LECTURE #16:
AMERICAN IMPERIALISM &
THE PROGRESSIVE ERA
(1896-1914)
Derrick J. Johnson, MPA, JD
Advanced Placement United States History,
School for Advanced Studies
The William McKinley Presidency
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President William McKinley, Jr.
Born: January 29, 1843
Died: September 14, 1901
Term in Office: (1897-1901)
Political Party: Republican
The William McKinley Presidency
The McKinley Cabinet
Office
Name
Term
President
William McKinley
Garret A. Hobart
None
Theodore Roosevelt
1897–1901
1897–1899
1899–1901
1901
Secretary of State
John Sherman
William R. Day
John Hay
1897–1898
1898
1898–1901
Secretary of Treasury
Lyman J. Gage
1897–1901
Secretary of War
Russell A. Alger
Elihu Root
1897–1899
1899–1901
Attorney General
Joseph McKenna
John W. Griggs
Philander C. Knox
1897–1898
1898–1901
1901
Postmaster General
James A. Gary
Charles E. Smith
1897–1898
1898–1901
Secretary of the Navy
John D. Long
1897–1901
Secretary of the Interior
Cornelius N. Bliss
Ethan A. Hitchcock
1897–1899
1899–1901
Secretary of Agriculture
James Wilson
1897–1901
Vice President
The William McKinley Presidency
Supreme Court Appointments by President McKinley
Joseph McKenna –1898
States Admitted to the Union
None
Prelude to Imperialism
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In the years immediately following the Civil War, the United States
aggressively sought out new territories.
In 1867, the United States purchased Alaska from the Russians and they
annexed the Midway Islands.
The U.S. did not take part in imperialistic adventures until the 1890s. The
factors for this include the following:
 The closing of the American Frontier.
 Rapid industrial growth, urban growth and a large influx of
immigrants.
 A large number of Civil War veterans with recent memories of
warfare.
 The U.S. Army & Navy were no match for the military forces of
Europe at this time.
During the 1870s and 1880s, the State Department had fewer than 100
employees.
By the 1890s, things had improved for the U.S. forces.
Reasons for Imperialism
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By the 1890s, many Americans began to have new attitudes
towards imperialistic adventures abroad.
This was so for several reasons:
 The demand for new markets.
 The development of new bases to house battleships.
 Social Darwinism (“The White Man’s Burden”) made it the
duty of an Anglo Saxon country like the U.S. to civilize the
“inferior races.”
 The civil war generation were slowly giving way to a new
generation of U.S. leaders who were not affected by the
horrors of war.
Conquest of the Hawaii
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The U.S. have been sending missionaries to Hawaii for years.
However, by the 1880s, Hawaii’s sugar plantations were the main
concern for the U.S.
Sugar planters in Hawaii exerted tremendous economic and
political power. In 1887, they forced King Kalakaua to accept a
new constitution that took away some of his political power and
put it in their hands.
In 1891, the King died, and his sister, Queen Liliuokalani,
replaced him. By this point, the planters and members of the
U.S. Senate conspired to turn Hawaii into a U.S. protectorate.
The Queen rejected this notion and resisted U.S. and foreign
influence over Hawaii.
Conquest of the Hawaii
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In 1893, Pro-American sugar planters, assisted by U.S. Marines,
overthrew the Queen and declared Hawaii a republic and
requested that Hawaii be annexed by the U.S.
This resulted in a long debate as to the proper role of the U.S. in
Hawaii.
President Cleveland sent a commission to Hawaii to determine
the wishes of the citizens of Hawaii concerning their future.
After the commission reported back that most Hawaiians
supported the Queen, Cleveland announced that he was opposed
to the annexation of Hawaii.
In, 1896, President McKinley reversed Cleveland’s policy and
called for the acceptance of manifest destiny in U.S. control of
Hawaii.
The Spanish-American War
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The steps leading to this war began in 1868, when Cuban colonists revolted
against the Spanish, who controlled the island.
