History Exam 1
Question 2, Week 3: How did urbanization affect how Americans saw themselves and their society?
- Rise in immigration to cities caused many anti-immigration views ------------------------------Urbanization created a sense of American pride among citizens... ------------------------------Society became more factory based, and the working class switched to jobs in the cities/factories.
Question 1, Week 6: How were American attitudes towards foreign events shaped by their domestic ideas about race, economics, and politics?
-"Not-white began to be seen as "uncivilized"----------------------------------------------If a country is does not have a capitalist economy, they were considered inferior------We believed that every type of government besides a democracy is inadequate-----------------------------------------------Got involved in Cuba to protect the sugar market with Cuba
Question 2, Week 2: How were conflicts between white Americans and native groups framed, and what effect did ideas about native culture have on how native tribes were treated?
-American bias built up the indians to be savages----------------------------------------------------Indians came off as the aggressor, when in reality the military was forcing the indians off of their land
Question 1, Week 5: What was the Progressive vision for reforming the United States? Who did they see as best suited to carry out this vision?
-Busting up large corporations--------------------Environmental preservation----------------------Regulation of business------------------------------Teddy Roosevelt elected as a president with progressive views
Question 3, Week 4: What prompted the creation of legal segregation codes at the turn of the twentieth century? What problems did segregation and its enforcement create?
-Plessy vs. Fergusson-
Question 2, Week 5: Why were Progressives able to enact broad and lasting reforms when the Populists were not?
-Progressive movement was started in the working class, while the populist movement started as farmers/miners---------Progressive reforms were less radical than the populists, even though they shared some of the same ideas (Popular vote to elect senators)
Question 1, Week 1: What did Reconstruction mean for the future of the United States?
-Reconstruction did not fully achieve racial equality, so it was inevitable to be racial problems in the future
Question 2, Week 4: How did Populists challenge the mainstream political and economic systems?
-Wanted the government to protect the ordinary citizen more--------------------------------Believed in a silver backed economy----------Thought the government had become corrupt with the wealthy
Question 2, Week 6: Why did Americans decide to enter foreign conflicts at the beginning of the twentieth century? What did American leaders see as the United States' role in foreign events?
-Yellow journalists, such as Pulitzer, used propaganda to convince the public to care about foreign affairs----------------------------------
Reading #24: The New South Investigated; D Augustus Straker
1888, Post- Civil War, the government hoped that, with an infusion of Northern capital, the South could recreate itself in Northern fashion, with industrialization, free labor and a booming economy; however, Straker argues that the "New South" is fatally flawed. Argues that the blacks are the labor, producing class as the whites are capital, non producing class. Argues that the blacks are not poorer because of ignorance but because of segregation.
Reading #2: Black Codes of Mississippi
1865, Designed to restrict freed blacks' activity and ensure their availability as a labor force now that slavery had been abolished. For instance, many states required blacks to sign yearly labor contracts; if they refused, they risked being arrested as vagrants and fined or forced into unpaid labor. Northern outrage over the black codes helped undermine support for Johnson's policies, and by late 1866 control over Reconstruction had shifted to the more radical wing of the Republican Party in Congress.
Reading #3: Letter to My Old Master; Jourdon Anderson
1865, Jourdon understands that his safety, family's well being and financial means are suffering, thus he makes a beneficial proposition for both parties, to his previous plantation owner. Although the proposition might've been a bit risky, it was worth a try. At this point, nobody could bring him and his family back to his "Old Master", so a bargain would not hurt. Everywhere was dangerous for the newly freed and finding a place they could trust and stay at was the hardest part. Jourdon's diplomatic skills came to light as he ensures his loyalty to his master, "Although you shot at me twice before I left you, I did not want to hear at your being hurt", and then goes on to ask about a possible opportunity at the old plantation.
Reading #1: Late Convention of Colored Men, New York Times
1865, The participation by former slaves in the Civil War gave freedmen the belief they were entitled to the protection of the federal government.Former slaves requested assistance and security from the federal government after they were freed.
Reading #6: Address to the First Annual Meeting of the American Equal Rights Association; Sojourner Truth
1867, Sojourner Truth spoke out in a meeting of the American Equal Rights Association to advocate granting suffrage to black women immediately. She claims that the equal rights movement had led to black men achieving new and more rights than black women, which extended suffrage to black men. She uses this as motivation to help award hardworking, and deserving black women, just like herself, more rights. Soujourner was a northern slave, sold many times, most celebrated female black abolitionist, recruited black men to serve in the Union army. "White women are smarter than black women" was seen as a sarcastic remark.
Reading #5: Klan Terrorism in South Carolina; Lee Guidon
1872, Guidon states, "houses were burned, persons were whipped, and in some instances killed". The creation of the Ku Klux Klan, and the Black Codes made it harder for African Americans to live as freed slaves. In a testimony by an African American woman, Harriet Postle, she explained how a dozen of men entered her home wanting to kill her husband. Although her husband wasn't home at the moment the men tried to enforce their authority and try to stop Harriet from lying and accusing her of covering for her husband. No matter how many times she stated that her husband wasn't home, these men insulted and abused Harriet. Not only was there no fairness but trust was diminishing as well. Harriet was able to identify the man that broke into her home. That man she would probably see almost every day and he was the cause of her suffering within her home. The trust that existed between African Americans and whites was pretty much nonexistent due to the fact that the white men and women did not agree with slavery being free and were displeased with the result of African Americans being treated equally
Slaughterhouse Cases
1873- First supreme court case ruling on the reconstruction amendments. The 14th and 15th amendments do not guarantee federal protection of individual rights against discrimination by their own state governments-distinction between state citizenship and national citizenship
Reading #16: Preamble to the Constitution of the Knights of Labor
1878, Written with bad taste in response to Andrew Carnegie's essay "Wealth". Advocated the 8 hour workday. Argued that boycotts were better than strikes. Wanted to replace the wage-labor system of competitive free enterprise with a "cooperative" philosophy
Reading #50: The Zimmerman Note
1917, One of the incidents inflaming American public opinion against Germany was the disclosure of the Zimmerman Note. It was a secret telegram sent in January 1917 from the Germany foreign secretary, Arthur Zimmerman, to the German ambassador in Mexico. They offered to help fight America for the land that Mexico lost hundreds of years ago to them. British intelligence officers intercepted the message and informed the US as Mexico declined the offer anyways.
