-176609 CHAPTER 20—AN INDUSTRIAL SOCIETY, 1900-1920 Murrin, Johnson, McPherson, Fahs, Gerstle, Rosenberg & Rosenberg Copyright © 2008 Wadsworth Group Liberty, Equality, Power: A History of the American People, 5e 0704lep5e.bmp
Times Instructions: Identify the following term(s). In which year did the United States become the world's greatest industrial power? 1890 1870 1940 1910 1865 D Least Difficult p. 595 Factual 1 One of the leading innovators in the production and marketing of goods at the turn of the century was Henry George. James Duke. Terence Powderly. Joseph Kennedy. William McKinley. B Least Difficult p. 597 Factual 1 In 1901, J. P. Morgan handled the huge industrial merger that formed the Standard Oil Company. Northern Pacific Railroad. American Tobacco Company. Pullman Company. U.S. Steel Corporation. E Least Difficult p. 599 Factual 1 The idea of scientific management is most closely associated with Andrew Carnegie. Frederick Taylor. James B. Duke. John D. Rockefeller. Thomas Edison. B Least Difficult p. 600 Factual 1 The first assembly line was introduced in the steel industry. automobile industry. tobacco industry. textile industry. coal industry. B Least Difficult p. 601 Factual 1 For the most part, workers at Ford ____ the assembly line. favored were indifferent to intensely disliked sabotaged violently resisted C Least Difficult p. 601 Analytical 1 In Lochner v. New York, the Supreme Court ruling was a victory for the Industrial Workers of the World. all labor unions. bakery employees. anti-union interests. Samuel Gompers. D Average p. 616 Analytical 1 Most European immigrants who arrived between 1880 and 1914 came from northern and western Europe. eastern and southern Europe. Africa. Asia. Mexico. B Least Difficult p. 605 Factual 1 For the most part, native-born Americans viewed the "new immigrants" as culturally sophisticated and racially fit. politically mature. groups who would enrich America's multicultural society. capable of assimilating to American traditions. racially inferior and culturally impoverished. E Least Difficult p. 605 Analytical 1 The primary motivation for late-nineteenth-century immigration was religious persecution. political persecution. economic hardship. forced migration. hardship caused by war. C Least Difficult p. 605 Analytical 1 The quintessential force in late-nineteenth-century city government was city hall. the political machine. the political party. the mayor. the wealthy private citizen. B Average p. 611 Factual 1 Ironically, labor was prevented from organizing because of the government's use of the Interstate Commerce clause. Jim Crow laws. Sherman Antitrust Act. Voting Rights Act. Fourteenth Amendment. C Average p. 616 Factual 1 The long-time president of the American Federation of Labor was Samuel Gompers. "Big Bill" Haywood. John L. Lewis. Eugene Debs. Mark Hanna. A Average p. 616 Factual 1 William "Big Bill" Haywood was the leader of which of the following unions? American Federation of Labor (AFL) Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) Knights of Labor (K of L) National Labor Union (NLU) C Average p. 617 Factual 1 The most popular form of entertainment in turn-of-the-century urban America was baseball. vaudeville. the movies. amusement parks. opera. C Average p. 619 Factual 1 All of the following statements regarding Ford Model Ts are true except between 1910 and 1914, production time dropped 90 percent. by 1914, Ford produced six hundred Model Ts a day. between 1912 and 1921, purchases increased sixteen-fold. between 1909 and 1923, the price declined 70 percent. in 1914, a complete Model T could be built in 90 minutes. B Most Difficult p. 601 Factual 1 Which of the following women argued for radical transformations in domestic work relations as one step toward gender equality? Margaret Sanger Charlotte Perkins Gilman Alice Paul Elizabeth Cady Stanton Harriet Beecher Stowe B Most Difficult p. 620 Factual 1 The principle of "scientific management" included all of the following except training human laborers to work together like a machine. managing industry by reducing unskilled labor. producing as many goods as was scientifically possible. cutting costs and making windfall profits. eliminating waste. B Average p. 600 Analytical 1 By 1920, the majority of workers in American cities were highly skilled and well paid. women. immigrants. highly skilled and poorly paid. migrants from America's farms. C Average p. 604 Analytical 1 Social Darwinism argued that human history witnessed the inevitable evolution of the weakest groups to the positions of highest power. inevitable collapse of capitalism. evolution of humans from the ape. eventual disintegration of Western civilization. struggle among the races, with the strongest triumphing. E Average p. 603 Analytical 1 The transmission of electric power over long distances became possible with the development of new, more