America Responds to Industrial Growth
As the Industrial Revolution continued to build America, a need arose for reforms in the system. At home, America realized that it was necessary to correct many of the inequalities and injustices in the economic system. People who felt it was proper for the government to use its power to this end were known as Progressives. In addition to this, the government realized that for business to continue to grow and prosper, they would need to expand around the world, gaining access to resources and markets. This would lead to the building of an American empire, or American Imperialism.
The main goals of the Progressive Movement were to:
1) Return control of the government to the people
2) Restore economic fairness and
3) Correct injustices in American life.
In 1889, Jane Addams founded Hull House in the slums of Chicago. The settlement house movement across the country brought young social reformers- many young, single, highly educated women who had not found a niche in society- into slums to help bridge the gap between the rich and poor by providing housing, education and recreation for the urban poor. Florence Kelley taught night school in Chicago and became so devoted to the problem of child labor that she (along with Jane Addams) was responsible for the passage of the Illinois Factory Act (1893), the first law in Illinois providing an 8 hour day for women in factories and for children under the age of 14.
In 1911, a fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York focused nationwide attention on unsafe working conditions, especially for women and children. With the exit doors locked to discourage unions and theft, the fire killed 146 people, mostly young girls. Public outcry led to laws to shorten the workweek and improve safety in factories. Photojournalist such as Louis Hine with both his Mill Girl and Breaker Boys series contributed to this movement.
In 1874, women who advocated total abstinence from alcohol formed the Women’s Christian Temperance Union. Francis Willard served as president from 1879 to 1898 and the organization grew to 500,000 members. The Anti-Saloon League was formed in 1893. The culmination in the temperance movement was the passage of the 18th Amendment (Prohibition) in 1920.
“sleep on the roof!”
In 1873, the Comstock Law made it illegal for doctors to give out birth control information. Margaret Sanger, a nurse who got fed up with women being told to “sleep on the roof” as the only alternative to multiple pregnancies that threatened their health, organized the 1st Birth Control Clinic in NY in 1916. She formed the American Birth Control League in 1921, the predecessor to Planned Parenthood.
In 1848, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony organized the 1st Women’s Suffrage Convention in Seneca Falls, NY. Susan B. Anthony dressed as a man and voted in the election of 1872. She was arrested and convicted, being fined a dollar. She organized the American Women’s Suffrage association in 1890. The Susan B. Anthony Amendment (19th – Women’s suffrage) was passed in 1920. In 1923, Alice Paul introduced the 1st Equal rights amendment. Unfortunately, it and subsequent amendments would never be passed.
In 1867, Oliver Kelly organized the first Grange. The Grange movement began as farmer organizations to pass information on more effective farming techniques. The expanded into cooperative elevators and stores and eventually political action. The main enemy – the railroads that were charging unfair and fixed rates for transport of crops to market. The Granger cases were a series of railroad cases that led to the regulation of the railroads. The most important of these was Munn vs. Illinois in 1877. At the national level, these cases led to the passage of the Interstate Commerce Act in 1887, setting up the Interstate Commerce commission to regulate interstate trade and the railroads.
Reform mayors and governors enacted most Progressive reforms at the local and state levels. These reforms attempted to eliminate patronage, bring professionalism into city government and democracy back to the people.
· Civil Service (Pendleton Act of 1883)–Set qualifications for employment, fair hiring based on them
· City Manager – The hiring of a professionally trained person to run the city, rather than a political mayor. This is the preferred method in local government in our suburbs.
· Australian (secret) ballot – Takes the specter of intimidation by the machine for your vote away.
· Recall – The ability to vote to remove officials who have betrayed the publics’ trust.
· Referendum – The ability to vote directly on an issue, usually Yes or No.
Muckrakers!
In 1902, Samuel McClure, owner of McClure’s Magazine sensed that what his magazine was writing about was different from what was going on out there in the real world. He sent his editor on a trip to see what was up out there. Lincoln Steffens wrote about city corruption and horrible living conditions in several cities in the series “The Shame of the Cities.” Ida Tarbell wrote a scathing “History of the Standard Oil Company,” exposing the formation of the trust and John D. Rockefeller and the art of muckraking was born. These journalists went looking for and exposed social, political and economic injustices in society. Photojournalist Jacob Riis exposed the horrid nature of the New York slums in How the Other Half Lives.
Upton Sinclair wrote The Jungle about the meat packing plants in Chicago in 1906. Attempting a piece of literature about the abuses of the workers by the owners, he instead “hit people in their stomachs,” telling them that their beef was not very clean or healthy. Upon reading the book, Teddy Roosevelt pushed for legislation in Congress, resulting in the passage of the Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act in 1906 (truth in labeling).
With the opening of Yellowstone National Park in 1872 and the National Forest Bureau in 1887, the federal government embarked on a program of natural resource preservation. By the time Teddy Roosevelt was president in the early 1900’s, the National Forest Reserve had grown to 193 million acres and the national park system had been greatly expanded. Roosevelt was an avid camper and had camped with lead naturalist John Muir at Yosemite in 1903.
