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Bay of Pigs (the)
The event known has “Bay of Pigs” was a plan to overthrow Fidel Castro and his
“communist” régime and re-establish a pro-US one in Cuba. That plan had been
prepared by the CIA before the election of President Kennedy. About 1,400 Cuban
refugees had been trained by the agency to launch an invasion at the bay of Pigs (Baya
de los Cochinos) and rapidly defeat the local Cuban troops. The invasion took place in
April 1961, but the plan had been so badly prepared that it turned out to be a disaster.
President Kennedy realized that misunderstanding had prevailed between his
administration and the armed forces, and publicly assumed responsibility before the
nation without putting a blame on anyone one else. Regarding international relations,
that event drew Cuba farther into the Soviet camp at the expense of American interests.
A few months later Castro agreed to let the USSR construct missile bases on the island
of Cuba, which led to the missile crisis in October 1962.
Captains of Industry
Also called ‘Robber Barons’ the phrase Captains of Industry refers to the great
businessman and entrepreneurs of the second half of the 19th century and the beginning
of the 20th. Most of them were self-made men starting from scratch. The conquest of the
west was a period of expansion over free land from ocean to ocean, but it was also
marked by economic expansion as well. Certain names remained associated with that
economic expansion and new activities: the development of the railroads (Gould,
Vanderbilt), the striking and refining of oil (John D. Rockefeller), the steel industry
(Andrew Carnegie), the foundation of great banks (J. P. Morgan), the discovery then
arrival of electricity in the cities (Thomas Edison, Westinghouse), the making of the
first cars (John Ford). They were the newly rich and their economic activities came to
replace the former ones (the planters). They were leaders, were rich, sometimes united
to protect their common interest, created great economic empires, certainly
overexploited their manpower (hence the the first strikes and social actions), but they
were not devoid of social qualities, and made donations or created foundations to
promote education, science, research, etc.
Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine (the)
It was a speech delivered by President Theodore Roosevelt to Congress in 1904.
Referring to the Monroe doctrine which stated that if any independent country in the
western hemisphere were the object of colonization the US would feel threatened in its
security and would prepare for defense, President Theodore Roosevelt broadened the
concept when he stated that whenever a State proved politically “impotent” or subject to
“chronic wrongdoings” the United States could be compelled to exercise a form of
“police power”. Thus isolationism was extended to pan Americanism and American
imperialism.
‘Due process of law’
That particular phrase can be found in amendments 5 and 14 to the Constitution of the
United States. In short, the text stays that “no person shall … be deprived of life, liberty
or property without due process of law.” This particular clause is valid both at federal
and state levels. But what is a “due” process of law? The first thing we can say is that it
is not a technical conception with a defined content. The concept has been subject to
endless interpretation by courts. What is generally admitted is that to be deprived of
one’s property one must have been heard at a fair trial first.
Already quoted by Chief Justice Taney in Dred Scott v. Sandford when he stated that
“an Act of Congress that deprives a person of the United States of his … property
merely because he came himself or brought his property into a particular Territory of the
United States, and who had committed no offense against the laws, could hardly be
dignified with the name of due process of law…”
It is in the name of the protection of private property that the Supreme Court was
reluctant to sentence trusts and other monopolies in the late 19th early twentieth
centuries.
Gospel of Wealth (the)
The Gospel of Wealth can be seen as the Protestant ethics of material and spiritual
success (predestination + divine grace) applied to social Darwinism (If you are so
intelligent, why aren’t you rich?” – a saying of the times). It was an idea that became an
ideology and even a political platform by the successful businessmen. They were also
followed by Churches and preachers. So, the two points of view must been considered:
that of business leaders and that of religious preachers.
1. Businessmen: In the industrial age that saw the development of trusts and the advent
of Captains of Industry, social Darwinism (i.e. survival of the fittest) and the laissezfaire policy, the Gospel of Wealth was the new preaching that opportunity, business,
capitalism and wealth were real virtues. The people who had made a fortune put the
emphasis on these. It became a real ideology when it was declared and adopted that:
a. Successful businessmen had been brought to the top by a natural selection that had
eliminated the unfit and the incompetent. They had been naturally selected and
represented a sort of natural aristocracy that was there to lead.
b. On the contrary, politicians had not been naturally selected and should not be as
trusted in their views as business leaders.
c. The State should not intervene in business and should confine its activities to
maintaining order and protecting private property (police and security).
d. Poverty and its social consequences (hunger, slums) were the natural, inevitable
consequence of the natural selection, and that it would be a mistake to take political
decisions and try to eliminate it. The State should not intervene. On the contrary,
wealth being the dominant aspect, it was the duty of business leaders to improve the
quality of social life.
