Comprehensive Study Guide for APUSH Unit 7: Imperialism, Progressivism, and the World Wars

Imperialism and the Debate over Global Expansion\n\n* Arguments in Favor of Imperialism (Pro-Imperialists):\n * Economic Interests: Americans favored expansion because of the perceived economic benefits of conquering regions such as Cuba, Hawaii, and the Philippines. These locations were vital for establishing naval bases, growing tropical cash crops, and serving as coaling stations for ships traveling between the United States and the lucrative markets of China.\n * Social Darwinism: Proponents used Social Darwinist theories to argue that Anglo-Saxons were morally, spiritually, and intellectually superior to other nations. This ideology suggested that the United States had a responsibility or right to extend its influence over \"less advanced\" peoples.\n * Global Competition: Pro-expansionists pointed to competition with European powers, who were actively expanding their empires, as a primary reason for the U.S. to do the same.\n * The Closing of the Frontier: By the year $1890$, the U.S. Census Bureau declared the internal frontier closed. Having achieved \"Manifest Destiny\" on the North American continent, expansionists looked overseas for new opportunities and territory.\n\n* Arguments Against Imperialism (Anti-Imperialists):\n * Hypocrisy and Self-Determination: Organizations like the Anti-Imperialist League argued that ruling over foreign nations and people without their consent was a direct violation of American democratic principles and was inherently hypocritical.\n * Tradition of Isolationism: Opponents cited a long-standing U.S. tradition of isolationism, tracing back to President George Washington’s administration and his warnings against entering into permanent overseas alliances.\n\n# The Spanish-American War and its Aftermath\n\n* Origins in Cuba:\n * Monroe Doctrine: The U.S. viewed Latin America and the Caribbean as its exclusive zone of authority, making leaders uneasy about Spanish control over Cuba.\n * Cuban Rebellion: A rebellion against Spanish rule in Cuba led to the sabotage of plantations. In response, Spain dispatched General Valeriano Weyler to suppress the revolt. Weyler’s autocratic and brutal methods earned him the nickname \"The Butcher\" in American newspapers.\n\n* Catalysts for War:\n * Yellow Journalism: This term refers to the use of exaggerated, sensationalized, or outright falsified news stories designed to increase newspaper circulation. It played a major role in whipping up war fever among the American public.\n * USS Maine: President William McKinley sent the battleship USS Maine to Havana harbor to protect American interests during the rebellion. On the night it was docked there, the ship exploded. Despite lack of evidence, the U.S. blamed Spain. The popular war cry became: \"Remember the Maine; to hell with Spain!\"\n\n* The Teller Amendment ($1898$):\n * When McKinley sent his war message to Congress, they responded with a joint resolution on April $20$, $1898$. This included the Teller Amendment, which officially declared that the U.S. had no intention of taking political control of Cuba. It promised that once peace was restored, Cubans would be allowed to control their own government.\n\n* Consequences of the War:\n * Territorial Gains: Following the defeat of Spain, the United States took control of the Philippines, Guam, Cuba, and Puerto Rico.\n * The Filipino-American War ($1898$–$1902$): Filipino nationalists, who had initially collaborated with the U.S. to defeat Spain, expected independence. However, the U.S. government believed the Filipinos were not ready for self-rule. This led to a brutal conflict involving guerrilla warfare. The U.S. military utilized horrific tactics, resulting in the deaths of thousands of soldiers and upwards of $200,000$ civilians. This conflict is often cited as a showcase of the worst aspects of American imperialism.\n\n# Diplomatic Frameworks and Asian Relations\n\n* Open-Door Policy in China: After acquiring Hawaii and the Philippines, the U.S. sought to ensure its ability to trade with China without interference from European powers, advocating for an \"Open-Door\" policy.\n\n* Roosevelt Corollary: President Theodore Roosevelt expanded the Monroe Doctrine with the \"Roosevelt Corollary.