In 1890, Congress passed the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, which made illegal any combination, monopoly, or trust that eliminated competition or free trade. Teddy Roosevelt was the first president to take a big trust to court, suing and breaking up Northern Securities, a railroad trust owned by J.P. Morgan in 1904. He went on to sue and break up 42 other trusts, the largest being Standard Oil and John D. Rockefeller.
Homework Assignment 29 Progressive Movement
1. Discuss the main goals of the Progressive movement.
a.
b.
c.
2. Discuss the work of Jane Addams and Florence Kelley
3. Discuss the Shirtwaist Factory Fire.
4. Discuss the 18th Amendment.
5. Discuss the work of Margaret Sanger.
6. Discuss the reform movement for women’s suffrage.
7. Discuss the founding and role of the Granges.
8. Discuss the Interstate Commerce Act.
9. Discuss 5 local reforms that brought power and control to the people.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
10. Discuss the work of 3 muckrakers.
a.
b.
c.
11. How did the Meat Inspection Act and Pure Food and Drug Act come about?
12. Discuss the conservation movement.
13. Discuss Teddy Roosevelt and trust-busting.
In the 1890’s the United States began to look past it’s borders, from manifest destiny to a world empire. The main form of American empire building and expansion will be through the opening of trade doors and the extension of the American industrial economy. This would provide necessary natural resources, markets and investment opportunities.
American version of the WASP…..
At the heart of the American expansion is the deep-rooted belief in our right and responsibility to do so. Americans came to believe in their superiority. Josiah Strong, a minister wrote in his best selling book, Our Country, that “as Anglo-Saxons, they were members of a God-favored race destined to lead the world.
In the 1820’s the first Americans arrived in Hawaii and soon played a dominant role in the islands economic and political life. In 1891, Queen Liliuokalani decreed a new constitution that gave more power to native Hawaiians. American residents revolted in 1893 and marines were sent to protect (or help?) the revolution. The Queen surrendered and the Republic of Hawaii was established. Hawaii was annexed in 1898.
In 1890, Alfred T. Mahan wrote the book, The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660-1783. In this book Mahan argued the key to economic success was a strong merchant marine and navy to protect it. (Great White Fleet) In 1907, the U.S. sailed 16 American warships around the world in a show of American force. (Great White Fleet)
By the 1890’s, Cuba and Puerto Rico were all that was left of the Spanish empire in the Americas. William Randolph Hearst (New York Journal) and Joseph Pulitzer (New York World) began a newspaper campaign to whip up anti-Spanish feeling. This “yellow journalism” was quite effective in pushing the public opinion, and eventually the American government into the Spanish-American War.
The Spanish - American War, declared in April, was over by August. Theodore Roosevelt quit his job as Assistant Secretary of the Navy to recruit his volunteer troop, the “Rough Riders.” Several black regiments were formed, and though they faced extreme prejudice from their white peers, fought with valor and were responsible for saving the Rough Riders after their famous charge up San Juan Hill. Commodore George Dewey steamed into Manila Bay (Philippines) and promptly sank the Spanish fleet.
The quick victory over the Spanish led to the problem of what to do with the fruits of victory and the debate over building the American empire. According to the peace accord with Spain, Cuba was granted independence and Puerto Rico and Guam were ceded to the United States. Cuba was independent, but an American protectorate. The problem was what to do with the Philippines. People who had been there, reflecting the racism of the time, did not feel the Filipinos were capable and ready for independence. The decision was to annex the Philippines with the idea of granting independence after a period of tutelage.
In class journal: Interpret the following cartoon from Puck Magazine.
Emilio Eguinaldo, the Filipino guerilla leader who had declared their independence from the Spanish in 1898 with the help of the U.S. and fought alongside the Americans during the war, led an uprising against the American occupation. The Philippine-American War (1898-1902) cost 4,300 American and as many as 200,000 Filipino lives. Independence would not come for some 50 years.
In September of 1898, Secretary John Jay outlined a new China policy establishing the “Open Door” to China, agreeing to respect both Chinese sovereignty and each other’s rights and privileges in China. The first test came in June of 1900 with the outbreak of the Boxer Rebellion. Fearing that Germany and Russia would use the putting down of the rebellion as an excuse to expand their spheres of power into China, Hay reaffirmed the Open Door Policy with a series of diplomatic notes and all the nations sent troops to put down the rebellion together.
Homework Assignment # 30
1. Discuss how the United States built an empire.
2. Discuss Josiah Strong.
3. Discuss Queen Liliukalani and the Hawaiian Revolution.
4. Discuss the work of Alfred T. Mahan.
5. Discuss yellow journalism.
6. Discuss the result of the Spanish-American War.
7. Discuss the Phillipine-American War.
8. Discuss the making of the Open Door Policy.
9. Discuss the Russo-Japanese War
The U.S. began negotiations to build a canal across the isthmus in the Panama region of Colombia. In 1903, when negotiations broke down President Roosevelt invited the people of Panama to revolt and sent warships to Panama to stop Colombian interference. He quickly recognized the new government of Panama and negotiated the treaty to build the canal. The Panama Canal was completed in 1914.
