Imperialism's Bitter Fruit

1. What made the Filipino insurrection "far different than any conflict in which Americans had previously fought"?

During the war in the Philippines American soldiers encountered battles unlike any they had known before. For the first time they had to fight a guerrilla movement which could act swiftly rather than a slower moving traditional army. In addition, the traditional rules of war that had been followed regarding treatment of prisoners and civilians were almost completely ignored. Both the Filipinos and the Americans tortured and killed prisoners and committed other atrocities. As the Filipino insurgents could easily blend into the civilian population, the U.S punished civilians after an attack by Filipino guerrillas. U.S troops also had orders to kill males above the age of ten who did not surrender.      

2. Why were African-Americans among the strongest critics of the war against the Filipino nationalists?

Black soldiers were disturbed by the racist attitudes which prevailed in the military about the Filipinos. The white military referred to the Filipinos as "niggers." In addition, black soldiers themselves found the same discrimination in the Philippines that they encountered in the U.S. They were prohibited from restaurants, barber shops, and many other locations marked as "white only." The Filipinos encouraged African-Americans to desert and join the Filipinos in their fight for independence.


3. Why did the United States lose its appetite for imperialism in the early 1900s ?

In the early 1900s Americans lost their appetite for imperialism mainly due to the difficulties of occupation. In the Philippines and at home there was continued opposition and anti imperialist sentiment. Critics of imperialism such as Mark Twain effectively expressed their opposition in the press. The occupation also brought many legal questions to the fore front which required the Supreme Court to address. In just three years the Supreme Court was required to make fourteen separate decisions regarding the Philippines. The American public became less interested in what was happening so far away form the United States.


4. How did the United States contribute to the development of Cuba and Puerto Rico ?

In Cuba and Puerto Rico, the U.S was primarily concerned with guarding American business and security interests. However, the Americans also brought technology and their business and administrative skills which enabled rapid development. New roads, telegraph lines, and schools were constructed. Sanitation was developed and improved. Medical advances including defeating yellow fever, were made and the finical health of the country was improved.


5. Why did many Cubans come to resent the U.S. presence on their island ?

After their long nationalist fight with Spain, Cuba felt great resentment toward U.S rule. The Platt amendment in 1901, fueled more resentment. The plan gave the U.S the power to oversee the Cuban economy, power over Cuban foreign policy  and allowed the U.S to take steps to protect life, property and liberty. The U.S also was permitted to build a naval base at Guantanamo bay. Cubans now had few opportunities in an economy controlled by Americans and some Spanish. They also were unhappy with Cuban plantation owners who formed alliances with foreign businesses.    
6. Do you believe the United States was imperialist? why or why not ?


I believe the United States was imperialist during this time period. I believe this because the U.S annexed Hawaii and acquired Cuba, The Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico. It did so in order to increase its political, economic and military power.

The Spanish-American War

1. How was the United States connected to Cuba in the 1890s?

      Cuba had been a country of interest for Americans for many years prior to the 1890s. Because it was only 90 miles from the tip of Florida, many Americans believed it to be a natural extension of the US. During the 1890s it became a profitable source of trade for American businessmen. After the Cuban revolt against Spain ended the Americans poured investments over $50 million into Cuba and became the biggest purchaser of Cuban sugar.  The US removed tariffs making sugar cheap for Americans to buy. Both the US and the Cuban economies benefited and  the trade increased to $100 million. The depression of 1893, however, had a negative effect on both economies.  


2. What were the main reasons the United States intervened in Cuba? (i.e. went to war) Which reason do you believe was most important? Explain your answer.
 

     There were many causes which together led to the US intervention in Cuba.  Among them were: the role of the press in inflaming public opinion by reporting both facts and fiction regarding the war in order to sell newspapers; religious magazines and politicians with strong religious convictions who believed it was America’s duty to help those suffering abroad; sympathy for the Cuban war effort from the US black community because of the large black Cuban population; merchants who were alarmed that their trade had been reduced or stopped because of the conflict; and a letter from the Spanish ambassador which was published and in which he  sharply criticized the President, leading Americans to believe that their country had been insulted. However the most important was the attack on the U.S.S. Maine, a US warship making a courtesy call to Havana harbor. 260 US sailors were killed in an explosion which destroyed the battleship and the cry “Remember the Maine-to hell with Spain” became popular across the country, although there was no certainty that the Spanish government was responsible.  Because of this tragedy, McKinley came under increased pressure to enter the war from both the general public who were outraged by the “Maine” and businessmen who felt  a war victory  would create increased economic strength and stability for the US. If the US was victorious, it would control strategic ports enabling it to increase valuable trade with Asia.