Reading #9: An Indian's Perspective; Chief Joseph
1879, hief Joseph was the heroic leader of a large band of Nez Percé (a misnomer, meaning "pierced noses") who had been converted to Christianity in the early nineteenth century. He was born in 1840 in the Wallowa valley of Oregon. Like many other tribes, the Nez Percé negotiated treaties with the American government, only to see the treaties violated, tensions erupt, and conflict ensue. In 1877, after mont of ferocious fighting and a spectacular retreat across Idaho and Montana, Chief Joseph's band of some 400 Indians surrendered with the understanding that they would be allowed to return home. Instead, they were taken first to Kansas and then to what is now Oklahoma. Joseph thereafter made repeated appeals to the federal government to let his people return to their native region; he visited Washington, D.C. in 1879 to present his grievances against the federal government to President Rutherford B. Hayes. But it was not until 1885 that he and several others were relocated to Washington state, where he died in 1904.
Reading #8: Negro Exodus from the Southern States; Benjamin Singleton
1880, This reading was written in a question and answer format. With the return of white supremacy in the post- Reconstruction South, thousands of African Americans migrated to the West in search of economic opportunities and social equality. Their quest for the promised land in the west classified them as "Exodusters". Singleton prompted the black migration as he was born a slave in Tennessee. Singleton eventually escaped as a slave and settled in Detroit where he operated a boarding house that was a refugee for runaway slaves. Following the civil war he returned to Tennessee and helped free other slaves. In order to escape the inequality, Singleton purchased land in Kansas and began recruiting settlers.
Reading #10: Century of Dishonor; Helen Hunt Jackson
1881, A Century of Dishonor was a book written by Jackson as she went on to discuss the horrific things done to her as well as her people. She talks about how the surge of settlers brought mass amounts of conflict to the native americans as federal troops engaged in a series of frontier wars with several native american troops. She states "look upon your hands: they are stained with the blood of your relations". The book had little impact initially; however, with her persistent attempt to be heard she was eventually heard by congress where she contributed to the passage of the Dawes Act of 1887.
Reading #25: A Sharecrop Contract
1882, Following the civil war, farm folks of both races could not afford to buy their own land and were forced to work for others either as a rent paying tennant or, more often, as share croppers. The farm owner would provide a plot of land, seed fertilizer, tools and a line of credit in exchange for the "cropper" to work for them. As seen in this contract, the conditions under sharecropping were unjust and unfair paying them very little in addition to penalizing them if they were to mess up. While conditions were beyond poor, it was one of the only things that former slaves or former farmers knew how to do.
Reading #13: Chinese Exclusion Act
1882, Suspended all Chinese immigration for ten years and declared the Chinese ineligible for citizenship. Chinese Works already in the US challenged the law but their efforts ultimately failed. The act was renewed in 1892 for another 10 years and in 1902 Chinese immigration was permanently prohibited. Not until 1943 did Congress grant Chinese Americans eligible for citizenship.
Chinese Exclusion Act
1882, halted Chinese immigration to America; Started when people of the West Coast attributed declining wages and economic troubles to the hated Chinese workers; In order to appease them Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act
Reading #18: The American Federation of Labor; Samuel Gompers
1883, Superseded the Knights of Labor. Rather than trying to abolish the wage--labor system, it sought to use strikes to gain higher wages, lower working hours, and better working conditions for its members. Unlike the Knights of Labor, the American Federation of Labor organized only skilled workers into unions defined by particular trades. Because the American Federation of Labor is a conservative defender of capitalism, an organized association of workers formed to protect and further their rights and interests were made the backbone of their argument.
Reading #17: Organizing Women Works; Leonora M. Barry
1887, Documentation of the conditions and prejudice she encountered at numerous factories and mills across the country. Deductions in women's pay for various reasons (ex. laughing, talking). Constant supply of recruits--didn't care about firing many people
Reading #11: The Dawes Act
1887, Intended to improve the lot of Indians by providing them with private property and opportunities of citizenship. While this was initially seen as a win for the Native Americans, most of the land grants were inadequate and the emphasis on individual land ownership eroded tribal unity.
Reading #19: Women as Bread Winners- The Error of the Age; Edward O' Donnell
1887, The American Federal Union not only excluded unskilled workers; however, they also excluded blacks, women and recent immigrants. In 1900 only 3 percent of working women were represented by unions. O'Donnell argues that it disrupted the family circle as well as took jobs away from the Bread-Winning men.
Reading #15: Wealth, Andrew Carnegie
1889, Carnegie defended the ideas of capitalism and free enterprise. By dominating the steel industry, Andrew Carnegie took his place alongside other fabulously wealthy captains of industry like Rockefeller and Vanderbilt. The twist in this paragraph though is that he became convinced that men like him had a responsibility to spend their money to benefit the greater good. He argued that the affluent had a unique responsibility to be philanthropic. AKA the rich should devote themselves to distributing their wealth responsibly to benefit society while they are still alive. He concludes his essay with, "The true gospel concerning wealth is destined some day to solve the problem of the Rich and the Poor and to bring "Peace on earth, among men Good-Will". "The man who dies thus rich dies disgraced."
