Imperialism's Bitter Fruit

1.   1. What made the Filipino insurrection "far different than any conflict in which Americans had previously fought"?
The type of warfare during the Filipino insurrection made it “far different than any conflict in which Americans had previously fought”.  Usually, there were rules of war that were in place during battles with Western countries. Both sides cast these rules aside during the Filipino insurrection.  Filipinos acted with guerrilla warfare and struck quickly.  They were also a difficult army for the United States to fight because they were not an organized army and America was more accustomed to fighting organized armies.  Prisoners were tortured and some were executed during the insurrection, while prisoners were usually not harmed in such ways.  Sometimes, Filipino prisoners were killed randomly when there were guerrilla strikes.  Also, around two hundred fifty thousand civilians were killed.  Many Filipino insurgents blended into the civilian population, which might have contributed to this problem.  The U.S. also ended up having to resort to the tactics that Spain had used on the Cubans.  They would punish civilians for the actions of Filipino guerrillas.  On the island of Samar, the inhabitants were more or less imprisoned and there were orders for the execution of any male over age ten who had not surrendered.  None of these actions were very familiar to the U.S. army, making the Filipino insurrection “far different than any conflict in which Americans had previously fought”.



2. Why were African-Americans among the strongest critics of the war against the Filipino nationalists?
African-Americans were among the strongest critics of the war against the Filipino nationalists.  This contributed to their being fewer honors in fighting the Philippines then there was in the Cuban conflicts.  One of the reasons African-Americans were against the war with Filipino nationalists was that many in the American army had views about the Filipinos that were based on race.  They referred to the Filipinos as “niggers” and made many other offensive comments based on race.  Since African-Americans were victims of this type of racism, they could not support a war partially based on racism. Another reason was that the same racism that existed in the United States existed in the Philippines.  Many places were “white only”, such as restaurants and barbershops.  African-American soldiers were reminded of this quite often because Filipinos were able to irritate the soldiers by emphasizing the situation.  They did this by doing things such as creating and distributing posters to the “Colored American Soldier” that described the injustices that they were already aware of.  These reasons were why African Americans were among the strongest critics of the war against the Filipino nationalists. They might have also been reason why there was an increased rate of desertion among African-American soldiers, which lead to an increase on the number of African Americans living in the Philippines after the war.



3. Why did the United States lose its appetite for imperialism in the early 1900s?
The United States lost its appetite for the imperialism in the early 1900s for many reasons.  Americans were no longer as enthusiastic about being an empire.  The issue was just not as important as it had been for most Americans.  Roosevelt had always been trying to promote the colonies and Mark Twain’s writing was supporting the anti-imperialists, but the Americans were not as railed up as they once were.  Having the government very upset and worried about an issue that did not matter to the American people must have worn on them.  Another reason was that Theodore Roosevelt was beginning to doubt the empire.  He was beginning to see how difficult occupying an empire was how poorly prepared the country was to occupy another country.  This led him to go as far as to call the islands “America’s Achilles heel” in 1907.  Clearly, America lost its appetite for imperialism because Americans were apathetic about the issue of imperialism, occupying another area was difficult, and America was not prepared to occupy another country.


4. How did the United States contribute to the development of Cuba and Puerto Rico?
The United States contributed to the development of Cuba and Puerto Rico. America wanted to keep their trading in the Caribbean strong and safe.  These interests led to technology and administrative expertise from America being introduced to more and more areas in the Caribbean.  With the new technology and help with establishing administrations from America, Cuba and Puerto Rico were developing at even faster rates.



5. Why did many Cubans come to resent the U.S. presence on their island?
Many Cubans came to resent the U.S. presence on their island.  The resentment toward the U.S. first started in Cuba when nationalists asked for their immediate independence from Spain around 1900.  When the U.S. tried to slow down the nationalists and their want for independence, the Cubans were not pleased.  Then, America created a formula so Cuba would gain independence as long as they agreed to limitations such as the U.S. overseeing Cuba’s trade and foreign policies.  They also had the right to intervene with these issues.  There were also many struggling Cubans because there were so many Americans taking and making money off of their crops.  Also, Americans built a naval base in Cuba, which irritated the Cubans.  All of those reasons caused Cubans to come to resent the U.S. presence on their island.

  

6. Do you believe the United States was imperialist? why or why not?  The United States was imperialist.  This is clearly true because the United States took over and oppressed countries in order to gain power.  The United States limited the freedom of Cuban trade and how they could conduct themselves as a country.  There was constant conflict in the Philippines and many Filipinos were killed.  Puerto Rico and Hawaii were also taken over.  Imperialists take over other countries for power and sometimes even because they believe that God wants the country to take over another country.  One reason the United States took over Cuba was to take away the power from Spain and some even believed that the Cubans were of a lesser race and that God wanted them to take over the Cubans.  The United States took the Philippines because they wanted access to China and Hawaii because it would be good from trade.  Both of those are power reasons and typical of imperialist countries.  They also thought that God wanted them to help the people and expand, which is another typical imperialist thought.  Clearly, the United States of America were imperialist.

