Unit 8 Heimler

Argued westward movement was part of American identity.
By 1890, the frontier was considered closed, leading to debates over expansion beyond U.S. borders.

Imperialists:
- Invoked Manifest Destiny.
- Believed in the superiority of American institutions and race.
- Sought access to raw materials and new markets in Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean for industrialists.
Anti-Imperialists:
- Argued for self-determination, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
- Believed colonizing other places would restrict these ideals.

Causes:
- Cuba was desirable for American expansion.
- The USS Maine exploded in Havana Harbor in 1898, killing approximately 200 Americans.
- Yellow journalists blamed Spain, leading to war declaration.
Effects:
- U.S. acquired the Philippines and other Caribbean and Pacific Islands.
- Puerto Rico became a U.S. territory.
- Annexation of Hawaii due to its strategic location between the U.S. mainland and the Philippines.
America as an Empire:
- The U.S. became a proper empire with land acquisitions.
- Filipinos revolted, seeking independence.

Muckrakers:
- Investigative journalists exposing corruption.
- Examples: Upton Sinclair (The Jungle), Ida Tarbell (The History of the Standard Oil Company).
- They alerted the public to social inequities and corruption, leading to reforms.
- Influence on legislation: Teddy Roosevelt pushed for the Meat Inspection Act after reading The Jungle.
Expanded Voter Participation:
- Introduction of the secret ballot.
- Direct election of senators.
- Initiative, referendum, and recall.
Civil Rights:
- Efforts led by black progressivists like Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois.
- Formation of the NAACP and the Niagara Movement.
Progressive Presidents:
- Teddy Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and Woodrow Wilson.
- Trust busting: stricter enforcement of the Sherman Antitrust Act.
- Conservationism: protecting natural landscapes through the Forest Reserve Act of 1891.
Constitutional Amendments:
- Seventeenth Amendment: direct election of senators.
- Eighteenth Amendment: prohibition of alcohol.
- Nineteenth Amendment: women's suffrage.

Initial Isolationism: The U.S. wanted to stay neutral.
Factors Leading to U.S. Involvement:
- Germany's unrestricted submarine warfare, including the sinking of the Lusitania.
- Zimmerman Telegram: Germany tried to incite Mexico to war against the U.S.
Declaration of War: Wilson asked Congress to declare war to make the world safe for democracy.
American Expeditionary Forces: Helped tip the balance in favor of the Allies.
Treaty of Versailles (1918):
- Wilson's 14 points and the League of Nations.
- U.S. Congress did not ratify the treaty, so the U.S. did not join the League of Nations.

Total War: All U.S. assets were used to fight the war.
- Wartime agencies centralized control over raw materials, prices, and railroads.
- Increased wartime production infused American industries with new life.
- Massive migrations from rural to urban areas for manufacturing jobs.
Restriction of Civil Liberties:
- Sedition Act of 1918: Made it illegal to publicly criticize the government.
- Red Scare: Fear of communism led to the Palmer Raids and mass incarceration of suspected socialists and radicals.
Great Migration: Black Americans moved from the South to the North and West, facing social discrimination.

Economic Boom:
- Increased productivity due to Frederick Taylor's scientific management principles.
- Henry Ford's assembly line.
- New energy technologies: increased use of oil and electricity.
- Government policy: corporate tax cuts.
Spread of Mass Culture:
- New communication technologies like the radio and movies.
- Hollywood became a big business.

Urbanization: By 1920, over half of Americans lived in cities.
Women: More opportunities in urban centers, especially in nursing, teaching, etc.
Immigration: Post-World War I spike, leading to nativism and immigration quotas, making it harder for Eastern Europeans and Asians to immigrate.
New Forms of Art and Literature:
- Lost Generation: F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway.
- Harlem Renaissance: Result of the Great Migration; writers like Langston Hughes and musicians like Louis Armstrong.
Crisis in American Values: Conflict between modernists and fundamentalists in Christianity; Scopes Monkey Trial.

Causes: Stock market crash of 1929.
Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal:
- Belief in government intervention (Keynesian economics).
- Addressed the three R's: relief for the unemployed, recovery for business, and reform for economic institutions.
New Deal Programs:
- Relief: Public Works Administration (PWA) for infrastructure work.
- Recovery and Reform: Glass Steagall Act (increased bank regulation), FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) to insure bank deposits.
Impact: Whether the New Deal would have completely solved the Great Depression is debatable, but World War II ultimately stimulated the economy.

Initial Isolationism: The U.S. stayed isolated but aided the Allied side, particularly Britain.
Cash and Carry: Allowed belligerents to purchase arms from the U.S. with cash and transport them themselves.
Lend-Lease Act: Allowed Britain to obtain arms from the U.S. on credit.
Pearl Harbor: The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor brought America into the war.

Economic Transformation: World War II cured the Great Depression due to increased federal spending.
Civil Liberties Trampled: Internment of Japanese Americans, despite their citizenship and constitutional rights.
- Korematsu v. the United States: The Supreme Court upheld internment as a wartime necessity.

Two sections of War: European and Pacific.
European group:
- Turning point: D-Day landing in Normandy.
- Germany surrendered on May 7, 1945 (Victory in Europe Day).
Pacific group :
- Decisive victory at Midway Island.
- Island hopping campaign.
- Atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki led to Japan's surrender (Victory in Japan Day).