2. Churches: Churches followed and declared that people should try to become rich by
honest, Christian means. It was the way they adapted themselves to a growinglymaterialistic world, and the concept perfectly fitted in the old Protestant idea of
predestination stating that some had been selected by God to be saved (the elect).
Material success was the earthly, visible evidence of their selection. That particular state
of mind can be summarized by John D. Rockefeller’s sentence: “God gave me my
money!” One could add that famous sentence from the Gospel according to Luke, which
was very often quoted in that context: “Wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s
business?” (Luke 2:49). Thus, in a very simplistic way, wealth and business were
worthy of worship and seen as virtuous, whereas poverty was the wage of sin.
Laissez-faire policy
The phrase comes from the French economists of the 19th century. They protested
against the government’s control in economic matters. Companies were under its sway
because of too many regulations. So, economists and leaders claimed that the
government was stifling the economy. They stated that too many rules were at the
expense of economic growth. They asked that the government should stop interfering
with private enterprise and should “let economy go”. They claimed that the market
could regulate itself without government intervention. The second half of 19th century
being marked by the rise of industry in the United States, many leaders of companies
adopted that theory for their own benefit. It was also supported by more intellectual
ideologies such as social darwinism, determinism and the Gospel of Wealth. On the
whole laissez-faire is an extreme form of liberalism regarding economic matters, which
permitted the development of very large companies, later becoming trusts which
concentrated economic power in the hands of a few (hence future anti-trust acts). The
US President who was definitely in favor of “laissez-faire” was Calvin Coolidge (19251929). To him the key business of America was business, and a man who built a factory
built a temple.
See also: Captains of Industies, Trusts, The Gospel of Wealth and Social Darwinism
McCarthyism
Joseph McCarthy was the Senator of Wisconsin between 1947 and 1957, i.e. during the
first part of the period that was to be known as the Cold War. He was totally
anticommunist and claimed he had a list of names that proved that pro-communists and
soviet spies at infiltrated the US administration at all levels. By doing so he started a
true hysteria throughout the country (McCarthyism). Because he had attacked the
Truman administration and the armed forces, without being able to prove that what he
alleged was true, he was later discredited by his peers and disappeared from the political
arena.
McCarthyism is the term given to the period of intense fight against potential
communists and to the period of intense suspicion regarding many people (sometimes
very known ones such as actors, authors or professors) leading to investigation,
followed by trial, judgment and punishment. The period is also known as the witch-hunt
after Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible which draws a parallel between the collective
hysteria that took place in 1692 Salem and the one taking place in the 1950’s.
Maine (the US Battleship)
On February 15th, 1898, in the midst of the local conflict opposing Cuban separatists
and the Spanish authorities, the US Navy Battleship Maine exploded in Havana Harbor
killing 266 sailors. This particular event, which was then perceived as an attack on the
interests of the USA, led President McKinley to declare war on Spain and thus to put an
end to the previous policy of neutrality. (See Splendid Little War).
Monroe Doctrine (the)
This doctrine was defined by President James Monroe in 1823 in his annual speech to
Congress. Recalling the differences between European political systems (mostly
kingdoms) and the American one (a republic), and the policy of neutrality which the
United States had always maintained regarding European countries, it also warned them
never to try to colonize any independent country in America, which the United States
would consider a threat to its own security. The doctrine thus defined the idea of a
western hemisphere and gave birth to an ideology of political isolationism regarding
Europe.
In 1904 the concept defined in the Monroe doctrine was broadened by President
Theodore Roosevelt when he stated that whenever a State proved politically “impotent”
or subject to “chronic wrongdoings” the United States could be compelled to exercise a
form of “police power”. Thus isolationism was extended to pan-Americanism.
The Muckrakers
The Muckrakers – as President Theodore Roosevelt nicknamed them – were authors and
journalists who denounced the abuses of large companies or trusts regarding the
working class or farmers, or simply ordinary citizens. Their influence came largely from
the press, but literary writers added their touch to a movement based on a social stand
and sometimes a form of commitment. Already an author like Jacob Riis had denounced
poverty and delinquency in New York, adding pictures to his analysis (How the Other
Half Lives, 1890). Frank Norris had denounced the abuses of a railroad monopoly and
the speculation on wheat in California at the expense of farmers (The Octopus, 1901).
