Exam: chapters 1-4

Question 1

1. Evaluate the economic impact of the Industrial Revolution on America in the late 19th century. What were its advantages and disadvantages?

Answer 1

Inventors and businessmen dictated the country’s direction. With such large improvements in technology standards of living increased along with life expectancy. However, a large class divide was present during the movement. The Industry heads got to bask in all the new luxuries of the time while the poor worked in hard conditions below them.

Question 2

2. Identify, briefly, the origins of the early Industrial Revolution. Where did it begin and when did it spread to America?

Answer 2

The Industrial Revolution began in England in the 18th century. It spread to America after the War of 1812 when they were temporarily cut off from British trade.

Question 3

3. Identify some successful traits of American industry prior to the Civil War and after.

Answer 3

American industry pioneered interchangeable parts and mass production in a variety of goods. Improved agricultural implements led to increased crop yields. Then, the Civil War catalyzed industry with increased demand for railroads and contractors to make war equipment. After the war, American industry was fueled by hard-working immigrants, abundant natural resources, and innovation.

Question 4

4. Identify Thomas Edison and some of his main inventions.

Answer 4

Thomas Edison was a genius inventor and businessman. He invented/patented the light bulb, phonograph, rechargeable nickel-iron batteries, X-Ray, mimeograph, and movies. His greatest contribution though, was his system of invention: a research and development lab with staff who all earned shares in the company while sharing ideas. -Innovation is most successful as a group effort

Question 5

5. Analyze how finance affected technological innovation in the late 19th c. and vice-versa.

Answer 5

Financiers funded inventors of the late 19th century. Charles Dow’s index and daily paper tamed the stock market a bit and increased its popularity. As more people became invested in the stock market, the funding of many new industries and firms increased. This encouraged more innovation and the financiers benefitted from the success of the industries.

Edison’s stock ticker

Question 6

6. Identify Nikola Tesla and describe the War of the Currents between Edison and Tesla and their respective financial backers. Why are High-Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) transmission lines poised for a comeback?

Answer 6

Nikola Tesla was Thomas Edison’s former employee. His patron, George Westinghouse backed alternating current (AC) while Edison’s financial backer, J.P. Morgan, favored the direct current (DC) approach. Both sides tried to convince the public that their system was safer and the other would cause unnecessary deaths. AC proved to be more effective, so Tesla is credited as the developer of the grid system that powers America’s economy today. However, DC is used for a variety of household items and Edison’s high-voltage direct current lines (HVDC) are poised for a comeback because they’re practical for transmitting solar and wind power over long distances.

Question 7

7. Explain what modern economists mean by the phrase “hype cycle.”

Answer 7

The hype cycle describes the theory of how emerging technologies mature through five phases: Technology Trigger-> Peak of Inflated Expectations-> Trough of Disillusionment-> Slope of Enlightenment-> Plateau of Productivity. It is not a consistent pattern, but it is useful for clients to back up their investing insight.

Question 8

8. Describe how the patent system impacted the airplane industry.

Answer 8

Legal concerns preoccupied aircraft engineers so much that progress in aviation was slowed.

Question 9

9. Summarize the ways that railroads changed American life in the late 19th century.

Answer 9

Trains were the dominant mode of transportation and the heart and soul of the American economy in the late 19th century. They moved products around, allowing companies to grow and were primary customers for steel, timber, and coal. Additionally, they made men rich, created a huge labor market, and led to other industries that relied on travel (ex: salesmen, circuses, etc.). Political campaigning was changed as well, now that candidates could crisscross the country on “whistle-stop” campaigns. Railroads were America’s first big industry. Also, ideas, information, and entertainment spread on rails along with goods and commerce. Lastly, railroads gave people access to better nutrition with refrigerated transport and more food options and Americans got taller.

Question 10

10. Explain why Chicago was well situated to take advantage of the emerging intermodal system. Identify Richard Sears and some ways that he was a forerunner to today’s retailers. Also, describe how Clarence Saunders redesigned retail stores.

