Class In America Gregory Mantsios Summary

"Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. " - Thirteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. It was supposed it to be the end of the America's slave era, but it is far from over. The documentary “13th” directed by Ava DuVernay, argues that the constitution continues to be abused to this day.

Have you ever wanted to chase the American dream? It might be more impossible than people realize. Gregory Mantsios writes “Class in America-2012” about the growing and obvious class divide in America, yet no one wants to talk about the situation and the effects on the people. I will be analyzing the text and explaining the effects it has on the reader. Throughout the article Mantsios stays consistent with his opinion by providing multiple charts and graphs to back his point.

History Term Project: Primary Source Analysis Danielle Marshall Professor Ahad Hayaud-Din & Professor Sinclair 1301-2305 Learning Community Fall Semester 2017 2379 Words November 25, 2017 The United States has had many foreign and domestic problems that shaped American society; fear, impacted civil liberties, escalated worldly crises and evoked counter threats from the start of the Reconstruction era throughout our nation’s current history. Some of these problems were depicted in political cartoons, newspaper articles, presidential speeches, proclamations, and photos. Many cruelties in the Reconstruction era came from racial violence, nationalism, and American Imperialism as implied in these documents.

“It is a wise man who said that there is no greater inequality than the equal treatment of unequals” (Frankfurter). There is a time in life where a person can work just as hard as you but that person seems to be more successful than you. Having the same equal treatment as someone else will not make you equal to them. In “Up Against Wal-Mart”, Karen Olsson writes an article about employees being mistreated by Wal-Mart. Employees are unable to be successful to achieve the American Dream because of this mistreatment.

The issue of slavery was a significant “thorn in the side” of America from the very inception of our nation. Despite the fact that slavery was an accepted legal phenomenon in the eighteenth century, it also invoked significant controversy. Many Americans, typically those denizens of the southern states, felt that slavery was an indispensable economic necessity. Alternatively, others opined that slavery was an inherently immoral and unethical institution which denied certain races basic human rights, and as such warranted abolition, no matter the consequences. Although the Constitution never mentions the word “slave” once, slavery is referenced to in the Constitution several times, in three prominent compromises that our founding fathers were forced to make, for the sake of the establishment of a unified nation.

American society, over the course of time, has shown itself to be profoundly resistant to change. In order for real change to occur in this nation either of these two must happen; a benefit to those in power or a viable threat. This is especially true in cases of civil rights and the nation's treatment of African Americans. As evidenced throughout American history, political and social change has only been allowed when it is advantageous to the nation's leaders and/ or economy. The emancipation proclamation, for instance, was not a result of President Lincoln’s abolitionist beliefs or moral compass, but a political strategy to win the civil war.

The United States Declaration of Independence states that "when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government" Our nation was a phoenix that rose from the ashes of a monarchy through a resistance that had grown into a revolution. The result of our founding fathers resistance was a nation, a nation that held promises of freedom and equality for all of it’s citizens yet bitterly was not at all close to equality and justice for all. The gruesome and haunting past of America's oppressive history lingers in the socio-political infrastructures which control and drive our government and society. Our nation, horrifically and

Mantsios states that Americans don’t like to talk about different social classes for one of two reasons: class distinctions are irrelevant or they are uncertain that the reality of class difference makes an impact on their life. It has become culturally unacceptable to place people in different social classes for it causes too much diversity (Colombo 370). Consequently, Gregory Mantsios is well qualified to write this article. For over 30 years he worked in higher education; mainly he established college degree programs for nontraditional students (“Gregory Mantsios”).

The lower-class is seen as the class that is struggling financially. They are the “blue collars” and “low wage workers” and people who work for other people. They are the social class with little to no college education. They are seen as the ones who rent properties and with little to no savings. They are seen as the social class that abuses of the welfare system.

In America after World War Two, citizens were split between classes based on their economic stability. Americans today still look at these classes and define these people as better off or worse off than the next person. Why do people judge others for having less money than them? Why do employers send lower class citizen away when they need the money the most? These are some question that citizens in the lower or middle class have when they are looking at their position in America’s economic system.

As the middle class continues to dissolve, the issue in America becomes more chaotic. The article, "The Inequality Hype", by Neil Gilbert, criticizes, quite simply, the hype on the income inequality between the classes in America. Although Gilbert does agree on the inequality present, he brings up many good points as to why this issue is more exaggerated than should be. Gilbert brings up the point that America is doing better than it believes to be doing according to recent data. Moreover, Gilbert explains, "Progressives tend to think that inequality is the story and that, as already noted, nearly everything wrong in U.S. society stems from it. ..

According to The Borgen Project, a nonprofit organization working to fight against poverty and slavery, “an estimated 29.8 million people live in modern slavery today.” If slavery was prohibited with President Abraham Lincoln 's Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, how come more than one hundred fifty years later it is still evident in society? The novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain showcases the struggle of an enslaved African American in the 1840s fighting for his freedom. He is constantly worried about if he is going to be caught running away, something with which a white person does not have to be concerned with. A current New York Times article, “America’s Child-Marriage Problem” by Fraidy Reiss, highlights a type of

Today, the United States of America is analogous with the terms freedom, liberty and prosperity. Throughout its existence, the nation has come to represent a unique melting pot of ideals, races, and cultures, which have recurrently exhibited the perspectives of freedom and equality in regards to not only daily livelihood, but also free trade. Although the United States continues to stand as an immense representation of hope and prominence in reference to opportunity, it is almost impossible to ignore the dark aspects of its history. For a nation that was founded by the ideals of assuring freedom for those who arrived at its shores and ports, a majority of the early stages of American history were flooded with an immense amount of prejudice

The American dream is a dream of a land in which one can prosper with ambition and hard work. This idea has created many illusions for some because in reality the American dream is proven to be something that is rarely achieved. No individual is guaranteed success or destined for failure, but it is apparent that women, people of color, and those born into poverty will face greater obstacles than others, despite being a greater part of the American population. An author that tackles the issue of class in the United States is Gregory Mantsios. In his essay, “Class in America-2009”, Mantsios aims to prove that class affects people’s lives in drastic ways.

The lower class works for their living and spends what money they have on things they need. Whereas the upper class, usually has a higher education and better paying jobs than the other classes in America. Thus, heritage plays a big part in reasons of social classes.