1850s, the demand for slaves reached an all-time high, and prices therefore doubled. A slave who would have sold for $400 in the 1820s could command a price of $800 in the 1850s. The high price of slaves in the 1850s and the inability of natural increase to satisfy demands led some southerners to demand the reopening of the international slave trade, a movement that caused a rift between the Upper South and the Lower South. Whites in the Upper South who sold slaves to their counterparts in the Lower South worried that reopening the trade would lower prices and therefore hurt their profits.
John Brown on Slave Life in Georgia
A slave named John Brown lived in Virginia, North Carolina, and Georgia before he escaped and moved to England. While there, he dictated his autobiography to someone at the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, who published it in 1855.
I really thought my mother would have died of grief at being obliged to leave her two children, her mother, and her relations behind. But it was of no use lamenting, the few things we had were put together that night, and we completed our preparations for being parted for life by kissing one another over and over again, and saying good bye till some of us little ones fell asleep. . . . And here I may as well tell what kind of man our new master was. He was of small stature, and thin, but very strong. He had sandy hair, a very red face, and chewed tobacco. His countenance had a very cruel expression, and his disposition was a match for it. He was, indeed, a very bad man, and used to flog us dreadfully. He would make his slaves work on one meal a day, until quite night, and after supper, set them to burn brush or spin cotton. We worked from four in the morning till twelve before we broke our fast, and from that time till eleven or twelve at night . . . we labored eighteen hours a day.
—John Brown, Slave Life in Georgia: A Narrative of the Life, Sufferings, and Escape of John Brown, A Fugitive Slave, Now in England, 1855
What features of the domestic slave trade does Brown’s narrative illuminate? Why do you think he brought his story to an antislavery society? How do you think people responded to this narrative?
Read through several narratives at “Born in Slavery,” part of the American Memory collection at the Library of Congress. Do these narratives have anything in common? What differences can you find between them?
Section Summary
Slave labor in the antebellum South generated great wealth for plantation owners. Slaves, in contrast, endured daily traumas as the human property of masters. Slaves resisted their condition in a variety of ways, and many found some solace in Christianity and the communities they created in the slave quarters. While some free blacks achieved economic prosperity and even became slaveholders themselves, the vast majority found themselves restricted by the same white-supremacist assumptions upon which the institution of slavery was based.
Review Questions
Under the law in the antebellum South, slaves were ________.
- servants
- animals
- property
- indentures
Hint:
C
How did both slaveholders and slaves use the concept of paternalism to their advantage?
Hint:
Southern whites often used paternalism to justify the institution of slavery, arguing that slaves, like children, needed the care, feeding, discipline, and moral and religious education that they could provide. Slaves often used this misguided notion to their advantage: By feigning ignorance and playing into slaveholders’ paternalistic perceptions of them, slaves found opportunities to resist their condition and gain a degree of freedom and autonomy.
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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/15459/overview
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Wealth and Culture in the South
Overview
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Assess the distribution of wealth in the antebellum South
- Describe the southern culture of honor
- Identify the main proslavery arguments in the years prior to the Civil War
During the antebellum years, wealthy southern planters formed an elite master class that wielded most of the economic and political power of the region. They created their own standards of gentility and honor, defining ideals of southern white manhood and womanhood and shaping the culture of the South. To defend the system of forced labor on which their economic survival and genteel lifestyles depended, elite southerners developed several proslavery arguments that they levied at those who would see the institution dismantled.
SLAVERY AND THE WHITE CLASS STRUCTURE
The South prospered, but its wealth was very unequally distributed. Upward social mobility did not exist for the millions of slaves who produced a good portion of the nation’s wealth, while poor southern whites envisioned a day when they might rise enough in the world to own slaves of their own. Because of the cotton boom, there were more millionaires per capita in the Mississippi River Valley by 1860 than anywhere else in the United States. However, in that same year, only 3 percent of whites owned more than fifty slaves, and two-thirds of white households in the South did not own any slaves at all (Figure). Distribution of wealth in the South became less democratic over time; fewer whites owned slaves in 1860 than in 1840.
At the top of southern white society stood the planter elite, which comprised two groups. In the Upper South, an aristocratic gentry, generation upon generation of whom had grown up with slavery, held a privileged place. In the Deep South, an elite group of slaveholders gained new wealth from cotton. Some members of this group hailed from established families in the eastern states (Virginia and the Carolinas), while others came from humbler backgrounds. South Carolinian Nathaniel Heyward, a wealthy rice planter and member of the aristocratic gentry, came from an established family and sat atop the pyramid of southern slaveholders. He amassed an enormous estate; in 1850, he owned more than eighteen hundred slaves. When he died in 1851, he left an estate worth more than $2 million (approximately $63 million in 2014 dollars).
As cotton production increased, new wealth flowed to the cotton planters. These planters became the staunchest defenders of slavery, and as their wealth grew, they gained considerable political power.
One member of the planter elite was Edward Lloyd V, who came from an established and wealthy family of Talbot County, Maryland. Lloyd had inherited his position rather than rising to it through his own labors. His hundreds of slaves formed a crucial part of his wealth. Like many of the planter elite, Lloyd’s plantation was a masterpiece of elegant architecture and gardens (Figure).
One of the slaves on Lloyd’s plantation was Frederick Douglass, who escaped in 1838 and became an abolitionist leader, writer, statesman, and orator in the North. In his autobiography, Douglass described the plantation’s elaborate gardens and racehorses, but also its underfed and brutalized slave population. Lloyd provided employment opportunities to other whites in Talbot County, many of whom served as slave traders and the “slave breakers” entrusted with beating and overworking unruly slaves into submission. Like other members of the planter elite, Lloyd himself served in a variety of local and national political offices. He was governor of Maryland from 1809 to 1811, a member of the House of Representatives from 1807 to 1809, and a senator from 1819 to 1826. As a representative and a senator, Lloyd defended slavery as the foundation of the American economy.
Wealthy plantation owners like Lloyd came close to forming an American ruling class in the years before the Civil War. They helped shape foreign and domestic policy with one goal in view: to expand the power and reach of the cotton kingdom of the South. Socially, they cultivated a refined manner and believed whites, especially members of their class, should not perform manual labor. Rather, they created an identity for themselves based on a world of leisure in which horse racing and entertainment mattered greatly, and where the enslavement of others was the bedrock of civilization.
Below the wealthy planters were the yeoman farmers, or small landowners (Figure). Below yeomen were poor, landless whites, who made up the majority of whites in the South. These landless white men dreamed of owning land and slaves and served as slave overseers, drivers, and traders in the southern economy. In fact, owning land and slaves provided one of the only opportunities for upward social and economic mobility. In the South, living the American dream meant possessing slaves, producing cotton, and owning land.
Despite this unequal distribution of wealth, non-slaveholding whites shared with white planters a common set of values, most notably a belief in white supremacy. Whites, whether rich or poor, were bound together by racism. Slavery defused class tensions among them, because no matter how poor they were, white southerners had race in common with the mighty plantation owners. Non-slaveholders accepted the rule of the planters as defenders of their shared interest in maintaining a racial hierarchy. Significantly, all whites were also bound together by the constant, prevailing fear of slave uprisings.
D. R. Hundley on the Southern Yeoman
D. R. Hundley was a well-educated planter, lawyer, and banker from Alabama. Something of an amateur sociologist, he argued against the common northern assumption that the South was made up exclusively of two tiers of white residents: the very wealthy planter class and the very poor landless whites. In his 1860 book, Social Relations in Our Southern States, Hundley describes what he calls the “Southern Yeomen,” a social group he insists is roughly equivalent to the middle-class farmers of the North.
But you have no Yeomen in the South, my dear Sir? Beg your pardon, our dear Sir, but we have—hosts of them. I thought you had only poor White Trash? Yes, we dare say as much—and that the moon is made of green cheese! . . . Know, then, that the Poor Whites of the South constitute a separate class to themselves; the Southern Yeomen are as distinct from them as the Southern Gentleman is from the Cotton Snob. Certainly the Southern Yeomen are nearly always poor, at least so far as this world’s goods are to be taken into account. As a general thing they own no slaves; and even in case they do, the wealthiest of them rarely possess more than from ten to fifteen. . . . The Southern Yeoman much resembles in his speech, religious opinions, household arrangements, indoor sports, and family traditions, the middle class farmers of the Northern States. He is fully as intelligent as the latter, and is on the whole much better versed in the lore of politics and the provisions of our Federal and State Constitutions. . . . [A]lthough not as a class pecuniarily interested in slave property, the Southern Yeomanry are almost unanimously pro-slavery in sentiment. Nor do we see how any honest, thoughtful person can reasonably find fault with them on this account.
—D. R. Hundley, Social Relations in Our Southern States, 1860
What elements of social relations in the South is Hundley attempting to emphasize for his readers? In what respects might his position as an educated and wealthy planter influence his understanding of social relations in the South?
Because race bound all whites together as members of the master race, non-slaveholding whites took part in civil duties. They served on juries and voted. They also engaged in the daily rounds of maintaining slavery by serving on neighborhood patrols to ensure that slaves did not escape and that rebellions did not occur. The practical consequence of such activities was that the institution of slavery, and its perpetuation, became a source of commonality among different economic and social tiers that otherwise were separated by a gulf of difference.
Southern planters exerted a powerful influence on the federal government. Seven of the first eleven presidents owned slaves, and more than half of the Supreme Court justices who served on the court from its inception to the Civil War came from slaveholding states. However, southern white yeoman farmers generally did not support an active federal government. They were suspicious of the state bank and supported President Jackson’s dismantling of the Second Bank of the United States. They also did not support taxes to create internal improvements such as canals and railroads; to them, government involvement in the economic life of the nation disrupted what they perceived as the natural workings of the economy. They also feared a strong national government might tamper with slavery.
Planters operated within a larger capitalist society, but the labor system they used to produce goods—that is, slavery—was similar to systems that existed before capitalism, such as feudalism and serfdom. Under capitalism, free workers are paid for their labor (by owners of capital) to produce commodities; the money from the sale of the goods is used to pay for the work performed. As slaves did not reap any earnings from their forced labor, some economic historians consider the antebellum plantation system a “pre-capitalist” system.
HONOR IN THE SOUTH
A complicated code of honor among privileged white southerners, dictating the beliefs and behavior of “gentlemen” and “ladies,” developed in the antebellum years. Maintaining appearances and reputation was supremely important. It can be argued that, as in many societies, the concept of honor in the antebellum South had much to do with control over dependents, whether slaves, wives, or relatives. Defending their honor and ensuring that they received proper respect became preoccupations of whites in the slaveholding South. To question another man’s assertions was to call his honor and reputation into question. Insults in the form of words or behavior, such as calling someone a coward, could trigger a rupture that might well end on the dueling ground (Figure). Dueling had largely disappeared in the antebellum North by the early nineteenth century, but it remained an important part of the southern code of honor through the Civil War years. Southern white men, especially those of high social status, settled their differences with duels, before which antagonists usually attempted reconciliation, often through the exchange of letters addressing the alleged insult. If the challenger was not satisfied by the exchange, a duel would often result.
The dispute between South Carolina’s James Hammond and his erstwhile friend (and brother-in-law) Wade Hampton II illustrates the southern culture of honor and the place of the duel in that culture. A strong friendship bound Hammond and Hampton together. Both stood at the top of South Carolina’s society as successful, married plantation owners involved in state politics. Prior to his election as governor of the state in 1842, Hammond became sexually involved with each of Hampton’s four teenage daughters, who were his nieces by marriage. “[A]ll of them rushing on every occasion into my arms,” Hammond confided in his private diary, “covering me with kisses, lolling on my lap, pressing their bodies almost into mine . . . and permitting my hands to stray unchecked.” Hampton found out about these dalliances, and in keeping with the code of honor, could have demanded a duel with Hammond. However, Hampton instead tried to use the liaisons to destroy his former friend politically. This effort proved disastrous for Hampton, because it represented a violation of the southern code of honor. “As matters now stand,” Hammond wrote, “he [Hampton] is a convicted dastard who, not having nerve to redress his own wrongs, put forward bullies to do it for him. . . . To challenge me [to a duel] would be to throw himself upon my mercy for he knows I am not bound to meet him [for a duel].” Because Hampton’s behavior marked him as a man who lacked honor, Hammond was no longer bound to meet Hampton in a duel even if Hampton were to demand one. Hammond’s reputation, though tarnished, remained high in the esteem of South Carolinians, and the governor went on to serve as a U.S. senator from 1857 to 1860. As for the four Hampton daughters, they never married; their names were disgraced, not only by the whispered-about scandal but by their father’s actions in response to it; and no man of honor in South Carolina would stoop so low as to marry them.
GENDER AND THE SOUTHERN HOUSEHOLD
The antebellum South was an especially male-dominated society. Far more than in the North, southern men, particularly wealthy planters, were patriarchs and sovereigns of their own household. Among the white members of the household, labor and daily ritual conformed to rigid gender delineations. Men represented their household in the larger world of politics, business, and war. Within the family, the patriarchal male was the ultimate authority. White women were relegated to the household and lived under the thumb and protection of the male patriarch. The ideal southern lady conformed to her prescribed gender role, a role that was largely domestic and subservient. While responsibilities and experiences varied across different social tiers, women’s subordinate state in relation to the male patriarch remained the same.
Writers in the antebellum period were fond of celebrating the image of the ideal southern woman (Figure). One such writer, Thomas Roderick Dew, president of Virginia’s College of William and Mary in the mid-nineteenth century, wrote approvingly of the virtue of southern women, a virtue he concluded derived from their natural weakness, piety, grace, and modesty. In his Dissertation on the Characteristic Differences Between the Sexes, he writes that southern women derive their power not by
leading armies to combat, or of enabling her to bring into more formidable action the physical power which nature has conferred on her. No! It is but the better to perfect all those feminine graces, all those fascinating attributes, which render her the center of attraction, and which delight and charm all those who breathe the atmosphere in which she moves; and, in the language of Mr. Burke, would make ten thousand swords leap from their scabbards to avenge the insult that might be offered to her. By her very meekness and beauty does she subdue all around her.
Such popular idealizations of elite southern white women, however, are difficult to reconcile with their lived experience: in their own words, these women frequently described the trauma of childbirth, the loss of children, and the loneliness of the plantation.
Louisa Cheves McCord’s “Woman’s Progress”
Louisa Cheves McCord was born in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1810. A child of some privilege in the South, she received an excellent education and became a prolific writer. As the excerpt from her poem “Woman’s Progress” indicates, some southern women also contributed to the idealization of southern white womanhood.
Sweet Sister! stoop not thou to be a man!
Man has his place as woman hers; and she
As made to comfort, minister and help;
Moulded for gentler duties, ill fulfils
His jarring destinies. Her mission is
To labour and to pray; to help, to heal,
To soothe, to bear; patient, with smiles, to suffer;
And with self-abnegation noble lose
Her private interest in the dearer weal
Of those she loves and lives for. Call not this—
(The all-fulfilling of her destiny;
She the world’s soothing mother)—call it not,
With scorn and mocking sneer, a drudgery.
The ribald tongue profanes Heaven’s holiest things,
But holy still they are. The lowliest tasks
Are sanctified in nobly acting them.
Christ washed the apostles’ feet, not thus cast shame
Upon the God-like in him. Woman lives
Man’s constant prophet. If her life be true
And based upon the instincts of her being,
She is a living sermon of that truth
Which ever through her gentle actions speaks,
That life is given to labour and to love.
—Louisa Susanna Cheves McCord, “Woman’s Progress,” 1853
What womanly virtues does Louisa Cheves McCord emphasize? How might her social status, as an educated southern woman of great privilege, influence her understanding of gender relations in the South?
For slaveholding whites, the male-dominated household operated to protect gendered divisions and prevalent gender norms; for slave women, however, the same system exposed them to brutality and frequent sexual domination. The demands on the labor of slave women made it impossible for them to perform the role of domestic caretaker that was so idealized by southern men. That slaveholders put them out into the fields, where they frequently performed work traditionally thought of as male, reflected little the ideal image of gentleness and delicacy reserved for white women. Nor did the slave woman’s role as daughter, wife, or mother garner any patriarchal protection. Each of these roles and the relationships they defined was subject to the prerogative of a master, who could freely violate enslaved women’s persons, sell off their children, or separate them from their families.
DEFENDING SLAVERY
With the rise of democracy during the Jacksonian era in the 1830s, slaveholders worried about the power of the majority. If political power went to a majority that was hostile to slavery, the South—and the honor of white southerners—would be imperiled. White southerners keen on preserving the institution of slavery bristled at what they perceived to be northern attempts to deprive them of their livelihood. Powerful southerners like South Carolinian John C. Calhoun (Figure) highlighted laws like the Tariff of 1828 as evidence of the North’s desire to destroy the southern economy and, by extension, its culture. Such a tariff, he and others concluded, would disproportionately harm the South, which relied heavily on imports, and benefit the North, which would receive protections for its manufacturing centers. The tariff appeared to open the door for other federal initiatives, including the abolition of slavery. Because of this perceived threat to southern society, Calhoun argued that states could nullify federal laws. This belief illustrated the importance of the states’ rights argument to the southern states. It also showed slaveholders’ willingness to unite against the federal government when they believed it acted unjustly against their interests.