The Spanish-American War

1. How was the United States connected to Cuba in the 1890s?
  The United States was connected to Cuba in the 1890s in many ways, but it started with sugar.  America had investments worth about fifty million dollars in Cuba.  Most of this was in the industry around sugar.  Once America had taken tariff off Cuban sugar in 1890, this sugar was much less expensive because tariffs are taxes put on imports.  So many Americans bought this sugar, which benefited both American investors and the economy of Cuba.  The trade between the companies eventually reached around one hundred million dollars a year, which is certainly a connection between two companies.  How the depression in 1893 is proof of this connection.  The US government wanted to ensure that those producing sugar in America were protected, so they cut down on the amount of sugar that was imported.  They did this by putting a 40 percent tax on sugar from Cuba in 1894.  It was no longer cheaper to buy Cuban sugar and Cuba's economy suffered greatly, which shows the connection between America and Cuba and the effects they had on one another.  This also caused many Cubans to rebel and America played a large part in that.  Even though US ports tried to stop this, many weapons were smuggled from the US to Cuba, which shows another connection.  Those were two of the biggest ways the US was connected to Cuba.



2. What were the main reasons the United States intervened in Cuba? (i.e. went to war) Which reason do you believe was most important? Explain your answer. 
The main reasons the United States went to war with Spain in Cuba were the "atrocities" committed by the Spanish, sympathy with the Cubans, insults, the U.S.S. Maine, power, and economic strength.  The Spanish atrocities that were reported to the public were mainly through newspapers who were gathering their stories from Cuban rebels in New York.  Some were true, like of the Spanish "re concentrating" Cubans into areas without necessities, but some were not.  The newspapers knew that these stories sold and they also made people sympathetic, yet there were other issues that made people sympathize.  The oppressed Cubans made Americans think back to when they were oppressed by England.  Also, many African-Americans were sympathetic because the Cubans were mainly black and also oppressed.  One insult that irritated some was the one made by Enrique Dupuy, who was the Spanish ambassador to the United States.  He made many insulting comments about President McKinley, which did not help how the United States felt about Spain and only increased the tension.  Another reason was that the U.S.S. Maine was blown up in a Cuban Harbor.  Two hundred and sixty Americans were killed and many in the press blamed the Spanish, even though this was not proven.  This made many call for war with Spain over Cuba.  Also, many in the government thought that power and stability on a global level would be gained if Cuba was taken over.  Many of these people also believed that a stable economy would be created if Cuba was taken over my the United States.  Others believed that the United States should interfere because, according to the Monroe Doctrine, European powers were not supposed to be in the Western Hemisphere.
  In my opinion,  following the Monroe Doctrine was the best reason to become involved with Cuba.  The United States had made a statement that the Americas were not to be interfered with.  In the late 1800s America was still a new nation.  If they wanted any credibility, they would have to stand by their beliefs. America would not be taken seriously if they never followed through with what they said they were going to do.  If the Monroe Doctrine stated that Europe should not be in Cuba, America needed to force the Spanish out of Cuba.  This act alone would have gained more power, respect, and stability on the global level and taking over Cuba would not have even been needed.



3. Why were many African-Americans eager to serve in the Spanish-American War?
Many African-Americans were eager to serve in the Spanish-American War.  To begin with,  many African-Americans sympathized with the Cubans because most of them were struggling and black, like they had been and still were in some cases (especially with discrimination).  The major reasons African-Americans wished to serve in the war was for their advancement. In the United States at the time, there were great amounts of racism and discrimination and one of the only ways to advance themselves personally and advance the race was in the army.  Many in the African-American community believed that fighting would gain them respect, as a race, and started dissolve the discrimination.  Many African-Americans wished to join when the country called for volunteers, but only three states allowed them to join and then five more states during the next call.  Despite their eagerness, African-Americans did not advance easily, even if their regiments were the best.  Although, in the war some were allowed to control regiments and the black regiments were used quite often because the government believed that African-Americans could deal with the climate and were more immune to the diseases than whites.  Despite some being advanced and being used often in battles, African Americans still faced discrimination and they were not advanced on a whole, even if they were eager.


4. How did racial attitudes at the turn of the century shape American peceptions of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines?
The racial attitudes at the turn of the century shaped American perceptions of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines.  The racial attitudes at the time were that certain personality traits and mental abilities were attributed to certain races.  Basically, whites, especially Americans and Western Europeans, came out on top while blacks were the farthest down one could be.  Asians were also not doing well and Americans were nervous about them invading America.  In political cartoons, many who were more Asian were depicted with features of blacks, which would have been lowering their status even more.  Since the majority of the populations in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines were black or Asian, this led to America not wanting to deal with them.  Americans did not think that they were stable enough to run their own governments and have democracies because they were below whites so they could obviously not manage complex things like whites could.  This, believing that blacks were inferior intellectually, and just believing that they were below them left the natives of these islands out of the negotiations.  The Spanish and Americans met about who should have which areas, but those who were natives were not invited.  The natives did play into how America made the negotiations.  The United States did not want these inferior and ignorant people in the country and could not imagine having to include them in the government.  Americans did not want all of those inferior races in Congress.  Clearly, the racial attitudes at the time about other races being inferior in many ways shaped American perceptions of those from Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines as well as how they dealt with them.


