Chapter 19: From Crisis to Empire

What happened as a result of the election of 1896?

William McKinley was able to win the election by winning the big cities and the industrial areas of the north and Midwest.

To whom did the Populist Party appeal primarily?

Small farmers in geographically isolated regions.

Politician who gave the Cross of Gold speech and lost two different presidential elections to William McKinley.

William Jennings Bryan

American presidents who were assassinated.

Garfield and McKinley

What military and political problems were encountered in fighting the Spanish and Filipinos?

-supply shortages (rifles/ammunition/adequate uniforms, medical services, and food) -inexperienced soldiers -racial conflicts between soldiers -Roosevelt's reckless war crazy attitude -disease -Filipinos didn't want to be ruled -Americans realized subjugating a people required more than just ideals -they faced guerrilla tactics -to prepare the Filipinos for independence, they were given broad autonomy and built roads, schools, bridges, and sewers, instituted major reforms, and established a public health system

What events led up to and through the Spanish-American War?

1. The Cuban revolt of 1895 horrified Americans because of the brutality, performed on both sides, that made Americans want to help. The newspapers helped by exaggerating Spanish brutality, especially performed by Valeriano "Butcher" Weyler. Cleveland proclaimed neutrality. 2. A Cuban agent stole the de Lome Letter, which described McKinley as a weak man and a bidder for the admiration of the crowd, which created intense popular anger (though it was true). 3. The USS Maine blew up in Havana harbor, ordered to protect American lives and property in Cuba. Many Americans assumed the Spanish had sunk the ship, even though it was probably because of an accidental explosion in one of the engine rooms. McKinley still wanted to avoid war, but his administration (mostly Theodore Roosevelt) wanted war, so he declared war after Spain refused to negotiate a permanent peace. 4. The war was under a year long. Not many Americans died in battle, but a lot died of disease. There were also shortages of supplies and inadequate uniforms. 5. George Dewey seized the Philippines after destroying the Spanish fleet at Manila. 6. Theodore Roosevelt lost a lot of men in the charge up Kettle Hill and helped in the battle for San Juan Hill. 7. Cervera surrendered Santiago, allowing the Americans to take Cuba. 8. Americans occupied Puerto Rico with virtually no opposition. 9. Spain recognized the independence of Cuba, ceded Puerto Rico and Guam to the US, and accepted continued American occupation of Manila pending the final disposition of the Philippines.

Why did agrarian discontent decline after 1898?

1. The Populist Party dissolved after the Election of 1896. 2. The Gold Standard Act of 1900 ended the battle of the standards (even though against what the farmers wanted). 3. Prosperity returned in 1898 - foreign crop failures sent farm prices up. 4. New sources of gold were found in Alaska, Australia, and South Africa.

What circumstances permitted Democrats to gain control of the presidency in the elections of 1884 and 1892?

1884: The Republican candidate, James G. Blaine, was known to his admirers as the Plumed Knight but to many others as a symbol of seamy party politics. A group of disgruntled liberal Republicans announced they would support an honest Democrat, so the Democrats nominated Grover Cleveland, the reform governor of NY. He differed from Blaine on no substantive issues but had acquired a reputation as an enemy of corruption. What might have decided the election in favor of Cleveland was that Blaine supposedly tolerated a slander on the Catholic Church. 1892: The Republicans were interested in the issue they believed had won the the 1888 election, the tariff, instead of things like antitrust acts, so Nelson W. Aldrich drafted the McKinley Tariff, which caused a stunning reversal. The Republicans were not able to recover in the course of the next two years, and in the presidential election, Harrison supported protection and Cleveland opposed it and won.

What did the Philippine War become?

A long, bloody guerrilla war.

American naval officer whose influential book emphasized sea power and advocated a large navy.

Alfred Thayer Mahan

What happened as a result of the writings of Alfred Thayer Mahan?

America built one of the largest navies in the world.

How did American imperial ambitions compare with broader global trends in imperialism at the turn of the century?

America's empire was a lot smaller. The US tried to create this empire only when they saw other nations cutting up Africa and Asia among themselves and didn't want to be left out.

In 1893, a revolution in Hawaii overthrew the government of Queen Liliuokalani. By whom was this revolution mainly instigated?

American plantation interests in Hawaii.

To what did the Open Door notes lead?

Boxer Rebellion

What was the significance of the presidential campaign and election of 1896?

