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hist_103_lecture_1.pptxCourse Introduction (How the topics in this course have impacted your life!) … and America on the eve of the 20th Century
Professor Nicholas Trajano Molnar
HIST 103: History Lecture 1
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The Morrill Act (1862)
Passed on July 2, 1862, this act made it possible for new western states to establish colleges for their citizens.
The new land-grant institutions, which emphasized agriculture and mechanic arts, opened opportunities to thousands of farmers and working people previously excluded from higher education.
This was aimed toward the West, but had important repercussions back East. This led to the expansion of schools across the East Coast. For example, Rutgers expanded from a relatively elite institution to one that taught farmers sciences.
New schools were established across Pennsylvania, such as Penn State. There are dozens of campuses all across the state today; it’s origins lie with the Morrill Act.
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The Serviceman’s Readjustment Act a.k.a. GI Bill (1944)
Signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 22, 1944, this act, also known as the GI Bill.
It provided veterans of the Second World War funds for college education, unemployment insurance, and housing.
African-American veterans, who were barred access to higher education based on a variety of reasons, now had some access to institutions of higher education.
Poor whites benefited and these benefits to go to college who never would have gone before.
I would guess that many people in this class indirectly benefited from the GI Bill.
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Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
In this milestone decision, the Supreme Court ruled that separating children in public schools on the basis of race was unconstitutional.
It signaled the end of legalized racial segregation in the schools of the United States, overruling the "separate but equal" principle set forth in the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson case.
We’ll talk more about this when we get to the readings on the 1960s in this course.
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Civil Rights Act (1964) and Building a “Great Society”
This act, signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson on July 2, 1964, prohibited discrimination in public places, provided for the integration of schools and other public facilities, and made employment discrimination illegal.
Rutgers could not openly discriminate based on race. Nor could Penn State.
This document was the most sweeping civil rights legislation since Reconstruction.
Education was part of this Great Society. Remarks at the University of Michigan (May 22, 1964) about how this Great Society would be built.
Johnson illustrates his vision for a Great Society in America, as he challenges graduates to continue working to improve the nation. This plan for domestic reform concentrates on revitalizing cities, beautifying the countryside, and reforming the educational system.
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How Community Colleges fit into the Expansion of Higher Education
The 1950s and 1960s were a time when many believed the United States could be changed for the better.
Many leaders in the United States believed that building upon the educational system was the key to building a great society.
But there were questions about how to do this. Not everyone has the finances to go to Rutgers, Penn or the University of Michigan.
Access was a problem. It was understood that people simply did not have the finances to expand their education, even if they wanted to.
Preparation was another problem. Not everyone was well served by their high school education. Even if they did have money they wouldn’t be able to pass the required examinations to get into these institutions.
If you truly wanted to create an egalitarian educational system, then open access is the only way to make this possible. This is where community colleges, and the Community College of Philadelphia, come in.
People said that the government, at the federal level, the state level, and the local level, should be responsible for creating this system. And it was.
The federal government would provide low cost loans and federal aid so that those who needed it could overcome that barrier.
Community colleges would provide remedial classes in order for students to overcome the educational barrier.
And because state and local governments would contribute funds, the infrastructure would be created where all of this could happen.
CCP was built with these principles in mind. So were the 1000s of other community colleges that were created in the United States.
Because of all of this history, you have access to higher education today! These events, many of which occurred during the 20th century, have impacted your life even if you may not have been aware. That is the great thing about history… you will learn about the events that have impacted generations before and continue to impact people today!
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Topics in Today’s Background Lecture
- America on the eve of the twentieth century. Why is this important to know for your understanding of this course?
- Working with primary sources from the period.
- How these events ultimately impact American women in the early twentieth century and your lives.
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1898
The Spanish-American War in 1898 ultimately resulted in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines becoming American possessions after hundreds of years of Spanish rule. Why were Spanish controlled islands so important to the United States at the beginning of the 20th century?
How did women in American history benefit? Who were the losers? This lecture is to provide the background for the rest of the course, introducing you to some of the historical questions and historiography.
Today, I will discuss the reasons for American involvement in these regions and how it ultimately impacted American history and modern American life forever until the present.
1898 would be the year that the United States acquired its first overseas possessions. These possessions would be at the expense of the crumbling Spanish Empire.
By the 1890s, Cuba and Puerto Rico were two of the few places left in the world that the Spanish still retained control of.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, Spain possessed an empire spanning much of South and North America. That empire had fallen apart by the 19th century.
