LECTURE #16: AMERICAN IMPERIALISM

& THE PROGRESSIVE ERA

(1896-1914)Derrick J. Johnson, MPA, JD

Advanced Placement United States History,

School for Advanced Studies

President William McKinley, Jr. Born: January 29, 1843 Died: September 14, 1901 Term in Office: (1897-1901) Political Party: Republican

The William McKinley Presidency

The William McKinley PresidencyThe McKinley Cabinet

Office Name Term

President William McKinley 1897–1901

Vice PresidentGarret A. Hobart 1897–1899None 1899–1901Theodore Roosevelt 1901

Secretary of StateJohn Sherman 1897–1898William R. Day 1898John Hay 1898–1901

Secretary of Treasury Lyman J. Gage 1897–1901

Secretary of WarRussell A. Alger 1897–1899Elihu Root 1899–1901

Attorney GeneralJoseph McKenna 1897–1898John W. Griggs 1898–1901Philander C. Knox 1901

Postmaster GeneralJames A. Gary 1897–1898Charles E. Smith 1898–1901

Secretary of the Navy John D. Long 1897–1901

Secretary of the InteriorCornelius N. Bliss 1897–1899Ethan A. Hitchcock 1899–1901

Secretary of Agriculture James Wilson 1897–1901

The William McKinley Presidency

Supreme Court Appointments by President McKinley

Joseph McKenna –1898

States Admitted to the Union

None

Prelude to Imperialism In the years immediately following the Civil War, the

United States aggressively sought out new territories. In 1867, the United States purchased Alaska from the

Russians and they annexed the Midway Islands. The U.S. did not take part in imperialistic adventures

until the 1890s. The factors for this include the following: The closing of the American Frontier. Rapid industrial growth, urban growth and a large

influx of immigrants. A large number of Civil War veterans with recent

memories of warfare. The U.S. Army & Navy were no match for the military

forces of Europe at this time. During the 1870s and 1880s, the State Department had

fewer than 100 employees. By the 1890s, things had improved for the U.S. forces.

Reasons for Imperialism By the 1890s, many Americans began to have

new attitudes towards imperialistic adventures abroad.

This was so for several reasons: The demand for new markets. The development of new bases to house

battleships. Social Darwinism (“The White Man’s Burden”)

made it the duty of an Anglo Saxon country like the U.S. to civilize the “inferior races.”

The civil war generation were slowly giving way to a new generation of U.S. leaders who were not affected by the horrors of war.

Conquest of the Hawaii The U.S. have been sending missionaries to

Hawaii for years. However, by the 1880s, Hawaii’s sugar plantations were the main concern for the U.S.

Sugar planters in Hawaii exerted tremendous economic and political power. In 1887, they forced King Kalakaua to accept a new constitution that took away some of his political power and put it in their hands.

In 1891, the King died, and his sister, Queen Liliuokalani, replaced him. By this point, the planters and members of the U.S. Senate conspired to turn Hawaii into a U.S. protectorate.

The Queen rejected this notion and resisted U.S. and foreign influence over Hawaii.

Conquest of the Hawaii In 1893, Pro-American sugar planters, assisted

by U.S. Marines, overthrew the Queen and declared Hawaii a republic and requested that Hawaii be annexed by the U.S.

This resulted in a long debate as to the proper role of the U.S. in Hawaii.

President Cleveland sent a commission to Hawaii to determine the wishes of the citizens of Hawaii concerning their future.

After the commission reported back that most Hawaiians supported the Queen, Cleveland announced that he was opposed to the annexation of Hawaii.

In, 1896, President McKinley reversed Cleveland’s policy and called for the acceptance of manifest destiny in U.S. control of Hawaii.

The Spanish-American War

The steps leading to this war began in 1868, when Cuban colonists revolted against the Spanish, who controlled the island.

The Spanish, through negotiations, were able to maintain control over the island.

In 1895, an economic depression, caused the falling sugar and tobacco prices, caused economic hardship and another revolt took place.

The Spanish sent in a huge force of 150,000 troops and instituted a policy of reconcentration, which sent civilians who the Spanish thought might be potential allies of the rebels, into heavily guarded camps. The conditions of these camps were appalling.

The Spanish-American War

The Cuban exile community in the U.S. pressured America to intervene on the side of the rebels, but President Cleveland, and then President McKinley both resisted the pressure.

Pressure on McKinley increased when Cuban rebels started to destroy American economic interests in Cuba.

The American press also bean to swerve public opinion towards through the use of yellow journalism. These “journalists” took liberties to describe the incidents of torture, rape, and execution by the Spanish.

