VII. 1890-1919
(AP Historic Periods 6 & 7)
In this next phase of American history, "economic and political forces spark a spectacular burst of imperialistic expansion for the United States that culminates in the Spanish-American War-a war that began over freeing Cuba and ended with the highly controversial acquisition of the Philippines." The United States achieves major world power status but must confront new responsibilities.
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AP PERIODS
Period/Unit 6 (1865-1898) Period/Unit 7 (1890-1945) AP READING Chapter 27. Empire and Expansion, 1890-1909 Chapter 28. Progressivism and the Republican Roosevelt, 1901-1912 Chapter 29. Wilsonian Progressivism in Peace and War, 1913-1920 - COLLEGE PREP. CHAPTERS 9, 10, & 11 - POLITICAL TIMELINE 
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READING GUIDE
OTHER LINKS |
AP Tools for Success
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Themes (Use these to tie evidence together across time periods for easy "complex thinking." TIP-Choose one with which to focus for the year.):
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Historical Thinking Skills (Use these to practice the skills graders are looking for on AP Rubrics.):
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Document Analysis Acronym (Use this when analyzing documents to add the words--actually use the words in responses-- and skills graders are looking for on AP Rubrics.):
C-Context (This is often used as 'H' for Historical Situation.)
A-Audience
P-Point of View (POV)
P-Purpose
A-Audience
P-Point of View (POV)
P-Purpose
VIa. Analyzing & Comparing Documents/SAQ/MCQ
Practice
From the Cengage Learning Teacher's Resource Guide
American Expansion
Practice
From the Cengage Learning Teacher's Resource Guide
American Expansion
EXCERPTS
Julius Pratt, Expansionists of 1898 (1951).
"The Manifest Destiny of the 1840s had been largely a matter of emotion. Much of it had been simply one expression of a half-blind faith in the superior virility of the American race and the superior beneficence of American political institutions. In the intervening years, much had been done to provide this emotional concept with a philosophic backing.... Far-fetched and fallacious as their reasoning may appear to us, it nevertheless carried conviction.... The observation must be made that the rise of an expansionist philosophy in the United States owed little to economic influences. . .. The need of American business for colonial markets and fields for investment was discovered not by business but by historians and other intellectuals, by journalists and politicians."
William Appleman Williams, The Tragedy of American Diplomacy (1959).
"Men like McKinley and other national leaders thought about America’s problems and welfare in an inclusive, systematized way that emphasized economics. Wanting democracy and social peace, they argued that economic depression threatened those objectives and concluded that overseas economic expansion provided a primary means of ending that danger. They did not want war per se, let alone war in order to increase their own personal fortunes. But their conception of the world ultimately led them into war in order to solve the problems in the way that they considered necessary and best."
1. Which of these two interpretations better explains (a) the war with Spain, (b) the decision to keep the Philippines, and (c) the U.S. involvement as a "great power" in world affairs?
2. Which historian would see American imperialism more as "inevitable," and which would see it more as a matter of choice?
3. Which of the two would judge American imperialism more harshly as a violation of moral principles and a threat to American democracy?
Julius Pratt, Expansionists of 1898 (1951).
"The Manifest Destiny of the 1840s had been largely a matter of emotion. Much of it had been simply one expression of a half-blind faith in the superior virility of the American race and the superior beneficence of American political institutions. In the intervening years, much had been done to provide this emotional concept with a philosophic backing.... Far-fetched and fallacious as their reasoning may appear to us, it nevertheless carried conviction.... The observation must be made that the rise of an expansionist philosophy in the United States owed little to economic influences. . .. The need of American business for colonial markets and fields for investment was discovered not by business but by historians and other intellectuals, by journalists and politicians."
William Appleman Williams, The Tragedy of American Diplomacy (1959).
"Men like McKinley and other national leaders thought about America’s problems and welfare in an inclusive, systematized way that emphasized economics. Wanting democracy and social peace, they argued that economic depression threatened those objectives and concluded that overseas economic expansion provided a primary means of ending that danger. They did not want war per se, let alone war in order to increase their own personal fortunes. But their conception of the world ultimately led them into war in order to solve the problems in the way that they considered necessary and best."
1. Which of these two interpretations better explains (a) the war with Spain, (b) the decision to keep the Philippines, and (c) the U.S. involvement as a "great power" in world affairs?
2. Which historian would see American imperialism more as "inevitable," and which would see it more as a matter of choice?
3. Which of the two would judge American imperialism more harshly as a violation of moral principles and a threat to American democracy?
SAQ VARIATIONS
1. (Standard Comparison)
Using the excerpts above, answer (a), (b), and (c).
(a) Briefly describe ONE major difference between Pratt’s and Williams’s interpretations of U.S. expansionism in the late 19th century.
(b) Briefly explain ONE specific historical development from 1865 to 1900 that supports Pratt’s interpretation.
(c) Briefly explain ONE specific historical development from 1865 to 1900 that supports Williams’s interpretation.
2. (Causation & Context)
Using the excerpts above, answer (a), (b), and (c).
(a) Briefly explain ONE broader historical context in the late 19th century that shaped the interpretations of either Pratt or Williams.
(b) Briefly explain ONE specific cause of the Spanish-American War that supports Pratt’s argument.
(c) Briefly explain ONE specific effect of U.S. imperialism after 1898 that supports Williams’s argument.
3. (Argument & Evaluation)
Using the excerpts above, answer (a), (b), and (c).
(a) Briefly explain which historian’s interpretation is more convincing and provide ONE piece of specific historical evidence to support your claim.
