US History Quiz Imperialism/Economics

Quiz on the following coursework: Imperialism & Spanish/American War, Economics of Progressive Presidents , and Progressive Presidents (Part 2)

Identify and explain the four areas that moved the U.S. towards becoming a world power.

1. The US gained an interest in overseas markets, seeing how it benefited the UK, and they turned their attention to the sugar industry.

2. The United State’s belief that they had a God given right to expand their influence also helped them become a global super power.

3. The building of the Navy also played a big role in the US becoming a global superpower, because it helped them defend their country from the sea, and it also allowed for easier expansion.

4. Expansion in the Pacific also played a role, as it allowed the US to make connections with other nations and to set up ports, which helped establish their power. 

When was Hawaii annexed by the United States, and what was the Hawaiian crop of interest by the U.S.?

Hawaii was annexed in 1898. The crop of interest was sugar

Based upon the reading do you believe the Hawaiian leadership wanted to be annexed? Explain.

No. From what I understand, the Hawaiian leadership was a monarchy, they did not want to be annexed. It was the planters that wanted Hawaii to join the US, so that they would also get the subsidies that were given to American sugar products. 

Describe yellow journalism.

Yellow journalism is when the writers of news reports exaggerate or make up stories to attract readers.

Which country prior to the Spanish American War controlled Cuba, and the Philippians?

Spain

Explain how the sinking of the Maine contributed to the U.S. entering a war with Spain.

The sinking of the Maine resulted in the loss of 266 people, while later research suggested that the explosion was caused by a malfunction in the ship, at the time it was assumed that Spain was the cause for the ship going down. This, I assume, enraged the American people, and “Remember the Maine” became a rallying cry. McKinley faced a lot of pressure to go to war as a result.

Explain how the results of the Spanish/American War impacted Cuba and the Philippines.

The results of the treaty signed between Spain and America, meant that Cuba gained its independence, but the Philippines now belonged to the US.

Describe the three conditions placed on Cuba through the Platt Amendment.

1. Limited Cuba’s ability to make treaties with other nations

2. Cuba had to allow the US to buy or lease naval stations in its territory

3. It also allowed the US to intervene in Cuba to keep order. Basically made Cuba an American protectorate.

Identify four reforms(actions, goals) sought by Progressives.

• Social and political reforms to help the many problems that urbanization and industrialization brought upon the working class

• Journalists wanted to make the public aware of things like poverty and corrupt businesses and politicians. 

• They wanted to remove corrupt politicians from every governmental level (local, state, and national). 

• Progressives wanted the government to intervene in the economy to protect American workers and consumers. 

• Women’s rights (voting)

Explain two actions to help children in the area of labor.

• One of the actions that helped children in the area of labor, was the law that established a minimum age for employment. This meant that young children could no longer be hired for work, and it protected them from unfair labor. 

• Another was the law that established a maximum amount of hours children could work, which, again, protected them from unfair labor. 

• Also the laws that required children to be in school instead of at work

Define initiative and referendum

• Initiative is when you get enough signatures to show voter support, and the local or state legislative body can vote on the legislation. It allows citizens to introduce legislation and requires the legislature to vote on it. 

• Referendum means that citizens are allowed to vote on the proposed laws directly

How did the 17th amendment impact the election of US senators?

The 17th amendment allowed voters to elect their senator directly, instead of the state legislature electing the senators. 

Which amendment allowed women to vote? What year did Congress pass the amendment?

• The 19th amendment allowed women to vote

• Congress passed the amendment in 1919, it was ratified in 1920

Explain Roosevelt's belief about domestic policies.

• Roosevelt believed that the government should balance the needs of competing groups on behalf of the public interest. Basically, he believed that the government should interfere in businesses only when it was necessary if/when a business abused its power. 

• The goal was to keep the wealthy and powerful in check so small businesses could grow and the condition of the poor could improve.

Briefly summarize how Roosevelt  supported the coal miners.

• Roosevelt supported the coal miners when he intervened in the Coal Strike of 1902. Urging both the union and the mine owners to accept arbitration by a neutral third party, and threatening the owners with the army running the mines when the owners refused. 

• Roosevelt intervenes on behalf of coal mine workers and their wages. Threatens to bring in the army. 

Explain how the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) created balance in the railroad industry.

• It allowed for more fair prices for railroads, because it set the rates for the railroads, and so each railroad was more likely to have the same or similar rates. 

• Fined railroads that favored certain shippers. 

Describe how the book, The Jungle, brought change to the meat industry, and what action did Congress take to bring about change in the meat industry.

The book revealed the conditions in the meatpacking industry, which enraged the consumers, and so Congress (and Roosevelt) passed the 1906 Meat Inspection Act. This act required meat sold through interstate commerce to be federally inspected. It also allowed the Agricultural Department to set cleanliness standards in meatpacking plants. 

Summarize the impact of the Pure Food and Drug Act on the food and drug industry.

The act prohibited the manufacture, sale, or shipment of impure or falsely labeled food and drugs. Meaning, manufacturers had to inspect every food or drug they planned to sell, to be absolutely sure that it wasn’t falsely labeled or impure. 

Explain the role of Gifford Pinchot in the Roosevelt administration.

• Gifford Pinchot was responsible for the forest reservoir and preserves, which was a big part of Roosevelt's presidency. 

• Gifford Pinchot, from what I gathered, was partly responsible for Roosevelt breaking with Taft and costing Taft the election in 1912. He had accused Taft of planning to give away valuable lands in Alaska for his own profits, the accusation was decided to be unfounded, but Taft still had him removed when his opposition became public, this led to Roosevelt breaking things off with Taft.

Explain the impact of Taft's Payne-Aldich Act.

The Payne-Aldich Act was supposed to cut tariffs, but it instead raised tariffs on some goods, which outraged progressives. 

Describe the success Taft had in the area of antitrust cases.

Taft managed to bring twice as many antitrust cases in four years as Roosevelt had in seven

Explain the rationale why the 16th amendment was passed.

The 16th amendment was passed so that the federal government could impose an income tax without violating Article 1, Section 2, of the Constitution, which dealt with wealth from property or stock earnings.

Describe the purpose of the Federal Reserve Act.

The purpose of the Federal Reserve Act was to restore public confidence in    the banking system.

This act allowed a Board of Governors to indirectly control the nation's interest rates and the amount of money in circulation by giving the Board the right to set the interest rates that the reserve banks charged other banks.

Summarize the power of the Federal Trade Commission.

The Federal Trade Commission was created to monitor businesses, it had the “power to investigate and issue ‘cease and desist’ orders against companies it found to be engaging in unfair trade practices, or practices that hurt competition” (Direct quote from textbook) 

Explain how the Adamson Act impacted railroad workers.

It established an eight-hour work day

Describe how the assembly line created or impacted mass production.

It allowed for faster/easier mass production by cutting unnecessary motion to a minimum. It also divided operations into simple tasks.