History of the United States from 1877 to 1917: Industrial Revolution
There are five important things that every American citizen needs to know about the time period from 1877 to 1917:
#5. The 1896 Presidential elections in which William McKinley was elected, marked one of the most important elections of the 19th century since the beginning and the end of Civil War when Abraham Lincoln was the President.
The 1896 elections were highly symbolic in that the victory of McKinley also meant victory for the urban middle-class over the agrarian interests of the West and South. The signing of the Gold Standard Act by McKinley eliminated the economic danger posed by the idea of free silver which would have resulted in inflation and cheap money. The Gold Standard Act stabilized the value of the Dollar to one ounce of Gold (Skrabec 162). The 1896 elections also set the stage for a new-age of politics as the Populist movement lost much of its grip in advocating for less control of the economy by large national corporations which increases the gap of inequality between the rich and the poor. Though Conservative Republicans would dominate and control the White House for the majority of the next 36 years, Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Taft were republicans who had progressive ideologies. For instance, they believed that the local and state governments had a big role to play in ensuring public welfare by controlling big businesses and corporations. Therefore, the progressive republicans were a more dominant force than conservative republicans (Kazin 460).
#4. While Booker T. Washington’s tactics of racial solidarity, peace, and non-confrontation became the foundation of the strategies needed for the success of civil rights mov...
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...s and corruption inside corporations. This in turn greatly influenced public opinion. Consequently, government policies were affected by these revelations and action had to be taken. For instance, when The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair exposed the meat-packing industry, the Congress and President Roosevelt responded by ratifying the Meat Inspection and Pure Food and Drug Act. At the local and state level, the Progressive Movement was in the forefront in condemning political and industrial corruption. Because of the Progressive Movement, direct legislation can be proposed by voters and through voting, specific laws can be passed in many states. In addition, voters have the right to recall corrupt officials. The unrelenting efforts of the Progressives helped to punish grafters, regulate public utilities, and terminate uncompetitive monopolies (Halpin and Teixeira).
Recently you have received a letter from Martin Luther King Jr. entitled “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” In Dr. King’s letter he illustrates the motives and reasoning for the extremist action of the Civil Rights movement throughout the 1960’s. In the course of Dr. King’s letter to you, he uses rhetorical questioning and logistical reasoning, imagery and metaphors, and many other rhetorical devices to broaden your perspectives. I am writing this analysis in hopes you might reconsider the current stance you have taken up regarding the issues at hand.
The mid 19th century is one of the major turnaround in the history of the United States. That is the time when America became an Industrial giant and emerged as one of the powerful countries in the world. Industrial revolution changed the people’s way of living in the whole world especially the United States from hand and home productivity to machine and factory. America rose from rural and agricultural country to an urban-industrial that introduces new technologies. United States has been through a lot of ups and down in spite of its emergence and three books tells the story of the Industrial America in three different perspectives. Each of these perspectives creates the whole idea of what Industrial Revolution is all about.
Have you ever wondered what it would have been like to live in this world and country during the transition from a rural; agriculture society to an economic nation rise of an industrialized society? Well that is exactly what the people of the Gilded Age experienced. It was a time of a dramatic business and political practice. In order for the business’s to rise there soon became a great amount of separation towards the people and the country. This caused our society to experience a stressful time and made it very difficult for ideas and concepts to equal out. Throughout this specific document there are four sources that were written by different individuals. Each and every source has an explanation and an overview of the times in the Gilded Age.
When it all comes down to it, one of the greatest intellectual battles U.S. history was the legendary disagreement between Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois. This intellectual debate sparked the interest of the Northerners as well as the racist whites that occupied the south. This debate was simply about how the blacks, who just gained freedom from slavery, should exist in America with the white majority. Even though Washington and DuBois stood on opposite sides of the fence they both agreed on one thing, that it was a time for a change in the treatment of African Americans. I chose his topic to write about because I strongly agree with both of the men’s ideas but there is some things about their views that I don’t agree with. Their ideas and views are the things that will be addressed in this essay.
During the late 19th and early 20th century, racial injustice was very prominent and even wildly accepted in the South. Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois were two of the most renowned “pioneers in the [search] for African-American equality in America” (Washington, DuBois, and the Black Future). Washington was “born a slave” who highly believed in the concept of “separate but equal,” meaning that “we can be as [distant] as the fingers, yet one as the hand in all things essential to mutual progress” (Washington 1042). DuBois was a victim of many “racial problems before his years as a student” and disagreed with Washington’s point of view, which led
The election of 1892 was won by Cleveland (D). He had brought new ideas and was an inspiration to all including the opposite parties. Cleveland had the majority of the votes especially the votes that came from the East coast which has major plantations (Document D). Cleveland promised big hope for people. He was said to have solid sense and able to give social stability especially by being accompanied with McKinley (Document I). In the end Cleveland just gave land to farmers because of the complaints of the railroads.
