Blog Two: Progressive Era, World War One and the Twenties

Textbook Readings:
               Chapter 20 of our textbook, American Horizons, discusses the Progressive Era. There was a "social problem", which included labor problems, poverty, slums, disease, social fragmentation and ineffective city governments. The progressives sought to change this. Progressives were a diverse international group of reformers who sought reform, not revolution. They demanded state intervention to offset the power of corporation and fought against monopolies. They also sought to connect diverse peoples and interests. There were many obvious problems in the cities that the progressives wanted to change, such as filth, pollution, unclean water, and a lack of sanitary sewage systems brought disease into the cities. They strongly believed in "good government", which is honest, efficient government that would work for good of all citizens. In a fight to achieve good government, the National Municipal League was formed that organized reform tickets  that managed to get rid of some of the nations most prominent political machines, including Tammany Hall in New York City in 1901. There were also a group of progressives who fought for the ban of alcohol. Many people fought for Prohibition, and as a result the 18th amendment, barring the manufacture and sale of alcohol in the United States, was passed. Although the progressive era was about reform and change, it also caused racial segregation on the nation's cities. Jim Crow laws, or segregation laws, were created, black people were being lynched, and the court case of Plessy vs. Ferguson declared separate but equal. As a result, the National Association for Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was created. The NAACP investigated and publicized lynchings and condemned segregation of federal offices. One of the progressives main goal was good governments. They worked to achieve this by establishing the initiative, referendum, and recall. The initiative made it possible for voters to place legislation directly before the electorate for a vote in general elections, the referendum allowed voters to repeal state legislation they did not approve of and the recall gave voters power to remove any public official who in their view did not act for the public good. The 17th amendment was also passed, which mandated the direct election of United States senators. During this time, labor unions were rising to protect workers in the workplace. The most inclusive labor union in history was the American Federation of Labor. Another big part of the progressive era was when women got the right to vote through the 19th amendment. The progressives sought change in many areas of social life, and did many things to achieve that change.
               In this chapter of American Horizons, politics, geography, culture and demography all have a role. During the Progressive Era, the left was looking to get rid of capitalism all together, and establish socialism or communism, where everyone is equal. On the other hand of the political spectrum, people still believed in liberalism, and laissez-faire. The geography of the progressive era is also relevant. Progressivism wasn't only in the United States, it was global. The progressives themselves were mostly young, optimistic, middle class educated people, which is where demography comes in. Finally, there is culture. The progressives were seeking reform of many social aspects, like reform in the workplace, cleaning up the city, and making living conditions much better. There were also many immigrants during this time living and working in the cities that the progressives wanted to reform, and some people expected those immigrants to assimilate to American culture.
The Triangle Fire:
               In the American Experience episode "The Triangle Fire", by PBS, we learn all there is to know about the Triangle Shirtwaist tragedy. Max Blanck and Isaac Harris were immigrant tailors from Europe, and the owners of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. When competitors started rising, the owners decided to make the most product for the lowest price. This caused terrible working conditions. Most of the workers were immigrant women, teenagers and young girls who needed to work to help support their families. They had fourteen hour work days, and made two dollars a day. There were very dangerous conditions, and the workers were always being looked over, and they weren't allowed a break for a drink, or to go to the bathroom. If they messed up an article of clothing their pay was docked, and when the work day was over, Blanck ordered the foreman who watched the workers to search their bags for any stolen items. He also kept one of the exit doors to the street locked so the workers couldn't sneak out. The workers got fed up with these conditions, and decided to go on strike. Everyday for six weeks, the women stood their strike outside the factory. Blanck and Harris hired prostitutes to beat the strikers while they stood their strike. The workers wanted a union, shorter hours and higher wages. The Triangle workers got the shorter hours and higher wages, but no union, and no fixed conditions. Then, on March 25, 1911, tragedy struck the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. A fire was started on the eight floor of the building by a dropped cigarette. Blanck and Harris were on the tenth floor and got word of the fire. They were able to escape to the roof and go to the next building over. However, no one told the sewing girls on the ninth floor. When the girls realized, it was almost too late. The everyday exit was blocked by fire. Some made it to the fire escape and the elevator. But then, the fire escape fell from the building, and the last elevator made its trip, causing girls to fall and jump into the elevator shaft. The only other exit was the Washington Place stairway, but that was the exit that Blanck kept locked, and no one had the key. Not even the foremen who watch the women. When the firemen arrived to the scene and extended their ladders, they barely reached the sixth floor. They were helpless. Some women braced each other and jumped out the windows, others fell out when the glass broke. A total of 145 were dead in this tragedy. 53 jumped/fell out the windows, 19 in the elevator shaft, 20 fell of the fallen fire escape, and 50 burned to death. One jumper survived, but then died five days later. All but 23 women died. The bodies were lined up along the East River for identification. Max Blanck and Isaac Harris were charged for manslaughter, however, they were later acquitted because they claimed to have no way of knowing that the Washington place exit was locked. This tragedy set the standards for minimum wage, working conditions, and hours. 
