Dissatisfaction on the part of the growing middle class with the corruption and inefficiency of politics as usual, and the failure to deal with increasingly important urban and industrial problems, led to the dynamic
Progressive Movement starting in the
1890s. In every major city and state, and at the national level as well, and in education, medicine, and industry, the progressives called for the modernization and reform of decrepit institutions, the elimination of corruption in politics, and the introduction of efficiency as a criterion for change. Leading politicians from both parties, most notably
Theodore Roosevelt,
Charles Evans Hughes, and
Robert LaFollette on the
Republican side, and
William Jennings Bryan and
Woodrow Wilson on the
Democratic side, took up the cause of progressive reform.
Women became especially involved in demands for woman suffrage, prohibition, and better schools; their most prominent leader was
Jane Addams of
Chicago. "
Muckraking" journalists such as
Upton Sinclair,
Lincoln Steffens and
Jacob Riis exposed corruption in business and government along with rampant inner city poverty.
Progressives implemented anti-trust laws and regulated such industries of meat-packing, drugs, and railroads. Four new constitutional amendments—the
Sixteenth through Nineteenth—resulted from progressive activism, bringing the federal income tax, direct election of Senators, prohibition, and woman suffrage.
The Progressive Movement lasted through the
1920s; the most active period was 1900--1918.
The United States emerged as a world economic and military power after 1890. The main episode was the Spanish--American War, which began when
Spain refused
American demands to reform its oppressive policies in
Cuba.[
112]
The "splendid little war", as one official called it, involved a series of quick American victories on land and at sea. At the
Treaty of Paris peace conference the
United States acquired the
Philippines,
Puerto Rico, and
Guam.
Cuba became an independent country, under close American tutelage. Although the war itself was widely popular, the peace terms proved controversial. William Jennings Bryan led his
Democratic Party in opposition to control of the Philippines, which he denounced as imperialism unbecoming to
American democracy.[113]
President William McKinley defended the acquisition and was riding high as the nation had returned to prosperity and felt triumphant in the war. McKinley easily defeated
Bryan in a rematch in the
1900 presidential election.[114]
After defeating an insurrection by
Filipino nationalists, the United States engaged in a large-scale program to modernize the economy of the Philippines and dramatically upgrade the public health facilities.[115] By
1908, however,
Americans lost interest in an empire and turned their international attention to the
Caribbean, especially the building of the
Panama Canal. In 1912 when
Arizona became the final mainland state, the
American Frontier came to an end.
The canal opened in
1914 and increased trade with
Japan and the rest of the
Far East. A key innovation was the
Open Door Policy, whereby the imperial powers were given equal access to
Chinese business, with not one of them allowed to take control of
China.
As
World War I raged in
Europe from 1914,
President Woodrow Wilson took full control of foreign policy, declaring neutrality but warning
Germany that resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare against American ships supplying goods to
Allied nations would mean war. Germany decided to take the risk and try to win by cutting off supplies to
Britain; the
U.S. declared war in
April 1917.[
117]
American money, food, and munitions arrived quickly, but troops had to be drafted and trained; by summer
1918 American soldiers under
General John J. Pershing arrived at the rate of 10,
000 a day, while Germany was unable to replace its losses.[
118]
The result was
Allied victory in
November 1918.
President Wilson demanded Germany depose the
Kaiser and accept his terms, the
Fourteen Points.
Wilson dominated the
1919 Paris Peace Conference but Germany was treated harshly by the
Allies in the
Treaty of Versailles (1919) as Wilson put all his hopes in the new
League of Nations. Wilson refused to compromise with
Senate Republicans over the issue of Congressional power to declare war, and the Senate rejected the
Treaty and the
League.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Us_history#20th_century
- published: 21 Aug 2014
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