Current Events Summary 5

African leaders have met with European leaders in France to discuss the controversial issue of trade. Many fruit farmers have farms in Ghana, where 20 tons of fruits for the salads of European customers would be shipped daily. Some countries have signed up, but others are reluctant to sign up. The conditions for shipping perishable goods aren't so great, for one: electricity in Ghana is not a guaranteed thing, the roads are bad, and the fuel for airplanes is not always available. The current trade agreement that European countries have with others (involving tariff-free shipping) has been declared illegal by the World Trade organization, so Europe is pushing a new agreement, called the Economic Partnership Agreement. This would allow Ghana to still ship their products tariff-free, but European goods would get in tariff-free as well, which many people think would hurt local sellers in Ghana. "What the Europeans are putting in place is aimed more or less at undermining the attempt by African economies to move away from the dependence on exporting raw materials towards industrial processing," says Tetteh Homeku of the research and advocacy group Third World Network. Many countries are reluctant to sign up, and the negotiations continue. (bbcnews.com)

Egypt is hosting a fresh round of Darfur talks. Mediators from the UN and the African Union are meeting representatives from Egypt, Chad, Libya, and Eritria, whom they want to have a defined role in finding a solution to the violence. There have been some problems gaining cooperation, though. Important Darfur rebel groups did not show up to talks last month, and the countries surrounding Sudan want a say in the result of the talks. A plan to make a 26,000 troop UN-UA force to get the violence under control has been discussed, but the plans are falling behind schedule. About 9,000 troops will be deployed by January first. (bbc.news.com)

Algeria and France have signed contracts during French President Nicolas Sarkozy's stay in Algeria. France and Algeria have had a history of not getting along terribly well because of France's habit of colonizing, and the visit was overshadowed by tension. However, Sarkozy said colonial rule had been "profoundly unjust", but ignored the calls of Algerians for an apology from France. Algeria's Foreign Minister Noureddine Yazid Zerhouni called this "a step in the right direction".The deals in the contracts involve the trade of oil, gas, and nuclear energy products. (bbcnews.com)

Six French charity workers from the group Zoe's Ark are on trial for the kidnapping of 103 children in Chad. The accused have claimed that the parents of the children whom they brought to france had signed a contract saying that this was alright, but the parents deny this, and the Chadian and French governments deny having any knowledge of the program. Most of the children who were being brought with the workers have at least one parent or legal guardian, and although they were uninjured, they were wrapped in bandages and caked in fake blood (quite fishy, if you ask me). The trials have been very high security due to the anti-French riots that have broken out in Chad. The workers are on a hunger strike and have accused the French government of abandoning them. If they are convicted, they may be allowed to serve their sentences in France. (bbcnews.com)

Chapter 23 Section 5 Critical Thinking #4

4. How successful do you think Franklin Roosevelt was as a president?

I think that FDR was a successful president. Not everything that he did succeeded, but he really tried very hard to do everything that could work, and he put the country on the path to getting itself out of the Depression. His policies covered a wide range of issues: the economy, workers rights, banking and finance, and the environment. Many of his New Deal measures still exist today, such as Social Security, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the National Labor Relations Board (created under the Wagner Act). Today these help keep the nation reassured that there will not be another great depression. The conditions of living for million of Americans were improved by FDR's New Deal programs, and it gave them hope that life in America might not be so miserable in the future, which was key to getting the nation back to normal.

Chapter 23 Section 5 Critical thinking #3

3. Some critics have charged that the New Deal was anti-business and anti-free enterprise. Explain why you agree or disagree with this charge.
-the expanded power of the federal government
-the New Deal's effect on the economy
-the New Deal's effect on the American people

I disagree with this. The basic goal of the New Deal was to get the economy back to normal and pull the country out of the depression. If it had been anti-business or anti-free enterprise, it couldn't have achieved this. Although the role of the government in the economy was expanded during this time period, it didn't do anything to hurt businesses or free enterprise. I think it was simply easier and more effective for the government to create a bunch of new jobs rather than helping individual businesses. The New Deal put millions of dollars into the economy, and gave jobs to millions of men and women, which I think would hardly hurt businesses.

Chapter 23 Section 2 Critical Thinking #3

3. Why might the Social Security Act be considered the most important achievement of the New Deal?

The Social Security Act could be considered one of the most important achievements of the New Deal because of how it helped and still helps (sort of) many Americans and gave aid to people who couldn't work. The three major parts of the act were the old-age insurance for retirees 65 and older, the unemployment compensation system and the aid to families with dependent children and the disabled. The old-age insurance was a retirement plan in which half of the funds came from the employer and the other half from the worker, and helped make many people's retirements comfortable. The unemployment compensation program gave aid to people who had a good record of employment and were having trouble finding jobs. The aid program for families with dependent children and disabled members gave money to families who were having trouble supporting their children or members who couldn't work. This Act was a big achievement for one because it helped a large number of people in different situations. Groups such as the retired, unemployed, and families needed help badly during the thirties; they weren't able to support a comfortable lifestyle for their children or themselves, and at the time there wasn't much help available to these groups. The Act helped Americans who fell into these groups pull through the Great Depression, and is still in use today.

Chapter 23 Section 1 Critical Thinking #3

3. Of the New Deal programs discussed in this section, which do you consider most important?
-the type of assistance offered by each program
-the scope of each program
-the impact of each program


I think that the most important New Deal program was the Civilian Conservation Corps. This program gave jobs to millions of men and helped get the country back on its feet. The Corps put men from the ages of 18 to 25 to work planting trees, developing parks, building roads, and helping with soil-erosion and flood-control projects, and paid a small wage of $30 per month, $25 of which went to the men's families. The CCC focused on reforestation to avoid another Dust Bowl, and by the end of it in 1942, 3 million men had been through it and 200 million trees were planted. There could have been measures to make the CCC more effective, such as making the age group of employees larger, but it did something very important, which was creating jobs. Many of the efforts of the administration were directed towards stabilizing the stock market and getting people to trust the banks again, but so many people didn't have enough money for it to be worth starting a bank account or investing, so the CCC helped to fix this.

Chapter 22 Section 3 Critical Thinking #3

3) How did Hoover's belief in "rugged individualism" shape his policies during the Great Depression?
-what his belief implies about his view of people
-how that translates into the role of government
-Hoover's policies

Hoover's political philosophy was that the government should play a limited role in helping to solve problems. People needed to cooperate in order to pull through hard times, and the government was to encourage cooperation, but not to force it. This and his belief in "rugged individualism", the belief that people should succeed through their own efforts lead him to not take immediate action. Due to this, Hoover wasn't supportive of welfare programs, or relief programs, thinking that it would weaken people's moral fiber. Although people wanted the government to help them, Hoover's first action was to say that people and local charities should help out the needy. After the crash of the stock market, Hoover had a meeting with business leaders and asked them not to lay employees off or cut wages, and asked labor leaders not to strike or ask for higher wages. Hoover also started a charity to collect money for the poor, but none of these actions had much of an effect, and a year later the economy was growing smaller. Shantytowns, soup kitchens and unemployment were becoming much more common (page 685). Although his view of people was that they could cooperate to make things better with minimal help from the government, clearly it was beyond them to fix the economy. Though Hoover did not take drastic action, he authorized the building of the Hoover Dam, which helped the agricultural economy of California because it provided irrigation and jobs. But by 1930, the country was still in the depression, and people started to call shantytown "Hoovervilles", and newpapers for blankets "Hooverblankets", etc. Hoover still refused to support welfare or direct relief programs, and went for the whole "cooperation with a little help from the government will make everything just dandy" approach. He supported the creation of the federal farm Board, which raised crop prices, and established the National Credit Corporation, which loaned money to small banks to help them avoid going bankrupt. When it became clear that these weren't turning the economy around and with the next presidential election approaching, Hoover tried in earnest to pass legislation that would help the country and boost his popularity, supporting the Federal Home Loan Bank Act (lowered mortgages), and supported the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, which gave $2 billion in emergency financing for large businesses, banks, and insurance companies. Altogether, Hoover's belief that people could pull through without help from the gov't. doomed the nation to even more years of severe economic depression, and they shaped his policies so that the goverment gave minimal help to suffering Americans.