Reading #30: The Money Question; Mary E. Lease
1892, Populist Party provided a copious amount of opportunities for women to participate in politics. Lease argues that we live in a nation full of inconstancies. States that Wall Street owns the country and is no longer a government of the people but is actually in fact a government of Wall Street, "The great people of this country are slaves and monopoly is the master".
Reading #29: Populist Party Platform
1892, The people's party, commonly known as the populist party was organized to represent the common folk, mostly farmers, against the interests of railroads, bankers, processors, corporations, and the politicians with similar interest. Their platform consisted of the graduated income tax, free silver, no banks, the secret ballot, the direct election of Senators, the eight-hour day—won enactment in the progressive and New Deal eras of the next century
Reading #35: The Subjectivity Necessity for Social Settlements; Jane Addams
1892, Women provided much of the energy, idealism, and leadership during the progressive era. Jane Addams formed the Hull House, a social center for immigrants streaming into the city. It was staffed by middle- and upper- class men and women animated by a desire to do something about social problems. Due to our world's fast growing population, she urges the younger portion of the US to go out and engage with the social problems around them and to change the world they must inherit a better place.
Reading #12: The Frontier in American History; Frederick Jackson Turner
1893, Advanced the Frontier Thesis of American history. The thesis shares his views on how the idea of the frontier shaped the American being and characteristics. He writes how the frontier drove American history and why America is what it is today. Turner reflects on the past to illustrate his point by noting human fascination with the frontier and how expansion to the American West changed people's views on their culture
Reading #14: Should the Chinese be Excluded; Robert G Ingersoll
1893, Ingersoll was the era's most eloquent orator as he addressed more people than any public figure in the 19th century. As a war veteran, Ingersoll writes, "but one use for law, but one excuse for government-- there preservation of liberty. "This law is contrary to the laws and customs of nations. The punishment is unusual, severe, and contrary to our Constitution, and under its provisions aliens-citizens of a friendly nation-can be imprisoned without due process of law. The law is barbarous, contrary to the spirit and genius of American instructions, and was passed in violation of solemn treaty stipulations".
Reading #27: The Atlanta Compromise; Booker T. Washington
1895, Was an agreement struck in 1895 between Booker T. Washington, president of the Tuskegee Institute, and other African-American leaders, and Southern white leaders. The agreement was that Southern blacks would work meekly and submit to white political rule, while Southern whites guaranteed that blacks would receive basic education and due process in law. Blacks would not agitate for equality, integration, or justice, and Northern whites would fund black educational charities. This gave blacks an opportunity for economic security, and was more valuable to them than social advantages, higher education, or political office. Washington argued material advancement over social integration was more important as an immediate goal.
Reading #32: The Republican Party Platform
1896, Adopted a conservative platform reaffirming the gold standard and the benefits of high tariffs. This leads to a climatic election contest.
Reading #26: Plessy v Ferguson
1896, Homer Plessy sat in a whites only section of a railcar in 1892 and was arrested. Four years following the incarceration, the U.S Supreme Court heard his case. Judge John H. Ferguson amongst the other 6 of his fellow judges upheld the conviction making it 7/8 supreme court justices rule against the 13th and 14th amendment and establish a new defense of equal rights. This led to the "Separate but Equal" idea for state governments.
Reading #31: What Farm Problem? ; J Sterling Morton
1896, Populist Party and its agenda aroused intense opposition. Morton argues that there was never a serious farm problem and denies any talk of the Populist movement's efforts to gain government benefits for farmers. Argues that farmers are not impoverished and that the government is not at fault that the farmers are not where they want to be.
Reading #33: The "Cross of Gold" Speech; William James Bryan
1896, The 1896 presidential election was one of the most significant in American History. After the Democratic party suffered a heavy loss in the 1894 congressional elections, they faced a turning point to either embrace "free silver" issue. Bryant defending bimetallism for the Democratic Party; they have the producing masses, commercial interests, and the laboring interests behind them. He also criticized the Gold Standard by saying, "You shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold."
Reading #20: The Business of a Factory; Philip Hubert Jr.
1897, Focused on a New England textile mill conveyed some of the sense of wonder that Americans felt at the enormous new factories suddenly emerging in what had been primarily an agricultural nation. Although other contemporaries—both agrarian radicals and trade unionists—viewed the new industrial behemoths with skepticism or even horror, middle-class observers like Hubert celebrated the achievements of the capitalists who organized and managed these vast and complex enterprises. Hubert had little interest in or sympathy for the thousands of workers who toiled in the textile mill that he visited, echoing the view that the "character of the machinery" was more important than "the character of the hands." But his account, including a vivid description of the mill at quitting time, captured the sheer size and dehumanizing impact on workers of the new industrial enterprises.
Reading #45: The War Must Be Ended; New York World
1897, In trying to suppress the Cuban revolt, the Spanish commander, General Valeriano ("Butcher") Weyler, established concentration camps for rebels and their families. Atrocities on both sides were inevitable, but the United States heard little of Cuban misdeeds. Locked in an intense competition for newspaper subscribers, Joseph Pulitzer's New York World and William Randolph Hearst's New York Journal engaged in sensational reporting that came to be called "yellow journalism." The phrase derived from the first color newspaper cartoon, "Hogan's Alley." It was enormously popular and featured the Yellow Kid. Hence, "yellow journalism" was born when two competing New York newspapers fought over rival versions of this cartoon. Stories highlighted horrifying tales of Spanish cruelty and atrocities. Ultimately, they ask a series of rhetorical questions basically asking "How much longer should we sit and watch them wait by". This, of course, was a ploy to get everybody on board with the War so that the Americans could obtain Cuba.
