Study Guide: America at the Turn of the 20th Century ...



Study Guide: America at the Turn of the 20th Century, Progressive Imperialists

Section 1 Empire building the American way pages 638 – 662

1. According to General Wood’s letter on page 638, what motives does her give for intervening in Cuba’s affairs?

2. What does the term ‘imperialist/ imperialism” mean?

3. Before we began to interfere in the affairs of others, what evidence is there that the US had long been an imperialist nation?

4. What did they mean when they spoke of “taking up the white man’s burden?” How was that an outgrowth of social Darwinism?

5. Besides the moral argument, for what other reasons did the US begin to build an overseas empire in the late 19th century?

6. How did Admiral Alfred Mahan influence the great powers of the time?

7. Why did they call Alaska, “Seward’s icebox?”

8. Why was Secretary of State James Blaine (“liar from the state of Maine”) so interested in Hawaii? How did the McKinley Tariff and the threats of Queen Liliuokalani bring on an attempt to annex those islands? Why did annexation have to wait?

9. What does the debate over Hawaii’s annexation say about America’s colonial ambitions?

10. Why did Americans become concerned about Spanish actions in Cuba? How did “yellow journalism” incite us into taking action?

11. What finally brought the war between the US and Spain? Why does the book say President McKinley decided on war? (McKinley was the last president who was a Civil War veteran. He had been a young lieutenant during the war and had seen how ugly it had been. He had been at Antietam. Most historians believe that he was reluctant to go to war, but other considerations intervened.)

12. What evidence is there that Spain did not want war? What message did we send the Cubans with the “Teller Amendment?” What did that amendment say about public opinion in the US?

13. What did we get out of Admiral Dewey’s naval victory in Manila Harbor? How did opinion change concerning annexation of Hawaii?

14. What does it say about America’s war effort that 379 died as a result of Spanish action, but 5,000 died from “embalmed beef,” yellow fever and malaria?

15. Why did the media play up the role of “Teddy” Roosevelt’s “Rough Riders” on San Juan Hill and ignore the far more important contribution of the 10th US Calvary?

16. Was Mahan proved correct by our victories in Cuba and Puerto Rico?

17. Besides the obvious moral objections to becoming an imperialist power, why else did many Americans oppose annexing the Philippines, Guam, Puerto Rico and Cuba?

18. Why do you suppose the “insurrection” in the Philippines is not widely known about in the US? ( Love that line,” We do not want the Filipinos, we want the Philippines…the more killed the better…they must yield before a superior race.”)

19. How did Governor Taft persuade the Filipinos to behave?

20. Why did US business men become concerned when China was cut up into “spheres of influence” by the other powers? Why did US Secretary of State, John Hay, prefer the “Open Door Policy?” What would he have done if the other powers refused to go along? Is it strange that no one asked the Chinese?

21. How was the preferred US method of gaining empire different from the classical European system? ( the Brits actually used both methods.)

22. When push came to shove, however, like in the Boxer Rebellion, which side did the US come down on? What was the Boxer Rebellion about? Why was it called that?

23. Why did the Russo-Japanese War get President Roosevelt’s attention? What did he do to defuse the situation? ( Got a Nobel Peace Prize too)

24. How did the Gentlemen’s Agreement restore decent relations between the US and Japan – for a while?

25. How did US ownership work out for the Puerto Ricans?

26. How did the US sponsored Cuban constitution help spread the wonders of democracy in Cuba? How did the Platt Amendment ( added to that constitution) restrict Cuba’s independence?

27. Why did Roosevelt want a canal across Central America? How did Roosevelt get permission from Colombia to build the canal?

28. How did the Roosevelt Corollary supplement the old Monroe Doctrine?

29. What did Roosevelt’s successor, Big Bill Taft, mean when he spoke of “substituting dollars for bullets?”

30. Why doesn’t Nicaragua, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, or Mexico completely trust the US? How did Dollar Diplomacy cause so much intervention in Latin America?

Section 2 Progressives to the Rescue pages 604 – 634

1. Why do you think historians have named the period from roughly 1900 – 1917 “the Progressive Era?”

2. Why did progressives reject the “individualism” and laissez faire policies of the Gilded Age?

3. What problems did the US face at the beginning of the 20th century?

4. How did the creation of the huge trusts threaten the entire social structure? How did that threaten the entire American Dream?

5. How did the Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire help change the nation’s opinion about workplace safety?

6. How did the Social Gospel Movement try to change conditions?

7. Why did “old stock” Americans become concerned about the living conditions in the slums?

8. Describe the role progressives saw for government in improving the lives of the less fortunate.

9. What were “muckrakers?” Describe the role they played in changing America after the gilded age.

10. Why did progressives look toward science and efficiency for solutions?

11. Why did workers hate Frederick Taylor? Why did management love him?

12. Why were the IWW ( Wobblies) seen as a much bigger threat than the AFL?

13. What evidence is there that women were increasing unhappy with their role as the “little woman who raises the kids and cooks dinner for her man?”

