Grass-roots activism in the United States
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Grass-roots activism in the United States has generally been directed at correcting problems, abuses, and issues that a large number of people believe are not being addressed by the powers that be. The American democratic system encourages such activism even if at times there are forces at work to discourage it as well, notably those who do not want change or who see a specific change as a threat. Different movements have used different strategies, and some have been successful while others have not. Among these movements have been Populism, labor activism in the 1930s, and the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s. Such movements have had a major effect on the course of American history: 1) they raise issues that otherwise might not be raised; 2) they educate the public about those issues; 3) they mobilize much of the public to get something done; and 4) they prod legislators and others in the government to address these issues. Populism was the program of the People's Party at the end of the nineteenth century, though populism has become a word associated with the mobilization of the people at the grass-roots level for any purpose. Populism was dedicated to social justice, to overcoming the power of the corporation, and for returning power to the common people. The People's party platform in 1892 was known as "The Omaha Platform." It was adopted by the People's Party at its first national convention in Omaha on July 4, 1892, and was composed by Ignatius Donnelly, a fo
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contributed to many of the forces that would lead to World War II. The Great Depression in the 1930s signaled a world economic disorder that was difficult for the various countries of the world to weather and that presented them with a problem they only dimly understood. The Depression had different effects in different countries and affected different parts of the world more or less severely, but taken altogether the forces unleashed would collide over the decade of the 1930s to produce political as well as economic dislocation and tension. The popular culture was more and more aware of its effect on the masses and of a need to reflect certain attitudes on the one hand and to deny them on the other. That is, popular culture reflected the realities of the Depression while also offering escapist fare that allowed people to forget the Depression for a time. Susman states that the idea of culture in the 1930s was domesticated in America: "Americans then began thinking in terms of patterns of behavior and belief, values and life-styles, symbols and meanings. It was during this period that we find, for the first time, frequent reference to an 'American Way of Life'" (Susman 154).
The Great Depression had three major influences
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Approximate Word count = 1789
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)
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