In 1898, McKinley sent the U.S.S. Maine to Cuba to protect American interests after violent outbreaks of riots. On February 15, the U.S.S. Maine was sunk. Even though there was no conclusive evidence to determine what caused the ship’s sinking, the press capitalized on the event as an excuse to attack the Spanish.

Enormous amounts of pressure was on McKinley to attack the Spanish. McKinley sent a list of demands to Spain to avoid war. The Spanish agreed to a vast majority of McKinley’s demands, however, he finally gave in to the pressures.

The Spanish-American War

On April 11, 1898, Congress invoked its Article I, Section 8, Clause 11 war powers for the third time in its history.

Theodore Roosevelt resigned his position in the Naval Department to lead the “Rough Riders” up San Juan Hill in the most famous event of the war.

Approximately 2,500 Americans died in this war. However, only 400 died in combat. The remaining 2,100 died from malaria and food poisoning.

Spanish casualties were very high. The final blow came when Admiral Dewey destroyed the Spanish fleet in the Pacific.

The Treaty of Paris ended the war. According to the treaty, Spain recognized the independence of Cuba, for a payment of $20 million, and it gave the U.S. the Philippines, Puerto Rico and Guam.

The Spanish-American War

President McKinley supported American control of the Philippines, stating that if Americans didn’t enter, civil war was likely to occur there, because the Filipinos were simply “unfit for self governance.”

The U.S. forces began its occupation of the Philippines in 1899. They fought Filipino rebels over the next three years and nearly 4,500 U.S. soldiers died in the fighting. In turn, over 200,000 Filipinos were killed during the occupation.

The Election of 1900

Riding high in popularity after the Spanish American War, the Republicans re-nominated President McKinley and war hero, New York Governor Theodore Roosevelt as Vice President.

The Democrats, as they did in 1896, re-nominated William Jennings Bryan, who again argued for free silver.

With most Americans accepting the recently enacted gold standard, Bryan vigorously attacked the growth of American imperialism.

While many Americans questioned the growth of American imperialism, it was not enough to make it a winning issue for Bryan. McKinley defeated Bryan with 292 electoral votes (7,228,864 popular votes) to Bryan’s 155 electoral votes (6,370,932 popular votes).

Assassination of McKinley

The President and Mrs. McKinley attended the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. He delivered a speech about his positions on tariffs and foreign trade on September 5, 1901. The following morning, McKinley visited Niagara Falls before returning to the Exposition.

That afternoon McKinley had an engagement to greet the public at the Temple of Music. Standing in line, Leon Frank Czolgosz waited with a pistol in his right hand concealed by a handkerchief. At 4:07 p.m. Czolgosz fired twice at the president.

Assassination of McKinley

The first bullet grazed his shoulder, but the second went through his stomach, pancreas, and kidney, and finally lodged in the muscles of his back. McKinley whispered to his secretary, George Cortelyou, “My wife, Cortelyou, be careful how you tell her, oh be careful.” Czolgosz would have fired again, but he was struck by a bystander and then subdued by an enraged crowd. The wounded McKinley reportedly called out "Boys! Don't let them hurt him!” because the angry crowd beat Czolgosz so severely it looked as if they might kill him on the spot.

The bullets were extracted and McKinley's doctors believed he would recover. He convalesced for more than a week in Buffalo at the home of the exposition's director. On the morning of September 12, he felt strong enough to receive his first food orally since the shooting — toast and a small cup of coffee. However, his condition got worse.

Assassination of McKinley

On September 14, 1901, eight days after he was shot, he died at age 58 from gangrene surrounding his wounds. He would become the fifth U.S. President to die in office and the third to be assassinated.

Czolgosz was tried and found guilty of murder, and was executed by electric chair at Auburn Prison on October 29, 1901.

Theodore Roosevelt would become the fifth Vice-President to succeed to the presidency due to the death of the incumbent.

