America Moves to the City

America Moves to the City Chapter 25

Introduction • By the year 1900, the United States’ upsurging population nearly doubled from its level of some 40 million souls in the census of 1870. • In the same time period, the population of American cities tripled.

The Urban Frontier • By 1900 New York, with some 3.5 million people, was the second largest city in the world, outranked only by London. • Throughout the world, cities were exploding. London, Paris, Berlin, Tokyo, Moscow, Mexico City, Calcutta, and Shanghai all doubled or tripled in size between 1850 and 1900. • Americans were also becoming commuters; electric trolleys propelled city limits outwards and near the end of the century, the nation’s first subway opened in Boston.

The Urban Frontier • Industrial jobs, above all, drew people off farms in America as well as abroad and into factory centers. • Cavernous department stores such as Macy’s in NY and Marshall Field’s in Chicago attracted urban middle-class shoppers and provided urban working-class jobs, many of them for women.

The New Immigration • In each of the three decades from the 1850s through the 1870s, more than 2 million migrants had stepped onto America’s shores. • By the 1880s the stream had swelled to a rushing torrent, as more than 5 million cascaded into the country. • A new high for a single year was reached in 1882, when 788,992 arrived- more than 2,100 each day.

The New Immigration • The so-called New Immigrants came from southern and eastern Europe. • Among them were Italians, Jews, Croats, Slovaks, Greeks, and Poles.

Narrowing the Welcome Mat • Antiforeignism, or “nativism”, earlier touched off by the Irish and German arrivals in the 1840s and 1850s, bared its ugly face in the 1880s with fresh ferocity. • The New Immigrants had come for much the same reasons as the Old, but “nativists” viewed the eastern and southern Europeans as culturally and religiously exotic hordes and often gave them a rude reception.

Darwin Disrupts the Churches • Charles Darwin set forth the theory that higher forms of life had slowly evolved from lower forms, through a process of random biological mutation and adaptation. • Though initially condemned by scientists, many people in America and elsewhere embraced the theory of organic evolution by 1875. • French biologist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck argued that traits acquired during the course of an individual’s life could shape the future genetic development of a species.

Booker T. Washington and Education for Black People • War-torn and impoverished, the South lagged far behind other regions in public education, and African Americans suffered most severely. • A staggering 44% of nonwhites were illiterate in 1900. • Booker T. Washington was called to head the Tuskegee Institute in Tuskegee, AL in 1881.

Booker T. Washington and Education for Black People • He began with 40 students in a tumble-down shanty. • Washington’s commitment to training young blacks in agriculture and trades guided the curriculum and made it the ideal place for men like George Washington Carver to teach and research.

Booker T. Washington and Education for Black People • Other black leaders, most notably Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois assailed Washington as an “Uncle Tom” who was condemning their race to manual labor and perpetual inferiority. • Du Bois demanded complete equality for blacks, social as well as economic and helped found the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1909.

The Appeal of the Press • Books continued to be a major source of edification and enjoyment, for both juveniles and adults. • Best sellers of the 1880s were generally old favorites like David Copperfield and Ivanhoe. • Two new journalistic tycoons emerged; Joseph Pulitzer, who was Hungarian-born and near-blind ran the New York Worldand William Randolph Hearst who built a powerful chain of newspapers, beginning with the San Francisco Examiner in 1887.

Families and Women in the City • The urban era launched the era of divorce. • From the late nineteenth century dates the beginning of the “divorce revolution” that transformed the United States’ social landscape in the 20th century. • On the farm having many children meant having more hands to help with hoeing and harvesting; but in the city more children meant more mouths to feed, more crowding in the tenements, and more human baggage to carry in the uphill struggle for social mobility.

Families and Women in the City • In 1890 militant suffragists formed the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA), with again Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony as the founders. • By 1900 a new generation of women had taken command of the suffrage battle. • Their most effective leader was Carrie Chapman Catt, a pragmatic and business-like reformer of relentless dedication.

Prohibiting Alcohol and Promoting Reform • Militant women entered the alcoholic arena, notably when the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) was organized in 1874. • Led by the saintly Frances E. Willard (who also championed planned parenthood) and the less saintly Carrie A. Nation (who was mentally deranged and muscular, nicknamed the “Kansas Cyclone”).

Prohibiting Alcohol and Promoting Reform • The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) was created in 1866. • The American Red Cross was launched in 1881, with the dynamic and diminutive Clara Barton, the “angel” of Civil War battlefields, at the helm.

The Business of Amusement • Baseball, already widely played before the Civil War, was clearly emerging as the national pastime, if not a national mania. • Basketball was invented in 1891 by James Naismith, a YMCA instructor in Springfield, MA.

The Business of Amusement • College football, the rugged game with its dangerous flying wedge, had become popular well before 1889, when Yale man Walter C. Camp chose his first “All-American” team. • Boxing, with its long background of bare knuckle brutality, gained a new and gloved respectability in 1892.