\" It stated that the U.S. would not only prevent European intervention in the Western Hemisphere but also reserved the right to intervene in the internal affairs of Latin American countries if they \"misbehaved,\" in order to preempt European involvement.\n\n* Big Stick Diplomacy (Theodore Roosevelt): Roosevelt’s policy was summarized by his motto: \"speak softly and carry a big stick.\" He focused on building the U.S. reputation as a formidable world power through a strong navy and assertive foreign policy.\n\n* Dollar Diplomacy (William Howard Taft): Taft’s approach focused more on economic influence than naval power. He encouraged American enterprises to invest in Latin America, believing that promoting U.S. trade abroad would stabilize foreign regions and benefit the U.S. economy.\n\n* Moral Diplomacy (Woodrow Wilson): Wilson rejected the policies of his predecessors, pushing for a principled and ethical approach to foreign affairs. He sought a world where militarism and colonialism were controlled, which later served as the foundation for his \"Fourteen Points.\"\n\n# The Progressive Era: Reform and Muckrakers\n\n* Muckrakers: These were investigative journalists who exposed corruption and social ills through magazines and books. Key figures included:\n * Ida Tarbell: Exposed the predatory business practices of Standard Oil and the dangers of trusts.\n * Lincoln Steffens: Detailed the corruption within urban political machines.\n * Upton Sinclair: Wrote The Jungle, which exposed the horrific conditions of the meatpacking industry and the plight of immigrants.\n * Jacob Riis: Photographed and wrote about the squalid conditions of tenements in How the Other Half Lives.\n * Nellie Bly: Investigated and exposed the abuses within insane asylums in Ten Days in a Mad House.\n\n* Constitutional and Legislative Changes:\n * $16^{th}$ Amendment ($1913$): Established a federal income tax to address wealth inequality.\n * $17^{th}$ Amendment ($1913$): Mandated the direct election of U.S. Senators by the people.\n * $18^{th}$ Amendment ($1919$): Instituted the prohibition of alcohol.\n * $19^{th}$ Amendment ($1920$): Granted women the right to vote (woman suffrage).\n * Pure Food and Drug Act ($1906$): Regulated the safety of food and prescription medications.\n * Federal Reserve Act ($1913$): Created the Federal Reserve system to manage monetary policy and the money supply, with the goal of regulating the banking industry and limiting financial panics.\n * Clayton Antitrust Act ($1914$): Strengthened the government's ability to break up monopolies and trusts, providing more enforcement power than the original Sherman Antitrust Act of $1890$.\n\n# Theodore Roosevelt and the Square Deal\n\n* The Square Deal: Roosevelt’s domestic program focused on three main pillars: Consumer Protection, Business and Labor Regulation, and Environmental Conservation.\n\n* United Mine Workers Strike ($1902$):\n * Around $140,000$ miners went on strike demanding higher wages, an $8$-hour workday, and union recognition. When coal prices spiked and company leaders refused to negotiate, Roosevelt invited both sides to the White House. He threatened to have the army seize the mines. This forced the owners to submit to an independent commission, which ultimately granted the workers a $10\%$ wage increase and a reduction in working hours.\n\n* Trust-Busting:\n * Roosevelt was the first president to actively use the Sherman Antitrust Act of $1890$. In $1902$, he filed suit against the Northern Securities Company, a massive railroad holding company. The Supreme Court eventually ordered the company dissolved. Roosevelt distinguished between \"bad trusts,\" which harmed the public and killed competition, and \"good trusts,\" which were efficient and kept prices low for consumers.\n\n* Conservation vs. Preservation:\n * Preservationists: Figures like John Muir and the Sierra Club argued for the protection of wilderness areas from any human interference.\n * Conservationists: Roosevelt and other experts believed in the responsible, scientific management of natural resources for public use.\n * Agencies: This era saw the creation of the National Forest Service and the National Park Service.\n\n# Transitions: Taft’s Trust-Busting and the Election of 1912\n\n* William Howard Taft: Taft prosecuted nearly double the number of antitrust cases as Roosevelt, including a case against U.S. Steel that targeted a merger previously approved by Roosevelt.