Increasing Role Of Government

-Political Machine- Organized Group That Services In Exchange For Votes
- Political Boss Were The Head Of The Political Machine
-Roscoe Conkling: A City Boss Who Used His Power To Fund Public Projects
-Precint Captains: A Lower Rank Of The Political Machine
-Jim Pendergast: An Irish Immigrant Who Became A Democrat City Boss In Kansas City By Helping Immigrants
-He Controlled Missouri State Politics
-Graft: The Illegal Use Of Political Power For Personal Gain (Fraud)
-Politicians And Political Machines
-Some Political Machines Would Have People Use Fake Identities To Vote More Than Once
-The Tweed Ring Scandle: A Group Of Corrupt Politicians Who Performed Grafts For Money
Led By Boss Tweed - A Powerful City Boss That Led The Tweed Ring Scandle
-Patrionage Gave People Government Jobs For Support Of Their Parties
- Reformers (Part Of The People That Wanted To Get Rid Of Patrionage)

Pendleton Civil Service Act 1883- A Merit System, People Would Have To Pass A Test To Get A Government Job

Key Events:
"The Jungle", Was written by Upton Sinclair, it's a book that described the sickening conditions of the meatpacking industry, which came out in 1906
"Square Deal" : Pres. Roosevelt saw to it that common people received what he called "Square Deal", its a term used to describe the various progressive reforms sponsered by the Roosevelt administration.
"Northern Securities Company" : An important United States railroad trust formed in 1901 E. H. Harriman, James J. Hill, J.P Morgan, J. D Rockefeller, and their associates. The company was sued in 1902 under the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 by President Theodore Roosevelt
"1902 Coal Trike" : When 140,000 coal miners in Pennsylvania went on strike and demanded a 20 percent raise, a nine-hour workday, and the right to organize a union, the mine operators refused to bargain.
"Conservation and Yosemite National Park" : John Muir, a naturalist and writer with whom Roosevelt camped in California's Yosemite National Park in 1903, persuaded the president to set aside 148 million acres of of forest reserves.

Square Deal: What common people would receive from the Roosevelt Administration
Sherman Antitrust Act of 1902: Prohibits certain business activities that federal government regulators deem to be anticompetitive, and requires the federal government to investigate and pursue trusts, companies, and organizations suspected of being in violation
Elkins Act: a 1903 United States law that amended the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887
Hepburn Act 1906: U.S Federal law that gave the Interstate Commerce Commission the power to set maximum railroad rates and extend it's jurisdiction
Meat Inspection Act: Dictated strict cleanliness requirements for meatpackers and created the program of federal meat inspection that was in use until it was replaced by more sophisticated techniques in the 1990's
Pure Food and Drug Act: Halted the sale of contaminated foods and medicines and called for truth in labeling

Theodore Roosevelt: Started the Progressive Movement and The Square Deal due to Sinclair's book
Upton Sinclair: A muckraking journalist who's focus was the human condition in the stockyards of Chicago, and later wrote "The Jungle"
John Muir: A journalist and friend of Roosevelt who's activism helped preserve the Yosemite National Park

When The Reformers Wanted To Correct The Injustices.
Bad Working Conditions Child Labor
Corruption
Florence Kelly- Helped Win The Illinois Factory Act Which Banned Child Labor And Limited Women Working Hours
-Women's Christian Temp. Union: A Group That Wanted To Limit The Use Of Alchohol
-Hazen Pingree Focused On Economics And Low Fare Tax And Abolish Corruption And Started Making Work Relieves For Unemployed Ctizens, He Was Elected In 1890,
1901, Tom Johnson Was Elected Mayor Of Cleveland, He Wanted People To Play Part In The City Government
Both Hazen And Johnson Worked Under Moving Corrupt Owners From Power
History Of The Standard Oil Company- 1901, Eugene Debs Commented On The Unfair Balance Among Large Companies Government And Common People Under The Free Market System
1904- The Book "History Of The Standard Oil Company" Was Published And The Book Was a revelation of the Standard Oil Company which was at that time Run By Oil Tycoon John D. Rockefeller
Reform Governors- 1906 Robert M. La Follette was the governor of Wisconsin. He was known as "fighting bob" LaFollette He wanted to remove corporations out of politics and give them the same treatment as other people
Muller vs Oregon- 1908, the main issue of this case was if it was if it was constitutional to set maximum workday for women.
Scientific Management- 1911 Frederick Taylor's book " The principles of Scientific Management" was published , it was basically a theory of management that analyzed and workflows, with the objective of improving labor productivity
Keating Owen Act- 1916- joined by union labors, they wanted the government to pass the Keating Owen Act. This act banned sales in interstate commerce of goods by any facility that had children working
Bunting v Oregon- The Bunting v Oregon was a case in which the supreme court ruled a 10 hour work day not just for women but also for men. It also says that time-and-a-half wages for overtime up to 3 hours

