A Large Workforce

                Human resources available to American industry were as important as natural resources. With this it helps make America capable of industrializing rapidly. Between 1860 and 1910 the population of the United States tripled in size. Population growth provided industry with an abundant work force, an also created demand for consumer goods.

Between 1870 and 1910, more than 17 million immigrants arrived in the United States. American Industry began to grow at a time when social and economic conditions in Europe and China convinced many people to immigrate to America. Many seek to find a better life; others seek to escape oppressive governments and religious persecution. Multitudes of people joined the workforce, while others helped increase factories and companies.  

Cornelius Vanderbil

         Cornelius Vanderbilt was an American industrialist and philanthropist who built his wealth in shipping and railroads. He was one of the most successful rail road workers of all time. By 1869, he had purchased and merged three short running railroads to form the New York Central. He had his own rail road service between New York and Chicago around 1871.

Thomas Edison

Thomas Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He created many devices that influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and the electric light bulb. He was curious about the world at a young age, he learned a lot about mechanics in his laboratory. Edison set up his lab with the money he received from improving the telegraph. He was the first to make a commercial light bulb. With this invention we have electricity running through our homes to help us see. It also helps in advancing modern technology.

Alexander Graham Bell

Alexander Graham Bell grew up in Scotland; He was a scientist, inventor, engineer and innovator who is credited with inventing the first telephone. He ended up immigrating to the United States. He came to the United States in 1874. He had an assistant named Thomas Watson who helped him with the creation of the telephone.  He created the telephone, which will revolutionize the way we communicate forever. Without this invention we would not have cell phones, and we probably would not have key boards either.

Bell and Telephone

            In 1874 a Scottish immigrant named Alexander Graham Bell suggested the idea of the telephone to his assistant, Thomas Watson. Watson believed that creating the telephone could actually work, and realized they could make profit on this invention. The invention of the telephone revolutionized the way we communicate now.

Without this one person’s one idea would we have the same technology we have today? Without Alexander Graham Bell we would not have been able to communicate with others like we do now. It only took one person’s idea to revolutionize the way we communicate, and talk to one another, without him we would still be sending letters through the mail.

Natural Resources

            A huge amount of raw materials was one of the reasons for the nation’s industrial success. The U.S. had vast natural resources such as iron, copper, coal, and timber. American companies could obtain these natural resources cheaply because they did not have to get it imported. In 1859 Edwin Drake drilled the first oil well in Pennsylvania. By 1900 oil fields were growing and oil production rose.

People began using a new natural resource called petroleum. Before the automotive age petroleum was still in high demand because it turned into kerosene. The American oil industry was just beginning when residents of Pennsylvania noticed oil bubbling to the surface of streams. This led to Edwin Drake drilling the first oil well.

 

Rutherford Hayes

             

Rutherford Hayes was born on October 4, 1822 in Delaware. He died in January 17, 1893. He was the 19^th president of the United States. Hayes oversaw the end of the reconstruction. Hayes out effort that led to civil service reform and attempted to reconcile the divisions left over from the Civil War and Reconstruction. In 1858-1861, Hayes left a successful political career to join the Union Army as an officer. He was wounded five times, at the Battle of South Mountain. He was known for his bravery in combat. He was promoted to the rank major general. From 1865-1867 as a Republican, Hayes left Congress to run for Governor of Ohio. In 1868-1872, Hayes was elected to two terms.

                In 1876, Hayes was elected for president in one of the most difficult elections. After the hard and difficult election, Hayes won the election. But after the election, Hayes ended all federal army intervention in Southern politics. That caused the collapse of Republican state of governments and led to a Solid South that is a solidly Democratic South.

Pancho Villa

            Pancho Villa was born on June 5, 1878 in San Juan Del Rio Durango. His full name is Jose Doroteo Arango Arambula. In March 1916, Pancho and a group of guerrillas (an armed band that uses surprises attacks and sabotage rather than open warfare) burned a town in Columbus, New Mexico, and killed 16 Americans. When Wilson found this out, he sent 6,000 troops under General John J. Pershing across the border and to find and capture Villa. The search for Villa was a total fail, it made Wilson recall Pershing’s troops in 1917.