Bryan won the Democratic nomination with his Cross of Gold Speech, in which he supported the coinage of silver. The Populists fused with the Democrats. The campaign of 1896 produced desperation among Republicans so that they spend 7 million on their campaign, as compared to the $300,000 Democratic campaign. McKinley stuck with the tradition that presidential candidates did not actively campaign. Bryan didn't and became the first presidential candidate to travel the country campaigning and told the voters he wanted to be president. While he helped establish the modern form of presidential politics, he also antagonized many voters and lost. The Populists had gambled everything on their fusion with the Democrats and the party began to dissolve. Never again would American farmers unite so militantly to demand economic reform.

Prominent American anti-imperialists.

Carnegie and Twain

What positions did the two major parties take on the tariff question? What was the trend of tariff legislation in the 1880's and 1890's?

Democrats: Cleveland had always doubted the wisdom of protective tariffs. The existing high rates, he believed, were responsible for the annual surplus in federal revenues, which tempted Congress to pass reckless and extravagant legislation. Republicans: They supported high tariffs because they protect American business. Legislation: In 1887, Cleveland asked Congress to reduce the tariff rates, but Democrats in the House and Republicans in the Senate turned the issue into a deadlock. The McKinley Tariff, which became law in 1980, was the highest protective measure ever proposed to Congress. Cleveland lowered the tariff rates slightly with the Wilson-Gorman Tariff.

How did the silver question rise from the Crime of '73 through the Gold Standard Act of 1900?

During most of its existence as a nation, the US had recognized both gold and silver as a basis for the dollar (bimetallism). In the 1870's, the official ratio of silver to gold was 16 to 1, but the commercial value was much higher, so owners of silver could get more by selling it for manufacture than converting it into coins, so the mint stopped coining silver. In 1873, Congress passed a law saying that only gold would be used as currency. This met a lot of opposition when the market value of silver fell and was known as the Crime of '73. The Populist Party and the Democrats through Bryan fought for the coinage of silver, but after the election of 1896, the People's Party was basically destroyed. The Gold Standard Act of 1900 confirmed the nation's commitment to the gold standard by assigning a specific gold value to the dollar and requiring all currency issued by the US to hew to that value.

Filipino leader of a guerrilla war against American rule from 1899 to 1901.

Emilio Aguinaldo

To what does the expression Crime of '73 refer?

Ending the coinage of silver.

What relationship existed between American economic and military interests and imperial developments in Hawaii, Samoa, and Puerto Rico?

Hawaii: Hawaii was an important station in the China trade, and by the 1880's, officers were looking at Pearl Harbor as a permanent naval base. Pressure also came from the Americans living in Hawaii who had come to dominate the economic and political life. Missionaries settled there and sugar plantations were established, which was devastating to Hawaiian society (diseases). The American planters instigated a revolt that overthrew Queen Liliuokalani, and a provisional government dominated by Americans sent a delegation to Washington to negotiate a treaty of annexation. The debate continued until 1898. Samoa: The US Navy wanted a base at Pago Pago. In 1878, a treaty was made for this base. But Great Britain and Germany were also interested in the islands. Finally, the three nations agreed to share power over Samoa, but the US and Germany divided the islands between them in 1899. Puerto Rico: Spain had granted Puerto Rico a degree of independence, but then Puerto Rico changed hands. An American military force remained in control until 1900, when the Foraker Act established a formal colonial government. In 1917, the Jones Act declared Puerto Rico American territory and Puerto Ricans American citizens. Puerto Rico also became filled with sugar plantations. Even though they could now take advantage of the American market, open to them without tariffs, they became dependent upon imports and international sugar prices.

American presidents who stand way in the back at the Walt Disney World Hall of Presidents.

Hayes, Harrison, and Cleveland.

What happened as a result of the Panic of 1893?

High unemployment led to widespread social unrest.

What was the significance of the Cross of Gold speech?

It led to William Jennings Bryan's Democratic presidential nomination.

Leader of a group of unemployed workers who marched on Washington DC in 1894.

Jacob Coxey

What were the objectives of American foreign policy at the turn of the century with respect to power in the Western Hemisphere?

James G. Blaine led early efforts to expand American influence into Latin America, where, he believed, the US must look for markets for its surplus goods. The Pan-American Union was created in 1889, a weak international organization in Washington that served as a clearing house of info to member nations. They rejected Blaine's proposals of an inter-American customs union and arbitration procedures for hemispheric disputes. The Cleveland administration upheld the Monroe Doctrine by supporting Venezuela in a dispute with Great Britain.

American Secretary of State who called the Spanish-American War "a splendid little war" and issued the "Open Door notes."

John Hay

What did the reforms of Elihu Root concern?

Modernizing the US Army.

What was a significant characteristic of American politics at the national level during the late 19th century?