Reading #28: Critique of the Atlanta Compromise; John Hope
1898, Many younger African American activists criticized Washington' strategy and advocated a more comprehensive effort to gain civil rights and social equality for black people. Hope states, "if we are not striving for equality, in heavens name for what are we living for". Argues that money, education, and honesty will not bring him as much privilege as equality would have.
Reading #46: Declaration of War; William McKinley
1898, Mckinley found it impossible to resist the mounting public and political pressure for war against Spain. In requesting a declaration of war from the Senate, he listed several reasons in the involvement of war as well as stressed the nations humanitarian sympathy for the Cuban independence movement. He stated that it was our duty to stop this bloodshed as we are the neighboring country of Cuba. He also says we owed it to the citizens in Cuba to afford them protection. Third, he stated that it was important to intervene for Cuba's economic sake as their trade and commerce could suffer a large hit.
Reading #47: Platform of the American Anti- Imperialist League
1899, Those who opposed to the new expansionism included Republicans and Democrats, business leaders such as Andrew Carnegie and philosopher William James. Prominent figures such as William Sumner and literary figures Mark Twain also opposed to the expansion America was ready to take on. Thus led to the start up of the Anti- Imperialist League, a group of people who thought it was important to display their disgust with the Philippine War and the evils of imperialism. Anti- Imperialists almost prevented the annexation of the Philippines through their lobbying efforts against the Treaty of Paris, which the Senate ultimately ratified by only one vote. They argue the hypocrisy in taking other countries as we once fought for our own freedom at one point and the US was not thinking big picture.
Reading #49: The Open Door in China; John Hay
1899-1900, John Hay issued the first "Open Door Note" as a letter sent to each of the nations engaged in commercial activity in China. This included Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia. In an effort to thwart the efforts of Japan and Russia to carve out exclusive economic spheres of interest in China. The letter affirmed the commercial equality of all nations trading in China. Although most major powers ignored or evaded the Open Door Note, Hay announced their acceptance in 1900. The Open Door policy was never made a law; however, is seen as an unwritten rule.
Reading #23: Saloon Culture; Royal Melendy
1900, In the mid-19th century, a saloon was a poor man's strip club. Melendy argues that saloons provide social, economic and cultural benefits. By the turn of the 20th century there were more saloons than grocery stores. NYC had 10,000 (1 for every 5 residents). While critics claimed that saloons aggravated an array of sofia problems (alcoholism, family abuse, absenteeism), Melendy argues that they were public homes which offered a haven to some people. He goes on to talk about how
Reading #21: From Outlook for Socialism in the United States; Eugene V. Debs
1900, Nearing the end of the 19th century, some labor activists insisted that capitalism itself must give away to a socialist system. Debs grew up in the child immigrant services and worked all of his life as a laborer. This implies that Debs had a hard life and wanted equal and fair rights for all workers who know these hardships. Debs wasn't a violent man and didn't want things to end up in a fight. Debs states that both of these parties are corrupt and will stop at no end to win the candidacy. They aren't really striving for the rights of the working man and whichever party wins, they working man will still be treated like a slave in this country. Republicans and Democrats, even though may be small capitalists, they are still capitalist. Argues that Socialism will bring security and refuge to this country.
Reading #22: The Lure of the City; Theodore Dreiser
1900, The migration of millions of Americans from farms and villages to large cities prompted many writers to center their novels on the process of urbanization. Dreiser believed that going to the city is one of the most powerful desires in the human experience. Dreiser states, "To join in the great, hurrying throng; to see the endless lights, the great shops and stores, the towering structures and palatial mansions, becomes a desire which the mind can scarcely resist". Opens up with an 18 year old girl leaving her small city to pursue her fortune in Chicago and ultimately NYC.
Reading #39: Lynch Law in America; Ida B. Wells
1900, The most vicious manifestation of the new racism was the lynching of blacks endured after being accused of various crimes. Over 100 African Americans were lynched each year, most being in the south. Ida B. Wells organized a crusade against lynching. She began to talk about innocent 14 year old boys being lynched by white representatives. She talked about how they were not tried properly and that "every man innocent until proven guilty" just doesn't apply to them. Despite her efforts it would be another generation before Congress addressed the issue.
Reading #41: Message to Congress; Theodore Roosevelt
1901, Although the Sherman Anti- Trust Act of 1890 dealt with the problem of corporate monopolies, in practice it left much to be desired as far as progressives were concerned. It never defined what a "trust" was or a "monopoly" entailed. This results in a series of loop holes which allowed monopolies to be able to continue to succeed. When Roosevelt assumed presidency in 1901, he picked up on the trust issue quickly and realized it could potentially become a political problem. In response to his epiphany, his first message to congress he told them to distinguish between good and bad trusts. The good ones were led by executives of stellar character and were seen to be trusts that had promoted the general public interest as the bad ones were seen to be driven by selfish motives and led by "rascals"
Reading #48: American Christianity in the Philippines; Alice Byram Condict
1902, Christian missionaries were among the first Americans to travel to the Philippines after the war with Spain ended in 1898. Most of them were protestant, eager to covert both Catholic Filipinos and those committed to indigenous religions. After months of traveling across the Philippines, Condict wrote a book about the Filipinos and their opportunity to embrace American Democracy and American Christianity. In her book she talked about how when trying to spread the protestant religion, most of the Filipinos already had their religion, Catholicism, resulting in a stale mate.