Answer 10

Chicago’s location at the southwestern corner of Lake Michigan, western-most among the Great Lakes, made it a natural hub for western railroads. It is an example of a great intermodal system as cargo often was transported by both ship and rail. It was America’s stockyard and lumberyard and many retail businesses shipped from Chicago to rural communities.

Richard Sears started selling pocket watches but then to nearly everything commercially available. He understood that economy of scale allowed him to undersell local merchants. Sears
Was also detail-oriented. He observed small human behaviors and used his observations to sell his products more effectively. Sears warehouses presaged the bulk stores of today and the assembly line system implemented by Henry Ford.

Clarence Saunders reinvented interior food retailing starting in 1916. Instead of customers placing an order at the counter as before, Saunders brought the stock out into the open and had the customers collect it themselves.

Question 11

11. Identify important ways that Andrew Carnegie & John D. Rockefeller pioneered American business and their own industries.

Answer 11

Carnegie built his own steel plant outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Instead of pocketing his profits, he put them back into researching ways to make stronger steel and stay ahead of the competition. He researched the Bessemer process of mass-producing steel and imported Bessemer technology to his plant in Pennsylvania. Carnegie steel built Louis Sullican’s first skyscrapers in Chicago and the Brooklyn Bridge. He and John D. Rockefeller gave back to society in the form of philanthropy; they built concert halls, libraries, hospitals, etc. Both also took advantage of economies of scale by buying up the entire process of production instead of spending their profit paying others to get the materials for them. They minimized their overhead as best they could through vertical integration

Question 12

12. Differentiate between vertical and horizontal integration. Identify some examples in today’s market of attempts at vertical integration. Describe how, sometimes, monopolies (or at least economies of scale) can actually benefit consumers.

Answer 12

Vertical integration is when a company owns all the means of production, minimizing their overhead costs, while horizontal integration is when a company captures the majority of the market for that product/service (monopolizing a sale). If a fast-food chain bought cattle ranches, potato farms, bakeries, and delivery trucks that would be vertical integration. Economies of scale can allow the monopolizer to lower costs of a product which benefits consumers.

Question 13

1. Describe generally (in 4-5 sentences) how political machines operated in the late 19th century. Identify the role of the ward boss within the political machines.

Answer 13

The Republicans spurred industry but didn’t cater to the masses of workers who made the engine run. In the late 19th century the Democratic Party supported the Ku Klux Klan in the South while, in the North, they helped and campaigned among the very Catholic, Jewish, and Eastern European immigrants the Klan hated. A ward boss or local precinct captain was a foot soldier for the Democratic Party and greeted the newly-arrived immigrants. They offered to help the families settle and begin their new life in America, if they would vote Democrat in exchange.

Question 14

2. Identify the concepts of graft, kickbacks, and racketeering. What are some potential drawbacks of one-party political rule?

Answer 14

Politicians looking to line their own pockets would graft-skimmed profit made possible by controlling the municipal government (city hall, police, utilities, etc.). Politicians in charge of dispensing contracts to construction companies expected kickback from winning bidders- enough to pay others to look the other way and keep the rest for themselves. Racketeering can refer to any type of organized crime (extortion, gambling, prosititution, drugs, etc.) and thrives in societies with corrupt or weak local governments. Gangsters threatened unions to vote a certain way and in return, politicians wouldn’t interfere with the criminals’ illegal schemes. These unlawful strategies used by political machines are made possible by one-party political rule and corrupt/weak law enforcement.

Question 15

3. Describe why American labor unions were relatively weak in comparison to other countries in the Gilded Age (Late 19th & Early 20th Centuries).

Answer 15

Laborers could unionize but management could fire the workers or break up strikes with force. Unions lacked the legal right to collective bargaining: management wasn’t compelled to negotiate with unions. The government maintained a mostly hands-off policy toward business, they were willing to intervene in strikes on behalf of management. American workers had less leverage than those in other countries because of the abundance of immigrants willing to work for lower wages.