(b) Briefly explain ONE way in which economic factors influenced U.S. foreign policy between 1890 and 1910.
(c) Briefly explain ONE way in which ideology or cultural beliefs influenced U.S. expansion during the same period.
1. (Standard Comparison)
Using the excerpts above, answer (a), (b), and (c).
(a) Briefly describe ONE major difference between Pratt’s and Williams’s interpretations of U.S. expansionism in the late 19th century.
(b) Briefly explain ONE specific historical development from 1865 to 1900 that supports Pratt’s interpretation.
(c) Briefly explain ONE specific historical development from 1865 to 1900 that supports Williams’s interpretation.
2. (Causation & Context)
Using the excerpts above, answer (a), (b), and (c).
(a) Briefly explain ONE broader historical context in the late 19th century that shaped the interpretations of either Pratt or Williams.
(b) Briefly explain ONE specific cause of the Spanish-American War that supports Pratt’s argument.
(c) Briefly explain ONE specific effect of U.S. imperialism after 1898 that supports Williams’s argument.
3. (Argument & Evaluation)
Using the excerpts above, answer (a), (b), and (c).
(a) Briefly explain which historian’s interpretation is more convincing and provide ONE piece of specific historical evidence to support your claim.
(b) Briefly explain ONE way in which economic factors influenced U.S. foreign policy between 1890 and 1910.
(c) Briefly explain ONE way in which ideology or cultural beliefs influenced U.S. expansion during the same period.
MCQ
STIMULUS
"The Manifest Destiny of the 1840s had been largely a matter of emotion… Far-fetched and fallacious as their reasoning may appear to us, it nevertheless carried conviction… The rise of an expansionist philosophy in the United States owed little to economic influences… The need of American business for colonial markets and fields for investment was discovered not by business but by historians and other intellectuals, by journalists and politicians."--Julius Pratt, Expansionists of 1898 (1951)
"Men like McKinley and other national leaders thought about America’s problems and welfare in an inclusive, systematized way that emphasized economics… Wanting democracy and social peace, they argued that economic depression threatened those objectives and concluded that overseas economic expansion provided a primary means of ending that danger."--William Appleman Williams, The Tragedy of American Diplomacy (1959)
1. Which of the following historical developments best supports Williams’s interpretation of U.S. expansion at the turn of the 20th century?
A) The publication of yellow journalism accounts of Spanish atrocities in
Cuba by Hearst and Pulitzer.
B) The annexation of the Philippines following the Spanish-American War.
C) The passage of the Homestead Act (1862) to promote westward settlement.
D) The founding of the Anti-Imperialist League in 1898 to oppose overseas
expansion.
2. Which of the following events best illustrates Pratt’s argument that ideology and emotion, rather than economic factors, drove U.S. expansion?
A) McKinley’s pursuit of the Open Door Policy in China.
B) The outbreak of the Spanish-American War after the sinking of the USS
Maine.
C) U.S. investment in Cuban sugar plantations during the 1890s.
D) The passage of the Dingley Tariff to protect American manufacturers.
3. Which of the following was a long-term consequence of the type of overseas expansion described by Williams?
A) The United States emerging as a global economic and military power in
the early 20th century.
B) The immediate collapse of Spanish colonial authority in Cuba.
C) The establishment of the Homestead Act to settle the American West.
D) The creation of the League of Nations after World War I.
STIMULUS
"The Manifest Destiny of the 1840s had been largely a matter of emotion… Far-fetched and fallacious as their reasoning may appear to us, it nevertheless carried conviction… The rise of an expansionist philosophy in the United States owed little to economic influences… The need of American business for colonial markets and fields for investment was discovered not by business but by historians and other intellectuals, by journalists and politicians."--Julius Pratt, Expansionists of 1898 (1951)
"Men like McKinley and other national leaders thought about America’s problems and welfare in an inclusive, systematized way that emphasized economics… Wanting democracy and social peace, they argued that economic depression threatened those objectives and concluded that overseas economic expansion provided a primary means of ending that danger."--William Appleman Williams, The Tragedy of American Diplomacy (1959)
1. Which of the following historical developments best supports Williams’s interpretation of U.S. expansion at the turn of the 20th century?
A) The publication of yellow journalism accounts of Spanish atrocities in
Cuba by Hearst and Pulitzer.
B) The annexation of the Philippines following the Spanish-American War.
C) The passage of the Homestead Act (1862) to promote westward settlement.
D) The founding of the Anti-Imperialist League in 1898 to oppose overseas
expansion.
2. Which of the following events best illustrates Pratt’s argument that ideology and emotion, rather than economic factors, drove U.S. expansion?
A) McKinley’s pursuit of the Open Door Policy in China.
B) The outbreak of the Spanish-American War after the sinking of the USS
Maine.
C) U.S. investment in Cuban sugar plantations during the 1890s.
D) The passage of the Dingley Tariff to protect American manufacturers.
3. Which of the following was a long-term consequence of the type of overseas expansion described by Williams?
A) The United States emerging as a global economic and military power in
the early 20th century.
B) The immediate collapse of Spanish colonial authority in Cuba.
C) The establishment of the Homestead Act to settle the American West.
D) The creation of the League of Nations after World War I.
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VIb. DOING THE DBQ, 1994
Under Construction
To what extent was late nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century United States expansionism a continuation of past United States expansionism and to what extent was it a departure?
Use the documents and your knowledge of United States History to 1914 to construct your answer. pp. 148-153.