As the nation expanded in the 1830s and 1840s, the writings of abolitionists—a small but vocal group of northerners committed to ending slavery—reached a larger national audience. White southerners responded by putting forth arguments in defense of slavery, their way of life, and their honor. Calhoun became a leading political theorist defending slavery and the rights of the South, which he saw as containing an increasingly embattled minority. He advanced the idea of a concurrent majority, a majority of a separate region (that would otherwise be in the minority of the nation) with the power to veto or disallow legislation put forward by a hostile majority.
Calhoun’s idea of the concurrent majority found full expression in his 1850 essay “Disquisition on Government.” In this treatise, he wrote about government as a necessary means to ensure the preservation of society, since society existed to “preserve and protect our race.” If government grew hostile to society, then a concurrent majority had to take action, including forming a new government. “Disquisition on Government” advanced a profoundly anti-democratic argument. It illustrates southern leaders’ intense suspicion of democratic majorities and their ability to effect legislation that would challenge southern interests.
Go to the Internet Archive to read John C. Calhoun’s “Disquisition on Government.” Why do you think he proposed the creation of a concurrent majority?
White southerners reacted strongly to abolitionists’ attacks on slavery. In making their defense of slavery, they critiqued wage labor in the North. They argued that the Industrial Revolution had brought about a new type of slavery—wage slavery—and that this form of “slavery” was far worse than the slave labor used on southern plantations. Defenders of the institution also lashed out directly at abolitionists such as William Lloyd Garrison for daring to call into question their way of life. Indeed, Virginians cited Garrison as the instigator of Nat Turner’s 1831 rebellion.
The Virginian George Fitzhugh contributed to the defense of slavery with his book Sociology for the South, or the Failure of Free Society (1854). Fitzhugh argued that laissez-faire capitalism, as celebrated by Adam Smith, benefited only the quick-witted and intelligent, leaving the ignorant at a huge disadvantage. Slaveholders, he argued, took care of the ignorant—in Fitzhugh’s argument, the slaves of the South. Southerners provided slaves with care from birth to death, he asserted; this offered a stark contrast to the wage slavery of the North, where workers were at the mercy of economic forces beyond their control. Fitzhugh’s ideas exemplified southern notions of paternalism.
George Fitzhugh’s Defense of Slavery
George Fitzhugh, a southern writer of social treatises, was a staunch supporter of slavery, not as a necessary evil but as what he argued was a necessary good, a way to take care of slaves and keep them from being a burden on society. He published Sociology for the South, or the Failure of Free Society in 1854, in which he laid out what he believed to be the benefits of slavery to both the slaves and society as a whole. According to Fitzhugh:
[I]t is clear the Athenian democracy would not suit a negro nation, nor will the government of mere law suffice for the individual negro. He is but a grown up child and must be governed as a child . . . The master occupies towards him the place of parent or guardian. . . . The negro is improvident; will not lay up in summer for the wants of winter; will not accumulate in youth for the exigencies of age. He would become an insufferable burden to society. Society has the right to prevent this, and can only do so by subjecting him to domestic slavery.
In the last place, the negro race is inferior to the white race, and living in their midst, they would be far outstripped or outwitted in the chase of free competition. . . . Our negroes are not only better off as to physical comfort than free laborers, but their moral condition is better.
What arguments does Fitzhugh use to promote slavery? What basic premise underlies his ideas? Can you think of a modern parallel to Fitzhugh’s argument?
The North also produced defenders of slavery, including Louis Agassiz, a Harvard professor of zoology and geology. Agassiz helped to popularize polygenism, the idea that different human races came from separate origins. According to this formulation, no single human family origin existed, and blacks made up a race wholly separate from the white race. Agassiz’s notion gained widespread popularity in the 1850s with the 1854 publication of George Gliddon and Josiah Nott’s Types of Mankind and other books. The theory of polygenism codified racism, giving the notion of black inferiority the lofty mantle of science. One popular advocate of the idea posited that blacks occupied a place in evolution between the Greeks and chimpanzees (Figure).
Section Summary
Although a small white elite owned the vast majority of slaves in the South, and most other whites could only aspire to slaveholders’ wealth and status, slavery shaped the social life of all white southerners in profound ways. Southern culture valued a behavioral code in which men’s honor, based on the domination of others and the protection of southern white womanhood, stood as the highest good. Slavery also decreased class tensions, binding whites together on the basis of race despite their inequalities of wealth. Several defenses of slavery were prevalent in the antebellum era, including Calhoun’s argument that the South’s “concurrent majority” could overrule federal legislation deemed hostile to southern interests; the notion that slaveholders’ care of their chattel made slaves better off than wage workers in the North; and the profoundly racist ideas underlying polygenism.
Review Questions
The largest group of whites in the South _______.
- owned no slaves
- owned between one and nine slaves each
- owned between ten and ninety-nine slaves each
- owned over one hundred slaves each
Hint:
A
John C. Calhoun argued for greater rights for southerners with which idea?
- polygenism
- nullification
- concurrent majority
- paternalism
Hint:
C
How did defenders of slavery use the concept of paternalism to structure their ideas?
Hint:
Defenders of slavery, such as George Fitzhugh, argued that only the clever and the bright could truly benefit within a laissez-faire economy. Premising their argument on the notion that slaves were, by nature, intellectually inferior and less able to compete, such defenders maintained that slaves were better off in the care of paternalistic masters. While northern workers found themselves trapped in wage slavery, they argued, southern slaves’ needs—for food, clothing, and shelter, among other things—were met by their masters’ paternal benevolence.
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oercommons
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2025-03-18T00:39:26.969052
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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/15460/overview
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The Filibuster and the Quest for New Slave States
Overview
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Explain the expansionist goals of advocates of slavery
- Describe the filibuster expeditions undertaken during the antebellum era
Southern expansionists had spearheaded the drive to add more territory to the United States. They applauded the Louisiana Purchase and fervently supported Indian removal, the annexation of Texas, and the Mexican-American War. Drawing inspiration from the annexation of Texas, proslavery expansionists hoped to replicate that feat by bringing Cuba and other territories into the United States and thereby enlarging the American empire of slavery.
In the 1850s, the expansionist drive among white southerners intensified. Among southern imperialists, one way to push for the creation of an American empire of slavery was through the actions of filibusters—men who led unofficial military operations intended to seize land from foreign countries or foment revolution there. These unsanctioned military adventures were not part of the official foreign policy of the United States; American citizens simply formed themselves into private armies to forcefully annex new land without the government’s approval.
An 1818 federal law made it a crime to undertake such adventures, which was an indication of both the reality of efforts at expansion through these illegal expeditions and the government’s effort to create a U.S. foreign policy. Nonetheless, Americans continued to filibuster throughout the nineteenth century. In 1819, an expedition of two hundred Americans invaded Spanish Texas, intent on creating a republic modeled on the United States, only to be driven out by Spanish forces. Using force, taking action, and asserting white supremacy in these militaristic drives were seen by many as an ideal of American male vigor. President Jackson epitomized this military prowess as an officer in the Tennessee militia, where earlier in the century he had played a leading role in ending the Creek War and driving Indian peoples out of Alabama and Georgia. His reputation helped him to win the presidency in 1828 and again in 1832.
Filibustering plots picked up pace in the 1850s as the drive for expansion continued. Slaveholders looked south to the Caribbean, Mexico, and Central America, hoping to add new slave states. Spanish Cuba became the objective of many American slaveholders in the 1850s, as debate over the island dominated the national conversation. Many who urged its annexation believed Cuba had to be made part of the United States to prevent it from going the route of Haiti, with black slaves overthrowing their masters and creating another black republic, a prospect horrifying to many in the United States. Americans also feared that the British, who had an interest in the sugar island, would make the first move and snatch Cuba from the United States. Since Britain had outlawed slavery in its colonies in 1833, blacks on the island of Cuba would then be free.
Narisco López, a Cuban who wanted to end Spanish control of the island, gained American support. He tried five times to take the island, with his last effort occurring in the summer of 1851 when he led an armed group from New Orleans. Thousands came out to cheer his small force as they set off to wrest Cuba from the Spanish. Unfortunately for López and his supporters, however, the effort to take Cuba did not produce the hoped-for spontaneous uprising of the Cuban people. Spanish authorities in Cuba captured and executed López and the American filibusters.
Efforts to take Cuba continued under President Franklin Pierce, who had announced at his inauguration in 1853 his intention to pursue expansion. In 1854, American diplomats met in Ostend, Belgium, to find a way to gain Cuba. They wrote a secret memo, known as the Ostend Manifesto (thought to be penned by James Buchanan, who was elected president two years later), stating that if Spain refused to sell Cuba to the United States, the United States was justified in taking the island as a national security measure.
The contents of this memo were supposed to remain secret, but details were leaked to the public, leading the House of Representatives to demand a copy. Many in the North were outraged over what appeared to be a southern scheme, orchestrated by what they perceived as the Slave Power—a term they used to describe the disproportionate influence that elite slaveholders wielded—to expand slavery. European powers also reacted with anger. Southern annexationists, however, applauded the effort to take Cuba. The Louisiana legislature in 1854 asked the federal government to take decisive action, and John Quitman, a former Mississippi governor, raised money from slaveholders to fund efforts to take the island.
Read an 1860 editorial titled Annexation of Cuba Made Easy from the online archives of The New York Times. Does the author support annexation? Why or why not?
Controversy around the Ostend Manifesto caused President Pierce to step back from the plan to take Cuba. After his election, President Buchanan, despite his earlier expansionist efforts, denounced filibustering as the action of pirates. Filibustering caused an even wider gulf between the North and the South (Figure).
Cuba was not the only territory in slaveholders’ expansionist sights: some focused on Mexico and Central America. In 1855, Tennessee-born William Walker, along with an army of no more than sixty mercenaries, gained control of the Central American nation of Nicaragua. Previously, Walker had launched a successful invasion of Mexico, dubbing his conquered land the Republic of Sonora. In a relatively short period of time, Walker was dislodged from Sonora by Mexican authorities and forced to retreat back to the United States. His conquest of Nicaragua garnered far more attention, catapulting him into national popularity as the heroic embodiment of white supremacy (Figure).
Why Nicaragua? Nicaragua presented a tempting target because it provided a quick route from the Caribbean to the Pacific: Only twelve miles of land stood between the Pacific Ocean, the inland Lake Nicaragua, and the river that drained into the Atlantic. Shipping from the East Coast to the West Coast of the United States had to travel either by land across the continent, south around the entire continent of South America, or through Nicaragua. Previously, American tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt (Figure) had recognized the strategic importance of Nicaragua and worked with the Nicaraguan government to control shipping there. The filibustering of William Walker may have excited expansionist-minded southerners, but it greatly upset Vanderbilt’s business interests in the region.
Walker clung to the racist, expansionist philosophies of the proslavery South. In 1856, Walker made slavery legal in Nicaragua—it had been illegal there for thirty years—in a move to gain the support of the South. He also reopened the slave trade. In 1856, he was elected president of Nicaragua, but in 1857, he was chased from the country. When he returned to Central America in 1860, he was captured by the British and released to Honduran authorities, who executed him by firing squad.
Section Summary
The decade of the 1850s witnessed various schemes to expand the American empire of slavery. The Ostend Manifesto articulated the right of the United States to forcefully seize Cuba if Spain would not sell it, while filibuster expeditions attempted to annex new slave states without the benefit of governmental approval. Those who pursued the goal of expanding American slavery believed they embodied the true spirit of white racial superiority.
Review Questions
Why did southern expansionists conduct filibuster expeditions?
- to gain political advantage
- to annex new slave states
- to prove they could raise an army
- to map unknown territories
Hint:
B
The controversy at the heart of the Ostend Manifesto centered on the fate of:
- Ostend, Belgium
- Nicaragua
- Cuba
- Louisiana
Hint:
C
Why did expansionists set their sights on the annexation of Spanish Cuba?
Hint:
Many slaveholding expansionists believed that the events of the Haitian Revolution could repeat themselves in Cuba, leading to the overthrow of slavery on the island and the creation of an independent black republic. Americans also feared that the British would seize Cuba—which, since Britain had outlawed slavery in its colonies in 1833, would render all slaves on the island free.
Critical Thinking Questions
Compare and contrast the steamboats of the antebellum years with technologies today. In your estimation, what modern technology compares to steamboats in its transformative power?
Does the history of the cotton kingdom support or undermine the Jeffersonian vision of white farmers on self-sufficient farms? Explain your answer.
Based on your reading of William J. Anderson’s and John Brown’s accounts, what types of traumas did slaves experience? How were the experiences of black women and men similar and different?
What strategies did slaves employ to resist, revolt, and sustain their own independent communities and cultures? How did slaves use white southerners’ own philosophies—paternalism and Christianity, for example—to their advantage in these efforts?
What are the major arguments put forward by proslavery advocates? How would you argue against their statements?
Consider filibustering from the point of view of the Cuban or Nicaraguan people. If you lived in Cuba or Nicaragua, would you support filibustering? Why or why not?
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2025-03-18T00:39:26.997646
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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/15568/overview
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The Constitution of the United States
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
Article. I.
Section. 1.
All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.
Section. 2.
The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature.
No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen.
Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons. The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct. The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one Representative; and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to chuse three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode-Island and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New-York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and Georgia three.
When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill such Vacancies.
The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.
Section. 3.
The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof, for six Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote.
Immediately after they shall be assembled in Consequence of the first Election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three Classes. The Seats of the Senators of the first Class shall be vacated at the Expiration of the second Year, of the second Class at the Expiration of the fourth Year, and of the third Class at the Expiration of the sixth Year, so that one third may be chosen every second Year; and if Vacancies happen by Resignation, or otherwise, during the Recess of the Legislature of any State, the Executive thereof may make temporary Appointments until the next Meeting of the Legislature, which shall then fill such Vacancies.
No Person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen.
The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided.
The Senate shall chuse their other Officers, and also a President pro tempore, in the Absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the Office of President of the United States.
The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present.
Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law.
Section. 4.
The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators.
The Congress shall assemble at least once in every Year, and such Meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by Law appoint a different Day.
Section. 5.
Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members, and a Majority of each shall constitute a Quorum to do Business; but a smaller Number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the Attendance of absent Members, in such Manner, and under such Penalties as each House may provide.
Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behaviour, and, with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member.
Each House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and from time to time publish the same, excepting such Parts as may in their Judgment require Secrecy; and the Yeas and Nays of the Members of either House on any question shall, at the Desire of one fifth of those Present, be entered on the Journal.
Neither House, during the Session of Congress, shall, without the Consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other Place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting.
Section. 6.
The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States. They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.
No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been encreased during such time; and no Person holding any Office under the United States, shall be a Member of either House during his Continuance in Office.
Section. 7.
All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills.
Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the United States; If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the Objections at large on their Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such Reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the Objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a Law. But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be determined by yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons voting for and against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each House respectively. If any Bill shall not be returned by the President within ten Days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the Same shall be a Law, in like Manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their Adjournment prevent its Return, in which Case it shall not be a Law.
Every Order, Resolution, or Vote to which the Concurrence of the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of Adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the United States; and before the Same shall take Effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the Rules and Limitations prescribed in the Case of a Bill.
Section. 8.
The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;
To borrow Money on the credit of the United States;
To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;
To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;
To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;
To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;
To establish Post Offices and post Roads;
To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;
To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;
To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations;
To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;
To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;
To provide and maintain a Navy;
To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;
To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;
To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;
To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings;—And
To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.
Section. 9.
The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a Tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person.
The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.
No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.
No Capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census or enumeration herein before directed to be taken.
No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State.
No Preference shall be given by any Regulation of Commerce or Revenue to the Ports of one State over those of another: nor shall Vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay Duties in another.
No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time.
No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.
Section. 10.
No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility.
No State shall, without the Consent of the Congress, lay any Imposts or Duties on Imports or Exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing it's inspection Laws: and the net Produce of all Duties and Imposts, laid by any State on Imports or Exports, shall be for the Use of the Treasury of the United States; and all such Laws shall be subject to the Revision and Controul of the Congress.
No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any Duty of Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace, enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State, or with a foreign Power, or engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay.
Article. II.
Section. 1.
The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same Term, be elected, as follows
Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.
The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot for two Persons, of whom one at least shall not be an Inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And they shall make a List of all the Persons voted for, and of the Number of Votes for each; which List they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the Seat of the Government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the Presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the Certificates, and the Votes shall then be counted. The Person having the greatest Number of Votes shall be the President, if such Number be a Majority of the whole Number of Electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such Majority, and have an equal Number of Votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately chuse by Ballot one of them for President; and if no Person have a Majority, then from the five highest on the List the said House shall in like Manner chuse the President. But in chusing the President, the Votes shall be taken by States, the Representation from each State having one Vote; A quorum for this Purpose shall consist of a Member or Members from two thirds of the States, and a Majority of all the States shall be necessary to a Choice. In every Case, after the Choice of the President, the Person having the greatest Number of Votes of the Electors shall be the Vice President. But if there should remain two or more who have equal Votes, the Senate shall chuse from them by Ballot the Vice President.