Chapter 22 Section 2 Critical Thinking #3

3) How was what happened to men during the Great Depression different from what happened to women and children?
-each group's role in their families
- the changes each group had to make
what help was available to them

Men had traditionally been the person who supported the family and worked, and many men had a hard time adjusting to the common unemployment of the 30s. Many men were very discouraged by wandering the streets begging for a job, and some abandoned their families after they weren't able to provide in any way. Many also became hobos, and would travel from city to city and go to homeless shelters, begging and waiting in food lines. Some city charities did have direct relief programs, but none were enough to support a family; the highest was $2.39 for each family, in New York City (page 681).
Women had to become more involved with tasks such as sewing clothes, canning food and managing household budgets. These weren't hugely different from women's traditional roles in the households, but in the prosperity of the '20s, tasks such as sewing and canning and worrying about budgets probably weren't a very big issue. Although women had started to work outside of the home in the late 1800s, many more had to start working and were payed less than men, and as the years of economic depression, many people began to resent women with jobs, particularly married women. People were angry that women would have jobs while men were wandering the streets unemployed, and some places would not hire married women. But in contrast to the men who were begging and going to shelters, many women were too embarrassed to admit that they were starving or homeless (pages 681-682).
Children during the depression suffered from malnutrition when families could not afford decent food. At the same time as many children were seeking help for malnutrition and rickets, cities cut their child-welfare programs in order to cut their budgets. Many schools were closed or the years shortened by school boards because of the lack of money, and about 2,600 schools were closed by 1933, and about 300,000 students were out of school. Many children had to get jobs to support their families instead of going to school, and would work in sweatshops. Teenagers would travel the country in freight trains, looking for employment and an escape from the depressing environment of cities (page 682).

Chapter 22 Section 1 Critical thinking #4

4) Judging from the events of the late 1920s and early 1930s, how important do you think public confidence is to the health of the stock market?
-What happened when overconfidence in the stock market led people to speculate and buy on margin
-how confidence affects consumer borrowing

I think that the public confidence in the stock market is very important in its success and good for it, but not good for the nation always. In the 1920s, the phenomenon of buying on credit made it seem that people were much wealthier than they really were, and the economy was booming after World War I. People who had the money started investing in stocks; stock prices had been rising steadily, and many Americans hurried to invest in stocks and bonds as the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 300 points higher than it had been 5 years ago (it was at 318 points, a record), and it seemed that it would be a good idea to invest. Although some economists in 1929 warned that there were weaknesses in the stock market, many Americans continued to do this due to their huge confidence in the economic health of the U.S. However, since people were so confident in this, they started speculating and buying on margin (when people would invest in stocks and bonds in the hope of getting rich quick while ignoring the risks, and paying a small percentage of a stock's price and loaning the rest). Investors could easily get money, so uninhibited buying and selling caused the market to grow more and more successful. This confidence was obviously great for the market, but bad for the nation: in 1929, stock prices fell, and many investors sold their stocks as quickly as possible, their confidence in the market shaken. In October, though, the prices fell much more, which resulted in panic (pages 672-673). On Black Tuesday, October 29th, the bottom fell out of the market, and investors and shareholders desparately tried to sell their stocks before prices were lowered further, and 16.4 million shares were dumped. People who had bought stocks on credit were now in huge debts and had no way of repaying their loans, and many people lost their savings (page 674). When people freaked out after the stock market crashed, they flocked to banks to withdraw their savings. However, the banks had much of the money invested in the stock market, and when everybody came in at once to get their money out, the banks couldn't repay many of them. Because the government didn't insure of protect accounts, millions lost their savings. By 1933, 11,000 of the U.S.'s banks had closed out of 25,000 (page 675). If people hadn't had such great confidence in the market, it wouldn't have done so well as it did before the crash, but after the crash, people's confidence in the nation's economic health hurt it. If people hadn't been so sure that everything would go well, they wouldn't have taken out loans to buy stocks and bonds, or engaged in speculation and buying on margin. Altogether, the nation was hurt by the people's lack of reservation and obstinate belief that nothing would go wrong.

Current Events Summary

North Africa News:

In Sudan they have recently dismissed the head of UN humanitarian operations, Wael al-Haj Ibrahim, and are now standing by their decision, despite the fact that it puts millions of people in danger of not being able to get help, which the UN obviously does not favor. The Justice Minister Mohamed Ali al-Mardi has said that the government had no choice, since Ibrahim was discouraging displaced villagers from Darfur not to return to their villages, and telling people who returned to their villages that they should go back to the camps set up for them, despite the fact that the government was saying the exact opposite thing and he was warned not to tell the villagers that. "State authorities were left with no other alternative but to take that decision so as to preserve the independence of Sudan," said al-Mardi. This is another thing adding to the tension between humanitarian groups and Darfur authorities. Ibramhim as well as other humanitarian groups have objected to the way that refugees have been dealt with: for example, last month UN officials saw troops and police rounding up about 1,000 refugees at gunpoint. They were reportedly dumped on the outskirts of a city and went to live with relatives and friends. The forced relocation does not sit well with many groups, but the Sudanese government insists that they are not forcing anyone to relocate, and that camps have become too crowded and dangerous. (BBCnews.com)
Sudan blamed countries such as Chad that allow Darfur rebels to work in their territory for not persuading the groups to attend peace talks last month. "We really think that the countries that are hosting these insurgents are not playing their required role to the full to push them to attend the conference," Sudanese Defence Minister Abdel Rahim Hussein told a news conference in Dubai. (worldnews.com)
In Chad there was a recent violent Anti-French protest among several thousand students. Cars belonging to white diplomats were attacked, and the crowd was dispersed with tear gas. The demonstrators were demanding that 6 French aid workers who were charged with the kidnapping of children be tried in Chad. it was originally supposed to be a peaceful protest, but it got out of hand, and ended in the protesters overtaking the capital city, N'Djamena, rioting in the streets and converging at the French embassy. The workers said that they thought they were rescuing Darfur war orphans, but the parents of the 103 children flown to France have said that they did not give permission for the children to be flown out of the country and were promised that the children would be locally educated. However, a Chadian judge refused a request by defense lawyers asking for the release pending the trial of the six French and three Chadians still held, and if the workers are found guilty they could face several years of hard labor in a Chadian prison. (bbcnews.com)
Separatist rebels in Ethiopia have supposedly bombed villages in Ogaden, resulting in many casualties. Helicopter gunships have been used to attack remote villiages, and about 1,500 refugees from Ogaden have crossed the border into Kenya to escape from the attacks.In April, rebels attacked a Chinese oil exploration unit killing 74 people, and ever since then the region has been under attack. International aid groups have been expelled from the region, so outside affirmation of the attacks will be hard to get, but there is some information: More than 500 families "reached different parts of Kenya's massive Dadaab camps in October and many gave similar accounts of a sustained campaign of rape and brutality, with men hanged from trees". Ethipia has dismissed this as rebel propaganda. (bbcnews.com)
The president of Egypt has unveiled plans for the building of many nuclear power stations in order to generate electricity. Hosni Mubarak, the president has decided to go with the plan because he believes that it is crucial to Egypt's development. The U.S. has offered its cooperation with the program, saying that there were "no comparison between peaceful use of nuclear technology by Egypt and Iran's controversial nuclear program". (bbcnews.com)
Four people in Gaza have been killed by an Israeli attack on a police station in Hamas-run in the city Khan-Younis. The Israeli government issued a statement saying that it had targeted a rocket crew position in the southern regions of Gaza, andsaid that it attacked "in response to rocket and mortar attacks... on localities in southern Israel". This came after the Defense Minister Ehud Barak warned a "broad operation" was going to happen in Gaza: "Every passing day brings us closer to a broad operation in Gaza... We are not looking forward to it, we would be happy if circumstances prevented it". Earlier an Israeli missile had hit a house in northern Gaza, injuring two children, although the government said that it had misfired and and was intended to hit a Gaza rocked squad. Many of these strikes have been in retaliation to rocket attacks by Palestinian militants, and is now considering curbing power supplies it sends to Gaza, and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called the plans "unacceptable and punitive". (bbcnews.com)
Nigeria has announced that it won't host the U.S.'s military command, which "takes Africa's most-populous nation and a top source of American oil imports out of contention". Nigeria has criticized the U.S.'s Africa-wide military command. Nigeria is also against the U.S. basing its headquarters in West Africa. Several countries have expressed concern over the idea of the U.S. exapnding its influence on the continent, although the U.S. claims that it "aims to better protect America's strategic interest in Africa and assist African countries with military training and conflict prevention". (msnbc.com)

Chapter 20 Critical Thinking #3

I do believe that the U.S.'s fear of radicals was justified, but some of it was simply overreaction, with harmful results for the country. The Bolsheviks were a very small number of people in a very large country, but somehow they managed to overthrow the government of Russia and establish communism as Russia's (or the Soviet Union's) system of government. The leaders of the Soviet Union wanted to spread communist revolution to the world and to abolish capitalism, the U.S.'s system of government. Soon afterwards, the U.S. communist party was established with 70,000 members, and people feared that these people, though relatively small, would overthrow the U.S.governemnt like what happened in Russia. Bombs were mailed to U.S. government officials, fueling the panic. These are all legitimate reasons for concern, but some reactions were harmful to the country and over-the-top. The popularity of the KKK surged, with 4.5 million members in the mid-twenties, and anti-immigrants sentiment went way up, as seen with the passing of the Emergency Quota Act of 1920, which limited the number of immigrants coming in from Europe hugely. The Palmer Raids, another result of the the fear of communism, trampled people's civil rights. There was cause for fear, but the overreactions of the country were damaging to its reputation with European countries from which immigrants were discriminated against.

