Download US History 212 UNIT 2: America Becomes a World

US History 212 UNIT 2: America Becomes a World Power
Introduction
This unit treats a major change in American life: the rise of the United States as the world dominant power,
beginning in the early years of the twentieth century but reaching fruition during two world wars. Major emphases
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The emergence of the United States as an imperial power;
The impact of World War I;
Modernism and anti-modernism during the 1920s
Some important themes:
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The social/economic impact of the Industrial Revolution;
The decline of rural America and the rise of urban America;
The important role of raced in American life;
The transformation of government
This unit covers Lessons 6–10. These will cover the tasks listed below. You will find specific assignments under
the individual lessons.
Lectures for this unit (All except face-to-face available below)
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Imperialism (face to face class meeting)
World War I
The 1920s
Cultural revitalization and the 1920s
Great Depression and New Deal
Isolationism and the Coming of War
Textbook reading: Chapters 22-26 of LEP
Primary source reading: Chapters 7-10 of The South
Journal assignments: See the individual lessons
LESSON 6
Topics of Emphasis
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The Spanish-American War
American Imperialism
“Walk Softly, but Carry a BIG Stick!”
Unrestricted Capitalism
As we begin our study of the rise of modern America, please note several trends/eras that occur through the
passage of time that profoundly affect later history.
The first of these is the era of unrestricted capitalism. This period runs from 1857 (which happens to coincide with
the start of John D. Rockefeller’s business career) until 1929 with the great crash of the New York Stock
Exchange, which signals the start of the Great Depression.
The era of unrestricted capitalism was just that, a time when the government of the United States exercised little or
no control over the affairs of business. The standing policy of the day was laissez faire, literally “let it be.”
Politicians and economists of the period thought that the economic system, business, ran best with little or no
government supervision, what they termed “meddling.” Under this policy the rise of big business began, a process
that ran from about 1860 to 1920. This was the period that saw the rise of the monopolies, the trusts, massive
corruption, fraud, bribery, etc. It also saw the creation of enormous personal fortunes, e.g., J.P. Morgan, Andrew
Carnegie, and of course the greatest of them all, John D. Rockefeller. It was a period of massive growth, overexpansion, and intense cycles of boom and bust speculation in just about everything. This era reached its peak in
what we now call the “Gilded Age.”
You see what I am talking about when you examine the political, social, and economic issues of the period
between 1877 and 1892. Eventually this cycle produced backlash and resentment. The populists, the
progressives, the muckrakers are all created by, for, and about the excesses of the capitalists. For that matter, so
are the Communists and the socialist movements. Ultimately this cycle (worldwide) would reach its ghastly climax
in World War I. Many of the underlying factors behind that war were caused by unrestricted capitalism.
This wild economic cycle finally dies of overexertion in 1929, plunging the world into the worst economic
depression in history, 1929–1939. This in turn set the stage for the most terrible of all wars, World War II. As you
work your way through the early 20th century, keep this backdrop in mind.
Study
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imperialism
Alfred Thayer Mahan
Social Darwinism
Hawaii
Spanish-American War—Cuba, Teller Amendment, USS Maine, yellow journalism, de Lome letter, San
Juan Hill, Rough Riders, Teddy Roosevelt, Puerto Rico, Guam, Philippines
problems in the Philippines
Platt Amendment
Foraker Act
China—spheres of influence, John Hay, Open Door Policy, Boxer Rebellion
President Roosevelt—Roosevelt Corollary, Panama Canal, Russo-Japanese War/Nobel Peace Prize
President Taft—dollar diplomacy
President Wilson—missionary diplomacy, problems in Mexico, World War I
LESSON 7
Topics of Emphasis
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The Great War: 1914–1918
The Balkans (Then and Now)
Imperial Europe Implodes
Neutrality
The School Master’s War: The Painful Choices of Woodrow Wilson
Manifest Destiny becomes National Security
Woodrow Wilson: Path to Power
Wilson had an interesting career path in becoming president in 1912. He really had three careers prior to his
political career: as a lawyer (he attended UVA law school and briefly practiced law in Atlanta); as college professor
(he was one of the leading practitioners of the new discipline of political science); and as a university president (he
served as president of Princeton). He had long studied politics, but became involved in it only through a sort of
accident of fate. In 1910, he left Princeton after a series of frustrations with campus politics, culminating in a defeat
that he suffered. The University decided to locate the new graduate school outside the confines of the campus,
rather in the middle of the University. Wilson became a candidate for governor of New Jersey in 1910 as a sort of
way out.