5. Why did Emilio Aguinaldo feel that the United States supported his campaign for Filipino independence? 
Emilio Aguinaldo felt that the United States supported his campaign for Filipino independence.  Aguinaldo had declared himself leader of the new government and wanted elections and thought that America would help him gain the freedom to do this.  He believed this because he though that "The great North American nation" was "the cradle of genuine liberty".  In his mind, this meant that they would want to help the people in his country who were "oppressed and enslaved by the tyranny and despotism of its rulers" because he believed that that was like what American's had gone through when they there colonists.  Aguinaldo thought that Spain was oppressing the Filippino like England had oppressed the colonists, so America would have to want to free the Philippines because they were so like themselves.  Aguinaldo would have to have been surprised when America decided to take over the Philippines themselves and not give them the real freedom they desired.  However, Emilio Aguinaldo had originally felt that the United States supported his campaign because they loved freedom and had been in the same situation as the Filipinos.


6. Why do you think the Spanish-American War was called "a splendid little war" by an American diplomat at the time? Do you think we could have a "splendid little war" today? Explain your answer.
  The Spanish-American War was called "a splendid little war" by an American diplomat at the time because it was over quickly, not many were killed in battle, and there were many benefits.  The Spanish-American War started on April 19, 1898 when President McKinley was given the authority to go to war by Congress.  Within that year, on July 17th, Spain surrendered Santiago and taking Santiago was one of the main goals of America, making the war a quick and little one.  Another great part about the war is that only 345 Americans were killed in battle, although around 2,500 were killed by accidents, disease, and food poisoning.  The reason this was was a splendid one was all the benefits.  America was meeting many of their goals by taking Santiago. They wanted to force the Spanish out of Cuba and they thought that that was the first step, while also putting themselves in Cuba.  They also did not have to let Cuba be free if they were in control because of the war amendment.  Another benefit was the patriotism that was created.  Many were proud of the country and its victories.  Some also believed that America had gained respect globally and had actually made a name for itself.  However, this type of war would not be possible today.
  This type of war would not be possible because two of the deciding issues in the war were race and the advancement of America.  Without these issues, there would not have been enough support for the war.  It is not as though there is not any racism in America today, but a smaller percentage actually believe that whites are scientifically superior to other races.  Since one reason the United States had no issue going into Cuba and taking over Cuba was because they did not believe blacks were capable of running those sorts of things, it would extremely difficult to recreate that today.  Also, race and African-Americans trying to advance themselves was where many of the soldiers for the war came from, but many today do not view the military as the one place one can advance themselves.  This is not to say that there is not discrimination today, but there were such large amounts of discrimination at the time  Another reason is that many people in America really wanted America to become a global power and earn the respect of other nations.  They thought that fighting off Spain could help to gain this. Today, some are ashamed of America and there are many leader apologizing to other countries for America's action.  That want for advancement is just not there.  Without that an the special situation regarding racism, there would not be enough support for a "splendid little war" to even start. Clearly, such a war could not take place today.

Origins of America's Global Power

1. Identify five important changes that transformed America in the nineteenth century. 


A.
Immigration was changing and shaping America in the nineteenth century.  There was a steady increase in immigration throughout the century and a boom in the last two decades. By the mid nineteenth century, around forty-five persent of the population of the United States were immigrants or their parents were immigrants.  All of this immigration created racial diversity, a country more crowded than before, and a large workforce, which also helped the owners of factories.

B.
Urban growth was a factor that changed the United States.  Around the end of the nineteenth century, around thirty-three percent of the population lived in cities and, about a century before, about five percent of the population of America had lived in cities.  This allowed factories and manufacturing, who flourished with large population and workforces (cities), to become a large part of the American society. Farming was no longer such a large part of American society.  Also, the crowded cities increased problems such as political corruption, crime, overworked transportation systems, substandard housing, and inadequate sanitation.

C.
International trade was another aspect that transformed America. The increase in international trade led to a more stable economy where they were exporting more than importing.  Also, the types of exports changed.  While agricultural goods were still exported a great deal, but manufactured goods were one-third of the exports by the end of the nineteenth century.  Either way, trade helped the growth of the American economy.