The Congress may determine the Time of chusing the Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same throughout the United States.
No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.
In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office, the Same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may by Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the Disability be removed, or a President shall be elected.
The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be encreased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.
Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:—"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
Section. 2.
The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.
He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.
The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.
Section. 3.
He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the Officers of the United States.
Section. 4.
The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.
Article III.
Section. 1.
The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services, a Compensation, which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office.
Section. 2.
The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made, or which shall be made, under their Authority;—to all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls;—to all Cases of admiralty and maritime Jurisdiction;—to Controversies to which the United States shall be a Party;—to Controversies between two or more States;— between a State and Citizens of another State,—between Citizens of different States,—between Citizens of the same State claiming Lands under Grants of different States, and between a State, or the Citizens thereof, and foreign States, Citizens or Subjects.
In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and those in which a State shall be Party, the supreme Court shall have original Jurisdiction. In all the other Cases before mentioned, the supreme Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions, and under such Regulations as the Congress shall make.
The Trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment, shall be by Jury; and such Trial shall be held in the State where the said Crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed within any State, the Trial shall be at such Place or Places as the Congress may by Law have directed.
Section. 3.
Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.
The Congress shall have Power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted.
Article. IV.
Section. 1.
Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may by general Laws prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records and Proceedings shall be proved, and the Effect thereof.
Section. 2.
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.
A Person charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or other Crime, who shall flee from Justice, and be found in another State, shall on Demand of the executive Authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having Jurisdiction of the Crime.
No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under the Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence of any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from such Service or Labour, but shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or Labour may be due.
Section. 3.
New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or Parts of States, without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress.
The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to Prejudice any Claims of the United States, or of any particular State.
Section. 4.
The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened), against domestic Violence.
Article. V.
The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate.
Article. VI.
All Debts contracted and Engagements entered into, before the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under this Constitution, as under the Confederation.
This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.
The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.
Article. VII.
The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient for the Establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the Same.
Done in Convention by the Unanimous Consent of the States present the Seventeenth Day of September in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and Eighty seven and of the Independance of the United States of America the Twelfth In witness whereof We have hereunto subscribed our Names,
G. Washington
Presidt and deputy from Virginia
Delaware
Geo: Read
Gunning Bedford jun
John Dickinson
Richard Bassett
Jaco: Broom
Maryland
James McHenry
Dan of St Thos. Jenifer
Danl. Carroll
Virginia
John Blair
James Madison Jr.
North Carolina
Wm. Blount
Richd. Dobbs Spaight
Hu Williamson
South Carolina
J. Rutledge
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney
Charles Pinckney
Pierce Butler
Georgia
William Few
Abr Baldwin
New Hampshire
John Langdon
Nicholas Gilman
Massachusetts
Nathaniel Gorham
Rufus King
Connecticut
Wm. Saml. Johnson
Roger Sherman
New York
Alexander Hamilton
New Jersey
Wil: Livingston
David Brearley
Wm. Paterson
Jona: Dayton
Pensylvania
B Franklin
Thomas Mifflin
Robt. Morris
Geo. Clymer
Thos. FitzSimons
Jared Ingersoll
James Wilson
Gouv Morris
Constitutional Amendments
The U.S. Bill of Rights (Amendments 1–10)
The Preamble to The Bill of Rights
Congress of the United States begun and held at the City of New-York, on Wednesday the fourth of March, one thousand seven hundred and eighty nine.
The Conventions of a number of the States, having at the time of their adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added: And as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government, will best ensure the beneficent ends of its institution.
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, two thirds of both Houses concurring, that the following Articles be proposed to the Legislatures of the several States, as amendments to the Constitution of the United States, all, or any of which Articles, when ratified by three fourths of the said Legislatures, to be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of the said Constitution; viz.
Articles in addition to, and Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, proposed by Congress, and ratified by the Legislatures of the several States, pursuant to the fifth Article of the original Constitution.
Note: The following text is a transcription of the first ten amendments to the Constitution in their original form. These amendments were ratified December 15, 1791, and form what is known as the "Bill of Rights."
Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Amendment II
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
Amendment III
No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
Amendment IV
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Amendment V
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
Amendment VI
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.
Amendment VII
In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
Amendment VIII
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Amendment IX
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Amendment X
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
Amendment XI
The Judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by Citizens of another State, or by Citizens or Subjects of any Foreign State.
Amendment XII
The Electors shall meet in their respective states and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-President, and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-President, and of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate; — the President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted; — The person having the greatest number of votes for President, shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by states, the representation from each state having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice. [And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a President whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next following, then the Vice-President shall act as President, as in case of the death or other constitutional disability of the President. —]* The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-President, shall be the Vice-President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed, and if no person have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice-President; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States.
*Superseded by Section 3 of the 20th amendment.
Amendment XIII
Section 1.
Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
Section 2.
Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Amendment XIV
Section 1.
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
Section 2.
Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice-President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age,* and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.
Section 3.
No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.
Section 4.
The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.
Section 5.
The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
*Changed by Section 1 of the 26th amendment.
Amendment XV
Section 1.
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude—
Section 2.
The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Amendment XVI
The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.
Amendment XVII
The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislatures.
When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, That the legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct.
This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the Constitution.
Amendment XVIII
Section 1.
After one year from the ratification of this article the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited.
Section 2.
The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Section 3.
This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress.
Amendment XIX
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.
Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Amendment XX
Section 1.
The terms of the President and the Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and Representatives at noon on the 3d day of January, of the years in which such terms would have ended if this article had not been ratified; and the terms of their successors shall then begin.
Section 2.
The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting shall begin at noon on the 3d day of January, unless they shall by law appoint a different day.
Section 3.
If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of the President, the President elect shall have died, the Vice President elect shall become President. If a President shall not have been chosen before the time fixed for the beginning of his term, or if the President elect shall have failed to qualify, then the Vice President elect shall act as President until a President shall have qualified; and the Congress may by law provide for the case wherein neither a President elect nor a Vice President elect shall have qualified, declaring who shall then act as President, or the manner in which one who is to act shall be selected, and such person shall act accordingly until a President or Vice President shall have qualified.
Section 4.
The Congress may by law provide for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the House of Representatives may choose a President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them, and for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the Senate may choose a Vice President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them.
Section 5.
Sections 1 and 2 shall take effect on the 15th day of October following the ratification of this article.
Section 6.
This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date of its submission.
Amendment XXI
Section 1.
The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.
Section 2.
The transportation or importation into any State, Territory, or possession of the United States for delivery or use therein of intoxicating liquors, in violation of the laws thereof, is hereby prohibited.
Section 3.
This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by conventions in the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress.
Amendment XXII
Section 1.
No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once. But this Article shall not apply to any person holding the office of President when this Article was proposed by the Congress, and shall not prevent any person who may be holding the office of President, or acting as President, during the term within which this Article becomes operative from holding the office of President or acting as President during the remainder of such term.
Section 2.
This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date of its submission to the States by the Congress.
Amendment XXIII
Section 1.
The District constituting the seat of Government of the United States shall appoint in such manner as the Congress may direct:
A number of electors of President and Vice President equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives in Congress to which the District would be entitled if it were a State, but in no event more than the least populous State; they shall be in addition to those appointed by the States, but they shall be considered, for the purposes of the election of President and Vice President, to be electors appointed by a State; and they shall meet in the District and perform such duties as provided by the twelfth article of amendment.
Section 2.
The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Amendment XXIV
Section 1.
The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax.
Section 2.
The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Amendment XXV
Section 1.
In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President.
Section 2.
Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress.
Section 3.
Whenever the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, and until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties shall be discharged by the Vice President as Acting President.
Section 4.
Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.
Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that no inability exists, he shall resume the powers and duties of his office unless the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive department or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit within four days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. Thereupon Congress shall decide the issue, assembling within forty-eight hours for that purpose if not in session. If the Congress, within twenty-one days after receipt of the latter written declaration, or, if Congress is not in session, within twenty-one days after Congress is required to assemble, determines by two-thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge the same as Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers and duties of his office.
Amendment XXVI
Section 1.
The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age.
Section 2.
The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Amendment XXVII
No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened.
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oercommons
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2025-03-18T00:39:27.045593
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"url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/15568/overview",
"title": "U.S. History, The Constitution of the United States",
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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/124431/overview
|
Resilient HC Employee Micro-credential Course Files
Resilient Healthcare Employee Micro-credential 2024 - Common Cartridge v1.2
Resilient Healthcare Employee Micro-credential
Overview
This resource contains the full course content for the Resilient Healthcare Employee Micro-credential for students or employees in the healthcare field. This professional enhancement level micro-credential takes 2-3 hours to complete and includes content formats such as powerpoint lectures, videos, articles, links, images, assessments, as well as some interactive content. All content was created in collaboration with healthcare employers and SMEs in the healthcare field. Within this resource you will find: all course files, IMSCC file for embedding into Blackboard LMS, and resources and guidance documents for implementation.
Skills: Stress Management | Adaptability | Empathy | Self-awareness | Emotional Intelligence | Self-care Practices | Resilient Thinking
Resilient Healthcare Employee Micro-credential Course Content and Resources
Course Description
Participants will explore healthcare stressors, learning to identify both internal and external factors impacting healthcare workers and environments. Learners will develop strategies for managing stress, fostering adaptability, empathy, self-awareness, and emotional intelligence. They will delve into the concept of vicarious trauma and learn about effective coping mechanisms to provide support when needed. Participants will learn to develop self-care habits and the importance of establishing clear boundaries between work and personal life for a sustainable work-life balance. Emphasizing the expectation for resilience in healthcare, participants will cultivate resilient thinking patterns and hone emergency response skills, emerging as exemplary leaders in healthcare, equipped to navigate challenges with calmness, focus, and unwavering dedication to both patient care and personal safety.
Skills: Stress Management | Adaptability | Empathy | Self-awareness | Emotional Intelligence | Self-care Practices | Resilient Thinking
About:
The micro-credential is intended to be taken online independently. It should take between 2-3 hours to complete. It is a Professional Enhancement level micro-credential, and has been developed with healthcare industry professionals from large healthcare employers in the state of CT.
Course Files (ZIP Folder):
This folder contains all course files, including PowerPoint presentations, images, and external documents. It also includes a course roadmap, which outlines the intended sequence for building the course from scratch. The embedded links document provides all resource links used within the micro-credential.
SCORM File:
This Common Cartridge file is designed to directly embed the entire course and its content into a compatible Learning Management System (LMS). It was used in Blackboard Ultra and is formatted to SCORM 1.2.
Resources and Guidance Documents (ZIP Folder):
This folder contains instructional resources and guidance for instructors on how to effectively use the provided materials.
Grant Disclaimer
This content was created as part of the CT SHIP grant, lead by CT State Community College - Norwalk.
The total cost of CT Statewide Healthcare Industry Pathway project (CT SHIP) was $6.9M. $3.4M (49%) was funded through a U.S. Department of Labor – Employment and Training Administration grant and another $3.5M (51%) was committed through non-federal state and local resources.
The Workforce product was funded by the grant awarded by the U.S Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration. The product was created by the grantee and does not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S Department of Labor. The U.S Department of Labor makes no guarantees, warranties, or assurances of any kind, express or implied, with respect to such information, including any information on any linked sites and include, but not limited to, the accuracy of the information or its completeness, timeliness, usefulness, adequacy, continued availability, or ownership.
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oercommons
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2025-03-18T00:39:27.073934
|
02/06/2025
|
{
"license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
"url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/124431/overview",
"title": "Resilient Healthcare Employee Micro-credential",
"author": "Renee Dunbar"
}
|
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/124436/overview
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Apollo 11 Command Module 3-D Model and Mini Lesson
Overview
This is a short article and link to a 3-D model of the apollo 11 command module.
Apollo 11 Landing Module
This is a small lesson about the Apollo 11 landing module. This would go well with a space unit in science, or a history unit about the space race.
History & Background
The Apollo 11 mission was part of NASA’s Apollo program, which aimed to land humans on the Moon and return them safely to Earth. The program was initiated in response to President John F. Kennedy’s 1961 challenge to land a man on the Moon before the end of the decade.
The mission was launched at the height of the Cold War Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union had achieved several space milestones first (such as launching the first satellite, Sputnik 1, in 1957 and sending the first human, Yuri Gagarin, to space in 1961), but Apollo 11 was America’s historic moment in space exploration.
Summary of the Apollo 11 Mission
🚀 Launch Date: July 16, 1969
📍 Landing Site: Sea of Tranquility, the Moon
🌎 Return Date: July 24, 1969
Crew Members
- Neil Armstrong (Commander) – First person to walk on the Moon
- Buzz Aldrin (Lunar Module Pilot) – Second person to walk on the Moon
- Michael Collins (Command Module Pilot) – Stayed in orbit around the Moon
Key Events
Launch (July 16, 1969)
- Apollo 11 was launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard the Saturn V rocket.
Moon Landing (July 20, 1969)
- The Lunar Module (Eagle) separated from the Command Module (Columbia) and descended to the Moon’s surface.
- Neil Armstrong took the first step on the Moon and said the famous words:
"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." - Buzz Aldrin joined Armstrong on the Moon, and they conducted experiments, took pictures, and planted the American flag.
Return to Earth (July 24, 1969)
- After spending about 21 hours on the Moon, the crew lifted off and rejoined Michael Collins in the Command Module.
- They returned to Earth, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean, where they were recovered by the USS Hornet.
Impact & Legacy
🌕 Apollo 11 was a huge milestone in space exploration, proving that humans could travel to the Moon and return safely.
🏆 The mission fulfilled Kennedy’s goal and gave the U.S. a major victory in the Space Race.
🔬 The astronauts brought back lunar rocks and soil samples, which helped scientists learn more about the Moon.
🚀 The Apollo program continued, leading to five more Moon landings before it ended in 1972.
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oercommons
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2025-03-18T00:39:27.095780
|
Lesson Plan
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"url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/124436/overview",
"title": "Apollo 11 Command Module 3-D Model and Mini Lesson",
"author": "Lesson"
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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/102392/overview
|
Using Decision-Making Skills to Enhance Health
Overview
This educational resource is all about how to make good choices to improve your health. It talks about how important it is to make responsible decisions and gives tips for making good choices that are both ethical and successful. It also explains how to look at situations carefully before making a decision that matches your own goals and values. The assignment emphasizes that it's really important to focus on your own health and to be true to yourself when making choices.
HOW DO YOU MAKE RESPONSIBLE DECISIONS?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Make decisions by considering options, consequences, and values.
- Improve decision-making skills by reflecting on outcomes and evaluating the advantages and disadvantages of options.
- Understand how decisions impact emotional and physical health and self-esteem.
- Identify positive and negative consequences of decisions.
- Practice making decisions aligned with values and goals without breaking the law or betraying trust.
Throughout your life, you'll have to make many decisions. While most of them won't make a big difference, a few will be really important. Sometimes, you might think you're making the right choice to solve a problem, but that decision could lead to unexpected outcomes. So, it's crucial to learn how to make better choices - this is a skill that can change your life.
HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR HEALTH HABITS BY REFLECTING ON YOUR ACTIONS
Explore students’ prior knowledge.
Responsible decision-making means making choices about how you behave and interact with others based on what's right, safe, and what other people expect. The decisions you make can have a big impact on your life, so it's important to make good choices. To make responsible decisions, think about what's right, what's safe, and what other people expect from you, and think about what could happen as a result of your choice. It's okay to take your time to make a decision, and to ask for help from your parents or other adults who can give you advice and help you make a good choice.
Just knowing what makes you healthy isn't enough to actually be healthy. You have to actually do those things to see results. By reading this and doing the work assigned, you're committing to making changes to your habits. The goal is to make sure that what we're doing in this assignment is actually making a difference. You'll need to reflect on your habits and work hard to make positive changes to see real results.
VOCABULARY
List key terms from the lesson with definitions to get them thinking about the concept/skill.
| alternative | something you can choose to do or use instead of something else |
| consequence | something that happens as a result of a particular action or set of conditions |
| decision | a choice or judgment that you make after a period of discussion or thought |
HOW DO YOU MAKE RESPONSIBLE DECISIONS?
Responsible decision-making is the ability to make good choices about your personal behavior and interactions with others based on ethical standards, safety concerns, and social norms. It's important because the decisions you make guide your life in a positive or negative direction. For example, deciding whether to date someone, go to a party, start a business, or become friends with someone can all have positive or negative consequences. Making the right decisions can help you build the right friendships and relationships, which can have a positive impact on your life. On the other hand, making the wrong decisions, such as connecting with the wrong person, can lead you down a negative path and introduce you to a lifestyle that you don’t want. It's important to take your time with decision-making and to process your options carefully. You don't have to rush your decisions, and it's okay to ask for advice from people who have more life experience, like your parents or older relatives, who can offer guidance and wisdom. Remember, the decisions you make today can have a lasting impact on your life, so it's important to make responsible choices.