When all of Latin America erupted in revolt against Spain, the country could do little to maintain control because its military forces were unfunded and in shambles.
Spain retained a few islands in the Caribbean and Asia, but fearful of revolution, ruled with a heavy hand.
Cuban nationalists, who wanted independence from Spain, wanted to rule their own country and kick out Spain like the rest of Latin America did. Of course, the mother country did not like this.
Rebelling against the Spanish colonialists who had ruled the island for more than 400 years, insurrectos under the leadership of Marti burned crops of sugar cane and attacked passenger trains.
Spanish military officials responded by herding suspected rebels into barbed-wire prison camps, inflaming public opinion in the United States. The events in Cuba caused great alarm for many Americans for two reasons.
For one thing, the infrastructure destroyed in the revolution was owned by Americans. Americans had invested in Cuban cash crops, including tobacco and sugar. Business magnates had invested in the creation of a Cuban railway system.
American companies had large investments everywhere in Cuba, especially in the Cuban sugar industry, totaling nearly 50 million dollars. Businessmen were outraged at the destruction of their property as a result of the revolution.
Humanitarians were outraged as well. They saw the treatment of the rebel prisoners as inhumane, and argued that the Spanish were criminals. The humanitarians and the businessmen had one thing in common--both groups urged President McKinley and the American government to intervene on their behalf in Cuba.
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The Proximate Origins of the Spanish American War: Yellow Journalism?
Clamoring for intervention became loud among Americans. Two American newspaper publishers, William Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer, seized the chance to boost their respective circulations by highlighting what they described as dishonorable Spanish actions against the Cuban rebels.
Pulitzer owned the St. Louis Post Dispatch and the New York World. Hearst challenged him with the San Francisco Examiner and the New York Journal.
Both attempted to publish the most sensationalized stories about Cuba, even if they weren't totally true. It would be the same thing as if today, all the major media outlets agreed to publish fictional stories about what was going on in the world. It wouldn’t matter what was real or not, because with multiple news outlets reporting fictional stories, there really would be no way to tell.
Reports meant to enrage the American public flooded the American media. On February 9, 1898, the Hearst papers published a letter written to the Spanish minister in Washington DC which denounced President McKinley as a spineless politician. Many Americans felt their country had been dishonored.
Around the same time, the battleship Maine, a product of the new modern American Navy, had been sent to Havana harbor to evacuate Americans, should the need arise.
But there are larger reasons, which historians debate as to why President McKinley actually sent the Maine to Cuba.
Was it To protect American interests? The U.S. had business interests in Cuba.
Was it to prepare for war? Was it to intimidate Spain? Historians aren’t sure. What we know for sure is that the Maine explodes on Feb 15, 1898. Two hundred and sixty officers and men were killed.
What caused the explosion of the Battleship Maine? Before an investigation was conducted, the yellow newspapers had concluded it was a bomb or torpedo of Spanish origin.
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Working with Primary Sources: “Awake United States!”
Eagle soar on high, and sound the battle cry!
And how proudly sailed the warship Maine,
a Nation’s pride, without a stain!
A wreck she lies, her sailors slain.
By two-faced butchers, paid by Spain!
Eagle soar on high,
And sound the battle cry
Wave the starry flag!
In mud it shall not drag!
This song was rushed into print between the sinking of the Maine on February 15, 1898, and the declaration of war on April 25, 1898.
According to this song, who sunk the Maine?
Does this prove the Spanish blew it up?
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Working with Primary Sources: Newspaper Accounts from the Period
"Destruction of the War Ship Maine was the Work of an Enemy," New York Journal and Advertiser, (Feb. 17, 1898).
"Maine's Hull will Decide," New York Times, (Feb. 17, 1898).
HAND OUT SOURCES
Do you know what happened to the Maine?
What evidence do you have for your answer? Give an example where the reporter uses solid evidence to support a claim made in the article.
Do you think these articles would have been received differently by
their readers in 1898? How so?
What effect might the Journal article have had on its readers?
What effect might the Times article have had on its readers?
How significant do you think the Maine explosion was to the
American people at this time? Why?
Which account is more believable? Why?
Does this difference in accounts matter? Why or why not?
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Initial Operations of the Spanish American War: The Philippines and Cuba
The Hearst and Pulitzer papers, attempting to expand their readership, engaged in yellow journalism, sensational news reporting that blurred the line between fact and fiction.
War sold papers. During the crisis in Cuba, the New York Journal was selling over 1 million papers a day. McKinley had wanted to give diplomacy every chance in order to avoid a war with Spain.