powerful gas-powered generators. copper wire coated with insulation. alternating current. the incandescent light. direct current. C Average p. 596 Factual 1 America's first illegal aliens were Mexicans. Puerto Ricans. Italians. Chinese and Japanese. Canadians. D Most Difficult p. 607 Analytical 1 Henry Ford's Model-T revolutionized U.S. society by providing inexpensive, reliable transportation for working-class Americans. eliminating the railroads' monopoly on transporting goods. reducing industrial dependence on coal for fuel. offering Americans choices and options. encouraging workers to be creative on the job. A Most Difficult p. 596 Analytical 1 James B. Duke influenced modern business techniques by introducing new cost-accounting procedures. purchasing a fleet of ships to tap into the world market. using aggressive national advertising campaigns and regional sales representatives. allowing his workers to purchase company stock. encouraging a unionized work force. C Most Difficult p. 597 Factual 1 Corporate consolidations or mergers were prompted primarily by a desire to encourage competition. regulate expansion and insulate corporations from fluctuations in the economic cycle. stimulate rate wars within the major markets. reduce the role of investment bankers in the economy. encourage government regulation of industry. B Most Difficult p. 598-599 Analytical 1 All of the following was not a characteristic of modern middle-management trends except senior managers took over from owners the responsibility of long-term planning. companies often required college training for entry-level jobs. firms invested in research departments and hired professional scientists. middle managers supervised personnel and day-to-day operations. the number of middle managers decreased. E Most Difficult p. 599-600 Factual 1 The underlying goal of time-and-motion studies was to understand the relationship between job satisfaction and productivity. make work less physically demanding for the individual worker. eliminate waste by making human efforts smoother and more machine-like. reduce the number of supervisors and managers in the workplace. eliminate the need for child labor. C Most Difficult p. 600 Analytical 1 The introduction of the assembly line at Ford led to all of the following except lower consumer costs. increased productivity. increased worker pay. increased worker job satisfaction. increased profits. D Average p. 601 Analytical 1 Henry Ford intervened in his workers' lives by only hiring American-born employees. encouraging workers to join unions. hiring social workers to help employees improve their personal lives. honoring highly productive workers with dinner at the Ford mansion. encouraging government regulation of working conditions. C Average p. 602 Factual 1 The "gospel of wealth" encouraged rich people to use their excess profits for the benefit of society. was rejected by most Protestant denominations. was a philosophy created by J. P. Morgan. led to the first federal welfare program in U.S. history. led to higher income taxes on the rich. A Average p. 602 Analytical 1 Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller were similar in that they both were Baptists. were partners in the creation of the U.S. Steel Company. flouted their wealth. were widely beloved by the public as self-made men. gave tens of millions of dollars to philanthropic causes. E Most Difficult p. 602-603 Analytical 1 In the 1890s, the national interest in rigorous physical and recreational activities resulted from anxieties related to race and ethnicity. led to more restrictions on the activities of females, "the fragile sex." was caused by social workers' complaints that the urban poor were weak and unfit. had no lasting effect on U.S. society. led to extensive government programs to improve people's health. A Most Difficult p. 603 Analytical 1 Most of the "new immigrants" intended to establish permanent homes and to become U.S. citizens. moved to the South to take advantage of industrial development there. immediately joined labor unions. hoped to work and save money in the United States and then to return to their homelands. bought farms. D Average p. 606 Factual 1 All of the following were characteristics of urban life in the late nineteenth century except city governments provided clean water and paved roads for the middle and upper classes. most city dwellers lived in overcrowded, unsanitary, disease-ridden tenements. ethnic minorities maintained their communal identity by establishing churches and fraternal societies. social classes and ethnic groups mixed freely in city housing areas. many working class families laced running water. D Most Difficult p. 609 Factual 1 In the early twentieth century, the American middle class did not include any significant numbers from ethnic groups. was entered into by significant numbers of Jewish manufacturers. slowed