history exam 2

Booker T. Washington

African American progressive who supported segregation and demanded that African Americans better themselves individually to achieve equality. Born into slavery, Booker T. Washington put himself through school and became a teacher after the Civil War. In 1881, he founded the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute in Alabama (now known as Tuskegee University), which grew immensely and focused on training African Americans in agricultural pursuits. The foremost black educator of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He also had a major influence on southern race relations and was the dominant figure in black public affairs from 1895 until his death in 1915. Booker T. Washington, reformer and the most influential black leader of his time (1856-1915) preached a philosophy of self-help, racial solidarity and accommodation. He urged blacks to accept discrimination for the time being and concentrate on elevating themselves through hard work and material prosperity.

William E. B. Du Bois

(1868-1963) William Edward Burghardt Du Bois was the most important black protest leader in the United States during the first half of the 20th century. Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Du Bois grew up in a relatively tolerant and integrated community, and after completing graduate work at the University of Berlin and Harvard, where he was the first African American to earn a doctorate, he became a professor of history, sociology and economics at Atlanta. He was an American sociologist, socialist, historian, civil rights activist, Pan-Africanist, author, writer, and editor. One of the founders of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People); believed in immediate equality for African Americans. Du Bois turned to communism as the means to achieve equality. He envisioned communism as a society that promoted the well being of all its members, not simply a few. Before leaving the United States for Ghana on 7 October 1961, Du Bois officially joined the American Communist Party, declaring in his 1 October 1961 letter of application that it and socialism were the only viable hope for black liberation and world peace.

Margaret Sanger

(1879-1966) Margaret Higgins Sanger was an American birth control activist, sex educator, social reformer, writer, and nurse. Sanger popularized the term "birth control", opened the first birth control clinic in the United States, and established organizations that evolved into the Planned Parenthood Federation of America American leader of the movement to legalize birth control during the early 1900's. As a nurse in the poor sections of New York City, she had seen the suffering caused by unwanted pregnancy. The founder of the birth control movement in the United States and an international leader in the field. She founded the American Birth Control League, one of the parent organizations of the Birth Control Federation of America, which in 1942 became the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. She married William Sanger, an architect, and moved to Hastings, New York, where the couple had three children. The Sangers moved to New York City in 1910, where they became involved with various Progressive Era activists and intellectuals, including Max Eastman, Upton Sinclair, and Emma Goldman.

Philippine Insurrection

1899-1902 guerrilla war fought by Filipino rebels against American colonial rule in the Philippines The Philippine-American War, 1899-1902. After its defeat in the Spanish-American War of 1898 , Spain ceded its longstanding colony of the Philippines to the United States in the Treaty of Paris. The basic causes of the Philippine-American War can be found in the U.S. government's quest for an overseas empire and the desire of the Filipino people for freedom. In other words, this war was a clash between the forces of imperialism and nationalism. Even before the Philippines was annexed by the U.S. there existed tension between U.S. troops and Filippinos. The situation deteriorated and eventually we entered into a war with the Philippines. Emilio Aguinaldo helped Americans fight Spain only to turn on them once free. In 1901, Aguinaldo surrendered which greatly hurt the Filippino cause. The Philippines was not an independent nation until July 4, 1946. The war began with shooting on the outskirts of Manila on the night of February 4, 1899. Throughout the spring of 1899, American troops pushed north into the central Luzon Plain, and by the end of that year Filipino Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo had retreated into the inaccessible northern mountains.

Populist Movement

A major third party of the 1890s formed on the basis of the Southern Farmers' Alliance and other reform organizations. How did it begun? = Political movement begun by farmers and members of labor unions in the late 1800's seeking to limit the power of big businesses and get the government to regulate banks, railroads, and improve working conditions. They wanted to protect their interest in America; movement wanted to expand the money supply and regulate Big Business. What groups made up the populist movement? = It drew its members from Farmers' Alliances, the Grange, and the Knights of Labor. Originally, the Populists did not form a national organization, preferring to gain political influence within individual states. The Populist Party consisted primarily of farmers unhappy with the Democratic and Republican Parties. Who supported? = In the 1896 presidential election, the Democratic Party nominated William Jennings Bryan and adopted a platform that included several planks from the 1892 Populist platform. After much discussion, Populist leaders decided to support Bryan and in so doing, signed the death warrant of the Populist Party. Platform? = The party adopted a platform calling for free coinage of silver, abolition of national banks, a subtreasury scheme or some similar system, a graduated income tax, plenty of paper money, government ownership of all forms of transportation and communication, election of Senators by direct vote of the people, nonownership of land by foreigners, civil service reform, a working day of eight hours, postal banks, pensions, revision of the law of contracts, and reform of immigration regulations. Goals? = The goal of the Populists in 1892 was no less than that of replacing the Democrats as the nation's second party by forming an alliance of the farmers of the West and South with the industrial workers of the East. James B. Weaver was the Populist candidate for President that year, and he polled over 1,041,000 votes. The Populist votes in the 1894 congressional elections increased to 1,471,000 as the party gained momentum.

