1890 - 1912 - Populism, Progressivism and Imperialism Flashcards
Two main reasons for emergence of the Populists
- Wanted Silver coinage
- Agricultural discontent
Populist party formed?
1892
Ratio of votes between Bryan and McKinley in the 1896 election.
Bryan 6500,000 : 7000,000 Mckinley
Brief era of Populism demonstrated…..
Increasing dissatisfaction with main political parties.
Increasing demand for more liberal politics.
How did Mark Hanna (a rich businessman) influence the 1896 election.
He spent $3 Million supporting the Republican party, and launched a smear campaign against Bryan.
Three progressive Presidents
- Theodore Roosevelt
- William Taft
- Woodrow Wilson
Why did progressive movement emerge?
- Economic problems, causing social problems.
- Need for political reform
- Need to regulate big business
- Influence of the media
Sherman Silver Purchase Act 1890
Government would buy 4,500,000 ounces of silver each month for use in coinage
President Cleveland repealed the Silver Purchase Act
1896
McKinley tariff - When and what?
1890 - Imposed tariffs of up to 50% on imports
Price of wheat fell from $1.60 a bushel in 1860, to …….?
60 cents a bushel in 1890
Between 1860 and 1890, Cotten fell from 30 cents a bushel to ……?
6 cents a bushel
Influence of the media on society
The press played a major role in exposing the evils of US society / politics
Social aims of the progressive movement
- Female vote
- Creation of a state welfare system
- Reforms to help AA’s
Political aims of the progressive movement
- Female vote
- Greater role for federal gov in regulation of big business
Economic aims of the progressive movement
- Wanted to regulate working hours, and make employers recognise trade unions
- Silver coinage
Theodore Roosevelt presidency dates
Sep 1901 - March 1909
How many anti-trust prosecutions did Roosevelt embark on?
44, in 1904
Department of Commerce and Labour act - When and what?
1903
Created a department of Commerce that was given the power to collect data from any interstate business
Hepburn act - When and what?
- 1906
- Federal gov could inspect the books of railroad companies and could set the maximum rates they could charge passengers.
(Was an attempt to protect the public from exploitation)
Anthracite Coal Strike
Example of Roosevelt intervening in labour dispute
- 1902
- Employers locked out miners who had gone on strike for better pay and 8 hour working day.
- Roosevelt summoned both sides to Washington and told them that if they didn’t agree to arbitration he would send troops to work the mines.
- Employers settled for a wage increase and 9 hour working day
- This was significant because for the first time a President hadn’t taken the side of the employer.
How many acres of forest did Roosevelt order be planted on federal reserves?
150 million acres
Pure Food and Drug act
Roosevelt passed in 1906.
Begun the process of ending food adulteration.
Roosevelt vs. Northern Securities Company - what happened?
- Roosevelt started proceedings against Northern Securities Company in 1902, (a holding company controlling several railroads).
- Took on powerful businessmen who appeared to be using the companies monopoly to create excess profit.
- In 1904 the Supreme court decided that the company was illegal.
Was Roosevelt a successful progressive president?
- He continued to take action against big business
- Seemed to show genuine care for the underdog
- Brought the presidential office into the arena of economic and social reform.
Presidency of Taft
1909 - 1912
Taft’s Achievements
- Initiated twice as many anti trust suits as Roosevelt’s
- Introduced an 8 hour working day
- Introduced mine safety legislature
The Firm of Dupont controlled what percentage of the nations electric power?
85%
Why didn’t President Cleveland intervene much in the depression of 1893
He believed that the economy would sort itself out on it own, and that it was naturally cyclical
Depression of 1893 stats…
- 24 businesses failed per day in May.
- 4 year depression, 15,000 companies failed.
- National unemployment was over 20%
What were the two main causes of the 1893 economic panic
- Depletion of federal gold reserves
- Reading railroad declared bankruptcy
What caused the agricultural discontent?