Reading #34: The Social Gospel; Washington Gladden
1902, During the last quarter of a century, protestants began to promote social gospel, a type of christianity which helped address many current problems such as urbanization, industrialization, poverty, unsanitary living, etc. Gladden argues in this article that Christians need to become social reformers as he promises that it secures social justice for the urban poor. He argued that people must emulate the life of Jesus Christ. To honor God, people must put aside their own earthly desires and help other people, especially the needy. The purpose of wealth was not to hoard it but to share it with other, less fortunate people.
Reading #7: The Life of an Illinois Farmer's Wife
1905, An account from a farmers wife who talks about their life on the prairie. Before expanding outwards to the prairie, the wife states that she was "reared on a farm" as well as being "an art student at school before turning 18". She now talks about the amount of chores she must endure on the prairie and the lack of appreciation she gets for the chores. On top of that, she is not allowed to read because her husband thinks that it shows that she does not love him. She talks about how boring the neighbors are and concludes her account with, "But money is king".
Reading #40: Declaration of Principles; The Niagra Movement
1905, The progressive reform impulse at the turn of the century fostered efforts by black activists to promote the interests of African Americans. Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois was the first African American to earn a doctoral degree from Harvard. Du Bois instead that the Blacks focus on getting full political rights and not just vocational opportunities. In 1905, Du Bois and 28 other black activists met in Niagara Falls where they drafted a list of political and social demands. The Niagara Movement provided the foundation for the formation of the NAACP in 1910. It began by first describing the progress that the "Negro-Americans" had made "particularly the increase of intelligence, the buy-in of property, the checking of crime, the uplift in home life, the advance in literature and art, and the demonstration of constructive and executive ability in the conduct of great religious, economic and educational institutions". It called for blacks to be granted manhood suffrage. It called for equal treatment for all American citizens alike. Very specifically, it demanded equal economic opportunities, in the rural districts of the South, which amounted for many blacks indebted to whites and resulted in "virtual slavery", or in terms of all of south so that they had the ability to "earn a decent living".
Reading #36: The Jungle; Upton Sinclair
1906, Sinclair focuses on the work conditions in Chicago's meat packing district. With graphic detail, it tells the story of Jurgis Rudkus, a Lithuanian immigrant and his travels in Dunham's fictional act. Sinclair talks about people corroding in the acid located at the meat packing district and focuses on people would not just get hurt; however, they could die. Talks about how the workers would rarely have thumbs. Following the book, Congress passed the Meal Inspection Act in an effort to address the abuses cited by Sinclair.
Reading #37: Muller v. Oregon
1908, In 1903 the Oregon state legislature passed a law mandating that women employed in laundries could be required to work no more than 10 hours a day. IT was challenged by conservatives as a violation of the right of contract and an infringement of free enterprise. The Supreme Court ultimately agreed with Oregon's ruling. This was upheld for the main reason that women carry our kids, "the future of America".
Reading #38: Working Women and the Vote; Rose Schneiderman
1912, The efforts to gain voting rights for women peaked during the early twentieth century. In NY a senator sought to deflect such efforts by claiming that women were not suited for the rough and tumble tactics of the political arena. He stated "get a woman into the arena of politics with its alliances and distressing contests-- the delicacy is gone". Schneiderman argued that women needed the vote to force legislatures to pass laws improving the most exploitive labor conditions.
Reading #42: The New Freedom; Woodrow Wilson
1913, Unlike TR who distinguished between "good" and "bad" trusts, Wilson believed that all trusts were inherently bad. He felt the federal government held a responsibility to remove them and to restore competition and allow individual enterprise and small business to thrive.
Reading #43: The Risk of Woman Suffrage; Kelly Miller
1915, Miller, a celebrated african american male, presented his views on women's suffrage in "the Crisis", the journal of the NAACP. He stated that the human race is divided horizontally by age, vertically by gender, and diagonally by race. He stated, "Woman's sphere of activity falls mainly within while man's field of action lies largely without the domestic circle". He argued that this represented the traditional and ideal relation between sexes.
Reading #51: Declaration of War against Germany; Woodrow Wilson
1917, Wilson spoke to a joint session of Congress and summarized his 2 year effort to maintain American neutrality in the face of German submarine campaign. He called for a war not only to punish the Germans and reaffirm neutral rights but also to make the world "safe for democracy". In this sense he viewed the war as a "great crusade" to establish legal and moral principles for all nations to follow.
Reading #54: The League of Nations Must Be Revised; Henry Cabot Lodge
1919, Lodge led the opposition to Wilson's promotion of America's membership in a League of Nations. As the powerful leader of the Senate, he emerged as the pivotal figure in the debate over the League of Nations. Lodge offered to support it if substantial revisions were made in its key provisions, especially Article X, which in his view transferred from the Senate to the League of Nations the authority to wage war. In August 1919, Lodge summarized his objections, He stated that it is important to be careful with such promises as millions of American citizens would be dependent upon it. He also stated that he loves this country and does not know if this League would be the best thing for it. Ultimately, the US did not join the League of Nations.
Reading #55: Returning Soldiers; W.E.B Du Bois
1919, More than 350000 blacks served in racially segregated units during WWI, mostly as support troops well behind the front lines. But several black units, commanded by white officers, participated in combat alongside French and British soldiers. Some 171 African Americans were awarded the French Legion of Honor for valor under fire. Yet many people resented the discriminatory treatment black soldiers and sailors received while defending American values. In response to such protests, hundreds of African Americans eventually received officers' training. By October 1917, over 600 blacks were commissioned as officers but they were not allowed to supervise white troops. The racially discriminatory practices in the military during WWI galvanized the Black community in their continuing efforts for full citizenship. Leading that Effort was Du Bois. He published an article in "The Crisis" where he called for the United States to live up to its own ideals and provide true civil rights for all Americans.