assimilation of ethnic groups. was entirely urban in nature. came to be dominated by ethnic groups. B Most Difficult p. 610 Factual 1 The AFL was dominated by "old immigrant" skilled workers. an industrial union that represented mostly unskilled and semiskilled workers. controlled by anticapitalist socialists who wanted government ownership of industry. the first national union to ban racial discrimination among its members. dominated by those who advocated violence. A Average p. 617 Factual 1 The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) was the largest labor union in the United States. a conservative craft union that advocated collective bargaining agreements. a revolutionary labor union that represented the poorest, most isolated workers. a semireligious organization that promoted class and racial harmony. opposed to the use of strikes. C Average p. 617 Factual 1 Which of the following did not participate in the American Federation of Labor? United Mine Workers International Workers of the World International Ladies Garment Workers United Textile Workers all of the above B Average p. 617 Factual 1 Margaret Sanger crusaded for birth control. free love. automation for of housekeeping chores. women's suffrage. all of the above. A Least Difficult p. 620 Factual 1 The first industrialist to advocate the Gospel of Wealth was Cornelius Vanderbilt. John D. Rockefeller. Leland Stanford. Andrew Carnegie. Jay Gould. D Average p. 602 Factual 1 Andrew Carnegie provided money for the construction of 2,500 ____ throughout the country. playgrounds public libraries elementary schools hospitals labor union halls B Least Difficult p. 603 Factual 1 The political boss of Boston was "King Richard" Croker. Abe Ruef. James Michael Curley. Tom Pendergast. James Duke. C Average p. 611 Factual 1 All of the following statements regarding the American Federation of Labor are true except it had 2 million members by 1904. membership was concentrated among craft workers. it curtailed its involvement in politics after the 1890s. its members discriminated against African-American workers. its membership represented a majority of the American workforce. E Average p. 616-617 Analytical 1 It is estimated in 1920 that the number of women who engaged in premarital sex was less than 2 percent. 10 percent. 25 percent. 40 percent. 50 percent. C Average p. 620 Factual 1 Theodore Roosevelt called for a ten-year suspension on immigration. American women to have at least four children. increased leisure time for the middle class. racial equality. the professionalization of sports. B Most Difficult p. 603-604 Analytical 1 Chinese and Japanese immigrants settled primarily in the South. worked primarily in the automobile industry. made up the majority of the urban workforce. were generally more prosperous than European immigrants. were ineligible for citizenship. E Average p. 606 Factual 1 The nation's first subways were constructed in New York City. Boston. Philadelphia. Chicago. Trenton. B Least Difficult p. 596 Factual 1 Most Japanese and Chinese immigrants came to America to escape political oppression. to practice their religion freely. because of economic deprivation. because Americans welcomed them and treated them well. because of the bloody war between Japan and China. C Average p. 606 Analytical 1 In regards to child labor, in the early twentieth century nearly 75 percent of boys between the age of 10 to 15 worked. most were Jews and Italians. most were Irish and Germans. were mainly from Greece and Turkey. were mainly from Canada. B Most Difficult p. 623 Factual 1 Some Japanese immigrants achieved success as small western farmers. railroad managers. politicians. garment factory owners. middle managers. A Average p. 610 Factual 1 During the early twentieth century, industrialists grew even worse than their "robber baron" forebears in their wasteful and conspicuous consumption of goods and services. F Average p. 602 Analytical 1 Many immigrants between 1900 and 1914 returned to the land of their birth. T Most Difficult p. 606 Factual 1 Employers tended to use black strikebreakers because they were sympathetic to their economic plight. F Least Difficult p. 612 Analytical 1 The black middle class tended to be smaller and more precarious than its counterpart in other ethnic communities. T Average p. 612-613 Analytical 1 The goal of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) was to overthrow the capitalist system. T Most Difficult p. 617 Factual 1 Immigrants who came to the United States tended to do so regardless of whether or not they had friends or relatives already in the United States. F Average p. 606 Factual 1 By 1920, a majority of states prohibited child labor. F Average p. 608 Factual 1 Electric power and the internal-combustion engine were the greatest technological developments stimulating capital investment and economic growth in the late