Wilson was the only president in our history to have a doctorate: interesting little factoid…
Progressivism Lives!
Hello, everyone!
As you leave the Progressives behind remember that their imprint on 20th Century America runs deep. The case
can be made that if you understand what is going on with Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson, you understand
the direction that national policy within the U.S. has taken in the 20th Century. After them, the presidency has
taken on an importance and a role in national (and later international) affairs that would have been inconceivable in
the 19th Century.
Running parallel to this idea is the argument that Roosevelt and Wilson define the poles between which the
modern presidency has developed.
Examples:
Theodore Roosevelt’s activist management style. His idea of a “Square Deal” for the American People. The idea of
the Presidency as a “bully pulpit” from which the president not only leads the nation, but also charts its course.
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The U.S. as a major world power with an activist foreign policy.
The willingness by the nation to project that power.
These ideas have remained with the office long after Mr. Roosevelt’s time.
Likewise with Wilson:
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The role of the U.S. as a champion of democracy (ironic for the U.S. During his term of office, was not a
true or full democracy.)
The involvement of the U.S. in Europe, not only in the First World War (the first truly foreign war in
American history).
The diplomacy of the Fourteen Points, especially the League of Nations. These ideas live on with us
today.
The historical reality is that no U.S. president since Wilson has been able to escape the duel legacy of these two
men. Every occupant of the Oval Office since 1920 has either followed (you could say imitated) a course of action
that draws on either Roosevelt, Wilson, or both. (Of course, a fourth option is to actively try to be neither and
achieve total mediocrity; witness the administrations of Harding, Coolidge and Hoover.)
A nearly universal consensus among historians is that the most important president of the 20th century is Franklin
Roosevelt. It was his “rendezvous with destiny” to lead the nation through the twin crises of the Great Depression
and World War II. In his leadership, he comes as close as anyone could to combining the best qualities of the two
Presidents he most admired: Teddy, his 5th cousin, his wife’s uncle, the family maverick, who threw away
convention for the sake of national issues; and Woodrow Wilson, FDR’s political ideal, the man whose work he set
out to complete, whose legacy he struggled to rehabilitate following the disaster of Versailles and the second
terrible war that failure made possible.
More examples of comparison:
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Teddy, the progressive with his “Square Deal,” Pure Food and Drug Act, coal strike mediation, and
aggressive diplomacy, and policy of “Walk softly and carry a big stick.”
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Franklin, the reform-minded Democrat with his “New Deal,” with its extensive regulation of the economy
and society, and his moderation of Teddy’s near imperialistic policies towards Latin America, with his
“Good Neighbor” concept.
Wilson with his ideal to “make the world safe for democracy,” and his ideas of self-determination for all
peoples, ideals he hoped would become reality with the League of Nations. These ideals were doomed to
fail when the U.S. declined to join the organization.
FDR, with his articulation of the Four Freedom’s concept, and his successful resurrection of the League
in the form of the United Nations. (A dream made real by FDR’s successor, Harry S. Truman, another
Wilson devotee.)
These comparisons only scratch the surface of what I am describing. Take a close look at every president since
FDR and see in what ways each man takes on part of the mantle of these two men. Pay particular attention to the
Democrats, all of whom have championed the same causes as Mr. Wilson. All of whom have, with the very notable
exception of Bill Clinton, been involved in a foreign war that completely overshadowed their domestic agendas.
Both Roosevelt and Wilson faced problems in several areas: Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Look and see
where Mr. Clinton faced his problems: Europe, (the former Yugoslavia), Asia, (China), and Latin America. (Have
you heard about the problems we are having with Mexico The Caribbean? Colombia? See any similarities?)
What can George W. Bush expect, no one knows; but just perhaps, it might be wise to let the past be your guide. .
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Postscript: How do you interpret these things in light of Sept. 11, 2001?