Chapter 19-4 Critical Thinking #3 & 5

3)

The Treaty of Versailles didn't lay the foundation for a lasting peace because of its poor treatment of other countries involved in the war. Germany was humiliated by the terms of the treaty, and was unlikely to be able to meet them: they weren't allowed to maintain an army, made to return the region of Alsace-Lorraine to France, and had to pay $33 billion in reparations to the Allies. The war-guilt clause forced Germany to admit sole responsibility for the war. In addition to this, Germany lost its Pacific colonial possessions, which would have helped them to pay the high reparations bill. The Treaty also made an enemy of Russia. Russia had fought with the Allies for 3 years and suffered higher casualty rates than any party involved in the war, but it was excluded from the talks. As a result, it lost even more land than Germany and, once it became the Soviet Union, was determined to regain the territory. The treaty also ignored the pleas of colonies in the Pacific that wanted to be self-governing.


5)

I think that Germany's reaction to the Treaty of Versailles would be outrage and rebellion. Germany was humiliated by the treaty, and although Germany's militarism played a large role in the escalation of the war, it certainly wasn't the only country responsible. Having all the blame dumped on them would make the Germans angrier at the Allies, even more so than before. Furthermore, the huge reparations fee of $33 billion was impossible for Germany to pay after an exhausting 4 year war and after their Pacific colonies had been taken away. They had really no way to get the money, and the country would probably be destitute if it tried to pay the reparation fee. Many of the citizens would be without money if the German government organized a tax, and the government was probably too much of a mess to be able to do that anyways. Many Germans were also now under the rule of Poland, whereas before the war many Poles were under the rule of Germany, something that they likely didn't enjoy. Germany also had to return hard-won territory to France that many soldiers had died to get. All of these factors together would, I think, result in anger at the Allies that Germany would do nearly anything to vent, and could not be healed by time, but only war. The treatment of Germany cleared the way to World War II, with the writings of Hitler so in agreement with the country's mindset at the time. These mistakes in the making of the Treaty would lead to the second World War when Germany would finally get its revenge.

Chapter 19 Section 3 Critical Thinking # 3 & 5

3) How did the war affect government power?
-how much control the president gained over the economy
-the Espionage and Sedition Acts

The war greatly expanded the powers of the government. A good example of this is the passing of the Espionage and Sedition Acts. These acts declared that a person could be fined up to $10,000 and given 20 years in prison for interfering with the war effort or saying anything disloyal to the government or the war effort. These acts pretty much negated the first Amendment, and their passage lead to over 2,000 prosecutions, half of which became convictions. Free speech was severely limited: Anti-war newspapers and magazines lost their mailing privileges, and Victor Berger was not allowed in the House of representatives for his anti-war views. Many other things like this occurred that would not have been legal in a regular time.
The president's influence over the economy was more proof that the govt.'s powers were greatly expanded in wartime.Congress gave President Wilson direct control over most of the economy. He was able to regulate war related industries and fix prices. President Hoover set a high price on wheat and other important food items to encourage conservation. The ridiculous amount of power given to the president during this time shows that there was far too much power given to the government in wartime. Under regular circumstances, it would be considered unconstitutional for the president to have so much power over the economy.

5) Do you think that the war had a positive or negative effect on American society?
-how the propaganda campaign influenced people's behavior
-the new job opportunities for African Americans and women
-how the government controlled industry

I think that some aspects of the war had a negative influence on American society while others had a positive effect.
The new job opportunities for women and African Americans were a positive result; many doors were opened. African Americans were given job opportunities in steel mills, stockyards and munitions plants, and women were allowed to move into jobs that had once been only men. Women started working as bricklayers, dockworkers, cooks , and railroad workers, and many more started working in traditional women's jobs, such as being schoolteachers, nurses and clerks. The help from women during the war increased public support for woman suffrage, and in 1919 the 19th Amendment was passed by Congress, giving women the right to vote. However, even these improvements had negative consequences. The migration of African Americans from the South to Northern cities caused overcrowding and racial tension.
The public reaction to the propaganda campaign was definitely negative. although it increased patriotism, it created hatred and discrimination by Americans of those who were of German descent and had emigrated from Germany and Austria-Hungary (mainly). People with German names lost their jobs, and orchestras refused to play works by composers such as Mozart and Bach, as well as other composers from the Germany/Austria-Hungary area. Schools stopped teaching German, libraries removed books from their shelves that were authored by Germans, and towns with German names changed them. There was even violence, such as the tar-and-feathering of Germans, flogging and even lynching. Foods and other things with the word "German" in them were changed to say "liberty" in the place of "German" (example: "German measles" became "liberty measles", which I find rather funny).
The governemnt control of the economu, though a violation to the Bill of Rights, did not have bad consequences. Movements from the gvoernemnt, such as President Hoover raising the price of wheat and other food staples, caused farmers to put an extra 40 million acres of land to use, resulting in an increase in their income of about 30%.

Chapter 19 Section 2 Critical Thinking #3

3. In what ways did WWI represent a frightening new kind of warfare?
-the casualty figures
-new military technology
-shell shock

WWI represented a frightening new kind of warfare because of how different it was from any other war that had ever been fought. In the history of warfare, there had never been a war with consequences so disastrous. Before WWI, war was considered honorable. But the introduction of new weapons killed soldiers by the thousands, whereas in previous wars, the deadliest weapon was probably the cannon. Machine guns, tanks, and chemical warfare killed soldiers at an unprecedented rate. "Shell shock" was a problem as well, which was a complete mental collapse which many did not recover from. It was the first war that soldiers had suffered both mentally and physically on a large scale. The death toll was also something totally new; even the bloodiest wars in history didn't come anywhere close. 22 million people died, about half of them civilians, 20 million people wounded, and 10 million lost their homes and became refugees.

Chapter 19-1 Critical Thinking # 4 & 5

4) Why were America's ties with the Allies stronger than its ties with the Central Powers?

For one, the Allies got the Americans' pity when Germany went through Belgium, attacking citizens, destroying villages, hospitals, libraries and Cathedrals. More importantly, though, were America's economic ties to the Allies, which were much stronger than America's economic ties with the Triple Alliance. America's trade with Britain and France was more than double its trade with Germany before the war, and this became even more true when the war started and the Allies came to America to buy supplies. The U.S. shipped millions of dollars of dynamite, cannon powder, copper wire, tubing, and armored cars to the Allies, and more requests continued to come until it it caused a labor shortage in 1915. In addition to this, many Americans felt closer to Britain due to common ancestry and language, as well as similar systems of government and legal systems.


5) Why do you think Germany escalated its U-Boat attacks in 1917?
-Germany's military buildup
-the effects of the British blockade
-Germany's reason for using submarine warfare

I think that Germany escalated its U-Boat attacks because the country was suffering in the war and it was the most effective and easy way for them to retaliate. Britain's blockade, for example, kept weapons, military supplies, and most importantly, food from getting into Germany, as well as blocking neutral ports and the entire North Sea. This made it very difficult for Germany to import food and crop fertilizers, and as a result there was famine by 1917 and about 750,000 Germans died of starvation. Germany was desperate for a way to retaliate against Britain, and U-Boat attacks were one of the few ways it could make an impression upon the country, and actually hurt the British.
I think that Germany used submarine warfare because soldiers had become rather useless with trench warfare, fighting for yards of land and with thousands dying just to gain a few miles of land. Submarines were difficult to detect, and made it easy for Germany penetrate into Britain's waters in order to fire upon any British of Allied ship. The threat against non-military ships also had the potential to keep merchant ships from trading with Britain, as they did not want to be fired upon just for being in British waters, as well as making it difficult for Britain to export.
Germany's military buildup was also a factor in their use of U-Boat attacks. For 3 years, Germany was locked in trench warfare with Allied soldiers, in which all that could be done was for soldiers to make a charge at enemy lines every now and then only to be mowed down by machine guns, in hopes of gaining a few yards of land. Soldiers on land were not accomplishing much; in 5 months of trench warfare, 1.2 million men were killed and only about 7 miles of ground changed hands. It appears that Britain and the Allies did not have a good way to combat the submarine warfare, and it was also a good way to fight navy ships.

