Chapter 29,31,32,34 Reading/ Study Questions

Reading/Study Questions: Chapter 29,31,32,34 This chapter is about the new wave of reform efforts—called Progressivism—that swept the country in the early years of the twentieth century. Recalling a similar reform mentality in the 1830s and 1840s, it was aimed at the excesses of monopoly, corruption, and social injustice that were the by-products of industrial growth and urbanization. Progressives were mostly middle class people seeking to reform the capitalist system, not overthrow it. The idea was to make government an active force for good, not just a neutral bystander. 1. Roots of Progressivism (pp. 664–667) a. On p. 664, the authors say the “battle cry” of the Progressives was to “Strengthen the _________,” not overthrow it. What do they conclude was the “real heart” of the movement? b. Economist Thorstein ___________ attacked the “conspicuous consumption” of the rich and journalist Jacob A. _________ exposed the sordid lives of urban slum-dwellers. Theodore Roosevelt called these commentators who ruthlessly exposed the system’s excesses “___________________.” They included people like Lincoln _____________, who exposed corruption in the cities; Ida M. _______________, who exposed shady dealings within the Standard Oil Company; and David G. ______________, who pointed out the degree to which big-money interests controlled the Senate. 2. Political Progressivism (pp. 667–669) a. Read the first paragraph of p. 667 carefully. It describes progressive reformers as feeling themselves “squeezed from above and below.” *** Considering the growing disparities in wealth and power between rich and poor, what pressures were these mostly middle class people feeling “from above”? What danger did they perceive “from below”? (1) From above: (2) From below: b. Politically, reformers sought to take power from the “special interests” and return it to “the people.” Many states today live with “progressive” institutions such as the ______________, which allows citizens to put issues directly on the ballot by petition; the ______________, which allows citizens to vote on measures passed by the legislature; and the ___________, which allows citizens to remove elected officials from office. U.S. senators, who had previously been elected by state ______________, now were subject to direct election by the people as a result of the _____ Amendment passed in 19____. Gradually, progressive state governors such as Robert M. _________ of Wisconsin, Hiram W. ___________ of California, and Charles Evans ________ of New York were able to reduce the power of special interests, turn city government over increasingly to professional managers, and pass laws controlling the excesses of capitalism. 3. Progressive Women (pp. 669–672) Middle class women, though still without the vote and direct political power, became active in the movement for reform, generally focusing on working conditions (particularly after the 1911 fire at the Triangle ____________ Company) and other issues of family concern. As a result, new laws were passed protecting women workers. *** Do you approve of the results of the 1908 Supreme Court case of ___________ v. Oregon? What do you think of the Court’s reasoning that “woman’s peculiar structure” requires special protections (i.e. do you see a conflict between “special protection” and the concept of “equality”)? (1) Results: (2) Reasoning: 4. Roosevelt and Reform (pp. 672–676) a. Roosevelt, though a sturdy friend of business, was swept up in the need for some basic reforms. He called his program the “_________ Deal” and his program centered on the “three Cs”—control of ____________, protection for the ___________, and ______________ of natural resources. Roosevelt’s threat to “call out the troops” during the anthracite _______ strike of 1902 was significant because it was the first time that the federal government had intervened on behalf of ______________ (owners or labor). The section called “Corralling the Corporations” points out that Roosevelt did take on the railroad barons by strengthening the Interstate _____________ Commission and by successfully breaking up the northwestern railroad monopoly called the ___________ Securities Company, headed by moguls J. P. __________ and James J. ________, and by initiating some forty antitrust lawsuits. Did Roosevelt believe that large business combinations were bad by definition? What was his view of the proper relationship between government and business? (1) Roosevelt’s view of “trusts”: (2) Government and business view: b. Roosevelt took action to protect consumers in 1906 through passage of the Meat ___________ Act and the Pure _______ and _______ Act. This resulted directly from an expose of the meat-packing industry called The ______________ written by novelist Upton ______________. 