1913- During Woodrow Wilson’s inauguration there were several woman suffragists who marched through the crowd. The organizers were members in the (NAWSA)
The National Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) was one of the first associations founded in 1890 to gain rights for women.
The founders of this association opposed the fifteenth amendment unless it would include the right for woman to vote.
Carrie Chapman Catt helped bring the era to an end and won the woman’s right to vote.
She was the president of (NAWSA) in 1900
Leader who worked and fought for equal voting rights for women
Susan B. Anthony
Leader of (NAWSA) who pushed for an amendment in the constitution for women rights. Which failed to pass.
1916- Catt had a suffrage convention in which she invited President Wilson who supported suffrage
President Woodrow Wilson supported suffrage, he believed in attacking concentrations of power to give greater freedom to average citizens.
1910- He became governor of New Jersey
He then supported progressive legislation programs
As President he wanted to move on with his program the “New Freedom” in which he planned to reduce tariff on imported goods, reform on national banking systems, and strengthen trusts.
1914- Clayton Antitrust Act
Prohibited the creations of monopolies and protected the rights of farm organizations and labor unions
Federal Trade Commission Act
An agency that would help investigate any violations and to put an end on unfair practices.
1913- Underwood Act
Reduced tariff rates
16th Amendment
Legalized an income tax that would come from peoples earnings and corporation profits.
Federal Reserve Act
Created a National banking system that controlled the U.S. money and the accessible credit in the country
Managed the amount of currency in the economy
Federal Reserve System
The Federal Reserve gives rules and makes decisions
Banker Banks (12 Districts) print more money or make loans to private banks if told by the Fed.
Private banks loan people the money
Women Suffrage
Women started campaigning
Spread the message to working class and poor women
Disturbed government officials to advance their cause
Formed a picket line around the white house in which some women were arrested
Force-fed after attempting a hunger strike
1919- Nineteenth Amendment
Granted women the right to vote

POSTWAR ISSUES:
All throughout this time, there was growing prejudice against foreign-born people (Nativism)

1919: “Red Scare” – a panic caused by the spread of communism (a political system based on a single-party government ruled by a dictatorship)

1919: Palmer Raids – a series of raids to combat the “Red Scare”. Palmer and his assistant J. Edgar Hoover hunted down and arrested suspected communists, socialists, and anarchists. They violated many people’s civil rights in the process.

1920: Sacco & Vanzetti, two Italian immigrants, are wrongfully accused and sentenced to death in a trial that was unfair due to the prejudice at the time.

1921: The Red Scare caused anti-immigration feelings, which resulted in the Emergency Quota Act of 1921 (Immigration Quotas). This limited the number of people who could enter U.S. from each foreign country.

There were several union strikes at the time, including:
- The Boston Police Strike (for better wages). The strike was broken up by Calvin Coolidge, who at the time was governor of Massachusetts.
- The Steel Mill Strike (for shorter working hours, better wages, and the right to form unions)
- Coal Miners’ Strike – a protest for better wages and shorter workdays led by John L. Lewis. The strike succeeded in raising wages.

Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) – radicals in a U.S. Communist Party that sent bombs to government/business leaders, igniting the “Red Scare”

HARDING'S PRESIDENCY:

1921: Warren G. Harding becomes president, promising to restore the U.S. after Progressive Era and WWI. He used the slogan “return to normalcy”

1922: Fordney-McCumber Tariff takes effect, raising taxes on U.S. imports (this was a part of protectionism). This protected from foreign competition but made it impossible for Britain/France to repay U.S. debts. This caused a circle of debt between Britain, France, and Germany. The situation was resolved with the Dawes Plan, which was created by an American banker named Charles G. Dawes.

1921 – 1923: The Ohio Gang (corrupt politicans in Harding’s cabinet) became involved in many scandals, including the Teapot Dome Scandal (led by Secretary of Interior Albert B. Fall). Charles R. Forbes & Andrew Mellon were also a part of this group.