STRATEGIES FOR MAKING ETHICAL AND SUCCESSFUL DECISIONS
In simple terms, making decisions that are good for others is crucial for our success and ethical behavior in the future. Before deciding, we should learn as much as possible about the situation to understand the problem better. Practicing decision-making can help build confidence, and we can do this by balancing the risks and potential impacts of each choice. We need to take responsibility for our decisions, learn from our mistakes, and think about how our choices might affect others. It's helpful to have trusted people around us who can offer different perspectives to help us make the best decisions. In life, we should strive to grow and be the best version of ourselves. By making wise decisions and working hard, we can achieve happiness and success.
THINKING CAREFULLY
Walk through the thinking process for understanding decision-making skills.
Analyzing situations is important because it helps individuals make informed decisions that align with their goals and values. In the tech startup space, for instance, one of the things that is important is the build-measure-learn feedback loop. This process involves testing a product, gathering feedback from customers, and making changes and adjustments based on that feedback. It is important to be open to feedback from others, as it can make decisions better and help individuals grow as people. To analyze a situation, individuals can make sure that their decisions align with their goals and values. For example, individuals can develop a personal mission statement and make sure their decisions align with it. It is also important to make sure that goals align with decisions being made, such as when choosing a college. It is essential to be authentic to oneself when making decisions. Analyzing situations helps individuals make the best decisions possible by considering all available information and aligning those decisions with their goals and values.
In simpler terms, it's important to know what you want and have a plan to achieve it. Being optimistic and purposeful can help you make better decisions. You should also prioritize your personal health and well-being because true happiness comes from within, not from material possessions or pleasing others. If you're doing something just to make others happy but it's making you unhappy, it's important to reevaluate and find your own happiness. Taking care of yourself first is important so that you can be in a good position to help others. Remember, it's not just about you; you can only give what you have. So make sure to prioritize your own health and happiness to be able to help others in the best way possible.
To make good decisions in the future, you need to first understand what problems you may have in your life. This means being honest with yourself and recognizing your strengths and weaknesses. You can start by thinking about what's happening in your life and identifying any issues you may have. Writing things down and talking to family or friends can also help. Remember that adults may not have all the answers, and it's up to you to make the final decision. When you have to make a choice, think about the consequences and choose what's best for you, not just what other people want. Planning ahead can also help you make better decisions. People who succeed in life are the ones who take the time to identify and work through their problems and make thoughtful decisions.
NOW IT’S YOUR TURN
Reinforcement with independent practice
What does responsible decision-making entail?
Making choices based on what's right, safe, and what others expect from you.
Use what you have learned to answer the question.
What does responsible decision-making entail?
- Making choices based on personal goals and values.
- Making decisions that align with what others expect from you.
- Making choices based on what's right, safe, and what others expect from you.
- Making choices based on personal gain and material possessions.
CHOOSE THE RIGHT ANSWER
Present a typical multiple-choice problem related to the concept/skill for students to solve.
Then, explain the correct answer and analyze the incorrect answers by pointing out common errors or misconceptions.
Answer the question below. Then read why each answer is correct or incorrect.
What are the three factors that one should consider when making responsible decisions?
- The weather, your favorite color, and what your friends are doing
- Ethical standards, safety concerns, and social norms
- Your favorite food, what your parents expect, and the consequences of your choices
- What your friends expect, your personal interests, and how others will perceive your choices
Check to see if you chose the right answer.
Responsible decision-making means making choices about personal behavior and interactions with others based on ethical standards, safety concerns, and social norms. To make responsible decisions, one should think about what's right, what's safe, and what other people expect from them. One should also consider the potential consequences of their choices. It is advisable to take time and process options carefully, and it's okay to ask for advice from people who have more life experience. The decisions we make today can have a lasting impact on our lives, so it's important to make responsible choices.
So, Choice 2 is the correct answer! But why are the other answer choices incorrect?! If you're trying to make a responsible decision, there are some factors you should consider. Choices 1, 3, and 4 don't take these factors into account. In choice A, things like the weather, your favorite color, and what your friends are doing don't matter when it comes to making responsible decisions. The same goes for choice 3 - things like your favorite food and what your parents expect may not be important. And in choice 4, what your friends want and what you're interested in may not be the best things to think about. You should instead think about ethical standards, safety concerns, and what's expected in your community.
NOW IT’S YOUR TURN
What is the definition of responsible decision-making?
The ability to make good choices about personal behavior and interactions based on ethical standards, safety concerns, and social norms
Why is it important to take your time with decision-making?
Because it allows you to consider all available information and make the best decision possible
How can trusted people around us help us make better decisions?
By offering different perspectives and helping us see the situation from different angles
What is the build-measure-learn feedback loop?
A process that involves testing a product, gathering feedback from customers, and making changes and adjustments based on that feedback
Answer the questions below. Use the following hints to avoid mistakes.
Be a detective. Look for clues in the text, title, date, and author background
Be an active reader. Ask questions and clarify unclear passages by rereading them.
When you take a test or answer questions for an assignment, go with your gut feeling or first answer but double-check by looking back at the text to find the evidence that supports your answer before handing in your paper.
Read passages carefully and consider the author's points, arguments, and supporting details.
Look for parts of the reading that connect to your question and give examples to support your answer.
What is the definition of responsible decision-making?
- The ability to make quick decisions based on intuition
- The ability to make good choices about personal behavior and interactions based on ethical standards, safety concerns, and social norms
- The ability to make decisions without considering the consequences
- The ability to make decisions based on what other people want.
Why is it important to take your time with decision-making?
- Because it allows you to avoid making any decision at all
- Because it allows you to make quick decisions based on intuition
- Because it allows you to please other people by making a decision quickly.
- Because it allows you to consider all available information and make the best decision possible
How can trusted people around us help us make better decisions?
- By telling us what to do
- By making the decision for us
- By offering different perspectives and helping us see the situation from different angles
- By pressuring us to make a decision.
What is the build-measure-learn feedback loop?
- A process that involves testing a product, gathering feedback from customers, and making changes and adjustments based on that feedback
- A process that involves making decisions quickly based on intuition
- A process that involves making decisions without considering the consequences
- A process that involves making decisions based on what other people want.
WRITING THE BEST ANSWER POSSIBLE
Study the model below. It’s a good example of a written answer.
How can responsible decision-making impact an individual's life positively or negatively?
Good decision-making is crucial for a happy and fulfilling life as your choices impact your life greatly. To make good choices, consider options, and consequences, and align them with your values and goals. Every choice has consequences, so think about potential outcomes before deciding. Seek advice from trusted sources and avoid choices that violate laws or betray trust. Responsible choices lead to positive outcomes for emotional and physical health and self-esteem, while irresponsible choices have negative effects. Prioritize personal health and well-being, take time to think, be authentic to yourself, and seek trusted advice to improve decision-making skills.
This answer is a great response to the prompt. The student accurately explains how responsible decision-making can impact an individual's life positively or negatively by emphasizing the importance of considering options and consequences, aligning choices with values and goals, seeking advice from trusted sources, and prioritizing personal health and well-being. The student also explains how responsible choices can lead to positive outcomes for emotional and physical health and self-esteem, while irresponsible choices can have negative effects.
NOW IT’S YOUR TURN
Analyzing situations means looking at different choices to make sure you pick the best one for you. To do this, you have to think about what you care about, what might happen with each option, and any good or bad things that could come from each choice. It's also important to think about decisions you made before and learn from them to make better choices in the future. By analyzing situations, you can make choices that match what you want and feel more sure about your decisions. This helps you make choices that fit with your goals and values.
Answer the question. Use what you have learned from the model.
How can analyzing situations help individuals make informed decisions that align with their goals and values?
GET READY FOR YOUR FUTURE
Present hints for answering questions related to using decision-making skills to enhance health that students are likely to encounter on tests or in life.
Build familiarity with 6 multiple-choice questions, 1 short-response question, and 1 extended-response question commonly found on state and national tests.
Which of the following is NOT a step in the decision-making process for enhancing health?
Ignoring the consequences
Which decision-making style involves making a quick decision without much consideration?
Impulsive
What is the best approach to making a decision when faced with a health-related problem?
Considering the consequences of each option
Which of the following is an example of a decision made to enhance physical health?
Regularly exercising
Which of the following is NOT a factor to consider when making responsible decisions?
Social media popularity
Why is it important to analyze a situation before making a decision?
To align decisions with personal goals and values
Define responsible decision-making in your own words.
Responsible decision-making means making choices about how you behave and interact with others based on what's right, safe, and what other people expect. It involves considering ethical standards, safety concerns, and social norms to guide personal behavior.
Explain the importance of reflecting on outcomes and evaluating the advantages and disadvantages of options when making decisions. Provide an example of a time when you had to reflect on your decision-making process and how it impacted the outcome.
It's really important to think about what might happen when you make choices and to look at the good and bad things that could come from each option. This will help you make choices that are smart and match what you want. For example, when I was deciding which college to go to, I looked at all the different things about each school, like where it was, what they taught, what the campus was like, and how much money they could give me. I also thought about what I wanted for my future and how each school could help me get there. After thinking about all of these things, I picked the college that was the best fit for me, and I'm really happy with how things turned out.
As you answer the questions below, remember to:
Read each question carefully and consider your answer options.
Take as much time as you need to complete these questions.
When you finish, check your answers.
Which of the following is NOT a step in the decision-making process for enhancing health?
- Identifying the problem
- Gathering information
- Ignoring the consequences
- Considering alternatives
Which decision-making style involves making a quick decision without much consideration?
- Impulsive
- Intuitive
- Procrastinating
- Analytical
What is the best approach to making a decision when faced with a health-related problem?
- Relying on intuition alone
- Considering the consequences of each option
- Choosing the first option that comes to mind
- Following the advice of friends or family
Which of the following is an example of a decision made to enhance physical health?
- Spending money on expensive clothes
- Eating fast food every day
- Regularly exercising
- Smoking cigarettes
Which of the following is NOT a factor to consider when making responsible decisions?
- Ethical standards
- Safety concerns
- Social media popularity
- Social norms
Why is it important to analyze a situation before making a decision?
- To gather feedback from customers
- To align decisions with personal goals and values
- To please others
- To prioritize material possessions
Define responsible decision-making in your own words.
Explain the importance of reflecting on outcomes and evaluating the advantages and disadvantages of options when making decisions. Provide an example of a time when you had to reflect on your decision-making process and how it impacted the outcome.
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oercommons
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2025-03-18T00:39:27.132396
|
Psychology
|
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"url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/102392/overview",
"title": "Using Decision-Making Skills to Enhance Health",
"author": "Philosophy"
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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/60465/overview
|
Chapter 2.8: Constitution of 1876
Overview
Constitution of 1876
Learning Objectives
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Understand the background of the Constitution of 1876
- Understand the basic provisions of the Constitution of 1876
- Understand why the Texas Constitution is so long and why it has so many amendments
- Understand attempts at revising the Constitution of 1876
Introduction
The Constitution of 1876 is the current Texas constitution. This section explores the background, basic provisions, length and complexity, and attempts to revise the document.
Background
Background
The Constitution of 1876 is the sixth constitution by which Texas has been governed since independence from Mexico was achieved in 1836. It was framed by the Constitutional Convention of 1875 and adopted on February 15, 1876, by a vote of 136,606 to 56,652, and it remains the basic organic law of Texas. The constitution contains some provisions that are uniquely Texan, many of which are products of the state's unusual history. Some, for example, may be traced to Spanish and Mexican influence. Among them are sections dealing with land titles and land law in general, debtor relief, judicial procedures, marital relations and adoption, and water and other mineral rights. Other atypical provisions may be attributed to the twin influences of Jacksonian agrarianism and frontier radicalism-both prevalent when Texas first became a state and both widely supported by the bulk of immigrants to Texas before the Civil War. Those influences produced sections prohibiting banks and requiring a stricter separation of church and state than that required in older states. Reconstruction, under the highly centralized and relatively autocratic administration of Governor Edmund J. Davis and his fellow Radical Republicans, prompted provisions to decentralize the state government. Upon regaining control of both the legislative and executive branches of the government, the Democrats determined in 1874 to replace the unpopular Constitution of 1869. They wanted all officials elected for shorter terms and lower salaries, abolition of voter registration, local control of schools, severely limited powers for both the legislature and the governor, low taxation and state expenditures, strict control over corporations, and land subsidies for railroads.
Early in 1874 a joint legislative committee reported an entire new constitution as an amendment to the Constitution of 1869. Because the document had not been prepared by a convention and because of the possibility that its adoption might antagonize the federal government, the legislature rejected the proposal. On the advice of Governor Richard Coke, the next legislature submitted the question of a constitutional convention to the voters, who, on August 2, 1875, approved the convention and elected three delegates from each of the thirty senatorial districts. In the convention, which convened on September 6, seventy-five members were Democrats and fifteen, including six blacks, were Republicans. Not one had been a member of the Constitutional Convention 1868-69, forty-one were farmers, and no fewer than forty were members of the Patrons of Husbandry (The Grange), the militant farmers' organization established in response to the Panic of 1873. In the convention the Grange members acted as a bloc in support of conservative constitutional measures. To assure that the government would be responsive to public will, the convention precisely defined the rights, powers, and prerogatives of the various governmental departments and agencies, including many details generally left to the legislature.
It was believed that the new constitution should restrict the state government and hand the power back to the people. Some examples of how the government was restricted were:
- Legislative sessions moved from annual to biennial sessions
- Creation of a plural executive
- Mandated a balanced budget
- State Judges would be elected by the people
- The people would vote on the ratification of amendments
Basic Structure and Provisions
Basic Structure and Provisions
The structure of the document is a Preamble, 17 Articles, and 498 Amendments (current as of the 2017 Constititutional election).
Articles of the Texas Constitution of 1876
Articles of the Texas Constitution of 1876
Article 1: "Bill of Rights"
Article 1 is the Texas Constitution's bill of rights. The article originally contained 29 sections; four sections have since been added. Some of the article's provisions concern specific fundamental limitations on the power of the state.
The provisions of the Texas Constitution apply only against the government of Texas. However, a number of the provisions of the U.S. Constitution are held to apply to the states as well, under the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Section 4 purports to prohibit officeholders from the requirements of any religious test, provided they "acknowledge the existence of a Supreme Being". This conflicts with the U.S. Constitution's No Religious Test Clause, and would almost certainly be held unenforceable if challenged,[citation needed] as was a similar South Carolina requirement in Silverman v. Campbell, and a broader Maryland restriction in Torcaso v. Watkins.
Section 32 denies state recognition to same-sex unions, a practice that was invalidated as a consequence of Obergefell v. Hodges.
Article 2: "The Powers of Government"
Article 2 provides for the separation of powers of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the state government, prohibiting each branch from encroaching on the powers of the others.
Article 3: "Legislative Department"
Article 3 vests the legislative power of the state in the "Legislature of the State of Texas", consisting of the state's Senate and House of Representatives. It also lists the qualifications required of senators and representatives and regulates many details of the legislative process. The article contains many substantive limitations on the power of the legislature and a large number of exceptions to those limitations.
As with the United States Constitution, either house may originate bills (Section 31), but bills to raise revenue must originate in the House of Representatives (Section 33).
Section 39 allows a bill to take effect immediately upon the Governor's signature if the bill passes both chambers by a two-thirds vote unless otherwise specified in the bill. If the bill does not pass by this majority it takes effect on the first day of the next fiscal year (September 1).
The largest Section within this article is Section 49 ("State Debts"), which includes 30 separate sub-sections (including two sub-sections both added in 2003 and both curiously numbered as "49-n"). Section 49 limits the power of the Legislature to incur debt to only specific purposes as stated in the Constitution; in order to allow the Legislature to incur debt for a purpose not stated numerous amendments to this section have had to be added and voted upon by the people. In addition, Section 49a requires the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts to certify the amount of available cash on hand and anticipated revenues for the next biennium; no appropriation may exceed this amount (except in cases of emergency, and then only with a four-fifths vote of both chambers), and the Comptroller is required to reject and return to the Legislature any appropriation in violation of this requirement. Section 49-g created the state's "Rainy Day Fund" (technically called the Economic Stabilization Fund).
Article 4: "Executive Department"
Article 4 describes the powers and duties of the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Comptroller, Commissioner of the General Land Office, and Attorney General. With the exception of the Secretary of State the above officials are directly elected in what is known as a "plural executive" system. (Although the Texas Agriculture Commissioner is also directly elected, that is the result of Legislative action, not a Constitutional requirement.)
Under Section 16 of this article, the Lieutenant Governor automatically assumes the power of Governor if and when the Governor travels outside of the state.
Article 5: "Judicial Department"
Article 5 describes the composition, powers, and jurisdiction of the state's Supreme Court, Court of Criminal Appeals, and District, County, and Commissioners Courts, as well as the Justice of the Peace Courts.
