The United States enters the 20 th Century…

 Once the US had officially conquered its “frontier”, the nation was poised to enter into a new “manifest destiny”.  Spurred on by industrialists who sought new markets for their goods as well as abundant resources…  Nationalists called for the US to join fellow European world powers in the race for empire.

 Treaty (Alaska, Midway, Samoa, and Panama)  War (Spanish-American War of 1898)

 The Monroe Doctrine of 1823  The Roosevelt Corollary 1903

 View the following slides and write down your thoughts regarding the changes that occurred to the “image” of the US.  Was this a betrayal of the founding principles of our nation?  Or was it a “natural” progression?  List the pro’s and con’s of embarking on an imperial path.

 The Great War begins innocently with the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria…(June of 1914)  It balloons into a world war due to various factors… (militarism, alliances, imperialism, and nationalism) (August of 1914)  The US at first attempts to stay “neutral in thought and deed” (Wilson)

 The war becomes a bloody “trench war” of attrition that cost millions of lives.  New weapons and old tactics spelled a recipe for disaster of epic proportions.  The US slowly drifted toward war due to its economic ties to the Allies.  The propaganda of war helped sway the US to wake up from its isolationist slumber and enter the war in April of 1917.

 The US entered in order to “make the world safe for Democracy”  The US helped turn the tide of war with a little help from a revolution in Russia.  America gained prestige through its participation  In reality, it entered to protect its “investment” in the Allies.  US troops fought bravely at battles like Belleau Wood and the Meuse-Argonne.  The Allies used the US to gain victory and then spurned our efforts at a lasting peace.

 The huge cost of the war was passed on to the loser (Germany) setting in motion forces within Germany that would ultimately lead to the rise of Adolf Hitler.  The US, dismayed by the outcome retreated into a period of international “isolationism”  The rest of the world would wait to see what the failure of Versailles would mean 20 years hence.

 As the 20 th century dawned, some in America began to look at the problems that existed in our country.  Economic (growth of monopolies and uneven distribution of wealth)  Social (deplorable living conditions in our cities, high crime, child labor, discrimination)  Political (rise of party machines, bribery and control by big business of politics)

 Social Reformers (Addams, Dubois)  Political Reformers (TR, LaFollette)

 Upton Sinclair  Ida Tarbell  Lincoln Steffens  Ray Baker  John Spargo

 16, 17, 18, and 19 th Amendments  Child Labor laws  Pure Food and Drug Act  Meat Inspection Act  Australian Ballot  Anti-Trust legislation (Clayton Act)  Federal Reserve System

 Even though the progressives were able to achieve some change the Great War and its aftermath led to a period of time where the reformers and reforms lost ground to the industrialists and conservative political element in our nation.  Only the collapse of our economy in 1929 would open the door to a new era of reform known as the NEW DEAL