Chapter 10 Reflection

Chapter 10 Reflection

I enjoyed and agreed with Fotoon's statment that in general, "everything was wrong" during the John Quincy Adams/Andrew Jackson/Martin Van Buren/William Henry Harrison era. The two-party system was establishing itself, setting up two rival political machines that each contributed to the murkiness and competitiveness of politics. It was interesting to note that as the parties became stronger, individual politicians became less important. People began to see the parties as standing for various values, and the politicians as merely the proxies of the parties.

I never realized that the Second Great Awakening directly fueled the Age of Reform until this class laid out the timeline. Likewise, I was surprised to learn that the women's rights movement grew out of the abolition movement.

Until reading this chapter, I also had no idea that there had been a major depression in 1837. I had always thought that the Great Depression of the 1930s was the first time  in our history that the US had experienced such an economic downturn.

If one thing strikes me about this chapter, it's that in the 21st century, we are still arguing about many of the same issues that we did in the 19th century, especially various kinds of equality, as well as the role of religion in society. It's hard to believe that even today, it can be controversial to describe oneself as secular or atheist, and that failure to be a "god fearing" person can prevent would-be politicians from achieving success.