Chapter 18 Section 4 Critical Thinking # 3 & 4

3) What do you think were the similarities and differences between Roosevelt's Big Stick and Wilson's missionary diplomacy?
-the goal of each of these foreign policies
-how the policies defined the role of U.S. intervention in international affairs
-how the policies were applied

Roosevelt's Big Stick was based on the African saying "speak softly and carry a big stick". Roosevelt's Corollary was an addition to the Monroe Doctrine, which basically told Europe to stay out of the Western Hemisphere. The corollary said that the U.S. would "now use force to protect its economic interests in Latin America" (page 568). It goal was to keep things going well in Latin America as long as it benefited the U.S. Wilson's missionary diplomacy said that the United States had a moral responsibility to deny recognition to any Latin American government it viewed as oppressive, undemocratic, or hostile to U.S. interests" (page 569). They were similar in that they both sought to keep things going well in Latin America, but while Roosevelt's corollary was enacted for the benefit of the U.S. and the U.S. only, while Wilson's missionary diplomacy made Roosevelt's Corollary more moral. It helped Latin America, and not just in cases that would help the U.S.
These defined the roll of U.S. intervention in foreign affairs because they showed why the U.S. was interested in helping . Under Roosevelt's Corollary, the role of U.S. intervention was only to fix problems that threatened the U.S., as well as giving an excuse to keep foreign powers out of Latin America. But when Wilson's missionary diplomacy came about, it completely changed America's role in foreign intervention. Though part of the diplomacy was concerned with anything hostile to American interests, it was mostly about ridding countries of oppressive governments, and so the U.S. became a protector of the citizens of undemocratic countries (if they wanted the U.S.'s help or not) (pages 568-569).
The policies were similar in the way there were applied: with the help of military/police power, and with a similar takeover of the offending government. Na example of the Roosevelt Corollary in use was when the U.S. intervened in a 1911 rebellion in Nicaragua. The country was near bankruptcy, and so American banks loaned money to Nicaragua so it could pay its debts. American bankers then collected the Nicaraguan customs duties, as well as control of Nicaragua's railroad system and national bank. When Nicaraguans hear do this and revolted against the government, about 2,000 marines were sent to Nicaragua, and some troops stayed until 1933. AN example of Wilson's missionary diplomacy in action was the intervention in Mexico at the time of the Mexican revolution. Wilson refused to recognise the new government because it came about violently. At the first excuse they were given, the U.S. invaded Mexico and occupied Veracruz, killing 200 Mexicans (pages 568-569).


4) In your opinion, should the United States have become involved in the affairs of Columbia, Nicaragua, and Mexico during the early 1900s?
Think about:
-the effect of Roosevelt's Corollary
-the results of dollar diplomacy
-the implication of Wilson's missionary diplomacy

i think that America should have stayed out of the business of the foreign countries. It nearly caused a war between Mexico and the U.S., caused us to have marines staying in Nicaragua for more than 20 years, made us constantly at odds with European powers trying to get into Latin America. Finally, the implications of Wilson's missionary diplomacy meant that every time there was a country with an undemocratic government, we have to go and rescue them, risking war and many fatalities. As seen in the Nicaraguan rebellion in 1911, the U.S. had to loan money to the banks, and when it tried to collect the money owed, it sparked another revolution. As a result, the U.S. had to send 2,000 marines to go keep the peace in this foreign country that isn't really our responsibility to be taking care of, and some U.S. men had to stay for more than 20 years. The dollar diplomacy meant that we would be constantly at odds with any European power that tried to do anything in Latin America, and it divided the country. Wilson's missionary diplomacy almost caused a war when we had to follow through with it. The biggest problem was not the war that almost happened, though, but the promise it made for as long as the U.S. should exist, that every time a country is in trouble (specifically from its oppressive or undemocratic leaders) we have to be the heroes and go off and save them. this is a lot of trouble to go to for a country that isn't ours, and it has the potential to cause a war. The U.S. was better off staying out of the business of foreign countries.

Chapter 18 Section 3 Crtical Thinking # 3 & 4

3) How did American rule of Puerto Rico harm Puerto Ricans? How did it help Puerto Ricans? Do you think the benefits outweighed the harmful effects? Why or why not?

The Puerto Ricans suffered under American rule because they were oppressed. Under the Foraker Act, military rule was traded for a civil government, but the Puerto Ricans could only elect the members of the lower house of the legislature. The U.S. president had the right to chose the governor and members of the upper house of the government. In 1901, the Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution did not apply automatically to citizens of acquired territories. However, the benefits outweighed the harmful effects. The Supreme Court granted Puerto Ricans citizenship in 1917, and gave them the right to elect members of both houses of their legislature. Although many Puerto Ricans wanted independence, they still received help from the U.S. When Puerto Rico was under military control, it was, as General Nelson A. Miles said, to "bring you protection, not only to yourselves but to your property, to promote prosperity, and to bestow upon you the immunities and blessings of the liberal institutions of our government" (p. 559). For the most part, Puerto Ricans were protected by the U.S., and were much better off than they were under the rule of Spain.

4) How was U.S. policy toward China different from the U.S. policy toward the Phillipines? To what can you attribute the difference?

The U.S. policy toward China war different from the Philippines in how they dealt with rebellion. The U.S. shared China with other imperialist countries, and China did not actually belong to the U.S. as the Philippines did, so they dealt with them differently. When the Filipinos rebelled against America, Americans put them in barbed-wire concentration camps where thousands died as a result of disease, starvation and bad sanitation. When the Chinese rebelled in the Boxer Rebellion, the U.S. and the other countries with claims in China sent soldiers, who killed thousands in 2 months, crushing the rebellion. The Philippine-American War, however took nearly 3 years.

Chapter 18 Section 3 Guided Reading

1) What was its relationship to the U.S.?
a. Puerto Rico: Very similar to a colony or a protectorate
b. Cuba: American military provided food and clothing for thousands of families, helped put lands back into cultivation, and organized elementary schools, and helped to eliminate yellow fever. It was an American protectorate
c. The Philippines: The U.S., in response to rebellion from Filipinos who thought that they were to be free, assumed the same role that Spain had played and the U.S. had condemned it for. After a war was fought, it became a protectorate.
d. China: China remained free, but had many parts of it claimed and used by otter countries
The U.S. had a large amount of influence in China.


Why did the U.S. try to control its affairs?
a. Puerto Rico was strategically important to the U.S., for maintaining a U.S. presence in the Caribbean and for protecting the future of the Panama Canal
b. To protect American business that had invested in in the island's sugar, tobacco, and mining industries, as well as in its railroads and public utilities.
c. To provide the U.S. with raw materials and new markets.
d. America didn't want China to be carved into colonies and American traders to be shut out of the business opportunities. They wanted to keep the market open.

What laws and policies affected its relationship with the U.S.?
a. The Foraker Act
b. The Platt Amendment to their constitution
c. The Treaty of Paris
d. The Open Door Notes

What violent events ended its relationship with the U.S.?
a. The Spanish-American War.
b. The United States refused to withdraw its troops from Cuba until it agreed to the Platt Amendment to its constitution. Protesters called for a return to arms in order to reclaim their country from the U.S., but nothing occurred.
c. The Filipinos rose in a revolt after discovering that they would not be given independence by the U.S.. Guerrilla tactics were used, and the U.S. forced Filipinos to live in filthy designated zones where death was caused by poor sanitation, disease and starvation. The U.S. spent 3 years trying to control to Philippines, and 20,000 rebels died fighting.
d. The Boxer Rebellion, in which Chinese martial arts fighters trying to reclaim China killed hundreds of missionaries and other foreigners, and when the rebellion was controlled 2 months later, thousands of Chinese had died fighting.

John Haye's Open Door Notes paved the way for greater U.S. influence in Asia. Note 3 beliefs held by Americans that were reflected by the Open Door policy:
1. Growth of the U.S. economy depended on exports.
2. The U.S. had the right to intervene abraod to keep foreign markets open.
3. The closing of an area to American products, citizens or ideas threatened U.S. survival.

Chapter 18 Section 2 Critical Thinking #3

3) What do you think were the unstated editorial policies of yellow journalism?
- James Creelman's account of Spanish atrocities against Cubans (p. 552)
-Hearst's remark to Remington
-The Journal headline about the explosion of the battleship Maine

I think that the unstated editorial policies of yellow journalism were to over exaggerate and fabricate stories in order to make propaganda that would spawn American sympathy for the Cubans and provoke a response from Americans.
The accounts of the terrible cruelty of General Valeriano Weyler and other Spanish atrocities were greatly fabricated, in order to get a response from the Americans. Although Weyler did do cruel things (such as imprisoning 300,000 Cubans in barbed-wire concentration camps where thousands died), the journalists wrote stories about poisoned wells and how children would be thrown to the sharks that were completely false, and designed to enrage Americans so much that they would be inspired to take action (p. 553). It was pure propaganda, and its purpose was to infuriate its readers.
William Rudolph Hearst , a newspaper tycoon in charge of the New York Journal made a remark to Frederic Remington to draw pictures to go with reporter's stories, that was very revealing about the nature of yellow journalism: When Remington told Hearst that he didn't believe that war between Spain and the U.S. was going to happen, he said "You furnish the pictures and I'll furnish the war" (p. 533). This comment showed his desire to provoke a response from the public and implied that some of the stories may have been "furnished", or changed to make them more effective.
When the battleship U.S.S. Maine exploded in the harbor of Havana, Cuba, the headline of the New York Journal was "The warship Maine was split in two by an enemy's secret infernal machine." Nobody knoew why the ship exploded, at the time, but newspapers, eager for war, immiediately blamed Spain, saying that they were responsible for the death of over 260 men. The Spanish are even labeled as "the enemy" in the headline. In addition to this, Hearst's paper offered a $50,000 dollar reward for the person who captured the Spaniards responsible (p. 554). The newspapers had simply lied about the events in order to start a war. All of the evidence together shows that yellow journalism's policy was that anything that gets a reaction goes into the paper. Any event could be changed completely in a way that would spark retaliation.

