Posted: August 31st, 2022

Why did America become an empire when it did?

Why did America become an empire when it did?

I believe America became an Empire when it did because they were at the end of one war and were on the brink of the industrial revolution. The goal was to gain land, money, control of trade, and, in short: power. Control of trade and the ability to bring in more money seemed like a major reason for America becoming an Empire. The country wanted to export all of their burgeoning inventions and goods that they were rapidly manufacturing in order to bring in more money (Divine, 677).

On that note, innovations, in general, were feeding the idea that America was a powerful country. The introduction of the transcontinental railroad led to direct routes, greater speed, a more dependable schedule, a larger volume of traffic, the creation of new towns, and the ability to transport goods from one part of the country to another. The export of items like beef from Texas, fruit from Florida, beer from Missouri, and grain from Minneapolis led to an increase in goods that could be exported for foreign trade. Divine writes that the completion of the transcontinental railroad and the Suez Canal in 1869 “knit the world together” (581). Further innovations such as steel, iron, oil, and other inventions that transformed ordinary life were reasons for seeking an Empire. Divine writes, “From the 1870s onward, steel output became the worldwide accepted measure of industrial progress, and nations around the globe vied for leadership” (Divine, 583).

Gaining land was another way in which America sought to become an empire. The acquisition of land meant the acquisition of more power, ports for trade, control of people, more resources to create exports, and so on. The Spanish American War of 1898 thrust America in to power, bringing America in to control of colonies and their people. It gave America involvement in other countries affairs (Divine, 685-86).

During this period of time America also came in to control of Alaska (1867), a naval base in Samoa (1878), Pearl Harbor (1887), the entirety of Hawaii (1898), and Puerto Rico (1898) (Divine, 702)

References

Divine, R.A., Breen, T.H., Williams, R.H., Gross, A.J., & Brands, H.W. (2013). The American Story (5th ed.) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

Who were the Populists? What were their goals? What did they get accomplished?

Populists in the American tradition were mostly rural voters upset by a financial system that favored eastern banking interests; they largely merged very happily with the Democrats 1896; a splinter independent group lasted until 1908. Critics of the influence of big banks and railroads populists backed the interests of their farmer base and were on the “left” in their day while largely remaining social conservatives. The formal name of the party was the People’s Party.

A main goal of the Populist movement was to place controls on monopolistic businesses. Farmers complained that railroads and farm product storage companies (such as grain companies) used the fact that they were large, powerful companies to increase their prices beyond what was considered fair. Railroad companies, for example, frequently monopolized the rail business in the areas in which they owned track. The high prices hurt farmers and caused the retail prices of the farm goods to be high as well, thus hurting other Americans. Thus, the Populist movements pressured the state and federal governments to regulate railroad rates and break up industrial monopolies.

An important part of the Populist Party’s success was in the economic self-help that its participants had been using, and later continued to use, to build power—in particular, farmer cooperatives. Populist organizations like the Farmers Alliance used co-op models to enable farmers to access economies of scale and compete with large banks and railroads that were making their lives very difficult. The legacy of those institutions is tremendous, from brands like Ocean Spray, Land O’Lakes, and Organic Valley to legislative achievements like the Farm Credit System (which eased farmer co-ops’ access to capital) and the Capper Volstead Act (which made an exemption for farmer co-op in antitrust law). The group successfully raised awareness of the plight of workers and farmers, giving way to the first farm grants and encoded rights for workers. This would eventually pave the way for child labor being outlawed and the minimum wage.

Divine, R.A., Breen, T.H., Williams, R.H., Gross, A.J., & Brands, H.W. (2013). The American Story (5th ed.) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

Why did the U.S. get involved in the First World War when it did?

There were various events that caused the U.S. to enter World War I. One would be the sinking of the Lusitania. The Lusitania was a cruise ship headed from the U.S. to Great Britain. It was target by German submarines and the Germans, thinking the cruise ship was carrying weapons, sank it, killing many Americans. This and other sinkings caused tension between the U.S. and Germany. Nearly 1,200 people died including 128 Americans. The sinking was worst since the Titanic went down. Theodore Roosevelt called it “an act of piracy” and demanded war (Divine, 775)

