The Constant Ideals in America in Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century
Throughout the entire history of the United States of America, certain ideals have remained constant. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, America was booming. The Industrial Revolution led to a strong workforce and economy. The government was strong as well, especially after Theodore Roosevelt took over for William McKinley. The United States looked to build an empire. American identity did and did not shape this time period because of American opinions on war and Imperialism.
The first American ideal that appears during this time period is the controversy of war. Cuba was controlled by Spain until 1895 when they attempted to revolt against their oppressors. Unfortunately, they weren't very successful and the Spanish found unorthodox ways to crush the revolution, such as locking civilians up in concentration camps. Once “yellow journalists" like Pulitzer and Hearst got a hold of this story, the American government had no choice but to intervene. In early 1898, they claimed they sent a battleship called the U.S.S Maine on a “friendly mission", but it was actually to evacuate Americans if a conflict did occur. The Spanish-American War started when the Maine mysteriously blew up. The American public had different viewpoints on the war in Cuba. E.E.
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Cooper was an African American editor of the newspaper Colored American and his opinion on the Spanish American war was that if black soldiers fought, white people would see that African Americans were just as American as they were. Cooper's perspective was important because his purpose was to persuade his audience of young black men to fight,literally, for racial equality. His views display two important American values: fighting for independence and the quest for equality.
Jane Addams was a social reformer who gave a speech to warn the public, mothers in particular, that war was bad because it led to violence at home. Her view was insightful because she spent a lot of time with children in her line of work so she would notice them playing disturbing games like Kill the Spaniard. Addam's view was contradictory to the idea that the American Identity influenced this time period because she was against most of the typical American ideals.
The next part of the American Identity that was prominent in this time was the idea of Imperialism. President Roosevelt thought that in order to make the navy bigger, America needed to have naval bases in ports all over the world. Even though the United States was late to the colonization game, they were quick to establish satellite colonies in Puerto Rico, Panama, and the Philippines. These colonies stretched America's government and resources out too far, as satirical magazine Puck noticed. The significance of Puck pointing it out was that its purpose was basically to make fun of the United States and its audience was the general public. Different people, especially people in politics, had different reactions to the imperial status that the United States of America desired.
William McKinley told his audience of a church delegation that he thought that controlling the Philippines was necessary because they were unable to lead themselves since they weren't Christian . Theodore Roosevelt said, in his speech to the higher class of Chicago, that if the Filipinos were left to govern themselves they would turn to absolute anarchy. Their views were similar because they were both politically important republican presidents. They displayed the feeling of Anglo-Saxon superiority, a common American theme. However, they completely contradicted one of the most important American Ideals: the struggle for self government. William Jennings Bryan, the democratic candidate for the election of 1900, brought this up in one of his speeches to the American public. He was completely against imperialism because of that fact, therefore he display American ideals.
The late nineteenth and early twentieth century displayed some parts of the American Identity and completely ignored others and that is evident in American opinions of war and Imperialism.can values Another aspect of this time period was the economic aspect. Since the Industrial revolution caused the economy to grow, American businesses needed new markets to sell their products so they turned outward and looked to make satellite colonies so that they could sell things. Working towards a strong economy is a big part of the American Identity.
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