Chapter 18 Section 2 Guided Reading

Causes: How did each of these contribute to the outbreak of the Spanish-American War?

1) American business owners-

2) Jose Marti- A Cuban poet and journalist living in New York who started a revolution 1895. He used an active guerrilla campaign and deliberately destroyed properties, primarily of American sugar mills and plantations, organizing Cubans against Spain, in order to provoke American intervention.

3) Valeriano Weyler- Spain sent General Valeriano Weyler to restore order in Cuba. He attempted to stop the rebellion by forcing the whole rural population into concentration camps, where thousand of Cubans died and a total of 300,000 resided. Civilians could not give help to rebels when they were in these camps.

4) Yellow journalism- Yellow journalism is a method of propaganda, which was used by the newspaper tycoons who headed the New York World and the New York Journal. It wildly exaggerated accounts of Weyler's cruelty, with stories of poisoned wells and children thrown to sharks. This lured and enraged readers, as it was supposed to do, and increased American sympathy for the Cuban cause.

5) De Lome letter- The New York Journal printed a letter written by the Spanish minister to the U.S., Enrique Dupuy de Lome. In the letter, he attacked president McKinley, who had been attempting to resolve the conflict with Spain peacefully, seeking to avoid war. He had succeeded in getting Spain to recall Weyler and give Cuba limited self-government. However, in the letter, he called McKinley "weak" and "a bidder for the admiration of the crowd". The Spanish government apologised and the minister stepped down, but Americans were insulted.

6) U.S.S. Maine- Just a few days after the scandal of the de Lome letter, American resentment towards Spain was deepening, and became outrage. The U.S.S. Maine had been sent to Cuba in order to bring American citizens home who were in danger from fighting and to protect American property. The ship blew up in the harbor of Havana, and more 260 men were killed. American newspapers claimed the the Spanish had blown up the ship, which further contributed the the outrage felt by Americans.


Effects: What happened to each of these territories as a result of the Spanish-American War?

7) Cuba: The Rough Riders, a voluntary cavalry with the assistance of American troops, won the battle of San Juan Hill, which was strategically important. 2 days later, the Spanish fleet attempted to escape, and a naval battle ensued. The Spanish fleet was destroyed, and in the treaty of Paris, it was freed and given to the U.S.
8) Puerto Rico: Was given to the U.S. in the Treaty of Paris.
9)Guam: Was given to the U.S. in the Treaty of Paris.
10) Philippine Islands: The Philippine Islands were the first places the Americans went in the war. Commodore George Dewey gave the command to open fire on the Spanish fleet at Manila, the capital of the Philippines, and within hours the U.S. had destroyed every Spanish ship there. As a result of the victory, U.S. troops were able to land in the Philippines, and just months later, Spanish troops in Manila surrendered to the U.S. Were sold to the U.S. for $20 million in the Treaty of Paris.

Chapter 18 Section 1 Critical Thinking # 3 &5

3) Manifest destiny geatly infuenced American policy during the first half of the 19th century. How do you think manifest destiny set the stage for American imperialism at the end of the century?

Manifest destiny was something very influential in the settling of the U.S., and very ingrained into the American culture in the 19th century. One of the 3 reasons for American imperialism starting was the belief in cultural superiority, which is what Manifest Destiny is all about. Manifest Destiny is the belief that God wanted the white man to move West and "civilize" the land (according the white man's ideas of what "civil zed" was). And so Americans, believing that they had God's blessing, went merrily forth in their Christian duty to destroy the culture of everyone else in the United States. By the time that imperialism started becoming an issue, all of North America had been settled and there was no more land left to civilize, but why should they stop at the United States when there was the rest of the world to bring to the feet of God? In the late 19th century, the people of the United States argued that they were responsible for spreading their idea of civilization and Christianity to the 'inferior peoples" of the world. Manifest Destiny set a precedent that was followed in the time of imperialism in the United States.

5)
In the following passage, how does Indiana Sentor Albert J. Beveridge explain the need for the U.S. to acquire new territories?
"Fate has written our policy for us; the trade of the world must and shall be ours...We will establish trading posts throughout the world as distributing points for American products...Great colonies governing themselves, flying our flag and trading with us, will grow about our posts of trade."

Beveridge explains the need for the U.S. to acquire new territories by saying that they are necessary for the trade and distribution of American products. One of the reasons for the start of American imperialism was the need for new markets, and it seems as if he was using this belief for his argument. Imperialists thought that foreign trade would remedy the problem of American over-production and the problems that came with it, such as economic depression and unemployment. The U.S. needed new markets for its surplus manufactured and agricultural goods. Beveridge explains the need for new territories by saying that having trading posts would cause wealthy colonies to spring up in the area, and American products would be sold around the world.

Chapter 18 Section 1 Re-Teaching Activity

1) What is the policy of imperialism?
The policy of imperialism is that stronger nations take control of weaker nations by exerting their political, economic or military strength.

2) What 3 factors fueled the emergence of American imperialism?
The three factors that fueled the emergence of American imperialism were the desire for military strength, the thirst for new markets and a belief in cultural superiority. Americans were already believers in Manifest Destiny, and having conquered all of the U.S., sought to control other countries.

3) Why did many business leaders argue that imperialism was good for the economy?
Many business leaders argued that imperialism was good for the economy because advances in technology made a surplus of goods and food that could not be consumed by U.S. citizens alone. Imperialists saw foreign trade as a way to fix the problem with over-production and the consequent problems such as unemployment and the economic depression.

4) In what way did Alaska turn out to be a good deal for America?
Although many were against the idea of buying Alaska from Russia as William Seward urged (those who opposed called it "Seward's Icebox"), he managed to persuade the House of Representatives to buy it from Russia for $7.2 million. But in 1959, when Alaska became a state, it proved to be rich in natural resources such as timber, minerals and oil, for 2 cents and acre.

5) How did the country respond to the urgings of Alfred T. Mahan and other proponents of bolstering the country's naval forces?
Alfred T. Mahan was an admiral of the U.S. navy. When Americans saw that other countries were building up a "global military presence" (p. 549), leaders told the U.S. that it should start establishing its military strength. At the urging of Mahan, who encouraged the U.S. to build up its naval power, the U.S. built 9 steel-hulled battleships between 1883 and 1890. This turned the U.S. into the third largest naval power in the world.

6) What group became most powerful in Hawaii? Why did they favor U.S. annexation?
The group that became most powerful in Hawaii was the American planters. They favored U.S. annexation because the McKinley Tariff of 1890 "eliminated the duty free status of Hawaiian sugar" (p. 550). In 1875, the U.S. agreed to import Hawaiian sugar without duties, and Hawaiian sugar production increased nine times. The Tariff threatened the livelihood of the planters, and so they wanted to annex Hawaii so they wouldn't have to pay the duty.

