Primary Sources Flashcards
1
Q
Source 15.6 James Michael Cavanaugh | Support for Indian Extermination 1868
A
- harsh attitude towards Indians in a discussion with Benjamin Butler
- “I will say that I like an Indian better dead than living.”
- Believes that Indians cannot be civilized based on his experiences at war with them
2
Q
Source 15.7 Helen Hunt Jackson | Challenges to Indian Policy, 1881
A
- criticizes US policy towards Native Americans
- believed Indians cannot become citizens until they are trained like them (boarding schools)
- immediate legislation would cause panic
- Thoughtful and gradual solutions.
3
Q
Source 15.8 Thomas Nast | “Patience until the Indian Is Civilized — So to Speak,” 1878
A
- raises questions about actions the government should take to address Native Americans.
- Generally sympathetic to the rights of American Indians.
- Secretary of the Interior Carl Schurz on the left side, identifying him as an Indian reformer.
4
Q
Source 15.9 Zitkala-Ša | Life at an Indian Boarding School 1921
A
- Gertrude Simmons Bonnin taught at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School
- Highlights the clash between Native American and Euro-American cultures (dress code and meal times)
- The traumatic experience of having her hair forcibly cut is portrayed as a moment of surrendering her spirit and identity.
5
Q
Source 15.10 Chief Joseph | Views on Indian Affairs 1879
A
- In 1877, Chief Joseph led the Nez Percé on march to Canada
- Chief Joseph expresses frustration over the U.S. government sending General Miles to fight them.
- Emphasizes the need for concrete actions rather than empty words.
- Advocates for equality, all men, regardless of race, are brothers and should have equal rights
6
Q
Source 16.6 William Graham Sumner | A Defense of Laissez-Faire, 1883
A
- Sumner believed that millionaires deserved their wealth, considering them as “naturally selected agents of society.”
- Helping the less successful would hinder progress.
- Do those who mean no harm but are weak cause more damage than those who are malicious and vicious?
- Individualism, laissez-faire economics, and skepticism toward social interventions.
7
Q
Source 16.7 Edward Bellamy | Looking Backward, 2000-1887, 1888
A
- Novel set in the year 2000.
- Protagonist wakes up after a medically induced sleep, finding a transformed society.
- People believed large corporations were preparing a tyrannical rule resulting in backlash towards the government.
- Raised question of how to have a cooperative approach to economic progress but not at the cost of common good and shared prosperity.
8
Q
Source 16.8 Andrew Carnegie | The Gospel of Wealth, 1889
A
- Carnegie proposes that the best means of benefiting the community is to provide ladders for the aspiring to rise.
- ( free libraries, parks, means of recreation, works of art, and public institutions that improve the general condition of the people)
- Carnegie wants the laws of accumulation and distribution to remain free.
- The best minds recognize the responsibility to use surplus wealth for the general good
9
Q
Source 16.9 Henry Demarest Lloyd | Critique of Wealth, 1894
A
- Lloyd criticizes industrial capitalists for their excessive wealth
- He highlights the unchecked power of these individuals, exercised through secretive, anonymous, and perpetual forms
- Monopolies are a threat to society.
- He warns of a power shift, where power is moving from the many to the few, and compares this to the natural course of humans where, after noon, decline sets in.
10
Q
Source 17.6 George Pullman | Testimony before the U.S. Strike Commission, 1894
A
- Pullman, a business owner refused to hear work requests for higher wages, lower rents, and better working conditions.
- Pullman states that the primary objective of establishing the town was to create a strong manufacturing business.
- Though the success of working people resulted in the success of any enterprise.
- He argues that matters like the rate of business should be decided by the company itself, not by a third party through mediation.
11
Q
Source 17.7 Eugene V. Debs | On Radicalism, 1902
A
- The success of the American Railway Union in paralyzing combined corporations challenged his previous beliefs and expectations.
- Debs witnessed the power dynamics and oppression.
- Debs’ journey from a labor organizer with little knowledge of socialism to a committed socialist leader
- paved the way for economic freedom and hastened the realization of human brotherhood
12
Q
Source 17.8 Jennie Curtis | Testimony before the U.S. Strike Commission, 1894
A
- Seamstress for the Pullman company and member of the American Railway Union.
- Curtis reveals the dire economic situation faced by workers, particularly the female employees’ (extremely low daily earnings.)
- Curtis faced financial hardship, struggling to pay her board while dealing with the obligation to cover her deceased father’s back rent.
- illustrates the severe impact of wage cuts and exploitative rent practices, contributing to the grievances that led to the Pullman strike.
13
Q
Source 17.9 Report from the Commission to Investigate the Chicago Strike, 1895
A
- Industrial workers sought higher wages, less working hours, better safety conditions, a voice in decisions affecting their working conditions (a formal platform), government intervention in their favor, etc.
- Without this, they cannot succeed in achieving substantial improvements
14
Q
Source 18.6: Israel Zangwill | The Melting-Pot, 1908
A
- The passage explores the idea of assimilation in the “Crucible” of America, where various immigrant groups meld together to form a new American identity.
- Imagery of immigrants arriving at Ellis Island, highlighting the diverse groups with distinct languages, histories, and blood feuds.
- Emphasizes a fusion of all races, creating a “coming superman” representing the ultimate American.
15
Q
18.7 “The Mortar of Assimilation — and the One Element That Won’t Mix,” 1889
A
- The cartoon illustrates Columbia, symbolizing the United States, stirring a pot labeled “Citizenship” with a spoon named “Equal Rights.”
- Irish are depicted as resisting assimilation, suggesting a reluctance or difficulty in blending
- provides insight into the attitudes towards immigration and assimilation
- Before Israel Zangwill The Melting Pot
16
Q
18.8 “Be Just — Even to John Chinaman,” 1893
A
- Published following the renewal of the Chinese Exclusion Act by Congress
- Depicts a conversation between Miss Columbia and Judge regarding the admission of a Chinese boy into a school.
- While the cartoon supports the Chinese Exclusion Act, it also suggests sympathy for the Chinese already in the country
- Native Americans and Other Immigrant Groups: Shown implying that schooling can assimilate them into “true Americans,” contrasting with the perceived threat of Chinese immigration.
- Shows the diversity of racial and ethnic groups in America at the time and the differing attitudes towards immigration and assimilation among them
