"Government intervention came to the rescue of American capitalism" – To what extent is this statement accurate for the USA in the period 1919 to 1941?
The disintegration of American capitalism was as gradual as it was consequential.
You need to start off all modern essays with a judgement. It many not look as nice and pretty in a literary sense, but you need to have somewhere a statement like this: "Government intervention was highly responsible for the maintaining the continued significance/disintergration (you pick) of American capitalism, therefore the statement is highly/only partially/limited accurate/" Through their laissez faire policies, three successive Republican administrations cumulatively escalated the volatility of the capitalist ideology. However, their inability to leverage any government action deferred the unprecedented economic deterioration to the presidency of Franklin D Roosevelt. His revolutionary implementation of the New Deal constructed an economic scaffold that established unparalleled stability, thus saving American capitalism.
In regards to what I said about judgements, you also need to pick a judgement and stick to it. From your introduction, I'm going to assume that you are planning to sit on the fence a bit, saying that sometimes government intervention was good, sometimes it was bad. That is fine to say, but you still need to make an overall assessment as to whether it was a good or a bad thing for American capitalism. From this, I can assume that your judgment should probably be that the statement is partially accurate.Capitalism is an economic system based on private ownership of the means of production and distribution of goods.
Again you must start every paragraph off with a judgement, NOT a definition. This judgement must be consistent with the overall judgement you made in your introduction, but with a particular focus on one element of your arguement (ie the focus of the paragraph). In my opinion, this definition should probably have been in the introduction anyway.Characterised by a free competitive consumer economy, and motivation by profit, it has invariably been a fundamental aspect of American society. Capitalism is facilitated by a two-tier social class structure comprised of private business owners and a reciprocal working class, to enable the expanding accumulation of profit by private owners. However, three successive Republican administrations saw growing disparities in this social hierarchy permeate throughout the American society, creating a deteriorating capitalist economy that ultimately required intervention.
This paragraph provides us excellent detail as to what American capitalism is, but it isn't answering the question. A lot of this information could be included within the introduction, rather than in a separate paragraph.When elected in 1921, shortly after the commencement of the First World War, Warren Harding formulated precursory measures of low taxes and high tariffs.
Judgment? Perhaps - "John Warren Harding's economic policies greatly aided in the disintegration/maintenance (again you decide) of American Capitalism, thus the statement is partially accurate"? He established the Emergency Tariff Act of 1921, introducing taxes of up to 50% on imports, rejecting internationalism and promoting an isolationist, protectionist approach to maintain the American economic market. Initially, this led America into an era of unparalleled, capitalist prosperity. However, when Calvin Coolidge, elected in 1923, extended Harding’s policies with further tax cuts for expensive businesses and corporations it stretched the consumer economy
...which had significantly negative implications for the continued significance of american capitalism... these sentences are important as you need to be continually linking back to the question.. His incessant belief in the ‘free market’ instigated a lack of regulation in businesses and an ignorance regarding notions of poverty and civil rights, and by 1929, the richest 5% of the population owned 35.5% of the nation’s wealth
nice detail. These policies led to a deteriorating economy, extended by Republican radical advocacy of right wing capitalism.
In general, much of your essay is reading too much like a narrative, a list of events. Your detail and understanding is great, and I can see what your saying, but your style needs to be adapted to accomodate for more analysis. I'll discuss further how you can change this down below.Left to attempt to disseminate the repercussions of his predecessors, Herbert Hoover continued Republican policies of high tariffs and tax cuts when elected in 1929.
Judgement? To what extent did the continuation of these policies under Herbert Hoover further disintergrate/reinvigorate American capitalism? Widening disparities in wealth were overlooked as issues for local and state governments. Hoover believed charities were responsible for providing unemployment relief, and voluntarism would ultimately remove the United States from the state of Depression. He urged businesses to refrain from retrenching workers despite the impetus of deteriorating business conditions. Hoover’s political philosophies regarding ‘rugged individualism’ and isolationism obscured his ability to recognise the severity of the Depression. His inability to leverage any strategy of government intervention directly contributed to the failure of capitalism.
A JUDGEMENT. YES. OKAY. Do this more please!This lack of government intervention saw the Great Crash of 1929 reverberate through the stock market, decimating billions of dollars in asset values and forcing bank closures, epitomising the urgency for reform.
Judgment? Almost 70000 businesses went bankrupt with 5000 banks failing, and between 1929 and the presidential election of 1932 the US national income fell from $87.4 billion to $41.7 billion.
fantastic detailThe 1929 Wall Street crash reflected the volatility of both public confidence and capitalism. Stemming from the recognition of the imbalance of consumption and production, the United States entered a state of paranoia.