                Wilsons Mexican policy damaged U.S foreign relations. The British ridiculed the presidents attempt to “shoot the Mexicans into self-government.’’ Latin Americans regarded his “moral imperialism” as no improvement over Theodore Roosevelt’s “big stick.” Wilson followed Roosevelt’s example in the Caribbean. In 1915 he sent marines into Haiti to put down a rebellion. The marines stayed there until 1934. Then in 1916 he sent troops into the Dominican Republic to preserve order and to set up a government he hoped would be more stable and democratic than the current regime. 

William McKinley

William McKinley was born on January 29, 1843. He got assassinated on September 14, 1901. He was the 25^th president of the United States. McKinley led the nation to victory in the Spanish- American War. Raised protective tariffs to promote American industry, and maintained the nation on the gold standard in a rejection of inflationary proposals. Though McKinley presidency was cut short because of his assassination, his presidency marked the beginning of a period of dominance by the Republican Party that lasted for more than a third of a century.

Panama Canal Construction

Theodore Roosevelt insisted displaying American power to the world, so that would make other nations think twice about fighting and also think about peace.  One of his sayings was “Speak softly and carry a big stick.” Roosevelt and many others thought having a canal through Central America was vital to American power in the world. In the 1850’s, the United States and Great Britain agreed to not build a canal without others participation. In 1901, the U.S and Great Britain signed the Hay-Pauncefote Treaty, which basically gave the U.S permission to build a canal through Central America.

                The United States already two places where they could build a canal. One of the places was Nicaragua and the other going through Panama. In 1903 Panama was Colombia’s most Northern Province. Secretary of State Hay offered Colombia $10 million and a yearly rent of $250,000 for the right to construct the canal and to look around a narrow strip of land on either side. The Colombian government refused the offer because the price was too low and they were afraid of losing control of Panama.

War on Spain

On February 9, 1898, the New York Times printed a letter made by a Cuban agent, it was written by Enrique Dupuy de Lom, the United States ambassador. The letter said, McKinley as “weak and a bidder for the admiration of the crowd.” The nation was furious over that insult. Then on February 15, 1898, when the Maine was ripped apart in Havana Harbor it exploded and sank. Nobody knew why it exploded.

Within the Republican Party, jingoism aggressive nationalism was very strong. Many Democrats also demanded war, the Republicans feared that if McKinley did not go to war the Democrats would win the elections in 1900. April 1, 1898 McKinley asked congress to authorize to use force. On April 19, 1898 the congress proclaimed Cuba independent, demanded that Spain withdraw from the island and to use force if it was necessary. On April 24, Spain declared war on the United States, for the first time in 50 years, the United States was at war with another nation.

Annexing Hawaii

In the 1800’s the Americans found a place where they could refuel and resupply while going through the Pacific Ocean, the Samoan islands, they had one of the best harbors in the South Pacific. The U.S had permission to set base there. There were a lot of whale ships and merchants vessels that went through the Pacific Ocean so they usually would stop and rest on the island. In 1878 missionaries from New England arrived to Hawaii. The U.S settlers found that sugarcane grew very well in Hawaii’s climate and soil. After a while many business men had set up many plantations on the island.

In 1875 the Hawaiian’s were worried about the economic crises and then turned to the British and French for help. The United States signed a treaty, freeing the Hawaiian sugar from tariffs. When the treaty came up, the Senate insisted that Hawaii grant the United States exclusive rights to a naval base at Pearl Harbor. In 1891 Queen Liliuokalani ascended the Hawaiian throne. She really disliked the influence America was having in Hawaii, because of this planters wanted to overthrow the monarchy. They did get the Queen to step down and then asked the United States to annex Hawaii. Hawaii was annexed five years later.

William Taft

            William Taft was born on September 15, 1857 in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was an attorney general under President Ulysses S. Grant, and an ambassador under President Chester A. Arthur. Taft had a wife by the name of Helen (Nellie) Taft. He was a lawyer and from a politically prominent family. In 1904, Taft became secretary of war for Theodore Roosevelt. Taft became president in March 1909. In 1921, Taft was appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court by President Warring G. Harding. He was the first president to start the tradition of throwing the first pitch of the baseball season in 1910.

