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| | [[American History Lecture Eight|Lecture]] - [[American_History_Homework_Eight|Questions]] - [[American History Homework Eight Answers|Student Answers]] | | [[American History Lecture Eight|Lecture]] - [[American_History_Homework_Eight|Questions]] - [[American History Homework Eight Answers|Student Answers]] |
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| − | On the SAT II, about 20% of the test concerns ''economic'' history. That's a big portion of the exam. That includes questions about unions, money standards (gold or silver or paper), inventions, trade, tariffs, other taxes, farming, court decisions about economic disputes, disputes over the size of pensions for Civil War veterans, government spending and anything else affecting the economy. Economic trends influence the course of human events more than students realize.
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| | In the time period after the end of Reconstruction (1877) until the key presidential election of 1896, economic issues were particularly important. Very little else was happening: the presidents were unremarkable and, frankly, entirely forgettable. Social disputes like slavery were resolved. And for the longest time in American history, there were no wars. America had no wars between the end of the Civil War in 1865 and the beginning of the Spanish-American War in 1898, a period of 33 years. Ask yourself: when was the second longest time of peace in American history?<ref>The second longest time period of peace in American history was between the end of the War of 1812 (in 1815) and the beginning of the Mexican War (in 1846), a period of 31 years. See http://americanhistory.about.com/library/timelines/bltimelineuswars.htm</ref> | | In the time period after the end of Reconstruction (1877) until the key presidential election of 1896, economic issues were particularly important. Very little else was happening: the presidents were unremarkable and, frankly, entirely forgettable. Social disputes like slavery were resolved. And for the longest time in American history, there were no wars. America had no wars between the end of the Civil War in 1865 and the beginning of the Spanish-American War in 1898, a period of 33 years. Ask yourself: when was the second longest time of peace in American history?<ref>The second longest time period of peace in American history was between the end of the War of 1812 (in 1815) and the beginning of the Mexican War (in 1846), a period of 31 years. See http://americanhistory.about.com/library/timelines/bltimelineuswars.htm</ref> |
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| | There is almost nothing to learn about civil rights during the late 1800s. The Supreme Court ruled in 1883, in the ''Civil Rights Cases'', that the Fourteenth Amendment was limited to prohibiting racial discrimination ''by government''. These decisions held that the Fourteenth Amendment does not apply to racism by private groups. This ended the civil rights movement until the 1950s. | | There is almost nothing to learn about civil rights during the late 1800s. The Supreme Court ruled in 1883, in the ''Civil Rights Cases'', that the Fourteenth Amendment was limited to prohibiting racial discrimination ''by government''. These decisions held that the Fourteenth Amendment does not apply to racism by private groups. This ended the civil rights movement until the 1950s. |
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| − | So what's left to study about 1877 to 1896? The economy. Many of the economics questions on the SAT II will come from 1877-1896 because little else was happening then. If you like economic issues, then this is an exciting time period to study. The economy was ''booming''. The greatest inventions in the history of mankind occurred during this period. Our prosperity today is mostly a result of the tremendous breakthroughs of that era. | + | So what's left to study about 1877 to 1896? The economy. Many of the economics questions on the CLEP will come from 1877-1896 because little else was happening then. If you like economic issues, then this is an exciting time period to study. The economy was ''booming''. The greatest inventions in the history of mankind occurred during this period. Our prosperity today is mostly a result of the tremendous breakthroughs of that era. |
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| | But first, a little review. | | But first, a little review. |
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| | '''Debate: Do you think government should be able to set the rates charged by railroads and other "public facilities"?''' | | '''Debate: Do you think government should be able to set the rates charged by railroads and other "public facilities"?''' |
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| − | == Big Business and Big Oil ==
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| − | The railroads and grain elevators were not the only types of "big business" that began to generate wealth while also aggravating ordinary Americans. The biggest and wealthiest business of all, perhaps in the entire history of mankind, was built by John D. Rockefeller to control the production and supply of oil.
