Nation of Nations 3/e Davidson, Gienapp, Heyrman, Lytle, and Stoff
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THE CHAPTER IN PERSPECTIVE

Chapters 18-20 have set forth the impact on American society of industrialization, urbanization, and mass migration. Chapter 20, for example, examined the ways in which the South and West emerged both as internal markets and sources of raw materials. By the late nineteenth century those markets had been well integrated into the American economy. The present chapter shows how those trends reoriented the nation’s political system, both domestically and internationally. Traditional, two-party politics fractured as cities gained in political and cultural strength, while farmers, despite an outburst of political activity, began an irreversible decline in numbers. The economic forces, which so much altered the United States internally, also reshaped its international position. So, too, did many of the prejudices that shaped the Jim Crow system in the South and patterns of racial violence in the West.

OVERVIEW

The introduction uses the Columbian Exposition of 1893 to show that although the industrial and urban transformation of the United States brought a host of wonders and marvels (reflected in the many exhibits of the White City), the political system of the 1890s was straining to adjust to these new realities. For in 1893, the nation was beginning the worst depression it had yet encountered, discontent was high in the South and West, and international economic and political realities played an increasing role in the nation’s life (as reflected in the fair’s international exhibits.) In the end, the United States was pulled into the imperial race for empire among industrialized nations.

The Politics of Paralysis

In the last third of the century politics was grinding into a dangerous paralysis, as evenly divided Democrats and Republicans fought to win power. While both parties supported business and neither offered workers or farmers much help, arty membership reflected geographic, philosophical, and cultural differences. Democrats, centered in the South and supported by immigrant political machines in the industrial North, believed in states rights and limited government. They tended to belong to "ritualistic" religious sects like Catholicism, Judaism, and more formal brands of Protestantism. Strongest in northern cities, among businesspeople and the middle class, Republicans were the party of federal activism for economic growth. They were often "pietistic" Protestants who favored a politics of morality, social control, and energetic government.

As Congress focused on the well-worn and popular issues of veterans’ benefits, patronage, tariffs, and currency, the presidency fell into the hands of a near-anonymous run of caretakers. Paralysis prevailed and only when events forced it did Congress pass legislation for civil service reform and the purchase of silver to back the nation’s currency. What ferment and innovation there was came from the states and cities which established railroad investigative and regulatory commissions as well as municipal leagues to reform city governments.

The Revolt of the Farmers

. A host of problems beset farmers: overproduction; declining prices; discriminatory railroad rates; heavy mortgages; and widespread poverty. Since government showed little interest in their plight, farmers challenged the politics of paralysis. First they organized in local "granges" of the Patrons of Husbandry which succeeded in enacting state "Granger laws" regulating shippers and processors and pressed Congress to create a federal Interstate Commerce Commission (1887). Farmers also established northern and southern Farmers’ Alliances which organized farm cooperatives and by 1890 won local and state elections. The frustrations of farmers found a national political outlet in 1892 when the Alliance held a national convention and nominated a presidential candidate.

The New Realignment

The depression of 1893 deepened discontent across the nation. Strikes, protests, and masses of unemployed workers--including a rag-tag army led by Jacob Coxey--were all signs of strain. The approaching presidential election of 1896 (called the "battle of the standards") brought about a decisive political realignment. The Republicans nominated Senator William McKinley of Ohio and staunchly supported gold as the nation's monetary standard. The Democrats were split, but ultimately supported both silver and gold, and nominated Nebraska congressman William Jennings Bryan. Populists, who favored silver to increase the supply of money risked and lost their political identity by nominating Byron.

In 1896 the Republicans became dominant, breaking the politics of paralysis with a powerful coalition. Centered in northern industrial cities and the Far West, it would dominate national politics for most of the next three and a half decades. Meanwhile African-Americans found themselves the victims of a rising tide of racism. Segregation and disfranchisement undercut black political and social progress. In response, most African-American leaders followed a policy of accommodating white discrimination while others fought it in the courts.

Visions of Empire

The same expansive forces that transformed the U.S., also linked the country’s future to international events. Well aware of European imperialism and critical of European methods, supporters of U.S. expansion justified imperialism in terms of democracy, free enterprise capitalism, and Protestant Christianity. Naval officers, businesspeople, and farmers called for the opening of foreign markets and for building a new Navy to protect shipping. Missionaries supported expansion as a means of extending not only Christianity but civilization, while academics and intellectuals viewed it as a duty imposed upon Anglo Saxons by the dictates of Social Darwinism.

During the last half of the Nineteenth Century, many influential Americans began dreaming of empire. William Henry Seward, envisioned an empire of markets reaching to the Far East but realized little beyond the purchase of Alaska. Another Secretary of State, James Blaine saw Latin America as the proper outlet for American overseas ambitions.

The Imperial Moment

The form imperialism would take soon became clearer. Unrest in Cuba, played out against the background of severe depression in the United States from 1893-1897, led to war with Spain. A series of incidents, peaking with the sinking of the battleship Maine, stirred a war fever President McKinley could not resist. The war had two arenas: the naval war in the Philippines and a combined naval-military struggle in Cuba. The war opened with Admiral Dewey's smashing victory over the Spanish fleet in Manila Bay. After more than three months of fighting the United States vanquished Spain, liberated Cuba, and took possession of the Philippines.

Sharp congressional debate preceded the United States decision to make the Philippines a colony. In many ways imperialists and anti-imperialists made similar arguments. Both, for example, saw the Philippines as unprepared for self-rule. Both saw a colony as a strategic burden. Each side, however, drew quite opposite conclusions. At the same time, Filipinos did not accept the change from Spanish to American rulers. That led in turn to a cruel and protracted guerrilla war lasting until 1902.

The acquisition of the Philippines was largely related to American desires for markets in China. To keep European powers from closing China to American trade, Secretary of State John Hay sent two "Open Door" notes that not only asserted American interest in keeping China's markets open, but also of preserving China's sovereignty.

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