               In this episode of American Experience, demography, culture and economics are present. The workers of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory were mostly immigrant women, teenagers, and girls. They were poor and needed this job to help support their families. The culture of these factories were all the same. Poor conditions, long hours, and very low wages. These women in the Triangle Factory were working to change these things, and they succeed. They achieved shorter hours and longer pay. Unfortunately, it wasn't until after the fire that the conditions were improved. Economics was also a factor. Blanck and Harris saw their factory falling behind the competition, so they had to keep up. They decided to make as much product for the lowest cost. They wanted to make as much money as they could without wasting any time and money.
               It is really unfortunate and upsetting that change could only be brought about after a terrible tragedy. These women worked so hard to bring change to the workplace, and even though they made some changes, the one they needed most didn't come until they lost their lives.
The Poisoners Handbook:
               In another episode of American Experience by PBS, "The Poisoners Handbook", we see how the science of forensics comes into light. Charles Norris was the chief medical examiner at Bellevue Hospital. Norris believed that murder convictions should be based on science and facts, not what connections you had with coroners. Norris then began working with Alexander Gettler, a toxicologist who built the toxicology lab himself. Norris and Gettler worked on murder cases involving poison, including cyanide, arsenic, methanol, carbon monoxide, denatured alcohol, radium and thallium. The episode gives examples of a case involving each poison stated above. One very interesting case is of a women named Fanny Creighton. Fanny was a young wife and mother, who took in her brother. He then one day dropped dead. Gettler found arsenic in the brother's body, and Fanny and her husband her charged with murder. They then got off by telling the brother's "side" of the story, which turns out that they made it up. Fanny was then charged with poisoning her mother-in-law, but then was found not guilty for that case as well. Many years went by, and Gettler and Norris were solving many other cases involving different poisons. Then in the 1930s, Ada Applegate was found dead with arsenic in her body. It just so happens that Fanny lived with Ada and her family. Using forensic science, Gettler was able to prove that Fanny killed Ada, and that she also killed her brother and her mother-in-law several years before. Fanny was then sentenced to death in the electric chair. Charles Norris and Alexander Gettler introduced forensic science into the world of crime, and therefore making it almost impossible to get away with poison murder.      
               In this episode, culture and politics are relevant. Norris and Gettler made forensic science the way to solve a murder crime involving poison. Before these two men, there was coroners incompetence, which is when if someone had the right connections, they could get away with murder. Norris, as the chief medical examiner, found this to be wrong. He and Gettler changed the system so that science was the deciding factor of the outcome of a case. They made it almost impossible to get away with poison murder. Politics also plays a role. When coroners incompetence was still around, anyone could commit a murder and get away with it if they had the right connections. Norris and Gettler changed this way of thinking.