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| − | Oil has been used since the Ancient Greeks learned to pour it into the sea and then set fire to it in order to defend against attacking fleets of ships. Noah may have used thick oil (called "pitch") to waterproof Noah's ark. Moses' basket may have been made waterproof using oil, just as American Indians used it to waterproof canoes.<ref name="Oil">http://www.seed.slb.com/qa2/FAQView.cfm?ID=906</ref>
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| − | But the first modern oil well was in Pennsylvania, when Colonel Edwin L. Drake drilled down 72 feet near Titusville (just east of Pittsburgh) and struck "Oil Creek." Oil production there started in 1859. That oil sold for $40 a barrel (note that a dollar was worth far more then), so oil was even more expensive then than it is today! It was used for medicine, as there were no cars then.<ref name="Oil"/>
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| − | A devout Christian who abandoned public high school before finishing,<ref>When John D. Rockefeller later had children of his own, he and his wife homeschooled them until age ten. http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/44035/john_d_rockefeller_jr.html</ref> John D. Rockefeller had just started his first job a few years earlier. He developed a tremendous work ethic, and was immediately attracted to the discovery of oil in 1859. He quickly entered the business and hooked up with an inventor who knew how to cheaply refine the oil into something usable. By 1870 Rockefeller founded Standard Oil Company, and then began pursuing highly aggressive business tactics to drive out competitors and consolidate his control (monopolize the industry).<ref name="Rockefeller">http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h957.html</ref>
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| − | In 1882, Rockefeller formed a new type of business entity called the "trust", and named it the Standard Oil Trust of Ohio. But ten years later a decision by the Ohio Supreme Court forced him to break up his Trust into 20 smaller businesses. In 1899 he formed a holding company for all his businesses in the name of Standard Oil Company of New Jersey. By 1911 it controlled an astounding 95% of the entire oil industry, but then the U.S. Supreme Court forced Rockefeller to break up it up into smaller pieces and separately controlled companies, one of which became Exxon. Rockefeller then retired and devoted the remainder of his long life to philanthropy (giving away his money to charitable causes).<ref name="Rockefeller"/>
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| − | Rockefeller became perhaps the wealthiest man in the history of the world. Predictably, people became jealous and his competitors sometimes lost their businesses. Many politicians became determined to break up his huge company, and many critics accused him or his employees of engaging in illegal activities, even bribes, to build his business empire. But other industries began to follow his example, and large industrial companies formed "trusts" (a type of monopoly) to control sugar, lead, beef and even whiskey.
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| − | Congress ultimately passed the Sherman Antitrust Act to prohibit monopolization and "restraint of trade," or interference with competition, in 1890. This law was sponsored by Senator John Sherman of Ohio (a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 1880 and the brother of General William Sherman). The Sherman Antitrust Act was not what broke up Rockefeller's oil empire, because in 1895 the Supreme Court weakened the law by upholding a powerful Sugar Trust, in ''U.S. v. Knight Co.'' The Sugar Trust controlled 98% of the sugar market, and the Supreme Court allowed it to continue. Despite being weakened, the Sherman Antitrust Act remains a very important law that is used frequently today.
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| − | The controversy about Rockefeller and monopolies divides free enterprise thinkers. Some insist that the free market will deal with monopolies adequately. Others say that monopolies are an impediment to free market competition and should be broken up by the government.
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| − | '''Debate: Should government break up monopolies?'''
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| − | Good or bad, Rockefeller was part of a huge economic boom that began before the end of Reconstruction in 1877 and continued through 1900. There was an increase in America's "gross domestic product," which is the total output (in dollars) of all the goods and services produced by labor and property located our country. It is basically how much our entire country is producing, valued in dollars. When we are prosperous it increases, and when we are in a depression it goes down or does not increase as much.
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| − | By the late 1800s the wealthiest city in the United States was Williamsport, Pennsylvania, which was the center of the profitable lumber industry. Now it is best known for hosting the Little League World Series!