Theodore Roosevelt

            Born in New York City on October 27, 1858, Roosevelt was the second child in the family. Roosevelt was married to a woman by the name of Alice Hathaway on his 22^nd birthday. Roosevelt went to Columbia University Law School and decided to drop out at the end of that semester. Sadly, one tragic year, Roosevelt’s mother and wife both passed away twelve hours apart. He did end up finding a new wife, an old friend, Edith Kermit Carow. They had 5 children. In 1898, the Spanish-American War led Roosevelt to leave his job as Assistant Secretary of the Navy and in return he led a volunteer cavalry regiment. Roosevelt was a praised as a hero. His reputation took him straight to the office of Governor of New York State. Roosevelt was voted as the vice president under McKinley, but 6 months after the inauguration of March 1901, McKinley was assassinated and Roosevelt stepped up to Presidency. This made him the 26^th President. Roosevelt had many accomplished during his presidency. He conserved nature and made passed the Reclamation Act 1902. Roosevelt won the Nobel Peace Prize for his actions. He ordered investigations in meat packing industries and as a part of his “Big Stick” diplomacy; he sent 16, painted white, warships on a world tour.

Health and Safety Codes and Child Labor

In big businesses around the nation, there were very little health and safety codes. Lochner v. New York (1905) and Muller v. Oregon (1908) are two cases that the Supreme Court lectured the government into regulating businesses, this way they can protect the workers. The Court made a decision to make a law for forbidding bakers to work more than 10 hours a day in Lochner v. New York. In Muller v. Oregon the Court gave the state the right to limit hours for women workers. The state did not have the right to regulate business, so, by the Court’s worry for the healthy mothers, the Fourteenth Amendment was not violated. Building codes were eventually set that regulated the light, air, room size, and cleanliness. The buildings were also required to have fire escapes. Health Codes were for restaurants to maintain a clean atmosphere for their employees and customers.

Child labor had a physical toll on the children. They not only worked for very little money, they were physically stunted and crippled. Their backs would become permanently bent backwards. Their hands would cramp up so bad that they would be deformed, crippled. The children were deprived of sleep and often times, they wouldn’t grow to a normal height for their age. These children wouldn’t get an education like normal kids their age today. They were guaranteed to have the same living conditions and no improvements once they got to their parents age. Sixty cents for a ten-hour day was the average pay for them. Many nine-ten-year-old children died from the awful working conditions. Many Muckrakers would expose the businesses for their gruesome habits. A few Muckrakers that did this were John Spargo and Lewis Hines. The more reports the Muckrakers made, the more convinced the states were. Eventually the states passed laws that gave businesses a minimum age and the maximum hours the children could work.

Conservation

            Roosevelt began the environmental conservation in order to keep the beauty of the American land and its resources. He felt that the government should know the differences “Between the man who skins the land and the man who develops the country,” which he then states that he is working with “And only with, the man who develops the country.” In 1902, he agreed with using federal funds that are received from the public land sales and pay for irrigation and land development projects in an act called The Newlands Reclamation Act. Gifford Pinchot was a friend of Roosevelt. He was made the head of the U.S. Forest Service that was established in 1905. This service was to save forests and forest life.

            The two men believed that resource management trained people should have the same values for the landscape as the others who applied for industry cites. They declined the Laissez-Faire argument and thought that the best way to conserve forests are to sell them to lumber jacks, this way they could sell and take care of the land for that was the major source of their business. Roosevelt had added 100 million acres to many protected national forests. He founded five national parks and fifty-one federal wildlife reservations.

Women’s Suffrage Movement

            The women suffragists were often times accused of being unfeminine, immoral, and people would threaten them.  The suffragists would fight for their right to vote. They felt that if African American males were allowed to vote, then why they shouldn’t be able to also? The group later split into two groups. Two of the major groups in the women suffrage that debated over the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments were the American Woman Association, which was led by Lucy Stone and Julia Ward Howe, and the New York City-based National Woman Suffrage Association which was founded by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B, Anthony.