Fourteen Points

A series of proposals in which U.S. President Woodrow Wilson outlined a plan for achieving a lasting peace after World War I. Most of his plans were rejected by European leaders. The war aims outlined by President Wilson in 1918, which he believed would promote lasting peace; called for self-determination, freedom of the seas, free trade, end to secret agreements, reduction of arms and a league of nations. 14 Points Were Unsuccessful: President Woodrow Wilson made his Fourteen Points with the goal of preventing future wars. Clearly, when viewed in this light, they were a complete failure. Some of them were successful in the short term since they did lead to the creation of certain nation-states, the reduction of the size of certain militaries, as well as the short-lived League of Nations. Needless to say, the ramp-up of militarism in Europe and Asia in the 1930s and World War II, meant that Wilson's goals ultimately failed to succeed. 14 Points Include ... : - There shall be free trade between the countries that accept peace. - There shall be a worldwide reduction in weapons and armies by all countries. - Colonial claims over land and regions will be fair. - Russia will be allowed to determine its own form of government.

Ratification Battle

Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists The fight for the ratification of the Constitution was fought in each state separately. While in some states, such as Delaware, which was the first to ratify the Constitution, there was little opposition; in others, the opposition ran high and the votes were often close. John Hancock who shifted his initial opposition to the Constitution led the move toward ratification. Satisfied that certain amendments protecting individual rights were going to be considered by the first new Congress that would meet should the Constitution become law. Why was the Ratification of the Constitution difficult? = The Federalists felt that this addition wasn't necessary, because they believed that the Constitution as it stood only limited the government, not the people. The Anti- Federalists claimed the Constitution gave the central government too much power, and without a Bill of Rights the people would be at risk of oppression. What was the purpose of ratification? = Ratification is a principal's approval of an act of its agent that lacked the authority to bind the principal legally. Ratification defines the international act in which a state indicates its consent to be bound to a treaty if the parties intended to show their consent by such an act.

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

Legalized segregation in publicly owned facilities on the basis of "separate but equal." Plessy v. Ferguson was a landmark 1896 U.S. Supreme Court decision that upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation under the "separate but equal" doctrine. The case stemmed from an 1892 incident in which African American train passenger Homer Plessy refused to sit in a car for blacks. Rejecting Plessy's argument that his constitutional rights were violated, the Supreme Court ruled that a law that "implies merely a legal distinction" between whites and blacks was not unconstitutional. As a result, restrictive Jim Crow legislation and separate public accommodations based on race became commonplace. After the Compromise of 1877 led to the withdrawal of federal troops from the South, Democrats consolidated control of state legislatures throughout the region, effectively marking the end of Reconstruction. Southern blacks saw the promise of equality under the law embodied by the 13th Amendment, 14th Amendment and 15th Amendment to the Constitution receding quickly, and a return to disenfranchisement and other disadvantages as white supremacy reasserted itself across the South. Florida became the first state to mandate segregated railroad cars in 1887, followed in quick succession by Mississippi, Texas, Louisiana and other states by the end of the century.

Open Door Policy

Statement of U.S. foreign policy toward China. Issued by U.S. secretary of state John Hay (1899), the statement reaffirmed the principle that all countries should have equal access to any Chinese port open to trade. The Open Door Policy was a clever move on the part of the United States to create trade opportunities between the U.S. and China while additionally asserting American interests in the Far East. In the short term, the Open Door Policy allowed the United States to expand its markets for industrialized goods. An open-door policy is a great way to make sure important information and feedback reaches managers who can take that information and make changes when needed. It also builds trust among employees, establishing a more loyal worker base, and an overall more productive team. This policy is also a statement of principles initiated by the United States in 1899 and 1900 for the protection of equal privileges among countries trading with China and in support of Chinese territorial and administrative integrity.