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| − | == The "Gilded Age" ==
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| − | In our last lecture we introduced the term the "Gilded Age," which was first coined by an extremely successful writer from Missouri, Mark Twain (his real name was Samuel Clemens).
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| − | He described the era towards the end of the 1880s as "gilded" because it appeared golden, but beneath the shiny surface was greed, corruption and hardship. Mark Twain wrote a novel by that name in which Washington, D.C. was run by greedy businessmen and corrupt government officials. (Mark Twain wrote several other influential novels, including "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," describing a fictional journey on a raft on the Mississippi).
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| − | The Gilded Age featured "robber barons," who were people who became extremely wealthy through ruthless business practices. The worst"“robber baron" was Jay Gould, a financier on Wall Street who committed rampant fraud by printing false stock certificates to defraud investors. He even tried to corner the gold market in 1869. That led to a financial panic known as Black Friday. After Gould drove up the price of gold by hoarding it, President Grant learned of the scheme and started selling the government gold reserves on the market to cause the price to fall. The price of gold then fell sharply, and many lost everything they had. Gould, however, had sold out at the highest price!
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| − | There were also phenomenal successes during this era. Andrew Carnegie, immigrated from Scotland without any money and ended up with massive wealth from founding the Carnegie Steel Co. (later became U.S. Steel Co.). He amassed a fortune that he then donated to build structures like Carnegie Hall, Carnegie-Mellon University, and the enormous New York Public Library (plus 2800 other public libraries). He wrote the "Gospel of Wealth" in 1900 to describe his vision of capitalism.
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| − | '''Debate: it wasn't the "Gilded Age," it was the "Golden Age!" Agree?'''
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| − | '''Debate: do you support "caveat emptor," or government regulation of monopolies and robber barons?'''
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| − | == Bimetallism ==
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| − | Under the Grant Administration, gold was the only standard for money: debts were payable in gold, and paper money could be exchanged at any time for a fixed amount of gold. This prevented inflation because the amount of gold in the world was small and nearly constant.
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| − | But from about 1878 to the end of the century there was strong pressure to return the nation's standard for money to Alexander Hamilton's "bimetallism", under which money and debts were based on two metals rather than one (gold and silver). Because gold had been the standard, advocating "bimetallism" meant adding a silver standard to the gold standard.
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| − | Two forces drove this pro-silver or "free silver" movement: Westerners had discovered silver mines so they wanted the silver to become more valuable, and farmers wanted more money available in order to cause inflation to increase the prices for their goods and lower the real cost of their debts to the banks.
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| − | Westerns and Southerners arranged for passage of the Bland-Allison Act in 1878, which required the government to purchase $2-4 million worth of silver each month. In addition, a bill passed (over President Rutherford Hayes' veto) allowing for the free and unlimited coinage by the government of silver, such as silver dollars, at a ratio of 16 to 1 relative to gold. The government began minting silver dollars that are collectors' items today (and worth much more than one dollar now).
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| − | But the price of silver fell as more was mined, because more of something usually means it is less valuable. The monthly government purchases declined also. Deflation continued for the next ten years. $100 in 1878 was equivalent to only $84.43 in 1890. Imagine that! Deflation is devastating to farmers, as their income from goods decreases and their debts grow higher in real value.
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| − | Westerners wanted more silver purchased, and the debtors and farmers wanted inflation. They forced passage of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act in 1890, which required even greater purchases by the government of silver. The Silver Purchase Act required the government to issue notes (like large-denomination dollar bills) to purchase 4.4 million ounces of silver each month, regardless of its value in dollars. The bill passed in a compromise with the Northerners, who obtained a high tariff at the same time through passage of the McKinley Tariff Bill.
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| − | But the notes used to buy the silver each month were redeemable in gold, which was more valuable than the increasingly plentiful silver. So pretty soon the public was demanding gold from the government in return for these new notes. This created a "run" on the government's gold reserves of our nation, with its total supply falling below $100 million and headed quickly towards zero.