The Spanish, through negotiations, were able to maintain control over the
island.
In 1895, an economic depression, caused the falling sugar and tobacco prices,
caused economic hardship and another revolt took place.
The Spanish sent in a huge force of 150,000 troops and instituted a policy of
reconcentration, which sent civilians who the Spanish thought might be
potential allies of the rebels, into heavily guarded camps. The conditions of
these camps were appalling.
The Spanish-American War
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The Cuban exile community in the U.S. pressured America to intervene on
the side of the rebels, but President Cleveland, and then President McKinley
both resisted the pressure.
Pressure on McKinley increased when Cuban rebels started to destroy
American economic interests in Cuba.
The American press also bean to swerve public opinion towards through the
use of yellow journalism. These “journalists” took liberties to describe the
incidents of torture, rape, and execution by the Spanish.
In 1898, McKinley sent the U.S.S. Maine to Cuba to protect American
interests after violent outbreaks of riots. On February 15, the U.S.S. Maine
was sunk. Even though there was no conclusive evidence to determine what
caused the ship’s sinking, the press capitalized on the event as an excuse to
attack the Spanish.
Enormous amounts of pressure was on McKinley to attack the Spanish.
McKinley sent a list of demands to Spain to avoid war. The Spanish agreed to
a vast majority of McKinley’s demands, however, he finally gave in to the
pressures.
The Spanish-American War
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On April 11, 1898, Congress invoked its Article I, Section 8, Clause 11 war
powers for the third time in its history.
Theodore Roosevelt resigned his position in the Naval Department to lead
the “Rough Riders” up San Juan Hill in the most famous event of the war.
Approximately 2,500 Americans died in this war. However, only 400 died in
combat. The remaining 2,100 died from malaria and food poisoning.
Spanish casualties were very high. The final blow came when Admiral Dewey
destroyed the Spanish fleet in the Pacific.
The Treaty of Paris ended the war. According to the treaty, Spain recognized
the independence of Cuba, for a payment of $20 million, and it gave the U.S.
the Philippines, Puerto Rico and Guam.
The Spanish-American War
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President McKinley supported American control of the Philippines, stating
that if Americans didn’t enter, civil war was likely to occur there, because the
Filipinos were simply “unfit for self governance.”
The U.S. forces began its occupation of the Philippines in 1899. They fought
Filipino rebels over the next three years and nearly 4,500 U.S. soldiers died in
the fighting. In turn, over 200,000 Filipinos were killed during the occupation.
The Election of 1900
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Riding high in popularity after the Spanish American War, the Republicans renominated President McKinley and war hero, New York Governor Theodore
Roosevelt as Vice President.
The Democrats, as they did in 1896, re-nominated William Jennings Bryan,
who again argued for free silver.
With most Americans accepting the recently enacted gold standard, Bryan
vigorously attacked the growth of American imperialism.
While many Americans questioned the growth of American imperialism, it
was not enough to make it a winning issue for Bryan. McKinley defeated
Bryan with 292 electoral votes (7,228,864 popular votes) to Bryan’s 155
electoral votes (6,370,932 popular votes).
Assassination of McKinley
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The President and Mrs. McKinley attended the Pan-American Exposition in
Buffalo, New York. He delivered a speech about his positions on tariffs and
foreign trade on September 5, 1901. The following morning, McKinley visited
Niagara Falls before returning to the Exposition.
That afternoon McKinley had an engagement to greet the public at the
Temple of Music. Standing in line, Leon Frank Czolgosz waited with a pistol
in his right hand concealed by a handkerchief. At 4:07 p.m. Czolgosz fired
twice at the president.
Assassination of McKinley
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The first bullet grazed his shoulder, but the second went through his stomach,
pancreas, and kidney, and finally lodged in the muscles of his back. McKinley
whispered to his secretary, George Cortelyou, “My wife, Cortelyou, be careful
how you tell her, oh be careful.” Czolgosz would have fired again, but he was
struck by a bystander and then subdued by an enraged crowd. The wounded
McKinley reportedly called out "Boys! Don't let them hurt him!” because the
angry crowd beat Czolgosz so severely it looked as if they might kill him on
the spot.