The Great West and the Agricultural Revolution Chapter 26

The Clash of Cultures on the Plains • The federal government tried to pacify the Plains Indians by signing treaties with the “chiefs” of various “tribes” at Fort Laramie in 1851. • The treaties marked the beginnings of the reservation system in the West. • They established boundaries for the territory of each tribe and attempted to separate the Indians into two great “colonies” to the north and south of a corridor of intended white settlement.

Receding Native Population • In 1886 a Sioux war party attempting to block construction of the Bozeman Trail to the Montana goldfields ambushed Capt. William J. Fetterman’s command of 81 soldiers and civilians in Wyoming’s Bighorn Mountains. • One trooper’s face was split by 105 arrows. • This attack led to one of the few triumphs by the natives; the Battle of Little Bighorn.

Receding Native Population • Colonel Custer’s 7th Cavalry attacked what turned out to be a superior force of some 2,500 well-armed warriors camped along the Little Bighorn River in present-day Montana. • About 250 officers and men were completely wiped out in 1876 when two supporting columns failed to come to their rescue, but the Indians’ victory was short-lived. • In a series of battles across the northern plains, the U.S. army relentlessly hunted down the Indians who had humiliated Custer.

The End of the Trail • In 1890 the army stamped out the Dakota Sioux at the Battle of Wounded Knee. • In the fighting an estimated 200 hundred Indian men, women, and children were killed, as well as 29 invading soldiers. • 3 years earlier that Dawes Severalty Act was passed to dissolve many tribes as legal entities, wiped out tribal ownership of land, and set up individual Indian family heads with 160 free acres.

The Farmer’s Frontier • The Homestead Act of 1862 was a new law that allowed a settler to acquire as much as 160 acres of land ( a quarter-section) by living on it for five years, improving it, and paying $30. • Before the act, public land had been sold primarily for revenue; now it was to be given away to encourage a rapid filling of empty spaces and to provide a stimulus to the family farm.

The Farmer’s Frontier • During the 40 years after its passage, about half a million families took advantage of the Homestead Act to carve out new homes in the vast open stretches. • The Homestead Act often turned out to be a cruel hoax. • The standard 160 acres frequently proved pitifully inadequate on the rain-scarce Great Plains. • Thousands of homesteaders were forced to give up the one-sided struggle against drought.

Golden McKinley and Silver Bryan • On of the big issues in the Election of 1896 was monetary policy- whether to maintain the gold standard of inflate the currency by monetizing silver. • The leading candidate for the Republican presidential nomination was former Congressman William McKinley of OH. • Fellow Ohioan and iron magnate Marcus Alonzo Hanna was a huge backer of McKinley.

Golden McKinley and Silver Bryan • Hanna believed that a prime function of government was to aid business. • The Republican platform was to back the gold standard, even though, as a Congressman, McKinley had voted friendly to silver. • Dissension riddled the Democratic camp with the party split among a new candidate and Grover Cleveland.

Golden McKinley and Silver Bryan • As new Moses suddenly appeared in the person of William Jennings Bryan of NE. • The Democratic minority, including Cleveland, charged that the Populist-silverites had stolen both the name and the clothes of their party.

Class Conflict: Plowholders v. Bondholders • On election day McKinley triumphed decisively. • The vote was 271 to 176 in the Electoral College and 7,102,246 to 6,492,559 in the popular vote. • The Bryan-McKinley battle heralded the advent of a new era in American politics. • The outcome was a resounding victory for big business, the big cities, middle-class values, and financial conservatism.

Empire and Expansion Chapter 27

Introduction • After the Civil War, America remained astonishingly indifferent to the outside world. • The sunset decades of the 19th century witnessed a momentous shift in U.S. foreign policy. • The world now had to reckon with a new great power, potentially powerful but with diplomatic ambitions and principles that remained to be defined.

Spurning the Hawaiian Pear • As trade with Japan and the Far East grew, the U.S. needed ports in the Pacific where they could refuel and resupply. • A recession hit Hawaii in 1872 and the U.S. exempted Hawaiian sugarcane from tariffs. • In exchange for the tariff, the U.S. insisted that Hawaii allow the U.S. to build a naval base at Pearl Harbor. • Queen Liliuokalani was overthrown by Hawaiian planters and U.S. Marines.

Spurning the Hawaiian Pear • President Cleveland opposed imperialism, so he withdrew the annexation treaty from the Senate and tried to restore the Queen to power (Blount Report). • Hawaii’s new leaders refused to restore the monarchy of the Queen. • Five years later, when Cleveland left office, the U.S. annexed Hawaii.

Spurning the Hawaiian Pear • In 1993 President Clinton signed the Apology Resolution, officially apologizing for overthrowing a sovereign nation. • Hawaii became a U.S. state in 1959.