14. Why was Eugene Debs seen as too radical by most progressives? ( Remember the cardinal rule of American reform, change the system enough to save it.)

15. Why did some fundamentalists oppose reform and the social gospel movement?

16. What happened in Ludlow, Colorado in 1914? Why do you think it doesn’t get more than a sentence?

17. What types of persons were most likely to have called themselves progressives?

18. Why did settlement houses largely ignore religion? Why were they “safe” places for middle class, educated women to work?

19. What did the following laws / amendments do?

a. Pure Food and Drug Act

b. Mean Inspection Act

c. 16th amendment

d. 17th amendment

e. Federal Reserve Act

f. 18th amendment

g. 19th amendment

20. Even though the progressives began at the state level, why did they soon come to realize that change would have to include the federal government?

21. Why did the courts rule that it was alright to set maximum hours for women and children, but not men?

22. Why did education become a major focus of the progressives? How did education change – in the north anyway during the early 20th century?

23. Why did they try to send poor Margaret Sanger off to jail?

24. Why did many progressives push for literacy test for immigrants?

25. How was prohibition an example of the progressive’s attempt to regulate and improve the life of those less fortunate than themselves? What other examples can you find of the progressives being controlling prigs?

26. What came out of the Niagara Movement? Why do you think race relations – even in the north – deteriorated so much during the first years of the 20th century?

27. Generally, where could women vote before 1915?

28. How did the adoption of the Australian Ballot change voting in the US?

29. Why did the progressive crusade against urban corruption encounter so much opposition? How did they try to change the way cities were run?

30. What are initiative, referendum and recall? Why don’t we have any of them in NC?

31. In what ways was president Theodore Roosevelt a clean break from the past?

32. How did Roosevelt become a hero to organized labor?

33. Why is TR a hero to conservationists?

34. What was the difference between a good trust and a bad trust?

35. In what ways was Taft a more progressive president that Roosevelt had been? Why was he seen as less successful? How did he lose support of the progressives over the tariff and land in Alaska?

36. How did Wilson win the presidency in 1912?

37. How were the Underwood- Simmons Tariff, the Federal Reserve Act and trust busting examples of his version of progressivism?

38. Describe Wilson’s views on women’s rights and civil rights for African Americans.

39. How did the Keatings – Owens Act try to banish child labor?

40. What risk did Wilson take by nominating Louis Brandeis to the Supreme Court?

Section 3 The Great War pages 667 – 689

1. What factors caused Europeans to begin killing each other in unprecedented numbers in the summer of 1914?

2. What were the sides? Why did the war become one massive stalemate (war of attrition)?

3. How did British propaganda influence America?

4. How did the US benefit from the European slaughter?

5. Why did the Wilson administration let the Brits interfere with American rights on the high seas, but protested when the Germans did it? How did the sinking of the liner Lusitania affect America?

6. What was ironic about Wilson’s campaign slogan, “He kept us out of war?”

7. According to the book, there were 2 reasons the US finally entered the war, What reason’s does the book give? (There was a third the book ignores…US banks had lent huge sums of money to the Brits and the French. With the Russians descending into revolution and the Germans able to focus only on the western front, there was a real possibility that the Allies might lose. If that happened, we lose the money…the financial types were all in favor of protecting their investments. Wonder why that reason isn’t listed?)

8. Why were the Europeans refusing to buy Wilson’s idealistic vision for a post war world? Describe his vision.

9. In what ways was America’s mobilization for war a continuation of our progressive policies?

10. How was the War Industries Board a total break from traditional laissez faire economics?

11. Why did farmers finally make money? How did conditions for workers improve?

12. How did the war help women get the vote? How did the war change the racial balance of northern industrial cities? What evidence is there that was not popular with the older residents?

13. What kinds of Americans opposed the war? What did the Wilson administration do to “get everyone on the same page?” Who was George Creel?

14. How did the Espionage Act ( 1917) and the Sedition Act of 1918 keep all “right thinking Americans” on the right page? Why do you think there was no legal objection to these acts? What happened to socialist Eugene Debs who called attention to the irony of suppressing freedom of speech while fighting to make the world “safe for Democracy?”

15. How did business leaders use the manufactured paranoia to their advantage?

16. How did America’s entry into the war ensure Allied victory?

17. Besides the Germans, whom else did the US find themselves at war with? Why?

18. How did Wilson’s “14 Points” try to remake the world? Why did the Brits and the French ignore Wilson’s advice? How was the final Treaty of Versailles different from the 14 points? Any one want to predict where this all leads?

19. Why didn’t the Senate ratify the treaty? Did Wilson deserve the end he got?

20. How did demobilization after the war cause severe economic problems? Besides the economic problems, what other major problem did the country have in 1919?

21. What really caused the wave of strikes that swept the nation after the war? Who did the government and the media blame? How did all of this lead to the “Red Scare?”

22. Can we learn any lesson here about what happens when a government deliberately seeks to use propaganda to stir up hatred and paranoia of those who are different?

23. Why did the Republican calls for “normalcy” appeal to the vast majority of voters? Whom did we elect in 1920 to replace Wilson?

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