            The National Woman Suffrage Association had full attention to the passing of a constitutional amendment. The American Woman Association were certain that the best way was to persuade the state government into giving women the right to vote before trying to alter the Constitution. Susan B. Anthony had voted illegally in 1872, and claimed that the fourteenth amendment gave her the right. She was found guilty and arrested. Because of the split between the two suffrage groups, only Colorado, Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming gave women full rights to vote by 1900.

            In 1890, the groups came together to form the NAWSA, National American Woman Suffrage Association. Elizabeth Cady Stanton became the president of the Association. Politically, they still had trouble finding women who had the guts to become active. The movement grew, by 1912, Women and their children marched in a suffrage parade in NYC. Carrie Chapman Catt became the 1915 leader of NAWSA. On August 26, 1920, the Nineteenth amendment was ratified by three-fourths of the state. This granted women the right to vote. 

The Muckrakers

            The Muckrakers are the first people give progressive ideas. They were journalists who searched social conditions and political corruption. The Muckrakers was a nickname given to them by Theodore Roosevelt, and it referred to a character Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan. This character was greatly similar to the muckrakers for the both of them would find scandal and filth. Roosevelt said the muckrakers were obsessed with the scandal and corruption that was happening. Their ideas were spread by cheap newspapers and magazines, which were widely spread around the nation.

            These Muckrakers would dedicate their lives to searching for the latest corruption that happened. Often times they would look into exposing large companies. The beef industry was exposed by Charles Edward Russell in Everybody’s Magazine; Ida Tarbell had a series of critical articles about oil, which was most of the time about the Standard Oil Company. No one was safe. The practices of built-up political machines that stole votes were exposed by Lincoln Steffens.  One Muckraker, Jacob Riis, would take photos and write on poverty, disease and crime that occurred. They would be influenced by Jacob Riis’s book the Other Half Live. The Muckrakers’ articles were eventually put into a book called, The Shame of The Cities.

Treaty of Versailles

World War 1 was not over even though the fighting had stopped in November 1918, a peace treaty had to negotiated and signed. On January 1919 delegates from 27 countries traveled to the Palace of Versailles in France for a peace conference, making the treaty with Germany named the Treaty of Versailles. The Treaty of Saint-Germain was also negotiated which ended the war with Austria-Hungary.  Important participants of the conference were the  “Big Four” which consisted of President Wilson, British Prime Minister David George, Georges Clemenceau the French Premier, and Italian Prime Minister Vittorio Orlando. No representatives for Russia were invited because Wilson along with others didn’t recognize Lenin’s government as a real government. The Negotiations on the Treaty of Versailles lasted five months.

The Treaty of Versailles was signed by the Germans on June 28, 1919 and was designed to punish and weaken Germany. The treaty blamed Germany for the war, it stated that it had been caused by “the aggression of Germany.” President Wilson came to the conference with a plan called The Fourteen Points, which wasn’t fully used. The plan was designed to eliminate the causes of the war through free trade, freedom of the seas and more, the last eight points addressed the right of national self-determination. The US senate didn’t sign the treaty, they voted in November 1919 and in March 1920 and both times it was ratified. Later on the United States negotiated a separate peace treaties with the Central Powers.

John J. Pershing

John Pershing, nicknamed “Black Jack,” was the general officer who led the American Expeditionary Forces in the war. He was born on September 13, 1860 in Laclede, Missouri. John Pershing was promoted to full general in the National Army after Frederick Funston, considered for the top billet as the Commander of the American Expeditionary Force, died from a heart attack on February 19, 1917. Pershing arrived in Paris July 4, 1917, the British and French commanders wanted to split up the American troops into their own but Pershing didn’t want that. Presidents Wilson supported Pershing in not separating American troops, Pershing insisted that American soldiers fight in American units with American command. American successes were largely credited to Pershing, and he became the most celebrated American leader of the war. He died July 15, 1948 at the age of 87 in Washington, D.C.

President Woodrow Wilson

Woodrow Wilson was the 28^th president of the United States, he was president from 1913 to 1921. Wilson was born in Virginia in 1856. He graduated from Princeton and the University of Virginia Law School, Wilson earned his doctorate at Johns Hopkins University. Wilson was nominated for President in 1912 and received only 42 percent of the popular vote in the three-way election but an overwhelming electoral vote. He won the re-election in 1916 because of the new laws one that prohibited child labor and another that limited railroad workers to an eight-hour day, also the slogan "he kept us out of war.” But later on in April 1917 after a series of events he asked congress to declare war on Germany. When the war was over the wanted to establish the Fourteen Points and a League of Nations at the conference for the Treaty of Versailles but at the end United States didn’t take part of the League of Nations and the Senate rejected to sign the Treaty of Versailles.

