Populism, progressivism and imperialism, 1890–1920

• Cuban movement for independence from Spain

  Occurred in 1895, garnered considerable American support
• USS Maine sank

  United States believed the tragedy was the result of Spanish sabotage and declared war on Spain
• Spanish-American War

  Lasted only six weeks, resulted in a decisive victory for the United States
• Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt

  • Rose to national prominence due to his role in the Spanish-American War
• United States promised it would not annex Cuba after victory, but required Cuba to permit significant American intervention in Cuban affairs
• As a result of the war, the United States acquired Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines as territories
• Conflict between empire and democracy

  In the late nineteenth century, the nations of Europe were competing for overseas colonies in Africa and Asia, while the United States had not forgotten its own colonial past
• When, in 1893, American sugar plantation owners engineered a coup to dethrone Hawaii's Queen Lili'uokalani and annex the Hawaiian Islands, the United States refused to cooperate with the underhanded scheme
• Cuban rebellion against Spain

  Occurred in 1895, Spain rounded up Cubans and forced them into reconcentration camps, where poor sanitation and disease killed thousands
• American newspapers, eager to sell copies, whipped the public into a frenzy against the Spanish by reporting sensational stories (both true and untrue) in a practice known as yellow journalism
• USS Maine exploded in Havana harbor


  Americans were convinced that the Maine had been destroyed by Spanish sabotage, despite the Spanish claim that the explosion had been the result of a malfunction aboard the ship
• The United States declared war against Spain on April 11, 1898, and Congress passed the Teller Amendment to prevent the possibility of US annexation of Cuba
• Spanish-American War

  The tired remnants of Spain's New World empire were no match for brand-new American warships, and the United States quickly dispatched the Spanish fleet and captured the Philippines
• The American military force was composed mainly of volunteers who were ill-equipped for an expedition in the tropics, but Teddy Roosevelt and African American soldiers played key roles in the conflict
• Fearful that Japan might attempt to take control of Hawaii while the United States was distracted by Spain, President William McKinley also signed a resolution formally annexing Hawaii on July 7, 1898
• Fewer than four hundred Americans had died in the Spanish-American War, leading Secretary of State John Hay to declare the conflict a "splendid little war", but more than 5000 American deaths were caused by diseases like malaria and yellow fever
• Treaty of Paris

  Spain agreed to free Cuba, and to cede the islands Guam and Puerto Rico to the United States, while the United States agreed to pay Spain $20 million for the Philippines
• Neither Cuban nor Filipino representatives were permitted to participate in the negotiations for the Treaty of Paris
• The United States did not annex Cuba outright, but forced Cubans to recognize American control in their new Constitution through the Platt Amendment, which allowed for American diplomatic, economic, and military intervention and the leasing of Guantánamo Bay
• Filipinos, who had allied with US forces to oust Spain, were denied their freedom, as US politicians believed their "little brown brothers" were incapable of self-government
• The Filipinos turned their rebellion against the United States, and the US fought for two years to put down the Filipino insurrection, resorting to the same tactics that the Spanish had used against the Cubans
• After the Spanish-American War, the United States had become an empire, and the status of its new territories was unclear, with Puerto Ricans gaining American citizenship (eventually) but not self-rule, and Filipinos gaining neither citizenship nor independence
• The Spanish-American War marked the end of the United States' isolationist era, as it emerged as a major player on the world stage
• Progressive Era

  Period of US history from the 1890s to the 1920s, an era of intense social and political reform aimed at making progress toward a better society
• Progressive Era reformers

  • Sought to harness the power of the federal government to eliminate unethical and unfair business practices, reduce corruption, and counteract the negative social effects of industrialization
• During the Progressive Era, protections for workers and consumers were strengthened, and women finally achieved the right to vote
• Robber barons

  Corporate bosses who pursued unethical and unfair business practices aimed at eliminating competition and increasing profits
• Factory workers, many of them recent immigrants, were frequently subjected to brutal and perilous working and living conditions
• Political corruption enriched politicians at the expense of the lower and working classes, who struggled to make ends meet
• The gap between the "haves" and the "have-nots" was widening
• Progressive reformers

  • Sought to regulate private industry, strengthen protections for workers and consumers, expose corruption in both government and big business, and generally improve society
• Progressive reformers successfully influenced the passage of much substantive legislation, including several amendments to the US Constitution
• Amendments passed during the Progressive Era

  • Sixteenth Amendment (federal income tax)
  • Seventeenth Amendment (direct election of Senators)
  • Eighteenth Amendment (prohibition of alcohol sales)
  • Nineteenth Amendment (women's right to vote)
• Legislation passed during the Progressive Era

  • Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 (created the FDA)
  • Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914 (curbed anti-competitive business practices)
• The Wilson administration pursued a racial agenda that culminated in the segregation of the federal government
• The years of Wilson's presidency (1913-1921) witnessed a revival of the Ku Klux Klan and a viciously racist backlash against the economic and political gains of African Americans in the post-Reconstruction period
• Labor unions supported restrictions on immigration and spewed xenophobic rhetoric that blamed immigrants for low wages and harsh working conditions
• Federal immigration policies in the Progressive Era severely limited immigration based on nationality, and excluded virtually all Asian immigrants
• Eugenics

  The "science of better breeding" that aimed to improve the genetic quality of the human population through policies that would encourage the more "desirable" elements of society to have more children while preventing "undesirables" from reproducing
• In 1907, the United States became the first country to pass a compulsory sterilization law