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| − | This became the Panic of 1893, and the Silver Purchase Act was repealed in order to stop the run on gold. An immensely wealthy Wall Street banker, J.P. Morgan, arranged for more gold to be imported from Europe to protect the government reserves. The "run" on the government's gold reserves then stopped.
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| − | There was a bestselling and influential pamphlet called "Coin's Financial School" which was published just after the panic and economic depression of 1893. In this fictional work, professor Coin lectures gold-standard advocates on the benefits of monetizing silver at a 16:1 ratio. The pamphlet swept the country, much as Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" had been so influential over a century earlier. Coin's pamphlet laid the foundation for William Jennings Bryan's "Free Silver" presidential campaign in 1896 against pro-gold Republican William McKinley. Bryan, one of the greatest orators in history, delivered his famous "Cross of Gold" speech to the Democratic National Convention in 1896:<ref name="Cross of Gold">http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5354/</ref>
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| − | :There are two ideas of government. There are those who believe that if you just legislate to make the well-to-do prosperous, that their prosperity will leak through on those below. The Democratic idea has been that if you legislate to make the masses prosperous their prosperity will find its way up and through every class that rests upon it. ...
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| − | :If they dare to come out in the open field and defend the gold standard as a good thing, we shall fight them to the uttermost, having behind us the producing masses of the nation and the world. Having behind us the commercial interests and the laboring interests and all the toiling masses, we shall answer their demands for a gold standard by saying to them, you shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns. You shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold.
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| − | Reporters wrote that Bryan's remarkable speaking style for this speech "came like one great burst of artillery" and that "some, like demented things, divested themselves of their coats and flung them high in the air." Bryan was then selected by the delegates who heard this speech as the Democratic nominee for president on the next day.<ref name="Cross of Gold"/>
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| − | == Unions and Immigrant Workers ==
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| − | As the American economy grew, and businesses became more profitable, workers began to band together and "unionize" (create "unions"). A union is a group of workers at a factory or business who join together in order to negotiate better wages and working conditions. They acquire power in joining together, and they threaten to strike if the owner does not give in to their demands. In the early 1800s there were no unions and no strikes, but by the late 1800s workers began to see that they could increase their wages and improve their conditions by forming unions and threatening to strike. Today, Wal-Mart does everything it can to keep its workers from unionizing, and union organizations despise it for that reason.
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| − | Factory owners began hiring Chinese workers at lower wages, and unions objected to that. Factory owners would also import Chinese workers to "break a strike," and keep the factory operating despite the refusal of the regular employees to work. So quickly the unions became opposed to immigration from China.
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| − | From 1877 to 1880, the Workingmen's Party existed with support by ordinary workers. It was socialistic (against capitalism) and opposed to immigration from China. Its leader was Dennis Kearney, who was actually imprisoned for provocative speeches. (Today the broad interpretation of the First Amendment prohibits such imprisonments.)
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| − | In 1882, the Chinese Exclusion Act was enacted as a culmination of growing opposition to Chinese immigrants, who were thought to lower wages for workers. This Act banned the Chinese from immigrating to the United States, and was not repealed until 1943 when America sought Chinese cooperation in the war against Japan.
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| − | Some cities passed laws to frustrate efforts by Chinese to operate businesses in competition with Americans. San Francisco, for example, passed a law requiring laundries to be in only stone or brick buildings, which made it more difficult for the Chinese to open laundry businesses. But the Chinese challenged that law and took it to the U.S. Supreme Court, which invalidated the law and gave the victory to the Chinese in ''Yick Wo v. Hopkins'' (1886).
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| − | In 1886, Samuel Gompers formed the American Federation of Labor (AFL) in order to demand limiting the workday to 8 hours and stop employers who required longer workdays. Initially this was a non-political organization, not aligned with either political party. By 1901 it had 1 million members. The Knights of Labor, another labor group in the 1880s, had 700,000 members at that time. So these labor groups were quite large.