Under Construction
To what extent was late nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century United States expansionism a continuation of past United States expansionism and to what extent was it a departure?
Use the documents and your knowledge of United States History to 1914 to construct your answer. pp. 148-153.
The Spanish American War and Consequences
The United States became a full-fledged Empire because of the consequences of the Spanish-American war of 1898. What caused the war, and what were its results?
SIMULATION!
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You are Admiral Goerge Dewey, c. 1898. Can you successfully defeat the Spanish fleet in the Philippines? Let's see how your decision-making stands up to the test of time.
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Jingoism
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As Urbanization stimulated the growth of news publications, competition drove this growing media to go extremes to sell copy. The resulting sensationalism had many
names--"Yellow Journalism," Jingoism, and the tabloids for example. Many cite this type of news for helping to create an aggressive American mood toward Spain. But was this a cause of the war with Spain? Click below to find out. |
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The American Empire at the turn of the last century (c. 1900)
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The Central Intelligence Agency has one of the most comprehensive sites covering the World's countries and their territorial possessions. CIA staff refer to this site for basic information. Use the site to uncover the current status of the once vast American Empire. Click below to begin your research.
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The Panama Canal
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The Spanish American War confirmed America's new status as an industrial empire. Next, the new empire needed to be protected. Through diplomacy, military might, and technological innovation, the United States established a permanent role in World affairs. Central to that endeavor was the creation of a Path Between the Seas--the Panama Canal. Watch the videos at right to see how the Panama Canal works, and its role in our world. Below, click the button to learn the history of the Canal.
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Video #1. Ted Talk-The History of the Panama Canal.
Video #2. Wendover Productions-The Panama Canal in Today's World.
Video #3. PBS NOVA, Extreme Engineering Series-Widening the Panama Canal. Temporarily Unavailable
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Muckrakers, Reformers, and
Progressivism
Progressivism
"The print revolution and increasing literacy rates [biproducts of urbanization] enabled publications to increase their subscriptions dramatically. What appeared in print was now more powerful than ever. Writing to Congress in hopes of correcting abuses was slow and often produced zero results. Publishing a series of articles had a much more immediate impact. Collectively called muckrakers, a brave cadre of reporters exposed injustices so grave they made the blood of the average American run cold." -Actively Learn.
The Jungle
Excerpt Questions-What examples does Sinclair use to demonstrate the following:
1) Graft & Corruption? 2) Political Machines? 3) Scams on Immigrants? 4) The Meat-Packing Industry? 5) Child Labor? 6) Layoffs? Reading Below: |
In 1906 Theodore Roosevelt used Upton Sinclair's The Jungle to move the House of Representatives to pass legislation to regulate food processing in America. Sinclair's novel about the Rudkus family was meant to draw attention to the plight of poor immigrants. Instead, Americans were most interested in the horrid conditions descibing the meat-packing plant where the Jurgis Rudkus worked. Here, we will read a few excerpts from the book to help us understand the conditions needing to be addressed by Progressive legislation.
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Upton Sinclair
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MUCKRAKING IN THE JUNGLE
"There is filth on the floor, and it must be scraped up with the muck rake; and there are times and places where this service is the most needed of all the services that can be performed."
With these words, President Theodore Roosevelt, speaking to the House of Representatives in 1906, described the role of journalists and novelists whose works focused on the need for reform in politics, business, and society. Among these works is Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, a novel famous for its graphic descriptions of unsanitary procedures in Chicago’s meat industry, as well as for its sympathetic presentation of poverty experienced by immigrants.
Near the beginning of the novel, we read of the hope, the optimistic belief in the “American Dream,” that characterized the immigrants, including The Jungle’s main character, Jurgis Rudkus. Like many other immigrants, Jurgis expected that scraping together money for passage would be the biggest obstacle to a new life in the “land of freedom.” Once in America, he would, of course, get a good job, marry, establish a family, and live the life of ease he thought all Americans enjoyed. Disillusionment came quickly when rascally agents, both on the ship and in New York, were quick to exploit him and his fellow Lithuanians as they sought jobs and lodging in their new country.
Jurgis and his “family” travel to Chicago, where they try to earn a share in “the good life” through various jobs in the city’s famous meat industry. Sinclair bombards the reader with passages critical of the meat-packers. He targets graft and corruption:
“. . . one evening the old man came home in a great state of excitement, with the tale that he had been approached by a man in one of the corridors of the pickle rooms of Durham’s, and asked what he would pay to get a job. He had not known what to make of this at first; but the man had gone on with the matter-of-fact frankness to say that he could get him a job, provided that he were willing to pay one-third of his wages for it. . . . It was simply some boss who proposed to add a little to his income. After Jurgis had been there awhile he would know that the plants were simply honeycombed with rottenness of that sort—the bosses grafted off the men, and they grafted off each other; and some day the superintendent would find out about the boss, and then he would graft off the boss” (58–59).
The Chicago political machine also used the new immigrants:
“. . . when election day came, the packing houses posted a notice that men who desired to vote might remain away until nine that morning, and the same night watchman took Jurgis and the rest of his flock into the back room of a saloon, and showed each of them where and how to mark a ballot, and then gave each two dollars, and took them to the polling place, where there was a policeman on duty especially to see that they got through all right. Jurgis felt quite proud of this good luck till he got home and met Jonas, who had taken the leader aside and whispered to him, offering to vote three times for four dollars, which offer had been accepted” (92).
"There is filth on the floor, and it must be scraped up with the muck rake; and there are times and places where this service is the most needed of all the services that can be performed."