But eventually, the outrage of the businessmen and humanitarians, as well as those who felt that Spain had unleashed a plot to destroy the battleship Maine, was too much for the president.
In April 1898, when Spain failed to satisfactorily respond to his peace offers, McKinley asked the American Congress to declare war on Spain. All of Spain’s remaining colonial possessions would come under assault.
And so, America went to war with Spain. Many in America naturally assumed that Cuba would be the primary theater of operations. Few seemed to anticipate that the Pacific, particularly, the Philippine Islands, would also become a major theater of war.
Theodore Roosevelt, speculating that war with Spain was imminent, had ordered prior to the declaration of war that the American Asiatic Squadron refuel the fleet in preparation for possible action in the Philippines.
When war was declared, the Navy ordered the commander of the American Asiatic Squadron, Commodore George Dewey to steam to Manila, the capital of the Philippines. Ironically, the first action to alleviate the suffering of the Cubans took place thousands of miles away in the Pacific.
On May 1, Dewey's modern battleships, including the Cruiser Olympia, sank the entire Spanish fleet, which had been caught by surprise. The still anchored fleet of ten rickety Spanish ships were easily destroyed in a matter of hours. It was a triumph of America's modern Navy, and a foreshadowing of events to come.
If you want to visit the Olympia, you can actually do it in Philadelphia. (SHOW LINK)
The modern Navy needed the help of this Army to take control of Cuba. The Spanish Atlantic fleet bottled itself up in Santiago Bay under the protection of shore batteries, keeping the American Navy away from destroying it.
The Army was needed to destroy these shore batteries so the American battleships could attack the Spanish fleet. The US Army eventually makes it to the island, including Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders.
Roosevelt became popular for his gallant attack of the Spanish, even though, like the yellow journalism of the Hearst and Pulitzer papers, his actions was somewhat exaggerated and glamorized.
For one thing, he charged up the hill on foot, not against a prepared enemy, but a totally unprepared inept one. He also forgot to tell reporters that African American troops had charged up the hill alongside him and provided crucial support. As the American Army cleared the hills around Santiago Bay, the Spanish abandoned their position there.
The Spanish, seeking to retreat, began to pull their naval forces out of Santiago Bay. A fleet of 6 modern American warships picked off the Spanish ships one by one as they attempted to leave the harbor.
The results were similar to those in Manila Bay. In less than 2 hours, the Spanish lost another dilapidated fleet. The Spanish eventually surrendered the city, and essentially, all of Cuba, to the Americans, on the condition that Spanish soldiers be allowed to sail back to Spain unharmed.
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The occupation of Puerto Rico followed in an effort to secure the US presence on the island prior to the initial discussions of a peace settlement. On July 18, General Nelson A. Miles, commander of the invading forces, received orders to sail for Puerto Rico.
Some 18,000 US troops with a naval escort departed for Puerto Rico from Guantánamo Bay and the east coast of the United States. They landed at Guánica Bay on July 25, immediately moving to the city of Ponce and other towns located on the southern part of the island.
The US troops then proceeded north towards San Juan, Puerto Rico's capital and the main military post of Spanish forces on the island.
But before they could reach San Juan, Spain agreed on August 13th to sign a peace treaty with the United States, putting an end to all military hostilities.
The war ended as American troops were advancing upon Puerto Rico’s largest city.
President McKinley's conditions for a peace agreement prevailed throughout the peace negotiations and were finally ratified in the Treaty of Paris, signed on December 10, 1898.
The formal transfer of Puerto Rico to the United States took two months, from August 12 to October 18, when the last Spanish troops sailed back to Spain and the US flag was raised in most public buildings on the island.
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The United States by Late 1898
By late 1898, the United States had acquired new colonies, bases, and markets across the world as a result of the Spanish-American War. Not only was Cuba occupied, but so was Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and Guam. (USE LASER POINTER)
This gave the United States a huge advantage in its attempts to open Asian markets, particularly China, to American trade goods.
After a few brief campaigns in Cuba and Puerto Rico brought the Spanish-American war to an end, the American people found themselves in possession of an empire stretching halfway around the globe.
At home, a vocal minority resisted the United States foray into empire, judging it unwise, immoral, and unconstitutional. How could a nation born out of the colonial experience have its own colonies only a century later?
Despite these debates, the new possessions obtained from the Spanish-American War would be retained.
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What caused the explosion on the USS Maine?