The bullets were extracted and McKinley's doctors believed he would recover.
He convalesced for more than a week in Buffalo at the home of the
exposition's director. On the morning of September 12, he felt strong enough
to receive his first food orally since the shooting — toast and a small cup of
coffee. However, his condition got worse.
Assassination of McKinley
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On September 14, 1901, eight days after he was shot, he died at age 58 from
gangrene surrounding his wounds. He would become the fifth U.S. President
to die in office and the third to be assassinated.
Czolgosz was tried and found guilty of murder, and was executed by electric
chair at Auburn Prison on October 29, 1901.
Theodore Roosevelt would become the fifth Vice-President to succeed to the
presidency due to the death of the incumbent.
The Theodore Roosevelt Presidency
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President Theodore Roosevelt
Born: October 27, 1858
Died: January 16, 1919
Term in Office: (1901-1909)
Political Party: Republican
The Theodore Roosevelt Presidency
OFFICE
NAME
TERM
President
Vice President
Theodore Roosevelt
Charles Fairbanks
1901–1909
1905–1909
Secretary of State
John Hay
Elihu Root
Robert Bacon
Lyman J. Gage
1901–1905
1905–1909
1909
1901–1902
Leslie M. Shaw
George B. Cortelyou
Elihu Root
William Howard Taft
Luke E. Wright
Philander C. Knox
William H. Moody
Charles J. Bonaparte
Charles E. Smith
Henry C. Payne
Robert J. Wynne
George B. Cortelyou
George von L. Meyer
John D. Long
William H. Moody
Paul Morton
Charles J. Bonaparte
Victor H. Metcalf
Truman H. Newberry
Ethan A. Hitchcock
James Rudolph Garfield
James Wilson
George B. Cortelyou
Victor H. Metcalf
Oscar S. Straus
1902–1907
1907–1909
1901–1904
1904–1908
1908–1909
1901–1904
1904–1906
1906–1909
1901–1902
1902–1904
1904–1905
1905–1907
1907–1909
1901–1902
1902–1904
1904–1905
1905–1906
1906–1908
1908–1909
1901–1907
1907–1909
1901–1909
1903–1904
1904–1906
1906–1909
Secretary of the Treasury
Secretary of War
Attorney General
Postmaster General
Secretary of the Navy
Secretary of the Interior
Secretary of Agriculture
Secretary of Commerce and Labor
The Theodore Roosevelt Presidency
Supreme Court Appointments by President Roosevelt
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. - 1902
William Rufus Day - 1903
William Henry Moody - 1906
States Admitted to the Union
Oklahoma - November 16, 1907
Rise of Progressivism
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With the ascension of Roosevelt to the presidency, a new era of
progressivism also emerged.
Progressives wanted to improve the life experienced by the lower
classes.
They also feared the potential revolution found in the socialist and
anarchist writings of the era.
As a consequence, they proposed a series of gradual reforms.
Progressive programs were not universally accepted by everyone. Many
of their programs meant more government control over people’s lives.
Many of the early successes of progressivism were actions taken
against urban political machines.
In cities such as Cleveland, municipal utilities were taken over by the
city to provide more efficient service. For example, some reformer
mayors established shelters for the homeless.
Rise of Progressivism
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It was at the state level that some of the most important political work
of progressivism took place. Governors Robert La Follette from
Wisconsin and Hiram Johnson from California introduced a series of
reform that gave citizens more of a direct role in the political process.
Such reforms included the following:
 The adoption of the 17th Amendment, which allowed the voters to
select their senators directly, in lieu of the state legislatures.
 The adoption of the initiative process.
 The adoption of the referendum process.
 The adoption of the recall process.
 The adoption of the direct primary process.
