Who are muckrakers?

Muckrakers were journalists who exposed the corruption found in the cities during the Progressive

Era. Thomas Nast made political cartoons of William “Boss” Tweed showing his corrupt practices. Ida

Tarbell was a muckraker who targeted big businesses. Lincoln

Steffens reported on the corruption in city governments.

How did books and pictures expose the problems found in

society around 1900?

Jacob Riis used pictures and wrote the book How the Other Half Lives to show rich people

what life was like in the tenement slums. Upton

Sinclair wrote The Jungle which graphically showed what life was like in the meat packing

town of Chicago.

What is Teddy Roosevelt known for?

He was the first conservation President. He, along with Gifford

Pinchot and John Muir tried to stop the destruction of the American

countryside. One of his goals was to break up the trusts. He was fairly

successful and became known as the trustbuster. He wanted everyone to

have a Square Deal or the equal opportunity to be successful.

What was the women’s rights movement?

This movements main goal was to get suffrage, or the right to vote, for women. At the Seneca Falls Convention, the Declaration

of Sentiments was passed. Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton were

staunch advocates for women’s rights. Women eventually got the right to vote with the 19th Amendment in 1920. Many women also joined the temperance movement to

stop the use of alcohol. They saw that alcohol was destroying families. Carry Nation was a prominent woman in this

movement. The 18th Amendment (1919) made the sale of alcohol illegal.

What do we need to know about African American rights

around 1900?

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)

was established to push for more rights for blacks. Booker T. Washington pushed for equality but said unfair treatment was o.k. until blacks were educated and rich enough

to be equals. He founded Tuskegee Institute, a college for black people. W.E.B.

Du Bois wanted equality quicker and criticized Booker T. Washington. George Washington Carver was a great scientist

who made many discoveries such as

peanut butter.

What was the Civil Service Exam?

The Civil Service Exam is a test so that the most qualified

people are able to get government jobs. This was an

attempt to end the spoils system which is when people got government jobs because

somebody owed them a favor, regardless of their

qualifications.

What is imperialism?

Imperialism is when a strong country

attempts to influence the economic and political affairs of a weaker country.

What is economic imperialism?

Economic imperialism is when the United States got involved

in another country for economic reasons. Examples include controlling a place for its raw materials or as a place to trade. This idea went along

with dollar diplomacy as presented by Teddy Roosevelt,

which called for the U.S. to have its businesses go into a

country to try to gain influence there.

What were the reasons given for U.S.

expansion in the age of imperialism?

Expansion allowed the U.S. to increase trade. There was

also the desire to spread Christianity and democracy.

We had settled all of the land that is now the U.S. so

we now had to gain land elsewhere. There was also

competition with other countries. If we didn’t get

land then they would.

What was going on in China in the late

1800’s?

China, once a powerful nation, had failed to

industrialize and fell prey to more powerful nations.

Many European countries and Japan

established spheres of influence, which were

areas where the country had special trading

privileges.

What about the United States?

The U.S. didn’t have a sphere of influence. As a way to get involved in the Chinese trade it proposed

the Open Door Policy. The Open Door Policy allowed a country to

trade in the sphere of influence of another

country.

Did the United States get involved in the

problems of Cuba in the late 1800’s?

How did we get permission to build the

Panama Canal?

The U.S. offered Colombia $10 million dollars plus

$250,000 for the right to build the canal. When this was unsuccessful the U.S.

backed up a revolt by Panama and got permission from Panama for the same deal. This was the big

stick policy.

What was the Roosevelt Corollary?

This built upon the Monroe Doctrine(1823)

which told Europe to stay out of the Western Hemisphere. The

Corollary said the U.S. could intervene to

preserve peace in Latin America. (and protect our business interests)

What was the Big Stick policy.

This was based upon the statement “Speak softly and carry a big stick, and you will go far.” What it meant was that the U.S. would say what was to

happen in South America and use force to back up

what we said if necessary.

What were the 4 underlying causes of World War I?

MilitarismAlliances ImperialismNationalism

What term means pride in your country?

Nationalism.

What term means when a country takes over a weaker

country either economically or politically?

Imperialism. European countries had colonies

throughout Asia and Africa before World War I. There was competition between countries to get more colonies which led

to tension.