nineteenth century. T Least Difficult p. 596 Factual 1 Henry Ford was convinced that high wages alone would keep his workers happy. F Average p. 602 Factual 1 Most working families required two to three wage-earners in order to make ends meet. T Average p. 609 Factual 1 Andrew Carnegie eventually gave away 90 percent of his fortune. T Average p. 603 Factual 1 Social Darwinism's theories encouraged tolerance and cooperation among the diverse racial groups in the United States. F Most Difficult p. 603 Analytical 1 Between 1880 and 1920 the number of immigrants coming to the United States declined significantly. F Least Difficult p. 604 Factual 1 Most of the "new" immigrants were women and children. F Average p. 606 Factual 1 By 1900, the average work week in American industry was fifty hours. F Average p. 608 Factual 1 The Industrial Workers of the World union emphasized "bread and butter" issues for its workers. F Average p. 616 Analytical 1 Henry Ford unveiled his Model A in 1912. F Least Difficult p. 596 Factual 1 In the early twentieth century, the munitions industry was dominated by the DuPont company. T Most Difficult p. 599 Factual 1 Henry Ford followed Frederick Taylor's principles by raising wages for his workers. T Most Difficult p. 602 Analytical 1 The typical workweek for steelworkers was more than 72 hours. T Average p. 608 Factual 1 Most mass immigration to the United States after 1880 was propelled by economic hardship. T Least Difficult p. 605 Factual 1 The "old" and "new" immigrants had nothing in common. F Average p. 605 Analytical 1 Many "new" immigrants rose to the prosperous ranks of skilled labor. F Average p. 608 Analytical 1 By the early twentieth century, northern industrialists preferred to hire southern blacks over the "new immigrants." F Average p. 612 Factual 1 Al Capone was known as "the J.P. Morgan of the underworld." F Most Difficult p. 612 Factual 1 By the early twentieth century, Japanese immigrants owned about 25 percent of California's total farm acreage. F Average p. 610 Factual 1 Many manufacturers followed Henry Ford's lead and offered a $5/day wage. F Average p. 602 Factual 1 The American Federation of Labor became increasingly conservative in the 1890s. T Average p. 616 Factual 1 The American Federation of Labor discriminated against black workers. T Average p. 617 Factual 1 The International Workers of the World attracted a mass membership. F Average p. 617 Factual 1 More than half of the early films shown in American nickelodeons came from France, Germany, and Italy. T Most Difficult p. 619 Factual 1 Skilled laborers earned three to four times more money per year than unskilled labor. T Average p. 608 Analytical 1 The first "horseless carriages" appeared in the United States in 1903. F Average p. 596 Factual 1 Most Irish immigrants did not return to their homeland. T Average p. 606 Analytical 1 James B. Duke almost single-handedly transformed the cigarette industry. T Average p. 597 Factual 1 Many advocates of free love and class warfare lived in Greenwich Village. T Average p. 621 Factual 1 Labor and feminist militants were bitterly antagonistic to each other. F Average p. 621 Analytical 1 Bradley Martin and his wife were forced to flee to England due to popular outrage over their extravagant spending habits. T Most Difficult p. 602 Factual 1 In the early years of the movie industry the price of theater tickets was too high for the working classes of the cities to enjoy this new form of entertainment. F Average p. 619 Analytical 1 The U.S. Commission on Industrial Relations concluded that John D. Rockefeller, Jr. was complicit in the tragedy of the Ludlow Massacre. T Average p. 618 Analytical 1 The theory that history could be understood as the struggle among races with the fittest triumphing was known as ____________________. Social Darwinism Most Difficult p. 603 Analytical 1 0 The labor union that hoped to organize all workers into "one big union" was the ____________________. IWW Most Difficult p. 617 Factual 1 0 In 1892, an anarchist shocked the world by attempting to assassinate industrial leader ____________________. Henry C. Frick Most Difficult p. 602 Factual 1 0 The ____________________ were urban leaders who ran corrupt political machines that provided social welfare services for slum dwellers. city bosses Average p. 611 Factual 1 0 The brutal suppression of a United Mine Workers' strike at ____________________ in the spring of 1913 outraged the nation and dramatized the mounting tensions between unions and employers. Ludlow, Colorado Most Difficult p. 618 Analytical 1 0 ____________________ was the first female movie sex symbol. Theda Bara Least Difficult p. 620 Factual 1 0 The largest business merger between 1898 and 1904 was in the ____________________ industry. steel Least Difficult p. 599 Factual 1 0 The scientific management of production is also known as ____________________. "Taylorism" Average p. 600 Factual 1 0 The 1910 ____________________ Act prohibited the transportation of women across state lines for immoral purposes. Mann Most Difficult p. 621 Factual 1 0 Prior to ____________________, no federal laws protected the right of workers to organize unions. 