D.
A depression in 1893 also contributed to a transformation in the United States.  This depression caused many to lose their jobs and go on strikes.  One of the major results of this strike on the nation was the fear it instilled in people.  Many did not trust the economy built on industry and manufactured goods.  Since the economy did suffer, some did not believe that America would be able to amount to anything in the world.  Also, many people began to view immigrants and the increasing numbers in cities as disadvantages.

E.
The use of the frontier and the filling up the frontier transformed America.  The frontier had always been looked at, by the white Americans, as a place that largely contributed to the identity of the United States. This was a place where the land was fertile, there  were minerals, and even Native Americans that had to be civilized that was empty as well.  Many immigrants viewed the land as very cheap; sometimes it was even free.  So many immigrants moved west.  This was a transformation in the country because by the middle of the nineteenth century the borders of the country had been defined and there were oceans on two sides.  This created the school of thought where people were terrified because they believed that America need resources, empty land, and a new frontier.  This would transform the country into being one that was looking at imperialism as an option.

2. How did the economic depression that began in 1893 deepen the divisions in American society? Which groups suffered the most during the depression? 
  The economic depression that began in 1893 deepened the divisions in American society.  The depression further separated the workers from the plant owners.  The workers felt insecure about their jobs and that the only way to solve this was to go on strike.  These strikes were ways for the workers to feel in control of their occupations and be given recognition.  At least five hundred thousand workers went on strike in 1984.  The plant owners, however, also felt insecure.  Many questioned the chances of an economy on industry and manufacturing being stable enough to survive.  The plant owners were also worried about not making enough of a profit.  The fact that six hundred thousand workers were fired for actions that were related to strikes proves that the relationship between the workers, strikers, and plant owners was not a good one.  The fact that the depression made both groups feel so insecure is also proof that the depression of 1893 caused this.
  Two other groups that were affected were farmers and city dwellers.  As industry and manufacturing were taking up larger and larger amount of the economy, farmers were already not doing well from 1888.  So the farmers suffered and were most likely resentful toward industry and manufacturing even more once they were hurt once again by the depression because the two railroad companies going bankrupt had hurt the market, and railroads were part of industry.  City dwellers were also insecure.  During this depression, around 16,000 business and 500 banks also went bankrupt, which is further proof of how employers and employees were hurt.  The groups that suffered the most (besides those who lost their jobs or went bankrupt) were the plant owners, workers, farmers, and city dwellers.


3. What were the values many Americans attached to the frontier? Why did many Americans fear that the closing of the frontier would harm America's national character? 
  There were many values attached to the American frontier, so many Americans feared that closing the frontier would harm America's national character, according to white Americans.  The frontier was an area filled with fertile land, mineral resources, and Native Americans that needed to be civilized.  This area was empty and needed taming.  To many immigrants, this land signified opportunity and others described the qualities shown in the frontier as resourcefulness, pragmatism, bravery, egalitarianism, ingenuity, patriotism, and individualism.  They saw these qualities in the land empty besides the land and resources and immigrants and others saw it as a place to make a life cheaply.  The frontier was a place that represented so much of the qualities many white Americans and immigrants saw to be the character of America.
  Americans feared that closing the frontier would harm America's national character.  Without land and resources, many older American families worried.  They did not understand how expansion could exist in a country where there was no more land and how hardiness and resourcefulness could survive in a country where all of the resources had been used up.  They were worried that once the country reached the physical limits, there would be no need for the qualities that had been associated with the frontier and that, without a frontier, America would lose some of its character.  That was why Americans feared the closing off of the frontier.



4. Why did some Americans suggest greater involvement overseas? 
  Fear was one of the main reasons Americans suggested greater involvement overseas.  Americans were worried about the character of America changing and they believed that America was strong enough to save themselves.  Many did not want the nation to miss out on possibility of lucrative trading.  Japan and European countries, such as Britain, were trying to trade with China and create laws that would not allow trading between China and America.  This made people want the nation to become involved in those decisions overseas as to not disadvantage the nation and possibly miss a chance to strengthen the country economically.  It was believed that strengthening the country's economy would also strengthen its power and character.  Therefore, people also wanted America to become involved overseas for trading in Europe and China.  Another fear and reason for getting involved overseas was political power. Many Americans wanted to increase america's political power in the world.  Since European powers such as Britain and France were expanding, America had to as well.  There were two major groups that wanted America to become involved overseas.
  These two groups were expansionists and imperialists.  Expansionists wanted to strengthen America's political power and economy, as described above.  Imperialists, however, believed it was a mission, like one decided by God, to spread America and its values.  Those were the reasons Americans wanted overseas involvement.



5. How did the theories of social Darwinism and scientific racism lend support to the cause of American imperialism? 
  The theories of social Darwinism and scientific racism lend support to the cause of American imperialism. The start with, scientific racism was when certain mental abilities and personality traits were associated certain races.  Although it was was British and Germans were at the top of the chart, scientific racism showed that all whites were better than other races, such as the blacks who were the lowest level. This would mean that it only made sense for America to take over the inferior people.  Also, scientific racism brought about the conclusion that America and several European countries were the ones destined to dominate the world.  These belief was also closely related to social Darwinism, which stated that the success of countries was survival of the fittest.  In the case of countries, the fitness was their ability to be powerful over other races and cultures and that was why they were successful.  So, clearly, it was alright to take over others.  That is how the theories of social Darwinism and scientific racism lend support to th cause of American imperialism.