Question 16

4. Identify Democratic Socialist Eugene Debs and analyze what his career tells us about the American political spectrum in the Progressive Era. What overall political situation allowed third parties to fill in the void on the left part of the political spectrum? Compare and contrast how the textbook describes democratic socialism as practiced today in Europe and Canada with the opening paragraph of the Wikipedia entry on democratic socialism.

Answer 16

Democratic Socialist Eugene Debs favored 40-hr. workweeks, child labor bans, and the right to unionize. He started the Democratic Socialist Party of America in 1901. The Democratic Socialists never had any real power in America, the American political spectrum was primarily between the Democratic and Republican parties. The left favored more government intervention on behalf of workers and consumers while the right favored free-market economics with less government interference. The government continuously siding with management and turning a blind eye to the needs of laborers is what allowed third parties to enter on the left part of the spectrum. The textbook describes modern socialism that uses voting to regulate a capitalist economy that benefits all rather than a few. The Wikipedia entry on democratic socialism has less of an angle, stating what the philosophy usually stands for or focuses on instead of how it’s beneficial to society or where it comes from.

Question 17

5. Summarize how Populists affected the mainstream political system. Identify Tom Watson and what he teaches us about the Populist movement.

Answer 17

The Populists emerged in response to exploitive railroads and banks. They were the first grass-roots political party in the U.S. and illustrate the potential of participatory democracy and its limits. Never actually won the presidency or control of Congress, but eventually influenced Democrats and progressive Republicans to endorse some of their ideas: national income tax to redistribute wealth, railroad and bank regulation, and the first major regulatory agency (the Interstate Commerce Commision). Populists also influenced the 16th (Federal Income Tax) and 17th (mandated direct election of senators) amendments and supported private (secret) ballots so that voters couldn’t be intimidated, bribed, or charmed at the voting booths. Additionally Populists advocated public ownership of telephone-telegraph companies and brought about direct democracy for the first time in US history.

Tom Watson was a prominent Georgia Populist, editor, Senator, and Democratic vice-presidential nominee. He harbored a special form of xenophobia and teaches that the Populist movement was anti-immigration as the immigrants willing to work for lower wages displaced the Americans formerly in the positions.

Question 18

6. Identify William McKinley and describe why the 1896 election was a watershed election in American history. How did it affect the near-term future for Americans? Explain how measures the two main parties took to make the country less democratic inadvertently made it more democratic in the long run.

Answer 18

William McKinley was a Civil War veteran and Republican party member that defeated William Jennings Bryan in the 1896 and 1900 elections. The 1896 election was a watershed election in American history because it signaled the two-party system’s entrenchment or firm establishment and led directly to secret ballots (private voting). It affected future Americans by making society more worker-friendly.Gilded Age voting restrictions like literacy tests or racially sealed-off caucuses enacted by the two parties to make the country less democratic made it more democratic in the long run by introducing primaries and inclusive caucuses that give Americans greater say in choosing their leaders.

Question 19

1. Explain the ideological motivations for American expansion overseas in the 19th century.

Answer 19

Americans wanted access to trade in Asia and the resources there and in other areas like Alaska. However, nineteenth-century expansion primarily played out under the idea of Manifest Destiny- the belief that God destined white Protestants to dominate inferior Native Americans, Mexicans, and Asians to spread their way of life and satisfy their need for economic growth.

Question 20

2. Summarize Americans’ colonization of Hawaii and explain their justification for overthrowing the Hawaiian government. Differentiate, on general terms, between America’s policies toward Hawaii, Japan, and Korea.

Answer 20

Hawaii started feeling Manifest Destiny’s impact when Protestant missionaries set out to convert Hawaiians to Christianity and assimilate them to other aspects of their culture. They asserted their power there and began outlawing the native traditions of the Hawaiian people. Americans slowly started gaining more power in place of the troubled government and because it was a monarchy, they eventually overthrew it in the spirit of the American Revolution. Later, motivated by America’s need for a mid-Pacific fueling station, Hawaii became a U.S. territory in 1900.

