Current Event Journal

Current Event Journal

Article Summary

Celina Tebor’s article on USA Today on February 7th, 2022, delves into America’s emergence from the dark history of the civil war and economic depression. According to Tebor, about four million Americans emerged with new freedoms and liberties during the Civil War. The newfound economic and social freedoms allowed the union to rebuild after almost tearing itself apart. However, despite newfound freedoms, the main stakeholders in the reconstruction era, including President Johnson, were reluctant to give up slavery. Celina emphasizes the longstanding systematic injustices directed at black individuals (Tebor, 2022).

Connection to Course Work

Celina’s article in the USA Today is closely linked to the course content since it touches on the outcomes of the civil war. The struggles of black Americans during the Civil War exist to date (Massey et al., 2009). To make matters worse, structured racial segregation is embedded in U.S. systems, and African Americans are yet to be at par with their indigenous counterparts.

One of the people actively involved in the Reconstruction era was President Johnson. President Johnson took over the mantle from President Lincoln and promised to continue with his policies (Clack et al., 2009). However, Johnson accepted slavery, thus failing to achieve the ultimate dream of a fair society. The current event article clearly shows that the segregation that manifests today is due to the failures during the reconstruction period. From now on, it will take a multi-pronged approach to end systematic racial and economic segregation in the U.S.

Reflection on the Current Event Article

I believe it is evident that some significant steps towards achieving a just society manifested during the reconstruction period. From the right to vote among black Americans to the right to abortion, effective legislative action took place (Rogowski, 2018). However, the seemingly conservative U.S. institutions continue to hold back the dream of a fair society.

 References

Clack, G., Mildred Sola Neely, & Hamby, A. L. (2009). Outline of U.S. History. Nova Science Publishers.

Massey, D. S., Rothwell, J., & Domina, T. (2009). The Changing Bases of Segregation in the United States. The American Academy of Political and Social Science Annals, 626(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716209343558

Rogowski, J. C. (2018). Reconstruction and the State: The Political And Economic Consequences of the Freedmen’s Bureau. In Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, Boston, MA.

Tebor, C. (2022). Reconstruction is Often Overlooked. A Smithsonian Black History Exhibit Says It’s an Ongoing Process. USA TODAY. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/02/07/reconstruction-era-smithsonian-african-american-history-museum-exhibit/8962285002/

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Why do we study history? You’ve probably heard many references to the idea that we must learn history because history repeats itself. While this does hold validity in certain cases, it is also important to understand that history connects today to yesterday. Political decisions today are based on past decisions or events; we continue to work on social justice and see new interpretations of past legislation and primary source documents. History surrounds us.

Throughout the class, you will be retrieving and evaluating current event articles (in the last 5 years), making connections between the units we are studying and today. You will be responsible for finding an online article from a reputable news source. For example, Time.com, USA Today, The New York Times, etc.

Instructions:

 In your current event assignment, please address each of the following:

• Provide a summary of the article (include source, date, important people and events, place/location).
• Explain the connection to the information we studied in Unit 3 and use the following questions/prompts as a guide:

• • • How does this current event article connect to the unit we are currently studying?
    • What impact did the past have on the events taking place today? Is it political, economic and social?
    • Describe specific historical events/people/documents that are involved and explain how they are
    • What does the current event article tell us about the past?
    • What predictions do you have about how this event will affect the future?
  • Reflect on your opinions regarding the current event article and the historical event to which it is connected.
  • Ensure you provide a hyperlink to the article (check to ensure the hyperlink works).