The Populist Persuasion Essays - Populism, Political Terminology

The Populist Persuasion : The Populist Persuasion Populism is a movement begun in the mid-1890s by farmers and other rural residents at the time. It quickly gained strength and has undergone many changes since then. It has not only changed in its views, but also in the political parties who utilize it not as an ideology but rather as a mode of persuasion. Populism is defined in the book as a language whose speakers see the American people as one and not as a people bound by class restrictions, who see the elite politicians who oppose them as self-serving, and who wish to bring these average Americans together to fight against the overbearing powers of the political elite. Populist speakers in the United States voiced their discontent with elites who ignored, corrupted, or betrayed the ideal of American democracy, which consisted of rule by the common people. After the farmers created what we know as populism in the mid-1890s, there was a parting of the ways. In the early twentieth century, farmers' enthusiasm waned but two other groups' did not. These groups consisted of the wage earners and the evangelic churchgoers. They argued that unions were now the best representation of the average man. At the same time, middle-class Protestants were mounting campaigns as well.. This was the first transition of the populist movement. . The second transition came in the late 1940s when populism began a migration from Left to Right. Conservative groups and politicians altered the speeches once given by reformers and radicals. Many reasons are given in the book as to why this transition took place. Some of these included: the onset of the Cold War, the fact that most white Americans came to see themselves as middle-class consumers and taxpayers, and the growth of evangelical churches whose political stance was as conservative as their theology. Gradually and unevenly, a conservative populism emerged that promised to defend devout, middle-class communities against the governing elite. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, many experimented with this new shift in group. However, conservatives did not fully understand populism's potential for persuasion during elections until the 1960s. Mainly, this indoctrination came from George Wallace. Wallace rallied up the south's people; his people. His people had unglamorous jobs and a culture that treasured close families and a steady faith in God and country. They were fed up and were going to turn this country around. He managed to look and sound more like an ordinary, working American than did anyone of distinction on the white Left. Unfortunately for Wallace, though, his style made him seem part of the crisis rather than essential to solving it. He was too authentically populist, too blunt and imprudent an outlet for the anger of his followers to attract other voters who simply wanted the nation's troubles to end. Nevertheless, beginning in the late 1960s, conservative activists and politicians - mostly Republican - re-created themselves as the true representatives of average white Americans. They learned to breed the same mass resentments that George Wallace had spoken of but had been unable to ride to victory. In order to achieve what Wallace had failed in doing, a softening of his definition of the people was required. Instead of suggesting a takeover by angry steelworkers and street cops, conservatives announced their understanding of the concerns of the silent majority of producers and consumers - taxpayers, white nationals, housewives, middle Americans who felt betrayed by the New Left. By the end of the 1960s there was a shared dislike, among most, of the governing and cultural elite and its supposed friends in the ghettos and on campus. By the late 1980s it was clear that the American conservatives had not succeeded in establishing a new political order. The populist politician no longer had the face of a conservative nor the face of a liberal. Populism had jumped from the hands of the Left to the hands of the Right through time and continues today as a movement striving to survive in a society in which populism has even been used by advertisers as a fad. Populism is, in my opinion, a necessary component of democracy today. However, I believe that put to use in the appropriate manner is the only way in which it

Free Essays on El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos)

El Greco Spanish, 1541 Domenikos Theotokopoulos was born – He died in 1614 Domenikos Theotokopoulos, called El Greco, which means The Greek was born in 1541 in Candia , now Irklion, the capital of Crete. In 1566 he was recorded in Candia as a master painter. He was an erudite man, whose taste for classical and contemporaneous literature seems to have developed in his youth. El Greco probably went to Italy to master the modern Western Renaissance style. He is documented in August 1568 in Venice, where he remained until the autumn of 1570, when he went to Rome. The rich colors and the free handling of paint of Venetian painters profoundly influenced him, but there is no evidence to support the tradition that he was apprenticed to Titian. In Rome, El Greco resided at least for a while at the Farnese Palace, where he became acquainted with the Farnese librarian, Fulvio Orsini, whose belief in the compatibility of art and scholarship seems to have profoundly influenced him. In 1572, El Greco was admitted to the Academy of Saint Luke as a miniature painter. Unable to obtain major public commissions in Rome, El Greco signed a contract in 1576 in Rome for altarpieces for the important church of Santa Domingo el Antiguo, Toledo. By July 1577 he had arrived in Toledo, and by September 1579 he had completed nine paintings for Santo Domingo. These works helped to establish his reputation as the most gifted artist in Toledo. The dissatisfaction of Philip II with the Martyrdom of Saint Maurice, which El Greco completed in 1582 for the church of El Escorial, effectively ended any hopes of royal patronage that he may have had. It is perhaps for this reason that he decided to remain in Toledo, where he had come in contact with a group of learned churchmen who appreciated his work. By 1585, El Greco appears to have established a corporate workshop capable of producing altar frames and statues as well as paintings. The decade 1597 to 1607 was ... Free Essays on El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos) Free Essays on El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos) El Greco Spanish, 1541 Domenikos Theotokopoulos was born – He died in 1614 Domenikos Theotokopoulos, called El Greco, which means The Greek was born in 1541 in Candia , now Irklion, the capital of Crete. In 1566 he was recorded in Candia as a master painter. He was an erudite man, whose taste for classical and contemporaneous literature seems to have developed in his youth. El Greco probably went to Italy to master the modern Western Renaissance style. He is documented in August 1568 in Venice, where he remained until the autumn of 1570, when he went to Rome. The rich colors and the free handling of paint of Venetian painters profoundly influenced him, but there is no evidence to support the tradition that he was apprenticed to Titian. In Rome, El Greco resided at least for a while at the Farnese Palace, where he became acquainted with the Farnese librarian, Fulvio Orsini, whose belief in the compatibility of art and scholarship seems to have profoundly influenced him. In 1572, El Greco was admitted to the Academy of Saint Luke as a miniature painter. Unable to obtain major public commissions in Rome, El Greco signed a contract in 1576 in Rome for altarpieces for the important church of Santa Domingo el Antiguo, Toledo. By July 1577 he had arrived in Toledo, and by September 1579 he had completed nine paintings for Santo Domingo. These works helped to establish his reputation as the most gifted artist in Toledo. The dissatisfaction of Philip II with the Martyrdom of Saint Maurice, which El Greco completed in 1582 for the church of El Escorial, effectively ended any hopes of royal patronage that he may have had. It is perhaps for this reason that he decided to remain in Toledo, where he had come in contact with a group of learned churchmen who appreciated his work. By 1585, El Greco appears to have established a corporate workshop capable of producing altar frames and statues as well as paintings. The decade 1597 to 1607 was ...