China during the Age of Imperialism

In the late 1800s, foreign governments began

to take control of certain regions of China
These areas of control were called spheres of
influence, meaning another country had
indirect control over them
The United States, hoping to trade with China
despite these spheres of influence, proposed
the Open Door Policy, which would guarantee
equal trading rights for all nations with China
Boxer Rebellion followed shortly thereafter-
uprising by Chinese group against foreign
influence in China,
America helps put down rebellionOpen
Door Policy goes into effect
Roosevelts Aggression
President Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt,
a war hero from the Spanish American
War, was a very aggressive president,
particularly when it came to a canal
across Central America
Roosevelt wanted to build a canal so
that American ships in the Pacific could
get to the Caribbean (and the Atlantic)
quicker
The U.S. helped Panama, which was a
part of the country of Colombia, gain
independence, and then quickly
negotiated to build a canal there
(Panama Canal was thus completed in
1914)
 Roosevelts Policies
Big Stick Policy- Speak softly and
carry a big stickRoosevelts idea
that the U.S. could use their
military to accomplish an
aggressive foreign policy

Roosevelt Corollary- an extension

of the Monroe Doctrine that said
the U.S. could intervene in any
dispute that threatened the
republics of the Western
HemisphereAmerica became the
policeman of Latin America
Progressive Era
Progressive Era- a time of
political and social reform
from around 1890 to World
War 1

Many of the problems of the

Gilded Age were addressed
during this time period

The corruption of big

business begins to be more
exposed and social reforms
took place (ex: alcohol
outlawed)
Temperance and Suffrage Movements
Womens Christian Temperance Union-
womens movement aimed at curbing the
abuses of alcohol; eventually was able to
get alcohol outlawed

Prohibition- a law that prohibits the

manufacture, sale, or transportation of
alcoholic beverages

18th amendment accomplishes prohibition

in 1919

21st amendment overturns the 18th

amendment in 1933, legalizes alcohol again

Women were also activity fighting for the

right to vote during this time, which is
realized with the ratification of the 19th
amendment in 1920
Roosevelt the Trust Buster
Trust busting- the act of breaking
up bad trusts by suing them in
court

Roosevelt realized that the

corruption in trusts was a really
important issue (trusts/monopolies
were also bad for competition and
drove up prices)

Roosevelt was nicknamed trust

buster and gained the respect of
progressive reformers
 Muckrakers
During the Progressive Era, writers began to
expose the corruption in society these writers
were called muckrakers (they raked up muck)

Three of the most famous muckrakers were

Upton Sinclair, Lincoln Steffens, and Ida Tarbell

Sinclair wrote The Jungle, which exposed the

filthy conditions of the meat packing industry

Tarbell wrote The History of the Standard Oil

Company, which exposed the corrupt practices
of Rockefellers company

Sinclairs work exposing the meat packing

industry helped lead to the passage of the Meat
Inspection Act in 1906, which required the
government to inspect animals before they
were slaughtered and after the meat was
processed
Jacob Riis- How the Other Half Lives
Jacob Riis, a Danish immigrant and
New York reporter and photographer,
shocked many middle-class Americans
with his descriptions and photos of
poverty in the New York slums
Many immigrant and impoverished
families lived in tenements, the term
given to the overcrowded housing for
workers and the poor, also referred to
as the slums
His 1890 book How the Other Half
Lives exposed this poverty to the
masses, and not only did it sell well,
but it inspired Roosevelt to close the
worst of the lodging houses and
spurred city officials to reform and
enforce the citys housing policies
Conservation Under Roosevelt
Conservation- careful use of
natural resources
Roosevelt loved the outdoors,
he agreed with those who said
that Americas natural resources
were not unlimited and that
something should be done to
protect them
Under his leadership, millions of
acres were set aside as national
forests and national parks
Roosevelt appointed Gifford
Pinchot to head the U.S.
Forestry Service
 Pinchot vs Muir
Conservation vs preservation
Pinchot favored conservation-
responsibly managing natural resources,
parks should benefit the people
John Muir was a preservationist- he
believed that the wilderness should be
maintained in their natural state
One example of their conflicting views- a
dam was proposed to be built in
Yosemite Valley to supply San Francisco
with electrical power and waterMuir
opposed the dam, whereas Pinchot
thought the needs of the people of SF
outweighed the desire to preserve
naturein the end, the dam was built