Thus, it was no surprise
Very narrative like language, avoid saying stuff like this in the future that Franklin D Roosevelt (FDR) held complete sovereignty at the presidential election of 1933.
Judgement? In the first ‘100 days’ of his presidency, he passed 15 major bills through Congress. He was seen to be active and dynamic in addressing the challenges of the depression, reflected in the implementation of this First ‘New Deal’. This collection of counter cyclical measures focused on the three aspects of reform, relief and recovery. The implementation of recovery strategies placed regulations on the economy whilst alleviating discrepancies in wealth.
I think this paragraph is a bit weak on its own. Maybe try and include it within the paragraphs either before or after it, rather than separated?FDR’s recovery strategies were integral to the preservation of the capitalist ideology.
FANTASTIC JUDGEMENT. YES. GOOD. Maybe a little bit more use of the phrasing from the question, but overall keep this up. In the First New Deal of 1933, he effected the National Recovery Agency (NRA) to stabilise production and limit price and wage competition. It involved the restoration of industry incorporated with elements of reform, with the aim to raise workers’ wages so they could participate in the consumer economy by increasing the price of factory goods. It also instigated codes for businessmen and industry, which fixed minimum wages, forbade child labour, limited worker’s hours and gave workers the right to join trade unions. This prevented the overproduction of goods whilst reinvigorating the economy through the provision of increased income. This regulatory initiative precipitated an equilibrium in wealth so citizens could participate in the previously stagnated consumer economy, creating a more equitable form of capitalism.
You need to link back to the question and your judgement at the end of the paragraph, and include a few more historical examples, however overall this paragraph was better 
Announced to the public in a ‘Fireside Chat’, the Emergency Banking Act (EBA) of 1933 mandated a structural change to separate investment banks from commercial banks.
Judgement?It was used to secure depositors’ savings from being used for speculative purposes. It created a new entity, the ‘Federal Bank Deposit Insurance Corporation’, which liberated banks and depositors from the fearful psychology of bank “runs”. This supported trustworthy banks, giving the American public confidence to participate in the consumer economy. The EBA was extremely effective at preserving the failing capitalist ideology
good link. Something like this should also have been part of your judgement. It did not establish an oppressive bureaucracy within the American banking system, but instead precipitated unparalleled stability within businesses, rectifying the industrial market and promoting profit-motivated corporate gain on a more equitable scale.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SECA) of 1934’s integral aim was recovery and the regulation of the stock market
Judgement? It's kinda there, but needs to be drawn out more. It guarded against attempts to fix the prices of stocks and shares, through sanctioning the disclosure of detailed information such as balance sheets, profit and loss statements and the names and compensation of corporate officers. This aimed to end the monopoly on investment information and prevent speculation on the stock market. Data that was relevant, accessible and easily comparable infiltrated Wall Street, enabling improved economic efficiency of the financial market. Rather than constituting an assault on capitalism, FDR improved the ability of the public to make well-informed consumer decisions, increasing their ability to participate in the economy and support businesses, thus rationalising the ideology.
One of the better paragraphs The implementation of FDR’s Second New Deal saw the establishment of the Social Security Act of 1935.
Judgement? This reform act proposed a state pension to everyone over the age of 65 and initiated an unemployment insurance scheme provided by individual states with aid from the federal government. Its culmination with corporate liberal ideas provided a democratic approach to the growing issue of inadequate American social justice, instigated by the FDR’s predecessors. This act shaped a manpower policy which enabled more predictable, efficient labour system whilst increasing the ability of the public to participate in the consumer economy, promoting the capitalist ideology.
good link at the end.FDR’s measures of reform, relief and recovery in both the First and Second New Deal were integral to the restoration of the capitalist economy.
GREAT JUDGMENT! Wahoo!They rekindled corporate gain and stimulated fiscal earning within the Depression era through economic reform and new employment opportunities. Although FDR’s First and Second New Deal did not entirely salvage America from a state of economic stagnation, David Kennedy states that they “would serve as latticework on the post-war economy”,
nice intergration of quoteestablishing unprecedented economic vitality within the post 1940’s decades. The beginning of the Second World War saw America rise from the Great Depression, indicating the restoration of capitalism.
Ultimately, Republican policies of laissez faire capitalism spurred the necessity for government intervention to save the very same ideology 10 years later. FDR’s New Deal liberated the economy by moulding its unparalleled stability and predictability. Thus, Republican policies of isolationism and individualism spurred a volatile form of capitalism, instigating the necessity for FDR to implement progressive intervention strategies to save the failing ideology.
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Topic: Modern History Essay Marking (Read 123365 times)