3. Why were many African-Americans eager to serve in the Spanish-American War?
 

     Blacks faced continuing discrimination at home.  Military service was one of the few accepted ways that a black person in the US could advance, although even that was limited with blacks not permitted to become officers. Nonetheless, many blacks considered the war as an opportunity to raise the status of blacks in the US. They hoped that if they fought that they would gain an increased level of respect and that the levels of discrimination might be reduced.

4. How did racial attitudes at the turn of the century shape American peceptions of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines?

     

     The racial stereotypes of the day were applied not only to  African Americans in the US but also to the blacks and Asians who lived in Cuba, Puerto Rico , Guam and the Philippines. American leaders did not believe that these people could help with progress and did not think that they were capable of developing stable democracies.

5. Why did Emilio Aguinaldo feel that the United States supported his campaign for Filipino independence?

  

     Aguinaldo believed that the US supported his campaign for Filipino independence based on the help that he had received from the Commander of the Pacific Fleet, Commodore George Dewey. Dewey supplied them with rifles, ammunition and cannons. But Dewey did this not because he supported Filipino independence but because he viewed Aguinaldo’s troops as allies in the war against Spain. Although he was later criticized for his actions, Dewey remembered the help that the freed black slaves had given to the Union in defeating the Confederacy and realized that Aguinaldo’s troops could offer the same type of help to his campaign against Spain.

6. Why do you think the Spanish-American War was called "a splendid little war" by an American diplomat at the time? Do you think we could have a "splendid little war" today? Explain your answer.

     I believe that the Spanish – American War was referred to as “a splendid little war” because  it was extremely short in time and resulted in an overwhelming American victory. The American success restored a great deal of pride  in the US both in the country and the military.  The number of casualties was also relatively few and many people also believed that the US was now taking its rightful position as a world power.  No, I don’t believe that we could have the same type of war today.  Things are much more complicated in the world today and there are many more countries with military power or the ability to make things more complicated and difficult.  Whether it is  WW1, WW2, Vietnam, Afghanistan or Iraq,  wars since then have not been brief or without massive amounts of casualties.  With the exception of the World Wars, perhaps, the wars have not been considered something to be proud about and certainly none have been thought to be “splendid”.

Origins of America's Global Power

1. Identify five important changes that transformed America in the nineteenth century. 


A. Immigration: population growth recast the face of America in the late nineteenth century. More than 45 percent of the American population was immigrants.


B. Urban growth: the increase in immigration spurred urban growth. By the end of the nineteenth century, one-third of Americans were city dwellers.  


C. Manufacturing: by the end of the nineteenth century, manufacturing had overtaken agriculture as the leading source of national wealth.


D. New inventions and machines: New inventions and discoveries in electricity, chemicals, and oil made possible other industries. Machines made rapid inroads in the countryside, as farmers  relied on railroads to receive supplies and ship their crops to market.


E. Trade: the new immigrants helped to manufacture the goods that other countries valued. Towards the end of the century, international trade steadily gained significance in the U.S economy.


2. How did the economic depression that began in 1893 deepen the divisions in American society? Which groups suffered the most during the depression? 

The 1893 depression deepened an economic divide among the American people creating and highlighting the division of wealth and prosperity between bankers and business owners in the cities and blue collar laborers working in the fields and mines of rural America. There is no doubt that the working men and women who labored in the fields and the mines suffered greatly and were the most affected by the 1893 depression. Farmers were going into more and more debt. Crop prices were falling because of oversupply, manufactured goods were expensive, and the railroads charged high prices to move agriculture to market. Laborers struggled with low wages, poor working conditions, and long hours. On the other hand, wealthy business men who owned the factories that produced the expensive goods or the railroads which charged high prices to transport the farmers good had seen large profits prior to 1893.  The tremendous wealth of bank and factory owners in the big cities contrasted sharply with the poverty of the laborers in the country side.  