Article 6: "Suffrage"
Article 6 denies voting rights to minors, felons, and people who are deemed mentally incompetent by a court (though the Legislature may make exceptions in the latter two cases). It also describes rules for elections.
Article 7: "Education"
Article 7 establishes provisions for public schools, asylums, and universities. Section 1 states, "it shall be the duty of the Legislature of the State to establish and make suitable provision for the support and maintenance of an efficient system of public free schools". This issue has surfaced repeatedly in lawsuits involving the State's funding of education and the various restrictions it has placed on local school districts.
This Article also discusses the creation and maintenance of the Permanent University Fund (Sections 11, 11a, and 11b) and mandates the establishment of "a University of the first class" (Section 10) to be called The University of Texas, as well as "an Agricultural, and Mechanical department" (Section 13, today's Texas A&M University, which opened seven years prior to UT); it also establishes Prairie View A&M University in Section 14.
Article 8: "Taxation and Revenue"
Article 8 places various restrictions on the ability of the Legislature and local governments to impose taxes. Most of these restrictions concern local property taxes.
Section 1-e prohibits statewide property taxes. This Section has been the subject of numerous school district financing lawsuits claiming that other Legislative restrictions on local property taxes have created a de facto statewide property tax; the Texas Supreme Court has at times ruled that the restrictions did in fact do so (and thus were unconstitutional) and at other times ruled that they did not.
Texas does not have a personal income tax. Section 24 of the article, added by an amendment adopted in 1993, restricts the ability of the Legislature to impose such a tax. Under the section, a law imposing a personal income tax must be ratified in a statewide referendum to take effect; any further change in the tax must also be ratified to take effect, if it would increase the "collective liability" of all persons subject to the tax. The proceeds from the tax must first be used to reduce local school property taxes, with any remainder being used for the support of education.
No such restriction exists on imposition of a corporate income tax or similar tax; in May 2006 the Legislature replaced the existing franchise tax with a gross receipts tax.
Article 9: "Counties"
Article 9 provides rules for the creation of counties (now numbering 254) and for determining the location of county seats. It also includes several provisions regarding the creation of county-wide hospital districts in specified counties, as well as other miscellaneous provisions regarding airports and mental health.
Article 10: "Railroads"
Article 10 contains a single section declaring that railroads are considered "public highways" and railroad carriers "common carriers". Eight other sections were repealed in 1969.
Article 11: "Municipal Corporations"
Article 11 recognizes counties as legal political subunits of the State, grants certain powers to cities and counties, empowers the legislature to form school districts.
Texas operates under Dillon's Rule: counties and special districts are not granted home rule privileges, while cities and school districts have those privileges only in the limited instances specified below.
Sections 4 and 5 discuss the operation of cities based on population. Section 4 states that a city with a population of 5,000 or fewer has only those powers granted to it by general law; Section 5 permits a city, once its population exceeds 5,000, to adopt a charter under home rule provided the charter is not inconsistent with limits placed by the Texas Constitution or general law (the city may amend to maintain home rule status even if its population subsequently falls to 5,000 or fewer).
School districts may adopt home rule,[2] but none have chosen to do so.[3]
Article 12: "Private Corporations"
Article 12 contains two sections directing the Legislature to enact general laws for the creation of private corporations and prohibiting the creation of private corporations by special law. Four other sections were repealed in 1969, and a fifth section in 1993.
Article 13: "Spanish and Mexican Land Titles"
Article 13 established provisions for Spanish and Mexican land titles from the Mexican War Era to please the Mexican government.[citation needed] This article was repealed in its entirety in 1969.
Article 14: "Public Lands and Land Office"
Article 14 contains a single section establishing the General Land Office and the office of commissioner of the General Land Office. Seven other sections were repealed in 1969.
Article 15: "Impeachment"
Article 15 describes the process of impeachment and lists grounds on which to impeach judges. The House of Representatives is granted the power of impeachment.
Article 16: "General Provisions"
Article 16 contains miscellaneous provisions, including limits on interest rates, civil penalties for murder, and the punishment for bribery.
Section 28 prohibits garnishment of wages, except for spousal maintenance and child support payments (however, this does not limit Federal garnishment for items such as student loan payments or income taxes).
Section 37 provides for the constitutional protection of the mechanic's lien.
Section 50 provides for protection of a homestead against forced sale to pay debts, except for foreclosure on debts related to the homestead (mortgage, taxes, mechanic's liens, and home equity loans including home equity lines of credit). This section also places specific restrictions on home equity loans and lines of credit (Texas being the last state to allow them), the section:
- limits the amount of a home equity loan, when combined with all other loans against a home, to no more than 80 percent of the home's fair market value at the time of the loan,
- requires that the advance on a home equity line of credit be at least $4,000 (even if the borrower wants to borrow less than that amount, though nothing prohibits a borrower from immediately repaying the credit line with a portion of said advance),
- requires a 14-day waiting period before any loan or line of credit is effective (at the initial borrowing; later borrowings against a line of credit can still be made in less time),
- and places restrictions on where closing can take place.
Article 17: "Mode of amending the Constitution of this State"
Notwithstanding the large number of amendments (and proposed amendments) that the Texas Constitution has had since its inception, the only method of amending the Constitution prescribed by Article 17 is via the Legislature, subject to voter approval. The Constitution does not provide for amendment by initiative, constitutional convention, or any other means. A 1974 constitutional convention required the voters to amend the Constitution to add a separate section to this Article; the section was later repealed in 1999.
The section also prescribes specific details for notifying the public of elections to approve amendments. It requires that the legislature publish a notice in officially approved newspapers that briefly summarizes each amendment and shows how each amendment will be described on the ballot. It also requires that the full text of each amendment be posted at each county courthouse at least 50 days (but no sooner than 60 days) before the election date.
Once an amendment passes it is compiled into the existing framework (i.e., text is either added or deleted), unlike the United States Constitution.
Length and Amendments
Length and Amendments
Over the years, 217 new sections have been added, while 66 of the original sections and 51 of the added sections have been removed, so that the Texas Constitution today has 389 sections. For most of that time, the constitution has been updated at least biennially through amendments proposed by the legislature and approved by the Texas electorate. No legislative rules or other restrictions limit the number of amendment proposals, provided each receives the required two-thirds vote in both the senate and the house.
Since 1876, the legislature has proposed 680 constitutional amendments, and 677 have gone before Texas voters. Of the amendments submitted to the voters so far, 498 have been approved by the electorate, 179 have been defeated, and three amendments never made it to the ballot.
Most of the amendments are due to the document's highly restrictive nature: the State of Texas has only those powers explicitly granted to it by its Constitution–there is no "necessary and proper clause" as contained in the U.S. Constitution.
The current constitution is among the longest of state constitutions in the United States. From 1876 to 2017 the legislature proposed 673 constitutional amendments, of which 491 were approved by the electorate and 179 defeated. Despite its length, Texas' Constitution is not nearly as long as the Alabama Constitution (which has been amended over 800 times despite having been adopted 25 years after Texas' current constitution) nor the California Constitution (which, due to provisions allowing amendments via initiative, is subject to frequent revision).
Attempts at Revision
Attempts at Revision
Because of the unwieldiness of the state constitution, there have been attempts to draft a new constitution or to significantly revise the existing one:
The most successful of the attempts took place in 1969 when 56 separate obsolete provisions (including the entirety of Article 13, and 22 entire sections from Articles 10, 12, and 14) were successfully repealed.
In 1971 the Texas Legislature placed on the November 1972 ballot an Amendment which called for the Legislature to meet in January 1974 for 90 days as a constitutional convention, for purposes of drafting a new state Constitution. The measure passed (thus adding Section 2 to Article 17; the section was later repealed in November 1999) and the Legislature met. However, even with an additional 60 days added to the session, the convention failed by a mere three votes to propose a new constitution.
In 1975, the Legislature, meeting in regular session, revived much of the work of the 1974 convention and proposed it as a set of eight amendments to the existing constitution. All eight of the amendments were overwhelmingly rejected by the voters (in 250 the state's 254 counties, all eight amendments were defeated; only in Duval and Webb counties did all eight amendments pass).
In 1979 the Legislature placed on the ballot four amendments which had their origins in the 1974 convention; of which three were approved by the voters:[5] One amendment created a single property tax "appraisal district" in each county for purposes of providing a uniform appraised value for all property in a county applicable to all taxing authorities (previously, each taxing authority assessed property individually and frequently did so at dissimilar values between the authorities) Another amendment gave to the Texas Court of Appeals criminal appellate jurisdiction (previously, the Courts had jurisdiction over civil matters only; though death penalty cases still bypass this level) The last amendment gave the Governor of Texas limited authority to remove appointed statewide officials
In 1995, Senator John Montford drafted a streamlined constitution similar to the 1974 version. However, Montford resigned his seat to become chancellor of the Texas Tech University System, and his initiative subsequently died. Later that year, though, voters approved an amendment abolishing the office of State Treasurer and moving its duties to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts office.
In 1998, a bipartisan effort (led by Republican Senator Bill Ratliff and Democratic Representative Rob Junell) produced a rewritten constitution, with the help of students from Angelo State University (Junell's district included the San Angelo area). The second draft was submitted to the 76th Legislature but failed to gain support in committee.
Reading Review Questions
- By whom was the constitution of 1876 first drafted and why was it rejected by the legislature?
- What steps were taken to draft a new constitution in1875?
- What was the general belief regarding government power that was apparent in the provisions of the new constitution?
- What is the general purpose of Article 1 of the 1876 Texas constitution?
- What do Articles 2-5 accomplish?
- What governing units are provided for in Articles 9 and 11?
- Why is Article 17 so important to the longevity of the Texas constitution?
- In general, how has the 1876 constitution changed over the years?
- For what two reasons has the Texas constitution underwent so many changes (amendment) over the years?
- Why were the revisions of 1969 regarded as successful?
- Why did the streamlined constitution, introduced in 1995, die before it was even introduced to the Texas legislature?
- What happened in 1998 regarding revision to the Texas constitution?
For More Information
For More Information
The entire Texas Constitution of 1876 can be accessed at Texas Constitution and Statues site of the Texas Legislature Online. Portable Document Format (PDF), Plain text, and Microsoft Word® versions are available.
More information on the Constitution of the State of Texas (1876) may be found at the Texas Constitutions 1824-1876 project of the Tarlton Law Library, Jamail Center for Legal Research at the University of Texas School of Law, The University of Texas at Austin.
The project includes digitized images and searchable text versions of the constitutions.
|
oercommons
|
2025-03-18T00:39:27.166915
|
Annette Howard
|
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"url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/60465/overview",
"title": "Texas Government 1.0, Texas' Constitution, Chapter 2.8: Constitution of 1876",
"author": "Reading"
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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/60444/overview
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Chapter 1.7: Texas’ Demographics
Overview
Texas’ Demographic
Learning Objectives and Introduction
Learning Objectives
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Understand the demographic makeup of Texas' population
- Understand the demographic changes Texas is undergoing
- Understand the importance of those demographic changes
Texas is the second most populous U.S. state, with an estimated 2017 population of 28.449 million.[1] In recent decades, it has experienced strong population growth. Texas has many major cities and metropolitan areas, along with many towns and rural areas. Much of the population is in the major cities of Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, and El Paso.
Introduction
Introduction
Texas is the second-most populous U.S. state, with an estimated 2017 population of 28.449 million.[1] In recent decades, it has experienced strong population growth. Texas has many major cities and metropolitan areas, along with many towns and rural areas. Much of the population is in the major cities of Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, and El Paso.
Population
Population
The 2010 US Census recorded Texas as having a population of 25.1 million—an increase of 4.3 million since the year 2000, involving an increase in population in all three subcategories of population growth: natural increase (births minus deaths), net immigration, and net migration. The state passed New York in the 1990s to become the second-largest U.S. state in population, after California.
Texas’ population growth between 2000 and 2010 represents the highest population increase, by number of people, for any U.S. state during this time period. The large population increase can somewhat be attributed to Texas’ relative insulation from the US housing bubble. The state has a bigger population than that of Australia.
As of 2012, the state has an estimated 4.1 million foreign-born residents, constituting approximately 15% of the state population.[2] An estimated 1.7 million people are undocumented immigrants.[3]
U.S. Census data from 2010 indicate that 7.7% of Texas’ population is under 5 years old, 27.3% is under 18, and 10.3% is aged 65 and older. Females make up 50.4% of the population.
Ethnicity
Ethnicity
As of the 2010 US Census, the racial distribution in Texas was as follows: 70.4% of the population of Texas was White American; 11.8% African American; 3.8%, Asian American; 0.7%, American Indian; 0.1%, native Hawaiian or Pacific islander only; 10.5% of the population were of some other race only; and 2.7% were of two or more races. Hispanics (of any race) were 37.6% of the population of the state, while Non-Hispanic Whites composed 45.3%.
English Americans predominate in eastern, central, and northern Texas; German Americans, in central and western Texas. African Americans, who historically made up one-third of the state population, are concentrated in parts of northern, eastern and east central Texas as well as in the Dallas-Fort Worth, San Antonio and Houston metropolitan areas.
As in other Southern states settled largely in the 19th century, the vast majority have European ancestry: Irish, English and German. Texas includes a diverse set of European ancestries, due both to historical patterns of settlement as well as contemporary dynamics. Frontier Texas saw settlements of Germans, particularly in Fredericksburg and New Braunfels. Many Romanians, Dutch, Germans from Switzerland and Austria, Poles, Russians, Swedes, Norwegians, Czechs, Slovaks, Italians, and French immigrated at least in part because of the European revolutions of 1848. This immigration continued until World War I and the 1920s. The influence of these diverse European immigrants survives in the town names, architectural styles, music, and cuisine in Texas.
Hispanic Texans
Hispanic Texans
As of 2010, 37% of Texas residents had Hispanic ancestry; these include recent immigrants from Mexico, Central America, and South America, as well as Tejanos, whose ancestors have lived in Texas as early as the 1700s. Tejanos are the largest ancestry group in southern Duval County and amongst the largest in and around Bexar County, including San Antonio, where over one million Hispanics live. The state has the second largest Hispanic population in the United States, behind California.
Hispanics dominate southern, south-central, and western Texas and form a significant portion of the residents in the cities of Dallas, Houston, and Austin. The Hispanic population contributes to Texas having a younger population than the American average, because Hispanic births have outnumbered non-Hispanic white births since the early 1990s. In 2007, for the first time since the early nineteenth century, Hispanics accounted for more than half of all births (50.2%), while non-Hispanic whites accounted for just 34%.
In 2016 the state had 59,115 persons of Cuban origin. 6,157 of them lived in Travis County.[4]
African American Texans
African American Texans
Texas has one of the largest African-American populations in the country. African Americans are concentrated in northern, eastern and east-central Texas as well as the Dallas, Houston and San Antonio metropolitan areas. African Americans form 24 percent of both the cities of Dallas and Houston, 19% of Fort Worth, 8.1 percent of Austin, and 6.9 percent of San Antonio. They form a majority in sections of eastern San Antonio, southern Dallas, eastern Fort Worth, and southern Houston.[citation needed] A strong labor market between 1995 and 2000 contributed to Texas being one of three states in the South receiving the highest numbers of black college graduates in a New Great Migration.[5]
Asian American Texans
Asian American Texans
In recent years, the Asian American population in Texas has grown, especially in west Houston, Fort Bend County southwest of Houston, the western and northern suburbs of Dallas, and Arlington near Fort Worth. Vietnamese Americans, South Asian Americans, Chinese Americans, Filipino Americans, Korean Americans, and Japanese Americans make up the largest Asian American groups in Texas. The Gulf Coast also has large numbers of Asian Americans, because the shrimp fishing industry attracted tens of thousands of Vietnamese, Filipinos, and Chinese from the coast of the South China Sea in the late 1970s and 1980s.
Reading Review Questions
- What is the estimated population of Texas as of 2017? How does Texas compare in population to the rest of the U.S.?
- What are the three subcategories of population growth? Has theTexas population grown in all three categories?
- Describe the demographics of the Texas population as reported in the 2010 census.
- Describe the racial distribution in Texas as outlined in the 2010 census.
- Describe the specific breakdown of the White American population living in Texas.
- Why does Texas have a younger population than the American average?
- Why can it be said that Texas has a majority minority population?
Graph
Assignment: Make a pie graph showing the population of Texas for the following racial groups.
- White American
- Hispanic American
- African American
- Asian / Indian / Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
- Other (including those of two or more races)
Writing Activity
Paragraph: After reading this section, what predictions can you make regarding the 2020 census and changes to the Texas population and why?
