AJ’s AP American blog

The speech was on July 9th 1896. Its about whether or not coinage should be silver since the exchange rate of silver to gold is 16:1. Bryan wanted the gold standard to be rid of, instead replaced with bimetallism which represented all of the US, especially those in the West. This was because he felt that the rich in the East were the people who were benefiting from the Gold standard, and the bi metal standard would bring prosperity to all of the US.  He also talked about how income tax is justified because of its benefits. To close he makes a comparison between the gold standard to the crucifixion, and says that having the gold standard would be to crucify mankind on a cross of gold, hence the name. William Jennings Bryan reminded me of Nixon, who like Bryan wanted a new form of backing for US money. Nixon successfully cancelled the direct international convertibility of the US dollar to gold, so now US money only was worth what people thought it was worth, and it was no longer ti

The Dawes Act was enacted in 1887.  It granted the government the power to redistribute tribal lands from Native Americans. When redistributing, the government would give shares to individuals. Many socioeconomic factors are considered when giving the land, such as age and status. The government was allowed to do this with any land it considered good for farming.  The government was also allowed to sell the land for profit, and build roads, railroads, and other major infrastructure through tribal lands The Homestead Act was another move by the government to try to settle land and offer opportunities for Americans. There was also often friction between Native Americans and settlers, as settlers took over the "unsettled land".

  In the "Gospel of Wealth" Carnegie talks about how having rich AND poor people may actually be a good thing. He states that it is natural for wealth to accumulate in the hands of a few members of society. He talks about how when a few people are very rich, then the standard of living for everyone increases. He then says that if you are rich you can do 3 things with your money. 1) Leave it to your kids. He thinks this is unfair as this is what happened in Europe and that it was a failure there. He also thinks that it wouldn't help society enough. 2) Have the wealth be taxed a lot and then taken by the Government after death. Carnegie says that the idea is ok. 3) Use the wealth for the common good and give it back to the people through philanthropy. This is the idea Carnegie likes the most. It also directly contradicts social darwinism. Bill and Melinda Gates. Bill and Melinda Gates remind me of the ideas set forth by Carnegie. The couple have only promised 10 million