Study
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Triple Alliance
Triple Entente
assassination of Franz Ferdinand
Central Powers
Allied Powers
nationalism, imperialism, militarism
new weapons
American neutrality—lean British
“unrestricted submarine warfare”
Lusitania
Sussex
Sussex Pledge
William Jennings Bryan
election of 1916
“peace without victory”
resumption of “unrestricted submarine warfare”
Zimmerman telegram
Russian Revolution
“The world must be made safe for democracy.”
“Associated Power”
mobilization
European Front?AEF, Pershing
Home Front—War Industries Board, National War Labor Board, RR Admin, Fuel Admin, Food Admin,
CPI, Liberty Bonds, repression of Socialists and IWW, Espionage and Sedition Acts, Schenck v. U.S.
war’s affect on women
war’s affect on African Americans
armistice—11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month (Nov. 11, 1918)
Wilson’s 14 points
The Big Four
Treaty of Versailles
reparations
League of Nations
ratification fight—Henry Cabot Lodge; why does Wilson lose the ratification fight?
Wilson’s stroke
The Red Scare
racial conflicts in the post-war era
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Marcus Garvey
LESSON 8
Topics of Emphasis
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The Roaring 20s: Flappers and Flivvers
The Rise of a leisure class: The Birth of Mass Media
The Agrarian Past confronts an Urban Future
Prohibition and the Rise of Organized Crime
A Republic, Not a Democracy
The U.S. is, and was from its beginning, a republic. The U.S. was not at its start a true democracy.
It was a form of limited democracy that allowed only a few to vote and thus to have political power. Even the
Jeffersonians did not contemplate the idea of universal manhood suffrage. The creation of a democracy within the
republic is a struggle that has consumed most of the history of the nation. This struggle can be broken down into a
series of events that illustrate the point. Here they are:
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The Anglican property holders, 1776–1828. The republic was founded with the idea that only men of
English blood who owned a fairly sizeable amount of property could vote and/or hold office. This was the
case in every state and the nation from 1776 until about 1828. For an example, consider the first six
presidents: all were wealthy landowners, four owned slaves and two did not, and all came from families
that were primarily English.
Euro-male suffrage, 1828–1865. The opening of the trans-Appalachian west (Kentucky, Tennessee,
etc.) by Scots-Irish settlers challenged both the Anglican supremacy and the property qualifications on
voting and office holding. Led by Andrew Jackson and his popular appeal to the “common man,” these
restrictions were soon greatly weakened in every state. (Property qualifications were not totally
abandoned; you cannot vote anywhere without proof of residence.) The practical result was that in most
of the country, a male of European ancestry who could prove citizenship and residence could now vote.
Emancipation of the slaves/universal manhood suffrage. Following the Civil War, slavery was
abolished in the nation (and not by Abraham Lincoln). At this point, at least on paper, every man in the
country who could prove citizenship and residence was able to vote. Note that women were not given the
right to vote nationally in the legislation that gave the vote to former slaves. Unfortunately, as history
shows, many freedmen were cheated of their rights both civic and political over the next ninety years by
the encroachment of the so-called “Jim Crow” laws that created legalized segregation and discrimination.
Women vote locally, 1867–1920. While women did not gain the right to vote nationally in 1865, they did
begin to gain the right locally in city, county, state, and territorial elections. This first happened was
Wyoming in 1867. The process was slow and uneven and was by no means complete by 1918 when
public pressure climaxed and led to the passage of the constitutional amendment granting female
suffrage nationwide. Ironically, while women of European ancestry struggled through this whole era to get
the vote, at precisely the same time African Americans were losing the vote in many areas due to “Jim
Crow.”
Women vote nationally, 1920-2002. Technically since the 1920 election, women have been able both to
vote and hold offices the same as men. Note: “Jim Crow” above.
The Voting Rights Acts of 1964 and 1965. As a result of the Civil Rights movement, legislation was
enacted that, again on paper, sought to remove all restrictions on both voting and office eligibility on the
basis of race, creed, color, or national origin. As a result of this legislation, the only restrictions on the
franchise of voting were now age (you had to be 21), legal voter registration, and proof of legal residence
and citizenship.
Lowering of the voting age, 1976. The passage of the 18-yr-old vote for the 1976 election brought the
last change in suffrage. Now, technically, every person who is of age and has proof of residence and
citizenship can vote.