3. What were the values many Americans attached to the frontier? Why did many Americans fear that the closing of the frontier would harm America's national character? 

      White Americans viewed themselves as part of a dynamic opportunity filled society. Their concept of the Western frontier was closely related to the values with which they defined America, resourcefulness, bravery, pragmatism, ingenuity, individualism, egalitarianism, and patriotism. Many white Americans looked to the future of a closed frontier with concern. The identity that they attached to the frontier seemed to be in jeopardy. They worried that the nation’s prosperity could not be sustained without an abundance of land and unused resources.   

4. Why did some Americans suggest greater involvement overseas? 

     Many political elites felt the time was perfect for greater involvement overseas. The U.S had territorial control from East to West. Native Americans had been conquered and the issue of slavery had been resolved. In some ways the U.S was as powerful as European nations. The fear that the American character was changing and the belief in American power combined to convince people that a more aggressive approach with other nations would be the best way to ensure the economic success of the U.S. Business men and politicians believed that oversea expansion would create economic growth. They saw tens of millions of Chinese consumers who could buy American products. They also worried that Japan and European countries were making deals with China and imposing their regulations on China’s trade. The U.S feared that it had to act quickly to compete with these other powers.


5. How did the theories of social Darwinism and scientific racism lend support to the cause of American imperialism? 

Imperialists used social Darwinism and scientific racism to justify their beliefs. Scientific racism and social Darwinism offered the view that the United States and a small number of European nations were superior and more suited to be in a position of power than other countries. Because social Darwinists saw the differences among the world’s racial and ethnic groups in terms of evolution, they believed in survival of the fittest. They saw imperialism reflecting that belief. Scientific racism which was based on faulty research and historical analysis, believed that mental abilities and personality traits were racial characteristics. Whites were believed to be superior along with the northern Europeans, the English, and the Germans while blacks were believed to be the most inferior. These two pseudo-scientific theories bolstered the foundation beliefs of imperialism that America was destined to rule in the world.   


6. Summarize why the United States became involved in Samoa, Hawaii, and several Latin American nations.

     America became involved in all of these countries in order to protect or expand its own interest in civilization and export markets. In Samoa, the U.S agreed to a treaty, which gave the U.S access to Samoa’s harbor. In return, the Americans promised to help Samoa if any other nation tried to interfere. The United States ended up in a conflict with Germany, Britain, and various Samoan groups for eight years. However, in 1898, part of Samoa became an American territory. This made the expansionists happy because American interests now had a secure refueling point on their way to trade in Australia. The United States annexed Hawaii and made it a colony in 1898 because of the fear that Hawaii’s Japanese immigrant population would gain two much power and would demand rights. America feared also that it might not be able to make use of the U.S naval base at Pearl Harbor. In Nicaragua, the U.S negotiated and sent marines trying to ensure that a canal building company could continue to do business there. (The canal was eventually build in Panama)   

Teddy Roosevelt's Square Deal

1. 1902 COAL STRIKE

a. What steps did Roosevelt take to solve the problem? 

When 140,000 coal miners in Pennsylvania went on strike and demanded a 20 percent raise, Roosevelt stepped in and called both sides to the White House, eventually settling the strike. It was clear to Roosevelt that the federal government was needed to intervene in an orderly manner when a strike was threatening public welfare.  

b. Which legislation helped solve the problem?


the federal government stepped in to end the strike. 

2. TRUSTS

a. What steps did Roosevelt take to solve the problem? 

Roosevelt did not believe that all trusts were harmful. In 1902, Roosevelt made newspaper headlines as a trust-buster when he ordered the Justice Department to sue the Northern Securities Company, which had established a monopoly over northwestern railroads. Roosevelt's administration filed 44 antitrust suits.  

b. Which legislation helped solve the problem?

The Supreme Court dissolved the Northern Securities Company in 1904. 

3. UNREGULATED BIG BUSINESS

a. What steps did Roosevelt take to solve the problem? 