U.S. Enters War

President Wilson was determined to keep out of the war when it first began. He stated that the U.S. was to remain neutral and even though the president ordered that America stay neutral many Americans took sides. At that time many of the millions of German Americans supported their homeland and many of Irish American also supported the Central Powers in the war. In other cases many other Americans treasured the links with France since they were a great help to America during the Revolutionary War. Although many Americans had taken one side or another the U.S. had remained neutral for more than two years during the war.

Then on May 7, 1915, a German submarine sunk the British ship Lusitania killing about 1,200 passengers of which 128 of them Americans including women and children. Many Americans saw this as a terrorist attack on civilians and not an act of war, but even then Wilson tried to defuse the crisis of going into the war. German submarines then attacked any ship without warning that entered the waters around Britain. Between February 3^rd and March 21^st German submarines sank six American ships, then finally President Wilson had enough and on April 2, 1917 he asked Congress to declare war on Germany. Senate passed the resolution on April 4^th and the House on April 6^th that’s when Wilson signed it and America was at war.

Franz Ferdinand

Franz Ferdinand was the Archduke of Austria-Hungary and he was also the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. He was born December 18, 1863, in Graz, Austria and the oldest son of Archduke Karl Ludwig. On the day of his assassination he was visiting the capital of Bosnia, Sarajevo, even though he was warned of the terrorist activity by the nationalist group, "Black Hand,” he still decided to go. His wife, Sophie, went with him on the visit and on the way back from their visit the driver took a wrong turn and that’s when Gavrillo Princip a member of the group “Black Hand”, a Serbian nationalist group, shot the couple to death. His assassination led to the beginning of World War 1.

World War 1 Begins

Roots of World War 1 go back to 1864 when the German kingdom of Prussia had its first wars to unite German states into on big nation. By 1871 Prussia had all the states united and established the birth of the German Empire, it quickly became one of the most powerful nations in the world. They attacked and defeated France and made France give up a territory along the German border called Alsace-Lorraine, this caused France and Germany to become enemies. Germany wanted to protect itself and they signed alliances with Austria-Hungary and Italy which became known as the Triple Alliance. This alarmed the Russians because Austria-Hungary was competing with them to influence in southeastern Europe. Russia and France then signed an alliance called the Franco-Russian Alliance.

June 1914 Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne visited the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo. While Franz Ferdinand and his wife rode through the city a member of a Serbian nationalist group, Gavrillo Princip, rushed to their car, opened it and shot both Ferdinand and his wife to death. Serbian officials knew of the assassination and hoped to start a war that would bring down the Austro-Hungarian Empire. On the 28^th of July Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, Russia being their ally immediately mobilized its army. Then on the 1^st of August Germany declared war on Russia, two days after that they declared war on France and World War one had begun.

Roots of World War 1 go back to 1864 when the German kingdom of Prussia had its first wars to unite German states into on big nation. By 1871 Prussia had all the states united and established the birth of the German Empire, it quickly became one of the most powerful nations in the world. They attacked and defeated France and made France give up a territory along the German border called Alsace-Lorraine, this caused France and Germany to become enemies. Germany wanted to protect itself and they signed alliances with Austria-Hungary and Italy which became known as the Triple Alliance. This alarmed the Russians because Austria-Hungary was competing with them to influence in southeastern Europe. Russia and France then signed an alliance called the Franco-Russian Alliance.

June 1914 Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne visited the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo. While Franz Ferdinand and his wife rode through the city a member of a Serbian nationalist group, Gavrillo Princip, rushed to their car, opened it and shot both Ferdinand and his wife to death. Serbian officials knew of the assassination and hoped to start a war that would bring down the Austro-Hungarian Empire. On the 28^th of July Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, Russia being their ally immediately mobilized its army. Then on the 1^st of August Germany declared war on Russia, two days after that they declared war on France and World War one had begun.