What term refers to when a country builds up its military?

Militarism. Remember the RISK example. When one nation

starts building up its army then others rush to do the same

thing.

What is it called when a country has a secret

agreement to help another country if the country gets in

trouble?

Alliances.

What is propaganda?

Propaganda is when somebody spreads ideas to hurt an opposing cause or help a

particular cause. The Germans used propaganda to try and get

Allied soldiers to join the Central Powers. The United

States used propaganda to get people on the home front to support the war. Examples include victory gardens and

Meatless Tuesdays.

Why were programs such as

-“Victory Gardens” -“Wheatless Mondays” -”Meatless Tuesdays”

heard in the United States during the war?

There was a shortage of food in Europe. Many farmers were

serving in the war. Much of the farmland had been destroyed during the war so not enough

food was being produced.

What were the Fourteen Points?

Wilson’s plan for peace after the war. The goal was to

prevent international problems from starting another war.

What was the League of Nations?

Wilson called for a general association of nations whose

goal was to protect the independence of all nations.

The United States Congress did not pass the Treaty of

Versailles so the United States did not join the League of

Nations.

What were the goals for the treaty of Versailles, the treaty

which ended the war?

Wilson wanted to achieve peace. Europe wanted to

punish Germany fo the war. They wanted Germany to pay

reparations. (Pay for the cost of the war.) They wanted

Germany to admit that the war was their fault. They wanted to eliminate Germany’s military.

Germany was not invited to the peace treaty. The Europeans got their way on most points.

What did Americans think of the Treaty of Versailles?

They thought it was too harsh. Because of this, Congress

ejected the treaty and never joined the League of Nations that Wilson helped to create.

Describe Henry Ford’s automobile business.

Henry Ford used the automated assembly line to create the Model T. The automated assembly line allowed Ford to build a car in

93 minutes. The price of Model T’s dropped from $850 to $290 dollars. The

cars were black and boring but the average person could afford one. The ripple effect

of the car industry was that 4 million people worked in jobs related to the

industry. Roads were paved, restaurants and gas stations sprouted up and hotels

dotted the landscape. Cars allowed people to live in the suburbs and work in the city.

What was happening to the stock market in the 1920’s?

It was going up like crazy. People saw prices rising and did whatever they could

to take advantage of the bull market (prices going up). They bought stocks on margin which was when a person paid a certain percentage of the stock and then

borrowed the money to buy the rest. If the price of the stock went up people were able

to get rich. This is what was happening. People put all their savings into the stock

market. If the price of the stock went down, the people who bought on margin

would be in serious trouble.

What was prohibition?

Prohibition was due to the 18th Amendment. This made the making and

buying of alcohol illegal. People broke this law like crazy. Bootleggers made or

smuggled alcohol in from other countries. Speakeasies, or illegal bars, sprang up

everywhere. Organized crime developed to control the illegal trade in alcohol.

Government officials and police officers were bribed so that they wouldn’t raid

speakeasies. The “noble experiment” was a failure and prohibition was repealed with

the 21st Amendment.

What did the 19th Amendment do?

It allowed women to vote.

What was the Harlem Renaissance?

Harlem, in New York City, was a center of African American culture and pride. Jazz was huge here. Langston Hughes wrote

poems denouncing violence toward African Americans. The Harlem Renaissance was a

rebirth in African culture.

What was the Sacco and Vanzetti trial?

Sacco and Vanzetti were immigrants and anarchists. They were brought to trial for murder and robbery. They were convicted and killed although it was more likely that they were killed for being anarchists and

immigrants than for committing the crimes. The judge trying the case was openly

biased against them.

What was the Scopes Trial?

John Scopes was a science teacher in Chicago. He taught Darwin’s theory of

evolution. This was against the law. He was convicted. This trial attracted the best legal minds (Williams Jennings Bryant was

the prosecuting attorney and Clarence Darrow was the defense attorney) and also

the attention of the country.

What was the Ku Klux Klan?

The KKK was started after the Civil War to terrorize African Americans. Hatred toward immigrants led the group to gain strength

in the 1920’s. Now Catholics, Jews and immigrants as well as African Americans were targeted. They used hangings and other means to terrorize. The KKK was able to gain political influence in many

states.