5. Roosevelt and the Environment (pp. 676–681) Roosevelt, and his forestry chief Gifford ________, saw the need both to conserve natural resources for future generations and to develop them. The ___________ Act of 1902, for example, started the massive damming of western rivers and associated irrigation projects. *** After reading the essay about “The Environmentalists” and the summary of Roosevelt’s “conservation” philosophy, how do you compare that philosophy to that of someone such as John Muir, who might be called a true “environmentalist”? (1) Roosevelt the “conservationist”: (2) Muir the “environmentalist”: 6. Summing up Roosevelt (pp. 681–683) Note that in the election of 1908, Socialist Eugene Debs polled nearly half a million votes. Socialism was gaining wide popularity in Europe as an alternative to the excesses of free-market capitalism. *** Under socialism, _____________ (government, individuals, or corporations) own(s) the “means of production” (like factories) and _____________ (government, individuals, or corporations) make(s) the key economic decisions about allocation of resources (like who makes how much of what product). The authors sum up Roosevelt on p. 682 by saying that he was “the cowboy who started to tame the bucking bronco of adolescent capitalism, thus ensuring it a long adult life.” *** In your own words, what do you think they mean by this metaphor? 7. The Taft Years, 1909–1913 (pp. 683–686) Taft worked to expand American investments abroad, called “__________ Diplomacy,” and he initiated many antitrust lawsuits, including one against the U.S. _________ Company that infuriated Roosevelt, further splitting the Republicans into the Progressive and “______ Guard” wings. His actions brought Roosevelt back to challenge for the presidency in the election of 19_____. 8. U.S. Enters the War (pp. 705–707) a. Early in 1917, President Wilson pressed for a compromise end to the bloodshed by proposing the concept of “peace without _____________.” However, desperate to use its strongest weapon to best advantage, the Germans declared “unlimited _____________ warfare,” vowing to sink all ships in the war zone. This resulted in the sinking of four unarmed American merchant vessels. Meanwhile, public sentiment was aroused when the _______________ note was intercepted—seemingly an attempt by the Germans to recruit _____________ (a country) as an ally in the event of war with the United States. Wilson finally asked Congress for a declaration of war in April of 19____. It is pretty clear on pages 705–706 that the authors think that Wilson had little choice but to jump into this war. Wilson, they say, “was forced to lead a hesitant and peace-loving nation into war” against “Germany’s warlords.” *** Do you fully buy this interpretation? Do you think that U.S. involvement could reasonably have been avoided? If so, how? b. Because of America’s traditional hostility toward involvement in Europe’s wars, Wilson played to his own idealistic inclinations by framing the war as a crusade “to make the world safe for ______________” and a “war to end ________.” Americans would be fighting not as just another greedy warmonger, but to help remake a corrupt world and avoid future tragedies. These ideas were formalized in Wilson’s famous ____________ Points Address, in which he spelled out the democratic structure of the new world order he hoped to create. This address ended with the proposal for a new international organization that came to be called the League of ___________. *** In his “Peace Without Victory” speech of January 1917, Wilson had seen the war as a grubby nationalistic conflict that could be settled by a territorial compromise. One year later, in his “Fourteen Points” speech, he saw the war as a moral crusade in which righteousness belonged to only one side. What had changed in the year between January 1917 and January 1918? c. *** Do you see any connection between Wilson’s widening of the war goals into a moral crusade and Lincoln’s issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation nearly fifty years earlier? 