Theodore Dreiser gave a poignant image of social problems in New York (Sister Carrie,
1900) and studied the class of Chicago's wealthy people. Above all Upton Sinclair
denounced the over-exploitation of Lithuanian immigrants in the slaughterhouses of
Chicago (The Jungle, 1906). By denouncing the social abuses of their age (sometimes
called “the Gilded Age”) these authors put the emphasis on the necessity of social
justice and conveyed ideas of reform to protect the citizen (e.g. anti-trust acts). The
Progressive movement and Theodore Roosevelt’s “square deal policy” were an answer –
at least an evolution – to the problems denounced.
New Frontier (the)
“New Frontier” was the name given to John F. Kennedy's political platform in 1961.
Stating in his inaugural address: “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what
you can do for your country” , he focused on a form of idealism and the awareness that
there were challenges to face. The world was one of diversity and of many dangers as
well (cf. the nuclear bomb). It was of world of scientific advance, but akso “a struggle
against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself.” In other
words, President Kennedy put the emphasis on the fact that the United States was a
country made of a new generation to cope with new problems and new opportunities.
“The New Frontier is here whether we seek it or not. Beyond that frontier are
unchartered areas of science and space, unsolved problems of peace and war,
unconquered pockets of ignrance and prejudice, unanswered questions of poverty and
surplus.”
Progressive Era (the)
The Progressive Era was the period starting with President Theodore Roosevelt (see his
name below) and ending with President Woodrow Wilson. It was based on the idea on
social advance and the defense of the citizen and workers against the tyranny of the
trusts. It aimed at social justice and was a period of advance against abuses of the
working-class and avoid social turmoil (cf. fear of anarchism, socialism) in order to
defend the basic values of the American dream. It went slowly because of the
conservatism of the courts of justice (cf. 14th amendment).
Woodrow Wilson was a very moral man. In some degree he prolonged the Progressive
Era because his main object regarding home policy was to revise the tariff, i.e. to reduce
duties, rates on commodities, to regulate industry because “private monopoly is
indefendable and intolerable” (hence the 1914 Clayton antitrust act).
Prohibition
Defined by the eighteenth amendment to the US Constitution, prohibition was enforced
in January 1920. It prohibited the transportation and sale of liquors for beverage
purposes. This idea, backed by preachers, feminist movements (cf. the Anti-Saloon
League), and great companies (such as Ford or the Standard Oil), was to fail for various
reasons. People still drank (very often tampered liquors). Liquors could be smuggled,
speakeasies opened and racketeers made fortunes and general corruption flourished…
all at the expense of the tax system (Internal Revenue Service) which could no longer
profit by that source of revenue. In 1933, after considering the failure of prohibition
regarding national health, business and taxation, President Franklin D. Roosevelt had
the amendment repealed by Congress (cf. 21st amendment).
Actually, the real positive point was obtained by women who had long fought for their
rights, had their voices heard in that cause and managed to obtain the right to vote in
1920 as well.
Red Scare (the)
The Red Scare was the name given to the period that followed World War I. It started a
few years after Russia had become the USSR (1917) thus fostering new ideas and new
hopes even in the USA. It also coincided with the return home of soldiers and the fact
the US was not prepared to a change in its economic activities (war economy v. peace
economy). Therefore the period coincided with an economic crisis and social turmoil
(1920-21). Anarchists were particularly active and some had opted for violent action.
Mailed bombs were thus sent to more than 30 prominent people, generally politicians or
members of the government. The scare itself was started by the US Attorney General A.
Mitchell Palmer in 1920 when he ordered raids against the headquarters of radical
organizations. About 6,000 people, whether American citizens or immigrants, were
arrested and detained. The aim was to combat the Reds. Little distinction was made
between socialists, communists or anarchists. Over the next three months tens of
thousands of people were filed by the General Intelligence Division (the future FBI).
Consequently, some people were detained, 556 immigrants were deported, and
xenophobia prevailed. The first act limiting the number of European immigrants was
passed by Congress in 1921 (just three years before the 1924 Quota law).
Roaring Twenties (the)
Roaring Twenties is a phrase used to describe the 1920s, principally in North America,
that emphasizes the period's social, artistic, and cultural dynamism. Normality returned
to politics in the wake of World War I, jazz music blossomed, the flapper redefined
modern womanhood, Art Deco peaked, and finally the Wall Street Crash of 1929 served
to punctuate the end of the era, as The Great Depression set in. The era was further
distinguished by several inventions and discoveries of far-reaching import,
unprecedented industrial growth and accelerated consumer demand and aspirations, and
significant changes in lifestyle.
