Survey of American History Essay -- US History

Over the course of American history many radical movements have forever changed the historical landscape of the United States of America. Since the beginning of American history, radical movements have played an important role in bringing about change in U.S. society and the U.S. relationship with other countries. They have also experienced major failures and defeats. Major concrete achievements and failures of radical movements have been present in changing the mainstream of the society since the end of WWI. Radical movements such as, labor/socialism, women’s rights, civil rights and peace have played a significant role in the development of U.S. politics and society and forever changed the past, present and future of the United States of America. The Labor/Socialism movement, supported mainly by the lower classes was a prominent radical idea that manifested itself into American society around the conclusion of WWI. â€Å"The very fact that the Soviet Union, the revolutionar y successor to Imperial Russia, was the first country to establish a Communist political and economic state was a major threat to the United States† (Brown 4). Influenced by the Bolshevik revolution in Russia, the Socialist movement gained momentum from oppressed workers and thus managed to successfully run hundreds of candidates around the nation for several decades. â€Å"The Socialist Movement was painstakingly organized by scores of former Populists, militant miners and blacklisted railroad workers, who were assisted by a remarkable cadre of professional agitators and educators† (Zinn 340). Socialism became extremely popular especially due to its endorsement by writers like Mark Twain, W.E.B. Dubois and Upton Sinclair as well its representation by Eugene Debs. With ... ... Great Society and Obama’s health care reform came into existence. Without the socialism/labor movement the civil rights, women’s rights and peace movements and their lasting impacts on society would never have happened. Works Cited Bloom, Alexander, and Wini Breines. "Takin' it to the streets": A Sixties Reader. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford UP, 1995. Print. Brown, Archie. The Rise and Fall of Communism. New York: Ecco, 2009. Print. Burkett, Elinor. "Women's Movement." Britannica Online Encyclopedia. Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica. Web. 15 Dec. 2010. . Guttmann, Allen. "Protest against the War in Vietnam." The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 382.1 (1969): 56-63. Print. Zinn, Howard. A People's History of the United States: 1492-present. New York: HarperCollins, 1999. Print.