President Theodore Roosevelt Born: October 27, 1858 Died: January 16, 1919 Term in Office: (1901-1909) Political Party: Republican

The Theodore Roosevelt Presidency

The Theodore Roosevelt Presidency

OFFICE NAME TERM

President Theodore Roosevelt 1901–1909Vice President Charles Fairbanks 1905–1909

Secretary of State John Hay 1901–1905  Elihu Root 1905–1909  Robert Bacon 1909Secretary of the Treasury Lyman J. Gage 1901–1902

  Leslie M. Shaw 1902–1907  George B. Cortelyou 1907–1909Secretary of War Elihu Root 1901–1904  William Howard Taft 1904–1908  Luke E. Wright 1908–1909Attorney General Philander C. Knox 1901–1904  William H. Moody 1904–1906  Charles J. Bonaparte 1906–1909Postmaster General Charles E. Smith 1901–1902  Henry C. Payne 1902–1904  Robert J. Wynne 1904–1905  George B. Cortelyou 1905–1907  George von L. Meyer 1907–1909Secretary of the Navy John D. Long 1901–1902  William H. Moody 1902–1904  Paul Morton 1904–1905  Charles J. Bonaparte 1905–1906  Victor H. Metcalf 1906–1908  Truman H. Newberry 1908–1909Secretary of the Interior Ethan A. Hitchcock 1901–1907  James Rudolph Garfield 1907–1909Secretary of Agriculture James Wilson 1901–1909Secretary of Commerce and Labor George B. Cortelyou 1903–1904  Victor H. Metcalf 1904–1906  Oscar S. Straus 1906–1909

The Theodore Roosevelt Presidency

Supreme Court Appointments by President Roosevelt

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. - 1902William Rufus Day - 1903

William Henry Moody - 1906

States Admitted to the Union

Oklahoma - November 16, 1907

Rise of Progressivism With the ascension of Roosevelt to the presidency, a

new era of progressivism also emerged. Progressives wanted to improve the life experienced

by the lower classes. They also feared the potential revolution found in the

socialist and anarchist writings of the era. As a consequence, they proposed a series of gradual

reforms. Progressive programs were not universally accepted

by everyone. Many of their programs meant more government control over people’s lives.

Many of the early successes of progressivism were actions taken against urban political machines.

In cities such as Cleveland, municipal utilities were taken over by the city to provide more efficient service. For example, some reformer mayors established shelters for the homeless.

Rise of Progressivism It was at the state level that some of the most

important political work of progressivism took place. Governors Robert La Follette from Wisconsin and Hiram Johnson from California introduced a series of reform that gave citizens more of a direct role in the political process. Such reforms included the following: The adoption of the 17th Amendment, which

allowed the voters to select their senators directly, in lieu of the state legislatures.

The adoption of the initiative process. The adoption of the referendum process. The adoption of the recall process. The adoption of the direct primary process.

Roosevelt’s Foreign Policy Highlights of Theodore Roosevelt foreign policy included

construction of the Panama Canal, which would link the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.

A French company held the rights to build the canal. However, the U.S. bought the rights from the French company, and the Columbian Government protested. They were holding out for more money from the U.S. to build the canal.

The U.S. and the French help to organized a revolt against the Colombian government. The U.S. warships sailed off the coast of Panama to help the rebels.

The U.S. quickly recognized the independence of Panama and they paid them $10 million to construct the canal.

Another highlight of Roosevelt’s foreign policy was his winning of the Nobel Peace Prize for his mediation between the Japanese and the Russians after the Russo-Japanese War of 1904.

Roosevelt would be the first sitting U.S. President to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Other sitting U.S. Presidents to win this honor include Woodrow Wilson in 1919 and Barack H. Obama II in 2009. President Jimmy Carter would also win the award in 2002, after he had left office.

The Square Deal of Theodore Roosevelt

In 1902, TR helped mediate a strike between the United Mine Workers and the coal companies. In doing so, he stated that the agreement was a “square Deal” for both sides. This term began the slogan of the Roosevelt Administration’s efforts to help the plight of many ordinary Americans.

TR implemented a number of progressive measures that were a part of his Square Deal agenda. They included the following: The Hepburn Act The Pure Food & Drug Act The Meat Inspection Act

Roosevelt also used the federal government to aggressively investigate and prosecute illegal trusts and holding companies.

TR had his Justice Department to sue Standard Oil, the American Tobacco Company, and Northern Securities Company which owned many railroads.

The Square Deal of Theodore Roosevelt

TR also created the U.S. Forest Service and he was instrumental in passing the 16th Amendment which authorized the collection of federal income taxes.

However, not everyone benefited from TR’s progressive agenda. Theodore Roosevelt met twice with Booker T. Washington but other than that, he did very little to help the conditions of blacks during his presidency.

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) had established the “separate but equal” doctrine which created a system of segregation. Also a huge race riot occurred in Springfield, Illinois in 1908. The progressive era was not successful in improving race relations.

The Election of 1904

In 1904, both William Jennings Bryan and former President Grover Cleveland declined to run for president. The Republican Party had re-nominated Roosevelt, who was riding high from the popularity of his square deal.

