HIS220 Independence Week 1 Populating the United States Assignment
Week 1 Assignment Populating the United States
Learning Objectives Covered
LO 01.01 Explain three ways that Manifest Destiny impacts United States workplaces today
LO 01.02 Discuss three ways that the policies and the United States Imperialism (e.g., Monroe Doctrine, American Indian policies, slave codes, territorial annexations) have impacted American society and economics today
LO 02.01 Identify three ways American Imperialism changed the demographics of the United States and explain how its legacy affects United States society and workplaces today
LO 02.02 Discuss how various groups were impacted by immigration and expansion (e.g., Baby Boomers, African slaves, Native Americans, and European immigrants) and how their experience affects your career opportunities today
(These are NOT the assignment questions. Read on to find the assignment prompt below.)
Career Relevancy
The American workplace faces many challenges in the coming years. One of the biggest is workforce development and hiring/retaining skilled workers. In your career, you will encounter people of various backgrounds, including immigrants who receive training in the U.S. to continue living in the U.S. as workers. Your understanding of the history involving their rights gives you a new perspective on how you will interact with these individuals. You will also probably deal with the idea of company expansion. Many times, smaller companies will be taken over by larger companies that have more resources, more employees, and a better business plan. This can be likened to the effects of Manifest Destiny and Imperialism as far as changing the makeup of the employees, the limits of the area the company consumes, and the way it affects the people that work for either company.
Background
It is the mid-1800’s in an ever-changing 19th century. The phrase “Manifest Destiny” is believed to have been created by an editor of the Democratic Review and the Morning News by the name of John O’Sullivan. “Manifest Destiny held that the United States was destinedby God, its advocates believedto expand its dominion and spread democracy and capitalism across the entire North American continent” (History.com Editors, 2010, para. 1).
Just like the idea of Manifest Destiny suggests, the U.S. was in a period of new development. In a whirlwind of major changes, the United States experienced things such as the state of Texas entering the U.S. as a slave state, a boundary dispute with Britain over the Oregon territory, and the Mexican War. The United States experienced this constant push for change and an expansion out West. Railcars were running and treading upon new territory, gold was being discovered in California, and the issue of slavery was highly debated. One aspect of Manifest Destiny was the belief that the American culture and government was the best. Along this same line of thought, many companies vied to be the best place to work in their area or region. That was a coveted title that employers hoped would attract quality employees. In essence, they had the same feelings of superiority in their workplace.
This time period was also known as the Age of Imperialism.
“American imperialism’ is a term that refers to the economic, military, and cultural influence of the United States on other countries. First popularized during the presidency of James K. Polk, the concept of an “American Empire” was made a reality throughout the latter half of the 1800s. During this time, industrialization caused American businessmen to seek new international markets in which to sell their goods. In addition, the increasing influence of social Darwinism led to the belief that the United States was inherently responsible for bringing concepts such as industry, democracy, and Christianity to less developed “savage” societies. The combination of these attitudes and other factors led the United States toward imperialism. (Lumen Boundless US History, n.d., para. 1)
Various groups were affected negatively when it came to changes and ideas happening across the United States during this time. American Imperialism changed the demographics of the United States in the following ways:
Native Americans were removed by force from the land east of the Mississippi River and sent to the West.
Chinese immigrants were prohibited from becoming American citizens because some Americans felt threatened by the high influx of new immigrants coming to seek gold and work on railroad expansion.
Mexican immigrants were forced to march back to their homeland.
This legacy affects United States society and workplaces today in that these minority groups are just in the recent past able to have the freedom to obtain work in higher paying jobs. Up until the Civil Rights Act of 1964, these groups experienced hardship when trying to obtain work. These groups consist of but are not limit