9. The Home Front (pp. 707–715) a. The U.S. mounted a vast pro-war and anti-German propaganda machine headed by George _________ and his Committee on ____________ Information. With new laws like the _______________ Act of 1917 and the ________________ Act of 1918, free speech and other civil liberties were suspended and antiwar leaders such as Eugene V. ______, the perennial Socialist candidate for president, were put behind bars. *** List one argument in favor of and one argument against the restriction of civil liberties during wartime. (1) For restrictions: (2) Against restrictions: b. The demand for labor during the war buildup brought many southern blacks to northern cities and put large numbers of women to work, eventually prompting Wilson’s reluctant support for women’s suffrage, which was passed in 19____ as the ______ Amendment. Typical of the voluntary nature of the domestic buildup was the call by Food and Drug administrator (and future president) Herbert ____________ to grow “____________ gardens” and make “____________ loans” to the government to finance the war effort. This spirit of self-denial may have aided the eventual passage of Prohibition in 1919 in the form of the _____ Amendment. To raise the needed armies, a draft law was reluctantly passed and ultimately, the size of the army was raised from 200,000 to about _____ million men, and, for the first time, women. 10. Fighting in Europe (pp. 715–718) After the communistic _________________ seized power late in 1917, Russia withdrew from the war, leaving Germany free for a massive push on the _____________ front. Significant American forces did not arrive in Europe until the late spring of 19___, over one year after U.S. entry into the war. Under French Marshall ______ and U.S. Gen. “Black Jack” _______________, American forces had a significant role in only two major battles, but it was the threat of unlimited American reserves that helped influence Germany to surrender on November 11, 19____ (now called Veterans Day). The chart on page 717 shows that about _________ Americans were killed in WW I (about the same as in Vietnam), a number which amounted to only about _____ percent of the total killed by all parties to this most horrific armed conflict to date. The country that incurred the greatest number of casualties was _____________. 11. Versailles Treaty (pp. 718–722) Wilson’s personal venture to the Paris Peace conference in January 19___ shows the disillusionment that often develops when idealism confronts cold power politics. At Versailles, he met with leaders of the victorious powers, including David Lloyd ___________ of Britain and Georges __________________ of France, who were more interested in punishing Germany than in remaking the world. While in Paris, Wilson made few efforts to convert domestic critics of a League of ____________, including Senate Republican leader Henry Cabot _____________. In the end, Wilson lost stature and few were happy with the treaty, which was extremely harsh on Germany (setting the stage for Hitler and World War II) and carried out few of the liberal ideas on self-determination contained in Wilson’s ________________ Points. However, Wilson thought that the centerpiece League of Nations would eventually cure these injustices. 12. Failure to Ratify (pp. 722–725) a. With Senator ___________ delaying Senate action on the treaty, Wilson took off on a speaking tour that resulted in his incapacitation from a stroke. Lodge then proposed approving the treaty with a series of (just coincidentally) fourteen formal _____________ designed to protect American sovereignty and foreign policy flexibility in the face of a new League of Nations. Wilson twice refused to accept Republican modifications to the treaty. The U.S. therefore never ratified the Treaty and never joined the League. By the time the Republican Warren G. ____________ was elected president in 1920, America had grown tired of Wilson’s internationalism, moralism, and idealism. In one of history’s great ironies, the U.S. never joined the League (and largely doomed it to failure), for which its president had been the primary advocate. In an unusually strong opinion, the authors conclude that the U.S. failure to ratify an admittedly flawed treaty was “tragically shortsighted,” weakening an international structure that might have averted a second world war. *** Do you agree with this? If so, who was primarily responsible for the failure to ratify? b. *** Can you think of any way that one country could approve a treaty “with reservations” without opening it up to proposed amendments from all other signing countries? The popular image of the 1920s is of flappers and the Charleston. Indeed, the country changed radically during this decade into one with which we would be much more familiar today—a mass consumption society, strong economy, big time spectator sports and entertainment, fads and superheroes, mobility, suburbs, etc. But notice as you read the chapter how strong the popular resistance was in many quarters to the brave new world thus created. Today’s societal changes provoke similar resistance in many. 13. Prejudice, Immigration, and Anti-Foreignism (pp. 728–732) a. The authors attribute much of the