With these words, President Theodore Roosevelt, speaking to the House of Representatives in 1906, described the role of journalists and novelists whose works focused on the need for reform in politics, business, and society. Among these works is Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, a novel famous for its graphic descriptions of unsanitary procedures in Chicago’s meat industry, as well as for its sympathetic presentation of poverty experienced by immigrants.
Near the beginning of the novel, we read of the hope, the optimistic belief in the “American Dream,” that characterized the immigrants, including The Jungle’s main character, Jurgis Rudkus. Like many other immigrants, Jurgis expected that scraping together money for passage would be the biggest obstacle to a new life in the “land of freedom.” Once in America, he would, of course, get a good job, marry, establish a family, and live the life of ease he thought all Americans enjoyed. Disillusionment came quickly when rascally agents, both on the ship and in New York, were quick to exploit him and his fellow Lithuanians as they sought jobs and lodging in their new country.
Jurgis and his “family” travel to Chicago, where they try to earn a share in “the good life” through various jobs in the city’s famous meat industry. Sinclair bombards the reader with passages critical of the meat-packers. He targets graft and corruption:
“. . . one evening the old man came home in a great state of excitement, with the tale that he had been approached by a man in one of the corridors of the pickle rooms of Durham’s, and asked what he would pay to get a job. He had not known what to make of this at first; but the man had gone on with the matter-of-fact frankness to say that he could get him a job, provided that he were willing to pay one-third of his wages for it. . . . It was simply some boss who proposed to add a little to his income. After Jurgis had been there awhile he would know that the plants were simply honeycombed with rottenness of that sort—the bosses grafted off the men, and they grafted off each other; and some day the superintendent would find out about the boss, and then he would graft off the boss” (58–59).
The Chicago political machine also used the new immigrants:
“. . . when election day came, the packing houses posted a notice that men who desired to vote might remain away until nine that morning, and the same night watchman took Jurgis and the rest of his flock into the back room of a saloon, and showed each of them where and how to mark a ballot, and then gave each two dollars, and took them to the polling place, where there was a policeman on duty especially to see that they got through all right. Jurgis felt quite proud of this good luck till he got home and met Jonas, who had taken the leader aside and whispered to him, offering to vote three times for four dollars, which offer had been accepted” (92).
Buying a house brought more abuses for unwary immigrants:
"...as to the house they had bought, it was not new at all, as they had supposed; it was about fifteen years old, and there was nothing new upon it but the paint, which was so bad that it needed to be put on new every year or two . . . Cheap as the houses were, they were sold with the idea that the people who bought them would not be able to pay for them. When they failed—if it were only by a single month—they would lose the house and all that they had paid on it, and then the company would sell it over again" (65).
Sinclair's grim account of conditions and practices in the meat-packing plants caused many readers to become vegetarians:
Jonas had told them how the meat that was taken out of pickle would often be found sour, and how they would rub it up with soda to take away the smell, and sell it to be eaten on free-lunch counters; also of all the miracles of chemistry which they performed, giving to any sort of meat, fresh or salted, whole or chopped, any color and any flavor and any odor they chose. In the pickling of hams they had an ingenious apparatus, by which they saved time and increased the capacity of the plant—a machine consisting of a hollow needle attached to a pump; by plunging this needle into the meat and working with his foot, a man could fill a ham with pickle in a few seconds. And yet, in spite of this, there would be hams found spoiled, some of them with an odor so bad that a man could hardly bear to be in the room with them. To pump into these the packers had a second and much stronger pickle which destroyed the odor—a process known to the workers as "giving them thirty per cent." Also, after the hams had been smoked, there would be found some that had gone to the bad. Formerly these had been sold as "Number Three Grade," but later on some ingenious person had hit upon a new device, and now they would extract the bone, about which the bad part generally lay, and insert in the hole a white-hot iron. After this invention there was no longer Number One, Two, and Three Grade—there was only Number One Grade. The packers were always originating such schemes—they had what they called "boneless hams," which were all the odds and ends of pork stuffed into casings; and "California hams," which were the shoulders, with big knuckle joints, and nearly all the meat cut out; and fancy "skinned hams," which were made of the oldest hogs, whose skins were so heavy and coarse that no one would buy them—that is, until they had been cooked and chopped fine and labeled "head cheese!"
It was only when the whole ham was spoiled that it came into the department of Elzbieta. Cut up by the two-thousand-revolutions-a-minute flyers, and mixed with half a ton of other meat, no odor that ever was in a ham could make any difference. There was never the least attention paid to what was cut up for sausage; there would come all the way back from Europe old sausage that had been rejected, and that was moldy and white—it would be dosed with borax and glycerine, and dumped into the hoppers, and made over again for home consumption. There would be meat that had tumbled out on the floor, in the dirt and sawdust, where the workers had tramped and spit uncounted billions of consumption germs. There would be meat stored in great piles in rooms; and the water from leaky roofs would drip over it, and thousands of rats would race about on it. It was too dark in these storage places to see well, but a man could run his hand over these piles of meat and sweep off handfuls of the dried dung of rats. These rats were nuisances, and the packers would put poisoned bread out for them; they would die, and then rats, bread, and meat would go into the hoppers together. This is no fairy story and no joke; the meat would be shoveled into carts, and the man who did the shoveling would not trouble to lift out.
"...as to the house they had bought, it was not new at all, as they had supposed; it was about fifteen years old, and there was nothing new upon it but the paint, which was so bad that it needed to be put on new every year or two . . . Cheap as the houses were, they were sold with the idea that the people who bought them would not be able to pay for them. When they failed—if it were only by a single month—they would lose the house and all that they had paid on it, and then the company would sell it over again" (65).