1916 Average p. 616 Factual 1 0 The ____________________ allowed black workers to join and to rise to positions of leadership. United Mine Workers Most Difficult p. 617 Factual 1 0 It is estimated that the proportion of women having sex before marriage rose from 10 percent to ____________________ percent in the generation that was coming of age between 1910 and 1920. 25 Most Difficult p. 620 Factual 1 0 Cultural conservatism was ____________________ in those parts of the country least involved in the ongoing industrial and sexual revolutions. strongest Most Difficult p. 621 Analytical 1 0 Anarchist ____________________ tried to assassinate Henry Clay Frick in 1892. Alexander Berkman Most Difficult p. 602 Factual 1 0 ____________________ donated money to establish the University of Chicago. John D. Rockefeller Average p. 603 Factual 1 0 "The strenuous life" was popularized by ____________________. Theodore Roosevelt Least Difficult p. 603 Factual 1 0 The 1905 Supreme Court ruling regarding bakery employees in the case ____________________ was a setback for organized labor Lochner v. New York Average p. 616 Factual 1 0 The working class was overwhelmingly ethnic in all sections of the country except the ____________________. South Least Difficult p. 604 Factual 1 0 ____________________ were among the first Europeans to emigrate to the United States after the 1880s. Village artisans Most Difficult p. 606 Factual 1 0 In 1900, the population density of New York's Lower East Side was ____________________ people per acre. 700 Most Difficult p. 609 Factual 1 0 The ____________________ industry led the way in corporate consolidation. railroad Average p. 598 Factual 1 0 From 1890 to 1920 many American industries converted from steam power to ____________________ power. electrical Average p. 596 Factual 1 0 The most responsible for developing the theory of scientific management was ____________________. Frederick Winslow Taylor Least Difficult p. 600 Factual 1 0 James Duke founded the ____________________ Company. American Tobacco Average p. 597 Factual 1 0 The first affordable automobile produced in America was the ____________________. Model T Least Difficult p. 596 Factual 1 0 In 1914 Greenwich Village radicals began publishing the artistic journal ____________________. The Masses Average p. 621 Factual 1 0 ____________________ was the term used by women who desired full equality with men. Feminism Average p. 621 Factual 1 0 The group of immigrants least likely to want to return to their homeland was ____________________. Jews Most Difficult p. 606 Factual 1 0 In 1882, national legislation to limit immigration to the United States was directed at the ____________________ immigrants. Chinese Average p. 606 Factual 1 0 Over 140 young Jewish and Italian women died in a fire caused by unsafe conditions in the ____________________ Company. Triangle Shirtwaist Average p. 608 Factual 1 0 Social Darwinism: belief that there was a struggle among races, with the fittest and strongest surviving. Rooted in the conviction that scientific principles governed human society and stemmed from a growing awareness of other cultures. Encouraged intolerance and suspicion of foreigners and immigrants. TYPE: Identifications 1 -1 Frederick Winslow Taylor: creator of the theory of "scientific management." He hoped to rationalize and calibrate workers on the job. Conducted "time and motion studies" to break down each production process into its component steps and determine how those steps could be streamlined. TYPE: Identifications 1 -1 Henry Ford: inventor of the Model-T. Introduced the assembly line to manufacturing. TYPE: Identifications 1 -1 Industrial Workers of the World (IWW): union headed by William "Big Bill" Haywood. Goal was to unite workers in one big union and eventually overthrow capitalism. TYPE: Identifications 1 -1 separate spheres: belief that men and women occupied different social worlds--males a public world, females a domestic one. Used to keep women at home, out of the world of business and politics. TYPE: Identifications 1 -1 sweat shop: small manufacturing plants where immigrants (mostly women and children) worked long hours for little pay. Most had inadequate lighting, heat, and ventilation. TYPE: Identifications 1 -1 industrial union: union that accepted as members all workers regardless of skill or job, in a particular industry. TYPE: Identifications 1 -1 craft union: a union that restricted membership to skilled workers only. Type of organizational structure used by the American Federation of Labor. TYPE: Identifications 1 -1 continuous assembly line: pioneered