anti-foreignism of the post–World War I period to disillusionment after Wilson’s idealistic crusade in Europe had resulted in so little. The _____________ Revolution in Russia in 1917 sparked fears that every labor dispute was stirred up by foreign “communists” bent on overthrowing the capitalist system and installing a “dictatorship of the proletariat.” The “______ Scare” of 1919–1920 was led by Attorney General A. Mitchell ___________, who rounded up some ____ thousand suspected subversives on flimsy evidence. (Remember him when we get to the rabid anticommunist of the 1950s, Sen. Joseph McCarthy.) Another example cited is the famous case of Nicola ________ and Bartolomeo _____________, whose Italian origin and anarchist political leanings were at least a contributing factor to their hysterical trial and ultimate execution for murder. *** Why do the authors say on p. 729 that the Red Scare “was a godsend to conservative businesspeople”? b. In this atmosphere, the once-moribund Ku _______ _________ expanded to some _____ million members and marched openly on Washington, expanding its agenda well beyond its anti-black crusade to oppose anything not purely Anglo-Saxon. The government moved to sharply cut back the “new wave” of immigrants now coming mostly from the poorer regions of southern and eastern Europe. In the ____________ ________ Act of 1921, immigration was restricted through the use of annual quotas related to the national origin of the population as of the 19____ census. Three years later, the _______________ Act of 1924 further reduced unwanted immigrants by pegging the quotas to the census of 18____, when there were far fewer people of eastern and southern European origin. *** Look at the chart on p. 732. How would you describe the change in immigration patterns between 1914 and 1924? 14. Booze and Monkeys (pp. 732–738) a. The temperance ladies finally got their way and booze was outlawed in 1919 by the ____ Amendment to the Constitution (repealed in 1933). Gangsters such as Chicago’s Al ___________ took advantage of Prohibition to sell “bootleg” liquor. *** Remembering that Wilson wanted to “make the world safe for democracy,” what do the authors mean on p. 752 when they say that this Amendment and its enabling _________________ Act “made the world safe for hypocrisy”? What does “hypocrisy” mean in this context? b. A high school education was largely mandatory in the 1920s under the progressive theories of Prof. John _________ of Columbia. However, the “fundamentalists” got their day in court when science teacher John _________ was brought to trial in Tennessee for the “crime” of teaching the evolutionary theories of Charles ____________ rather than the biblical interpretation of creation. The old war-horse, William Jennings _________ came in to prosecute the case, but he was bested in the battle by criminal lawyer Clarence ______________ and he died a few days after the trial. 15. Automobile Revolution (pp. 738–742) Just as the railroad was the catalyst for the Gilded Age industrial boom, the automobile was the centerpiece of 1920s prosperity and cultural change, led by the “scientific management” theories of Frederick W. __________ and the assembly line mastery of Henry ________. The chart on p. 740 shows that a Model T cost about _______ months, wages for the average worker in 1924, down sharply from _____ months wages in 1908. (If a schoolteacher now makes $30,000 per year after tax and an average new car costs $20,000, it takes ______ months, salary to pay for a new car today!) The automobile had huge “spin-off effects” on the country. (1) Advertising—What is the image being portrayed of the Model A in the ad on p. 742? (2) Name a few non-automotive businesses that benefited from the auto boom. (3) Name a few social changes that were spurred by the effect of the automobile. 16. Communications and Cultural Revolution (pp. 742–751) a. As you read these pages about the massive cultural changes in the 1920s, note one or more significant things in the following areas. (1) Airplane: (2) Radio: (3) Movies: (4) Woman’s role/rights: (5) Sexual mores/styles: (6) Music: (7) African-American culture: (8) Literature: b. *** Reflecting on this section, do you have any thoughts on what it would have been like to have been a middle class, urban young person in the 1920s? What would be the pros and cons? 17. Wall Street Boom (pp. 751–752) Wealth accumulation in the 1920s was encouraged by the probusiness policies of people like Secretary of the Treasury Andrew ____________. On the stock exchanges, the authors say that “speculation ran wild” and led to an excessive ___________ (bull or bear) market. *** What do you think the word “speculation” means in this context? Are people still “speculating” in stocks, real estate, or other such investments today? 