One of Roosevelt's real goals was federal regulation. Roosevelt urged for Congress to pass the Elkins Act in 1903. Roosevelt had to compromise with conservative senators who opposed the Hepburn Act of 1906, but the passage boosted the government's power to regulate the railroads.


b. Which legislation helped solve the problem?
  
Congress passed the Interstate Commerce Act in 1887, which prohibited wealthy railroad owners from colluding to fix high prices by diving the business in a given area. Congress passed the Elkins Act in 1903, which made it illegal for railroad officials to give, and shippers to receive,  rebates for using particular railroads. The Hepburn Act of 1906 strictly limited the distribution of free railroad passes.  

4. DANGEROUS FOODS AND MEDICINES

 a. What steps did Roosevelt take to solve the problem? 

After reading Upton Sinclair's novel The Jungle, Roosevelt appointed a commission of experts to investigate the meatpacking industry. In 1906, Roosevelt pushed for the passage of the Meat Inspection Act. 

b. Which legislation helped solve the problem?

In 1906, Congress passed the Meat Inspection Act, requiring strict cleanliness for the meat industries. Congress also passed the Pure Food and Drug Act, requiring truthful labels on medicines and haltering the sale of contaminated foods.  


5. SHRINKING WILDERNESS AND NATURAL RESOURCES

a. What steps did Roosevelt take to solve the problem? 

Roosevelt set aside 1.5 million acres of water-power sites and another 80 million acres of land that experts from the U.S Geological Survey would explore for mineral and water resources. In addition, Roosevelt also established more than 50 wildlife sanctuaries and several national parks. Roosevelt named Gifford Pinchot as head of the U.S Forest Service in 1905.  

b. Which legislation helped solve the problem?

The National Reclamation Act of 1902 established the precedent that the federal government would manage the precious water resources of the West. 

6. RACIAL DISCRIMINATION


a. What steps did Roosevelt take to solve the problem? 

Roosevelt failed to support civil rights for African Americans. However, Roosevelt supported a few individual African Americas. He appointed an African American as head of the Charleston customhouse. Some whites in Mississippi refused to accept the black postmistress Roosevelt has assigned, instead of giving in he chose to close down the station. In one incident, many African Americans were angry with Roosevelt when he dismissed an entire regiment of African American soldiers accused of conspiracy.    

b. Which legislation helped solve the problem?

none.

Explain the importance of each of the following:

7. Square Deal:                 

Roosevelt's "Square Deals" were important because they aimed to help middle class citizens while at the same time protecting big businesses. 

8. The Jungle:


The Jungle, written by Upton Sinclair, was extremely important because it led to the Meat Inspection Act, which required strict cleanliness for meatpackers.                           

9. Upton Sinclair:           
 

Upton Sinclair was important because his book The Jungle was read by thousands including Roosevelt who responded by appointing a commission of experts to investigate the meatpacking industry. The general public became aware of how unclean and contaminated the meat products were and acted quickly in response to the horrific conditions in the factories.    

10. NAACP: 

The NAACP (The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) aimed for full equality among races. The NAACP was important because it combined both blacks and whites together to try and end racial injustice.

11. Meat Inspection Act:


The passage of the Meat Inspection Act dictated strict cleanliness requirements for the meat industry. This act was extremely important because it prevented the passage of tainted meat. The Meat Inspection Act was mainly in response to the publication of The Jungle.                           


12. Pure Food & Drug Act: 

The Pure Food & Drug Act, passed by Congress in 1906, was important because it called for truth in labeling. Although this act did not ban harmful products, it required truthfulness in labeling which reflected the progressive belief that people would act wisely when given accurate information. 

13. Significance of the 1902 Coal Miners’ Strike: 


The miners of the 1902 Coal Miners' Strike won a 10 percent pay hike and a shorter, nine house workday. The actions Roosevelt took to deal with this strike were important because they allowed the federal government to step in when a strike was threatening the public welfare. This incident reflected the progressive belief that disputes could be settled in an orderly way with the help of experts. 

