Early 20th Century America Summary

Early 20th Century Working Conditions

Four people per cabin, but up to 16 including those sleeping on deck.
E.L. Doctorow described the latter hours of the day as a time with less efficiency and more injuries in factories and mines.
Pauline Newman worked 13-hour days in a garment sweatshop; workers were not allowed to talk or sing, and doors were locked.
In March 1911, a fire at a factory with locked doors led to 146 worker deaths due to no sprinklers or fire drills.

The tragedy sparked outrage and awareness, leading to the rise of progressivism.
Progressivism is defined as the belief that society can be improved and made more democratic.
Progressive women were concerned about exploitation in factories.

Suffragettes mounted campaigns, including violent ones in Britain.
Emily Davison died for the cause, inspiring American suffragettes to intensify their campaign.

Black men's right to vote was suppressed through intimidation, poll taxes, and literacy tests.
85% of black Americans lived in poverty in the Southern United States, facing segregation through Jim Crow laws.
Jim Craw Laws wiped out the freedom and equality once promised by emancipation.
Booker T. Washington advocated for black people to improve themselves through work and vocational training, seeking help from whites, not equality.
W. E. B. Du Bois urged a struggle for full political and social equality, predicting civil rights would be a major issue.

In the early 1900s, most Americans lived on farms or in small towns with gaslight and horsepower and relied on the front porch.
American life quickened as people moved to cities for opportunities; cities like New York became centers for technological marvels.
The skyscraper emerged as a completely new building form.
The New York City subway was inaugurated in 1904.
Public libraries provided free and democratic access to information.
Immigration brought diversity to American cities; one in three residents of major cities were foreign-born.

Rising incomes and declining work hours allowed even working-class people to seek entertainment.
Moving pictures gained popularity, with the first American film telling a story in 1903: The Great Train Robbery.
Newsreels brought world events to American audiences.

The sinking of the USS Maine led to calls for war against Spain, though evidence of Spanish involvement was lacking.
Theodore Roosevelt, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, advocated for war and American imperialism.
The U.S. defeated Spain in the Spanish-American War, gaining Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines.
The United States became an empire.

Following President McKinley's assassination, Theodore Roosevelt became president.
Roosevelt was an imperialist who wanted the U.S. to be a global power.
He initiated the construction of the Panama Canal to link the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, facilitating shipping and ensuring America's strategic hold.
Roosevelt supported the Panamanian revolt against Colombia to secure canal construction rights.
The Panama Canal, completed in 1914, symbolized American technology and will over nature.

Germany emerged as an industrial power, challenging Britain, leading to an arms race.
Tensions escalated after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914.
The Austro-Hungarian Empire, with Germany's support, declared war on Serbia.
Alliances led to the great powers of Europe entering World War I.
Technology, the engine of progress, would be used in the slaughter of millions.