So, in this process you can see that while the U.S. has always embodied the possibility of a democracy,it
has not over most of its history been one. What other changes to the voting rights do you think are
possible?
Study
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Roaring 20s
Red Scare
Anti-union
Nativism—immigration restriction, Sacco and Vanzetti
Racial tension—Marcus Garvey
Rebirth of the KKK
Growth industries—automobiles, construction
Some industries do not experience boom—farmers, miners, textiles
Consumer society—advertising, mass marketing, nation wide distribution
Changing role of women—flappers
Age of celebrity—Babe Ruth, Jack Dempsey, Charlie Chaplin, Rudolph Valentino, Charles Lindbergh
Republican presidents of the 20s—Harding (“front porch” campaign, women’s vote, Teapot Dome),
Coolidge (laissez faire, “business of America is doing business”), Hoover (election of 1928—Al Smith)
Prohibition—speakeasy, organized crime, Al Capone
20s foreign affairs—5 Power Treaty, Kellogg Briand Pact, Dawes Plan
fundamentalism—Scopes Monkey Trial
Harlem Renaissance—Langston Hughes, Duke Ellington
Lost Generation—Sinclair Lewis, Gertrude Stein, T.S. Eliot, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Eugene O’Neill, Ernest
Hemingway, William Faulkner
LESSON 9
Topics of Emphasis
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The Collapse of Unrestricted Capitalism
Franklin D. Roosevelt
The New Deal: Preventing a Revolution
Economy: FDIC and the SEC
Industry: The NRA
Agriculture: The AAA (Limiting Overproduction}
Employment: The WPA, PWA, CCC, NYA
Life: Social Security
National Security: The TVA
Huey Long, Charles Coughlin, Francis Townshend
Study
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The Great Depression
Long Term Causes—
Immediate Causes—“Black Tuesday,” subsequent banking panics
Hoover’s Program—laissez faire, associational approach, RFC, Bonus Army
Election of 1932—Roosevelt v. Hoover
FDR—liberalism, fireside chats, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
First New Deal—alphabet soup; relief, recovery, reform; first “Hundred Days”; first priority—banks (bank
holiday, EBA, FDIC), SEC, FERA, CCC, CWA, AAA, NIRA, NRA, PWA, TVA
New Deal critics—Huey Long, Father Coughlin
Boost to labor unions
2nd New Deal—Social Security, NLRA (Wagner Act), NLRB, NYA, WPA
new Democratic Party
“Good Neighbor Policy”
court-packing
LESSON 10
Topics of Emphasis
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When Darkness Fell; Unimaginable Slaughter
The Rise of the Fascists
Isolationism vs. Limited Neutrality
The Day of Infamy: Pearl Harbor
The European Theater / The Pacific Theater
North Africa
Midway
Invasion of Italy
Island Hopping
D-Day
Okinawa and Iwo Jima
The Manhattan Project: Hiroshima and Nagasaki
The United Nations
The Cold War
Study
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Long Term Causes of WWII—WWI; Treaty of Versailles; the Great Depression; rise of aggressor states
(Germany, Italy, Japan); fascism, Germany—Nazis, Hitler, remilitarization, occupation of the Rhineland,
Austria, Sudetenland; Italy—Mussolini, Ethiopia; Japan—Manchuria, China; appeasement
Immediate Cause—German invasion of Poland
Axis Powers
Allied Powers
Neutrality Acts of 1935 and 1937
invasion of Western Europe
Battle of Britain
Lend-Lease Act—“arsenal of Democracy”
Atlantic Charter
Winston Churchill
Japanese aggression in the Pacific
Pearl Harbor—“December 7th, 1941, a date which will live in infamy.”
Big Three—Churchill, Roosevelt, Joseph Stalin
Germany 1st strategy
important battles/events/terms—Germans break non-aggression pact and invade USSR; Stalingrad; El
Alamein; D-Day; Battle of the Bulge; Battle of Midway; Iwo Jima; Okinawa; kamikaze
mobilization at home—WPB; Liberty Bonds; OPA; Rosie the Riveter; Japanese internment; Korematsu v.
U.S.
Yalta Conference
Roosevelt dies;Truman becomes President
VE Day—May 8, 1945
Holocaust
Atomic Bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
VJ Day—September 2, 1945