A-Push Period Seven

Late $19^{th}$ Century: Foundations of Reform and Imperialism

1. The Fall of Populism and the Rise of Progressivism

• The Populist Legacy and the Omaha Platform ($1892$): The People's Party platform extended beyond currency to demand government ownership of railroads, telegraphs, and telephones, alongside a graduated income tax and the Australian (secret) ballot. The Panic of $1893$ deepened the agrarian crisis, leading to the Coxey’s Army march on Washington to demand public works jobs.

• The Bimetallism Debate: The controversy centered on the Sherman Silver Purchase Act of $1890$, which Populists felt didn't go far enough. William Jennings Bryan's ‐Cross of Gold‐ speech argued that bimetallism was essential to protect the working class from being crushed by the high interest rates of the gold standard.

• Progressive Ideology and Efficiency: Unlike the rural Populists, Progressives embraced Taylorism (scientific management) to improve government efficiency. They pushed for local reforms like the initiative, referendum, and recall to increase direct democracy.

• Social Gospel and Settlement Houses: Jane Addams' Hull House in Chicago served as a model for the settlement house movement, providing social services to immigrants and helping bridge the gap between social classes through practical Christian ethics.

2. The Rise of American Imperialism

• Motivations and the Frontier Thesis: In $1893$, Frederick Jackson Turner argued the American frontier was closed, leading thinkers like Alfred T. Mahan to argue in The Influence of Sea Power upon History that naval expansion was necessary for national greatness and access to international markets.

• The annexation of Hawaii ($1893-1898$): The coup against Queen Liliuokalani was driven by the McKinley Tariff ($1890$), which removed the duty-free status of Hawaiian sugar, making annexation a financial necessity for American planters.

• The Spanish-American War ($1898$):

  • The Maine and the Teller Amendment: After the sinking of the USS Maine, the U.S. declared war but included the Teller Amendment, promising not to annex Cuba.

  • Outcome and the Platt Amendment ($1901$): Despite the Teller Amendment, the subsequent Platt Amendment severely limited Cuban sovereignty by allowing U.S. intervention and establishing a permanent lease for Guantanamo Bay.

• Imperial Debate and the Insular Cases: The Supreme Court ruled in the Insular Cases ($1901$) that the Constitution does not necessarily follow the flag, meaning residents of acquired territories did not automatically receive full constitutional rights.

$1901-1913$: The Roosevelt and Taft Presidencies

1. Theodore Roosevelt’s "Square Deal"

• Trustbusting and Regulation: Roosevelt utilized the Elkins Act ($1903$) and the Hepburn Act ($1906$) to strengthen the Interstate Commerce Commission's ability to regulate railroad rates. His "Square Deal" aimed to balance the interests of labor, business, and consumers.

• Environmental Conservation: Influenced by John Muir (preservationist) and Gifford Pinchot (conservationist), Roosevelt established the United States Forest Service and signed the Newlands Reclamation Act ($1902$) to fund irrigation projects in the West.

• Foreign Policy and the Panama Canal: TR orchestrated the independence of Panama from Colombia to secure the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty, allowing the construction of the Panama Canal ($1904-1914$).

2. The William Howard Taft Administration ($1908-1912$)

• The Break with Roosevelt: The Ballinger-Pinchot Affair, a dispute over the sale of Alaskan coal lands, caused a permanent rift between Taft and the Progressive wing of the Republican Party.

• Tariff Controversy: Taft signed the Payne-Aldrich Tariff ($1909$), which failed to significantly lower rates, further alienating Progressives who viewed it as a betrayal of campaign promises.

$1913-1920$: Woodrow Wilson and World War I

1. Wilson’s "New Freedom"

• The Underwood Tariff ($1913$): The first significant reduction in tariff rates since the Civil War, compensated for by the newly ratified $16^{th}$ Amendment (income tax).

• Federal Trade Commission (FTC): Established in $1914$ to investigate unfair business practices and prevent the formation of monopolies at their inception.

2. World War I and the Homefront

• Submarine Warfare: Germany's use of Unrestricted Submarine Warfare, including the sinking of the Lusitania ($1915$) and the Sussex, eventually forced Wilson to abandon neutrality.

• The Great Migration: The war triggered a massive movement of African Americans from the rural South to Northern industrial cities to fill labor shortages, leading to significant demographic shifts.

• Suppression of Dissent: The Espionage Act ($1917$) and Sedition Act ($1918$) led to the prosecution of socialists like Eugene V. Debs. In Schenck v. United States ($1919$), the Supreme Court upheld these restrictions, citing a "clear and present danger."

• The Fight for the Treaty: Wilson's refusal to compromise with Senate Reservationists (who wanted to limit the power of Article $X$) eventually led to the U.S. rejecting the Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations entirely.