The United States

1. The United States 1870-1914

2. Reconstruction ended in the last state in 1877 • Compromise of 1877 • Expansion into the plains created conflict with the Native peoples • Dawes Act 1877 proposed to divide tribal land into 160 acre parcels between families Post Civil War

3. From 1865 to 1913 the US grew to the world’s leading industrial nation • Availability of capital fuelled the Second Industrial Revolution • Annual Income of non-farm workers grew by 75% 1865-1900 • First Transcontinental Railroad built by entrepreneurs with British money and Irish and Chinese Labor A Growing Nation

4. Number of farms tripled to 6 million by 1905 • Value of farms grew from 8 to 30 billion • 160 acre tracts of land given to settlers • Larger lands could be purchased from the railroad companies • Wheat farmers were able to sell larger quantities during 1876-81 when famine existed in Europe The Settlers

5. Wages were double that of Europe at the time • Depressions existed in the years 1873-75 and 1893-97 • Unskilled labor was abundant and in 1874 Massachusetts introduced legislation to limit the number of hours children and women could work in factories Economy

6. Great Railroad Strike of 1877 • The Haymarket Riot killed a policeman when an anarchist had thrown a bomb • The Knights of Labor were largely blamed • The riots at Carnegie Steel Works in Homestead, Pennsylvania took the lives of 10 workers Protests and Uprisings

7. 1896 Jim Crow Laws • D. W. Griffith’s Birth of a Nation made heroes of the KKK in reconstruction • McKinley Tariff 1890 after the droughts in the 1880’s was detrimental to African Americans Racism Reinstated

8. By 1890 the Farmers Alliance pushed for political power • The Populist Party emerged as a result • The formed coalitions in controlling the south and western states • Delegates from farm, labor and reform organizations met in Omaha, Nebraska to make their mark in politics Politics

9. The financial Panic of 1983 heightened tensions in politics • The Democratic Party was almost broken by President Cleveland’s inability to solve the crisis • They absorbed the remnants of the Populist movement • Republican William McKinley became president The Depression

10. Since 1912 it had begun to rebirth • This put an emphasis of equality and to flush out Congress of men as they had failed to do the job properly • Alice Paul separated from NAWSA and increased rallies and protests on a more radical, yet non-violent scale • The National Women’s Party was formed Women’s Rights Movement

11. Spain had previously controlled a vast imperialistic empire, but by the second half of the 19th century; only Cuba, Puerto Rico and The Philippines with some African possessions remained. • Cuba had been rebellious since the 1870’s • A number of Spanish atrocities and intervention was required. • When the USS Maine exploded in Havana Harbor, it was considered the last straw. Spanish-American War

12. US Military prepared to mobilize in the Cuban revolt. • War was declared April 15, 1898 • Theodore Roosevelt’s Rough Riders stormed Cuba, while Commodore George Dewey pounded the Spanish fleet in the Philippines. • Three months later, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines were ceded to the US • Cuba became independant Spanish-American War

13. The US acquired the Philippines from Spain on December 10, 1898 through the Treaty of Paris which ended the Spanish-American war. • Emilio Aguinaldo and revolutionaries declared it’s independence and began fighting US troops in 1899. • The war was ended in 1901 after Emilio was captured • Roosevelt continued with the ideas of the McKinley Policies. • He also ensured that the Philippines would be the first to achieve self-government in time The Philippines

14. In the following years, Roosevelt announced his “Corollary” in 1904 where the US would intervene in cases where Latin-American governments prove unstable in the eyes of democracy. • Numerous interventions occurred. • 1909: Nicaraguan President José Santos Zelaya resigned after the US backed rebels claimed victory over the government. Munroe Doctrine

15. The US occupation of Haiti in 1915 followed by the execution of Haiti’s leader by the mob was the threat of a German takeover of the island. • 80% of the economy was controlled by Germany and were bankrolling revolutions that kept the island in chaos. • The US did not intervene in Mexico as the country fell into a period of anarchy and civil war in 1910. • April 1914 marked the occupation of Veracruz. This coincided with Woodrow Wilson’s aim to overthrow the dictator Victoriano Huerta. Munroe Doctrine

16. March 1916, Pancho Villa led 1500 Mexican raiders, attacking a US cavalry detachment. • Woodrow Wilson sent 12000 troops after Villa under General John J. Pershing. • The expedition was withdrawn January 1917. • 1916: The US occupied the Dominican Republic. Munroe Doctrine

17. Progressivism was an idea that rose in the 1890’s • The Presidential election of 1900 allowed the US a chance to pass judgment on the McKinley Administration, mainly foreign policy. • The Open Door Policy was conversed upon by Republicans in Philadelphia that year. • Imperialism became an issue during the election. Political Movements

18. President McKinley was killed by and anarchist in September 1901. Vice President Roosevelt took his place. • Corruption of the government was a concern, The 1883 Civil Service Reform Act made politicians more accountable for their actions. • A whole movement ensued to fight the unaccountability within many corporations and government. • Many of these issues soon made their way into newspapers and magazines. Their authors were known as “Muckrakers” Political Movements

19. Writers aimed their works at the middle-class citizens. Many states created laws to improve working and living conditions for their citizens. • Child Labor laws were set to have restricted age limits through efforts like that of Jane Addams. • By the early 20th century, larger cities had established eight-hour work days. The Progressive Era

20. Workers Compensation Laws made employers responsible for employee injuries on site. • New Revenue laws laid the foundation for the modern Federal Income Tax. • With his reelection, Teddy called for drastic railroad regulation in 1904. • June 1906: Hepburn Act gave the Interstate Commerce Commission authority in regulating rates, and forced railroad companies to abandon their ulterior interests in steamship lines and coal companies. The Progressive Era

21. Roosevelt hoped to compensate for the Coal Strike in 1902 which had threatened fuel supplies for the US. • William Howard Taft was elected in 1908. His main progress occurred in Dollar Diplomacy. • Federal Reserve Act 1913 was one of Woodrow Wilson’s most enduring legislative accomplishments, developing a compromise with Wall Street and the agrarians. • It was modeled after the European Bank’s: the country was divided into 12 districts, each with a Federal Reserve Bank and all were monitored by the Federal Reserve Board. • The medium of exchange was gold coins, but the banks liked to stretch beyond their means. • Bank notes were created to stabilize the system. • The Fed was opened in 1914 and was central to funding WWI. The Progressive Era