1923: President Harding dies.

BUSINESS BOOM OF THE 20'S

1923: Calvin Coolidge becomes president after Harding’s death. He supported big business, which gave way to the prosperous business boom of the 20’s.

• Automobiles revolutionize transportation, causing the need for gas stations, garages, repair shops, and paved roads. This also caused Urban Sprawls.

• Airplanes begin commercial air travel

• Electricity becomes more standardized due to Westinghouse’ alternating current, which allowed for more long distance distribution.

• More home appliances (fridges, toasters, washing machines, ect…)

• Modern advertising begins

• Use of credit begins (installment plans allow people to pay over time)

Hardship and suffering during the great depression

Hardship and suffering during the great depression
1929

Growing unemployments: Unemployment rate went up as soon as the stock market crashed. A lot of people lost their homes, they went thru hardships and this caused hungers for a lot of citizens.

Foreclosure: Because of the Great Depression, the mortgage foreclosure increased. Low incomes and the collapse of price levels caused distress to housing markets.

Shantytowns: These are like squatter areas. Citizens stay here illegally. Shantytowns are not usually a great environment for people to stay in.

Soup Kitchens: they offered low-cost or free food. A lot of people were out of work so they could barely afford their own food. Soup Kitchens were usually run by churches or any other private properties.

Competition for jobs: African Americans suffered as soon as the economy went down. When companies began to go down, companies started laying off African American first. The white people began competing with the jobs that African American’s does.

Dust Bowl: Dust storms causing damage in places like Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Colorado.

1924 - 1932

President Hoover, at first, thought that the depression was a part of the natural “business cycle”, and that the economy would eventually bounce back. He also thought that Americans should be optimistic about the economy. He believed in a small government, and his philosophy was that the government should only help to find a mutual solution between competing groups.

1929: Boulder Dam (later called Hoover Dam) is built, and it provided electricity, a water supply, and flood control.

1930: Democrats win more seats in congress because everyone was starting to dislike Hoover and the Republicans (1930 Congressional Elections)

1930: People started to express their anger for Hoover & the Depression, including
- “Farm Holidays”, where farmers refused to work
- “Hoovervilles” became a popular name for shantytowns
- Farmers used force to resist foreclosure

1932: Hoover tries to revive the economy by helping to fund the Federal Farm Board, Federal Home Loan Bank Act, and Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC). None of these efforts really helped.

1932: A group of WWI veterans known as the Bonus Army (led by Walter Waters) protested at Washington D.C. to push for the Patman Bill (which had previously been denied by the Senate), which would pay them for their wartime service. Hoover ordered soldiers to break up the protest by using tear gas bombs, which hurt his reputation even further.

Nation's sick economy

1920’s

UNEVEN DISTRIBUTION OF INCOME more than 70% of the nations families earned less than $2,500 per year. Basically rich got richer and poor got poorer.

• SLOWDOWN IN CONSUMERS SPENDING- Americans weren’t buying as much products anymore. Reasons were high prices, stagnant wages, unbalanced income and overbuying on credit.

OVERPRODUCTION OF GOODS Capitalism had been expanding by increasing productivity but at the same time decreasing wages. Then there were excess goods that could not find a market.

STOCK MARKET SPECULATION people bought stocks and bonds for quick profits while ignoring the risks.

“BUYING ON MARGIN” It’s basically paying for the down payment and borrowing the balance from the bank.

1929-BLACK TUESDAY- Stock market crashed and the price of stocks broke down. People who borrowed money to buy high priced stocks went bankrupt. This marked the start of the Great Depression.

1929-1940 – GREAT DEPRESSION- economy went down and unemployment went up. The Black tuesday caused the Great Depression and not just that it made the depression worse.

Key Persons:

Herbert Hoover: President during the Great Depression. He refused to involve the government in anything that has to do with fixed prices, businesses and manipulating the value of the currency.

Joseph P. Kennedy- father of John F. Kennedy. He was a speculator who sold off his stocks and made fortune during the crash.

Key Policy:

L’assiez-Faire is a policy of minimum governmental interference in the economic affairs of individuals and society.

McNary-Haugen Bill its a farm relief bill. It was passed to control farm prices.

Hawley-Smooth Tariff act was passed to protect American farmers from foreign competition. But the tariff didn’t help the unemployment, it made it worse especially on industries that couldn’t export any goods to europe.