Changes

Anti-Bryan conservatives controlled the convention in 1904, but they faced a [[Theodore Roosevelt]] landslide.  Bryan dropped his free silver and anti-[[imperialism]] rhetoric and supported mainstream [[progressive]] issues, such as the income tax, anti-trust, and direct election of Senators. He backed Woodrow Wilson in 1912, was rewarded with the State Department, then resigned in protest against Wilson's non-pacifistic policies in 1916. Northern Democrats were progressive on most issues, but generally opposed prohibition, were lukewarm regarding [[women's rights]], and were reluctant to undercut the "boss system" in the big cities.  

Anti-Bryan conservatives controlled the convention in 1904, but they faced a [[Theodore Roosevelt]] landslide.  Bryan dropped his free silver and anti-[[imperialism]] rhetoric and supported mainstream [[progressive]] issues, such as the income tax, anti-trust, and direct election of Senators. He backed Woodrow Wilson in 1912, was rewarded with the State Department, then resigned in protest against Wilson's non-pacifistic policies in 1916. Northern Democrats were progressive on most issues, but generally opposed prohibition, were lukewarm regarding [[women's rights]], and were reluctant to undercut the "boss system" in the big cities.  

Taking advantage of a deep split in the GOP, the Democrats took control of the House in 1910 and elected the Northern segregationist Woodrow Wilson as president in 1912 and 1916. Wilson successfully led Congress to a series of Progressive laws, including a reduced tariff, stronger antitrust laws, the [[Federal Reserve System]], hours-and-pay benefits for railroad workers, and outlawing of child labor, raising wages for adults. Furthermore, constitutional amendments for prohibition and woman suffrage were passed in his second term.  In effect, Wilson laid to rest the issues of tariffs, money and antitrust that had dominated politics for 40 years.   

Taking advantage of a deep split in the GOP, the Democrats took control of the House in 1910 and elected the Northern segregationist Woodrow Wilson as president in 1912 and 1916. In his first year in office, Wilson permitted his Treasury and the Post Office to begin efforts to [[segregate]] the federal workforce, particularly in the Columbia District. It was often carried out surreptitiously. Yet Wilson condoned it and tried to duck its implications in a manner we would describe today as slimy. He also curtailed minority appointments to executive, diplomatic, and judicial positions.  Those latter numbers weren’t large — about 30 — but they were posts traditionally reserved for black Americans. The signal was terrible, even if it’s unclear that those black appointments would have met approval from a Senate controlled by Southern Democrats. Estimates reckon that between 15,000 and 20,000 black civil service employees, 6% of the federal workforce, were impacted by the administration’s actions.<ref>https://www.nysun.com/national/princetons-purge-of-wilson-follows-a-change/91174/</ref>  Wilson successfully led Congress to a series of [[Progressive]] laws, including a reduced tariff, stronger antitrust laws, the [[Federal Reserve System]], hours-and-pay benefits for railroad workers, and outlawing of child labor, raising wages for adults. Furthermore, constitutional amendments for prohibition and woman suffrage were passed in his second term.  In effect, Wilson laid to rest the issues of tariffs, money and antitrust that had dominated politics for 40 years.   

   

   

In 1915 the epic [[Hollywood]] film, ''Birth of a Nation'' was released with its portrayal of black men, many played by white actors in blackface, as unintelligent and sexually aggressive towards white women, and the portrayal of the [[Ku Klux Klan]] (KKK) as an heroic force.<ref>[http://www.moviejustice.com/vault/index.php?p=getitem&db_id=4&item_id=27 MJ Movie Reviews – Birth of a Nation, The (1915) by Dan DeVore]  {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090707194449/http://www.moviejustice.com/vault/index.php?p=getitem&db_id=4&item_id=27 |date=July 7, 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://themovingarts.com/revered-and-reviled-d-w-griffiths-the-birth-of-a-nation/|first=Eric M.|last=Armstrong|title=Revered and Reviled: D.W. Griffith's 'The Birth of a Nation'|work=The Moving Arts Film Journal|date=February 26, 2010|accessdate=|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100529224316/http://themovingarts.com/revered-and-reviled-d-w-griffiths-the-birth-of-a-nation/|archivedate=2019-01-31|df=mdy-all}}</ref> It was the first American motion picture to be screened inside the [[White House]], viewed there by President [[Woodrow Wilson]], members of his cabinet, and their families.<ref>{{harvnb|Stokes|2007|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=fGJFpiTjbKwC&pg=PA111&lpg=PA111&dq=%22operators+wearing+full+evening+dress+utilized%22&source=bl&ots=AOFjf60Rc_&sig=GJ-f9FVH8MfOtgnzIJLQV_3l-DU&hl=en&sa=X&ei=_m5hUMf9JI-whAfz6oCQAg&ved=0CDMQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22operators%20wearing%20full%20evening%20dress%20utilized%22&f=false 111]}}</ref> In a letter to the White House press secretary the author of ''The Clansman: A Historical Romance of the Ku Klux Klan'' which the film is based,<ref name="Franklin pages 417-434">Franklin, John Hope "''The Birth of a Nation'': Propaganda as History" pages 417–434 from ''The Massachusetts Review'' Volume 20, No. 3, Autumn 1979 page 421.</ref> wrote: {{cquote|"The real purpose of my film was to revolutionize Northern sentiments by a presentation of history that would transform every man in the audience into a good Democrat...Every man who comes out of the theater is a Southern partisan for life!"<ref name="Franklin_430">Franklin, John Hope "''The Birth of a Nation'': Propaganda as History" pages 417–434 from ''The Massachusetts Review'' Volume 20, No. 3, Autumn 1979 page 430.</ref>}} In a letter to President Wilson, Thomas Dixon Jr., who authored the book and screenplay, boasted: {{cquote|"This play is transforming the entire population of the North and the West into sympathetic Southern voters. There will never be an issue of your segregation policy".<ref name="Franklin_430"/>}} Dixon was alluding to the fact that Wilson upon becoming president in 1913 had imposed segregation on federal workplaces in Washington D.C. while reducing the number of black employees through demotion or dismissal.<ref>Yellin, Eric S. (2013). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=Mx-NiOJ3n-AC&pg=PA127&lpg=PA127 Racism in the Nation's Service: Government Workers and the Color Line in Woodrow Wilson's America] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180207065000/https://books.google.com/books?id=Mx-NiOJ3n-AC&pg=PA127&lpg=PA127 |date=February 7, 2018 }}''. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina. p. 127. {{ISBN|9781469607207}}</ref>