The Jungle - Exposing the Meatpacking Industry

1. In your opinion, which specific details in this excerpt most convincingly highlight problems in the meatpacking industry in the early 1900s? Why? Use specific passages and quote. Analyze at least five details. 

A.  The meat was suppose to be inspected by the government inspector, however, he let dozens of carcass of possibly tubercular pork pass right by so that they got a stamp of government approval but hadn't actually been inspected.

B. They used spoil meat. "They cleaned out the waste barrels only once a year and in the barrels would be dirt and rust and old nails and stale water and cartload after cartload of it would be taken up and dumped into the hoppers and sent out for the public's breakfast."

C. They never paid the least bit of attention to what was in the sausage. For example, "There would could all the way back from Europe old sausage that had been rejected and that was moldy and white-it would be dosed with borax and glycerin, and dumped into the hoppers, and made over again for home consumption." "There would be meat that had tumbled out on the floor, in the dirt and sawdust, where the workers had tramped and spit uncounted billions of consumption germs."

D. Rats would run all over piles of stored meats and men would "sweep off hand fulls of the dried dung of rats. These rats were nuisances, and the packers would put out poisoned bread for them: they would die, and then rats, bread, and meat would go into the hoppers together. The meat would be shuffled into carts, and the man who did the shuffling would not trouble to lift out a rat even when he saw them-there were sings that went into the sausage that a poisoned rat was a tidbit."

E. "There was no place for the men to wash their hands before they ate their dinner, and so they made a practice of washing them in the water that was to be ladled into the sausage."

2. What is the overall tone of the story?

The overall tone of the story is horrified disbelief and very serious. The narrator states "this is no fairy story and no joke." He wants the reader to not only understand that there were problems in the meat packing industry but to have a complete picture in their mind of the absolutely disgusting conditions so that they couldn't just forget it.

3. Based on your reading of this excerpt, why do you think Sinclair titled his novel The Jungle?

Sinclair decided to title his novel The Jungle because the conditions were so primitive and there was such a lack of high gene and lack of enforcement of any kind of rules or regulations with men doing whatever they wanted, that it was as though the meat packing plants were jungles themselves in the city.  

Challenges of Urbanization Homework

The People: why were the three groups below drawn to cities in the Northeast and Midwest? 

1. Immigrants

Immigrants were drawn to cities in the Northeast and Midwest because of the new opportunities for work. Natural and economic disasters hit farmers in Europe and the promise of industrial jobs in the United States drew millions of people to American cities. 

2. Farmers


Farmers were drawn to the cities in an effort to find whatever work they could. Due to rapid improvements in farming technology and inventions work was scarce for farmers. The invention of the McCormick reaper and the steel plow required fewer laborers to work the land. Farmers were forced to move to cities to find whatever work they could.

3. African-Americans 


African-Americans were drawn to the cities in the Northeast and Midwest especially Chicago and Detroit in an effort to escape racial violence, economic hardship, and political oppression. Many of the Southern farmers who lost their livelihoods were African Americans. Once they had moved, job competition between blacks and white immigrants caused further tension.  


The Problems: What was done in response to the following five problems? 

4. Lack of safe and efficient transportation

With the population rapidly increasing, it had been hard to create an efficient transportation system. With the innovations in mass transit, transportation systems designed to move large numbers of people made transportation a whole lot easier. Street cars were introduced in San Francisco in 1873 and electric subways in Boston in 1897. By the early 20th century, mass transit systems linked city neighborhoods to one another and to outlying communities.   


5. Unsafe drinking water

With the expanding population, cities faced the problem of supplying safe drinking water. Many cities built waterworks however, many of the residents had grossly inadequate piped water. In response to this rising problem, filtration was introduced in the 1870's and chlorination, the method of purifying water by mixing it with chlorine, in 1908. 

6. Lack of sanitation 

As the cities continued to grow, so did the challenge of keeping them clean. The streets were being piled with horse manure, sewage flowed through open gutters, and factories spewed foul smoke into the air affecting the resident's health. In response to the lack of sanitation, many cities developed sewer lines and created sanitation departments. 