Current Events Summary #3

There has been a mixture of good and bad news coming from the Middle East cncerning foreign relations in the past few weeks. As a resolution to an earlier news story, Israel has admitted to carrying out a strike on a Syrian military intallation in September. At the time of the attack, Syria had suspected Israel and accused the country of being responsible for the attack, but Israeli government officials kept quiet, and the military censor disallowed anyone to reveal any information concerning the attack. President Bashir- al Assad said that the strike showed Israel's "visceral antipathy towards peace", and that Syria reserved the right to strike back, although he did not say how; "Retaliate doesn't mean missile for missile and bomb for bomb. We have our means to retaliate, maybe politically, maybe in other ways. But we have the right to retaliate,", said Assad. It is still unknown why Israel attacked Syria and what was attacked (BBC News).
On a happier note, it has been announced that Turkey and Iraq were going to help fight terrorism by "signing a counter-terrorism pact aimed at cracking down on separatist Kurdish rebels who have been attacking Turkey from bases in Iraq" (CNN.com). It was signed by the Interior Ministers of Iraq and Turkey, but it does not satisfy all of Turkey's wishes; it was demanded that Iraq would send troops after Kurdish rebels who are escaping across the border to northern Iraq. "It was not possible to reach a deal on chasing Kurdish rebels, however, we hope this issue will be solved in the future," Besir Atalay, the Interior Minister of Turkey said. "We are expecting this cooperation against terrorism to be broadened as much as possible."
However, later in the month, Turkey was seeking parliamentary approval for a potential cross border strike against Kurdish separatists in Iraq. The Prime Minister has been under pressure to do this from the citizens of Trukey after 15 soldiers were killed by the separatists in a matter of days. The U.S. has warned Turkey that this course of action is not advisable; people in Baghdad and Washington fear that an attack could destabilize northern Iraq (BBC News).
With more unfortunate news concerning Turkey, the country has recently recalled its embassador to the U.S. over a conflict over "congressional efforts to label the World War I era killings of Amenians by Ottoman Turkish forces 'genocide'" (CNN.com). Turkey says that while Amenians were killed, it was not genocide but a "massacre in choatic times". The U.S. was also warned that if the U.S. House Committee of Affairs passed the movement to label the killings genocide, repercussions "won't be pleasant". "If they wanted to bring their ambassador back for consultations or do something else, that is their decision. I certainly think that it will not do anything to limit our efforts to continue to reach out to Turkish officials, to explain our views, to engage them on this issue and again to make clear that we intend to work on this with Congress", said Tom Casey, a State Department spokesman. However, not everyone in the U.S. is concerned over this turn of events; "The Turkish government will not act against the United States because that would be against their own interests,"House Foreign Affairs Chairman Tom Lantos told CNN. "I'm convinced of this". Many people, for many reasons, however, beleive that the U.S. should play it safe on this issue, since we depend on Turkey for so much involving the war in Iraq.

Current Events Summary #2

There have been many developments in foreign relations within the Middle East, including steps towards war as well as steps toward peace. According to the BBC, there has been conflict between Gaza and Israel: the Israeli government had declared Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza, an enemy. Israeli government has considered attacking the Gaza fuel and electricity sources, and Hamas has said that any such action would be considered an act of war.
In Israel, there has been an official decision about the fate of the Africans fleeing to the country (most of them are from Darfur and trying to escape genocide). 498 Darfur refugees who entered the country illegally through Egyp will be allowed to stay in Israel, even though their legal status is iffy. Although Egypt had earlier agreed to help keep refugees from entering Israel illegally through their country, the ammount of people trying to enter illegally has declined since Egypt agreed to allow refugees sent back across the border to live there. It was announced, however, that refugees from other parts of Africa would be expelled along with new arrivals.

Chapter 17 Section 2 Guided Reading

Chapter 17 Section 2 Guided Reading

1) What types of jobs were women in each group likely to have?
Lower Class: Lower class women had to work for wages outside of their homes. Better-paying opportunities became available in cities and towns, and women were given new options for finding jobs. About 25% of American women held jobs in manufacturing at the turn of the century, and about half of women industrial workers were working for clothing manufacturers
Middle and upper class: Middle and upper-class women were wealthy enough to spend their time taking care of their families and homes, and did not have to take outside jobs to keep their families from poverty.
African American: Many African American women were driven into being domestic workers by poverty. Many worked on farms and as domestic workers, and worked in cities as cooks, laundresses, scrubwomen and maids
Immigrant: Unmarried immigrants were often domestic laborers. Married immigrants were often caring for boarders at their homes or taking in piecework. Many immigrants were lower-class, and so they would do the jobs mentioned in the first category in addition to these, such as manufacturing, particularly garments.

2) How did educational opportunities for middle and upper-class women change?

In the late 19th century, women who were politically active had attended new women’s colleges, such as Vassar College, which opened in 1865 and had a faculty of 8 men and 22 women. Other women’s colleges such as Smith and Wellesley started in 1875. Columbia, Brown and Harvard all refused to admit women, but all started separate colleges for women.

3) How did these new opportunities affect the lives of middle and upper-class women?
Women were still expected to “fulfill traditional domestic roles”, women’s colleges also tried to give them good educations to be used to their advantages. By the late 19th century, women could become workers or “seek higher educations” rather than marrying, and nearly half of the college educated women of the century did not marry. A great number of women began to use their educations to work on social reform.

4) What three strategies were adopted by the suffragists to win the vote?
a. Convince state legislatures to grant women the right to vote.
b. Women pursued court cases to test the14th amendment, which said that any state denying their (male) citizens the right to vote would lose its Congressional representation, arguing that women were citizens as well. Susan B. Anthony and other women attempted to vote 150 times in 10 states, to test this.
c. Suffragists pushed for an amendment to the Constitution that would grant women the right to vote.

5) What results did each strategy produce?
a. Women were granted voting rights in Wyoming in 1869, Utah, Colorado, and Idaho, but after 1896, all of their efforts in other states failed.
b. Congress ruled in 1875 that women were citizens, but then denied that being a citizen automatically gave you the right to vote.
c. Elizabeth Cady Stanton managed to have the amendment introduced in California, but it was later killed. Women were unsuccessful for the next 41 years.

Chapter 17 Section 3 Guided Reading

Chapter 17 Section 3 Guided Reading


Problem:
1) 1902 coal strike
2) Trusts
3) Unregulated big business
4) Dangerous foods and medicines
5) Shrinking wilderness and national resources
6) Racial discrimination


What steps did Roosevelt take to solve each problem?
1) When 140,000 coal miners had been on strike for 5 months and coal reserves were running low, Roosevelt invited both sides to the White House to talk things out. Roosevelt threatened to take over the mines, and so mine operators and strikers agreed to let a third party work out their differences
2) Roosevelt started filing suits under the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. He ordered the Justice Department to sue the Northeastern Securities Company, which had a monopoly over the northwestern railroads. Roosevelt filed 44 antitrust suits, winning many and breaking up a good number of trusts.
3) Roosevelt urged Congress to pass the Elkins Act, which would made it illegal for railroad officials to give and shippers to receive rebates for using particular railroads, and specified that railroads could not change rates without notifying the public.
4) Roosevelt appointed a commission of experts to investigate the meatpacking industry, which brought back a report of terrible conditions. Roosevelt encouraged the passage of the Meat Inspection Act. Congress (though it does not say at Roosevelt’s urging) passed the Pure Food and Drug Act, which called for truth in labeling and stopped the sale of contaminated food and medicine.
5) Roosevelt set aside 1.5 million acres of water-power sites, 80 million acres of land to be explored by experts from the Geological Survey for water and mineral sources, and was persuaded by his friend to set aside 148 million acres of forest reserves. He established over 50 wildlife sanctuaries and some national parks as well.
6) Roosevelt appointed an African American as head of the Charleston, South Carolina customhouse, and when people in Mississippi refused top accept the black postmistress, Roosevelt closed the station rather than give in.


What legislation helped solve the problem?
1) No legislation, except for the arbitration commission helped to solve the problem.
2) Roosevelt used the Sherman Anti-Trust Act.
3) The Interstate Commerce Act, which made it illegal for rich railroad owners from fixing high prices by dividing business in a certain area, the Elkins Act, which gave more power to the weak Interstate Commerce commission, and the Hepburn Act, which limited the distribution of free passes for railroads, and gave the ICC the power to set maximum rates.
4) The Meat Inspection Act dictated strict cleanliness requirements and established a federal meat inspection program, and the Pure Food and Drug Act called for truth in labeling.
5) The National Reclamation Act of 1902 was passed, giving money to irrigation projects with money from the sale of public lands.
6)


Square deal- Described the various progressive reforms sponsored by the Roosevelt administration.
NAACP- The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People aimed for full equality amongst the races, and held civil rights meetings. It was a combination of black and white people.
Upton Sinclair- Author of the influential book The Jungle.f
The Jungle- A book that exposed the disgusting conditions of the meatpacking industry and caused the government to intervene, taking measures to promote more clean meat.

Chapter 17 Section 5 Guided Reading

A) What were the aims of each piece of legislation or constitutional amendment?
1. Federal Trade Act- Set up the Federal Trade Commission, which was given the power to investigate possible violations of regulatory statutes, to require periodic reports from corporations and put an end to unfair business practices.
2. Clayton Antitrust Act- This was passed in order to strengthen the Sherman Antitrust Act. It aimed to prohibit corporations from acquiring the stock of another if doing this would create a monopoly, and if a company violated this law, its officers could be prosecuted. It also specified that unions and farm organizations were not included in the act.
3. Underwood Tariff- Or Underwood Act, which substantially reduced tariff rates for the first time since the Civil War
4. Sixteenth Amendment- Legalized the graduated income tax, in which people with higher incomes were taxed more highly than poorer people.
5. Federal Reserve Act- Basically the government loans money to the banks, who loan it to the people.


