LBJ's Gap

What evidence does LBJ offer as proof of the widening economic gap between black and white Americans? How does he explain this gap?


Lyndon B. Johnson was heavily influenced by Michael Harrington's book "The Other America". Johnson wanted to form a "Great Society" in the United States when he came into office. He stated that "the man who is hungry, who cannot find work or educate his children, who is bowed by want, that man is not fully free." He realized that there was a great war on poverty in the United States, and all races felt the affect. Johnson also was not oblivious to the fact that African Americans in the United States were affected more than any other race. He said that it was caused from "past injustice and present prejudice".

Johnson believed that the way people had treated African Americans in the past made it possible for them to rise and hold African Americans down. There was little African Americans could do to rise above this injustice. He knew that during the time he was in office, the prejudice of whites against blacks continued to make rising up their injustices nearly impossible. The gap between blacks and whites was in many different areas of life. From education, to income, to job opportunities, to skills in the workplace, Africans Americans were always having a disadvantage and were not received the equality they were promised by their country.

Cheerful Robots

According to C. Wright Mills, Americans during the 1950s were Cheerful Robots. Using his excerpt, what you've read in the text, and heard in class, why is that description fitting (don't just repeat or rephrase what's in the Mills article).

Americans during the 1950s were stuck on the idea of perfection. They wanted to live the perfect life. Americans lived in cookie-cutter houses, had nuclear families, and were happy all the time. At least that's what they longed for. There were few differences from one family to another on the surface. Most Americans worked hard to maintain their happy, perfect images. They were all the same. The "perfect" family consisted of a husband, wife, son and daughter, or just immediate family members. The husband worked while the wife stayed home and did domestic work. The house they lived in was in a neighborhood along with other houses that looked the same. Inside the house were all kinds of appliances and material things to make them "happy". Outside of the house were nice cars sitting in the driveway when they husband returned home from a hard day of work. If there was any unhappiness or imperfection, Americans did not let it show. They had routines that they practiced on a daily basis. When Mills talks about Americans in the 1950s being "Cheerful Robots", he is not exaggerating by any means.

Reaction 8

Read the excerpt from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The U.S. did not immediately ratify the Declaration. What policies and practices within the U.S. conflicted with many of the principles of the Declaration?

The United States was struggling with slavery and other issues. They were not standing up for what the Declaration was stating. The United States discriminated against blacks and therefore did not treat all their citizen's equally. They also had many labor laws and their citizen's were not treated the way they should have been in the workplace. The United States could not promise all of their citizens the rights that were in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which is why they did not immediately ratify it.

Comfort Women

Why were the Korean Comfort Women “silent” so long? To answer this question, one thing you will need to think about is how much women’s “worth” is tied to their status as virgins or “sexually pure” and how women who are not “pure” are shamed in societies. You also need to reflect on how rape has been characterized as simply an “unfortunate consequence” of war—this is not true, of course; rape does not “just happen.”
Why could the words and actions of Japanese officials and government be interpreted as attempts to further silence them?

During World War II, there were women who were taken and made into sex slaves. They were forced to have sex with soldiers. They were treated horribly and went through so much. This was going on all over Japan at the time. However, there are hardly any records about this horrible time in Japanese history. This subject is not studied in Japan. It is not written about in Japanese history books. Japan is ashamed that this went on. The women who were victims of vulgar crime do not speak up and tell their story. The movement went on for so long because women did not speak up for themselves. The reason they did not speak up was because they felt ashamed. It was not their fault that they were treated like this. They chose to not speak about what happened to them because they were so ashamed. The reason for their shame was because they felt that they were worthless and disgusting for not being “pure” virgins anymore. Even though their virginity was stripped away from them, they still did not feel that anyone should know.

The men felt that what they did was not wrong or rape because the women were getting paid for their “services”. The soldiers felt like this was the women’s purpose during the times of war. Schools convinced their students that going to the war was something that would make them happy and better their lives. Sex education was not taught in schools so not a lot of people knew who to feel or react to situations involving sex. The officers threatened women’s lives if they did not follow their orders. Women were beaten and made to promise that they would keep quiet. All documents about these incidences were burned and women’s stories were not believed unless there was proof.

Since women were looked at as shameful, no one wanted to marry them. They were forced to live the rest of their lives alone with just themselves and their painful memories of the past. Many of them were stripped of their youth. They have lived their whole life feeling ashamed and never were able to have a life of their dreams.

FDR's Four Freedoms

Of FDR's four freedoms, the goal of freedom from want and freedom from fear especially reflect American and European experiences during the 1930s and 1940s. Briefly explain what FDR meant by "freedom from want" and "freedom from fear" and explain how the desire for these freedoms was the result of American and European experiences during the 1930s and 1940s.