Notes
Notes
- Texas Population 2017 Archived 2017-01-21 at the Wayback Machine. World Population Review ↵
- "United State Census Bureau". 2008-2012 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Archived from the original on 2014-08-15. Retrieved Feb 28, 2014. ↵
- "Pew Research Center". Archived from the original on 2014-02-21. Retrieved Feb 28, 2014. ↵
- Bagden, Samantha. "Cubans in Texas see some hope in new relations" (Archive) Austin American-Statesman. Monday January 18, 2016. Retrieved on January 19, 2016. ↵
- William H. Frey, "The New Great Migration: Black Americans' Return to the South, 1965-2000", May 2004, The Brookings Institution, p.1 Archived April 28, 2008, at the Wayback Machine., accessed 19 Mar 2008 ↵
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oercommons
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2025-03-18T00:39:27.194834
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Annette Howard
|
{
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"url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/60444/overview",
"title": "Texas Government 1.0, Texas History and Culture, Chapter 1.7: Texas’ Demographics",
"author": "Reading"
}
|
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/60463/overview
|
Chapter 2.6: Constitution of 1866
Overview
Texas Government: Constitution of 1866
Constitution of 1866
The Constitutional Convention of 1866, in addition to other actions in compliance with presidential Reconstruction, proposed a series of amendments to the fundamental law, which came to be known as the Constitution of 1866. The governor’s term was increased to four years and his salary from $3,000 to $4,000 a year. He was prohibited from serving more than eight years in any twelve-year period. For the first time the governor was given the line-item veto on appropriations. He was empowered to convene the legislature at some place other than the state capital should the capital become dangerous “by reason of disease or the public enemy.” The comptroller and treasurer were elected by the voters to hold office for four years.
The Senate was set to number from nineteen to thirty-three members and the House from forty-five to ninety; legislators were required to be white men with a prior residence of five years in Texas. Terms of office were to remain the same as before, but salaries of legislators were raised from three dollars a day to eight dollars, and mileage was increased to eight dollars for each twenty-five miles. A census and reapportionment, based on the number of white citizens, was to be held every ten years.
The Supreme Court was increased from three judges to five, with a term of office of ten years and a salary of $4,500 a year. The chief justice was to be selected by the five justices on the court from their own number. District judges were elected for eight years at salaries of $3,500 a year. The attorney general was elected for four years with a salary of $3,000. Jurisdiction of all courts was specified in detail. A change was made in the method of constitutional revision in that a three-fourths majority of each house of the legislature was required to call a convention to propose changes in the constitution, and the approval of the governor was required.
Elaborate plans were made for a system of internal improvements and for a system of public education to be directed by a superintendent of public instruction. Separate schools were ordered organized for black children. Lands were set aside for the support of public schools, for the establishment and endowment of a university, and for the support of eleemosynary institutions. The legislature was empowered to levy a school tax. An election in June ratified the proposed amendments by a vote of 28,119 to 23,400; the small majority was attributed to dissatisfaction of many citizens with the increase in officials’ salaries.
Readng Review Questions
- What were the two primary changes made to the constitution when it was revised in 1861?
- What changes were made to the public school system with the adoption of the 1866 constitution?
For More Information
For More Information
More information on the Constitution of the State of Texas (1866) may be found at the Texas Constitutions 1824-1876 project of the Tarlton Law Library, Jamail Center for Legal Research at the University of Texas School of Law, The University of Texas at Austin.
The project includes digitized images and searchable text versions of the constitutions.
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oercommons
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2025-03-18T00:39:27.211910
|
Annette Howard
|
{
"license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
"url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/60463/overview",
"title": "Texas Government 1.0, Texas' Constitution, Chapter 2.6: Constitution of 1866",
"author": "Reading"
}
|
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/60435/overview
|
Introduction: Six Flags over Texas
Overview
Introduction: Six Flags over Texas
Six Flags over Texas
Texas has a rich and diverse history. Understanding that history helps explain why contemporary Texas is the way it is. This chapter explores a tiny piece of that history.
“Six flags over Texas” is the slogan used to describe the six nations that have had sovereignty over some or all of the current territory of the U.S. state of Texas: Spain (1519–1685; 1690–1821), France (1685–1690), Mexico (1821–1836), the Republic of Texas (1836–1845), the Confederate States of America (1861–1865), and the United States of America (1845–1861; 1865–present).
The image below shows the six flags flying over the Texas State History Museum, in Austin.
Attributions
CC LICENSED CONTENT, ORIGINAL
- Six Flags Over Texas. Authored by: Kris S. Seago. License: Public Domain: No Known Copyright
CC LICENSED CONTENT, SHARED PREVIOUSLY
- Six Flags of Texas. Provided by: Wikimedia. Located at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Six_Flags_of_Texas.jpg. License: CC BY: Attribution
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oercommons
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2025-03-18T00:39:27.226957
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12/06/2019
|
{
"license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
"url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/60435/overview",
"title": "Texas Government 1.0, Texas History and Culture, Introduction: Six Flags over Texas",
"author": "Annette Howard"
}
|
https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/66342/overview
|
The Integrity of the Texas Criminal Justice System
Overview
The Integrity of the Texas Criminal Justice System
Learning Objective
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Understand the integrity challenges facing Texas’ criminal justice system
Introduction
Texas' criminal justice system has faced a number of serious integrity allegations. This section explores some of those allegations.
Rights of Crime Victims
Texas has long been known as a law and order state. The United States Constitution has a Bill of Rights that guarantees certain rights for those accused of crimes. While the Texas Constitution has a Bill of Rights with an extensive list of rights for the accused, it is one of the only states that follows that list with a specific list of rights for crime victims.
Sec. 30. RIGHTS OF CRIME VICTIMS.
(a) A crime victim has the following rights:
(1) the right to be treated with fairness and with respect for the victim's dignity and privacy throughout the criminal justice process; and
(2) the right to be reasonably protected from the accused throughout the criminal justice process.
(b) On the request of a crime victim, the crime victim has the following rights:
(1) the right to notification of court proceedings;
(2) the right to be present at all public court proceedings related to the offense, unless the victim is to testify and the court determines that the victim's testimony would be materially affected if the victim hears other testimony at the trial;
(3) the right to confer with a representative of the prosecutor's office;
(4) the right to restitution; and
(5) the right to information about the conviction, sentence, imprisonment, and release of the accused.
(c) The legislature may enact laws to define the term "victim" and to enforce these and other rights of crime victims.
(d) The state, through its prosecuting attorney, has the right to enforce the rights of crime victims.
(e) The legislature may enact laws to provide that a judge, attorney for the state, peace officer, or law enforcement agency is not liable for a failure or inability to provide a right enumerated in this section. The failure or inability of any person to provide a right or service enumerated in this section may not be used by a defendant in a criminal case as a ground for appeal or post- conviction writ of habeas corpus. A victim or guardian or legal representative of a victim has standing to enforce the rights enumerated in this section but does not have standing to participate as a party in a criminal proceeding or to contest the disposition of any charge.
How Fair is the Texas Criminal Justice System?
Texas has a reputation for long sentences, tough prisons (most, until recently, without air conditioning) and tough-on-crime judges.
Every two years, the Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court is required by law to deliver a “state of the judiciary” address to a joint session of the Texas Legislature. In February, 2017, Chief Justice Nathan Hecht, a conservative Republican jurist from Dallas, warned the legislature of the astonishing number of people incarcerated in Texas jails who had not been convicted of the crime with which they were charged, but simply couldn’t afford to pay the necessary bail to remain free until their trial:
Twenty years ago, not quite one-third of the state’s jail population was awaiting trial. Now the number is three-fourths. Liberty is precious to Americans, and any deprivation must be scrutinized. To protect public safety and ensure that those accused of a crime will appear at trial, persons charged with breaking the law may be detained before their guilt or innocence can be adjudicated, but that detention must not extend beyond its justifications. Many who are arrested cannot afford a bail bond and remain in jail awaiting a hearing. Though presumed innocent, they lose their jobs and families, and are more likely to re-offend. And if all this weren’t bad enough, taxpayers must shoulder the cost—a staggering $1 billion per year.
Take a recent case in point, from The Dallas Morning News. A middle-aged woman arrested for shoplifting $105 worth of clothing for her grandchildren sat in jail almost two months because bail was set at $150,000—far more than all her worldly goods. Was she a threat to society? No. A flight risk? No. Cost to taxpayers? $3,300. Benefit: we punished grandma. Was it worth it? No. And to add to the nonsense, Texas law limits judges’ power to detain high-risk defendants. High-risk defendants, a threat to society, are freed; low-risk defendants sit in jail, a burden on taxpayers. This makes no sense.
Two months later, Federal District Judge Lee Rosenthal ruled Harris County’s bail system unconstitutional. A proposed settlement approved by Harris County Commissioners in 2019 would essentially end Harris County’s practice of requiring the posting of bail for all but the most violent offenders, or those who pose a substantial flight risk.
Still, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg filed a court brief objecting to the settlement. As Harris County’s chief prosecutor, Ogg feels the proposed settlement was unfair to crime victims and the public. As she explained in an interview with Houston Public Media in September 2019:
"Well, in March of ’17, shortly after being elected, I stepped forward not as a party [to the bail lawsuit] but as the representative of an institution, the DA’s office and prosecutors, to support bail reform. And as a local criminal justice leader, I took a lot of political arrows for that support. I still support bail reform, but this proposed settlement is not bail reform that adequately protects the public. There’s two reasons we have bail: 1) to get the person back into court after they’ve been released, 2) to make sure the public is safe. So, I had to look at this proposal through the eyes of somebody other than the criminal defendant, and it’s an extremely slanted proposed settlement that really prioritizes their convenience over anybody else’s interest – whether it’s the victims or the community itself or the prosecutors and law enforcement who have to bring these cases against them.
I see that the system that’s been crafted as a result of this lawsuit…that misdemeanor offenders are not awaiting their trial in jail because they can’t afford to get out. I see everybody being released on PR [personal recognizance] bond. In fact, I see too many people being released on PR bonds…For low- level, non-violence misdemeanors, I agree, this is appropriate, and I support that…but we see judges right now letting dangerous misdemeanor offenders out – domestic violence abusers, pimps, people who stalk folks, DWI offenders – and we see those individuals go out and commit additional crimes, only to be taken back in front of the courts and given another PR bond. This endangers the public. So as the chief prosecutor in Harris County, I think it’s incumbent on me to make sure that any proposed settlement, especially one that’s going to be enforceable for seven years, include provisions that protect the public."
In the 1980s, most people in jail were there as a punishment because they were convicted of a crime. That is no longer true. Today, three out of four inmates in Texas county jails have been arrested but not yet convicted of a crime, many because they do not have the cash to get out. That costs Texas taxpayers about a billion dollars a year and has led to lawsuits in Harris and Dallas counties.
How should Texas balance the need to protect the rights of the accused with the public’s right to law and order, and victims’ rights to see the criminals that victimized them brought to justice?
Reforming the Texas Criminal Justice System
Texas has had a significant number of people who have been wrongly convicted. Numerous recent cases in which convictions were overturned have raised questions about the criminal justice system in Texas.
Concerns about wrongful convictions are often related to the methods that police and prosecutors use to convict suspects. In Dallas County, many of the wrongfully convicted were prosecuted during the administration of District Attorney Henry Wade, whose office was known for high conviction rates. Additionally, multiple issues with the handling and processing of evidence transported to local and state crime labs have been documented, including lab analysts not trained in the latest DNA technology, incompetent supervisors, lack of lab inspections from outside agencies, lack of quality control systems. DNA evidence is often touted as definitive proof of guilt or innocence; however, forensic science procedures cannot be definitive with defective facilities, personnel, and procedures.
Texas has long led the nation in the number of people it exonerates, or clears of convictions, based on evidence of innocence. Since 2010, more than 200 people have been exonerated in Texas, according to the National Registry of Exonerations. That’s more than twice as many as any other state during the same period.
Recent reforms that have been enacted may help reduce the number of wrongful convictions in Texas and improve the fairness of the criminal justice system. Dallas county established the first Conviction Integrity Unit (CIU) in America in 2007, and as of 2018, there are 44 units nationwide. In 2015, CIU in Harris County was responsible for 42 of the 58 conviction integrity unit exonerations in the United States that year.
In Texas, there has been an increased emphasis (albeit gradually) on community supervision and rehabilitation programs, such as drug treatment programs and electronic monitoring of offenders, with less emphasis on incarceration as a first response solution to crime. Costs for probation are estimated at 10% of the cost of prison. Similarly, while incarceration is around $50 a day, parole supervision costs $4 a day.
Lawmakers entered 2019 with hopes that they could change Texas' bail procedures, death penalty laws, and drug policies. But the 86th legislative session ended in July 2019 without major reforms in any of those issues. Thus, bipartisan lawmakers created a new Criminal Justice Reform Caucus in the Texas House.
Check Your Knowledge
Check your knowledge of this section by taking the quiz linked below. The quiz will open in a new browser window or tab.
Link to Learning
The National Association for Public Defense represents public defenders, lobbying for better funding for public defense and improvements in the justice system in general.
References and Further Reading
The Texas Constitution. Article 1: Bill of Rights. Section 30: Rights of Crime Victims. Accessed October 11, 2019.
Texas State Law Library. State of the Judiciary Messages. Accessed October 11, 2019.
Houston Public Media (2017, February 1). State’s Top Judge Calls For Legislature To Enact Bail Reform. Accessed October 11, 2019.
The State of the Judiciary in Texas (2017, February 1). Chief Justice Nathan L. Hecht. Presented to the 85th Legislature. Austin, Texas. Accessed October 11, 2019.
Barajas, M. (2019, July 31). 'A Watershed Moment' for Bail Reform in Harris County. Texas Observer. Accessed October 11, 2019.
Houston Public Radio (2019, September 3). Harris County DA Kim Ogg On Bail Reform Accessed October 11, 2019.
Barajas, M. (2017, October 6). The Case to End Assembly Line Justice for Poor People in Harris County. Texas Observer. Accessed October 11, 2019.
Connelly, C (2019). 5 Criminal Justice Issues Texas Lawmakers Are Expected To Consider. KERA KUT 90.5.
McGonigle, S. (2007, January 22). Righting Wrongs. Dallas Morning News. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
The National Registry of Exonerations (2018). Exonerations in 2018 (Infographic). Accessed October 18, 2019.
Fromson, N. (2016, March 12). Conviction Integrity Units Expand Beyond Lone Star State Roots. The Texas Tribune. Accessed October 18, 2019.
American Bar Association. Texas and Mississippi: Reducing Prison Population, Saving Money, and Reducing Recidivism. ABA Criminal Justice Section Parole & Probation.
McCullough, J. (2019, July 18). After defeats in 2019, a group of Texas lawmakers is teaming up to push criminal justice reform. The Texas Tribune. Accessed October 12, 2019.
Licensing and Attribution
CC LICENSED CONTENT, ORIGINAL
The Integrity of the Texas Criminal Justice System. Authored by: Andrew Teas. License: CC BY: Attribution
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oercommons
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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/66338/overview
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Classifying Criminal Offenses in Texas
Overview
Classifying Criminal Offenses in Texas
Learning Objective
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Understand how Texas classifies criminal offenses
Introduction
The vast majority of crimes are prosecuted at the state level. In every state, crimes are put into distinct categories. The categories are usually “felony,” and “misdemeanor." Decisions on crime classification are made by state legislators; the determination focuses on the seriousness of the crime. This section discusses the classification Texas uses.
Classification of Criminal Offenses in Texas
There are two types of crimes in Texas: misdemeanors and felonies.
Misdemeanors are considered minor crimes, and felonies are defined as major crimes. Misdemeanors and felonies are in turn classified according to the relative seriousness of the offense into three and five categories, respectively.
Offense | Punishment | Court of Original Jurisdiction |
Murder(Capital Felony) Examples: Murder of a law enforcement official, prison guard, or firefighter on duty; commits murder with other types of felonies; murder for hire; mass murder; the murder of someone under the age of 10 | Life without parole or death penalty | District |
First-degree felony Examples: Murder; theft of property worth over $200,000 | 5-99 years in prison, and a possible maximum fine of $10,000 | District |
Second-degree felony Examples: Manslaughter; theft of property worth between $100,000-200,000 | 2-20 years in prison, and a possible maximum fine of $10,000 | District |
Third-degree felony Examples: Impersonating someone online; theft of property worth $20,000-100,000 | 2-10 years in prison, and a possible maximum fine of $10,000 | District |
State Jail Felony Examples: Possession of 4 ounces to 1lb of marijuana; theft of property worth $15,000-20,000 | 180 days-2 years in prison, and a possible maximum fine of $10,000 | District |
Class A Misdemeanor Examples: Resisting arrests; theft of property worth $500-1,500 | maximum of 1 year in jail, and/or a maximum fine of $4,000 | County |
Class B Misdemeanor Examples: Terroristic threat; theft of property worth $20-500 | maximum of 180 days in jail, and/or a maximum fine of $2,000 | County |
Class C Misdemeanor Examples: theft of property worth less than $20; a person under the age of 21 purchases, attempts to purchase, or in possession of alcohol | maximum fine $500 | Justice of the Peace or Municipal |
Table 12.1 Classifications of Criminal Offenses in Texas, from Most Serious to Least Serious
References and Further Reading
"Huntsville Prison Blues". National Public Radio. All Things Considered. September 10, 2001. Retrieved on
December 2, 2009.