6. Which three new developments finally brought the success of the women suffrage movement within reach?
The three new developments that brought the success of suffragists within reach were the increased activism of local groups, the use of bold new strategies for the movement, and the rebirth of national movement under Carrie Chapman Catt. Two Massachusetts suffragist groups were formed by college educated women: the Boston Equal Suffrage Association for Good Government and the College Equal Suffrage League. They used door to door campaigns to reach potential supporters. The Boston group spread the word to poor and working-class women. American women used the approaches of suffragists from Britain in their own campaigns. Carrie Chapman Catt took over the leadership of the NAWSA after Susan B. Anthony, and she concentrated on 5 tactics: 1) tedious organization, 2) close ties between local, state and national workers, 3) establishing a wide base of support, 4) cautious lobbying, and 5), gracious, ladylike behavior. The Congressional Union was a more radical organization and the National Women’s Party followed it, and they pressured the govt. for an amendment to the Constitution. The 19th Amendment was passed in 1919, giving women the right to vote.

7. How did Wilson retreat on civil rights?
During his campaign in 1912, he won the support of the white liberals and black intellectuals of the NAACP by promising to treat blacks equally and address lynching. However, once he was in office, he opposed a federal anti lynching legislation saying that it was up to the states to decide upon the issue. And the Capitol and federal law offices in Washington, D.C., which had been desegregated, went back to being segregated after he was elected. His cabinet members were white Southerners who did nothing to help the cause of Civil Rights, and when one of his cabinet members suggested doing away with common drinking fountains and towels, Wilson agreed, because in his mind that was just.

Chapter 17 Section 3 critical Thinking #5

Chapter 17 Section 3 Critical Thinking #5


5) Why did W.E.B. Du Bois oppose Booker T. Washington’s views on racial discrimination?

W.E.B. Du Bois disagreed with Booker T. Washington’s views on racial discrimination because Washington believed that segregation was permissible and that the poverty of the black people was the fault of the black people, and telling them to “accept discrimination” (p. 531). Du Bois wanted immediate social and economic equality for African Americans. What Du Bois wrote of on his opposition to Washington was this:
“So far Mr. Washington preaches Thrift, Patience, and Industrial Training for the masses, we must hold up his hands and strive with him…But so far as Mr. Washington apologizes for injustice, North or South, does not rightly value the privilege and duty of voting, belittles the emasculating effects of caste distinctions, and opposes the higher training and ambition of our brighter minds—so far as he, the South, or the Nation, does this—we must unceasingly and firmly oppose them.” –W.E.B. Du Bois, The Souls of the Black People (p. 531).
Understandably, Du Bois believed that it wasn’t excusable for discrimination and segregation to exist. While Washington seemed to be content with what the people had, Du Bois wanted something better for his race, and pushed for racial equality, which was not an important issue during the Progressive Era.

Chapter 17 Section 5 Critical Thinking #4

Chapter 17 Section 5 Critical Thinking #4


4) Why do you think Wilson failed to push for equality for African Americans, despite his progressive reforms?

-progressive presidents before Wilson
-Wilson’s background
-the primary group of people progressive reforms targeted

Wilson failed to push for equality among African-Americans despite his progressive reforms for many reasons. The progressive presidents before Wilson, Taft and Roosevelt, didn’t set much of a precedent. Both retreated on their promises to make America equal and to help the civil rights cause after they were elected (p.541). Roosevelt did make a little progress; when residents of a town in Mississippi refused to accept a black postmistress, he closed the station rather than give in, and he appointed an African American as the head of a Charleston, N.C., customhouse. However, he also dismissed a whole regiment of African American soldiers accused of harboring others charged with murder in Brownsville, Texas (p. 530). Wilson’s background also didn’t give him incentive to do anything to help the civil rights case. He was from the South, and to him, racism and discrimination were the norm. When he was in office, he would please Southern Democrats and disappoint black and white Northerners. Furthermore, his cabinet was composed entirely of Southerners, who extended segregation (p. 542). There were hardly any people who were pushing for civil rights in the South. Progressive reforms targeted African Americans as supporters, and liberal whites who were uncommon, certainly in the South, and Wilson was not somebody who would be considered as a potential supporter of the movement.

Chapter 17 Section 1 Critical Thinking #4

Chapter 17 Section 1 Critical Thinking #4

The cartoon of Carry Nation and her hatchet shows her in a way that suggests the cartoonist had an unfavorable view of her. The cartoon depicts a sour-faced Nation with her well-used hatched standing in the wreckage of a saloon she has demolished, as customers and a bartender cower in corners. For one, if the cartoon has been meant to show Nation as a hero, it is doubtful that it would have been drawn the way it was. When you look at the cartoon all you see is a bitter old woman who has destroyed the livelihood of the poor man crouching behind the counter; it is so mundane, it almost asks why she even bothered with doing this, and what effect she thought it could possibly have. One would think that if the cartoonist meant for this to be seen as “Carry Nation is doing the right/Christian thing”, there would be perhaps be Christian references, maybe a depiction of her as a religious icon, , or something suggesting that she is a savior. But there is none of that grandeur to it, and all you see is some crazy old woman with her hatchet. There is nothing to suggest that what she is doing is truly significant and would change the country. The way that the men in the background are hiding also makes it seem like she is hurting innocent people, and the state that the saloon is in suggests that maybe she takes too much joy in ruining people’s businesses. Altogether, the picture is not a flattering portrayal of Nation, and the cartoonist doesn’t seem to be very fond of her.

Chapter 17 Section 1 Critical Thinking #3

Chapter 17 Section 1 Critical Thinking #3

3) Why might Illinois, Wisconsin, and Oregon all be considered trailblazers in progressive reform?
-legislative and electoral reforms at state level
-the leadership of William U’Ren and Robert La Follette
-Florence Kelley’s appointment as chief inspector of factories for Illinois


Illinois, Wisconsin and Oregon could all be considered trailblazers in progressive reform because they were the first to listen to citizens of the country and take action to resolve problems and correct injustices when the other states did nothing about these problems.
One important issue that needed to be addressed in the progressive movement was the treatment of workers. Illinois was the first state to pass an act to protect women and children as workers in factories. Florence Kelley was a women’s and children’s rights activist, and assisted in the passage of the Illinois Factory Act of 1893. The act prohibited child labor and limited women’s work hours. Kelley was appointed chief inspector of factories in Illinois after the act was passed. Many groups had tried to help improve the lives of the working class; the YMCA built libraries and sponsored classes, and the Salvation Army organized “slum brigades” that would tell poor immigrants about the importance of temperance and hard work, as well as feeding the poor in soup kitchens and caring for children in nurseries. But Illinois was the first to take action on state/government level, and the act that they passed set a precedent for other states who passed similar laws (p. 513).
Another important issue of the times was separating corporations and big business from the government. These companies had much more influence than they should over what happened in the state governments, and it was not in the best interest of the people. Wisconsin became one of the first states to take action and change this, under the leadership of Robert M. La Follette, the governor. He believed that it was his duty as governor not to “smash corporations, but merely drive them out of politics, and then treat them exactly the same as other people are treated”. La Follette targeted railroad companies in particular , taxing railroad property, setting up a commission to regulate rates, and making it illegal for railroads to give out free passes to government officials. The work of La Follette and other reform governors like James S. Hogg of Texas and Charles B. Aycock of North Carolina helped to change to unfair influence that corporations and big businesses had over the government, and make the people as powerful they were supposed to be (p. 516).
Oregon was a leader in progressive reform because it was the first state to give its citizens the power to make laws, and be in charge of their elected officials instead of it being the other way around. In Oregon, this state reform was started by William S. U’Ren, a citizen. He got the state to start using the secret ballot, the initiative, the referendum and the recall. These gave the people the power to petition to place a bill on a ballot that was made by the people instead of lawmakers, vote on whether to accept or reject it and to get rid of elected public officials before their term was up by making them go through another election if enough voters requested it. These laws became models for other states, and a total of 20 states had adopted at least one of these by 1920 (p. 518).