Sinclair's grim account of conditions and practices in the meat-packing plants caused many readers to become vegetarians:
Jonas had told them how the meat that was taken out of pickle would often be found sour, and how they would rub it up with soda to take away the smell, and sell it to be eaten on free-lunch counters; also of all the miracles of chemistry which they performed, giving to any sort of meat, fresh or salted, whole or chopped, any color and any flavor and any odor they chose. In the pickling of hams they had an ingenious apparatus, by which they saved time and increased the capacity of the plant—a machine consisting of a hollow needle attached to a pump; by plunging this needle into the meat and working with his foot, a man could fill a ham with pickle in a few seconds. And yet, in spite of this, there would be hams found spoiled, some of them with an odor so bad that a man could hardly bear to be in the room with them. To pump into these the packers had a second and much stronger pickle which destroyed the odor—a process known to the workers as "giving them thirty per cent." Also, after the hams had been smoked, there would be found some that had gone to the bad. Formerly these had been sold as "Number Three Grade," but later on some ingenious person had hit upon a new device, and now they would extract the bone, about which the bad part generally lay, and insert in the hole a white-hot iron. After this invention there was no longer Number One, Two, and Three Grade—there was only Number One Grade. The packers were always originating such schemes—they had what they called "boneless hams," which were all the odds and ends of pork stuffed into casings; and "California hams," which were the shoulders, with big knuckle joints, and nearly all the meat cut out; and fancy "skinned hams," which were made of the oldest hogs, whose skins were so heavy and coarse that no one would buy them—that is, until they had been cooked and chopped fine and labeled "head cheese!"
It was only when the whole ham was spoiled that it came into the department of Elzbieta. Cut up by the two-thousand-revolutions-a-minute flyers, and mixed with half a ton of other meat, no odor that ever was in a ham could make any difference. There was never the least attention paid to what was cut up for sausage; there would come all the way back from Europe old sausage that had been rejected, and that was moldy and white—it would be dosed with borax and glycerine, and dumped into the hoppers, and made over again for home consumption. There would be meat that had tumbled out on the floor, in the dirt and sawdust, where the workers had tramped and spit uncounted billions of consumption germs. There would be meat stored in great piles in rooms; and the water from leaky roofs would drip over it, and thousands of rats would race about on it. It was too dark in these storage places to see well, but a man could run his hand over these piles of meat and sweep off handfuls of the dried dung of rats. These rats were nuisances, and the packers would put poisoned bread out for them; they would die, and then rats, bread, and meat would go into the hoppers together. This is no fairy story and no joke; the meat would be shoveled into carts, and the man who did the shoveling would not trouble to lift out.
a rat even when he saw one—there were things that went into the sausage in comparison with which a poisoned rat was a tidbit. There was no place for men to wash their hands before they ate their dinner, and so they made a practice of washing them in the water that was to be ladled into the sausage. There were the butt-ends of smoked meat, and the scraps of corned beef, and all the odds and ends of the waste of the plants, that would be dumped into old barrels in the cellar and left there. Under the system of rigid economy which the packers enforced, there were some jobs that it only paid to do once in a long time, and among these was the cleaning out of the waste barrels. Every spring they did it; and in the barrels would be dirt and rust and oil nails and stale water—and cartload after cartload of it would be taken up and dumped into the hoppers with fresh meat, and sent out to the public’s breakfast. Some of it they would make into “smoked” sausage—but as the smoking took time, and was therefore expensive, they would call upon their chemistry department, and preserve it with borax and color it with gelatine to make it brown. All of their sausage came out of the same bowl, but when they came to wrap it they would stamp some of it “special,” and for this they would charge two cents more a pound (133-35).
Work began at an early age for children of the poor:
“. . . and so was decided the place in the universe of little Stanislovas, and his destiny till the end of his days. Hour after hour, day after day, year after year, it was fated that he should stand upon a certain square of floor from seven in the morning till half-past five, making never a motion and thinking never a thought, save for the setting of lard cans. In summer the stench of the warm lard would be nauseating, and in winter the cans would all but freeze to his naked little fingers in the unheated cellar. Half the year it would be dark as night when he went in to work, and dark as night again when he came out, and so he would never know what the sun looked like on weekdays. And for this, at the end of the week, he would carry home three dollars to his family, being his pay at the rate of five cents per hour—just about the proper share of the total earnings of the million and three-quarters of children who are now engaged in earning their livings in the United States (71-72)."
Layoffs that accompanied downturns in business threatened even the survival of their victims:
“For another ten days he roamed the streets and alleys of the huge city, sick and hungry, begging for any work. He tried in stores and offices, in restaurants and hotels, along the docks and in the railroad yards, in warehouses and mills and factories where they made products that went to ever'y corner of the world. There were often one or two chances—but there were always a hundred men for every chance, and his turn would not come. At night he crept into sheds and cellars and doorways—until there came a spell of belated winter weather, with a raging gale, and the thermometer five degrees below zero at sundown and falling all night. Then Jurgis fought like a wild beast to get into the big Harrison Street police station, and slept down in a corridor, crowded with two other men upon a single step (202)."
The Jungle appeared in serial form in 1905 and in book form in 1906. Congress passed the Pure Food and Drug Act in 1906, and federal laws regarding meat inspection followed. The novel, then, is an example of a literary work helping to change history. All excerpts are from the 1981 Bantam Books edition of The Jungle. COPYRIGHT, The Center for Learning. Used with permission.