6. Summarize why the United States became involved in Samoa, Hawaii, and several Latin American nations.

The United States became involved in Samoa, Hawaii, and several Latin American nations. The reasons many gave for becoming involved in any of those areas was to stop "quarrelsome" nations and ensure that Americans were able to carry on with issues regarding the economy and trade.  After fight in Samoa with Britain and Germany, part of Samoa was given to each group and America received a part for helping to stop the fighting by providing weapons and such.  America became involved with Latin Americans nations once Britain showed intrest in them.  America was worried that Britain would take that area as quickly as it had taken over Africa.  To prevent this, America claimed that they were not obeying the Monroe Doctrine, which called for Europe to stay out of the Americas.  The involvement in Hawaii was to prevent the Japanese trying to immigrate into the United States even more.  Americans were worried that if they did, they would try to demand rights from the US.

Teddy Roosevelt's Square Deal

1. 1902 COAL STRIKE

a. What steps did Roosevelt take to solve the problem? 
  Roosevelt did not see why the mine operators would not bargin with the workers and give them what they demanded.  He made threats and eventually they had to compromise.  The two groups did this with an arbitration commission.  Although no legislation helped with this, by 1903 the problem was cleared up.  Roosevelt had created a precedent that conflicts could be resolved peacefully when others were brought in to help.

b. Which legislation helped solve the problem?
None

2. TRUSTS

a. What steps did Roosevelt take to solve the problem? 
Although Roosevelt did not believe that trusts were a problem, he did take action against monopolies.  He had the Department of Justice sue the Northern Securities Company because it had a monopoly over the railroad industry in 1902.  This made people believe that he was a trustbuster.  He also was part of the administration that filed 44 antitrust suits.  However, none of this solved the problem.

b. Which legislation helped solve the problem?
The Sherman Antitrust Act was what allowed Roosevelt to file antitrust suits.  Roosevelt did not create this piece of legislation, but it allowed him to try and break down trusts.

3. UNREGULATED BIG BUSINESS

a. What steps did Roosevelt take to solve the problem? 
 If referring to the regulation of railroads, Roosevelt did take steps to solve this problem, which was one of Roosevelt's major goals.  He helped create the Elkins Act.  This act made it so that railroads had to tell the public when set rates were changed and rebates could not be given to shippers by railroad officials for using a  certain railroad.  That act was created in 1903 and late the Hepburn Act of 1906 was created.  This act helped increase the power of the Interstate Commerace Commission (ICC), which had been created under the Interstate Commerce Act in 1887, but had always been too weak.  Under the Hepburn Act of 1906, the ICC could institute maximum railroad rates.  The Hepburn Act also limited the amount of free railroad passes.  Creating those two pieces of legislation were the steps Roosevelt took to solve the problem of regulating bis business.

b. Which legislation helped solve the problem?
  The pieces of legislation that helped solve this problem were the Interstate Commerce Act in 1887, Elkins Act in 1903, and Hepburn Act of 1906.

4. DANGEROUS FOODS AND MEDICINES

 a. What steps did Roosevelt take to solve the problem? 
Roosevelt took steps to solve this problem, especially after he had read The Jungle by Upton Sinclair.  He investigated if what was stated in the book about the awful conditions was true by sending out a commission.  They reported that it was awful, so Roosevelt helped pass the Meat Inspection Act in 1906.  This act created a federal meat inspection program as well at sanitation requirements.  The act was a compromise because the meatpackers did not have to pay for inspections, the government did, did not have to have dates that stated when the meat was processed on the containers, and allowed them to appeal more in court.  The act was major step Roosevelt took with meat.   In 1906, an act that wanted truthful labels on food and medicine, the Pure Food and Drug Act, was passed.  Yet the law did not prohibit dangerous medicine or food.

b. Which legislation helped solve the problem?
The legislation that helped solve the problem was the Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug act, both passed in 1906.


5. SHRINKING WILDERNESS AND NATURAL RESOURCES

a. What steps did Roosevelt take to solve the problem? 
  Roosevelt took steps to solve this problem because he did not like that some believed that the country had unlimited resources.  Roosevelt worked to conserve these resources by setting aside land, like 1.5 million acres that were sites of water-power and 80 million acres that were sites that experts could explore for natural resources and water.  He was spoken to by John Muir as well as naming a head of the U.S. Forest Service, Gifford Pinchot.  However, Pinchot and Muir did want to perserve the wilderness like John Muir.  To fund water projects, the National Reclamation Act of 1902 was passed.  This stated that when public lands were sold the money would go to water projects like the Roosevelt Dam.

b. Which legislation helped solve the problem?
The National Reclamation Act of 1902, Newlands Act, was a piece of legislation that helped solve the problem.