The Democrats knew that he was colorful and popular with the people; it was felt that only a good man could defeat a good man. Many believed the Democrat best qualified for this task was Alton B. Parker, a Bourbon Democrat from New York. Parker was the Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals and was respected by both Democrats and Republicans in his state. On several occasions, the Republicans paid Parker the honor of running no one against him when he ran for various political positions.

The Election of 1904

Parker refused to work actively for the nomination but did nothing to restrain his conservative supporters, among them the sachems of Tammany Hall. Former President Grover Cleveland also endorsed Parker.

Despite Parker’s endorsements, Roosevelt defeated Parker with 336 electoral votes (7,630,457 popular votes) to Parker’s 140 electoral votes (5,083,880 popular votes).

Women and Progressivism

In 1890, the National American Woman Suffrage Association was created by a merger of two women groups. Its leaders were Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Alice Paul founded the more radical National Woman’s Party.

Both organizations would be crucial in the final push for woman’s suffrage after World War I.

Feminists wanted to remove themselves from the restraints that society had placed on them because they were female. In Muller v. Oregon, a case that went all the way to the Supreme Court in 1908, it made it constitutional for employers to set limits on the number of hours women could work, because no limitations would interfere with the primary role of women which was to be a wife and mother.

The Roosevelt Corollary Theodore Roosevelt most famous quote was to “speak

softly and carry a big stick.” In 1904, he also announced the Roosevelt Corollary to Congress, which stated that the United States had the right to intervene in any country in the Western Hemisphere that did things harmful to the U.S. or if the threat of another country outside the hemisphere was great.

The Roosevelt Corollary strengthened American control over Latin America. For example, the Dominican Republic government went bankrupted, and European countries threatened to intervene to collect their money. Under the Roosevelt Corollary, TR organized the American payment of Dominican debt to keep the Europeans out.

The Election of 1908

Honoring the two term tradition established by President Washington, Roosevelt refused to seek another term.

Instead, he threw his support behind William Howard Taft, who had served as Roosevelt’s Secretary of War. The Republicans readily endorsed Roosevelt’s hand picked successor.

The Democrats, for the third and final time, nominated William Jennings Bryan for President.

The Election of 1908

The results were as expected. Taft defeated Bryan with 321 electoral votes (7,678,395 popular votes) to Bryan’s 162 electoral votes (6,408,984 popular votes).

President William Howard Taft Born: September 15, 1857 Died: March 8, 1930 Term in Office: (1909-1913) Political Party: Republican

The William H. Taft Presidency

The William H. Taft Presidency

OFFICE NAME TERM

President William Howard Taft 1909–1913

Vice PresidentJames S. Sherman 1909–1912

None 1912–1913

Secretary of State Philander C. Knox 1909–1913

Secretary of WarJacob M. Dickinson 1909–1911

Henry L. Stimson 1911–1913

Secretary of the Treasury Franklin MacVeagh 1909–1913

Secretary of Commerce & Labor

Charles Nagel 1909–1913

Attorney General George W. Wickersham 1909–1913

Secretary of the Navy George von L. Meyer 1909–1913

Secretary of the InteriorRichard A. Ballinger 1909–1911

Walter L. Fisher 1911–1913

The William H. Taft Presidency

Supreme Court Appointments by President Taft

Horace Harmon Lurton — 1910Charles Evans Hughes — 1910

Edward Douglass White (Chief Justice) — 1910Willis Van Devanter — 1911

Joseph Rucker Lamar — 1911Mahlon Pitney — 1912

States Admitted to the Union

New Mexico – January 6, 1912Arizona – February 14, 1912

William Howard Taft & Progressivism

Many historians regard Taft as the real trustbuster. More antitrust lawsuits went to court when he was president than during the Roosevelt presidency.

During Taft’s presidency, the Sherman Antitrust Act was used against 95 corporations.

However, Taft lacked TR’s personal magnetism and he often deferred important decisions to Congress.

Taft was influenced by the conservative wing of the Republican Party, which opposed additional progressive reforms. As a result of his support of the Payne-Adrich Tariff Act of 1909, Taft began to anger the Progressive wing of the Republican Party.

William Howard Taft & Progressivism

When Taft allowed Secretary of the Interior Richard A. Ballinger to allow private business to gain access to several million acres of land in Alaska. The head of the Park Service, Gifford Pinchot, who was a close friend of Roosevelt, protested this action and Taft subsequently fired him. The Ballinger-Pinchot Affair further angered the progressives and they began to openly campaign against Taft.