America’s policies in Japan and Korea were directed at initiating trade, not conquering or territorializing any area. However their actions, especially in Korea, began more aggressively than in Hawaii.

Question 21

3. Analyze the connection between the domestic economy and foreign policy and America’s practical motivation for expansion in the late 19th century.

Answer 21

America’s annexation of Hawaii and expansion into the Pacific connected to a major recession, the Panic of 1893 where it became apparent that the U.S. was outproducing itself in farming and manufacturing. The U.S. needed access to overseas markets and William McKinley won the 1896 election promising farmers and factory workers foreign markets.

Question 22

4. Identify Alfred T. Mahan’s influence on American foreign policy. What country, for Mahan, best exemplified the model/formula for “sea power?”

Answer 22

Mahan explained how having a strong Navy would be important to America’s future and market access. Now our foreign policy was accounting for ship maintenance and refueling harbors as well as access to key canals. Mahan advised specifically that the U.S. attain Caribbean islands (Puerto Rico, Cuba) to defend a canal across the Panamanian Isthmus. Britain best exemplified the model for sea power.

Question 23

5. Identify Teddy Roosevelt (aka TR) and describe his rise to prominence during the war.

Answer 23

Teddy Roosevelt succeeded McKinley when he was assassinated. They both wanted to expand America’s military and commercial horizons overseas. Teddy Roosevelt modified Manifest Destiny with a version of Social Darwinism. Growing up, he had asthma and was motivated by his desire not to die young to engage in relentless physical action throughout his life. Roosevelt saw war as a healthy enterprise to toughen up young males and dreamt of war with Germany or Britain to prove himself on the battlefield. He was a jingoist and his chance to rise to prominence came during the Spanish-American War of 1898. He formed his own cavalry regiment, the Rough Riders, making sure to get his troops filmed at every opportunity. Roosevelt was proud that his regiment lost more than any other and was bummed that he did not come home with a bad injury. His heroics catapulted him into the vice-presidency two years later and then the presidency in 1901 when McKinley died.

Question 24

6. Summarize America’s relationship with Cuba after the Spanish-American War.

Answer 24

America did not want to fully free the Cubans after the Spanish-American War because they just realized that most rebels were black and didn’t think they were capable of self-government. The U.S. essentially set up a puppet state in Cuba that allowed them to siphon export profits, build military bases on the island, and maintain control over Cuba’s choice of leadership.

Question 25

7. Evaluate American involvement in the Philippines from 1898-1916. Differentiate between how Americans and Filipinos interpreted the meaning of the Spanish-American War. NOTE: Understand that PROTECTORATE status afforded more liberty than being a TERRITORY. Protectorate countries had more independence than territories.

Answer 25

The U.S. could build military bases in the Philippines and intended to establish a colony. Racist and Nationalist ideals led the United States to not trust the Filipinos to manage their own state and they found themselves suppressing a violent colonial rebellion. It was a very controversial issue in the United States because many saw connections to (British) imperialism. Americans saw the Spanish-American War as an opportunity to expand their sea power while Filipinos saw it as a fight for their independence.

Question 26

8. Analyze the causes of the Boxer Rebellion in China. Define the Open Door Policy and explain how it unraveled by the 1930s.

Answer 26

The Boxer Rebellion in China stemmed from complications after the Opium Wars combined with a corrupt government, drought, and hunger. The struggling Qing dynasty was trying to suppress the Opium trade from Britain, a drug that millions of peasants were addicted to. Many Chinese got angry at not just businessmen and opium dealers, but at all foreigners for introducing the drug. The Open Door Policy was an agreement brokered by the U.S. dictating that each country could develop railroads and telephone lines in their respective sphere but had to maintain open trade with other countries. Eventually Japan, similarly to how the U.S. claimed control over the Americas with the Monroe Doctrine, claimed its right to conquer East Asia. The Open Door policy shut in the 1930s as Japan took advantage of its close proximity to most of eastern China.