Cubans Rise in Revolt • Cuba was under Spanish rule and frequently revolted against their rule. • The U.S. regarded the Spanish as tyrants and supported Cuba. • The U.S. issued a declaration of war against the Spanish. • Although it was a short war, it altered the position of the U.S. on the world stage.

Cubans Rise in Revolt • Exiled Cuban leader Jose Marti, rallied support for an invasion of Cuba while living in New York City in the late 1880s. • In 1894, the U.S. imposed a new tariff on Cuban sugar that devastated the Cuban economy. • Marti and his followers launched a rebellion in 1895. • Marti died, but his followers seized control of eastern Cuba, declared independence, and established the Republic of Cuba in 1895.

Cubans Rise in Revolt • While the U.S. remained neutral with regard to Cuba, many Americans publically supported the Cuban rebels. • Stories of atrocities in Cuba were reported in two of the leading newspapers of the time; • The New York Journal published by William Randolph Hearst • The New York World published by Joseph Pulitzer

Cubans Rise in Revolt • Both of these newspapers were accused of sensationalizing stories about Cuba in order to sell more copies. • The act of exaggerating and even making up stories is known as yellow journalism.

Cubans Rise in Revolt • New U.S. Pres. William McKinley did not want to intervene, but feared he would have to if the Spanish and Cubans could not reach a agreement. • The Spain offered the Cubans autonomy- the right to their own government- but only if Cuba remained part of the Spanish empire. The Cubans said no. • After an American ship exploded, Congress authorized McKinley to spend $50 million on war preparations.

Cubans Rise in Revolt • There was a strong amount of jingoism- aggressive nationalism- by the Republicans who felt McKinley needed to appear strong against the Spanish. • On April 19, 1898 Congress proclaimed Cuba independent and demanded Spain withdraw. • On April 24, 1898 Spain declared war on the United States

Dewey’s May Day Victory in Manila • The U.S. navy North Atlantic Squadron blockaded Cuba. • Commodore George Dewey, commander of the American naval squadron based in Hong Kong, attacked the Spanish fleet in the Philippines.

Dewey’s May Day Victory in Manila • Dewey quickly blew up 8 Spanish ships in Manila Bay. • The victory was so quick that Pres. McKinley wasn’t even ready to send the army to help Dewey. • The army assembled 20,000 troops and set off for Manila, stopping on the way to capture Guam (another Spanish island). • Filipino refugee Emilio Aguinaldo helped the U.S. capture the Philippine capital of Manila.

The Confused Invasion of Cuba • Neither the Americans nor the Spanish were ready for war. • The “Rough Riders” led by Theodore Roosevelt were able to defeat the Spanish at the Battle of Kettle Hill. • The Spanish warships fled, but the Americans sank most of their ships. • Two weeks later, the Spanish surrendered and Cuba was now under American control.

Perplexities in Puerto Rico and Cuba • There were supporters on both sides of the annexation debate. • When it all ended according to the Treaty of Paris (1898); • Cuba became independent • The U.S. acquired Puerto Rico and Guam • The U.S. agreed to pay Spain $20 million for the Philippines.

Perplexities in Puerto Rico and Cuba • The Platt Amendment specified the following: • Cuba could not make a treaty with another nation that would weaken its independence. • Cuba had to allow the U.S. to buy or lease naval stations in Cuba. • Cuba’s debts had to be kept low to prevent foreign countries from landing troops to enforce payment • The U.S. would have the right to intervene to protect Cuban independence and keep order.

Perplexities in Puerto Rico and Cuba • In 1900, the Foraker Act was passed to establish civil government for the island. • In 1917, America granted Puerto Ricans citizenship. • The debate still rages on today as to whether Puerto Rico should become a state, become independent, or continue as a self-governing U.S. commonwealth.

Hinging the Open Door in China • After its defeat by Japan in 1894-1895, the imperialistic European powers (Russia and Germany) moved in to take advantage. • In the summer of 1899, Secretary of State John Hay dispatched to all great powers communication (Open Door note) urging all countries to respect certain Chinese rights and the ideal of fair competition. • Hay had not bothered to consult the Chinese.

Hinging the Open Door in China • Patriotic Chinese did not care to be used as a doormat by the Western powers. • In 1900 a superpatriotic group known as “Boxers”, broke loose with the cry of “Kill Foreign Devils”. • In what became known as the Boxer Rebellion, they murdered more than 200 foreigners and thousands of Chinese Christians.

TR: Brandisher of the Big Stick • Kindly William McKinley had scarcely served another six months when, in Sept. 1901, he was murdered by a deranged anarchist in Buffalo, NY. • Vice President Theodore Roosevelt took the reins of the presidency. • Born into a wealthy and distinguished New York family, Roosevelt was partly educated in Europe and graduated from Harvard.

TR: Brandisher of the Big Stick • He loved people and mingled with those of all ranks. • TR believed that the president should lead, boldly. • The president, he felt, may take any action in the general interest that it not specifically forbidden by the laws of the Constitution.

America Moves to the City