Texas State Law Library. Texas Constitution. Accessed October 11, 2019.
Texas Department of Criminal Justice (2019). Texas Board of Criminal Justice. Accessed September 10, 2019.
Texas Constitution and Statutes: Texas Penal Code. Accessed September 9, 2019.
Licensing and Attribution
CC LICENSED CONTENT, ORIGINAL
Sources of Law. Authored by: Kris S. Seago. License: CC BY: Attribution
CC LICENSED CONTENT, ORIGINAL
Criminal Law Penalties: Revision and Adaptation. Authored by: Kris S. Seago. License: CC BY: Attribution
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oercommons
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2025-03-18T00:39:27.298382
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05/05/2020
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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/66349/overview
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Issues in Texas State Financing
Overview
Issues in Texas State Financing
Learning Objective
By the end of this section, you should be able to:
- Analyze the effectiveness of the state's financing of public services and continuing issues in state financing in Texas
Introduction
This section discusses continuing issues in Texas state financing.
Ongoing Issues in Texas' Finances
Texas is a large, growing state with a long international border, susceptible to hurricanes and overly dependent on the fortunes of the oil and gas industry, even as concerns over climate change make the future of the fossil fuel industry uncertain.
As today’s college students become tomorrow’s voters and elected officials, there are a number of nagging problems that will need to be faced.
Texas continues to fund a lot of its public school obligations, as well as community colleges, with local property taxes, a system that depends on the government assessing the value of every piece of real estate and capital equipment in its jurisdiction and deriving a fair value every year. Harris County had to resolve more than 388,000 property tax protests in 2017, removing more than $5.8 billion from the property tax rolls. Property tax value reflects the value of an often speculative investment more than the taxpayer’s ability to pay.
Meanwhile, Texas voters approved a state constitutional amendment in November, 2019, to prohibit the imposition of a state income tax – an “insurance” measure sought by Texas Republicans who see the possibility of Democratic legislative majorities in the future. The income tax prohibition could only be removed by another constitutional amendment, which would take a two-thirds vote of the House and Senate and a majority of voters in a subsequent election.
Finding the right sources of revenue for Texas, and the right mix of state and local funds for public and higher education, will be a key budget issue for years to come.
Health care will be another major issue. Paid largely with federal funds, health care closely rivals education to be the state’s largest single spending area. With Texas’ rejection of Medicare expansion during the Barack Obama administration, Texas counties, public and private hospitals, insurance companies and service providers were left to pay the tab for Texas’ increasing indigent health care needs.
Texas has chosen not to follow the lead of all of its bordering states in its continued rejection of casino gambling. While Texans undoubtedly gamble, they travel to Louisiana, Arkansas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma, or do so illegally, depriving Texas of a lot of potential revenue. Colorado was among the first states to legalize the recreational use of marijuana, an enterprise that has netted more than $1 billion annually for a state with a budget a fraction of Texas’ size.
As college replaces high school as the minimum level of education required for a decent job in many fields, how will Texas find the higher education capacity to accommodate an increasing number of high school graduates, and how will the state accommodate those who cannot afford the rapidly rising cost of tuition, fees, textbooks and housing?
Texas legislators do many things, but the only thing they are constitutionally required to do each session is to adopt a budget. As expected, it is always the most important and most difficult task taken on by the legislature, although it is seldom the issue that generates the most constituent interest and media attention. More attention and scrutiny from ordinary Texas is the beginning of any long-term solution to the state’s budget challenges.
References and Further Reading
Harris County Appraisal District (2017). 2017 Annual Report. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
Tomlinson, C. (2019, May 1). Property owners rebel, protest every appraisal and fight for lower taxes. Houston Chronicle. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
Licensing and Attribution
CC LICENSED CONTENT, ORIGINAL
State Financing in Texas. Authored by: Andrew Teas. License: CC BY: Attribution
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oercommons
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2025-03-18T00:39:27.318578
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05/05/2020
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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/66336/overview
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Assessment
Overview
This is a quiz for Chapter Eleven.
Texas Government Chapter Eleven Quiz
Check your knowledge of Chapter Eleven by taking the quiz linked below. The quiz will open in a new browser window or tab.
This is a quiz for Chapter Eleven.
Check your knowledge of Chapter Eleven by taking the quiz linked below. The quiz will open in a new browser window or tab.
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oercommons
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2025-03-18T00:39:27.335425
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05/05/2020
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"url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/66336/overview",
"title": "Texas Government 2.0, Public Policy in Texas, Assessment",
"author": "Kris Seago"
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https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/79234/overview
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Readings
Overview
Memory is the process by which the human brain acquires, sorts, stores, retains, and retrieves information received and processed from the external environment. An important aspect of memory is effectively retaining and retrieving information once it is processed and stored. Understanding the concepts and components of memory, how memories are formed and processed, and why consciously and effectively mastering the process of memorization is fundamental.
Introduction
Memory is the process by which the human brain acquires, sorts, stores, retains, and retrieves information received and processed from the external environment. An important aspect of memory is effectively retaining and retrieving information once it is processed and stored. Understanding the concepts and components of memory, how memories are formed and processed, and why consciously and effectively mastering the process of memorization is fundamental. The ability to retain and recall information learned is imperative in classroom settings. Mastering the concept of memorization aids in academic and social development allows for ease of information recollection, which is imperative for overall brain health and wellness.
The historical concept of memory is the notion of experiences we have stored in our brains, and we can recall these experiences if we have not reached maximum brain capacity. However, decades of research in the fields of anatomy, physiology, neurobiology, and psychology have adjusted our notion of memories and how we sort, store, and retrieve them. In this chapter, we explore the basic concepts of memory, how information taken from the environment is processed and converted into useful information, and how converted information is moved into our short–term memory (STM) or long–term memory (LTM) banks.
Learning Objectives
- Define memory
- Understand memory and its processes
- Understand the importance of memorization for the college student
- Explore the anatomy of the human brain responsible for extracting, processing, and storing information
- Understand the physiology of information transfer
- Explore and understand the three different forms of memory
- Understand how memories are moved from STM to LTM
- Explore memory retrieval
- Discuss memory retention and ways to successfully store it in LTM
- Discuss concentration techniques and how to avoid distractions
- Understand and practice strategies for memorization.
- Examine the difference and pathways between memory retention and memory loss
What is Memory
Definition and Explanation
The true definition or notion of memory has been debated for decades (Zemach, 1968). One of the most recent and accepted definitions of memory (see Zlotnik & Vansintjan, 2019) is the capacity to store and retrieve information while incorporating biological or chemical processes together, thereby changing both in a permanent way. This may seem like a complicated definition for a process that is part of our daily lives. However, memory is an intuitive process that involves extracting information from the environment through our biological senses and storing the information for later use. A more simplistic definition of memory is the encoding, storage, and retrieval of an experience - or, simply put, a recollection of our past experiences (Madan, 2020).
Importance of Memorization for College Students
Learning and memory are tightly linked. This is because we must take information from the environment and convert it to a useful form, a process learned over time. Memory is important for college students and their success, specifically how to sharpen information intake for subsequent conversion, storage, and retrieval. Knowledge is central to learning (the two concepts are bound), and the ability to retain and extract memories is a lifetime learning experience (Bailey & Pransky, 2014).
References
Bailey, F. & Pransky, K. (2014). Why learn about memory. In A. G. Bennett & N. S. Rebello (Eds), Memory at work in the classroom: Strategies to help underachieving students (pp. 6–12). ASCD.
Madan, Christopher. 2020. Rethinking the definition of episodic memory. Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology/Revue canadienne de psychologie expérimentale, 74:183–192.
Zemach, E. M. (1968). A definition of memory. Mind, 77(308), 526–536. https://www.jstor.org/stable/i339282
Zlotnik, G., & Vansintjan, A. (2019). Memory: An extended definition. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, Article 2523. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02523
Memory and Its Processes
Memory is the process of maintaining information over time (Matlin, 2005). Acquiring, sorting, and maintaining information involves three main processes or stages. First is our ability to gain information from the environment through sensory input. Second is our ability to preserve this information as memories. Third is our ability to recover these acquired memories. Central to this concept is our ability to learn the meaning of acquired information through personal or learned experiences and through sensory receptors. As information is learned from the environment, it is changed into a form we can understand before it can be stored. After the information has been stored into memories, retrieval becomes essential. For example, a large amount of information must be retrieved during an exam. Next, we discuss the three main processes of memory (see Figure 1): encoding, storage, and retrieval.
Figure 1. The three fundamental stages of memory: Encoding, storing, and retrieving information from sensory input.
Encoding. Information is taken from the environment through sensory mechanisms. Sensory mechanisms are the part of the nervous system responsible for processing environmental information. Next, this information is converted into an understandable form. This process is called encoding. Think of encoding information as if you were hitting the save button on your computer keyboard. Once this information has been “saved,” or encoded, it can essentially become retrievable at a later time. Encoding information does not happen in an instant. Several processes and pathways are involved. First, information from the environment is received through sensory input and certain structures (areas) within the brain. For example, when you are reading a book, the words you see (through visual input) must be converted into a notion or meaning unique to you. There are several ways in which information becomes encoded (McLeod, 2013) or changed into meaningful information: visual encoding, acoustic encoding, elaborative encoding, and sematic encoding.
Storage. Memory storage is the creation of a record of information. After information has been converted into a memory, it becomes stored. There are several variables to memory storage, including the duration of memories, where memories are stored, the kind of memories stored, and the capacity of memory storage. There are two main types of memory storage we discuss in later sections: STM and LTM. However, it is thought that the average adult can store between 5–9 memories at one time (Miller, 1956). This is also known as the 7 (+/- 2) concept of memory storage.
Retrieval. Memory retrieval is the process of getting information out of storage and using it in a meaningful way (i.e., information requested for an exam or quiz). There are three stores of memory: sensory memory, STM, and LTM. These concepts are discussed in detail in the section titled forms of memory. Learning how to memorize (or move information into long–term storage) is important. LTM is stored by association. During the sorting and storage phase, information is stored by associating the information with an experience.
Did You Know? Repeated bouts of jet lag may cause harm to the temporal lobe, an area of the brain important to memory, causing it to shrink in size and compromising memory. Also, the lack of quality sleep causes a significate brain deterioration and memory loss. |
References
Matlin, M. W. (2005). Cognition (6th ed.). John Wiley and Sons.
McLeod, S. A. (2007). Stages of memory – Encoding, storage, and retrieval. SimplyPsychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/memory.html
Miller, G. 1956. The magical number seven, plus or minus two: some limits on our capacity for processing information. The Psychological Review, 63, 81-97.
The Science of Memory
Recall that receiving, sorting, and encoding information for storage into memory banks is a process that takes information from the environment through sensory structures and sends the information via neural pathways to the brain for sorting and commitment into memory. In this section, we discuss parts of the brain responsible for memory storage, sorting emotional memories, and motor learning. We also outline the physiological steps of gaining information from the environment as well as how this information is sorted and encoded into our memory banks. Encoding information into memory banks, coupled with successful retrieval, is imperative for academic success.
Anatomy of the Human Brain
The anatomy of the human brain responsible for acquiring, processing, and storing information received from the external environment involves several components. In this section, we discuss the three main structures of the brain responsible for motor learning and for consolidating, enhancing, and storing memories: hippocampus, amygdala, and cerebellum.
Hippocampus. The hippocampus is the region of the brain responsible for regulating motivation, emotion, learning, and consolidating memories from STM to LTM (see Figure 2). The hippocampus is a small (paired structure) mass of densely packed neurons located deep within the temporal lobe of each cerebral cortex. It plays a major role in the formation of new memories via experienced events and declarative memory from facts and knowledge. When an event occurs, information is not automatically stored in LTM. Instead, the information is slowly assimilated and taken into LTM storage banks (Rubin et. al., 2014).
Figure 2. Paired Hippocampus. (Credit: "Hippocampus", Life Sciences Database, licensed CC-BY-SA 2.1 Japan)
Amygdala. The amygdala is the region of the brain responsible for enhancing the consolidation of emotional memories (see Figure 3). The amygdala is a paired almond–shaped structure located in the medial temporal lobe in front of the hippocampus. Its specific function is the consolidation of memories—that is, the strength at which emotional memories are encountered. The stronger the emotional memory (i.e., traumatic memories), the more enhanced the retention is of that stimulus.
Figure 3. Amygdala. (Credit: "Amygdala", Life Sciences Database, licensed CC-BY-SA 2.1 Japan)
Cerebellum. The cerebellum is the region of the brain responsible for learning procedural memories and motor learning, such as those that are routine and practiced (see Figure 4). Procedural memories include those such as riding a bike, playing a musical instrument, or driving a car. The cerebellum, also known as the little brain, is a small structure located in the back portion of the skull, just below the temporal and occipital lobes and behind the brainstem. This structure is also invested in motor learning (controlled movement).
Individuals who have experienced damage to the hippocampus might retain procedural memories, such as riding a bike or playing the piano, but may not remember specific facts about themselves or their life (Rubin et al., 2014). Likewise, those who have sustained damage to the cerebellum may retain emotional memories but would have trouble remembering how to ride a bike.
Figure 4. The Cerebellum. (Credit: "BodyParts3D", Life Sciences Database, licensed CC-BY-SA 2.1 Japan)
References
Rubin, R. D., Watson, P.D., Duff, M. C., &Cohen, N. J. (2014). The role of the hippocampus in flexible cognition and social behavior. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 8, Article 742. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2014.00742
The Physiology of Memory or Memory Process
In this section, we discuss how memories are thought to be processed, stored, and distributed within neural networks of the brain. These processes are also known as encoding information, memory storage, and memory retrieval into conscious awareness. Again, this process is important for academic success because information taken from the classroom must be translated into a usable form (i.e., you must be able to understand it). Next, this information needs to be stored for you to successfully retrieve it. Think of this process as you are taking notes for class. First, do you understand what you are reading or hearing from your instructor? Next, how can you remember this information? Finally, will you be able to retrieve this information and relay it back on a quiz or exam?
Memories are processed, stored, and distributed within neural networks located throughout the brain (Mesulam, 1990). To form memories effectively, information received from the environment must occur through a process called encoding. Once information is encoded, it must be stored into memory for later retrieval. The retrieval process is the most difficult process to consider and allows for stored information to move into conscious awareness. Three main processes are involved in this system: encoding information, memory storage, and memory retrieval into conscious awareness.
References
Amin, H. U., & Malik, A. S. (2014). Memory retention and recall process. In N. Kamel & A. S. Malik (Eds.), EEG/ERP analysis: Methods and applications (pp. 201–237). CRC Press.
Bousfield, W. A. 1953. The occurrence of clustering in recall of randomly arranged associates. Journal of General Psychology, 49, 229-240.
Mesulam, M. (1990). Large-scale neurocognitive networks and distributed processing for attention, language, and memory. Annals of Neurology, 28, 597-613.
Encoding Information
Information is received through sensory input from the environment and must be labeled and changed or coded into a form the brain can use and store. This information is organized and stored alongside similar memories that already exist within our memory. We want to make certain important memories are properly encoded. To encode information properly and efficiently, it must be meaningful to us. Recall from the previous section that there are several ways in which information is encoded: sematic, visual, and acoustic.
Sematic encoding refers to the ability to encode words by their meaning. An example of sematic encoding is taking a list of words and memorizing them by lumping them into useful meanings. This was demonstrated in 1935 by Bousfield during an experiment in which a group of volunteers was asked to memorize a list of words grouped by meaning. Results from this experiment indicated volunteers could recall words divided into meaningful categories rather than words listed randomly.
Consider the list of words below. It would be difficult to memorize them if you had limited time to study and list them:
Apple | Grape |
Cat | Table |
Spinach | Milk |
Cup | Candle |
Paper | Pear |
However, if you simple reorganize the list in a more usable (relatable) way to you, chances of memorizing and recalling them will increase:
Apple | Cup |
Grape | Paper |
Spinach | Candle |
Pear | Cat |
Milk | Table |
This list has now been reorganized to reflect food items we commonly consume separated from items we may find in our homes.
Visual encoding is the ability to encode information through mental images we can create when attempting to memorize facts or words. In short, visual encoding is the way we map data into visual structures. It is much easier to memorize a list of words containing animals or familiar objects because they are considered “high imagery word,” and we can create a mental image of the object. Likewise, a list of words consisting of “low imagery” words (e.g., truth or value) are more difficult to encode and memorize because it is not possible to create an image. Have you ever visualized a concept in your mind’s eye? This is what visual encoding is.
Let’s take another look at the list of words from above we have reorganized. Again, it is relatively easy to remember a list of items we consume on a regular basis but a bit more difficult to memorize random items and things you might find in your home. To overcome this, simply tell yourself a story about your list of difficult words, and then visualize the story in your head. For example, to memorize the words on the right side of the table below, think of this scenario: “My cat jumped on my table, knocking over my coffee cup, candle, and dumping my papers all over the floor.” You are much more likely to remember this short scenario then attempting to memorize this list:
Apple | Cup |
Grape | Paper |
Spinach | Candle |
Pear | Cat |
Milk | Table |
Acoustic encoding refers to the encoding of sounds and words. An example of acoustic encoding is memorizing a song through rhyme or young children memorizing the alphabet through the familiar song.