1. Introducing FDR (pp. 777–780) a. You may get confused by all the acts and agencies set up by Franklin Roosevelt in an attempt to deal with the massive Great Depression of the 1930s. In fact, people in the Roosevelt administration didn’t really have a consistent, coherent plan when they started out. Using the FDR quote leading off the chapter on p. 777, summarize in your own words what FDR’s underlying philosophy was when he took office in March 1933. b. Roosevelt was greatly aided by one of the most active and popular first ladies ever, his wife ______________ (a niece of Theodore Roosevelt). As you read this section about FDR, list a few facts about his background and some of his personal characteristics. (1) Background: (2) Personal characteristics: c. Roosevelt defeated the Republican ______________ by a wide margin in the 1932 election. This election produced what historic shift in the voting patterns of African Americans (p. 797)? 18. Money and Jobs (pp. 780–787) a. As soon as FDR was inaugurated in March 1933, the Democratic Congress passed a huge mass of New Deal legislation in what became known as the first “_______________ Days.” The new laws dealt with the “Three R’s” of the New Deal program: _______________ (aid to those in immediate and desperate need), ________________ (programs designed to stimulate the economy), and __________________ (efforts to change permanently elements of the economic system that had contributed to the Depression). As you read the remainder of the chapter about New Deal efforts to overcome the Depression, try to classify the major programs (not necessarily all of them) into one of these three categories. Use the charts on pages 781 and 784 if needed. *** Then go back and put an asterisk (*) by those programs that you think are still in effect today. Relief Recovery Reform b. Roosevelt’s first act in office was to declare a “banking holiday” as a prelude to reopening the sounder banks with government backing through the Emergency _______________ Relief Act of 1933. Through the __________ - ____________ Banking Reform Act, Congress restructured the financial services industry and established the _________________ ______________ Insurance Corporation, (FDIC) which insures people’s deposits in national banks. *** Looking at the chart on p. 782, what connection do you see between the establishment of the FDIC and the virtual end to bank failures after 1933? c. Generally, in reasonably good economic times, the unemployment rate is around 4–5 percent of the workforce. When Roosevelt took office the unemployment rate was an unbelievable ______ percent. To help unemployed youth, the _____________ _______________ ________ (CCC) was established. FDR aide Harry _____________ was in charge of other agencies that passed out direct relief payments to people through the Federal Emergency _____________ Administration (FERA) and gave adults jobs on federal projects temporarily through the Civil ____________ Administration (CWA) and later through the larger and semipermanent Works _____________ Administration (WPA), which built many of the buildings and bridges we’re familiar with today. d. Who were these three popular “demagogues” who argued against FDR and the New Deal? (1) Father Charles _______________ of Michigan: (2) Senator Huey __________ of Louisiana: (3) Dr. Francis _______________ of California: e. *** Remember the “trickle down” philosophy of Hoover as reflected in the aid to business given through his Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC)? He hoped that business would use government money to build factories, thus creating jobs and helping ordinary people. How do the relief and employment efforts of Roosevelt reflect more of a “bubble up” philosophy as opposed to Hoover’s “trickle down” approach? 19. Laborers and Farmers (pp. 787–790) a. Roosevelt first tried, ultimately unsuccessfully, to cooperate with business in putting people back to work. The vehicle was the National _________ Administration (NRA), whose symbol, the Blue _________, signified that business and labor in a particular company or industry had agreed on ways to increase employment and wages. The Supreme Court (in the Schecter “sick _________” case) killed this effort, but the authors that say it wasn’t working well anyway because it required too much altruistic self-sacrifice. Note the rather contradictory efforts of the Agricultural ________________ Administration (AAA) to raise farm prices by promoting scarcity (i.e., paying people not to produce) at a time of widespread hunger and unemployment. Drought and dust storms in the southern plains compounded farm problems—the famous ________ Bowl well portrayed in the Steinbeck novel ________ of Wrath. *** As you read about the causes of the Dust Bowl on p. 789, what environmental lessons are contained in this story? 