The Modern Era: Making the World a Better Place
The Modern Era took place in between the years of the late 1800s and the 1900s. During this time period, America had an industrialization boost across the nation. One of the biggest factors in the modern era was the rise in communication. Not just any type of communication, but mass communication. Mass communication is not as simple as being in contact with one person at a time but being in contact with thousands of people across the local area or across the nation. Good examples of mass communication are media types such as newspapers, the radio, and televisions. These types of mass communication were the quickest ways of getting word across to many Americans and spreading knowledge to the public. If one person was addressing the nation and giving a speech, that person would be able to not only speak to those who were in person at the time but also to those who were watching through a television or listening on the radio.
The introduction of institutions was played another large role in the modern era. Free education was the beginning of the industrial and modern era because anyone could attend. Like today, entry level schools were “free” to attend because of tax-payer dollars. Institutions like education centers and schools brought people together where people were able to learn and be social with one another. This was a big step for the community because it eliminated the chances of someone being illiterate and “feebleminded” when they are growing up. This was also important for the future of America because with educated children comes improved industries. In order for the country to further itself, it is important to invest in the next generations. It was said to be that those who had higher level education from universities would the ones managing businesses and often times managing those who had entry level education. Educational institutions also started the early forms of hierarchy. Kids were taught at a young age without realizing it to respect their teachers and their elders.
The structure of general work around the country was established during this modern era as well. Forms of hierarchy could be seen at any type of institution such as hospitals, universities, government agencies, and more. In fact, all institutions are under the same structure as the national government. This system work in the way that the most experienced and most qualified person should be in charge of people that are still learning the ropes. This way, there isn’t someone who isn’t qualified running a business or an industry into the ground. With this system there is continuous growth even when the torch is passed down to the next generation.
This era wanted to do what they could for the next generation. Laborers continued to work hard to build the country up, but scientists wanted to do their part. Scientists started collecting data about features of different humans and they started doing research on where these features came from. Once the data reflected that genes are passed down form generations of past ancestors they wanted to see if it was possible to predict and control reproduction. This process is called eugenics which was a popular study during this time. Scientists we interested in finding out not only people have common physical features, but they also wanted to find out why one would commit violent and sexual crimes. Scientists thought they could do their part by controlling who reproduces who. They wanted to prevent the weak and the disabled from reproducing with each other and instead they only want the smart and talented to be the ones reproducing. They though that this way, it would weed out the feebleminded and the criminals in the country. Doctors and scientist felt like it was their duty to control the future by the use of science.
People were so convinced by the government and the propaganda that it this was the best thing for the country that laws were passed in order to prevent the offspring of the unwanted. It was legal in 23 states to sterilize women that was considered feebleminded. America was just the start of this movement. Soon, the Germans and Adolf Hitler continues this movement in Germany. In the film “Nazi Medicine — In the Shadow of the Reich”, there was “about 300,000 to 500,000 people were sterilized in about 7 years.” The Nazi regime didn’t only just sterilize thousands of people, but they also killed millions of people during their time of power. They claimed that Jewish people were lowest of the totem pole in society and they felt like they needed to be eliminated from society in order to make the world better. So, that’s exactly what the Nazis did. They threw millions of Jews in concentration camps where they were inhumanly. Though during this time of genocide, the Germans thought they were doing the world a favor.