6. RACIAL DISCRIMINATION

a. What steps did Roosevelt take to solve the problem? 
  Roosevelt had a parent from both the North and South, but still took some steps to solve the problem of racial discrimination. He had an African American be head of the customhouse in Charleston, south carolina, which upset people.  Roosevelt also invited an African-American leader who ran a training school of African-Americans for dinner at the White House.  Besides that, Roosevelt did not do anything to solve the problem.

b. Which legislation helped solve the problem?
Since Roosevelt did not make an steps besides associating himself with a few people, the only legislation that helped solve this problem was the same legislation that freed the slaves.  Later, the NAACP would be formed, but not really by the government.

Explain the importance of each of the following:

7. Square Deal:                 
  Roosevelt's belief that the people deserved a Square Deal, one where the common people were not victims of big business, was important.  This set the mood for his presidency.   This was a mood in which he acted for the people and the protection of the common people.

8. The Jungle:
This book by Upton Sinclair was one that upset many people.  So many Americans were disgusted and appalled by the descriptions in the book and, shortly after the release of the book, Roosevelt sent out a commission to investigate meatpackers.  This book was one that helped bring about the Meat Inspection Act because, when the descriptions were found to be accurate, the government had to take action.

9. Upton Sinclair:           
 Upton Sinclair was the author of The Jungle, but wished for a different result to come from his book.  He wanted to show the awful working conditions and how the labor of the poor was exploited.  His writing of The Jungle made him important even though it did not achieve his goal, because the book ended up forcing the government to act on other issues.

10. NAACP: 
  The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was very important.  Not only was this a group to help African Americans, but it was even founded by African Americans and whites.  Also, this group's goal was equality for all the races and probably was a large part in steps even being taken towards that.  However, during the Progressive Movement this group did not have enough support, yet it is still important.

11. Meat Inspection Act:                          
  The Meat Inspection Act was important because it was a way for the government to protect the people.  This act had the government inspecting the meatpackers and having them meet requirements.  These requirements and inspections protected Americans a little more by decreasing the chances that what Americans were eating was spoiled and diseased, like the meat in The Jungle.  Also, the systems set up under this act were in place until the 1990s.

12. Pure Food & Drug Act: 
This act was important because it protected Americans and forced businesses to be accountable for their products.  The people actually had some idea of what they were buying when food and medicine had to have accurate labels, which gave the people more control.  Also, since goods could not be contaminated, it protected the people from disease.  Clearly, the Pure Food and Drug Act was important.

13. Significance of the 1902 Coal Miners’ Strike:
  The strike was important, but not the actual part about the strike.  This strike was resolved peacefully when a third party came in to help with negotiations between the mine operators and miners.  This was a new idea when it was down and set the precedent that such things could be done peacefully.

The Jungle - Exposing the Meatpacking Industry

1. In your opinion, which specific details in this excerpt most convincingly highlight problems in the meatpacking industry in the early 1900s? Why? Use specific passages and quote. Analyze at least five details. 

A. One problem is that the government officials were not careful enough with the products they were inspecting.  For example,when the official might chose to tell someone about "the deadly nature of the ptomaines which are found in tubercular pork; and while he was talking [...] a dozen carcasses were passing him untouched" .  The inspector should be more careful with what he was inspecting.  This excerpt most convincingly highlights a problem because it talks about how deadly something could be and how careful precautions were not taken with it.

B.  "The men would look at each other, laughing nervously, and the women would stand with hands clenched, and the blood rushing to their faces, and the tears starting in their eyes" is an excerpt that convincingly shows a problem by showing how awful the work conditions were.  People could be physically hurt by the noise.  The author describes the people with the physical characteristics of a dead person, which highlights the problem effectively because ti as if saying that the work conditions could kill someone.

C.  "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" shows the problem with how the meatpacking industry could manipulate food in any way they pleased and then pass it off as something else.  This is without any regulation.  Presenting this problem in a way that shows how the public could be tricked so easily was effective because it scares people about the problem because they believe that they could be tricked.

D.  "There was no longer Number One, Two, and Three Grade—there was only Number One Grade" shows how quality ratings could be eliminated. This meant that there was no way to tell the quality of anything, so the public could not make their own decisions and try to obtain items that were sure to be of a high quality.  Again, presenting this problem this way was convincing because it made people afraid that they could not control what they bought.  clearly this was a problem.

E. "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" shows the problems with sanitation and that the workers did not care about the effects of their work. The public depended on the food being prepared by the workers and there was no way to prevent against eating such things such as poisoned bread.  This was clearly a problem.