Falling prices for agricultural goods, and larger prices for transportation of goods.
Farmers no longer felt self sufficient.
How many strikes in 1886?
1400
Pittsburgh steelworkers strike
- 1892
- Workers went on strike when employers refused to negotiate with them after a cut in wages
- Militia called in when strike breakers attacked
- After 5 months the strike failed when workers had no money for food.
Pullman strike
- 1894
- First national strike in the USA
- Pullman company cut wages but refused to lower rents for workers houses
- President Cleveland agreed to send in federal troops to keep the trains running
- Rioting resulted in troops firing into a crowd, killing 4 people.
- Federal government had shown itself hostile to unions
American Federation of Labour created
1885
How many immigrants between 1860 and 1900?
Over 14 million
New York Irish population fact?
City of NY had twice as many Irish as city of Dublin
By 1890 what portion of the population was Chinese?
One 10th of the population was Chinese
Why did some dislike immigrants?
- Overcrowded cities
- Typically used as strikebreakers
American Protective Association
Set up in 1887 to put pressure on the government to limit immigration
Chinese Exclusion Act
1882, prevented immigration from China
Segregated railroad carriages introduced
1887
Plessy Vs. Fergusson
1896, reinforced legality of segregation
Mississippi introduced a literacy test in order to register to vote
1890
Booker T. Washington?
- Pro-segregation
- Speech in Atlanta 1895
W.E.B. Du Bois
Founded the Niagara movement in 1905, encouraged protests to demand civil rights.
Position of African Americans in 1912
- Their right to vote had been removed in the south
- Lack of political power made it difficult to challenge white supremacy and achieve legal equality.
- However, chances of receiving education increased.
- AA’s were free to migrate North
- Civil rights protest movement had developed by the end of this period.
Motives for imperialism
- Progressive imperialism
- Need for markets
- End of westward expansion
- Preclusive imperialism
Evidence for increasing US imperialism
- Samoa
- Hawaii
- Phillipines
- Spanish War
Reasons for US involvement in the Spanish War
- Aggressive patriotic press campaign
- Wanted to protect business interests in Cuba
- Maine incident
- Private letter from a Spanish minister in Washington made public.
Results of the Spanish War
- Cuban independence
- Spain lost its American empire, gave Puerto Rico and Guam to the US
- US purchased the Philippines for $20 million
Roosevelt Corollary - What and when?
- 1904
- Sanctioned US armed intervention in Latin America when necessary
US involvement in Panama
- 1903
- USA support Panamanian revolt against rule of Columbia, sent a battleship.
Panama Canal completed
1914
US involvement in Nicaragua
- 1909
- Anti American president cancelled US economic privileges.
- President Taft sent in marines to install a pro-American president.
US and the Philippines
- US purchased from Spain for $20 million as a term of the Spanish war peace settlement.
- Filipino resistance necessitated that 126,000 troops be stationed there.
US and Venezuela
- Example of lack of imperialism, and US moral superiority
- Britain and Venezuela in dispute over Venezuelas border with British colony Guiana
- US threatened to send 54 vessels to the area if Britain didn’t agree to arbitration
- Arbitration decided in favour of Venezuela
US and the Philippines
- 1898 - US purchased from Spain for $20 million as a term of the Spanish war peace settlement.
- Filipino resistance necessitated that 126,000 troops be stationed there.
US and Venezuela
- 1895
- Example of lack of imperialism, and US moral superiority
- Britain and Venezuela in dispute over Venezuelas border with British colony Guiana
- US threatened to send 54 vessels to the area if Britain didn’t agree to arbitration
- Arbitration decided in favour of Venezuela
What/when was the open Door policy?
1899 - Asked states to respect each others trading interests in China, even when in each others spheres of interest.
Second open door note
1900 - Asserted principle of equal and impartial trade, and that in future the US would protect its citizens living in China
Root Takahira Agreement
1908 - US and Japan agreed to respect each others interests in China, and to keep the pacific in its current state