The United States entered the war because of the Germans’ decision to resume the policy of unrestricted submarine warfare, and the so-called “Zimmerman telegram,” intercepted by the British, in which Germany floated the idea of an alliance with Mexico. It stated that if Mexico joined Germany in the War, they would give the U.S to them. Mexico refused, not wanting to ruin relationships between them, but this made the tensions rise even higher. Unrestricted submarine warfare, a desperate effort to counter the British blockade of Germany, would lead to the sinking of American merchant ships heading for England, and had been employed by the Germans before. They abandoned it in the face of US pressure earlier in the war. Its resumption was enough to cause Woodrow Wilson to renounce his stated position of neutrality, as his war speech to Congress demonstrates:

The new policy has swept every restriction aside. Vessels of every kind, whatever their flag, their character, their cargo, their destination, their errand, have been ruthlessly sent to the bottom without warning and without thought of help or mercy for those on board, the vessels of friendly neutrals along with those of belligerents.

While there was significant opposition to the war in the United States, the official position was that the nation could not tolerate such an imposition on its rights as a sovereign nation, to say nothing of the effect of the Zimmerman telegram. American entry into the war broke what had been a bloody stalemate. US troops were instrumental in repulsing a German offensive, and led the way in an Allied offensive, the combined effect of which fatally weakened the German army. Politically, many Europeans hoped that US entry in the war would result in a treaty based on Wilson’s Fourteen Points, but the Treaty of Versailles that officially ended the conflict contained few of its provisions.

Divine, R.A., Breen, T.H., Williams, R.H., Gross, A.J., & Brands, H.W. (2013). The American Story (5th ed.) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

5) What were the significances of advertising and of popular culture to the decade?

In the 1920s there was an economic boom due to a boom in new innovations and technology. The invention of electricity led to increased efficiency in factories—by 1929, 70% of all industrial power came from electricity (Divine, 812). In addition to the use of electricity, the introduction of the assembly line by Ford led to a faster and more efficient churning out of products and was adopted by most factories (Divine, 812). The ability to mass produce items led to a surplus of products and the products that were being created led to efficiency in the home which led to more leisure time for Americans. The surplus of products, as well as the lengthy shelf life of products like cars and appliances, led to the realization that if a product had a long shelf life, it would be awhile before the consumer needed to purchase a new one (Divine, 812). This realization led to the idea that one could create newer versions of something that would appeal to the consumer, thus causing them the need to buy it. However, in order to express to the consumer that they needed a new and improved version of the same product, one needed a way to reach the consumer, thus modern day advertising was born. New products like refrigerators and vacuums and washing machines made the life of the American easier. Household tasks were viewed as a woman’s responsibility and so advertisers targeted women (Divine, 818). Advertisers worked to associate their products with an easy, leisurely, enjoyable life—they did this with vacuums, refrigerators, cars, and even cigarettes (Divine, 814)! These products were also more readily available with the introduction of department stores like Woolworths. These stores could produce advertisements to appeal to Americans and draw them in to their stores. One interesting fact from the reading was that, with the introduction of mass production and standardization, Americans across the country all purchased the same products: an individual in the Midwest could eat the same food and wear the same clothes as an individual in New York City (Divine, 815) which seems like it would make it easier for advertisers to churn out one ad for the entire population. Advertisements ran in newspapers and magazines and could be accessed by Americans across the country. Advertisers used tactics, in addition to associating their product with “the good life”, like sex appeal and a sense of deprivation if you did not own the product they were pushing (Weekly readings). Advertisers also used the popularity of Hollywood movies and spectator sports by having movie stars and sports stars advertise their products, making them appear more desirable and luxurious to the common man (Weekly readings).

Divine, R.A., Breen, T.H., Williams, R.H., Gross, A.J., & Brands, H.W. (2013). The American Story (5th ed.) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

1) How did the 1920s lead to the troubles of the 1930s?

The 1920s were referred to as “The New Era” by businesses (Divine, 815). This New Era appeared to be a time of prosperity but it was a bit of an illusion. People were distracted and blinded by the introduction of the new products that were making their lives easier. While people were busy buying new cars and appliances and were going to jazz clubs and to the theater, once prosperous industries were falling in to disorder. Railroads were being outpaced and replaced by the trucking industry and the personal car (Divine, 815). Coal was no longer in demand, petroleum and natural gas were the new go-to for fuel (Divine, 815). Synthetic fibers were replacing the need for natural crops like cotton (Divine, 815). New England Mills were closing and the jobs were being outsourced down south where labor was cheaper, thus putting thousands of employees out of work (Divine, 815). In addition to these once prosperous industries now floundering, there was an oversaturation of goods on the market. More products were being produced than they were being sold (Divine, 815). There was also an unequal distribution of wealth amongst corporations, business men, management, and workers (Divine, 816).