2. What is the overall tone of the story?

The overall tone of the story is disgust, but also a little objective.  The author states that people were appalled by the noise and that someone is amazed, but does not really have an emotional attachment to those statements. The author states the facts that are disgusting with a hint of disgust, but never actually criticizes the factory with his own opinion.  So the mood is straightforward, but the author's choice to include the shocking facts hints that the tone might be a little disgusted

3. Based on your reading of this excerpt, why do you think Sinclair titled his novel The Jungle?

  Sinclair titles his novel The Jungle because that gives the impression that the meat packing business was a wild one.  It implies that the business was barbaric and people in it go about their jobs like animals.  There is little order or sanitation and it is almost everyone for himself.  Sinclair viewed the meatpacking industry in that way, so he titled his novel The Jungle.

Challenges of Urbanization

The Challenges of Urbanization

The People: why were the three groups below drawn to cities in the Northeast and Midwest? 

1. Immigrants

Immigrants were drawn to cities in the Northeast and Midwest.  This was because cities often had the most amount of jobs for unskilled laborers, such as jobs in mills or factories.  Also, immigrants often arrived in or near cities, so they were the most convenient places to live.  Another reason was that cities were often the cheapest places to live.  That was why immigrants were drawn to cities in the Northeast and Midwest.

2. Farmers
Farmers were drawn to cities in the Northeast and Midwest because they could no longer farm and needed jobs.  Many devices were invented during the late 1800s and early 1900s that allowed a few people to do work that originally involved many people, like the steal plow and McCormick reaper.  This meant that many farmers were now out of jobs and, as mentioned above, there were plenty of jobs in the cities.  So former farmers were drawn to cities.

3. African-Americans 
African-Americans were drawn to cities because of the conditions in the South.  There was a lot of racial violence in the South, so African-Americans moved to the North, where there had not been slaves for a while longer than int he South, to escape the racial violence.  However, there was stil discrimination and segration in the North, yet it was better than in the South, so African-Americans were drawn to cities int he Northeast and Midwest.

The Problems: What was done in response to the following five problems? 

4. Lack of safe and efficient transportation
Improvements in mass transit, systems made to transport large amounts of people, were created to address the issue of the lack of safe and efficient transportation.  For example, underground subways were installed in Boston and electric street cars in San Francisco. The population was growing too quickly for mass transit to come to be any help with the problem.

5. Unsafe drinking water
First public waterworks were created to address the issue of unsafe drinking water.  When the water continued to cause diseases, such as typhoid fever and cholera, some cities because to filter the water or use chlorination. However, there was constantly the issue of those in the city not having the plumbing that would make access to this water possible and in some places the water was still not safe.

6. Lack of sanitation 
There was a large problem about lack of sanitation in cities.  To solve this problem, cities hired "scavengers".  These people would sweep the streets, clean outhouses, and collect garbage.  Yet, there were often issues with these jobs being down correctly.  Many cities created sanitation departments and sewer systems by 1900.  That was mainly what cities did to address the issue of sanitation, or lack of it.

7. Fire Hazards
Units of firefighters were created to address the issue of fires in cities.  At first, these were volunteer groups, but these people were not always available, so the first full time fire department was created in 1853 in Cincinnati, Ohio.  Another response to fire hazards was having new buildings built with bricks, stone, and concrete instead of wood, which is very easy to burn.  That was how fire hazards were addressed.

8. Crime

The first police force was created to address crime in New York city in 1844.  These police units were created to address the issues of crimes such as thieves and pickpockets in cities.  However, these forces were often too small to actually stop crime, but were created in response to the crime.

Immigration

1. What major areas or countries of the world were immigrants coming from?
Immigrants were coming from China, Japan, Mexico, the West Indies, and parts of Europe.  The countries in Europe that immigrants came from were Ireland, Italy, England, Scandinavia, Austria-Hungry, Germany, Poland, and Russia.

2. What were the two major immigration processing stations in the United States?
The two major immigration processing station in the United States were Ellis Island, in the East, and Angel Island, in the West.

3. Define Melting Pot.
A Melting Pot is a mixture of many different races and cultures in one area, or country.  The United States of America is a Melting Pot.

4. Define Nativism.
Nativism is to favor the culture or race that was first born in an area or culture.  In America in the late 1800s and early 1900s, nativism applied to favoring white Angelo-Saxons over other races because, even thought the Native Americans were the real natives, those in the U.S. considered white Angelo-Saxons to be the natives.

5. According to the Immigration Restriction League, list the desirable immigrants.
According to the Immigration Restriction League, desirable immigrants:

• were British, German, or Scandinavian
• were "historically free"
• were energetic
• were progressive
• could read English
• 
  

6. According to the Immigration Restriction League, list the “wrong” immigrants.

According to the Immigration Restriction League, "wrong immigrants" were

• Slav, Asiatic, or Latin
• stagnant
• "historically down-trodden"

7. Why did nativists’ sometimes object to an immigrant’s religious background?
Nativists' sometimes objected to an immigrant's religious background because most Americans who were native-born were Protestants and the Founding Fathers had been Protestants.  The nativists were worried that the Catholic and Jewish immigrants would wreck the democratic institutions because they were not Protestants like the Founding Fathers had been.  The fear of losing their freedom made nativists object to immigrants' religious backgrounds if the immigrants were not Protestants.

