As you read about Donald J. Trump's recent election, words such as "unprecedented" and "unique" have been constantly utilized by media sources to describe the event. However, looking to the general context of the 1920's and years preceding the era, one can see similarities in politics and feelings of both then and now.
Admittedly, Trump does have some revolutionary qualities when one looks to history. Unlike any other president, Trump has neither public service in government nor service in the military. Along with that, his business ties and current lawsuits have been a unique factor as we move closer to his official inauguration in January.
On the other hand, his “radical” ideas and rhetoric have made a mark in the United States history before. The most prominent constant in history has been anti-immigration. Previously dubbed as nativism, United States citizens since the 1800’s have been against foreigners. Starting with their disdain for Catholics, as the United States neared the 1920’s, dislike for Eastern European and Southern European immigrants reigned supreme. Many view Trump’s generalizing and blanket statements as extreme, but when considering the KKK’s anti-immigration message reigned during the 1920’s, his rhetoric seems almost less of two extremes. Trump’s idea of placing a ban on Muslim immigrants and Mexican immigrants is aswell precedented - just look to the Gentlemen’s Agreement banning Japanese immigrants in 1907 and the Immigration Act of 1920 which severely limited immigrants. Essentially, Trump and his supporters desire to stop certain groups from entering the United States is modern twist on historical problem.
More than anti-immigration, the populist tone of citizens in the United States has forever longed to be louder in the face of American politics. One can view Trump’s victorious message of changing the status quo and speaking towards the gospel of dissatisfaction as a resurgence of the Populist Party of 1892 to 1896 - only this time, they not only went right, but were finally were able to win the Presidency. Even before the formation of the populist party, Trump’s victory can also be seen as a somewhat repeat of Andrew Jackson’s victory - both were radical outsiders from the government who preyed on dissatisfaction with “corruption” of the current government.
And speaking of dissatisfaction in the status quo, the radical change between policies can be seen during the 1920’s. The change from Obama to Trump is quite synonymous to the change from Woodrow Wilson to Warren Harding. While Wilson moved towards greater welfare for citizens and expanded the government, Harding ended many of his policies and moved towards a conservative and pro-business state. The same can be seen with Obama’s Affordable Care Act and Trump’s plan not only to dismantle this policy but also look to work in the opposite direction in issues such as social security.
Thus, Trump’s election and his policies do have historical precedence and do fit in with previous moments in the United States. Not to say that he is completely ordinary, while his election and policies are not completely distinctive, the man himself does embody something different, and for some terrifying.
I like how you made compared our current situation to past situations to basically say that we will be okay. We just have not experience someone like him in our lifetime but it has occurred before and it turned out fine.
ReplyDelete