WW1: Franz Ferdinand

Franz Ferdinand- Key Person, World War I

 The Austro-Hungarian heir to the throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in late June of 1914. Ferdinand was visiting the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo at the time he was assassinated. The assassin Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian revolutionary, was a member of a Serbian nationalist group, called the "Black Hand." He rushed the Archbishop's open vehicle and shot Ferdinand and his wife to death. The group planned this event with the knowledge of Serbian Officials in hopes to bring down the Austro-Hungarian Empire. This event sparked the beginning of the first World War.

WW1: The US declares War: Sydney

The United States Declares War

     Right after Wilson got reelected, the United States was on the edge of war. It all started with the Zimmerman Telegraph. The German official Arthur Zimmerman sent a telegraph saying that if Mexico would help them with the war, they would give them all of their land that America took control of. The United States found out about this telegraph.

     On April 2, 1917 President Wilson went in front of a joint session of congress to request war against Germany. On April 4, 1917 the U.S. senate supported the war against Germany. Then later on December 7, 1917 the United States on Austria-Hungary. This is what put the United States into the biggest and most well-known wars of all time.

 

ww1: great migration: Chris Honaker

The Great Migration

                For the first time in history, African Americans were being recruited to northern cities to work in factories. Started by Henry Ford, factory owners would promise them plentiful work and high wages to move north. Between 300,000 and 500,000 African Americans moved from the south to occupy these jobs. Known as the “Great Migration,” the racial makeup of northern cities was greatly and forever changed. Before the majority of people in these cities were whites, and now the population was more diverse and much higher.

WW1: Democratic Reforms: Chris Honaker

Democratic Reforms

                Some progressives were focused on making the government a more democratic system and rely more on what the people had to say.  Republican governor of Wisconsin, Robert M. La Follette, Pushed to pass the law that demanded that political parties had to have a direct primary. All party members would vote for one person that would run in the general election. This spread to other states throughout the nation. He also pushed to pass the initiative, referendum, and recall, all of which were to expand the rights and influence of the voters.

                They also took aim on the way that the senate was being elected. Corruption allowed political machines and businesses to have major influences on how these elections were decided. Many times the candidates would return the favor supplying their supporters with federal contracts and jobs. To put an end to this, progressives tried to push for direct elections of the senate by the people. In 1912 congress passed the direct-elections amendment, but this also took away one of the legislatures’ checks on federal balance. In turn, in 1913 the amendment was ratified and became the 17^th amendment. 

Progressive Movement: The Open Door Policy: Chris Honaker

The Open Door Policy

                In 1894, Japan defeated China’s giant army, which were thought at the time to be very strong force in the world, and established a peace treaty that gave Korea their independence and gave Japan control over the territory of Manchuria. Russian leaders didn’t like the idea of the rising Japanese power taking control of the territory and with support of France Germany, forced Japan to give the territory back to China. Shortly after in 1899, Russia forced China to lease the territory to them. This started a chain of “leaseholds” in China by other countries such as France, Britain, and Germany. They called their “leaseholds” their Sphere of Influence.

                Influential people in the United States began to worry about these events happening in China and started to support the Open Door policy. This would allow every country the right to trade with China. In 1899, Secretary of State John Hay, sent letters to all the countries that had these leaseholds, and asked them to let other countries trade within these leases. Every Nation replied by saying that they accepted the policy but wouldn’t enforce it unless all the other nations accepted the policy as well.

Progressive Movement: Progressives: Chris Reyes

Progressives

Progressivism was partly a reaction against laissez-faire economics and its emphasis on an unregulated market. Progressives generally believed that industrialization and urbanization had created many social problems. After seeing the poverty of the working class and the filth and crime of urban society, reformers began doubting the free market’s ability to address those problems. Progressivism was a collection of different ideas and activities.

Progressive Movement: Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt

     Theodore Roosevelt became the youngest president in the year of 1901. It is said that Roosevelt was very competitive, strong-willed, and a very energetic person. He always believed that the United States was in competition with all of the other nations in the world.  He accomplished many things in the 60 years that he lived. He wrote 35 books, fought as a rough rider in the Spanish-American war, and served as the President for two terms. Those are only a few things that he did throughout his life, there are many more as well. He was a hard-working man, and did a lot for the becoming of America. 

Progressive Movement: Coal Strike: Sydney

The Coal Strike of 1902

     One of the beliefs of President Roosevelt was that it was his job to keep society operating well by mediating conflicts between groups because of their interests. He wanted to put those beliefs to practice, and he did, in the fall of 1902. He did this by telling the mine owners that he was going to send the army in to work the mines, instead of the actual workers.