in 1913 by Henry Ford for the manufacture of automobiles. Involved carrying cars in production to each workstation on a continuously moving conveyor belt. Dramatically increased the efficiency of the production line; also forced workers to work at a faster pace. TYPE: Identifications 1 -1 gospel of wealth: idea that the wealthy should consider all income in excess of their needs as a "trust fund" for their communities. Popularized by Andrew Carnegie as early as 1889. Encouraged the rich to donate funds for libraries, educational institutions, and cultural/arts institutions. TYPE: Identifications 1 -1 strenuous life: term popularized by Theodore Roosevelt in an 1889 essay. Exhorted Americans to live vigorously, to test their physical strength and endurance in competitive athletics, and to experience nature through hiking, hunting, and mountain climbing. Articulated a way of life that influenced countless Americans from a variety of classes and cultures. TYPE: Identifications 1 -1 graft: term used to describe bribes paid to machine politicians by businessmen seeking contracts. By 1900, graft had become essential to day-to-day operations in most cities around the country. It also made local office holding a rich source of personal financial gain. TYPE: Identifications 1 -1 Victorianism: doctrine that had a profound influence on gender identity and sexual practice throughout the 1880s and 1890s. Held that it was unnatural for women to work or enter politics or for men to devote themselves to child-rearing or other domestic chores. Meant that men and women spent substantial portions of their daily lives apart from one another. TYPE: Identifications 1 -1 feminism: term used to describe the desire for equality with men. Supported by diverse activists like Charlotte Perkins Gilman, who advocated collectivized housekeeping to free women from domestic chores; Margaret Sanger, who crusaded for birth control; Emma Goldman, who embraced the idea of free love, unburdened by contractual commitment; and Alice Paul, who worked on behalf of women's suffrage. Many feminists came together in Greenwich Village, where they organized a supportive community of artists, writers, and activists. TYPE: Identifications 1 -1 Describe the living and working conditions of immigrant laborers. Most immigrants came to the United States with few of the skills needed in the more sophisticated or higher-paying industries, so they tended to take jobs that involved manual labor such as construction or mining. Different immigrant groups, depending on both training and opportunities, tended to focus on certain types of labor; for example, Italians dominated the construction industry, and Asians tended to work on the railroads. These types of work were not only low-paying but dangerous. Workers labored sixty hours per week and earned, on average, $500 per year. Because of prejudice and lack of opportunities, it was rare for immigrants to move into the ranks of skilled labor. Most immigrant families lived in one of the major urban areas and required two to three wage-earners in order to make ends meet. The majority of these families lived in tenement-type housing with few windows, no running water, and no sewage or electric services. Diseases such as diphtheria and typhoid ran rampant. Even with these adverse labor and living conditions, however, immigrant groups established institutions that created and strengthened their sense of community. Often tied to the church or to social groups, these community organizations sometimes were established first in immigrants' homelands and then were transplanted to America. Some, however, were created in America in response to the social needs of immigrants as they adjusted to their new lives. TYPE: Short Essays 1 -1 Examine changes in management and production during the early twentieth century. The period from 1890 to 1920 saw significant changes in the areas of industrial management and production. Most important was the increasing movement toward centralization and mergers. Known as "trusts," these financial creations were attempts on the part of certain corporations, like Rockefeller's Standard Oil, to control and corner the business market. In some regions, major industries actually merged into one--such as the creation of the U.S. Steel Company in 1901. Often, as with the railroads, this centralization was an attempt to end cut-throat competition as well as to increase profits. Significant changes at the point of production also were an attempt to increase production and cut costs. Henry Ford was a great innovator here, introducing the assembly line in the construction of his autos. Although production changes simplified the work process, cut costs, and hastened production, they also increased resentment among workers who were angry with the monotony and drudgery of the new labor. Management also attempted to increase output with the