Nearly equal division of popular support for the Democratic and Republican Parties.

As a result of the Philippine War, did the US give the Philippine Islands back to Spain?

No

Did Spanish troops in Cuba deliberately blow up the USS Maine?

No

Did electoral turnout of eligible voters in the late 19th century tend to be lower than it is today?

No

Did the Populist Party gain its greatest support from factory workers in eastern and mid-western cities?

No

Did the Populists want greater government control of the American economy?

No

Did the Sherman Antitrust Act prevent American businesses from forming trusts?

No

Was Theodore Roosevelt a leader in the domestic opposition to the Spanish-American War?

No

Was the Interstate Commerce Commission able to effectively control the railroads?

No

What were the origins, purposes, and effectiveness of the Interstate Commerce Act and the Sherman Antitrust Act?

Origins : The Sherman Antitrust Act came about because people were complaining about monopolies and how they restrained competition. The Interstate Commerce act came about because people, especially farmers, complained about unfair rail rates. Purposes: The Sherman Antitrust was passed by Congress in 1890 to help weaken corporations that restrained competition. The Interstate Commerce Act was passed by Congress in 1887 to ban discrimination in rates between long and short hauls, require that railroads publish their rate schedules and file them with the government, and declared that all interstate rail rates be reasonable and just. The Interstate Commerce Commission was to administer the act. Effectiveness: Neither was very effective. The Sherman Antitrust Act had no impact for over a decade because the courts hardly ever instituted antitrust suits and convicted businesses. The Interstate Commerce Commission had to rely on the courts to enforce its rulings, so the Interstate Commerce Act wasn't effective for almost twenty years.

Which act was passed partially as a result of the assassination of James Garfield?

Pendleton Civil Service Act

Yellow journalists who vigorously promoted anti-Spanish propaganda before the Spanish-American war.

Pulitzer and Hearst

Native Hawaiian ruler overthrown in a revolution led by American planters.

Queen Liliuokalani

What were the so-called Granger laws designed to regulate?

Railroad and warehouse rates.

What historical controversy surrounded the origins and character of agrarian populism?

Some historians viewed the Populists with suspicion and hostility because they mistrust mass uprisings, while others have viewed such insurgency approvingly, as evidence of a healthy resistance to oppression and exploitation. To them, they have appeared as essentially admirable, democratic activists.

Why was the Manifest Destiny of the 1890's different from the Manifest Destiny of the 1840's and 1850's?

Territories were not likely to become states and were not on the North American mainland.

How did the rise of agrarian discontent manifest in the Granger movement, the Farmers' Alliances, and the Populist movement?

The Grangers were the first major farm organization and appeared in the 1860's. The Grange had its origins in a tour through the South by a minor Agriculture Department official, Oliver H. Kelley. He was appalled by the isolation and drabness or rural life, so he and other department employees founded the National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry. At first, they attempted to bring farmers together to learn new scientific agricultural techniques and create a feeling of community. As the organization grew, they began to focus more on economic possibilities by attempting to organize marketing cooperatives to allow farmers to circumvent middlemen and curb monopolies. They also worked to elect state legislators to regulate railroads. These were destroyed by the courts, and the Grange declined. The Farmers' Alliances were the successor to the Grange. They were principally concerned with local problems: forming cooperatives, establishing stores, banks, and processing plants for members, and some argued for a sense of mutual responsibility that would enable farmers to resist oppressive outside forces. Their cooperatives did not always work well because the market forces against them were too strong and because the cooperatives were mismanaged. The Populist Party (People's Party) was born out of the Farmer's Alliances. The Populists wanted the direct election of senators, government ownership of railroads, telephones, and telegraphs, the establishment of subtreasuries that would advance loans against stored crops, and a graduated income tax.

What motives were behind the Open Door Notes and the Boxer intervention?

The US wanted to keep their favorable trade policy with China. Americans participated in quelling the Boxer Rebellion to secure a voice in the settlement of the uprising and to prevent the partition of China by European powers.

To what does the expression yellow journalism refer?

The newspapers that emphasized lurid and sensational news.

What was the nature of American party politics in the last third of the 19th century?

The party system was very stable, as the electorate was almost evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats. The Republicans generally controlled the Senate and the Democrats generally controlled the House. Voter turnout was very high. The two parties rarely took different positions on important public issues. Party loyalty reflected region, religion, and ethnicity. The parties were able to avoid substantive issues because the federal and state governments did relatively little.

How did the problems of political patronage in the administrations of Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, and Chester A. Arthur lead to the passage of the Pendleton Act?