     He did this because in the spring of 1902, the UMV had developed a strike, there were close to 150,000 workers that joined in on this. They wanted larger wages, less working hours, and recognition from the union. Roosevelt saw this as just another example of groups pursuing their interests. He needed a way to get the employees back to work or else the factories would get shut down and many homes could go unheated during the winter. 

Progressive Movement: The Wilson Years

The Wilson Years- Major Event, Progressive Movement

 Wilson won the election of 1912 against the Bull Moose Party. While Wilson was in office he supported lower tariffs, more regulations for business, and creation of a federal reserve. Wilson was a progressive candidate for the Democratic party, and he ran against Theodore Roosevelt. Wilson captured almost 42% of the popular vote and 435 electoral votes, to Roosevelt's 27% and 88 electoral votes.

 While in the Presidency Wilson made many reforms, starting with tariffs. He lowered tariffs so that foreign imports would have a lower price and would force American prices down and drive people to buy American crafted and made items. Wilson then reformed banks, with the Federal Reserve Act. in 1913 this act created regional banks  and these new banks were supervised by a Board of Governors. This Board could supervise the national banking system, they set interest rates that the reserve banks charged other banks, this allowed them to indirectly control the interest rates of the nation and the amount of money in circulation. Under Wilson's guise the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) was established. The FTC had the power to investigate companies and issue "cease and desist" orders for companies committing unfair trade practices, or that hurt competition, and if the business was in disagreement then the FTC could be taken to court.

Progressive Movement : Gifford Pinchot

Gifford Pinchot- Key Person, Progressive Movement

 Gifford Pinchot was appointed the leader of the United States Forestry Service by Theodore Roosevelt when it was established in 1905. He was close friends with Roosevelt, being the way he received the job. As Roosevelt, Pinchot believed that the sciences that have been applied to cities and industries be used in the landscape to preserve it. Under Pinchot regulations were passed against lumber companies controlling lumbering on federal lands. Roosevelt also added over 100 million acres to the protected national forests, and established 5 new national parks and 51 federal preserves

Becoming A World Power : Jose Marti : Zachery Johnston

Becoming a World Power: Jose Marti, Key Person

                An exiled rebel leader of the rebellion against Spain, José Martí a writer and poet. Martí lived in New York in the 1880s, while in the city he brought together many exile groups living in the United States. These groups raised funds, purchased weapons, and trained troops in preparation for an invasion of Cuba. In February 1895, while Cuba was in financial crisis from an unexpected tariff from America, Martí and his followers attacked Cuba. Martí died in the fighting, the rebels seized control of eastern Cuba, and established the Republic of Cuba in September 1895.

Becoming A World Power: Spanish-American War: Sydney Holliday

The Spanish-American War

In 1886 Cuba declared independence from Spain. Cuba really lacked support from anywhere else around or in the world. American decided to support Cuba. Many people of the United Stated compared Cuban’s struggle with the American Revolution. Some Americans showed sympathy to the Cubans and started sneaking them guns from Florida.

     When William McKinley became president, he did not want to intervene in the war because he believes that it would cost too many innocent lives. They kept fighting, but the war finally ended in 1898 with the Treaty of Paris. The Treaty of Paris negotiated on terms that were favorable to the United States. For example, the United States had temporary control over Cuba. The United States also gained several islands across the globe.

 

Becoming A World Power: Rise Of Progressivism: Chris Reyes

The Rise of Progressivism

Progressive tried to solve the social problems that arose as the United States an urban, industrialized nation. Progressivism was a collection idea and activities. It was not a tightly organized political movement with a specific set of reforms.  Rather, it was a series of responses to problems in American society that had emerged from the growth of industry. Progressives had many different ideas about how to fix the problems they saw in American society.  They tried to make government honest, efficient, and more democratic. The movement for women’s suffrage gained more support, as did efforts to limit child labor and reduce alcohol abuse. 

Becoming A World Power: Matthew C. Perry: Chris Honaker

Matthew C. Perry

                                In 1852, Matthew C. Perry was ordered to travel to Japan to make a treaty that made it so America and Japan could trade amongst each other. He led a naval expedition that landed in what is now Tokyo Bay on July 8^th, 1853. They used America’s technology to impress and get the Japanese to agree to the treaty. The Treaty of Kanagawa was signed and trade between the US and two ports in Japan was allowed. 