Now, I struggle a bit with understanding the full concept of stocks, but I have a general idea, so I’m going to try and tackle this. There was a lot of speculation surrounding stocks. People believed stocks were prosperous and would continue to rise, so many people placed a lot of money in to stocks based on faith, rather than on a concrete reality (Readings and Divine). So, lots of people bought stocks in the 1920s and the stocks continued to rise, but the purchasing and rise was not based on actual numbers, but more in the belief that things were going well. The people who were putting money in to stocks often put their entire life savings in to them (Divine, 843). People were busy putting all of their money in to stocks, so they were simultaneously not putting their money in to consumer goods BUT NO ONE SEEMED TO BE PAYING ATTENTION. From 1924 onward, the rise in the purchase of large consumer goods steadily declined and by 1927, the country was in a bit of a recession, purchasing far less than they had in previous years (Divine, 842). In 1929, due to a decline in the purchase of consumer goods, the stock market crashed, and because so many people had invested all of their money in to stocks based on pure speculation, a lot of people lost money. Banks suffered great losses in the crash and were unable to offer loans to consumers (Divine, 844). Consumers, without loans, were unable to make purchases. Without buyers, factories began to slow production and had to layoff workers. The loss of employment led to fewer purchases of consumer goods which led to more layoffs and the closure of some factories (Divine, 844). By 1932, unemployment was at 25% (Divine, 844). Without jobs, people became unable to pay their mortgage and, if they hadn’t already done so in the purchasing of stocks, drained their life savings to pay their mortgages (Readings). Banks had to close (Readings). When banks closed, people who had not gone and retrieved all of their savings, lost their money. A distrust for the banks arose and people rushed to withdraw all of their money. In our textbook, on page 845, they state, “If the billions that had gone in to stock market speculation had been used instead to increase wages—which would then have increased consumer purchasing power—production and consumption would have been brought in to balance”. Of course, hindsight is always 20/20. It’s easy to look back and say, “You should have done this to prevent this” but we can only learn from history’s mistakes.

Divine, R.A., Breen, T.H., Williams, R.H., Gross, A.J., & Brands, H.W. (2013). The American Story (5th ed.) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

What did America’s involvement in World War II mean to the war effort? What did it mean after the war?

Americans seemed to fully support their entrance in to the war following the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, and this support led to a patriotism and willingness to make sacrifices in the name of a future victory (Weekly readings). Americans who remained at home made great sacrifices in the name of the war effort. Many goods were needed to aid soldiers and, as such, Americans began to ration seemingly everything: food, clothing, cars, paper, anything that could be used to support the American military. In fact, Americans were required to use ration coupons in order to purchase food. Some Americans supplemented these coupons with Victory Gardens (where they grew their own food). Many Americans traded coupons in order to purchase the foods they needed. Americans even had Meatless days in order to ration their meat for soldiers. Americans also rationed their clothing, with higher hemlines, less material, no zippers, only one pair of shoes per year—all materials saved from this excess went to the production of uniforms and parachutes. They also ceased buying cars because the rubber and steel were needed for war materials, including bombs. Americans erected watch towers and civil defense systems in every town. Men, women, and teenagers volunteered to keep an eye out for German or Japanese threats. Americans also participated in nightly blackouts, in which all lights had to be out after dark. Even children participated by saving their gun wrappers and turning them in for the use of the aluminum foil. Simultaneously, the economy was booming. Women and black men were able to enter the workforce by way of the war industry, where they received the opportunity to participate in the jobs that were once held for middle class, white men. FDR enforced an anti-discrimination law for war industries, so women were able to make the same salary as men for any job related to the war effort. Industries that boomed were those that were making goods for the war effort: Ford and GM began producing planes and tanks, rather than cars; textile mills began operating again and producing uniforms and parachutes. Following the war, most women returned to their role as homemaker. (All of this information gathered from weekly readings).

During the war, FDR signed an executive order that was meant to ban racial discrimination in war related industries, called the Fair Employment Practices Committee (Divine, 897). This led to a rise in employment for African Americans, as well as a migration from South to North, as African Americans sought employment in car, plane, and shipbuilding industries. This migration led to a nationwide realization of the problem of segregation and racism in America (Divine, 897). Tensions over housing and resources led to violence and riots. There may have been some economic gain for African Americans during the war, but the reality with which they experienced discrimination and inequality became blaringly obvious (Divine, 897). As one black soldier described it, in the war he was just a “black man…fighting a yellow man for the protection of a white man” (Divine, 897).

