What arguments could be made FOR and AGAINST this statment: "America's poor, in the mid 20th century, were mostly responsible for their own problems."
America's poor were not entirely responsible for their problems. Congress' termination policy in 1953 ended government aid to native Americans, forcing many natives to sell their land. As a result, poverty increased. The government's actions had made them even poorer.
Another argument against this statement is the Housing Act of 1949, which included the urban renewal plan. The government demolished slums and built apartments but hundreds of thousands of poor people lost their homes. In the end, poverty increased and the government had simply worsened the poor's situation.
An argument for this statement is the massive migration of 5 million African Americans from 1945 to 1960 to northern cities. They were looking for manufacturing jobs, but industries had already relocated to the suburbs. Without jobs, poverty increased. If the African Americans hadn't migrated, their situation wouldn't have worsened.
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