Reading #52: Why Not a Dollar Draft; Hiram Johnson
1919, The spirit of progressive liberalism manifested itself during the war years in many different ways. Johnson the former governor of California, spoke for many who feared that American involvement in the Great War (WWI) might generate obscene profits for munitions makers. To ensure that corporate interests did not reap unfair gains from the war taxes imposed on the American citizens, Johnson proposed that the government make the defense industry contribute toward the expenses of the war. Although his proposed legislation failed, it reflected the effort by Progressives to regulate economic activity so as to serve the public interest.
Reading #53: League of Nations; Woodrow Wilson
1919, When the Paris Peace Conference convened in 1919, Wilson lobbied strenuously for inclusion of a League of Nations covenant in the final peace settlement. He was convinced that such a collective security organization was essential to the maintenance of peace. In June, he returned to the US from France, confident that the Senate would ratify the treaty; however, congress did not want to involve themselves in it.
Pullman Strike
A 1894 strike by railroad workers upset by drastic wage cuts. The strike was led by socialist Eugene Debs but not supported by the American Federation of Labor. Eventually President Grover Cleveland intervened and federal troops forced an end to the strike. The strike highlighted both divisions within labor and the government's new willingness to use armed force to combat work stoppages
Frederick Olmstead
A United States landscape architect, famous for designing many well-known urban parks, including Central Park and Prospect Park in New York City, the country's oldest coordinated system of public parks and parkways in Buffalo, New York, the Niagara Reservation in Niagara Falls, and the landscape surrounding the United States Capitol building.
Civil Rights Act of 1866
A federal law in the United States declaring that everyone born in the U.S. and not subject to any foreign power is a citizen, without regard to race, color, or previous condition of slavery or involuntary servitude.
Presidential Reconstruction
A period after the civil war when Lincoln originally set up the Ten-Percent Plan stating that most Southerners could reinstate themselves if 10 percent of the voters pledged an oath of allegiance. After his assassination, Johnson added that the states must revoke their secession, accept the 13th Amendment, deny Confederate debt, and pledge loyalty to the Union.
Zimmerman Telegram
A secret German proposal to Mexico for an alliance against the United States; Germany offered to help Mexico get back territories it lost to the United States in 1848. Britain alerted the Wilson administration to the plan, and Mexico refused the idea. This was seen as the last straw for the Americans and ultimately why they joined WWI.
Atlanta Compromise
A speech made by Washington in Atlanta that outlined the philosophy that blacks should focus on economic gains, go to school, learn skills, and work their way up the ladder and that Southern whites should help out to create an unresentful people.
Enforcement Acts
AKA KKK acts, prohibited states from discriminating against voters based on race and gave the federal government the power to supersede state courts and prosecute violations of the law. Authorized the president to use military power to protect civil rights and suspend habeas corpus when violations were especially bad. Lead to the decline of the KKK.
Homestead Act
Act that allowed a settler to acquire as much as 160 acres of land by living on it for 5 years, improving it, and paying a nominal fee of about $30 - instead of public land being sold primarily for revenue, it was now being given away to encourage a rapid filling of empty spaces and to provide a stimulus to the family farm, turned out to be a cruel hoax because the land given to the settlers usually had terrible soil and the weather included no precipitation, many farms were repo'd or failed until "dry farming" took root on the plains , then wheat, then massive irrigation projects
Ida B. Wells
African American journalist. She was the editor of Free Speech and the Headlight, both were anti-segregation newspapers published statistics about lynching, urged African Americans to protest by refusing to ride streetcards or shop in white owned stores.
Question 1, Week 4: What drove farmers and miners to take their grievances to the national stage during the late nineteenth century?
After the American Civil War (1861-1865) agricultural prices began a long decline that lasted for a generation. Between 1870 and 1897 wheat fell from $106 per bushel to $63; corn fell from $43 to $29; and cotton fell from 15 cents a pound to five cents. At the same time farmers' costs of operation remained constant or increased. These costs included freight rates, interest on loans, and the cost of machinery and other needed commodities. The national stage, or expanding to the west, offered something that their current home could not. That was opportunity.
League of Nations
After the war, Wilson proposed the League in the 14th point of his peace plan. He envisioned it as an Assembly with seats for all nations and a special council for the great powers. The US voted not to join the League because in doing so, it would have taken away our self-determination, and Congress could not decide whether to go to war or not.
Question 1, Week 3: Why did tensions between labor and management develop in the late nineteenth century?
Although both management and labor have generally wanted to see a prosperous America, they otherwise have diverging interests and goals. The relationship between management and labor creates some areas of agreement between the two, but also, and naturally, creates a conflict of interests as well. The operators of business firms and the management seek to achieve the greatest profits possible by increasing production through the most efficient use of materials and labor. This is called the profit motive. The profit motive, in and of itself, is a good thing. Without it there is no market, no production, no employment and no goods of any value. The problem in the 19th century was that management, as a result of a number of factors, treated workers very badly.-------------------------------------------------Panic of 1893 caused corporations to cut worker's wages
War of 1898 (Spanish-American War)
Americans declared war on Spain after the ship Maine exploded in Havana's Harbor. The War was also caused by Americans' desire to expand as well as the harsh treatment that the Spanish had over the Cubans. Furthermore, the U.S. wanted to help Cubans gain independence from Spain. The war resulted in the U.S. gaining Guam and Puerto Rico as well as control over the Philippines. "A Splendid Little War."
W.E.B. DuBois
An African American sociologist and civil rights leader who attended Harvard but Yale was closed to him; he spoke about Jefferson Davis in his commencement speech treating it with contemptuous fairness. Argued that African-Americans should have access to classical educations and political equality. He was the Co-Founder of the NAACP as well as the talented tenth theory which was that a small group of african Americans would be the forerunner for black advancement.