7. Fire Hazards

The spread of fires was a leading problem in most cities. With limited water supplies in many cities major fires occurred in almost every large American city. Most cities were packed with wooden dwellings and the use of candles and kerosene heaters posed a fire hazard. Most of city firefighters were volunteers and not always available when needed. Cincinnati, Ohio, established the nation's first paid fire department in 1853 and by 1900, most cities had full-time professional fire departments. With the addition of fire departments and the introduction of a practical automatic fire sprinkler, cities became safer.

8. Crime


With the increasing population, the number of pickpockets and thieves flourished. New York City organized the first full-time salaried police force in 1844 however, many other cities' law enforcement units were too small to have much impact on the crime.

Immigration

1. What major areas or countries of the world were immigrants coming from?

Europe, Asia, the Caribbean and Mexico were major areas and countries of the world were immigrants were coming from.

2. What were the two major immigration processing stations in the United States?

Ellis Island and Angel Island were the two major immigration processing stations in the United States. Europeans arriving on the East coast went to Ellis Island while Asians mostly Chinese arrive on the West Coast and went to Angel Island.

3. Define Melting Pot.

The term Melting Pot refers to a mixture of people of different cultures and races who blend together by abandoning their native languages and customs.


4. Define Nativism.

Nativism is overt favoritism towards native born people in this case native born Americans.

5. According to the Immigration Restriction League, list the desirable immigrants.

According to the Immigration Restriction League desired immigrants as being British, German and Scandinavian people historically free, energetic, and progressive.


6. According to the Immigration Restriction League, list the “wrong” immigrants.

According to the Immigration Restriction League the "wrong" immigrants were Slave, Latin and Asiatic races, historically down trodden and stagnant. 


7. Why did nativists’ sometimes object to an immigrant’s religious background?

Many native born Americans were Protestants and thought Roman Catholic and Jewish immigrants would undermine the democratic institutions established by the country's Protestant founders.

8. Why was the Chinese Exclusion Act passed?


The Chinese Exclusion Act banned Chinese immigration, except to a few such as students and teachers for ten years beginning in 1882. The law was renewed in 1892 and then extended indefinitely until 1943. The reason for the law was that native born workers particularly in the west worried that jobs were going to Chinese immigrants who worked for less pay. The depression of 1873 increased anti Chinese sentiment in California as work was very scarce. Labor groups backed native workers and pressured the government to restrict Asian immigration. These efforts eventually resulted in the Chinese Exclusion Act.

Robber Baron Document Rankings

Power Rank 1:  Document Number: 16

Why do you believe it best represents the era you have been studying?.

Document 16 would have been a representive of an individual who believed that having wealth was not only not a bad thing, but was a good and essential thing for the growth of the country.

Power Rank 2:  Document Number:  12
Why do you believe it best represents the era you have been studying?


Document 12 represents a person's view that the products of labor should go to the laborers and that much of what the wealthy capitalists did was hurting workers and the country as a whole.

Power Rank 3:  Document Number: 5

Why do you believe it best represents the era you have been studying?

Big cororation trusts were extremely powerful and looked at the government as unimportant and unable to control them.

Power Rank 4:  Document Number: 9

Why do you believe it best represents the era you have been studying?

This document represents an attitude that most public would consider as a robber baron. Vanderbilt didn't care about the public and was in business only to make a profit.

Power Rank 5:  Document Number: 18

Why do you believe it best represents the era you have been studying?

This is an example of the good that could be done by extremely wealthy individuals.  Rockefeller gave over half a billion to various charities which benefited many thousands of people.

Age of Railroads

1. What problems did employees of the railroad companies face?
      
     Railroad employees faced numerous problems. The railroads payed all of their employees poorly, the working conditions were often terrible and dangerous and accidents and diseases injured and killed thousands of men each year. In addition the railroads controlled not only the work lives of the employees but also their personal lives. 
 
2. What was it like to live as a Pullman employee in the town of Pullman?


     The town of Pullman provided for almost all of a workers' basic needs. The citizens of Pullman resided in clean, well built brick houses and apartment buildings. The buildings had at least one window in every room which was considered a luxury for people who live in a city. There were also town services and facilities including doctors, shops, and an athletic field. However, under the surface the resident employees were not happy as they were strictly controlled in every way by the railroad. For example,  they were not allowed to pass anytime on their front steps or to drink alcohol. This tightly controlled environment and Pullman's refusal to lower rents after cutting his employees pay led to a violent strike in 1894. 

