Imperialistic Ideals Instigate an Era of American Expansionism #4

Today in class we viewed each groups slide shows and Videolicious presentations. We took notes and participated in the surveys for each group. 

The first group we viewed was European Imperialism. We learned that European powers saw the conditions in Africa as opportunity to exploit the countries to make a profit. One person in particular, was King Leopold of Belgium. He saw the advent of rubber as an important material, and wished to profit off of its production. A place that Leopold focused on, was the Congo. He forced many workers there to labor for him in terrible conditions. He terrorized the Africans in order to ensure that they continued to work for him. In these situations, the European countries had all of the power, and they controlled the countries in Africa militarily.

The second presentation was about Big Business. We learned that the people who had the majority of the money, also had a lot of power. People like Rockefeller, Carnegie, J.P. Morgan, and Pullman who were extremely wealthy businessmen had influence over global markets, and often over government decisions. Sometimes, the low class workers would attempt to band together and demand higher pay and/or better working conditions. Meanwhile, the rich business owners are focused on expanding their company and trade to foreign places in order to make more profit.

The third presentation covered the topic of Native Americans and the West. We discovered that the people in power, the American government, wanted the land in the west, so they forced the Native Americans living their to move. This forced emigration was a terrible crime committed by the US Government. The Native American people were forced to leave their homelands behind, and walk hundreds of miles to new "homes" that were often unfit for their lifestyles. The Great Plains were ideal crop growing locations, and the United States wished to use them for this purpose.

The fourth presentation was about Immigration from Asia to America. Hundreds of thousands of immigrants from Japan and China entered the United States. However, their journey was no easy one. They were often fleeing places with troubled economies of governments. Upon arrival in America, they were forced through immigration centers, with strict, and sometimes obscure tests to determine someone's fitness for citizenship. The US Government used its power in 1913 to pass a law that prevented non-citizens from owning land, this impacted the immigrants heavily. 

The final presentation was about Immigration from Europe to America. Immigrants came to America through Ellis Island, the Golden Door, or New York Harbor. In these immigration centers, they had to undergo health checks, and sometimes humiliating tests. When and if immigrants were able to make it into America, they often lived in the relative safety of ghettos, where many immigrants went to avoid discrimination. The Yankees, and people who were 'native' to America believed that they had more power than the immigrants, and were better. Henry Ford, who was an anti-semitic, published a paper against jews, and soon after a law was passed restricting jew's rights. This shows how his power influenced the lives of immigrants.
After seeing everyone's presentations, I was able to connect the main theme of people, places, and power quite easily and thoroughly to each topic.