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| − | In 1886, workers at the McCormick Harvesting Machine Co. in Chicago began a strike in the hopes of shortening the workday to 8 hours. The company tried to break the strike by using new workers, and police were called in to protect the new workers. A fight broke out and one person was killed.
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| − | Anarchists were anti-civilization extremists who sided with the unions, and the anarchists planned a large rally the next day to protest the alleged police brutality. They expected 20,000 to show up at the public Haymarket Square in Chicago, but actually only 1500 to 2000 were there, with the police there also. At one point a protester threw a pipe bomb at the policemen, and its explosion killed seven policemen and injured more than 60 others. The police then fired into the crowd, and killed four.
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| − | Eight anarchists were tried for conspiracy to commit murder; seven were convicted, and four were hanged in November 1887. This was a huge embarrassment for the union movement, which did include many socialists and anarchists. It caused a delay in acceptance of the eight-hour workday, and many workers left the Knights of Labor to join the more moderate American Federation of Labor.<ref>http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h750.html</ref>
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| − | Despite the fact that radicals killed policemen in the Haymarket Square riots, radicals in 1969 (including Barack Obama's friend Bill Ayers) detonated a bomb to destroy a statute honoring the fallen policemen. The mayor of Chicago correctly criticized it as an attack on law and order.<ref>Bill Ayers, "Fugitive Days" at p. 176 (Beacon Press: Boston, Massachusetts 2001)</ref>
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| − | Another violent conflict involving striking workers occurred near Pittsburgh in 1892. Called the Homestead Strike, guards hired by wealthy businessman Andrew Carnegie suppressed a strike by workers, and ten were killed in the conflict.
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| − | The most aggressive leader of the labor movement was Eugene V. Debs, who headed the American Railway Union (railroad workers). Debs was jailed for leading strike against Pullman railroad cars in 1894 over wages. In 1895, in a case entitled "In re Debs," the U.S. Supreme Court upheld judicial power to prohibit strikes against railroads, and upheld the power of courts to jail those who disobey court orders and engage in strikes anyway (as Debs had).
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| − | '''Debate: Are Unions a Good Thing?'''
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| − | == Indians and the Frontier ==
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| − | Conflicts with the Indians started to subside after "Custer's Last Stand." There were bloody battles in 1877 between the U.S. Army and the Nez Perce, an Indian tribe led by Chief Joseph in Oregon and Idaho. This tribe did better against the U.S. Army than other tribes had, but ultimately this tribe was relocated to Oklahoma just as many others had been. Oklahoma has by far the largest Indian population (by percentage) of any State.
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| − | Today there are 38 national historic sites in the northwest (Oregon, Washington, Montana and Idaho) in honor of the Nez Perce,<ref>http://www.nps.gov/nepe/</ref> which are frequently visited by tourists.
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| − | In 1881, a book was published that attempted to do for the Native Americans what "Uncle Tom's Cabin" did for African Americans. Called "A Century of Dishonor," it complained about and exposed unjust treatment of Indians by the United States. Its author was Helen Hunt Jackson.
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| − | In 1887, partly in reaction to this book, Congress enacted the Dawes Act to help Indians. This law granted landholdings (allotments, usually 160 acres or 65 hectares) to individual Native Americans, which replaced communal tribal holdings. In other words, this law attempted to convert the tribal structure of Indian life into the individualized private property system used by Europeans and most Americans. It sought to absorb tribe members into the general public.
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| − | This law was a complete failure. Within decades most of the tribal land had been transferred into ownership by non-Indians, and the Indians were worse off than they were before. This was an example of government trying to make something better, but actually making it worse.
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| − | In 1890, the U.S. Census Bureau declared that the frontier was settled and officially closed. The era of frontier America, which first began with the settlement at Jamestown, Virginia, and then spread westward for nearly 300 years, was finally over. Frederick Jackson Turner wrote in 1893 that frontier experience had promoted individualism and democracy. Do you agree?