3. Who was involved in Crédit Mobilier, and what was the purpose of this company?   


    Credit Mobilier was made up of stock holders in the Union Pacific railroad who in 1864 created a construction company calling it Credit Mobilier. Stock holders included well known and respected federal officials such as Vice President Schuyler Colfax and congressman James Garfield, who later became president. The stock holders created the company out of a desire for control and monetary profit. They gave the company a contract to lay track at two to three times the actual cost and pocketed the profits.    

4. In what ways did the railroad companies use their power to hurt farmers?


     Railroads used their powers in a number of ways that especially effected farmers. The railroads miss used government land grants by selling them to other businesses, rather than to settlers as the government had planned. The railroads also made formal agreements to fix prices in order to keep farmers in their dept. Also, they charged different costumers different rates. They often demanded more money for short hauls-as there was no other carrier- than they did for long hauls.
 
5. Why didn’t the decision in the Munn v. Illinois case succeed in checking the power of the railroads?

     The case of Munn v. Illinois gave the states the right to regulate the railroads for the benifit for farmers and consumers. It also established the federal government's right to regulate private industry to serve the public interest. However, the railroads continued to fight and in 1886 the supreme court ruled that a state could not set rates on interstate commerce.

6. Why didn’t the Interstate Commerce Act immediately limit the power of the railroads?

     The Interstate Commerce Act, passed in 1887, re-established the right of the federal government to supervise railroad activities and created a five member interstate commerce commission (ICC) for that purpose. However, the ICC had problems regulating railroad rates as the railroads continued to resist and there was a long legal process. A heavy blow to the commission came in 1897 when the supreme court ruled that it could not set maximum railroad rates. Not until 1906, did the ICC get the power it needed to be effective.

Big Business and Labor

1. What is it?                    B.  How did it help businesses such as the Carnegie Company and tycoons like Andrew Carnegie?

1. Vertical integration

A.  Vertical integration is a process of buying out suppliers in Carnegie's case, coal field, iron mines or freighters and railroad mines (resources, manufacturing, and distribution)-in order to control the raw materials and transportation systems.
 
B.  By using a vertical integration system, Carnegie was able to control much of the steel industry.
2. Horizontal integration

A. In the process known as horizontal integration companies producing similar products merge.


B. Carnegie became more powerful by gaining control over his suppliers and limiting his competition, he controlled almost the entire steel industry.

3. Social Darwinism

A. Social Darwinism is a theory that grew out of Charles Darwin's theory of biological evolution which states that some individuals of a species flourish and pass their traits along to the next generation while others do not. A process of "natural selection" enabled only the best adapted to survive.


B. This promoted the theory that success and business were achieved by the most able.

4. Monopoly

A. A monopoly is a complete control over an industries production, wages, and prices.


B. A firm that bought out all of it's competitors could gain a monopoly and getting complete control, thus getting all of the profits of an industry.

5. Holding company

A. A corporation that was created to do nothing but to buy out the stocks of other companies.


B. It provided horizontal integration and allowing a company to gain more control over an industry.

6. Trust

A. A trust was competing companies joining together and turning their stock over to a group of trusties who were people who ran the separate companies as one large corporation. In return, the companies earned dividends on profits earned by the trusts.


B. Businesses tycoons could gain total control of the companies through trusts.

7. The perception of tycoons as “robber barons”

C. How did it harm businesses such as Standard Oil and tycoons like John D. Rockefeller?

The perception of tycoons as "robber barons" harmed businesses because the perception of robber barons where industrialists who gained huge profits through questionable and perhaps illegal business practices. Their power alarmed and caused fear among many. 

8. Sherman Antitrust Act

C. How did it harm businesses such as Standard Oil and tycoons like John D. Rockefeller?

The Sherman Antitrust Act caused businesses such as Standard Oil to reorganize into single corporations. As the Sherman Antitrust Act made it illegal to make a trust to form a trust that interfered with free trade or in the states or other countries.