Roosevelt’s Foreign Policy
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Highlights of Theodore Roosevelt foreign policy included construction of the
Panama Canal, which would link the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.
A French company held the rights to build the canal. However, the U.S.
bought the rights from the French company, and the Columbian Government
protested. They were holding out for more money from the U.S. to build the
canal.
The U.S. and the French help to organized a revolt against the Colombian
government. The U.S. warships sailed off the coast of Panama to help the
rebels.
The U.S. quickly recognized the independence of Panama and they paid them
$10 million to construct the canal.
Another highlight of Roosevelt’s foreign policy was his winning of the Nobel
Peace Prize for his mediation between the Japanese and the Russians after the
Russo-Japanese War of 1904.
Roosevelt would be the first sitting U.S. President to win the Nobel Peace
Prize. Other sitting U.S. Presidents to win this honor include Woodrow
Wilson in 1919 and Barack H. Obama II in 2009. President Jimmy Carter
would also win the award in 2002, after he had left office.
The Square Deal of Theodore Roosevelt
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In 1902, TR helped mediate a strike between the United Mine Workers and
the coal companies. In doing so, he stated that the agreement was a “square
Deal” for both sides. This term began the slogan of the Roosevelt
Administration’s efforts to help the plight of many ordinary Americans.
TR implemented a number of progressive measures that were a part of his
Square Deal agenda. They included the following:
 The Hepburn Act
 The Pure Food & Drug Act
 The Meat Inspection Act
Roosevelt also used the federal government to aggressively investigate and
prosecute illegal trusts and holding companies.
TR had his Justice Department to sue Standard Oil, the American Tobacco
Company, and Northern Securities Company which owned many railroads.
The Square Deal of Theodore Roosevelt
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TR also created the U.S. Forest Service and he was instrumental in passing
the 16th Amendment which authorized the collection of federal income taxes.
However, not everyone benefited from TR’s progressive agenda. Theodore
Roosevelt met twice with Booker T. Washington but other than that, he did
very little to help the conditions of blacks during his presidency.
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) had established the “separate but equal” doctrine
which created a system of segregation. Also a huge race riot occurred in
Springfield, Illinois in 1908. The progressive era was not successful in
improving race relations.
The Election of 1904
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In 1904, both William Jennings Bryan and former President Grover Cleveland
declined to run for president. The Republican Party had re-nominated
Roosevelt, who was riding high from the popularity of his square deal.
The Democrats knew that he was colorful and popular with the people; it was
felt that only a good man could defeat a good man. Many believed the
Democrat best qualified for this task was Alton B. Parker, a Bourbon
Democrat from New York. Parker was the Chief Judge of the New York
Court of Appeals and was respected by both Democrats and Republicans in
his state. On several occasions, the Republicans paid Parker the honor of
running no one against him when he ran for various political positions.
The Election of 1904
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Parker refused to work actively for the nomination but did nothing to restrain
his conservative supporters, among them the sachems of Tammany Hall.
Former President Grover Cleveland also endorsed Parker.
Despite Parker’s endorsements, Roosevelt defeated Parker with 336 electoral
votes (7,630,457 popular votes) to Parker’s 140 electoral votes (5,083,880
popular votes).
Women and Progressivism
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In 1890, the National American Woman Suffrage Association was created by
a merger of two women groups. Its leaders were Susan B. Anthony and
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Alice Paul founded the more radical National Woman’s Party.
Both organizations would be crucial in the final push for woman’s suffrage
after World War I.
Feminists wanted to remove themselves from the restraints that society had
placed on them because they were female. In Muller v. Oregon, a case that went
all the way to the Supreme Court in 1908, it made it constitutional for
employers to set limits on the number of hours women could work, because
no limitations would interfere with the primary role of women which was to
be a wife and mother.
The Roosevelt Corollary
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Theodore Roosevelt most famous quote was to “speak softly and carry a big
stick.” In 1904, he also announced the Roosevelt Corollary to Congress,
which stated that the United States had the right to intervene in any country
in the Western Hemisphere that did things harmful to the U.S. or if the threat
of another country outside the hemisphere was great.