Work began at an early age for children of the poor:
“. . . and so was decided the place in the universe of little Stanislovas, and his destiny till the end of his days. Hour after hour, day after day, year after year, it was fated that he should stand upon a certain square of floor from seven in the morning till half-past five, making never a motion and thinking never a thought, save for the setting of lard cans. In summer the stench of the warm lard would be nauseating, and in winter the cans would all but freeze to his naked little fingers in the unheated cellar. Half the year it would be dark as night when he went in to work, and dark as night again when he came out, and so he would never know what the sun looked like on weekdays. And for this, at the end of the week, he would carry home three dollars to his family, being his pay at the rate of five cents per hour—just about the proper share of the total earnings of the million and three-quarters of children who are now engaged in earning their livings in the United States (71-72)."
Layoffs that accompanied downturns in business threatened even the survival of their victims:
“For another ten days he roamed the streets and alleys of the huge city, sick and hungry, begging for any work. He tried in stores and offices, in restaurants and hotels, along the docks and in the railroad yards, in warehouses and mills and factories where they made products that went to ever'y corner of the world. There were often one or two chances—but there were always a hundred men for every chance, and his turn would not come. At night he crept into sheds and cellars and doorways—until there came a spell of belated winter weather, with a raging gale, and the thermometer five degrees below zero at sundown and falling all night. Then Jurgis fought like a wild beast to get into the big Harrison Street police station, and slept down in a corridor, crowded with two other men upon a single step (202)."
The Jungle appeared in serial form in 1905 and in book form in 1906. Congress passed the Pure Food and Drug Act in 1906, and federal laws regarding meat inspection followed. The novel, then, is an example of a literary work helping to change history. All excerpts are from the 1981 Bantam Books edition of The Jungle. COPYRIGHT, The Center for Learning. Used with permission.
A Child on Strike
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"Camella Teoli was an Italian immigrant girl and textile mill worker. Her testimony before Congress in 1912 called national attention to unsafe working conditions in the mills, her own tragic accident, and helped bring a successful end to the 'Bread and Roses' strike." Watch the video to learn her story. (McDougal-Littell)
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SIMULATION!
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You are President Theodore Roosevelt, c. 1901-1908. Can you guide the nation into a new century? Let's see how your decision-making stands up to the test of time.
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Why Is There Little Socialism in the United States?
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Werner Sombart, and many other Socialists, had expected the best glaring example of the Era's "Late" industrial capitalism--the United States--to be ripe for working-class revolution. He investigated why it had not in a 1904 journey that echoes the curiosity of Alexis de Tocqueville's the previous century. Like Tocqueville, his observations are a unique insight into our economic, political, and social fabric of our Nation.
Article by Patrick Acard, University of Kansas. Click on the button below.
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The Progressive Era Chart
Chart the American middle-class alternative to some of the extreme answers being provided at the time to solve the problems of industrialization.
The pdf chart below will help students create organizational themes to quantify Progressivism in all its forms, helping us to construct an essay on the topic. Use the file below to create your chart.
Woman Suffrage
Women’s Suffrage: Fact Sheet
What a great resource! From the Congressional Research Service, this pdf. is short but packed with great information about the course of female suffrage.
| womens_suffrage_congress.pdf |
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Reformers tackle the
problems of urbanization. The Story of Us--"Cities" Americans are always ready with creative solutions to problems. We have tacked many tough ones! One problem that lingers to this day is to solve the issue, created by the Industrial Revolution and people moving to work with machines in an urban environment, of people living in large numbers together in cities. Food, energy, crime, sanitation, and many other negative consequences had to be managed to allow our great cities and urbanization to work. Watch Americans at their best with this classic video, America: The Story of Us
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VIc. Analyzing & Comparing Documents/
Mini-DBQ/SAQ Practice
From the Cengage Learning Teacher's Resource Guide
Who Were the Progressives?
MINI-DBQ
DOCUMENTS
Doc. 1. Richard Hofstadter, The Age of Reform (1955).
"Progressivism, at its heart, was an effort to realize familiar and traditional ideals under novel circumstances…. At the core of their conception of politics was a figure quite as old-fashioned as the figure of the little competitive entrepreneur who represented the most commonly accepted economic ideal. This old-fashioned character was the Man of Good Will, the same innocent, bewildered, bespectacled, and mustached figure we see in the cartoons today labeled John Q. Public—a white collar or small business voter-taxpayer with perhaps a modest home in the suburbs."
Doc. 2. Gabriel Kolko, The Triumph of Conservatism (1963).
"The New Freedom, in its concrete legislative aspects, was little more than the major demands of politically oriented big businessmen. They had defined the issues, and it was they who managed to provide the direction for change….In its larger outlines it was they who gave progressivism its essential character. By the end of 1914 they had triumphed, and to the extent that the new laws were vague and subject to administrative definitions by boards and commissions, they were to totally dominate the extensive reign of political capitalism that had been created in the United States by 1915."
Doc. 3. Robert Wiebe, The Search for Order, 1877–1920 (1967).
"Experts in administration supported by a variety of professionals sought solutions to the city’s problems through proper procedures and continuous enforcement…..A blend of many ideas, the new political theory borrowed its most revolutionary qualities from bureaucratic thought….Trained, professional servants would staff a government broadly and continuously involved in society’s operations….This revolutionary approach to government, incomplete as it was, eventually dominated the politics of the early twentieth century."
PROMPT
Who were the "Progressives?"