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| − | By the end of 1890, 44 States had been admitted to the United States. The only States that were not yet admitted into the United States were Utah, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Alaska and Hawaii. They joined later.
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| − | == Tariffs and an Income Tax ==
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| − | Recall that the tariffs were a cause of the Civil War: the North wanted higher protective tariffs, while the South opposed them. The Civil War resolved the dispute over slavery, but it did not resolve the dispute over tariffs. After the War, the North still supported higher tariffs and the South still opposed them. The West, particularly farmers, also opposed higher tariffs.
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| − | In 1890, the McKinley Tariff established the highest tariffs ever, but in a compromise it did make sugar "duty free" (no tariff on sugar). Other than sugar, prices increased on goods and products due to the higher tariffs. These higher tariffs reflected the continued dominance by the Republican Party, which controlled the White House in 1890 (Benjamin Harrison, the grandson of William Henry Harrison, was president). Partly due to public outrage over the higher tariffs, the Democratic Party won many seats in Congress in the 1890 elections after the McKinley Tariff was enacted.
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| − | In 1894, the Wilson-Gorman Tariff and Income Tax Act passed, which added an income tax to even more tariffs. In the case of ''Pollack v. Farmers Loan and Trust Company'', the Supreme Court declared the Income Tax Act unconstitutional because that particular direct tax did not apportion the tax by population as required by the Constitution.<ref>The U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 9, paragraph 4, states that "No Capitation [head], or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census or Enumeration herein before directed to be taken."</ref><ref>The Supreme Court had allowed other types of taxes, such as an income tax during the Civil War and an inheritance tax. See http://www.reason.com/news/show/30860.html</ref> The Supreme Court decision required a constitutional amendment (the 16th Amendment) to be passed before allowing a direct taxation based purely on income without regard for population.
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| − | == The Conservative Democrat ==
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| − | After Chester Arthur served out the presidential term for the late James Garfield, Republicans were so unhappy with Arthur that they did not renominate him. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party -- which had not won a presidential election in nearly 30 years, turned to a conservative candidate from the Republican State of New York: Grover Cleveland. The Democrats hoped that by nominating Grover Cleveland they could pick up some Republican support and finally win a presidential election.
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| − | His opponent was the Republican Senator James Blaine from Maine, who was a moderate. Blaine is best known today for his opposition to funding by States of religiously affiliated schools (and particularly Catholic schools). In 1875, Blaine tried to amend the U.S. Constitution to prohibit States from providing any funding to religiously affiliated elementary and high schools. When that failed, his "Blaine Amendment" was incorporated into 36 State Constitutions, where they remain today and frustrate school voucher programs.<ref>http://pewforum.org/events/rss.php?EventID=194</ref> A recent effort in Florida to establish school vouchers and to repeal the Blaine Amendment there failed.
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| − | Some key eastern Republicans opposed James Blaine in 1884 due to scandals, and supported Grover Cleveland for president instead. These Republicans were known as the "Mugwumps"; they felt Blaine could not be trusted, and they were probably right! The defection by the Mugwumps to support Cleveland enabled him to win his key home state of New York, despite its Republican tradition at the time. (Today New York is very Democratic.)
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| − | This strategy of the Democrats, aided by division within the Republican Party, worked. Cleveland was elected president in 1884 for his integrity, his support of gold standard, his opposition to unions, his opposition to government spending, and his support of free enterprise. Cleveland was the most conservative president since James Monroe, even though Cleveland was a Democrat.
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| − | Cleveland did as he said he would. He vetoed a record number of bills passed by Congress, mostly concerning pensions for Civil War veterans. Cleveland was frugal like most conservatives, and did not want more government spending.