Speak softly but carry a big stick….
The United States was becoming more and more worried about the debts owed by Latin American countries to the European powers. Roosevelt warned the countries of Latin America that if they could not get their acts together it would be necessary for the U.S. to intervene with force to avoid European action. In the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, he warned that the U.S. would “speak softly but carry a big stick.” President William Howard Taft encouraged American banks to take over the Latin American debts to Europe, promising the protection of the American government. This Dollar Diplomacy, led to constant interventions by American marines in the next 50 years.
The 1st World War began on August 4, 1914, when German troops invaded Belgium on their way to France. Historians generally cite four long-term causes of the war – nationalism, imperialism, militarism, and alliance building.
· Nationalism, the belief that national interests should be placed above cooperation
· Imperialism, the building of empires
· Militarism, the development of armed forces and their use as a tool of diplomacy
· Alliances tied the various powers to each in mutual defense treaties.
The spark that ignited the war was the assassination of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, by a Serbian nationalist in Sarajevo, Bosnia. Austria-Hungary used the incident to obtain a “blank check” of assistance from Germany and looked to bring Serbia back into the fold. Russia came to the support of Serbia, Germany to the support of Austria, France and England to the support of the Russians.
The fighting of the war was characterized by deadlock and digging in, or trench warfare, with a no mans land between the two trenches. New weapons such as mustard gas and barbed wire contributed to this bloody trench warfare. Mechanized warfare was also introduced in WW1 with the new weapons tanks and airplanes being used. The Western Front was in France; the Eastern Front in Russia. In 1917, after suffering about 2.5 million casualties, Russian Communists ousted the Czar and made peace with Germany.
The position of the U.S. was to stay neutral, but this was made difficult on our insistence on being able to trade with both the British and the Germans while the were at war. The British put a blockade on the coast of Germany, effectively stopping American trade ships. In response to the British blockade, the Germans used a new weapon, the U-boat to try to stop trade with the British. In 1915, the British liner the Lusitania was sunk, killing 1,198 people, 128 of them Americans. Americans were outraged at the sinking of an unarmed ship, though history has shown that the U.S. was indeed shipping weapons to the British on such ships. In 1916 the Germans agreed to stop unrestricted submarine warfare.
Yes, we’ll come to your party, or was it out party all along?
In 1917, events led to the U.S. joining the war. First, the Communist Revolution in Russia brought the German war effort from two fronts to one, as the Russians made peace with Germany. The Germans then decided to make an all out effort to end the war before the U.S. could mobilize. They made plans to approach the Mexican government, looking to see if Mexico could be convinced to join them and occupy the Americans, promising the return of lands taken during the 1846 war. British agents intercepted the Zimmerman note, a telegram from the German foreign minister to the German ambassador in Mexico. The Germans also announced their intention to resume unrestricted submarine warfare.
As the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF), under the leadership of General John J. “Blackjack” Pershing, rushed to France it became a race to see if American forces could get ready before the Germans pushed into Paris. American forces were able to help turn back the German advances at Cantigny (some 50 miles outside of Paris), then begin to push the Germans back at Chateau-Thierry, Belleau Wood and the 2nd Battle of the Marne. On November 11, 1918 the Germans agreed to a cease-fire that ended the war.
Woodrow Wilson came down from the mountain….
President Woodrow Wilson had presented his plan for world peace before the U.S.had entered the war in his 14 Points. These 14 Points became the reason we fought the war and the basis of the post-war peace he sought. They included:
- open covenants to replace secret alliances
- freedom of the seas
- lowering of tariffs and trade barrier
- reduction in arms
- self determination for ethnic groups (Austria-Hungary and Poland) and a
- world peace organization (League of Nations).
Wilson argued for his plan as the Big Four (U.S., England, France and Italy) met to sign the treaty to end the war in 1919. However, the other nations insisted on huge reparations and a war-guilt clause for Germany. These demands would be a big part of the cause of WW2. When Wilson returned to the U.S. after signing the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, he found a Senate which had become so isolationist that it refused to approve the treaty. Thus, we never approved the treaty and did not become an official member of the League of Nations.
Homework Assignment #31
1. Discuss the process by which the Panama Canal was built.
2. Discuss the Roosevelt Corollary.
3. Discuss the four long-term causes of WW1.
a.
b.
c.
d.
4. Discuss the concept of trench warfare.
5. How did new weapons change the fighting of the war?
6. Discuss:
a. submarine warfare
b. Lusitania
7. Discuss the 3 events that led to American involvement in the war.
a.
b.
c.
10. Discuss six aspects of the 14 Points.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.