Textbook Readings:
               Chapter twenty-one of American Horizons discusses the Great War, World War One. World War One lasted from 1914-1918. The war led to the overthrow of the monarchies in Germany and Austria-Hungary, the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire in the Middle East, the replacement of the Russian czar by a revolutionary communist government, and the United States and Japan emerged as major world powers. What exactly caused the war? The war was essentially started when the Austrian heir to the throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, was assassinated. The war split between two sets of allies, the Central Powers, consisting of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Ottoman Turkey, and the Allies, consisting of Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy and Japan(after the war began). A majority of the war was fought in trenches. The soldiers basically lived in a trench in the ground and fought. They had rapid fire rifles, machine guns, long-range artillery with highly explosive shells and poisonous gas. The president of the United States at the time, Woodrow Wilson, issued a neutrality declaration, however when German U-boats torpedoed the Lusitania killing 1,200 of 2,000 passengers and crew, including 128 Americans, Wilson threatened retaliation against Germany unless they stopped submarine attacks on civilian vessels and paid reparations for the sinking. Then the United States intervened a telegram from Germany to Mexico, the Zimmerman Telegram, and German submarines sank five American ships, killing dozens of sailors and wounding many others. On April 2, 1917, Wilson asked Congress to declare war on Germany. The United States would enter the war as an "associated power" rather than a formal ally of Britain and France. The war caused changes at home in America. Propaganda emerged, posters with Uncle Sam telling you to join the war effort. There was also a draft. Wilson developed the 14 Points, and wanted to create a League of Nations, which was a world forum intended to incorporate the ultimate peace settlement. Germany surrendered from the war in November 1918, however the Versailles Treaty was rejected, along with the League of Nations membership.
               In this chapter of American Horizons, economics, politics and culture are very relevant. War, as we know, is very costly. World War One cost every nation involved large sums of money. Damage had to be paid for, weapons had to be paid for, as well as food for the soldiers and things of that nature. War is also very political. President Wilson had to make the right decision when asking Congress to declare war on Germany. War also has an effect on relations with the countries it goes to war with. These relations can improve politically, however, they can also get worse. Culture is also relevant in this chapter. The culture in America was changing. War propaganda was emerging, and women began working to support the war effort and their families while the men were fighting the war. Economics, politics and culture are relevant in this chapter.
               Finally, chapter twenty-two of American Horizons discusses the 1920s. The 1920s was a prosperous time. New technology emerged, such as the radio. The automobile industry also became huge. Henry Ford began mass production and used the assembly line, producing more cars faster and easier. Cars were also being sold abroad, and there were production plants in other countries as well. There was a new kind of advertising emerging. Famous people were now in the ads, attracting more people to the product that was being advertised. There was also a rise in interest in popular entertainment, such as movies and sports. Baseball was very big, and so were college football games. The new woman also emerged: the flapper. They flapper wore short skirts, and her behavior was seen as scandalous. The flapper embodied a new understanding of female sexuality. Some people were beginning to lose faith in traditional American values, and grew alienated after World War One. Although the twenties were very prosperous, there were also some setbacks. There were many religious disputes happening, between creationism and evolution. Prohibition was also during this time period, creating more organized crime, along with the creation of speakeasies(hidden bars) and bootlegging alcohol. Hostility of outsiders was also a setback. There were restrictions against immigration, and the KKK emerged again as anti-immigrant, anti-Catholic and anti-Jewish. However, the racism didn't stop the Harlem Renaissance. Many black authors and artists emerged during this time. They wrote poems, played jazz music, and made art. The 1920s was a time of great prosperity that would soon come to an end when the stock market would crash, causing the Great Depression.  
               This chapter of American Horizons has aspects of culture and economics. The culture of the 1920s is different than any time period before it. New technologies were emerging, cars were being developed faster and easier, entertainment was huge, and women were seen very differently. Not everyone liked the way the American culture was going, however. Some people wanted to maintain the traditional American values and didn't take part in the new way of life. Economics was also very prevalent. With all he new technology and entertainment, more money was being circulated. Also, cars were being sold and made abroad, strengthening ties in those countries and bringing in more revenue. The roaring twenties was a very prosperous time that would unfortunately come to an end with the Great Depression.    
Bibliography:
Bezis-Selfa, John, Greenwood, Janette Thomas, Kirk, Andrew, Purcell, Sarah J., Schaller,
               Michael, Schulzinger, Robert D., Sheehan-Dean, Aaron. American Horizons. New York:
               Oxford University Press, 2013. Print.
Rapley, Rob, dir. "The Poisoner's Handbook." American Experience. PBS. Web. 5 Feb. 2014.
Wright, Jamila, dir. "The Triangle Fire." American Experience. PBS. Web. 6 Feb. 2014.