DOCUMENTS
Doc. 1. Richard Hofstadter, The Age of Reform (1955).
"Progressivism, at its heart, was an effort to realize familiar and traditional ideals under novel circumstances…. At the core of their conception of politics was a figure quite as old-fashioned as the figure of the little competitive entrepreneur who represented the most commonly accepted economic ideal. This old-fashioned character was the Man of Good Will, the same innocent, bewildered, bespectacled, and mustached figure we see in the cartoons today labeled John Q. Public—a white collar or small business voter-taxpayer with perhaps a modest home in the suburbs."
Doc. 2. Gabriel Kolko, The Triumph of Conservatism (1963).
"The New Freedom, in its concrete legislative aspects, was little more than the major demands of politically oriented big businessmen. They had defined the issues, and it was they who managed to provide the direction for change….In its larger outlines it was they who gave progressivism its essential character. By the end of 1914 they had triumphed, and to the extent that the new laws were vague and subject to administrative definitions by boards and commissions, they were to totally dominate the extensive reign of political capitalism that had been created in the United States by 1915."
Doc. 3. Robert Wiebe, The Search for Order, 1877–1920 (1967).
"Experts in administration supported by a variety of professionals sought solutions to the city’s problems through proper procedures and continuous enforcement…..A blend of many ideas, the new political theory borrowed its most revolutionary qualities from bureaucratic thought….Trained, professional servants would staff a government broadly and continuously involved in society’s operations….This revolutionary approach to government, incomplete as it was, eventually dominated the politics of the early twentieth century."
PROMPT
Who were the "Progressives?"
SAQ
EXCERPTS
Richard Hofstadter, The Age of Reform (1955).
“Progressivism, at its heart, was an effort to realize familiar and traditional ideals under novel circumstances. ... At the core of their conception of politics was a figure quite as old-fashioned as the figure of the little competitive entrepreneur who represented the most commonly accepted economic ideal. This old-fashioned character was the Man of Good Will, the same innocent, bewildered, bespectacled, and mustached figure we see in the cartoons today labeled John Q. Public—a white collar or small business voter-taxpayer with perhaps a modest home in the suburbs.”
Robert Wiebe, The Search for Order, 1877–1920 (1967).
“Experts in administration supported by a variety of professionals sought solutions to the city’s problems through proper procedures and continuous enforcement. ... A blend of many ideas, the new political theory borrowed its most revolutionary qualities from bureaucratic thought. ... Trained, professional servants would staff a government broadly and continuously involved in society’s operations. ... This revolutionary approach to government, incomplete as it was, eventually dominated the politics of the early twentieth century.”
Using the excerpts, answer parts a, b, and c.
a) Briefly explain ONE major difference between Hofstadter and Wiebe’s historical interpretation of the Progressive reformers in the early twentieth century.
b) Briefly explain how ONE development from the period 1900 to 1920 not directly mentioned in the excerpts supports Hofstadter’s argument.
c) Briefly explain how ONE development from the period 1900 to 1920 not directly mentioned in the excerpts supports Wiebe’s argument.
EXCERPTS
Richard Hofstadter, The Age of Reform (1955).
“Progressivism, at its heart, was an effort to realize familiar and traditional ideals under novel circumstances. ... At the core of their conception of politics was a figure quite as old-fashioned as the figure of the little competitive entrepreneur who represented the most commonly accepted economic ideal. This old-fashioned character was the Man of Good Will, the same innocent, bewildered, bespectacled, and mustached figure we see in the cartoons today labeled John Q. Public—a white collar or small business voter-taxpayer with perhaps a modest home in the suburbs.”
Robert Wiebe, The Search for Order, 1877–1920 (1967).
“Experts in administration supported by a variety of professionals sought solutions to the city’s problems through proper procedures and continuous enforcement. ... A blend of many ideas, the new political theory borrowed its most revolutionary qualities from bureaucratic thought. ... Trained, professional servants would staff a government broadly and continuously involved in society’s operations. ... This revolutionary approach to government, incomplete as it was, eventually dominated the politics of the early twentieth century.”
Using the excerpts, answer parts a, b, and c.
a) Briefly explain ONE major difference between Hofstadter and Wiebe’s historical interpretation of the Progressive reformers in the early twentieth century.
b) Briefly explain how ONE development from the period 1900 to 1920 not directly mentioned in the excerpts supports Hofstadter’s argument.
c) Briefly explain how ONE development from the period 1900 to 1920 not directly mentioned in the excerpts supports Wiebe’s argument.
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VId. Doing The DBQ, 2003
under construction
Evaluate the effectiveness of Progressive Era reformers and the federal government in bringing about reform at the national level. In your answer be sure to analyze the successes and limitations of these efforts in the period 1900 to 1920.
under construction
Evaluate the effectiveness of Progressive Era reformers and the federal government in bringing about reform at the national level. In your answer be sure to analyze the successes and limitations of these efforts in the period 1900 to 1920.
| 2003-dbq.pdf |
VIe. Doing The DBQ, 2019
under construction
under construction
Evaluate the extent to which the Progressive movement fostered political change in the United States from 1890 to 1920.
| 2019-dbq.pdf |
Gusher!
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On the 10th day of the first month of the 20th Century oil exploded from the ground near Beaumont Texas. This event would help lead to oil being plentiful, cheap, and the primary fuel of our society for the next 150 years. Pattillo Higgins (pictured here), the architect of this seminal event has an amazing story. Click below to find out more.
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Americans Video Series
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What Lead to US Entry into the Great
War?
SIMULATION!