The social and societal upheaval known as the Roaring Twenties began in North
America and spread to Europe in the aftermath of World War I. Europe spent these
years rebuilding and coming to terms with the vast human cost of the conflict. The
Government of the United States did little to aid Europe, opting rather for an isolationist
stance. By the middle of the decade, economic development soared in Europe, and the
Roaring Twenties broke out in Germany (the Weimar Republic), Britain and France, the
second half of the decade becoming known as the "Golden Twenties". In France and
Canada, they were also called the "Crazy Years" (Années Folles).
The spirit of the Roaring Twenties was marked by a general feeling of discontinuity
associated with modernity, a break with traditions. Everything seemed to be feasible
through modern technology. New technologies, especially automobiles, movies and
radio proliferated 'modernity' to a large part of the population. Formal decorative frills
were shed in favor of practicality, in architecture as well as in daily life. At the same
time, amusement, fun and lightness were cultivated in jazz and dancing, in defiance of
the horrors of World War I, which remained present in people's minds. The period is
also often called "The Jazz Age".
Rockefeller, John D.
John D. Rockefeller became interested in oil after its first strike in Pennsylvania in
1859. Interested in refining rather than in drilling he decided to found his own company
in Cleveland, Ohio in 1863. In 1870, John D. Rockefeller and Henry Flager formed the
Standard Oil of Ohio in the shape of a trust in order to make the company grow. He then
launched a policy of absorption of all other refining companies. To do so he passed a
disloyal agreement with Vanderbilt, a railroad tycoon of the times, on the price of
transport. Vanderbilt would allow a 50% discount to Rockefeller while he would
increase by 50% the price for all other companies. Then Rockefeller decided to buy up
his opponents. Those who agreed entrusted the management of their companies to a
board composed of nine decision-makers (or trustees). They remained beneficiaries and
were paid in stocks (and could become millionaires). On the contrary, those who refused
simply could not follow the evolution of the market with of prices going down and
transportation prices going up, and rapidly went bankrupt ruined. By 1877 the Standard
Oil controlled 95% of the oil market. But if soon became under attack by reformers and
Congress passed the Sherman Antitrust Act in 1890.
Roosevelt (Theodore)
Theodore Roosevelt was first known for his participation in the war in Cuba at the head
of the Rough Riders. He became a war hero. In 1900 He was chosen by President
McKinley as running mate and was thus elected Vice-President. He became President of
the United after President McKinley’s assassination in September 1901.
His favorite saying was: “Speak softly and carry a big stick, you will go far.” Actually,
he did quite the contrary and had quite a belligerent attitude in politics.
Regarding Roosevelt himself—known as Teddy—he mentioned his goals in his first
message to the union: greater control of corporations, more authority for the interstate
commerce commission, conservation of natural resources, extension of the merit system
in the civil service, construction of an isthmian canal (cf. Panama), and a vigorous
foreign policy which became known as the policy of the big stick and led to the
corollary to the Monroe doctrine but also to intervention in the internal affairs of other
countries (cf. Santo Domingo) and later to a more diplomatic behavior (Morocco affair,
Algeciras conference). He was elected again in 1904 but declined to be a candidate in
1908. On the whole, President Roosevelt’s terms placed the USA in a new position
regarding international affairs and redefined the role of the executive for the decades to
come.
The Rosenberg Case
Sacco and Vanzetti
Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were two Italian immigrants who were accused
of murdering a paymaster and a guard of a shoe company in 1920. They were arrested,
judged and sentenced to death even though they claimed their innocence and had
witnesses to corroborate their claims. Despite public opinion’s reaction in the US and
overseas they were executed in 1927. Above they became the symbol of the rampant
xenophobia that prevailed in the USA in the 1920’s, the fear of radical political ideas
and un-American behavior (Sacco and Vanzetti openly claimed to be anarchists and
atheists) and the contempt toward of a poorer class especially when composed of
newcomers.
Sherman Antitrust Act (the)
This law was enacted in 1890 to put an end to abuses by the most important companies
or rather monopolies of the country (most important companies were held by a few
captains of industry who had taken advantage of the Laissez-faire policy).
In a nutshell, it stated that combination of companies in the form of trusts or monopolies
was illegal and that any person who tried to monopolize any part of the trade was guilty
of misdemeanor and could be fined and imprisoned. It was followed by a series of legal
action against some companies, most of which were not really successful because of a
certain conservatism of either the executive or judicial authorities of the time, or
because the companies defended their rights in the name of the 14th amendment that
states that no person shall be deprived of “life, liberty, or property, without due process
of law.” A corporation happens to be a legal or juridical person (as opposed to natural
persons, i.e. people), and therefore can’t be deprived of its property “without due
process of law”.
There were a few symbolical successes against Morgan or the Standard Oil in the early
20th century. This law was to be followed by the Clayton Antitrust Act in 1914.