\n\n* The Election of $1912$:\n * Angered by Taft's policies, Roosevelt ran for a third term. When Republicans gave the nomination to Taft, Roosevelt formed the Progressive Party (the \"Bull Moose Party\").\n * Democratic candidate Woodrow Wilson won the election because the Republican vote was split between Taft and Roosevelt.\n\n* Wilson’s \"New Freedom\": This platform emphasized small government, business competition, and low tariffs. In $1913$, he passed the Underwood Tariff Act, which lowered tariffs by approximately $15\%$. He also oversaw the creation of $12$ regional Federal Reserve banks overseen by a central board appointed by the president.\n\n# Racial and Social Divisions in the Progressive Era\n\n* Progressive Failures: Many Progressives either supported or ignored Southern segregation and racial discrimination. Some favored literacy tests and racist immigration restrictions.\n\n* African American Leadership Debates:\n * Booker T. Washington: In his \"Atlanta Compromise\" speech, he argued that African Americans should focus on economic self-improvement and technical education before demanding social equality.\n * W.E.B. DuBois: He demanded immediate social and political equality. He advocated for the \"Talented Tenth\" of the Black community to lead the race toward progress. In $1909$, he helped found the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).\n\n# World War I: Diplomacy and Combat\n\n* Erosion of Neutrality:\n * Submarine Warfare: Germany used U-boats to sink British ships. The sinking of the HMS Lusitania in $1915$ killed $123$ Americans. Germany temporarily halted this following the Sussex Pledge, promising not to sink ships without warning.\n * Zimmerman Telegram: In $1917$, a decoded message revealed Germany was urging Mexico to invade the U.S. in exchange for recovering the \"Mexican Cession\" territory lost in $1848$. This, combined with Germany's resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare, led the U.S. into the war.\n\n* The American Expeditionary Force (AEF):\n * Led by General John K. Pershing, the AEF reached France in early $1918$. The influx of American troops tipped the scales in favor of the Allies, forcing the exhausted Germans into an armistice.\n\n* The Fourteen Points and the League of Nations:\n * Wilson’s plan included freedom of the seas, self-determination for nationalities, and a League of Nations to prevent future wars. Britain and France, however, wanted revenge and forced Germany to pay massive reparations.\n * U.S. Rejection: The U.S. Senate rejected the Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations. Isolationist senators specifically opposed Article X, fearing it would force the U.S. into foreign wars without a Congressional declaration.\n\n# World War I: The Homefront and Civil Liberties\n\n* Federal Control: The government created agencies like the War Industries Board (to set production priorities), the Food Administration Board (to encourage rationing), and the National War Labor Board (to arbitrate labor disputes). \n\n* Social Changes:\n * Great Migration: African Americans moved in large numbers from the South to Northern industrial cities to escape racial terrorism and seek jobs.\n * Urbanization: For the first time, by the $1920$ census, more Americans lived in urban areas than rural ones.\n\n* Repression of Dissent:\n * Espionage Act of $1917$: Mandated up to $20$ years in prison for aiding the enemy or obstructing the draft.\n * Sedition Act of $1918$: Harshly penalized \"disloyal\" or \"abusive\" language regarding the government or the flag.\n * Schenck v. United States ($1919$): The Supreme Court ruled that free speech could be limited if it presented a \"clear and present danger,\" famously using the analogy of falsely shouting \"fire\" in a crowded theater.\n\n# The Roaring Twenties: Innovation and Nativism\n\n* Economic Boom: Henry Ford’s assembly line made the Model T affordable for working-class families. Radios, vacuums, and refrigerators became common consumer goods, often purchased on credit.\n* National Culture: Radio and movies unified American culture. However, films like Birth of a Nation ($1915$) promoted racist KKK propaganda.\n\n* The First Red Scare and Nativism:\n * Palmer Raids: Following mail bombings by anarchists in $1919$, Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer and J. Edgar Hoover (FBI) led raids to deport socialists and anarchists.\n * Sacco & Vanzetti: Two Italian anarchists were convicted and executed for murder in a trial widely criticized as being fueled by xenophobia.