The Roosevelt Corollary strengthened American control over Latin America.
For example, the Dominican Republic government went bankrupted, and
European countries threatened to intervene to collect their money. Under the
Roosevelt Corollary, TR organized the American payment of Dominican debt
to keep the Europeans out.
The Election of 1908
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Honoring the two term tradition established by President
Washington, Roosevelt refused to seek another term.
Instead, he threw his support behind William Howard Taft, who
had served as Roosevelt’s Secretary of War. The Republicans
readily endorsed Roosevelt’s hand picked successor.
The Democrats, for the third and final time, nominated William
Jennings Bryan for President.
The Election of 1908
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The results were as expected. Taft defeated Bryan with 321 electoral votes
(7,678,395 popular votes) to Bryan’s 162 electoral votes (6,408,984 popular
votes).
The William H. Taft Presidency
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President William Howard Taft
Born: September 15, 1857
Died: March 8, 1930
Term in Office: (1909-1913)
Political Party: Republican
The William H. Taft Presidency
OFFICE
NAME
TERM
President
William Howard Taft
1909–1913
James S. Sherman
1909–1912
None
1912–1913
Philander C. Knox
1909–1913
Jacob M. Dickinson
1909–1911
Henry L. Stimson
1911–1913
Secretary of the Treasury
Franklin MacVeagh
1909–1913
Secretary of Commerce & Labor
Charles Nagel
1909–1913
Attorney General
George W. Wickersham
1909–1913
Secretary of the Navy
George von L. Meyer
1909–1913
Richard A. Ballinger
1909–1911
Walter L. Fisher
1911–1913
Vice President
Secretary of State
Secretary of War
Secretary of the Interior
The William H. Taft Presidency
Supreme Court Appointments by President Taft
Horace Harmon Lurton — 1910
Charles Evans Hughes — 1910
Edward Douglass White (Chief Justice) — 1910
Willis Van Devanter — 1911
Joseph Rucker Lamar — 1911
Mahlon Pitney — 1912
States Admitted to the Union
New Mexico – January 6, 1912
Arizona – February 14, 1912
William Howard Taft &
Progressivism
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Many historians regard Taft as the real trustbuster. More antitrust lawsuits
went to court when he was president than during the Roosevelt presidency.
During Taft’s presidency, the Sherman Antitrust Act was used against 95
corporations.
However, Taft lacked TR’s personal magnetism and he often deferred
important decisions to Congress.
Taft was influenced by the conservative wing of the Republican Party, which
opposed additional progressive reforms. As a result of his support of the
Payne-Adrich Tariff Act of 1909, Taft began to anger the Progressive wing of
the Republican Party.
William Howard Taft &
Progressivism
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When Taft allowed Secretary of the Interior Richard A. Ballinger to allow
private business to gain access to several million acres of land in Alaska. The
head of the Park Service, Gifford Pinchot, who was a close friend of
Roosevelt, protested this action and Taft subsequently fired him. The
Ballinger-Pinchot Affair further angered the progressives and they began to
openly campaign against Taft.
TR returned from his extended trip to Africa and he campaigned for several
progressive candidates while Taft campaigned against them. The result of the
1910 mid-term elections was that TR’s progressive candidates dominated the
Senate.
The Election of 1912
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Reform efforts dominated the 1912 election. For the first time since 1860,
there were four major candidates vying for the Presidency.
The relationship between former President Theodore Roosevelt and
President Taft had further deteriorated to the point that Roosevelt challenged
Taft for the Republican nomination.
Taft was successfully re-nominated after his supporters excluded Roosevelt’s
delegates from the party’s convention.
After this move by Taft, the Progressive Republicans formed a new party, the
Bull Moose Party, and they nominated Roosevelt as their candidate.
The Democrats nominated a political newcomer to the national scene,
Woodrow Wilson, the Governor of New Jersey.