Social Darwinism
Social Darwinism is the adaptation of Darwin’s theory of the evolution of species (cf.
“the fittest survives” to the social and economic environment. Herbert Spencer was at
the origin of that adapted theory. On the whole, it states that human beings struggle to
survive (the basis of social relations), and that the fittest manage to survive (success and
wealth being their reward). The economic application of that theory is supply and
demand. Therefore, governments should not intervene in social matters (e.g. by
defending workers’ rights) and should prone free trade and absolute liberty in economic
matters, i.e. laissez-faire.
Speculative Mania (the)
‘Splendid Little War’ (the)
It was the name given by the press to the war opposing the USA and Spain between
February 1898 and August 1898 after the US battleship Maine had exploded in Havana
Harbor, Cuba. It took ten weeks for American troops to defeat the Spaniards, whether in
the Philippines, Cuba or Puerto Rico, even though they were not really prepared. It
enabled the USA to gain an empire out of its borders and enforce the policy defined by
the 1823 Monroe Doctrine. The USA maintained its control over Cuba until 1902 (1934
for complete independence), until 1946 regarding the Philippines. As for Puerto Rico it
is still a possession of the USA today, with a political status of its own and a form of
local autonomy. Apart from this, that particular conflict placed the USA at a higher level
regarding international affairs and announced President Theodore Roosevelt’s future
international policy. (See Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine)
Trust (the concept of)
A trust is an agreement by which a property is held by one party for the benefit of
another. It implies two interests, one legal, and the other equitable. In other words, a
person can agree to place his property in the hands of another person who will hold it
and manage it. The first one is the beneficiary who will get a profit or an interest, the
second one is the trustee, i.e. the one who is trusted. Theoretically trusts are not illegal
and can take several forms. However they are sometimes a way of monopolizing
companies, preventing competition, and controlling the market, hence the 1890
Sherman Antitrust Act and several others to prevent such monopolies.
Wall Street Crash (the)
After almost a decade of modernity, dynamism, art and jazz, and on the whole of
happiness and listlessness through the 1920’s (“the roaring twenties”), with economic
euphoria for the most part, American people were suddenly brought to harsh reality
when the New York Stock Exchange suddenly collapsed in October 1929. It became
known as the Wall Street Crash and was just devastating for the economy of the
country. In two symbolic days, Black Thursday (Oct. 24th) and Black Tuesday (Oct.
29th), when 12.9 million and 16.4 million shares were traded respectively. The collapse
lasted over a month and had harsh social consequences: tens of people committed
suicide, millions were ruined, and thousands of new paupers started to stand in lines in
the streets of the big cities to go to soup kitchen and get some kind of a free meal.
Theodore Roosevelt's policy, known as the New Deal, was to save America from
disaster.
Specialists still discuss the origins of the crash. The truth is more complex than it may
seem first. The origins of the crash must be found in the doldrums of agriculture, the
lack of equality in industrial development, the huge gap between wages, and the
presence of unemployment in the background. Added to speculation on credit easily
granted by the banks, the fact that the Federal Reserve refused to take part in the
economic life of the country (i.e. the industries) but maintained protectionnism through
high tariffs on international trade. The situation had become explosive. When the
collapse occurred it marked the beginning of the Great Depression.
Wilson’s Fourteen Points
In January 1918 President Woodrow Wilson gave his annual address to Congress. In
this address he made fourteen proposals to maintain peace (soon known as “the fourteen
point”). They defined the policy of the United States regarding the status of European
nations at the end of World War I. The borders of several European countries were thus
re-defined, based on nationalities and the interests of the various populations that
composed Europe (e.g. the foundation of Poland and the breaking-apart of AustriaHungary). Wilson also put the emphasis on the absolute necessity of international
diplomacy and the creation of a “general association of nation,” hence the League of
Nations. But Congress refused to participate in it. and the original goal was a failure
since the League of Nations never managed to refrain nationalistic movements, the rise
of dictatorships and the outbreak of a second war.
Women’s rights (recognition of)
The history of the United States, as well as that of many countries, was also marked by a
number of claims not to say a real crusade launched by women to obtain basic rights and
be recognized as equal to men in American society. Such a crusade was best expressed
at the Woman’s Rights Convention held at Seneca Falls (July 19, 1848) during which
they drafted a Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions, a symbolical parody of
Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence in which they denounced the tyranny of men
over women. The first State that granted women the right to vote was Wyoming in
1890. But their real victory regarding their rights was obtained in 1920 when Congress
granted them the ballot (i.e. the right to vote) through the 19th amendment to the US
Constitution. This amendment was part of the progressive era.