Chapter 17 Section 1 Guided Reading

Social Reforms:

1) Social welfare reform movement:
- People and groups involved: The YMCA opened libraries, sponsored classes and built swimming pools and handball courts; The Salvation Army fed poor people in soup kitchens, cared for children in nurseries and sent “slum brigades” to help immigrants ho were middle class on the values of temperance and hard work; Florence Kelley was a women’s and children’s rights activist (p. 513).
-Successes (laws, legal decisions, etc.): After she assisted in the passing of the Illinois Factory Act in 1893, which made child labor illegal and limited the working hours for women, Florence Kelley was made the chief inspector of factories in Illinois (p.513).
2) Moral reform movement:
-People and groups involved: The Women’s Christian Temperance Union, formed in Cleveland in 1874, had its members enter saloons, singing, praying and asking the owners to stop selling alcohol. Francis Willard changed the group from being a small religious group to being a national organization. As well as temperance addressing temperance issues, the WCTU opened kindergartens for immigrants, visited the inmates of asylums and prisons, and worked for suffrage. They were also involved in the settlement house movement (pgs.513-514). The Anti-Saloon League was founded in 1895, trying to close saloons and thus fix the problems of society. But this caused problems between the group and the immigrants whose customs involved drinking alcohol, as well as providing meals and cashing paychecks (p. 514).
-Successes (laws, legal decisions, etc.): The reform activities of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union expanded roles in public for women, which they also used to justify giving voting rights to women (p. 513).
3) Economic reform movement:
People and groups involved: The American Socialist Party was started in 1901with the help of Eugene V. Debs. This was a result of many Americans questioning the economic system of the United States, capitalism, causing many Americans, particularly laborers, to embrace socialism. Journalists who wrote about how corrupt the businesses and public life of the times were called muckrakers. They succeeded in bringing light to the cutthroat tactics of business owners such as John Rockefeller (p. 514).
-Successes (laws, legal decisions, etc.): A new political party was started for people who wished to make a change in the direction that the relationship between business and government were going (p. 514).
4) Movement for industrial efficiency:
- People and groups involved: Lawyer Louis D. Brandeis defended laws that limited women’s working hours to 10 hours a day. Brandeis’s method, which involved looking at the cost to the individual and society resultant of long working hours, rather than the legal aspects, became the “model for other reform litigation”, called the “Brandeis brief”. Frederick Winslow Taylor started to use a method to improve efficiency in manufacturing by breaking tasks into simpler parts. This became a management fad, called “Taylorism”, and industry reformers “applied these scientific management studies”, to see how quickly the tasks could be done. Basically, it was the start of the “assembly line” method. The system exhausted workers, often causing injury. Henry Ford, one of the pioneers of the assembly line method, pacified his workers and avoided strikes by paying $5 a day and having 8 hour work days (pgs. 514-515).
- Successes (laws, legal decisions, etc.): Lawyer Louis D. Brandeis defended an Oregon law that limited women who worked in factories and laundry places to a 10 hour work day. Instead of focusing only on legal arguments, he presented data that showed the effects of long working hours on the individual and society. This argument, later known as the “Brandeis brief, set a precedent for future reform litigation (p. 514).
5) Movement to protect workers:
- People and groups involved: Florence Kelley, a women’s and children’s rights activist, assisted in the passing of the Illinois Factory Act in 1893, which prohibited child labor and limited women’s working hours (p. 514). The National Child Labor Committee was formed in 1904, and sent investigators who would gather evidence that children were working in harsh conditions, and then have exhibitions with statistics and photos of the children. Other labor unions joined in the plight of the NCLC, arguing that child labor lowered wages for all workers (p. 516). Louis D. Brandeis, with the help of Florence Kelley, convinced the Court to uphold an Oregon law that limited women to a 10 hour workday, using the argument that poor women were much less economically stable than large corporations. Another Brandeis brief in Bunting v. Oregon convinced the Court to uphold a 10 hour workday for men as well, in 1917. Progressives succeeded in getting “worker’s compensation to aid the families of workers who were hurt or killed on the job”. Maryland was the first to pass this legislation, in 1902, and was followed by the other states that required employers to pay benefits in death cases (p. 517).
-Successes (laws, legal decisions, etc.): Florence Kelley assisted in the passing of the Illinois Factory Act of 1893, which prohibited the child labor and limited women’s working hours (p. 514). Labor unions with the National Child Labor Committee pressured politicians to pass the Keating-Own Act in 1916, which prohibited moving goods produced with child labor across state lines. This, however, was declared unconstitutional 2 years later because it interfered with state’s rights to regulate labor. Reformers did manage to set maximum hours and prohibit child labor in nearly every state with legislation. A Brandeis brief in Bunting v. Oregon persuaded the Court to uphold a law giving men a 10 hour workday, as well as an earlier law was passed with the help of Brandeis and Kelley in Oregon limiting women to a 10 hour workday. Progressives got worker’s compensation to help the families of employees hurt or killed while working, and many states passed legislation that required employees to pay benefits to the families of workers if said worker died (p. 517).

Chapter 17 Section 2 Critical Thinking #3

Chapter 17 Section 2 Critical Thinking #3
During the progressive Era, it seems that many women stepped forward to fight for their rights and introduced many movements that helped to do away with the notion that women were submissive and nonpolitical. Two women who were icons in the suffragist movement were Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Elizabeth Cady Stanton was one of the women responsible for the Seneca Falls convention of 1848, and .started the National Women’s Suffrage Association with Susan B. Anthony. The NWSA merged with another group in 1890 to make the National American Woman Suffrage Association, a group dedicated (obviously) to suffrage, and facing opposition constantly from different groups (p. 521-522). Other important leaders of the movement were Julia Ward Howe (who wrote “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”), and Lucy Stone. These women were a contradiction to the belief that women were wallflowers in themselves, and were very aggressive in trying to attain what they wanted. Suffragist leaders later launched a 3- Part strategy in order to win the vote for women. First, suffragists tried to convince state legislatures to allow women to vote. They then argued that women were citizens, and denying them the right to vote was against the 14th amendment, and pursued court cases on the matter. Finally, they pushed for an amendment to the constitution granting women the right to vote. They did not always meet with success, but their determination and tenacity did win the suffragists some victories. Utah, Colorado, Idaho and the territory of Wisconsin granted the right to vote to women, and Stanton did succeed in getting the amendment introduced in California, though it was later killed (p. 522). Suffragists did not succeed for the next 41 years, but their determination made a statement, and their refusal to give in did eventually pay off when women were finally granted the right to vote. Without the leadership of leaders such as Stanton and Anthony, women might have still been stereotyped as submissive and nonpolitical for years, but the suffragist leaders changed that.

Chapter 15 Section 2 Critical Thinking #5

5) What effects did the migration from rural areas to the cities in the late 19th century have on urban society?


The migration from rural areas to the cities in the late 19th century had effects on the quality of life in the cities. The urbanization lead to many problems such as crime, housing issues, transporation, and sanitation among other things (p. 470). It also caused tension between blacks and whites as they competed for jobs (p.469).
The rapid urbanization of cities caused many problems. One of these was the issue of housing. When citydwellers started living in tenements, they were meant as an improvement over the row houses and cramped boardinghouses. But due to poor sanitation measures by the city, garbage was infrequently picked up and people would dump garbage out the air vents, which would attract vermin and they would then be forced to board up the windows to keep the smell out. Getting water that was safe for drinking in the cities was also a problem. Cities such as New York and Cleveland built public waterworks, but many cities were still receiving inadequate piped water into the 1860s. This assisted in the spread of diseases such as cholera and typhoid fever (p. 470). Fires were a problem that were not helped by the lack of water. Most city dwellings were wooden. Candles and kerosene heaters were fire hazards, and when blazes did spring up, there wasn't enough water to put the fires out. This resulted in the formation of the first full-time, paid firefighter squad in Cincinnati, since often firefighters weren't available when they were needed. This lead to advancements, such as automatic fire sprinklers and the replacement of wood with stone, brick of concrete. Crime increased as well, as city populations grew. The first full-time police force was organized by N.Y.C. in 1844, but it wasn't enough to make a big impact (p. 471). Basically the problem was that cities weren't able to keep up with their huge growth, and things started to come apart. Sanitation and tranportation were also problems.
Urbanization caused tension between blacks and whites as well. Many southern farmers lost their jobs when advances in technology were made that meant that less laborers were needed for the same jobs. Many of the farmers who lost their jobs and had to move to cities to make a living were African Americans. They often moved North or West to cities like Chicago or Detroit to try to escape political opression, racial violence and economic hardship, but things weren't much better in these cities, and job competition caused racial tension between them and the whites (p. 469).

Chapter 15 Section 2 Critical Thinking #4

4) Which solution (or attempted solution) to an urban problem discussed in this section do you think had the most impact? Why?


The attempt made at finding a solution for housing had the greatest impact, though it was a negative one. Tenements were multi-family dwellings in the city that several immigrant families would live in together when the previous working class inhabitants of the home left the city. The alternatives were to buy a house in the outskirts of town and face problems with transportation or rent small boardinghouses in the city. Row houses were established as well; these were single-family dwellings shared walls with the other houses and crammed many families onto one block. Though tenements were in the central city and not as cramped as boardinghouses, they were often unsanitary and overcrowded. New York City passed a law in 1879 to improve the squalid conditions, setting minimum standards for plumbing and ventilation, and landlords started to build tenements with air shafts and windows in every room, but since garbage was picked up infrequently, people started to dump the garbage into air vents. This would attract rats and other unpleasant creatures one wouldn't like to have in their house, and people started to nail up the windows to keep the smell of rotting garbage out. Even though tenements were supposed to have been an improvement over row houses, boardinghouses and houses far from the city, they quickly ended up in terrible condition, cramped, filthy, unsanitary and worse than the original options (all p. 470).