Question 27

9. Describe why the U.S. wanted to build a canal through Central America and how they acquired the territory to build it.

Answer 27

The U.S. wanted to build a canal through Central America so that they would no longer need to have two separate navies and so that merchant shipping wouldn’t need to wind all the way around the southern tip of South America. The U.S. acquired the territory owned by Columbia to build the canal by helping Colombian rebels claim independence in the area that became known as Panama (Panama Canal). They were originally going to buy it from Columbia, but the country doubled the price and Roosevelt manufactured a “false flag” incident to incite (more) dissatisfaction with the Colombian government.

Question 28

10. Distinguish between the 1823 Monroe Doctrine and Teddy Roosevelt’s 1904 Corollary. What did the Corollary officially and unofficially sanction in terms of U.S. foreign policy? Explain why the U.S. discouraged democracies in Latin America and why John Kennedy later criticized U.S. policy.

Answer 28

The Monroe Doctrine simply existed to repel foreign (European) interference in Latin America, while the Roosevelt Corollary proclaimed that the U.S. would intervene in any Latin American country’s internal affairs if they seemed “unstable” and resolve disputes. Unofficially, they assumed the right to overthrow and replace any Latin American regime unfriendly to American interests. The U.S. discouraged democracies in Latin America, especially during the Cold War, because voting might have resulted in left-leaning socialist democracies unfriendly to U.S. corporations. Instead they back right-wing dictators. John Kennedy criticized this U.S. policy in Latin America because he argued that less harsh control and more compromise on issues like voting, land control, and toleration of unions wouldn’t create such fertile soil for communist dictatorships to spring up.

Question 29

11. Identify the meaning of imperialism in a dictionary and evaluate whether the Texas public schools should allow that term to be used in relation to American foreign policy from 1853-1914.

Answer 29

Texas public schools should allow the term “imperialism” to be used in relation to American foreign policy from 1853-1914 because even though we did have logical reasons for expansion such as the need for markets and trade, we were also driven by ideas like Manifest Destiny and Social Darwinism that we thought gave us the right to expand and superiority over other countries.

Question 30

12. Forest-For-The-Trees check: Why, when, and where did the U.S. expand overseas?

Answer 30

(19th-century) Hawaii- 1820s: to gain converts and farming land. Eventually annexed Hawaii so that they could have a mid-Pacific sea port. Japan- 1853: trade Korea- 1866: trade Caribbean islands (Cuba, Puerto Rico)- After the Spanish-American War (1898): sea power Philippines- After the Spanish-American War (1898): to bolster their military presence in Asia; wanted a colony there as well China- Open Door Policy (1900): trade, wanted a “sphere of influence” there

Question 31

1. Define and summarize, throughout the chapter, Progressivism as it applies to the early 20th century. Who were the Progressives? Explain why the Progressives are a difficult group to categorize under one heading.

Answer 31

Progressive movement: when Americans first argued seriously about drawing lines between freedom and order in the modern, industrialized world. Like, is it appropriate to “limit” our freedom if it means increased safety. Lower-case p progressives advocate for changes that they think would improve society, critiquing the status quo in more fundamental ways than those who put more stock in tradition or habit. They are difficult to categorize under one heading because they can stand for so many different ideas and in different areas of society. The Progressive Era (capital P) refers to the era 1890-1920. Used by historians to refer to movements that were all trying to improve American society. Also, Progressivism can be applied to the business world as well as the government. Most historians understand it as society’s collective reaction to the dramatic changes of industrialization and urbanization.

Question 32

2. Define the American eugenics movement and distinguish it from what happened in Germany in the 1930s/40’s. What were the long-term goals of the American eugenicists?

Answer 32

Eugenics is the science of studying genetic differences on behalf of ethnic cleansing through selective breeding and sterilization. Eugenicists believed that environment and circumstance have nothing to do with your fate, only your inherited gene pool. They also believed that society should take Social Darwinism a step further by ridding itself of inferior genetic stock. It is different from what happened with Nazi Germany in the 1930s/40’s because the American Eugenics movement was very isolated and never widespread. Most American eugenicists didn’t support euthanasia (painless death) or eugenicide (extermination).