In addition to racism, at home, FDR signed for the interment of the Japanese in America in 1942 (Divine, 898). Some of these Japanese were born in Japan, but many had also been born on American soil and had only ever lived in America. The Japanese lost their land and their possesions and were kept in camps from 1942 until 1946, at which point they were not given their land back (and would not receive any reparations for this until the 1980s (Divine, 898 and Weekly readings). Not too surprisingly, 5000 Nisei (Japanese Americans, born on American soil) chose to move to Japan, following the end of the war.

Divine, Robert A., Breen, T.H., Williams, R. Hal, Gross, Ariela J., Brands, H.W. (2013). The American Story (5th Edition). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc.

Why did the Second Red Scare happen? What were its repercussions?

The second Red Scare is often referred to McCarthyism. I’m choosing to address this question because, unfortunately, my great grandfather was one of the “bad guys” during McCarthyism (and by one of the bad guys, I mean he was a chairman of the House of UnAmerican Activities—and it’s all strange to me because the rest of our family falls in a very different place, politically speaking, so please no one think we are bad people!). Anyway, the House of UnAmerican Activities Committee was created during the war to weed out undesirable citizens. However, it was following the war, the HUAC became more active and began to focus on government employees by issuing loyalty checks which were supposed to weed out any possible Communists (Divine, 929 and Readings). The fear of communism followed the second world war in to the race for power that persisted between the US and the Soviet Union during the cold war. A big fear of Americans was that the Soviets would use nuclear power and would bomb us at any moment. This was why we feared the Soviets and why Americans fleed away from high population cities to the suburbs, building bomb shelters and stock piling food (which my husband’s grandmother still does, might I add) (Readings). The fear of nuclear threat had Americans on edge and fearful of Soviets and anyone who suspicious of leaning toward communism. In 1950, Senator Joseph McCarthy claimed to have a list of 205 names of known communists (but he never showed this list) (Divine, 931 and Readings). Americans, already fearful of nuclear threat and communists, jumped on this and their fears peaked. McCarthy kept shooting off new accusations, so his detractors were never able to keep up with refuting his false claims (Divine, 931). McCarthy made many accusations against big names in politics and in Hollywood and these accusations cost people their careers (Divine, 932 and Readings). McCarthy’s accusations went against people who showed any sign of past or present pacifism or liberal leanings. People feared McCarthy because they knew that even if they were merely accused, they could lose everything and speaking out against his wrongdoing could have them end up as one of the accused (Readings). McCarthy was eventually outed for his wrongdoing, on television, and he was censured by the senate. McCarthy left a long lasting impact, however. His campaign against supposed communists led to a fear in people that they could be accused on little to no basis and could lose everything. This led to conformity amongst Americans, based out of fear (Divine, 934 and Readings). Conformity led to Americans fitting a very specific standard: white men wore the same basic clothing, they kept their hair short, they did not have facial hair, they worked and were the sole providers for their family—all of these things, they feared, would have them labeled as a communist sympathizer (Readings). Families moved to the suburbs, middle class women stayed in as homemakers and lived a very specific role of homemaker and PTA mom who cooked and cleaned and did it all (Readings).

As for my Great Grandfather, he participated in the accusations against the Hollywood Ten. The Hollywood Ten was a group of ten screenwriters and directors who refused to give in to the investigation performed by the HUAC. Not only did they refuse to cooperate with the questioning from the HUAC, but they also called it out as violating their rights as citizens. These men, along with many other accused writers and other Hollywood figures, were basically blacklisted from Hollywood because no one wanted their work to be associated with an accused Communist sympathizer. For what it’s worth, my great grandfather went to prison for 9 months for his actions. My mother does have fond memories of him as a grandparent, however, and my grandfather (his son) is probably one of the most remarkable men that I know. So, I suppose, we either learn from the mistakes of our parents or, we just are our own people who can form our own values.

https://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/hollywood-ten (Links to an external site.)

Divine, Robert A., Breen, T.H., Williams, R. Hal, Gross, Ariela J., Brands, H.W. (2013). The American Story (5th Edition). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc.

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