This is a question that was asked but was never answered earlier. Many of you may be wondering, what actually caused the explosion of the USS Maine, the spark that led to the Spanish American War?
1:52:47 of Documentary
The question, however, is somewhat irrelevant. Whatever the cause of the explosion of the USS Maine, the events of 1898 had already set the United States on a course that impacts the world we live in today.
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What do we remember and what do and forget?
Immediately following the Spanish-American War, another war occurred. Yet in historical memory, it was essentially forgotten. Why is one event, the Spanish-American War, remembered, and another, the Philippine-American War, collectively forgotten?
Show timeline on board.
Talk about history on the timeline, and have students follow along
as you lecture on basic chronology of the war
U.S. went to war with Spain in Cuba.
U.S. also sent ships to the Philippines and destroyed the Spanish fleet
there.
After U.S. won in Cuba, they bought the Philippines for $20 million.
Instead of supporting Aguinaldo and Philippine Independence, they
decided to annex the Philippines; this led to a long war.
Explain that American imperialism at the turn of the century was influenced by cultural attitudes of superiority.
In the last part of the lecture, we are going to talk about political cartoons as primary sources. The big difference between regular cartoons and political cartoons is that political cartoons have messages about current events.
During this time in history, different magazines had different opinions on expansion
and the Philippine-American War.
Magazines like Judge and Puck supported expansion. Magazines like Life and The World did not.
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Judge, 1899
These are primary sources as well, political cartoons from the period. What do you think this is supposed to show?
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Life, 1899
Opposite view … that white man is the burden.
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Judge, 1899
Explaining how expansion is good and that people benefit from it and exposure to american culture.
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Life, 1900
Explaining how expansion in the philippines makes a joke of the declaration of independence as the united states now subjugates others.
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Judge, 1899
Explaining how it’s good for the filipinos and colored races they they become civilized.
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Life, 1900
The forgotten Philippine-American War would officially rage on for three years, and unofficially-- with low intensity and sporadic conflict-- for as long as fifteen, with the United States deploying 125,000 troops, or two-thirds of its entire army, to combat the Filipinos, dwarfing the number of troops used by the US military during the Spanish-American War.
War would neither be so “splendid” nor so “little” in the islands of the Philippines.
The Americans suffered over 7000 dead and wounded in the first two years of the war when the bloodiest fighting took place, while the Filipinos suffered at least 220,000, and at the most, one million casualties, the majority being civilians who died of disease and deprivation as a result of US Army relocation and internment policies,
which bore striking similarities to American military policy towards indigenous populations on the North American continent in the last half of the 19th century.
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Set C: Cartoon 1 Puck, 1901
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Set C: Cartoon 2 Life, 1898
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Set D: Cartoon 1 Puck, 1899
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Life, 1899
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Judge, 1899
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Set F: Cartoon 1 Judge, 1900
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Life, 1899
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How did these events ultimately impact American women in the early twentieth century? How do they impact your lives?
In the next week, you will be reading primary sources on women in the 1920s and the impact of consumer culture on them. I want you to ask what these sources leave out. I want you to ask how these people are impacted by the events of the early 20th century and the expansion of American empire.
I also want you to think about the impact of empire on consumer culture. The new areas acquired through war and trade led to the influx of cheaply made goods from across the world.
These allowed American women to have worldly goods at cheaper prices, providing access to culture. Historian Kristen Hoganson argues that middle-class Americans, especially women “bought-in” to the idea of empire. Their standard of living—their identities—depended on goods made abroad and popular participation in, if not support for, informal (commercial), formal (political and military), and secondhand (European) empire.
“Exporters, investors, missionaries, and militarists were not the only groups with an interest in empire: countless middle-class Americans had quite a lot at stake as well,” she posits.
I also want you to think of the term “American women” more broadly. What do the sources mean when they discuss American women? What specific type of woman is being talked about? What is the race and socioeconomic class of that woman? Is that woman someone who has gained access to these new consumer goods?
Or is it a now American woman, i.e. someone who is now dependent on the American empire, who makes those new consumer goods in a far flung colony thousands of miles away?
How do these events impact your lives? Well is anyone of Puerto Rican, Cuban, or Filipino background. Does anyone know people of these backgrounds?
Contact with these regions because of the Spanish American and Philippine American wars brought these peoples into the American orbit, initiating new flows of peoples between the outskirts of empire and the metropole.
Once the imperial faucet was turned on, it could not be stopped. Those connections, which are still present and who have impacted people you may have know, were forged during this period in the early 20th century.
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