Politics in the late 19th century was nothing if not colorful. Discuss the key issues and political leaders of this era; then turn to the development of populism, one of the most important reform movements of the era. Trace its evolution and development. What were the populists’ assumptions about American life? How did they propose to reform the nation? Why was the election of 1896 such a great watershed in American political life.
Industrialization turned the United States into a great world power – at least on paper – and that in turn had a huge impact on American foreign policy. Analyze this transformation in American foreign policy and the overseas acquisitions that it led to by the early 20th century. Why do Americans prefer to talk about “expansion” rather than “imperialism” as so many others choose to do?
As the 20th century began, there emerged a new reform movement known as the Progressivism. With so many forces shaping its direction, it was nothing if not complex. Discuss the various forces that helped give rise to progressivism and which provided its strength and direction. Be sure to assess the accomplishments of progressivism at the city and state level – who were the leading figures and what did they accomplish? Progressivms is perhaps best known for what it accomplished, or tried to accomplish, on the national level, beginning with the administration of Theodore Roosevelt and followed by those of William Howard Taft and Woodrow Wilson. What were their programs and to what extent they were successful? In the final analysis, in what spheres did progressivism succeed and in what areas did it make little headway.
That is what should be answered by this essay.
21 Mar 2017 09:58
COMMENTARY
Historians often refer to the late 19th century as the Gilded Age, a name drawn from a book by Charles Dudley Warner and Mark Twain, whom many believe to be the foremost novelist in American history. As we’ve seen from our studies of the American West, the rise of big business, and the new industrial city, it was a turbulent, if dramatic, time. And that certainly extended to politics and foreign policy. Industrialization created new social, economic, and political forces that struggled in the political arena, and they in turn led to the rise of reform movements, notably the greenbackers, the grangers, and the populists. Although they had only limited success, they formed the background of sweeping reforms to evolve in the 20th century. In foreign policy, the dramatic industrialization of the era converted the United States into a great world power, at least on paper. Although few Americans realized this quiet transformation, its mark became evident in the course of the 1890s.Yet how the U.S. would use its potentially vast new power in coming 20th century remained unknown.
The Progressive Movement was the first great reform thrust of the 20th century. Sometimes it seems as if it emerged out of nowhere, but in fact, it had important antecedents in the old greenback, granger, and populist movements of the late 19th century as well as in the social gospel and other urban reform initiatives of that time. For all practical purposes, Progressivism spanned the years from 1901 to 1917. It cut across party lines, and while it enjoyed important successes at the local and state levels, it is perhaps best known for what it accomplished at the national level during the presidencies Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and Woodrow Wilson. Roosevelt had what he termed Square Deal, Taft carried that on as best he could, and Wilson had what he called the New Freedom. But as Progressivism redefined the role of government in economic life, it also redefined both government and the presidency in the larger American landscape. Theodore Roosevelt was the great architect of big government, and he summed it all up in what he called “the bully pulpit.” His successors continued what he initiated to the point where some began to criticize what they termed “the imperial presidency” at century’s end. If the framers of the Constitution of 1787 had intended a tripartite division of government with the Congress the most important of the three, they might have been taken aback at the end of the 20th century when the presidency had long since come to dominate the political landscape. The Progressive Movement was central in this transformation.
STUDY HINTS
One of the great achievements of the late 19th century was motion picture film. If you can find a copy of “The Great Train Robbery,” which is Volume 1 of The American Cinema documentary series on videotape, you can view both early films of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, along with what are essentially brief documentaries of life at the turn-of-the-century. You may also wish to review this website as well: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/papr/mckhome.html for the Spanish-American War in film.
Politics in the late 19th century was nothing if not colorful. Discuss the key issues and political leaders of this era; then turn to the development of populism, one of the most important reform movements of the era. Trace its evolution and development. What were the populists’ assumptions about American life? How did they propose to reform the nation? Why was the election of 1896 such a great watershed in American political life.
Industrialization turned the United States into a great world power – at least on paper – and that in turn had a huge impact on American foreign policy. Analyze this transformation in American foreign policy and the overseas acquisitions that it led to by the early 20th century. Why do Americans prefer to talk about “expansion” rather than “imperialism” as so many others choose to do?
As the 20th century began, there emerged a new reform movement known as the Progressivism. With so many forces shaping its direction, it was nothing if not complex. Discuss the various forces that helped give rise to progressivism and which provided its strength and direction. Be sure to assess the accomplishments of progressivism at the city and state level – who were the leading figures and what did they accomplish? Progressivms is perhaps best known for what it accomplished, or tried to accomplish, on the national level, beginning with the administration of Theodore Roosevelt and followed by those of William Howard Taft and Woodrow Wilson. What were their programs and to what extent they were successful? In the final analysis, in what spheres did progressivism succeed and in what areas did it make little headway
Identify and give the significance five of the following ten items:
Pendleton Act
Granger Laws
Alfred T. Mahan
Queen Liliuokalani
William Jennings Bryan
Margaret Sanger
Louis D. Brandeis
Triangle Shirtwaist Fire
Alice Paul and Carrie Chapman Catt
Ida Wells-Barnett and W.E.B. DuBois
Please Look through sparknotes and other websites to find significant citations from the book and use them in this essay.