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You are Major General Lejeune, c. 1918 Can you prove the American military capable of victory? Let's see how your decision-making stands up to the test of time.
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INFLUENZA 1918
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What killed more Americans than all the wars fought in the 20th century, and nearly brought our country to the breaking point? An H1N1 Influenza A Virus. Watch this video excerpt from American Experience to learn more. The full video is amazingly well done. How was the COVID experience different?
The 94th Aero Squadron
Want kind of men climb into an aircraft, without parachutes to take to the skies in a kill or be killed duel to the death? Watch the video below to learn about America's "Ace of Aces," Eddie Rickenbacker. Learn about this man and America's most famous squadron of the Great War. (From The Americans Series)
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Go back in time and visit the famous San Diego restaurant dedicated to the squadron!
8885 Balboa Avenue, San Diego, CA 92123 |
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Our Colored Heroes
Henry Johnson, c. 1918.
"Though former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt called Johnson one of the “five bravest Americans” to serve in World War I, and the government used his image on Victory War stamps and army recruiting materials, Johnson’s discharge papers made no mention of his many wounds, and he received no disability pay after the war. Johnson returned to Albany, and to his job as a railroad porter, but his injuries made it difficult for him to work, and he soon began to decline into alcoholism and poverty. His wife and children left him, and he died penniless in 1929 at the age of 32. As far as anyone in his family knew, he ended up in a pauper’s grave in Albany." History.com
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The Case:
Host Tukufu Zuberi switched roles for this story and brought a question of his own to History Detectives. Tukufu collects posters featuring African Americans in combat. One in particular intrigues him. Titled Our Colored Heroes, the poster tells an incredible World War I story. A raiding party of more than 20 Germans attacked two African American doughboys on sentry duty. The poster quotes General Pershing who praises the two colored sentries who ‘continued fighting after receiving wounds and despite the use of grenades by a superior force.’ Did all of this actually happen? And why was this poster made? Tukufu, along with fellow History Detectives host Elyse Luray track down the truth and call on the insight of U.S. Senator Charles Schumer to answer Tukufu’s question. |
Lieutenant James Reese.
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Johnson was a member of the 369th Infantry Regiment (the "Harlem Hell-Fighters") Click the button below to learn more.
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Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
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Oliver Wendell Holmes was shaped by the single most important event of his life--The Civil War. From the Lochner dissent to questions of free speech, his experience shaped his conviction. Spending thirty years on the Supreme Court, he helped shaped American understanding of the Constitution. Read the document below to learn his views on the Great War and civil rights.
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The Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations
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What did President Woodrow Wilson hope to achieve by being the first sitting president to visit Europe, attending the Paris Peace Conference? Why did the U.S. Senate refuse to ratify the Conference's Versailles Treaty?
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VIf. Exam Skills: SAQ Cartoon Stimulus
From The American Pageant Teacher Resource Guide, Cengage Learning
"Interrupting the Ceremony"
From The American Pageant Teacher Resource Guide, Cengage Learning
"Interrupting the Ceremony"
SAQ
Using the political cartoon "Contentious Nuptials," answer parts a, b, and c.
a) Briefly explain the point of view expressed by the political cartoonist about ONE of the following: Woodrow Wilson; The Treaty of Versailles; The Isolationists
b) Briefly explain ONE development from 1914 to 1920 that may have led to the point of view expressed by the political cartoonist (context).
c) Briefly explain ONE way in which developments from 1914 to 1920 challenged the point of view expressed by the political cartoonist."
STIMULUS
Using the political cartoon "Contentious Nuptials," answer parts a, b, and c.
a) Briefly explain the point of view expressed by the political cartoonist about ONE of the following: Woodrow Wilson; The Treaty of Versailles; The Isolationists
b) Briefly explain ONE development from 1914 to 1920 that may have led to the point of view expressed by the political cartoonist (context).
c) Briefly explain ONE way in which developments from 1914 to 1920 challenged the point of view expressed by the political cartoonist."
STIMULUS
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VIg. Exam Skills: SAQ with Stimulus
From the Cengage Learning Teacher's Resource Guide
Woodrow Wilson: Idealist or Realist?
From the Cengage Learning Teacher's Resource Guide
Woodrow Wilson: Idealist or Realist?
SAQ
STIMULUS
Use the passage below to answer all parts of the question that follows.
"The world must be made safe for democracy… We have no selfish ends to serve. We desire no conquest, no dominion… but only the vindication of right, of human right."
—Woodrow Wilson, War Message to Congress, 1917
(a) Briefly explain ONE way the excerpt reflects Woodrow Wilson’s idealistic (dreamer) approach to foreign policy.
(b) Briefly explain ONE way Woodrow Wilson’s actions during or after World War I reflected a more realist (pragmatic) approach to foreign policy.
(c) Briefly explain ONE reason why historians might disagree about whether Wilson was more of an idealist or a realist.
STIMULUS
Use the passage below to answer all parts of the question that follows.
"The world must be made safe for democracy… We have no selfish ends to serve. We desire no conquest, no dominion… but only the vindication of right, of human right."
—Woodrow Wilson, War Message to Congress, 1917
(a) Briefly explain ONE way the excerpt reflects Woodrow Wilson’s idealistic (dreamer) approach to foreign policy.
(b) Briefly explain ONE way Woodrow Wilson’s actions during or after World War I reflected a more realist (pragmatic) approach to foreign policy.
(c) Briefly explain ONE reason why historians might disagree about whether Wilson was more of an idealist or a realist.
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Clothing Styles of the 1910s
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