Question 33

3. Explain why there’s been renewed interest in Margaret Sanger recently. Identify the term subtext and apply it to the controversy over Sanger’s legacy and reputation.

Answer 33

The figure most associated with birth control is Margaret Sanger. She founded the American Birth Control League in 1921, promoted sex education, and crudaded to both avoid abortions and make abortions safer than the illegal “back alley” operations involving turpentine and knitting needles. Her reputation suffers partly from her association with eugenics. John D. Rockefeller was an anonymous donor and she encouraged the poor and “unfit” to have fewer kids. Also, many historians have painted her to have an agenda to exterminate black people, when in fact the quote they use to back this information up is incomplete and completely misleading of her true mission. There has been a renewed interest in Margaret Sanger recently as today’s culture wars over abortion have raised in tensions and many don’t want to associate with her because of her involvement with eugenics. These culture wars are the subtexts of renewed interest in Margaret Sanger. The term subtext is content of something that is not explicitly stated, but rather implied. Many use the darker aspects of Sanger’s reputation as a reason against supporting Planned Parenthood.

Question 34

4. Evaluate the political strategies of the women’s suffrage movement. How did Suffragists convince the public that women should be able to vote?

Answer 34

Suffragists excelled at organization and pageantry, dressing well and marching in parades. They protested with self confidence and a sense of flair. They did not hate men, knew what they wanted and knew they were right. After a protest in front of the white house, the protesters were arrested, but when wardens force-fed them in prison, public sentiment swung in their favor. Also, Woodrow Wilson recognized women's help during WW1 in the factories and his daughter was a big supporter of the suffragist movement. The Nineteenth Amendment became the law in 1920 giving women the right to vote. Finally, the League of Women Voters (1920) issued bipartisan pamphlets before every election, with versions tailored for any location, available in English and Spanish. The objective of this was to let candidates submit their own responses to common questions, that way voters weren’t getting information from biased media.

Question 35

5. Describe the forces that led to passage of the 1906 Pure Food & Drug Act.

Answer 35

The 1906 Pure Food & Drug Act was a group effort involving crusaders, muckraking journalists, a president, and industry lobbyists. Crusaders: Alice Lakey and Harvey W. Wiley led the Pure Food Movement dating back to the late 19th century. Progressives like Wiley and Lakey worked to research and expose the dangerous substances people were ingesting. President Teddy Roosevelt supported reform in the meat industry and began government inspections of meatpackers. A muckraking novel by Upton Sinclair entitled The Jungle (1906) revealed graphic details of the shortcomings of the meat industry. Producers like H.J. Heinz lobbied on behalf of the Pure Food & Drug Act because it favored clean businesses. E.R. Squibb (founder of Bristol-Meyers Squibb) was influential in ensuring that medicine included standardized dosages and ingredients in its packaging.

Question 36

6. Define regulatory creep or red tape. Why does it build up in the system?

Answer 36

Regulatory creep or red tape refers to the regulations which are claimed to be excessive, rigid or redundant, or to bureaucracy claimed to hinder/prevent action or decision making. Things often described as red tape include filling out paperwork, obtaining licenses, etc. It builds up in the system because we need more bureaucracy to watch over the ones watching over others- endless cycle.

Question 37

7. Interpret the causes of Prohibition legislation. What forces contributed to it, and why did it kick in nationally in 1919 instead of, say, 1850 or 1950?