In 1906, socialist Upton Sinclair published The Jungle, a book he hoped would awaken the American people to the deplorable conditions of workers in the meat packing industry. Instead, the book sent the country reeling with its description of filthy, rat infested plants, suspect meats processed and sold to consumers, and corrupt government inspectors. President Roosevelt became seriously concerned by the charges brought forth by Mr. Sinclair and determined the only way to protect consumers from unscrupulous business and unsafe food was to enforce regulation.
Many students generally only learn of Dr. King’s success, and rarely ever of his failures, but Colaiaco shows of the failures of Dr. King once he started moving farther North. In the book, Colaiaco presents the successes that Dr. King has achieved throughout his work for Civil Rights. The beginning of Dr. King’s nonviolent civil rights movement started in Montgomery, Alabama, when Rosa Parks refused to move for a white person, violating the city’s transportation rules. After Parks was convicted, Dr. King, who was 26 at the time, was elected president of the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA). “For 381 days, thousands of blacks walked to work, some as many as 12 miles a day, rather than continue to submit to segregated public transportation” (18).
In 1903 black leader and intellectual W.E.B. Du Bois wrote an essay in his collection The Souls of Black Folk with the title “Of Mr. Booker T. Washington and Others.” Both Washington and Du Bois were leaders of the black community in the 19th and 20th century, even though they both wanted to see the same outcome for black Americans, they disagreed on strategies to help achieve black social and economic progress. History shows that W.E.B Du Bois was correct in racial equality would only be achieved through politics and higher education of the African American youth.
At the turn of the twentieth century “Muckraking” had become a very popular practice. This was where “muckrakers” would bring major problems to the publics attention. One of the most powerful pieces done by a muckraker was the book “The Jungle”, by Upton Sinclair. The book was written to show the horrible working and living conditions in the packing towns of Chicago, but what caused a major controversy was the filth that was going into Americas meat. As Sinclair later said in an interview about the book “I aimed at the publics heart and by accident hit them in the stomach.”# The meat packing industry took no responsibility for producing safe and sanitary meat.
During the Progressive Era, occurring from 1890 until 1920, progressives attempted to make many changes at a national level and were characterized by support for economic, social, and political reforms. By realizing the rapid industrial growth, poor class, and immigration, progressive’s goals were to relieve these issues and create laws that gave the common people more power. Progressive reformers gave significance to issues of black rights and also to women suffrage, however these issues had proved to be forgotten by Woodrow Wilson, whom of which was the president during this time. Although the reformers were not successful with these two issues, they seemed to be successful in improving much of the other negativity that had occurred during this era including the working conditions of the meat industry, child labor laws, and by changing the competition from large companies. In the end, all of these proved that the reformers turned out to be very successful in bringing reform to a national level. Along with these issues that the progressives tried to stop competition, they also fought many groups that tried to eliminate social classes along the way. Progressives were able to be successful in restoring economic competition, making the government more efficient, and stemming the tide of socialism.
Bounded by the end of the nineteenth century and the American entry into World War I, the Progressive Era brought dramatic changes to the nation’s economic, political, and social sectors. Progressives included both men and women from various ethnic groups, classes, and occupations who challenged traditional attitudes about the American way of life. The roots of Progressivism date back to the mid to late 1800s, when angry farmers and small business owners formed the Grange and later the Populist Party to confront unfair practices of big business. Progressivism appealed to middle and lower-class Americans who felt helpless against industrial giants like Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller, whose increasing power influenced politicians and the laws and regulations they sanctioned.
America was a time of rapid growth for people all across the country. The Industrial Revolution began a few years after the Civil War with the invention of steam powered machines. From there, America faced a time of massive expansion and modern industrialized cities popped up across the United States. While there was much success across the nation, such as manual labor becoming easier and a huge population growth, the negative effects of industrialization outweigh the positives. A few of the issues that made industrialization an atrocious time for many was the racism and segregation towards immigrants and unsafe and unfair working conditions/the deprivation of a regular childhood for kids across the nation.
Whenever people discuss race relations today and the effect of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, they remember the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He was and continues to be one of the most i...
The Industrial Revolution, which took place between the 18th and 19th centuries, was a shifting period from primarily agrarian society to industrial society. During this time, many changes took place. Industrialization changed various different industries including technology, transportation, and immigration. Products could now be mass produced using machines. There was no longer a need for highly skilled workers, because of the ease of working a machine. The process of industrialization is called a revolution because it distinguished a change in the way the world operated.