20. Structural Reform (pp. 790–795) a. Match up the New Deal programs listed below that continue today to be an accepted part of the role of government in the economy and society: (1) Protects investors in stocks and bonds against fraud, deception, and manipulation. A. Federal Housing Administration (FHA) (2) Planned development of a region and entry by government into the power industry. B. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) (3) Financial help to home-buyers and builders C. Social Security system (4) Unemployment insurance/old-age pensions D. Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) b. *** Pick ONE of these programs and comment as to why you either agree or disagree that this activity is a legitimate function of the federal government. Program: _______________________ 21. New Deal and Labor (pp. 795–797) Remember that the American Federation of Labor (AF of L) was a craft union organization, meaning that it was divided into skilled occupational groups such as carpenters, plumbers, electricians, etc. To expand the labor movement beyond these skill-based groups, in 1935 John L. ____________ started what came to be known as the Congress of ____________________ Organizations (CIO), which included many unskilled workers and was organized by industry rather than craft—steelworkers, auto workers, teamsters, etc. Congress, for the first time, passed legislation supporting unionization in the form of the _______________ Act of 1935 which was to be enforced by a new National ______________ ______________ Board. In 1938, the Fair _____________ _______________ Act was passed and helped set minimum wage and working conditions. Summarize the results of the New Deal’s pro-labor stance as reflected in the chart on p. 797. 22. End of the New Deal (pp. 797–802) a. In the 1936 election, Roosevelt soundly defeated the Republican nominee, Alfred M. _____________ of _______________. In this election, FDR was able to put together for the Democrats a coalition (or combination of interest groups) that held together surprisingly well until just recently. Besides the “New Immigrants,” the authors say on p. 798 that this coalition was composed of the ________________, the _________________, the _______________, and the _________________. In the first act of his new term, Roosevelt squandered much of his political capital by trying (unsuccessfully) to expand the size and change the composition of the conservative _______________ Court, which had overturned much New Deal legislation. Although he lost this fight, the Court thereafter became less hostile to the New Deal’s “socialistic” legislation. *** What does the chart on p. 800 tell you about the New Deal’s success or lack of success in dealing with the huge unemployment problems of the 1930s? b. On pp. 800–801, focus on the economic reversals of the late 1930s caused at least partially by a slowdown of New Deal subsidies ordered by Roosevelt when he thought times were improving and he should move to balance the budget by cutting expenses. It’s important to understand the basic theories of British economist John _______________ Keynes, which were introduced at this time and still have influence today. *** Why do you think Keynes would argue that governments should run an intentional deficit (i.e., spend more money than they receive in tax payments) when unemployment is high and the economy is in bad shape? How can a government spend more than it receives? Where does the extra money come from? (1) Why deficit spending in bad times? (2) Where does the money come from? 23. New Deal Evaluated (pp. 802–804) The authors summarize well the many criticisms of the New Deal—that it was inefficient, bureaucratic, and inconsistent, and that it introduced big government, a high national debt, and elements of socialism into the American capitalistic system. Perhaps most significant, they point out that the New Deal really never ended the Depression and its high unemployment rates. These were only ended by the huge government spending associated with American entry into __________ _________ ____. And it was the war, not the New Deal, that caused the biggest expansion of the national debt, from $_____ billion in 1939 to $_____ billion in 1945. On balance, the authors seem to _____________ (like or dislike) Roosevelt and his program. On p. 804, they say that FDR was like _____________________ in his espousal of big government, but like ____________________ in his concern for the common man.