FDR's freedom from want getting rid of international trade barriers and making sure that people had good economics in times of war. People did not want to depend on other nations for their trade. America was entering war and people did not want to trust people who could easily turn against them. They did not want to have any barriers when it came to international war because they felt it made things more complicated. FDR made this speech right after America came out of the Great Depression. He was offering hope to people about their economics situation. He was telling them that they would be able to acheive more than they had received in the past for their efforts.

FDR's freedom from fear was reducing arms so that a nation could not go against another nation. Citizens were in constant fear that a country would go against them. During the 1930s and 1940s, there was constant fear that at any moment another nation would be America's enemy. FDR was also speaking to Europe in his speech. At this time, Europe had people coming at them in all directions.

Alain Locke

Alain Locke says "The days of 'aunties.' 'uncles,' and mammies' is equally gone." because he is trying to say that the stereotypes of the negro in the past are gone. He is trying to live up to what the New Negro should be. He wanted to get rid of what the people of his past went through and how they acted. He does not want to live the same life his aunties, uncles and mammies lived. He wanted to reinvent the African American culture. Alain Locke's "The New Negro" is all about what an African American should be from now on. He is saying that the old negro would be put down by society and wouldn't stand up for himself. He is encouraging new negros to take a stand for their rights. He was trying to instill a new philosophy in them. He wanted African Americans to realize they were equal to the whites and they did not deserve the way they had been treated in the past.

A Diary Entry of a Southern African American

Dear Diary,
I have decided to start writing in a diary so I can allow myself to get my thoughts out. No one will listen to what I have to say. The government could care less about how I am treated. I am a former slave. I thought that after I was freed my life would be dramatically different. I would finally live how I had dreamed. The way I thought was impossible. In some ways, it still is. I may not be enslaved anymore, but I am by no means free. I do not have the rights that I was promised. I am still finding it harder to survive.
My family and I have decided to move north. The North looks more promising for freedom than the South. I would just like for the government to follow through on what they promised. The government said that African Americans would have rights. There are little to no rights for African Americans in American society. There are little rights for individuals other than white males for that matter. The white men rule everything. African Americans have no say as to who is elected into office. We do not have the right to vote. The government makes all these promises to the country but does not have it apply to everyone.

I hope I can move my family to the North because I am scared every day that they will be tortured. There is a lot of violence in the South towards African Americans. Lynching has become very popular. The accusations for lynching are not fair either. Even a petty little rumor will get an African American hanged in the South. I am terrified every day that someone will start a rumor about one of my friends, family members, or even me. I do not know how I would be able to go on if I lost any one of the people I love. I have been separated from them for so long. People in our community have been killed left and right. I would love for my family and me to live someone where we do not have constant fear. I pray that the day where my sons can grow up differently than I did is not too far away.

Some members of my community have composed a newspaper called The Chicago Defender, which defends the rights of African Americans. Chicago is an amazing place. It is much different than where I grew up in the south. African Americans are treated more like regular people up north than in the south. There is still discrimination but it is not nearly as bad. I hope the newspaper will open the eyes of some people. African Americans are smart, strong, and intellectual people. My brother lives in Chicago. He was always the smartest of all us boys. He had heard about the freedom in the north and moved himself and his family there as soon as he could. He always writes me and tells me about everything that is going on up there.

There is a man that goes by the name of Marcus Garvey. Mr. Garvey thinks that all African Americans in the United States should move back to Africa. He is very upset that the Americans captured us from our homeland against our will and we deserve the right to go back and live the life we were supposed to have. I couldn’t disagree more. I love America. I do not like what is going on right now, but I love America. I want to enjoy the freedoms that America claims to have. America is a country where dreams can come true. I just wish that I could live in America with the rights that I know I deserve.

Many other people have radical ideas about what African Americans should be doing for their rights. A lot of African Americans are now embracing their heritage. For the longest time, the white man has made us ashamed of who we are and where we come from. My brother, the one from Chicago, told me about these folks who are calling themselves “The New Negros”. They are standing up for all of us. They are not ashamed of where they come from. They are also doing big things in entertainment. Some of them have been playing music their whole lives, they’re real talented. Would you believe that some white men are paying to see “some negros” play? I sure have a hard time believing it, but I know my brother doesn’t lie.

Many white men are getting mad at the fact that black people are not ashamed of who they are anymore. They still feel like they are superior and we should be punished for... Well, anything and everything. The new KKK has done some horrible things in Tulsa, Oklahoma and Rosewood. You would not believe the stories I hear people telling of the violence in those parts. White people will just make up reasons for black people to be punished. The strange thing is, everyone will believe it. I just don’t understand the way people think sometimes.

I will keep you updated with what goes on from time to time. I hope I will be able to write more positive things in here next entry.