Semantic encoding is taking new information and applying special (or personal) meaning to it to increase the likelihood of retention. For example, if you are required to memorize the date of a historical event, you may realize a close friend or family member may have a birthday to reflect that date, and those two events are now bound in your memory banks.
References
Bousfield, W. A. (1953). The occurrence of clustering in recall of randomly arranged associates. Journal of General Psychology, 49, 229-240.
Memory Storage and Retrieval
Memory Storage
Once acquired information has been encoded, it must be retained in sensory memory, STM, or LTM. Memory storage specifically refers to the nature of how memory is stored and how long it remains in storage: sensory, STM, or LTM (Amin & Malik, 2014). On average, most individuals can store between 5–9 items (7 +/- 2) in STM at one time because of limited capacity in this area. This has some very practical implications for incoming college students because if the process of getting information into LTM is not mastered, then you will only be capable of storing, on average, 5–9 pieces of information. The end result of this is the inability to retrieve information on quizzes and exams. Therefore, these memories are lost or must be moved into LTM stores. Likewise, LTMs are stored indefinitely and cannot be lost.
Memory Retrieval into Conscious Awareness
Memory retrieval into conscious awareness refers to getting information out of storage. LTM is stored and retrieved by association, whereas STM is retrieved sequentially.
Did You Know? Have you ever heard the expression “an elephant never forgets”? The origin of this idiom is meaningful, and many of us have heard it many times over our lifetimes. Elephants have a superior hippocampus compared to all other animals, including humans. In fact, the hippocampus of an elephant takes up 0.7% of their brain. The hippocampus of a dolphin in comparison only takes up 0.05% of their brain. |
References
Amin, H. U., & Malik, A. S. (2014). Memory retention and recall process. In N. Kamel & A. S. Malik (Eds.), EEG/ERP analysis: Methods and applications (pp. 201–237). CRC Press.
Stage Model of Memory
Memory is an essential function that allows for the acquisition, retention, and recollection of thoughts and events you have experienced. Experiences and their resulting memories are processed over several stages, and these stages represent the length of time memories are available for recollection (Paller & Wagner, 2002). Several models of memory have been proposed by scientists over the past several centuries. However, the most widely accepted model is the stage model of memory.
This model was proposed by Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968) and includes three categories of memory: sensory memory, STM, and LTM. These three categories are dependent upon an individual’s personal experience in encountering and storing information for later use (see Figure 5).
Figure 5. The Three Main Stages of Memory. (Credit: "How Memory Functions", OpenStax College, licensed CC-BY 4.0 at http://cnx.org/contents/Sr8Ev5Og@5.52:-RwqQWzt@6/How-Memory-Functions)
References
Atkinson, R. C., & Shiffrin, R. M. (1968). Human memory: A proposed system and its control processes. In K. W. Spence & J. T. Spence (Eds.), The psychology of learning and motivation (2nd ed., pp. 89–195). Academic Press.
Paller, K., & Wagner, A. (2002). Observing the transformation of experiences into memory. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 6(2), 93–102. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1364-6613(00)01845-3
Forms of Memory
There are several forms of memory supported by brain systems, including STM and LTM. These forms of memory are dependent on the individual’s experience in encountering and storing the memory (Paller & Wagner, 2002). Memory can be stored in a variety of ways. However, the three most commonly used ways are sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory.
Sensory Memory
Sensory memory, the first stage of memory, includes memories processed from the environment through the five senses: sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell. This stage of memory gives the brain time to process the newly gained information. Information obtained through sensory memory is brief and lasts for only the amount of time it takes to process the information, typically less than 1 second. The temporal and occipital lobes of the brain are associated with sensations. Receptors associated with the five senses, or sensory receptors, receive information from the external environment and send it to the brain’s decision-making center. From there, this information is either lost or stored in STM or LTM. This is considered the earliest and briefest form of memory. It has limited storage capacity and can be considered the passageway for information into STM or LTM. Information processing begins in sensory memory, then eventually is moved into STM and sometimes LTM. There are three types of sensory memory, each one associated with a different type of sensory input: iconic memory, echoic memory, and haptic memory.
Iconic Memory. Iconic memories are memories associated with visual sensory. An example of iconic memories are visual images that retain mental representation. An example of how iconic memory techniques are useful in the classroom is taking a snapshot of information you are required to memorize and having the ability to retrieve that snapshot.
Echoic Memory. Echoic memories are memories associated with auditory sensory receptors. An example of echoic memories are extremely pleasant sounds (e.g., birds singing) or unpleasant sounds (e.g., a bullhorn) you have heard and cannot forget.
Haptic Memory. Haptic memories are memories associated with tactile (sense of touch) receptors. Haptic memories are typically unpleasant memories. For example, at a very young age, we all learned stove burners are hot. Most of us, as adults, test them with a quick touch or slap!
Short–Term Memory
STM, the second stage of memory, is responsible for holding information temporarily—that is, until the information is processed and sorted. STM is associated with very brief neural communications to regions of the prefrontal cortex of the brain. This type of memory is also known as primary or active memory and represents events and sensory data information an individual is currently thinking about or of which they are actively aware. This type of memory encompasses events ranging from about 20 seconds to a couple of days. Although STMs can be quickly forgotten, if these memories are revisited, then they can be transferred to LTM stores. The hippocampus is an essential brain structure responsible for the transformation of STM to LTM storage. An example of how STM works may be a situation in which a close friend introduces you to one of their friends. You may give them a quick greeting but then continue your conversation with your old friend. Chances are you will not remember the name of your “new friend” after a few minutes.
Long–Term Memory
LTM, the third stage of memory, represents information and knowledge held over an extended period (hours, days, months, or years). In addition, some of the information stored in LTM may be lost eventually, but some memories can stay with you for the duration of your life. LTM is important because information retained in college is carried with you through advanced degrees and even the workforce. This memory type is maintained by stable and permanent changes in neural connections spread throughout the brain. It is these connections that are lost to amylin plaques as we age, which is responsible for dementia and forgetfulness. We will discuss reasons for forgetfulness in the next section. There are two main types of LTM: explicit and implicit.
Explicit Memory. Explicit memories are consciously remembered, such as those gained by knowledge or experiences. Explicit memories can come from firsthand experiences you have had—for example, your first bike wreck (episodic memory) or implicit facts you know (how to add two numbers together).
Implicit Memory. Implicit memories are memories not readily available for conscious retrieval. For example, you will always remember how to walk or ride a bike, but you may not remember how to explain the process to others.
References
Paller, K., & Wagner, A. (2002). Observing the transformation of experiences into memory. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 6(2), 93–102. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1364-6613(00)01845-3
The Movement of Memories From STM to LTM
To move information from your working STM to your LTM, you need to make the information meaningful (Passolunghi & Siegel, 2001). Meaningful learning is our goal; making connections between new information and what we already know helps us learn the information deeply, instead of just repeating it back to an instructor in class or on an exam. Information you received from the environment can move through the three stages of memory. This is not always the case though, because most information we receive, whether environmental information gained from sensory input or information gathered from academic experiences, are readily lost if the information is not consciously gathered and stored. The way you pay attention to the information is important. For example, you may enjoy some of your freshman courses and absorb the information given in class. Likewise, some classes may not be of interest to you, and it will become important to find ways to encode that information and move it into LTM. In short, if you consciously pay attention, or are interested in the information, then it will move to the next stage of memory—that is, STM (with the potential to move into LTM). However, if you subconsciously pay attention to memory and are not interested in the information, then it will stop processing at sensory memory and be forgotten.
Memory Retrieval
Information is passed from sensory memory to STM and held for a short period of time. Only a fraction of those memories, if processed mindfully, are encoded into LTMs. The encoding of this information allows you to assess the information and deem it important enough to hold on to for future retrieval. Memory retrieval refers to the ability to get information out of storage. If we cannot remember something, it is because we could not retrieve it. To improve your ability to store information in LTM and retrieve it, it is necessary to organize the information in a sequential or orderly fashion. In the next section, we discuss ways to organize memories and information for long–term storage and retrieval.
Did You Know? There are two ways you process information, whether in class listening to a lecture or holding a conversation with someone:
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References
Passolunghi, M. C. & Siegel, L.S. (2001). Short-term memory, working memory, and inhibitory control in children with difficulties in arithmetic problem solving. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 80, 44-57.
Retention, Recall, and Retrieval
Recall that LTM represents information and knowledge held for extended periods or even indefinitely. This information is recalled through prompts of recognition from previous experiences or the conscious organization of information into LTM. Memory retention and retrieval are achieved through several avenues. In this section, we discuss the five main ways memories can be retained effectively: R3, attaching special meaning, lumping information, mnemonics, and visual memorization. Proper encoding facilitates memory retention, and the key to college success is the ability to recall or retrieve these retained memories. In this section, we also explore ways we can attach special meaning to information to achieve optimal memory retention and memory retrieval, thereby preventing memory loss (Amin & Malik, 2014).
Memory Retention
Memory retention is a person’s ability to keep information stored in LTM such that it can be readily retrieved in response to a prompt (Bennett & Rebello, 2012). Your success in college depends on your ability to recall this information when prompted. There are several techniques that will aid you in memory retention and retrieval: repetition, attach meaning, group information into useful categories, use mnemonics, and acrostics.
Repetition. Remember to read it, write it, and commit it to memory. Repetition in memory retention is one of the most powerful tools that affects retrieval (Hintzman, 1976) and is the most familiar form of information retention. Repetition is the process of consciously repeating information to oneself or someone else. This form of retention works well because, in the process of repetition, the brain builds new connections between the information being memorized and a previously understood idea (assimilation). An example of effective repetition in memorization is creating and using note cards to study for exams.
Attach Meaning. This technique allows you to remember important information by connecting it to something already known. Here is an example:
- Remembering the direction of longitude and latitude is easier to do when you realize lines on a globe that run north and south are long, which coincides with LONGitude.
- Another way to make a connection is to realize there is an N in LONGitude and an N in north. Latitude lines must run east to west then because there is no N in latitude.
Group Information Into Useful Categories. This is also known as the chunking strategy and is a useful technique that allows you to place information into categories that can be more easily memorized. An example of chunking is grouping historical events by era and memorizing each group separately.
Use Mnemonics. Another common method of encoding information into LTM is to give meaning to the information by applying some pattern to it. Mnemonics are another technique most of us learn and use at an early age, and they can remain instrumental in rapidly accessing information when prompted. Mnemonics are memory devices that help us recall pieces of information. There are many types of mnemonics, including music, expression, rhymes, acronyms, and acrostics. We will discuss a few of these here.
- Acronyms (also known as expression mnemonics) – This is one of the most popular types of mnemonics used in academia. Expression mnemonics are devices created by using the first letters of words to make a new word that will help you remember it. An example of using acronyms when studying for a quiz or exam is to create an expression using keywords from a list or paragraph that must be memorized.
- Music mnemonics – Music is second nature for most of us, and we have an impressive ability to remember lyrics to our favorite songs. The same method we use to recall song lyrics can also work to recall other types of information. Just use a song or jingle to your favorite type of music or a specific song to remember a list or series of facts you need to remember.
- Rhyming mnemonics are useful in that important information can be put into the form of a poem. A couple of examples are as follows:
- ♪ 30 days hath September, April, June, and November.
All the rest have 31
Except February my dear son.
It has 28 and that is fine
But in Leap Year it has 29 ♫ - or
♪ In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue ♫
- ♪ 30 days hath September, April, June, and November.
Acrostics. An acrostic is a mnemonic device made by creating a sentence using the first letters of key words in the items to remember. Here are a couple of examples:
- The order of operations in math problems (PEMDAS) can be remembered by the acrostic: “Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally,” or Parentheses, Exponents, Multiply, Divide, Add, and Subtract.
- ROY G. BIV is an acronym for colors of the spectrum (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet)
References
Amin, H. U., & Malik, A. S. (2014). Memory retention and recall process. In N. Kamel & A. S. Malik (Eds.), EEG/ERP analysis: Methods and applications (pp. 201–237). CRC Press.
Bennett, A. G., & Rebello, N. S. (2012). Retention and learning. In N. M. Seel (Ed.), Encyclopedia of the sciences of learning (pp. 167–211). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1428-6_664
Hintzman, D. (1976). Repetition and memory. Psychology of Learning and Motivation, 10, 47–91. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0079-7421(08)60464-8
Retention, Recall, and Retrieval
Memory Retrieval
Memory retrieval is the ability to get information out of memory storage and back into conscious awareness. Memory retrieval is important not only for everyday functioning but also for college success. There are several forms of memory retrieval: recall, recognition, and relearning.
Recall. Recall is the ability to access information without cues. Recall memories represent memories that have been encoded previously and are likely permanently embedded into memory banks. An example of recall learning is the ability to write cursive even after years of not using it.
Recognition. Recognition is the ability to access information through identifying with information that has been learned previously. An example of recognition memory retrieval is recognizing a correct answer on a multiple-choice exam.
Relearning. Relearning is the process of relearning information you have previously learned. Relearning is typically easier the second time because the information you are relearning is already stored somewhere in your memory banks.
Memory Loss
Memory loss (failure to retrieve LTMs) occurs in several different forms. It is a person’s inability to remember events permanently or over a period of time, most often due to brain injury (trauma), illness, or the effects of drugs and/or alcohol, lack of sleep, stress/depression, and aging. This section reviews several ways memories can be lost (or not encoded into LTM banks): ineffective coding, amnesia, and blunt trauma.
Ineffective coding. Ineffective coding is also considered an encoding failure. Encoding is the process of converting information received through sensory input to a usable, stored form of memory. Encoding failure prevents this information from entering LTM. In essence, it is the failure for that memory to link.
Amnesia. Amnesia, or amnestic syndrome, is the inability to recall some memories (e.g., facts, general information, and life experiences) and is often the result of damage to certain regions of the brain, including the hippocampus and temporal lobe. Amnesia affects STM and causes difficulties in retaining new information and past experiences.
Blunt Trauma. Blunt trauma to the brain caused by a head injury (e.g., shaken baby, concussion, intoxication) is a common cause of temporary or permanent memory loss.
Did You Know? An eidetic memory, what many refer to as a photographic memory, is a person’s ability to recall an object, photograph, or past scene in detail and with great accuracy for an extended period of time (30+ seconds). An autographic memory is a person’s ability to recall past events in great detail, including the exact date they occurred. Fewer than 100 people worldwide possess a higher superior autographic memory (HSAM). People with HSAM are not necessarily superior learns, but they are better at memory retention. |
References
Chapter Summary
Memory, the process in which we acquire, sort, retain, and then retrieve information, is tightly linked to learning. Information taken from the environment is converted into a useful form (i.e., active learning), stored, and then later retrieved. This is a process we use and fine–tune over the course of our lifetime. There are three main processes to memory: encoding (the uptake of information from the environment through sensory organs), storage (the creation of a record of learned information), and retrieval (the process of extracting information from storage and using it in a meaningful way). The structures of the brain instrumental to memory (amygdala, hippocampus, and cerebellum) are responsible for regulating and enhancing emotional memories, storing memories, and regulating procedural memories and motor learning, respectively.
There are several forms of memory supported by brain systems. The three most commonly studied and recognized are STM, LTM, and sensory memory. Sensory memory, as the name suggests, is the acquisition of information (that turn into memories) extracted from the environment through sensory mechanisms (i.e., sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell). STM is responsible for holding information temporarily and represents events and sensory data an individual is currently thinking about or of which they are vaguely aware. LTM represents information and knowledge held over an extended period (hours, days, months, or years). Information is stored into one of these memory systems according to the way the information was encountered and processed. However, getting information into LTM banks is especially important because information retained in college is carried and used throughout the course of your lifetime.
It is possible—and quite common—to move information from STM into LTM. However, to achieve this, information must be revisited and processed in a meaningful way. Meaningful learning, our ultimate goal, is the ability to make connections between new information and what we already know. This is not always the case though because most information we receive, whether environmental information or information gathered from academic experiences, is readily lost if the information is not consciously gathered and stored. The way you pay attention to the information is important. That is, if we consciously pay attention to information instead of subconsciously paying attention to information, memories are more likely to reach storage in LTM.
Memory retrieval is the ability to get information out of memory storage and back into conscious awareness. This concept is important not only for everyday functioning but also important for college success. Failure to retrieve LTMs leads to memory loss and is attributed to several factors, including brain injury, illness, negative effects of drugs and/or alcohol, lack of sleep, stress, and depression. The most critical factor influencing memory failure is time. With that, the most effective way to retain memories is rehearsal: take notes, attach meaning to the information you have noted, and then repeat the information.
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oercommons
|
2025-03-18T00:39:27.432368
|
Heather F. Adair
|
{
"license": "Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
"url": "https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/79234/overview",
"title": "Foundations for College Success, Memory, Readings",
"author": "Forrest Lane"
}
|
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