William Jennings Bryan
An American lawyer, statesman, and politician. He was a three-time Democratic Party nominee for President of the United States noted for his deep, commanding voice. Cross of Gold speech was a speech delivered by William Jennings Bryan at the 1896 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. The speech advocated bimetallism. At the time, the Democratic Party wanted to standardize the value of the dollar to silver and opposed pegging the value of the United States dollar to a gold standard. The inflation that would result from the silver standard would make it easier for farmers and other debtors to pay off their debts by increasing their revenue dollars. It would also reverse the deflation which the U.S. experienced from 1873-1896.
Theodore Roosevelt
Assistant secretary of the navy, who headed a volunteer regiment in the Spanish-American War; nicknamed the Rough Riders by the Press, the First Volunteer Cavalry consisted of Roosevelt's colorful friends from the West and his Harvard days. After the war, he "rode" his Rough Riders image to the vice presidency and then the presidency of the United States. He was a progressive president who enforced progressive policies such as busting large corporations and trusts, environmental preservation, regulating business, growing federal government to aid and support the people and creating the square deal.
Dawes Act
Attempt to "americanize" the indians. Abolished communal ownership on Indian reservations; each family head got 160 acres of reservation land; 80 acres for a single person; 40 acres for each dependent child. More than two-thirds of Indians' remaining lands were lost due to this law.
Hull House
Co-founded in Chicago, Illinois, in 1889 by Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr who were soon joined by other volunteers called "residents," it was one of the first settlement houses in the U.S. and eventually grew into one of the largest, with facilities in 13 buildings At its beginning, its main purposes were to provide social and educational opportunities for working class people in the neighborhood, many of whom were recent immigrants. There were classes in literature, history, art, domestic activities such as sewing, and many other subjects, concerts free to everyone, free lectures on current issues, and clubs both for children and adults. Later, the settlement branched out and offered services to ameliorate some of the effects of poverty.
Transcontinental Railroad
Completed in 1869 at Promontory, Utah, it linked the eastern railroad system with California's railroad system, revolutionizing transportation in the west, A railroad that stretches across a continent from coast to coast. The Transcontinental Railroad made it so that it was easier to for mail and goods to travel faster and cheaper. It took land away from Native Americans and many were killed in the early stages.
Gospel of Wealth
Essay written by Andrew Carnegie. It promoted Social Darwinism and said wealth among the few was the natural and most efficient result of capitalism. "Great wealth brought responsibility"
Finance Capitalism
Financial capital can refer to money used by entrepreneurs and businesses to buy what they need to make their products or provide their services or to that sector of the economy based on its operation. Investment for the sake of profit.
Second Wave Immigration
From eastern and southern Europe, frightened Americans because of the emigrant's customs, different faiths, illiteracy, and poverty.They were a new group of immigrants coming into the United States that consisted of Italians, Slavs, Greeks, Jews, and Armenians. They came from both Southern and Eastern Europe, and also from the Middle East. In the 1890s, their numbers first began to increase, and the numbers continued to increase for the next three decades. Most of the immigrants came from peasant and poor backgrounds and boosted America's foreign-born population by 18 million. They were often discriminated against.
Tom Watson
Georgia Populist senator who sided with the Southern Alliance and encouraged poor farmers of all races to overthrow the political elite. Initially supported an agrarian alliance across class and racial lines; however, in the 1900's he switched to white supremacist views.
Andrew Johnson
He served in the Tennessee legislature and U.S. Congress, and was governor of Tennessee. A Democrat, he championed populist measures and supported states' rights. During the U.S. Civil War (1861-1865), Johnson was the only Southern senator to remain loyal to the Union. Six weeks after Johnson was inaugurated as U.S. vice president in 1865, Lincoln was murdered. As president, Johnson took a moderate approach to restoring the South to the Union, and clashed with Radical Republicans. In 1868, he was impeached by Congress, but he was not removed from office.
Dollar Diplomacy
In an effort to avoid Roosevelt's "big stick" economic policy, President Taft sought to avoid military confrontation by using money to increase foreign interest in the US. He planned to donate large sums of money to generate economic, social, and political stability in Latin America rather than sending the military to force stability. His efforts were largely a failure as most of the money never reached the actual people of Latin America. Most of the money was stolen by corrupt government officials.
Progressive Amendments (16th-19th)
Included the imposition of an income tax with the Sixteenth Amendment, direct election of Senators with the Seventeenth Amendment, Prohibition with the Eighteenth Amendment, and women's suffrage through the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
Sherman Antitrust Act
It prohibits certain business activities that federal government regulators deem to be anti-competitive, and requires the federal government to investigate and pursue trusts. The law attempts to prevent the artificial raising of prices by restriction of trade or supply.[4] In other words, innocent monopoly, or monopoly achieved solely by merit, is perfectly legal, but acts by a monopolist to artificially preserve his status, or nefarious dealings to create a monopoly, are not.
Free silver
Main component of the Populist Party's platform. After the discovery of silver, several disparate factions in American politics began to agitate for the feds to allow it to be minted freely at the rate of $1 per troy ounce. As the gold standard in effect at the time valued gold at the official price of $20 per troy ounce, the result of this policy would have been a considerable increase in the money supply and resultant inflation.
Social Gospel
New movement within American Protestantism. Argued that Christians had a responsibility to help their fellow man. It was a reform movement led by Protestant ministers who used religious doctrine to demand better housing and living conditions for the urban poor. Popular at the turn of the twentieth century, it was closely linked to the settlement house movement, which brought middle-class, Anglo-American service volunteers into contact with immigrants and working people.