Until then,
Franklin Cooper

Alonza Vasquez

It’s 1920 and you, Alonzo Vasquez, are a Mexican immigrant to the United States. While you love your new country, it is very important to you that your family remember and honor your culture and traditions, many of which are tied to your homeland. You are increasingly worried that your children, in the process of becoming “American,” are ignoring the importance of their heritage. Why is it so important to you that your family retain some cultural connection to Mexico and your Mexican heritage? What evidence is there that your children are being wholly “Americanized?” What conflicts has this created between you and your children?


I am Alonzo Vasquez, an immigrant from Mexico. I came to America with my wife, two sons, and one daughter. I brought my family here in hopes for a better life. I had heard about the abundant opportunities here in America. I was seeking a steady job to provide for my family. I was also seeking for the ability to pursue my dreams without being persecuted. I, just like thousands of other immigrants, was hoping to live the "American Dream".

Life in America has not been how I had previously thought at all. My family and I now live in the lowest part of society. It is true that I have a job in a factory, but it is barely enough to feed myself and certainly not enough for anything else.

My family has changed so much. They have become really "Americanized". Our culture is to have a strong family bond. When we came to America, we lost that bond. Our family only cares about making money. Our culture puts value on the husband making the money and providing for the family. The mother's role is to take care of the house, cook, clean, and look after the children. The children's role is to be children and help out with chores. Now all our family cares about is money. Everybody works. The children who are not old enough to work have no supervision.

My family also does not speak our native language anymore. Many places do not allow peolpe to speak Spanish, we are all forced to learn and speak English. Our culture and background make us who we are. I am proud to be Mexican. I only came to America to provide for my Mexican family, not to become American. I have no idea what I am going to do if we can not go back to how we used to be. I feel like we are slowly but surely losing who we are in this new country.

Esther Klein

It’s 1892 and you, Esther Klein, are a 17-year-old textile mill worker in the American northeast. You are new to the country and to industrial work, having worked previously on your parents’ farm in the old country. As much as you longed to come to America, your life as a poor Jewish industrial worker in the United States makes you have second thoughts. And life at the mill—why you and some of the other girls dream of organizing and standing up to the mill owners, but what you’ve seen of other labor organizing worries you! So tell me, Esther, what are the sources of your dissatisfaction as a poor woman, a worker, and a Jewish immigrant? Why have your dreams, of what life in America would be, changed?

I am Esther Klein, a 17-year-old Jewish immigrant. I came to America in hopes for a better life; in hopes for living the American dream. My personal dream was to work in a textile mill and eventually make enough money to bring the rest of my family over to live in this wonderful country together. Everyone told me that America was filled with opportunities. There were talk of textile mills that provided hundreds of jobs to anyone willing to put in the time. It sounded to easy, but now that I am here I am seeing that things are a lot different than I had previously imagined.

As a woman in America, I have no rights. I can not vote. As a woman, no one listens to me no matter how good my ideas may be. I work long, painful hours in the mill for very little pay. We work excruciating hours for not much over a dollar a day. How am I ever going to be able to provide for my family with pay like that? I can barely feed my family from day to day. The factories are very unhealthy with all the fumes they produce. There are many people in my same situations. So many families live in tight quarters that are very uncomfortable and unhealthy as well. I just pray that I don't get hurt because I know no one would take care of me. It is useless to strike. My company has workers that will come take my place if I decided to take a stand against this unjustice.

As a Jewish immigrant, I get treated very poorly. Americans think that I do not deserve to be here and trying to provide for my family. How am I any different than they were when they came over from Europe in hopes for a fresh start and better life? There is nothing I can do to change my circumstances so I continue to push on and dream.

Social Darwinism

Social Darwinism is, for the most part, survival of the fittest. The most wealthy and powerful people succeed and leave everyone else that it considered "unfit" to struggle. Society is put into classes. The wealthy, white people were the upper class. The white people who made enough to get by made up the middle class. And the black people who did not make much money, because society felt they were inferior, made up the lower class. There were other situations that fit into these categories, but for the most part this was how their society was made up; wealthy white people had superiority. I think in today's society we still see a little bit of Social Darwinism left behind. The fact that there are still unwritten levels of class is pretty sad considering all the people who have fought and sometimes lost their lives to make this country a free country where everyone is treated equally. I think that a good example of how Social Darwinism is echoed today is homeless people. Many people look down on the homeless and assume that it is their fault because of something they did in their life. Many people don't want to give money to a homeless person because they are under the impression that it the money will be spent on drugs. In some cases this is true, but in others it is far from false. Homeless people are not always homeless because they are drug addicts. There are many reasons why people can be forced to live on the streets. One of the reasons is that they could have been hurt and not able to afford healthcare for their medical issues. I do not think anything that puts people in class statuses is a good idea. People and their circumstances are so different that it is never fair to put them into a category. If America is going to claim that they are a free country, that everyone has the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and that everyone is to be treated equally, they cannot the theory of Social Darwinism present.