Becoming A World Power: Imperialism: Chris Reyes

Building Support for Imperialism

During the late 1800’s, the desire to find new markets, increase trade, and build a powerful navy caused the United States to become more involved in international affairs. A desire for world markets and beliefs in the superiority of Anglo-Saxon culture led the United States to assert itself as a world power. Beginning in the 1880’s, however, economic and military competitions from other nations, as well as a growing feeling of cultural superiority, convinced many Americans that the United States should become a world power. Most Americans showed little interest in expanding their nations’ territory outside the United States or increasing its international influence. 

Industrialization: Thomas Edison: Chris Reyes

Thomas Alva Edison

                Curious about the world from an early age, he learned all he could about the mechanical workings of object. His laboratory at Menlo Park, New Jersey, was the forerunner of the modern research laboratory. He expanded on the light bulb idea by creating a vacuum inside the bulb and sending a lower of electricity into it. At the time, they had no idea what this was and they thought he had mental problems. By the time he died, Edison held more than one thousand patents.

Industrialization : J.P. Morgan: Zachery Johnston

Industrialization: J. P. Morgan, Key Person

            John Pierpont Morgan was born April 17, 1837. He was the first person in the world to own a billion dollar company: he combined Carnegie steel company with several other steel companies. His financial empire was called “House of Morgan.” He was the son of a successful Boston banker; Morgan began his career in New York City, at a branch of his father’s bank. He quickly developed a reputation for shrewd business sense. J.P. Morgan dies March 31, 1913.

Industrialization: The Railroad : Zachery Johnston

Industrialization: The Railroad, Major Event

The Railroads were one of the biggest successes of the Industrialization period. From San Francisco Bay, California to Omaha, Nebraska a new railway would span the plains. All of this set in motion by the Pacific Railway Act, signed by Abraham Lincoln. The race began to who could gather the most land. Union Pacific in Iowa; Central Pacific in California, 10,000 Irish and Civil War Veterans race against 10,000 Chinese, to who can lay more rails than the other.

Grenville Dodge, a former general in the Union Army, he now leads the Union Pacific railway company. He started in Omaha, Nebraska and pushed westward. Leland Stanford bought stock in Central Pacific Railroad Company along with three other people, Charley Crocker, Mark Hopkins, Collis P. Huntington. Stanford went on to become Governor of California, served as a Senator. These two men lead there companies to build across a great expanse of the western plains. The Central Pacific Railroad laid 688 miles of railway and the Union Pacific laid 1,086 miles of railways. 

Industrialization: Big Businesses: Chris Honaker

Big Businesses

                Near monopolies began to take over the industrialization of American in the late 1800’s early 1900’s. Businesses began to come up everywhere raising from just over 40,000 in 1870 to nearly 120,000 in 1900. During the Time of these businesses coming up, though, a few giant corporations took power. Like Carnegie and Rockefeller taking control over almost all of the steel and oil throughout the country.

                During this time the big corporations used vertical integration, taking control of every aspect needed for the business to run, and horizontal integration, buying out every business that works in the same field.  This created the need for laws to prevent monopolies from taking over and deciding how high the prices could be. It didn't take long for businesses to learn to get around these laws, though. Trusts were made, which gave them a way of merging companies without violating the new laws. A trust allows someone to own a property and someone else to manage it. Holding companies also came out in 1889, these did not actually produce any products but owned stock in companies that did.

Industrialization: John D. Rockefeller : Sydney Holliday

John D. Rockefeller

            John Davison Rockefeller was born in upstate New York in 1839. When he was a teenager, he and his family moved to Cleveland, Ohio. Cleveland was known as a center for refining oil that had been extracted from the oil field, so in 1863, Rockefeller started an oil-refining company with his war profits. Then after buying up other oil refineries, Rockefeller founded the Standard Oil Company in 1870. This company made Rockefeller one of the richest men in the world. Most of his wealth was donated to philanthropic causes, which funded colleges and universities. 

Industrialization: Unions Sydney Holliday

Unions

When people of a certain workplace come together to achieve a common goal, they have created a union. In the 1800’s, there were two basic types of industrial workers, those were craft workers and common laborers. Since the craft workers had more skills than common laborers, their wages were higher. Trade unions started being formed in the 1830’s when industrialization began to spread among America. These trade unions spread across the United States over time, and by 1873, there were thirty-two national trade unions.

Companies did not like that unions were being formed, and they used several techniques so that employers wouldn't join them anymore. If workers tried to organize a union, they would be fired and placed on a list called the blacklist. Once they were placed on this blacklist, they were known as troublemakers and no other company would hire them. Sometimes the unions would call a strike, and if they did this there would just be different people hired for their position. Employers did everything they could to stop the unions from forming, and sometimes it did work.