TR returned from his extended trip to Africa and he campaigned for several progressive candidates while Taft campaigned against them. The result of the 1910 mid-term elections was that TR’s progressive candidates dominated the Senate.

The Election of 1912

Reform efforts dominated the 1912 election. For the first time since 1860, there were four major candidates vying for the Presidency.

The relationship between former President Theodore Roosevelt and President Taft had further deteriorated to the point that Roosevelt challenged Taft for the Republican nomination.

Taft was successfully re-nominated after his supporters excluded Roosevelt’s delegates from the party’s convention.

After this move by Taft, the Progressive Republicans formed a new party, the Bull Moose Party, and they nominated Roosevelt as their candidate.

The Democrats nominated a political newcomer to the national scene, Woodrow Wilson, the Governor of New Jersey.

The Election of 1912 The Socialist Party, gaining strength, nominated Eugene V.

Debs. With Taft enjoying little popularity and Debs considered a

radical, the election came down to Roosevelt and Wilson. Roosevelt called for a New Nationalism, with more

government regulation of business and unions, women suffrage, and more social welfare.

Wilson called for a new freedom, which would limit both big business and big government, bring about reform by ending corruption and revive competition by supporting small business.

Taft and Roosevelt split the Republican vote, which allowed Wilson to emerge victorious with 435 electoral votes (6,296,284 popular votes). Roosevelt came in second place with 88 electoral votes (4,122,721 popular votes), followed by the incumbent Taft with 8 electoral votes (3,486,242 popular votes) and Debs with 0 electoral votes (901,551 popular votes).

The Election of 1912

Taft and Roosevelt split the Republican vote, which allowed Wilson to emerge victorious with 435 electoral votes (6,296,284 popular votes). Roosevelt came in second place with 88 electoral votes (4,122,721 popular votes), followed by the incumbent Taft with 8 electoral votes (3,486,242 popular votes) and Debs with 0 electoral votes (901,551 popular votes).

President Woodrow Wilson Born: December 28, 1858 Died: February 3, 1924 Term in Office: (1913-1921) Political Party: Democrat

The Woodrow Wilson Presidency

The Woodrow Wilson Presidency

The Wilson CabinetOffice Name Term

President Woodrow Wilson 1913–1921Vice President Thomas R. Marshall 1913–1921

Secretary of State William J. Bryan 1913–1915Robert Lansing 1915–1920Bainbridge Colby 1920–1921

Secretary of Treasury William G. McAdoo 1913–1918Carter Glass 1918–1920David F. Houston 1920–1921

Secretary of War Lindley M. Garrison 1913–1916Newton D. Baker 1916–1921

Attorney General James C. McReynolds 1913–1914Thomas W. Gregory 1914–1919A. Mitchell Palmer 1919–1921

Postmaster General Albert S. Burleson 1913–1921

Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels 1913–1921

Secretary of the Interior Franklin K. Lane 1913–1920John B. Payne 1920–1921

Secretary of Agriculture David F. Houston 1913–1920Edwin T. Meredith 1920–1921

Secretary of Commerce William C. Redfield 1913–1919Joshua W. Alexander 1919–1921

Secretary of Labor William B. Wilson 1913–1921

The Woodrow Wilson Presidency

Supreme Court Appointments by President Wilson

James Clark McReynolds – 1914Louis Dembitz Brandeis – 1916

John Hessin Clarke – 1916

States Admitted to the Union

None

Woodrow Wilson & Progressivism Much legislation was enacted under Woodrow Wilson

that pleased reformers. Examples of the reforms included the following: The Underwood Tariff Act of 1913 – cut tariffs on

imported goods. The Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914 was a

continuation of the Sherman Antitrust Act Establishment of the Federal Trade Commission. The creation of the Federal Reserve System.

Despite Wilson’s Progressive endeavors, a question mark was left over the whole progressive era. It is true that the progressive movement had done much to improve the condition of American cities, the plight of factory workers, the support of urban immigrants, but what about the others who were outside these categories, like migrant farmers and African Americans?

Woodrow Wilson & Progressivism The anti-black message of D.W. Griffith’s 1915 film,

Birth of a Nation was applauded by many. President Wilson stated that the film presented a “truthful” depiction of the Reconstruction era. In 1909, the National Association for the Advancement of Color People (NAACP) to further fight for black equality and to fill the void the progressive movement left.

The outbreak of World War I in Europe turned the interests of many Americans away from political reform. Only reformers concerned with women’s suffrage relentlessly pursued their cause during the war years.

THE END OF LECTURE #16