introduction of "scientific management." The creation of Frederick Taylor, "Taylorism" attempted to rationalize production through the implementation of scientific methods such as time-and-motion studies. The ultimate goal of these theories was to orchestrate human labor efficiently and to make it as well-calibrated as a machine. Needless to say, workers on the shop floor viewed scientific management much like other innovations-with resentment and anger. TYPE: Short Essays 1 -1 Explore the theory of Social Darwinism. Why was it so popular among native-born Americans at the turn of the century? During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the population of the United States increased by 50 percent, primarily because of immigration from Europe. Although working-class resentment tended to focus on job-related and political power-related issues, the elite reaction to immigration was different. Even though certain portions of the industrial elite welcomed the influx of immigration (cheap labor), other segments viewed the newcomers as racially inferior and culturally bankrupt--hence the appeal of Social Darwinism to America's upper class. Social Darwinism adapted Darwinian theory to social life and history (something Darwin never did in his own writings). This new twist on evolution attempted to define and clarify the world's historical socio-economic struggle, using as its basis pure "science," a concept increasingly relied upon by the intellectual community. The theory echoed Darwin's "survival of the fittest" and claimed that human history could be understood as a struggle among the races, with the strongest and fittest eventually triumphing. TYPE: Short Essays 1 -1 Describe the developing urban African-American community at the turn of the century. As late as the 1890s, the overwhelming majority of African Americans in the United States lived in the rural South. Racial backlash, the development and implementation of "Jim Crow," and declining opportunities for blacks in almost all areas of economic life, however, led to the first major migration of African Americans out of the South. Beginning in 1890 and ending around 1910, about 200,000 blacks left the South for the North and West. Although northern states did not pass "Jim Crow" laws, opportunities were limited there as well, primarily because of racism. Indeed, intensifying discrimination at the turn of the century often made the life of African Americans in the cities worse than it had been at any time since before the Civil War. Northern urban blacks developed a variety of strategies in the struggle to strengthen their developing communities. The political machines and business consortiums that assisted with other ethnic groups were not available to the growing black middle class, black professionals, and black businessmen. The African-American community therefore turned inward, using its own political and religious social institutions to begin to help its own members. Although some blacks were able to achieve significant wealth, racial prejudice created boundaries that, for the average black American, were virtually impossible to overcome. TYPE: Short Essays 1 -1 Examine the changes in amusements and in commercial entertainment at the turn of the century. Changes in the location where people lived, as well as where they worked, brought about significant changes in their amusements. Movies were by far the most popular form of entertainment, ideal for people who had little free time, no extra money, and did not speak English. Nickelodeons, where fifteen-minute silent films were shown, dominated the working-class neighborhoods. Before the period of censorship, the themes of these films tended to be far more adventuresome (more thought-provoking, sexual in nature, and dismal than the films of a generation later) and, in this way, responded to the demands of the audience. Also popular and relatively inexpensive were the amusement parks (such as Coney Island), dance halls, vaudeville theaters, and, especially, ball parks. Not only were the working-class demands for entertainment changing, but so too were the demands of the middle and upper classes changing. Increasingly popular were college sports, with football (particularly in the Ivy League) leading the way. TYPE: Short Essays 1 -1 Examine the changing sexual mores and attitudes toward women in the period from 1890 to 1920. During most of the Victorian era the "appropriate" role of women was that of homemaker and child bearer. Women were not supposed to work outside the home, participate in politics, or enjoy sex. Urbanization and industrialization opened new opportunities for women and eroded the traditional views of acceptable behavior. Increasing numbers of young, single women entered the workforce as industrial and clerical workers, achieved a degree of economic independence, and experienced social freedom. Motion pictures