reform efforts in the nineteenth century. A few major roadblocks were violent methods that monopolies used to combat the unions such as The National Guard‚ and Pinkerton Guards. Despite seeming like a positive aspect ‚ rags to riches stories by Horatio Alger significantly reduced change due to the fact that the poor still believed they too could be rich. The last major issue that blocked reform was the fact that unions were viewed as radicals and anarchists. The government support of the monopolies
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In "Horatio Alger" Harlan L. Dalton challenges three profound messages that are found in the Alger myth stating that‚ "hard work‚ persistence‚ initiative‚ and daring invariable [manage] to transcend [people’s] station in life"(Dalton 150). Dalton initially emphasizes how we are being judged on different scales and how there is a race based advantage for success in life. He contends that Blacks know what it feels like to be scrutinized based on race and how many times they can only be acknowledged
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possessions. In today’s society‚ we all hope and strive for this dream‚ but how many actually achieve the American Dream? Is it a reasonable goal that Americans should strive for‚ or is it a myth that only leads to self-destruction? According to Horatio Alger and Toni Cade Bambara‚ they both believe the concept that the American Dream is a myth and prove these fundamentals through their writing. A single person or a small group does not create the notion of success‚ but it is created by our whole society
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The Death of Horatio Alger: Summary In the essay‚ “The Death of Horatio Alger‚” by Paul Krugman‚ published in The McGraw-Hill Reader‚ Krugman examines the value of the American Dream. He conveys the idea that if the American Dream were to die‚ people throughout the nation would not be able to move up through the economic classes of the U.S as they once used too. Krugman starts off with a short anecdote about how one day he found himself reading an article that according to Krugman‚ made outrageous
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parts – teeth‚ eye‚ thumb‚ scalp‚ leg – with painful regularity as he seeks to make his fortune and lay claim to that mythical‚ tarnished dream of American wealth and happiness. In doing this‚ West explains‚ his intention was to ‘rewrit[e] the Horatio Alger myth – from barge boy to president of from shirt-sleeves to shirt-sleeves in one generation.’ It is hard to tell whether one likes or dislikes this novel. It is a peculiar‚ hallucinatory experience. The cartoonish humour is‚ at once‚ wickedly
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Essay 1: Social Darwinism and the Gospel of Wealth Social Darwinism was the use of Charles Darwin’s scientific theory of evolution and natural selection to a society’s development. The theory stated that in nature‚ only those who were the fittest survived. This explanation was adopted by many American businessmen who believed the theory to be scientific proof of their power. There were two men who stood out from the group of businessmen; Herbert Spencer and William Graham. Both of these
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Ragged Dick Ragged Dick is a novel written in the 1800’s by Horatio Alger. It is a story about a young boy named Richard Hunter‚ also known as Ragged Dick‚ as he progresses though his childhood. Ragged Dick is a typical Rags to Riches story where Dick struggles through the hardships of city life‚ trying to achieve the “American Dream”. As a child‚ Dick is nothing more than a poor city boy who is trying to earn money on the streets of New York City. He spends his
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Barbara Ehrenreich and Lewis Lapham asked themselves how anyone lives on the wages available to the unskilled. (Introduction: Getting Ready) Roughly four million women were about to taken off welfare reform programs to get jobs that paid $6 to $7 an hour; how will they survive? Barbara wanted to see how the 5 division of Dennis Gilbert and Joseph A. Kahl’s (1993) 6 part class structure handled everyday life without government assistance that she left her regular job and sat out on the journey. Although
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7-3 Notes Gilded Age • Gilded means Gold Covered • 1880-1900 is called the Gilded Age because of societies focus on $ and greed. The rich were getting richer and the poor getting poorer. • Mark Twain wrote a novel entitled The Gilded Age and showed the growing gap between rich and poor. • President Rutherford B. Hayes (1876-1880) noted that 90% of the nations money was controlled by just 10% of the population. Political Machines Graft – political corruption. o Politicians
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Meritocracy & Popular Culture Alger’s book‚ Ragged Dick‚ tells the story of an ambitious‚ industrious‚ and honest boy who through hard work and some luck climbs the ladder to a better life and a higher social status. According to Alger‚ he does this not by taking advantage of other people‚ but by keeping an eye out for opportunities‚ working hard‚ and improving himself. The picture I chose was drawn by Clay Butler in 1994. It depicts a Frankenstein-like creature standing on top of a pile of dismembered
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