8. Why was the Chinese Exclusion Act passed?

The Chinese Exclusion Act was an act banning Chinese immigrants from entering the U.S. unless they were teachers, tourists, merchants, students, or government officials.  This act was passed because Americans were worried that they would lose their jobs in the West to the Chinese because the Chinese would work for less money.  This created an anti-asian sentiment that would be the cause of the Chinese Exclusion Act being passed.

Robber Baron Document Rankings

Power Rank 1:  Document Number: 10

Why do you believe it best represents the era you have been studying?.
Document 10 best represents the era because it states the ideal result of the increase in industry and the actual result.  The document describes the ideal world of the wealth spreading and eliminating poverty and the world it created, which was one where the poor were worse off than before.

Power Rank 2:  Document Number: 9

Why do you believe it best represents the era you have been studying?
Document 9 is an interview with William Vanderbilt in October 1882 and shows Vanderbilt discussing how little the public matter to him.  Therefore this document confirms the suspicion that robber barons, such as Vanderbilt, cared very little for the public and this shows the relationship because robber barons and the common people.

Power Rank 3:  Document Number: 7

Why do you believe it best represents the era you have been studying?
Document 7, a government report on trusts and the combinations of industry, features a section about what trusts really did, according to Rockefeller.  This document shows the relationship between the government and robber barons, what they said (whether or not they meant it) actually ended up in government reports, proving that they had control of the government in the era.

Power Rank 4:  Document Number: 12

Why do you believe it best represents the era you have been studying?
Document 12 was created in 1871 and states the ideas for reforming the economic system that existed at that time.  This represents the movements that were underway during the era and created unrest among the American people that would lead to new laws.

Power Rank 5:  Document Number: 16

Why do you believe it best represents the era you have been studying?
Document 16 states the beliefs of many robber barons that allowed them to justify their actions.  Of course this theory was not popular among the poor, which just shows another difference between the two groups in that era.

Age of Railroads

1. What problems did employees of the railroad companies face?
Employees of the railroad companies faced many problems.  Many of the Irish workers faced disease and Native American attacks while the Chinese workers have climate issues.   One of these types of issues was the snow and cold temperatures that surrounded the camps and workplaces of the workers.  Another problem was that the Chinese workers had to supply their own food.  Also, there were often long hours for railroad workers, such as from dawn to dusk.

2. What was it like to live as a Pullman employee in the town of Pullman?
Living in the town of Pullman as a Pullman employee was a little like living a city.  The apartment buildings were made of brick and the fact that each one contained many windows made them very nice apartments for the time.  No one was allowed to drink alcohol or hang around on the front steps of buildings.  Those were just two examples of the control over the town.  The rent was also set by Pullman.  This town also consisted of shops, doctors' offices, and a field for athletics.

3. Who was involved in Crédit Mobilier, and what was the purpose of this company?
The Republican Party, mainly representatives in Congress around 1867, Vice-President Schuyler Colfax and James Garfield, were involved in Crédit Mobilier, as well as Crédit Mobilier and its stockholders.  Garfield was a congressman at the time, but would later become president.  The purpose of Crédit Mobilier was to have the stockholder that were part of the Union Pacific Railroad make a contract with Crédit Mobilier to have railroad tracks produced for much more than they actually cost.  Then the stocks were given out as bribes to members of congress and other parts of the government.  The company was mainly created to create large profits and bribe the government while doing very little and getting away with it.

4. In what ways did the railroad companies use their power to hurt farmers?
Railroad companies used their power to hurt farmers.  They would not sell the government land grants to settlers, although this was what the government had wanted.  Instead, they would sell to businesses.  Also, railroads tried to make prices hard on farmers so they would stay in debt.  Tied into this is the fact that they would charge less for long hauls than short hauls because there was not other choice for short hauls. That was how the railroad companies used their power.

5. Why didn’t the decision in the Munn v. Illinois case succeed in checking the power of the railroads?
The Munn v. Illinois case did not succeed because the federal government still had control over business between states.  So if the railroad was going between states, the states could not regulate the railroad and decrease the amount of discrimination.  Since many of the trips were between states, the case did not really succeed in checking the power, which would mean making prices fair, of the railroads.

6. Why didn’t the Interstate Commerce Act immediately limit the power of the railroads?
The Interstate Commerce Act did not limit the power of the railroad immediately.  This is because there were many legal procedures that had to be completed before they could limit the power.  Also, the railroads were resisting the government limiting their power and many almost went bankrupt in the 1890s.  Then, in 1897, it was decided by the Supreme Court that a maximun fair for railroads could not be set.  All of these events contributed to the ICC not truly being effective until 1906.