In 1915 the epic [[Hollywood]] film, ''Birth of a Nation'' was released with its portrayal of black men, many played by white actors in blackface, as unintelligent and sexually aggressive towards white women, and the portrayal of the [[Ku Klux Klan]] (KKK) as an heroic force.<ref>[http://www.moviejustice.com/vault/index.php?p=getitem&db_id=4&item_id=27 MJ Movie Reviews – Birth of a Nation, The (1915) by Dan DeVore]  {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090707194449/http://www.moviejustice.com/vault/index.php?p=getitem&db_id=4&item_id=27 |date=July 7, 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://themovingarts.com/revered-and-reviled-d-w-griffiths-the-birth-of-a-nation/|first=Eric M.|last=Armstrong|title=Revered and Reviled: D.W. Griffith's 'The Birth of a Nation'|work=The Moving Arts Film Journal|date=February 26, 2010|accessdate=|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100529224316/http://themovingarts.com/revered-and-reviled-d-w-griffiths-the-birth-of-a-nation/|archivedate=2019-01-31|df=mdy-all}}</ref> It was the first American motion picture to be screened inside the [[White House]], viewed there by President [[Woodrow Wilson]], members of his cabinet, and their families.<ref>{{harvnb|Stokes|2007|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=fGJFpiTjbKwC&pg=PA111&lpg=PA111&dq=%22operators+wearing+full+evening+dress+utilized%22&source=bl&ots=AOFjf60Rc_&sig=GJ-f9FVH8MfOtgnzIJLQV_3l-DU&hl=en&sa=X&ei=_m5hUMf9JI-whAfz6oCQAg&ved=0CDMQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22operators%20wearing%20full%20evening%20dress%20utilized%22&f=false 111]}}</ref> In a letter to the White House press secretary the author of ''The Clansman: A Historical Romance of the Ku Klux Klan'' which the film is based,<ref name="Franklin pages 417-434">Franklin, John Hope "''The Birth of a Nation'': Propaganda as History" pages 417–434 from ''The Massachusetts Review'' Volume 20, No. 3, Autumn 1979 page 421.</ref> wrote: {{cquote|"The real purpose of my film was to revolutionize Northern sentiments by a presentation of history that would transform every man in the audience into a good Democrat...Every man who comes out of the theater is a Southern partisan for life!"<ref name="Franklin_430">Franklin, John Hope "''The Birth of a Nation'': Propaganda as History" pages 417–434 from ''The Massachusetts Review'' Volume 20, No. 3, Autumn 1979 page 430.</ref>}} In a letter to President Wilson, Thomas Dixon Jr., who authored the book and screenplay, boasted: {{cquote|"This play is transforming the entire population of the North and the West into sympathetic Southern voters. There will never be an issue of your segregation policy".<ref name="Franklin_430"/>}} Dixon was alluding to the fact that Wilson upon becoming president in 1913 had imposed segregation on federal workplaces in Washington D.C. while reducing the number of black employees through demotion or dismissal.<ref>Yellin, Eric S. (2013). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=Mx-NiOJ3n-AC&pg=PA127&lpg=PA127 Racism in the Nation's Service: Government Workers and the Color Line in Woodrow Wilson's America] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180207065000/https://books.google.com/books?id=Mx-NiOJ3n-AC&pg=PA127&lpg=PA127 |date=February 7, 2018 }}''. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina. p. 127. {{ISBN|9781469607207}}</ref>