Answer 37

The Prohibition legislation arose from the belief that banning booze would eliminate a variety of social problems like poverty, laziness, and domestic abuse. After the Industrial Revolution it became clear that alcohol didn’t mix well with machinery and lowered productivity. Additionally, with more Americans driving cars and such in the 1910s, people quickly discovered that drinking and driving don’t mix. Then, as the anti-Catholic movement picked up, alcohol abuse became tied to Catholic immigrants. Finally, fighting WW1 against heavy-drinking Germany pushed temperance over the top. It didn’t kick in nationally until 1919 because now by banning alcohol you could fight poverty, laziness, domestic abuse, low productivity, drunk driving, Catholicism, and Kaiser Wilhelm II. -reasons kept piling up

Question 38

9. Evaluate the implementation of Prohibition. How did confusion and disagreement over enforcement foil the efforts of lawmakers during Prohibition?

Answer 38

It was very difficult to implement Prohibition because enforcement was fighting an uphill battle trying to keep out bootleggers and many drinkers made their own bathtub gin. Alcohol’s black market drove crime rates up and corrupted police departments. Additionally, it is considered impossible to legislate morality. Also, it is difficult to enforce and counter-productive if a critical mass of the population dislikes and/or defies a law or if taxpayers are unwilling to put the resources into enforcement.

Question 39

10. Define the Mann Act and explain its ostensible and real purpose.

Answer 39

The Mann Act outlawed prostitution, debauchery, and moving women across state lines for “immoral purposes”. This law was ostensibly aimed at sex trafficking, but ambiguous language allowed authorities to prevnent Jewish and black men from traveling with Genile/white wives or girlfriends between states, or in cars that could travel between states. The law was basically against black men being with white women.

Question 40

11. Describe briefly how the Progressive spirit manifested itself in: Sports (boxing, baseball, college football) Hollywood Education Business

Answer 40

Sports (boxing, baseball, college football) Boxing- The rise of heavyweight fighter Jack Johnson- African American who pummeled white fighters and had white girlfriends and wives. Also boxing gloves became widespread in the late 19th century, was banned from movie theaters, and bouts were limited to 15 rounds. Baseball- reinvented itself as a wholesome, family-oriented game, downplaying its origins in the back-alleys of northeastern cities and re-branding “America’s favorite pastime” as having emerged from divine inspiration out of a cornfield. This increased its revenue. College football- some reformers suggested widening the field. Teddy Roosevelt lobbied for the forward pass to offset the rugby-like violence. They also banned “mass momentum”. Roosevelt encouraged colleges to regulate themselves through the NCAA which adopted standards for helmets and pads and tried to police cheating in the game. The organization also began organizing and hosting postseason tournaments. Hollywood- 1934: decided to get serious about the production codes they’d set up in the 1920s. It applies its own rating system to movies (G, PG-13, etc.) and censored sex, drugs, and abuse in its mainsteam films in the early 1930s. Also, they tried harder to have criminals and other degenerates pay for the crimes at the end of movies. Women could no longer cheat on their husbands without ruining their own lives. In fantasy bad behavior had to have repercussions. Homosexuality was non-existent and, for years, heterosexual couples could only be on a bed or courch with one foot touching the floor. Education- Progressive education put a bigger emphasis on the process and practicality of constructive learning, rather than memorization. Less emphasis in curriculums on esoteric subjects like Latin and more on industrial arts and home economics. Also, state governments standardized grade levels and kindergarten became widespread. States bought textbooks for students and provided physical education. Progressive educators didn’t punish kids physically or psychologically. Additionally the government required school up through a certain age so that kids weren’t going directly to factories & mines as children. Business- Progressive (scientific) management emphasized systematically studying the workplace to maximize efficiency.

Question 41

12. Forest-For-The-Trees check: What’s the difference between small-p and capital-p progressivism?

Answer 41

(in any era) Lower-case p progressives advocate for changes that they think would improve society, critiquing the status quo in more fundamental ways than those who put more stock in tradition or habit. progressive can have an even more general meaning. For instance, when a CEO says “we need to keep our business progressive,” s/he just means staying ahead of the competition. The Progressive Era (capital P) refers to the era 1890-1920. Used by historians to refer to movements that were all trying to improve American society. Also people sometimes use the world for Teddy Roosevelt’s Progressive Party. Also, Progressivism can be applied to the business world as well as the government.