stimulated romantic fantasies and encouraged intimacies by presenting images of glamorous modern women. Film stars such as Theda Bara defied convention and invited others to do the same. Reformers interjected birth control, women's suffrage, and other female issues into the political arena. While conservatives decried the decline of morals and the destruction of the family, the "new women" struggled to create a role for themselves that fit somewhere in between the two extremes of the house-bound wife/mother and the sexually liberated and predatory "vamp." TYPE: Short Essays 1 -1 Describe the rise of corrupt party machines and organized crime in urban America. Public officials known as "city bosses" rose to power by creating well-organized political machines that provided minimal social programs for the inner-city poor. The city bosses profited from graft and kickbacks, participated in ballot-box stuffing and voter fraud, intimidated city employees and political opponents, and protected criminals. In return for support at the polls, the machine politicians did favors and often served as vehicles of economic and social advancement for immigrants and other slum dwellers. President John F. Kennedy's grandfathers, John Francis Fitzgerald and Patrick Joseph Kennedy, were examples of Irish immigrants who made fortunes and improved the social status of their families through participation in machine politics. Many of the political bosses were closely allied with big city gangsters. In the Italian, Jewish, Irish, and Chinese ethnic communities local criminals organized gangs that extorted money from legitimate businessmen, controlled prostitution and gambling, and bribed the police and other city officials. Like the machine politicians, the gangsters saw themselves as enterprising American businessmen who simply were achieving success in the expanding capitalist economy of the period. TYPE: Short Essays 1 -1 Explore the causes and patterns of immigration during the period 1890-1920. Essay should address several key points: A. Origins of immigrants 1. Most from eastern and southern Europe a. 23 million between 1880 and 1914 b. Met resistance from native-born Americans 2. Several hundred thousand from Asia B. Causes of immigration 1. Socioeconomic causes a. Most left because of economic hardship b. Promise of better life (high wages) in United States 2. Political reasons a. Labor militants (England, Germany) b. Socialists (Germany, Italy) 3. Religious persecution a. Russian Jews b. Consequences C. Patterns of immigration 1. Viewed stay in America as temporary a. Single men left families in home country b. Many returned to home country 2. World War I preempts return for immigrants
TYPE: Long Essays 1 -1 Examine labor's attempts to organize workers during the period of industrial transformation. Essay should address several key points: A. New relations between workers and capital 1. Wide-scale industrialization 2. Growth of unskilled labor a. Large immigrant labor force b. Sought factory jobs 3. New methods of management and production a. Scientific management b. Assembly line/mass production B. Developments among labor 1. American Federation of Labor (AFL) a. Samuel Gompers and "bread and butter" unionism b. Limited to craft workers c. Small in size (two million members) 2. Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) a. "Big Bill" Haywood and "one big union" b. Organization of all workers c. Overthrow of capitalist social relations C. Government's response to labor 1. Opposition to organized strikes 2. Sherman Antitrust Act 3. Ludlow massacre (1914)
TYPE: Long Essays 1 -1 Describe the sources of economic growth and development during the years from 1890 to 1920. Essay should address several key points: A. Technological innovations 1. Electric power a. Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison b. Transition from steam power to electric power 2. Gasoline and automobiles a. Stimulus to subsidiary industries (glass, rubber) b. Need for roads and service stations B. Corporations 1. Increasing centralization a. "Trusts" and cartels b. Mass production and distribution C. Developments in production 1. Attempts to rationalize production a. "Scientific management" b. Frederick Taylor c. Henry Ford and the assembly line
TYPE: Long Essays 1 -1 Discuss the changing views of the role of women in U.S. society and the emergence of the women's rights movement in the period 1900 to 1920. Essay should address several key points: A. Changing roles 1. Victorian "separate spheres" 2. Increase in number of working-class women in workforce 3 Shift from domestic to industrial and clerical jobs 4. Influence of social freedom and popular entertainment B. Feminist leaders and issues 1. Charlotte Perkins Gilman--collectivized housekeeping 2. Margaret Sanger--birth control 3. Emma Goldman--free love 4. Alice Paul--woman suffrage
TYPE: Long Essays 1 -1