Muckraker
Nickname given to young reporters of popular magazines. These magazines spent a lot of money on researching and digging up "muck," hence the name muckrakers. This name was given to them by Pres. Roosevelt- 1906. These investigative journalists were trying to make the public aware of problems that needed fixing and spurred movements of reform.
People's Party
Originated from the Farmers Alliance, it was a political group which began to emerge in 1891. They gained much support from farmers who turned to them to fight political unfairness. They used a progressive platform. James B. Weaver ran as their presidential candidate in 1892. They had an impressive voter turnout. They were also known as the Populist Party. There main points consisted of wanting free silver, direct elections of senators, graduated income tax (more you make the more you get taxed), government control of railroads, removal of bank system,
Carlisle Indian School
Pennsylvania school for Indians funded by the government; children were separated from their tribe and were taught Engilsh and white values/customs. Motto of founder: "Kill the Indian and save the man." 1879.
Radical Reconstruction
Period beginning in 1867, when the Republicans, who had control in both houses of Congress, took charge of Reconstruction. The Radical Republicans passed four Reconstruction Acts in 1868: (1) ratify the Fourteenth Amendment; (2) write new state constitutions that guarantee freedmen the right to vote; (3) form new governments to be elected by all male citizens including African Americans.
Robert La Follette
Progressive Wisconsin governor who attacked machine politics and pressured the state legislature to require each party to hold a direct primary. Founder of the Wisconsin idea which stated politicians need to utilize the expertise and knowledge of academics to create more effective legislation and academics need to engage with community and use their resources to benefit everyone Governor and Senator from WI.
John D. Rockefeller
Rockefeller was an unusually skillful business organizer. He founded Standard Oil Company and the Standard Oil Trust, which dominated American oil refining. Like others of his ilk, he sought to stabilize his industry, reduce competition, and maximize profits. Horizontal Integration*. By 1900 he controlled nearly 90 percent of our world's energy
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. Was never actually passed as a law but it was kind of an unwritten policy.
Plessy v. Ferguson
Supreme Court case about Jim Crow railroad cars in Louisiana; the Court decided by 7 to 1 that legislation could not overcome racial attitudes, and that it was constitutional to have "separate but equal" facilities for blacks and whites.
Reading #4: Organization and Principles of the Ku Klux Klan
The Ku Klux Klan was founded in 1866 in Pulaski, Tennessee. By 1867 it had become a paramilitary force dedicated to white supremacy. By 1868 it had spread to other states, where it was soon responsible for hundreds of murders. In the picture here from 1871, Klan members contemplate the murder of John Campbell. The Klan saw itself as "an institution of chivalry, humanity, mercy, and patriotism". Principles: 1) Protect the weak from the "brutal" (blacks) 2) Protect and defend the constitution 3) Aid and assist all laws
Reconstruction Amendments
The Reconstruction Amendments are the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth amendments to the United States Constitution,adopted between 1865 and 1870, the five years immediately following the Civil War. The Thirteenth Amendment (proposed and ratified in 1865) abolished slavery. The Fourteenth Amendment (proposed in 1866 and ratified in 1868) created the privileges and immunities clause, applicable to all citizens; and made the due process and equal protection clauses applicable to all persons. The Fifteenth Amendment, (proposed in 1869 and ratified in 1870) prohibits discrimination in voting rights of citizens on the basis of "race, color, or previous condition of servitude." This amendment did not include a specific prohibition on discrimination on the basis of sex; it took another amendment—the Nineteenth, ratified in 1920—to prohibit such discrimination explicitly. These amendments were intended to guarantee freedom to former slaves and to establish and prevent discrimination in civil rights to former slaves and all citizens of the United States.
Compromise of 1877
The compromise was over the presidential election which disputed electoral votes between Hayes and Tilden, a special electoral commission of 5 senators, 5 representatives, and 5 justices decided. There would be 7 republicans, 7 democrats, &an independent. The independent leaned republican. Everyone voted by party lines & Hayes was voted president. Democrats agreed to let Hayes take power if he pulled federal troops from the S, appointed at least 1 southerner to the cabinet, southern control of federal patronage in their areas, generous internal improvements, &fed aid for the TX &Pacific RR.
Question 1, Week 2: What role did the federal government play in the settlement and development of western lands beginning in the 1860s?
The republicans wanted the government to expand into the land of the west while the democrats did not. Because of the transcontinental railroad, it made it easier to mail goods and to travel faster and cheaper.
Reading #44: Woman Suffrage; W.E.B. De Bois
W.E.B. De Bois was one of the most prominent African American activists in the first half of he twentieth century. He argued the fact that the argument of gender was outdated and quite simply absurd. He stated, "The statement that woman is weaker than man is sheer rot. It is the same thing that we hear about 'darker races' and 'lower classes'. He also goes on to say that the fact that men "protect" women with their voices is a major problem as they are not protecting anybody, but in fact just adding another problem to the matter.
Battle of Little Big Horn
When gold was discovered in the Black Hills Indian Reservation in South Dakota, whites invaded the Indians' lands and drove them on the warpath. The war culminated in June 1876, when Colonel George A. Custer and all his men were killed by Sioux Indians at the Battle of Little Bighorn (Custer's Last Stand)in southern Montana.
Ghost Dance
was a religious ceremony introduced by the Paiute tribe in an area that is now present-day Nevada. The ritual started in the 1870s, but grew in popularity after a Paiute religious man named 'Wovoka' had a vision. Combination of Christian elements and traditional beliefs. Characterized by trancelike dancing and was used to bring on reprisals for whites and protection for Native Americans. Despite its non-violence, created fear amongst military and civilians.
