D. The Evolution of American Society
This theme intersects and weaves together other themes -- the diversity resulting from American geography (Section A), and from the coming together of a remarkable range of peoples and cultures (Section F); the evolution of American political democracy (Section B) and political ideas (Section C) as forces shaping the growth and development of society; the growth and development of a distinctive American culture as a component of society, drawing on and synthesizing the range of cultures brought to America (Section E); the influence on society of economic growth (the rise of an independent and healthy American economy -- Section G), diversification (the development of a range of industrial enterprises, and the gradual division of society into sections and regions, and into urban, rural, and suburban areas -- Sections A, C.vii, and G), and transformation (from an agricultural economy to an industrial economy to a postindustrial/service economy -- Section G).
Another important issue falls under this heading. Some historians argue that inquiries into the nation's social history should emphasize the development and evolution of class lines within the great body of the people; others reject a narrow, European-based definition of class as inapplicable to American life, without inquiring into the exact nature of this supposedly "classless" society. We seek a middle ground, rejecting old ideas of class (like those found in pre-1789 France) while nonetheless acknowledging the development and growth of social stratification in American life (though much simpler and less rigid than its European, Asian, or Latin American counterparts).
In general, social stratification based on birth -- the heart of which was a vague but socially important distinction between "gentlemen" and "the common sort" -- was a fact of life during the colonial period. It received its first abrupt and serious shocks during the Revolution and early national periods, was severely damaged during the years before the Civil War, and was shattered by the war and Reconstruction. Social stratification then achieved a new basis in the late nineteenth century: of wealth, entrepreneurship, ethnicity, and the rise of the professions and the new managerial middle class. On this basis, social stratification and diversification of society continued to grow and develop throughout the twentieth century. Barriers that excluded women and members of religious, racial, and ethnic minorities from the professions gradually diminished in power in the middle and late twentieth century (though never fading away). Still, Americans, whether consciously or unconsciously, continued to recognize and shape their lives by reference to such social distinctions as the kinds of jobs or careers they pursued; the nature and extent of education they were able to amass; the places where they could afford to live; and the kinds of homes they had or cars they drove.
Essential to the evolution of American society as a theme of American history is the story of struggles by excluded groups -- notably African-Americans and women -- to break into the political population and the mainstream of American life. Though the civil-rights movement established the model for other modern rights campaigns, movements for rights, justice, and equality for excluded groups began long before the modern paradigm -- of legal challenges to existing barriers, social and political protest, and educational activism -- was established.{3} These crusades had two components. At their core, at least at first, was a battle for legal equality and legal recognition of individual rights. Complementing and eventually overshadowing the legal battle was a larger social struggle, designed to capture the imagination and the allegiance of the general public by dramatizing the injustices suffered by the group seeking redress. This latter component of the struggle was driven by the recognition that legal equality was not full equality if it left undisturbed the social prejudices that lay at the root of discriminatory legal doctrines and practices.