The power of party bosses had an important effect on the power of the presidency. The office had great symbolic importance, but its occupants were unable to do very much except distribute government appointments. A new president and his tiny staff had to make almost 100,000 appointments. Even in this, they had limited latitude since they had to avoid offending the various factions within their own parties, which sometimes proved impossible. Hayes's Presidency was made unhappy by trying to make both the Stalwarts (traditional) and Half-Breeds (reform) happy. The Republicans only won the election of 1880 because the presidential candidate (Garfield) was a Half-Breed and the vice presidential candidate (Arthur) was a Stalwart. In 1883, Congress passed the first national civil service measure, the Pendleton Act, which required that some federal jobs be filled by competitive written examinations rather than by patronage. Relatively few offices fell under civil service at first, but its reach extended steadily.

What was the most serious issue in the debate over ratification of the Treaty of Paris in 1898?

The status of the Philippines.

What was the nature of military reforms carried out following the Spanish-American War?

The war had revealed glaring deficiencies in the American military system. The entire organization had demonstrated problems of supply, training, and coordination. McKinley appointed Elihu Root as secretary of war to supervise a major overhaul. He enlarged the regular army from 25,000 to a maximum of 100,000. They established federal army standards for the National Guard so they would never fight a war with volunteer regiments trained and equipped differently than those in the regular army. They sparked the creation of a system of officer training schools. In 1903, a general staff was established to act as military advisers to the secretary of war.

Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Spanish-American War hero, and supporter of imperialism and Philippine annexation.

Theodore Roosevelt

What did the Sherman Antitrust Act and the Interstate Commerce Act have in common?

They did little to break up trusts or regulate interstate commerce.

Why did the US want an open door in China?

They wanted to make money by trading with China.

Spanish General called the Butcher whose brutal tactics against Cuban rebels outraged American public opinion.

Valeriano Weyler

According to the terms of the Platt Amendment, what did the newly-independent Cuba have the right to do?

What the US told them to do.

What was the new strand of Manifest Destiny? How did it have roots in the old Manifest Destiny philosophy?

With the new Manifest Destiny, territories were less likely to become states and were not on the North American mainland. It had its roots in the old Manifest Destiny philosophy because the experience of subjugating the Indians had established a precedent for exerting colonial control over dependent peoples. Turner's Thesis produced fears of dwindling natural resources. The depression of the 1890's encouraged some businessmen to look overseas for new markets.

By the end of Ch. 19, had America acquired an overseas empire?

Yes

Did US contact with Hawaii begin well before the Civil War?

Yes

Did the Panic of 1893 cause a severe and long-lasting depression?

Yes

Did the Platt Amendment allow the US to intervene in Cuba's affairs?

Yes

Did the so-called Granger laws provide for state government regulation of railroads?

Yes

In the 1896 election, did William Jennings Bryan receive most of his votes from the farming areas of the south and the west?

Yes

Which of the following statements concerning the Spanish-American War is false? a. Most of the American casualties in the war were as a result of combat. b. Theodore Roosevelt became a national hero for his charge up Kettle Hill. c. The US seized islands from Spain in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. d. Commodore Dewey destroyed the Spanish fleet in Manila harbor. e. The war took less than a year to fight.

a. Most of the American casualties in the war were as a result of combat.

Which of the following ideas was not favored by the Populists in their 1892 Omaha platform? a. the direct election of senators b. the abolition of bad weather c. government ownership of railroads, telephones, and telegraphs d. the establishment of subtreasuries that would advance loans against stored crops e. a graduated income tax

b. the abolition of bad weather

Which of the following was not a reason why the free-silver movement declined after the election 1896? a. farm prices began to rise b. new sources of gold were found in Alaska, Australia, and South Africa c. farmers stopped growing wheat and corn and began to grow asparagus and broccoli d. Americans started paying attention to foreign affairs e. the American economy entered a period of prosperity

c. farmers stopped growing wheat and corn and began to grow asparagus and broccoli

Which of the following events was most crucial in the US decision to declare war on Spain in 1898? a. Spain's attempts to regain the Louisiana Territory b. the de Lome Letter c. the explosion in Havana Harbor of the USS Maine d. President Cleveland's desire to take over Cuba e. President McKinley's decision to outlaw the teaching of Spanish in American schools

c. the explosion in Havana Harbor of the USS Maine

In the late 19th century, which of the following groups would least likely vote Democrat? a. Roman Catholics of immigrant origin b. Protestant farmers of the South c. unskilled wage earners d. poor workers e. northern blacks

e. northern blacks