Panic of 1893

The Panic of 1893 was a serious economic depression in the United States that began in 1893 and ended in 1897. Began due to rail road companies over-extending themselves, causing bank failures. Was the worst economic collapse in the history of the country, and some say, as bad as the Great Depression of the 1930s. As a result of the panic, stock prices declined. Five hundred banks closed, 15,000 businesses failed, and numerous farms ceased operation. 600 banks and 74 railroads failed. There were severe unemployment and wide-scale protesting, which in some cases became very violent. By May 15, stock prices reached an all-time low. The unemployment rate hit 25% in Pennsylvania, 35% in New York, and 43% in Michigan. The unemployed also had difficulty buying food due to the lack of income. Soup kitchens were opened to help feed the destitute. It deeply affected every sector of the economy and produced political upheaval that led to the realigning election of 1896 and the presidency of William McKinley. In 1894, Jacob Sechler Coxey, an Ohio businessman, organized a protest march of workers from Ohio to Washington, DC. Coxey hoped that this march would force the federal government to provide assistance to workers during the Panic of 1893. Coxey's Army, as it eventually became known, reached the nation's capital with only six hundred marchers. Local police arrested Coxey and the march's other leaders. The rest of the marchers quickly dispersed. The government refused to intervene. Fortunately for the United States populace, the Panic of 1893 ended by the end of 1897.

Panama Canal

The United States built the Panama Canal to have a quicker passage to the Pacific from the Atlantic and vice versa. It cost $400,000,000 to build. Columbians would not let Americans build the canal, but then with the assistance of the United States a Panamanian Revolution occurred. The new ruling people allowed the United States to build the canal. Building the Panama Canal (1903-1914): President Theodore Roosevelt oversaw the realization of a long-term United States goal—a trans-isthmian canal. Throughout the 1800s, American and British leaders and businessmen wanted to ship goods quickly and cheaply between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Not only is the Panama Canal important to Panama for income and jobs, but it is also considered to be vitally important to the United States economy. Many U.S. exports and imports travel through the Canal daily (over 10% of all U.S. shipping goes through the Canal). How did the Panama Canal impact the United States? = Americans knew they needed this to move ships from east to west quickly. If they did that, they would control power because they would control the oceans. The Canal was a geopolitical strategy to make the United States the most powerful nation on earth. Also, the economic impact was massive.

Muckrakers

This group points out the abuses of big business and the corruption of urban politics. They provided detailed, accurate journalistic accounts of the political and economic corruption and social hardships caused by the power of big business in a rapidly industrializing the United States. The muckrakers were reform-minded journalists in the Progressive Era in the United States (1890s-1920s) who exposed established institutions and leaders as corrupt. They typically had large audiences in popular magazines. The muckrakers' work grew out of the yellow journalism of the 1890s. Who were known muckrakers? = Upton Sinclair, Lincoln Steffens, and Ida Tarbell, during the Progressive era who tried to expose the problems that existed in American society as a result of the rise of big business, urbanization, and immigration.

"He kept America out of the War"

n/a

"A Splendid Little War"

term used by John Hay in a letter to Teddy Roosevelt; all of Spain's ships were destroyed in 7 hours; war was short and effective even though Americans also died. It was also a nickname for the Spanish American war coined by Hay, indicative of US attitude and cockiness. On April 21, 1898, the United States declared war against Spain. It would be the first overseas conflict fought by the U.S. It involved major campaigns in both Cuba and the Philippine Islands. The reasons for war were many, but there were two immediate ones: America's support the ongoing struggle by Cubans and Filipinos against Spanish rule, and the mysterious explosion of the battleship U.S.S. Maine in Havana Harbor. Half a world away and only 11 days after the war began, the Spanish Pacific fleet in Manila Bay was defeated by the U.S. Navy in swift strike made by Commodore George Dewey. Unaware of Dewey's quick success, President McKinley ordered troops to mount a campaign against the capital of Manila. The military base best suited to stage this campaign was the Presidio of San Francisco. Volunteer soldiers from all over the United States gathered and trained at the Presidio before the long sea voyage to the Philippines. Their quest was described as a "splendid little war" by Secretary of State John Hay.