\n * Immigration Laws: The Emergency Quota Act ($1922$) and the National Origins Act of $1924$ (which set quotas at $2\%$ based on the $1890$ census) were designed to exclude Southern and Eastern Europeans and Asians.\n\n# Cultural Conflicts of the 1920s\n\n* The Harlem Renaissance: Based in Harlem, New York, this was a flowering of Black art, music (Jazz/Blues by Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington), and literature (Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston).\n* The \"Modern Woman\": Flappers challenged traditional norms by wearing short hair and skirts, smoking, and dancing.\n* Scopes \"Monkey\" Trial: A courtroom battle in Tennessee over the teaching of evolution, highlighting the divide between urban cosmopolitanism and rural traditionalism.\n* Prohibition: The Volstead Act enforced the $18^{th}$ Amendment. This led to the rise of bootlegging and organized crime figures like Al Capone.\n* The Second KKK: Targeted African Americans, Jews, Catholics, and immigrants. In response, Marcus Garvey advocated for Black nationalism and the \"Back to Africa\" movement.\n\n# The Great Depression and the New Deal\n\n* Causes of the Crash: Unregulated credit, high speculation via \"margin-buying,\" and the bursting of the stock market bubble on October $29$, $1929$ (Black Tuesday). By $1933$, unemployment hit $25\%$.\n* Environmental Disasters: The Dust Bowl affected the Great Plains, leading to the migration of \"Okies\" to California.\n* Hoover’s Response: Herbert Hoover generally opposed federal direct relief. His reputation suffered after the Bonus Army March in $1932$, where the army used tear gas on WWI veterans requesting early payment of their service bonuses.\n\n* The New Deal (The \"Three Rs\"):\n * Relief: Immediate aid to the suffering.\n * Recovery: Getting the economy back on track.\n * Reform: Changing the system to prevent future crashes.\n\n* Key New Deal Agencies and Acts:\n * AAA (Agricultural Adjustment Administration): Paid farmers to not plant crops to raise prices (later ruled unconstitutional).\n * Glass-Steagall Act: Separated commercial from investment banking.\n * FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation): Insured bank deposits.\n * CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps): Employed young men in national parks.\n * SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission): Regulated the stock market.\n * SSA (Social Security Act): Established a public pension for the elderly and disabled.\n * WPA (Works Progress Administration): Funded large-scale infrastructure and the arts.\n\n# World War II: Mobilization and Conflict\n\n* Path to War: The U.S. moved from isolationism (Neutrality Acts) to supporting the Allies via \"Cash and Carry\" and the \"Lend-Lease Act.\" The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December $7$, $1941$ ($2400$ deaths) forced the U.S. into the war.\n\n* Homefront Mobilization:\n * Arsenal of Democracy: Massive production of Liberty Ships and weapons. \n * Women in the War: WACS, WAVES, and WASPS served in the military; \"Rosie the Riveter\" represented women in factories.\n * Race and WWII: The \"Double V Campaign\" sought victory over fascism abroad and racism at home. A. Philip Randolph leveraged a march on Washington to get Executive Order $8802$, banning discrimination in defense industries. However, Executive Order $9066$ led to the internment of $110,000$ Japanese Americans, upheld in Korematsu v. US ($1944$).\n\n* Military Strategy:\n * Europe: The D-Day invasion occurred on June $6$, $1944$. Germany surrendered in May $1945$.\n * Pacific: The U.S. used \"island-hopping\" to approach Japan. President Harry S. Truman eventually used the atomic bomb (Manhattan Project) on Hiroshima (August $6$, $1945$) and Nagasaki to avoid a costly full-scale invasion.\n\n# Post-War Planning and the New World Order\n\n* Conferences: At Tehran ($1943$) and Yalta ($1945$), the \"Big Three\" (Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin) planned for the division of Germany, free elections in Eastern Europe, and the creation of the United Nations (UN).\n* Global Dominance: After $1945$, the U.S. was the world’s leading power. The Bretton Woods Agreement established the U.S. Dollar as the primary currency for world trade and created the World Bank and the IMF. The U.S. entered a period of tension with its former ally, the USSR.