Paragraph 1: Explain the ways and causes in which the “New South” emerged economically in the late 19th century and the impact on the region after the Civil War.
The New South was characterized by a shift from a plantation-based economy to one which was more industrialized and therefore similar to the North (Dixon, 2009). Unionization proliferated, giving new empowerment to lower class whites. Skilled labor, capital, and new wealth was generated. The South began to rebuild. On the other hand, African-Americans were simultaneously disempowered through a network of Jim Crow laws.
Paragraph 2: Explain the European and Asian Immigration described as “the New Immigrants” and how they were viewed in the late 19th century by American society.
Immigration reached new heights after the Civil War, surging to “5.2 million in the 1880s then surging to 8.2 million in the first decade of the 20th century” (“The New Immigrants,” 2016, par. 4). In contrast to previous, largely English immigration, immigrants after the Civil War were largely Irish, Eastern European, Italian, German, and Asian (“The New Immigrants,” 2016, par. 4). This created a newly diverse American culture. More of these immigrants settled in cities. The concentration of immigrants allowed the new immigrants to retain more of their culture than immigrants in previous eras, but also generated greater cultural hostility from native-born Americans.
Paragraph 3: Describe the outbreak of the Great War and the distinctive nature of the fighting on the Western Front, explaining how the United States was drawn into World War I.
For much of World War I, the United States remained isolationist. It regarded World War I as a struggle between older, European powers. Trench warfare decimated the youth of Europe. America’s late entry into the war proved to be fortuitous in the sense that it was exposed to less of this punishing and ultimately foolish method of warfare. Germany’s sinking of American ships when America was neutral combined with the alleged attempt of Germany to ally with Mexico to secure Mexico’s old territories, however, ultimately brought the US into the war (“The US During World War I,” 2018).
References
Dixon, R. (2009). New South era. Encyclopedia of Alabama. Retrieved from:
http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-2128
The new immigrants. (2016). Digital History. Retrieved from:
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=2&psid=3289
The US during World War I. (2018). Delaware.gov. Retrieved from:
https://history.delaware.gov/exhibits/online/WWI/US-involvement-ww1.shtml
