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Ethan Barnett
AP Govt. & Political Science
9/2/14
In his excerpt The American Commonwealth, James Bryce talks about equality in America when he visited the United States in the 1880s. Bryce provides his own view of the different equalities that all Americans possess. He states that in America, equalities are present as listed: legal equality, material conditions-wealth, education and intelligence, social status, and estimation. Legal equality is that all are equal under the law whereas material condition equality means that everyone has equal wealth. Educational and intellectual equality means that everyone has equal intellect and equal education. 0Social status equality means that no one is socially higher or lower than another. And finally, equality of estimation is the value which men set upon each other. Out of all of these types of equalities the three that Bryce list that all Americans have are wealth, education, position. Bryce’s listing of wealth, education, and position as American equalities brings up a valid position on whether or not America had actually possessed these equalities. In all honesty, it’s all how it’s perceived by different people that determine equality. Did all Americans have equal wealth, education, and position back in the late 1800s? Well, compared to most countries America was a land full of equality. I don’t necessarily believe that these views of equality were as glorious as Bryce had perceived them to be, however seeing that he came from Britain- a land of big inequalities between those of upper, middle and lower class- America was seen as a land with greater equal opportunity. As this was written during the Gilded Age, Americans all lived in similar lifestyles as families powered through the Industrial revolution. People worked mostly for big industries receiving little pay, little to no education and the same position as the country’s labor force therefore they were all equal. In today’s world, without the fact that
AP Govt. & Political Science
9/2/14
In his excerpt The American Commonwealth, James Bryce talks about equality in America when he visited the United States in the 1880s. Bryce provides his own view of the different equalities that all Americans possess. He states that in America, equalities are present as listed: legal equality, material conditions-wealth, education and intelligence, social status, and estimation. Legal equality is that all are equal under the law whereas material condition equality means that everyone has equal wealth. Educational and intellectual equality means that everyone has equal intellect and equal education. 0Social status equality means that no one is socially higher or lower than another. And finally, equality of estimation is the value which men set upon each other. Out of all of these types of equalities the three that Bryce list that all Americans have are wealth, education, position. Bryce’s listing of wealth, education, and position as American equalities brings up a valid position on whether or not America had actually possessed these equalities. In all honesty, it’s all how it’s perceived by different people that determine equality. Did all Americans have equal wealth, education, and position back in the late 1800s? Well, compared to most countries America was a land full of equality. I don’t necessarily believe that these views of equality were as glorious as Bryce had perceived them to be, however seeing that he came from Britain- a land of big inequalities between those of upper, middle and lower class- America was seen as a land with greater equal opportunity. As this was written during the Gilded Age, Americans all lived in similar lifestyles as families powered through the Industrial revolution. People worked mostly for big industries receiving little pay, little to no education and the same position as the country’s labor force therefore they were all equal. In today’s world, without the fact that