We all probably learned this American classic when we were kids. The theme is simple – when the war is over, we’ll all be happy and everything will be fine.
Another song featuring another “Johnny” is quite a bit darker. It was written as an Irish tune (the first verse reflects this), but the rest of the lyrics apply more generally.
I’m thinking about this today because I’m putting together a Osher course proposal for the spring of 2024. I’m calling it “After Johnny.” It will focus on the events of the last 35 years of the 19th century in America – after “Johnny Came Marching Home.” As history has taught us, the years after any war are tumultuous, as the society that engaged in the war deals with the humanitarian, social, economic, and political consequences of the conflict. The last few decades of the 19th century are no exception to this cycle.
After “Johnny” came home, the United States had to deal with a wide range of problems. Abraham Lincoln said it well in his second inaugural address (on March 4, 1865, only 41 days before an assassin would murder him):
With malice toward none with charity for all with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right let us strive on to finish the work we are in to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan ~ to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations."
We all know what happened next. Lincoln was assassinated and the country began a long and rocky road to reconciliation. In the early years of “Reconstruction,” the country looked like it was on the way to becoming a more racially just society; however, the controversial election of 1876 showed that reconciliation was a long way down the path, as “redemptionist” governments took over in the South and the rest of the country moved on to become an economic and international powerhouse by the end of the century.
In this course, I’m going to focus on a half-dozen key events that illustrate the changing focus of the time period. I haven’t identified the events that make the cut, but I have identified the topics I’ll be covering.
Civil Rights
My options under this general heading will focus on the hope embodied in the three post-Civil War Constitutional Amendments, the 1875 Amnesty Act that showed that “binding up the nation’s wounds” would involve a nationally declared amnesia about the war, and the 1896 Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson that illustrated how firmly white supremacy had become established across the country.
Economic and Industrial Development
Under this heading, my choices include two financial panics (1873 and 1893), the rise of industrialization and the concomitant recognition of the need for government regulation of business, and the growing national manufacturing and transportation infrastructure.
Government Action
Under this heading, I’m thinking about several laws, including the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act and the 1887 creation of both the Interstate Commerce Commission and the Hatch Act, which restricted political action by government officials in order to reduce the appearance of corruption.
Political Events
Here, I have a choice of six presidential elections and the associated political ramifications of each of them. When I was teaching high school history, I sometimes referred to this time as one of a series of “no-name” presidents – Hayes, Garfield, Arthur, Cleveland, and Harrison. Most of them were one-term presidents, and they never appear in the pantheon of “great” presidents. They’re not on our currency or on Mt. Rushmore, and they don’t have a “doctrine” associated with their names.
The Rise of Populism and Progressivism
The process of industrialization was in full swing in this era, and one of the results was the formation of political movements that challenged the dominant economic elites of the country. A variety of worker’s rights and “people’s” movements emerged in this era to assert, in general, that the “little people” had rights too.
Social Movements
This era also featured the rise of public universities across the country, national sporting organizations like the National League (baseball) and national basketball leagues, and intercollegiate athletics. This was also the era of the creation of the National Park system, as well as subways in major cities.
Westward Expansion
It was during this era that the nation achieved its “manifest destiny” to “o’erspread the continent.” New states were regularly being added, and the purchase of Alaska and the annexation of Hawaii occurred during this time period. This period also featured a variety of treaties with indigenous tribes on the land that the United States was gradually incorporating, culminating with the elimination of the “threat” from these tribes after the 1890 Wounded Knee massacre.
International Relations
The United States settled the uncertainty of its relationship with the British Empire on the Canadian border and began to flex its muscle in international trade. The 1898 Spanish-American war featured the first appearance of a newly invigorated United States on the international stage, followed in short order by a rebellion in the Philippines in opposition to the new American presence in that part of the world. The United states built a navy and increased its capacity to build (and sell) weapons. This is what made the US a player in the world wars of the 20th century.
I have to think a lot over the next couple of months as I fine-tune my focus for this class. Course proposals for the spring semester are due in September, so by then I need to have narrowed this focus to about six events – one for each hour of the six-hour course. I have found that this approach is more effective than a simple chronological presentation of events. If I select the events carefully, I’ll be able to incorporate the important chronology while creating a good flow to the presentation.
I’d be interested in what you all would like me to focus on.
This is great! I would definitely sign up for this course, you've made it sound so interesting!
Yep. Still like the idea for Osher.