The Election of 1912
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The Socialist Party, gaining strength, nominated Eugene V. Debs.
With Taft enjoying little popularity and Debs considered a radical, the
election came down to Roosevelt and Wilson.
Roosevelt called for a New Nationalism, with more government regulation of
business and unions, women suffrage, and more social welfare.
Wilson called for a new freedom, which would limit both big business and big
government, bring about reform by ending corruption and revive competition
by supporting small business.
Taft and Roosevelt split the Republican vote, which allowed Wilson to
emerge victorious with 435 electoral votes (6,296,284 popular votes).
Roosevelt came in second place with 88 electoral votes (4,122,721 popular
votes), followed by the incumbent Taft with 8 electoral votes (3,486,242
popular votes) and Debs with 0 electoral votes (901,551 popular votes).
The Election of 1912
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Taft and Roosevelt split the Republican vote, which allowed Wilson to
emerge victorious with 435 electoral votes (6,296,284 popular votes).
Roosevelt came in second place with 88 electoral votes (4,122,721 popular
votes), followed by the incumbent Taft with 8 electoral votes (3,486,242
popular votes) and Debs with 0 electoral votes (901,551 popular votes).
The Woodrow Wilson Presidency
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President Woodrow Wilson
Born: December 28, 1858
Died: February 3, 1924
Term in Office: (1913-1921)
Political Party: Democrat
The Woodrow Wilson Presidency
Office
The Wilson Cabinet
Name
Term
President
Vice President
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas R. Marshall
1913–1921
1913–1921
Secretary of State
William J. Bryan
Robert Lansing
Bainbridge Colby
1913–1915
1915–1920
1920–1921
Secretary of Treasury
William G. McAdoo
Carter Glass
David F. Houston
1913–1918
1918–1920
1920–1921
Secretary of War
Lindley M. Garrison
Newton D. Baker
1913–1916
1916–1921
Attorney General
James C. McReynolds
Thomas W. Gregory
A. Mitchell Palmer
1913–1914
1914–1919
1919–1921
Postmaster General
Albert S. Burleson
1913–1921
Secretary of the Navy
Josephus Daniels
1913–1921
Secretary of the Interior
Franklin K. Lane
John B. Payne
1913–1920
1920–1921
Secretary of Agriculture
David F. Houston
Edwin T. Meredith
1913–1920
1920–1921
Secretary of Commerce
William C. Redfield
Joshua W. Alexander
1913–1919
1919–1921
Secretary of Labor
William B. Wilson
1913–1921
The Woodrow Wilson Presidency
Supreme Court Appointments by President Wilson
James Clark McReynolds – 1914
Louis Dembitz Brandeis – 1916
John Hessin Clarke – 1916
States Admitted to the Union
None
Woodrow Wilson & Progressivism
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Much legislation was enacted under Woodrow Wilson that pleased
reformers. Examples of the reforms included the following:
 The Underwood Tariff Act of 1913 – cut tariffs on imported
goods.
 The Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914 was a continuation of the
Sherman Antitrust Act
 Establishment of the Federal Trade Commission.
 The creation of the Federal Reserve System.
Despite Wilson’s Progressive endeavors, a question mark was left over
the whole progressive era. It is true that the progressive movement had
done much to improve the condition of American cities, the plight of
factory workers, the support of urban immigrants, but what about the
others who were outside these categories, like migrant farmers and
African Americans?
Woodrow Wilson & Progressivism
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The anti-black message of D.W. Griffith’s 1915 film, Birth of a Nation
was applauded by many. President Wilson stated that the film
presented a “truthful” depiction of the Reconstruction era. In 1909,
the National Association for the Advancement of Color People
(NAACP) to further fight for black equality and to fill the void the
progressive movement left.
The outbreak of World War I in Europe turned the interests of many
Americans away from political reform. Only reformers concerned with
women’s suffrage relentlessly pursued their cause during the war years.
THE END OF LECTURE #16