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| − | In 1888, Cleveland faced a new Republican challenger for president, Benjamin Harrison. Cleveland won more votes, but Harrison won more electoral college votes and thereby won this close election. Harrison, who was from Indiana and enjoyed the popularity of his grandfather (who had been president), favored protective tariffs and increasing veterans' pay.
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| − | Cleveland came back for a rematch in the presidential election of 1892, and beat Harrison that time. But then he was faced with the financial Panic of 1893, during which hundreds of banks and businesses failed, President Cleveland was criticized for doing nothing, but refusing to bail out the banks is a conservative solution. In fall 2008, President Bush and Congress did bail out the banks, in contrast to Cleveland's conservative approach.
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| − | The Panic of 1893 caused a wealthy Ohio populist who had been hurt by it to lead a march on Washington, D.C., setting a precedent for "marching on Washington." Jacob Coxey promised to gather 10,000, but by the time he arrived in D.C. "Coxey's Army" consisted of only 500 people, which is still enough to attract attention. But the conservative Cleveland held his ground:<ref>http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=583</ref>
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| − | :Upon arriving in Washington, Coxey and his supporters demanded that the federal government immediately assist workers by hiring them to work on public projects such as roads and government buildings. The United States Congress and President Grover Cleveland refused. Law enforcement officials arrested Coxey for trespassing on public property. Coxey's Army quickly dispersed upon its leader's arrest.
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| − | Historians cite this march on Washington as an example of how Americans increasingly looked to the national government to solve their problems.
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| − | Cleveland also held his ground against problems instigated by unions. He put down the (railroad) Pullman Strike in Chicago in 1894.
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| − | == Preparing for the "Turn of the Century" ==
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| − | Social movements in the late 1800s also occurred, preparing the nation for the turn of the century (that is, the beginning of the 20th century):
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| − | *Women's rights: Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who was pro-life, founded National Woman Suffrage Association in 1869 and, before that, led the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848. This foreshadowed the women's suffrage movement in the early 20th century.
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| − | *Women in government: The Hull House was founded by Jane Addams in Chicago in 1889, and it grew into a city-based social movement that argued for reform of city government by the involvement of women. It is still active today.<ref>http://www.hullhouse.org/</ref>
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| − | *City government: The National Municipal League was founded in 1894 in order to make city government more honest, efficient and effective. It is active today under the new name of the National Civic League.
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| − | *Self-improvement: the Chataugua Movement, founded in New York in 1874, was a part of a "knowledge revolution" devoted to promoting adult education (along with some entertainment!). This foreshadowed the adult learning programs of the 20th century.
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| − | *Hawaii: the United States dethroned the Hawaii leader Queen Liliuokalani in 1893, because she recognized only natives on the islands and opposed joining the United States. Nearly 50 years later an attack on Hawaii by the Japanese would put America into World War II.
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| − | *Imperialism: Alfred Thayer Mahan wrote books beginning in 1890 on American sea power, urging a strong navy and imperialism by United States. This foreshadowed American imperialism around 1900.
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| − | *Racial accommodation: Booker T. Washington, a self-taught former slave, urged an approach of self-help and accommodation in order to improve conditions for African Americans. He founded the Tuskegee Institute for research and gave a famous speech in 1895 to the Atlanta Exposition, in which he urged a racially diverse audience to cooperate and accommodate each other. This foreshadowed a later division in the African American community between a conciliatory approach and a confrontational approach.
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| − | *Prohibition (of alcohol): the Women's Christian Temperance Union was founded in 1874 by women in order to combat the problems that alcohol caused in their families and society. The WCTU sought nationwide "prohibition" (of alcohol), and eventually obtained it early in the 20th century (for a while). Even today there are some regions of the country (such as some rural counties) that are "dry" (do not allow any alcohol to be sold there).
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| | == References == | | == References == |
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| | [[Category:American History lectures]] | | [[Category:American History lectures]] |
| − | {{DEFAULTSORT:American History Lecture 07}} | + | {{DEFAULTSORT:American History Lecture 08}} |