A number of films and filmstrips cast light on domestic affairs in the late nineteenth century and on the beginnings of America's rise as a world power. Grover Cleveland, a fifty-minute film, lauds President Cleveland's resistance to higher army pensions and celebrates the success of his first administration. William McKinley and American Imperialism, a twenty-five-minute film, emphasizes McKinley's personal anguish and the difficulties involved in the decisions to go to war with Spain and to embark on a course of imperialism. U.S. Expansion Overseas (1893-1917) is a fourteen-minute film that recounts in rather simple and direct fashion the story of Hawaii, Cuba, the Philippine Islands, and Central America. Sources for these films may be found in the Educational Film and Video Locator. From PBS Video comes the story of Liluokalani in Hawaii's Last Queen (sixty minutes). Films for the Humanities and Sciences has The Spanish-American War of 1898 in two parts, each fifty-five minutes, and Zenger Media (P.O. Box 802, Culver City, Calif. 90232) offers The Splendid Little War (fifty-five minutes).

Several films deal with Panama and the Panama Canal. One that uses contemporary film footage, photographs, and a historical approach to the canal and its construction is The Panama Canal, a thirty-two-minute film made in 1980. It may be found in the Educational Film & Video Locator. For 164 historic photos, see Ulrich Keller, editor, The Building of the Panama Canal in Historic Photographs (1984). And PBS has an impressive fifty-eight-minute documentary, A Man, a Place, a Canal: Panama. PBS also has a grand survey of America 1900 (two hours, fifty minutes), a look at such disparate matters as conservationist John Muir, ragtime, and the Galveston hurricane.

Several filmstrips may be of interest. The Sinking of the Maine--which features news photos, headlines, and period artwork--examines "yellow journalism" as a factor in causing the war. The Philippine-American War uses period photographs and political cartoons to exhibit Filipino resistance to American conquest. The Spanish-American War uses archival photographs to explore the causes, costs, and results of the war. All of the filmstrips may be obtained from Social Studies School Service.
Document Set 2021-1

Civil Service Reform: A Curse or A Blessing?

1. Roscoe Conkling Defends the Spoils System, 1877
2. George Washington Plunkitt Scorns Reform, 1905
3. A Senator's Wife Recalls the Office Seekers, ca. 1870s
4. President Chester A. Arthur Endorses the Pendleton Act, 1882
5. The Pendleton Civil Service Act, 1883
6. George W. Curtis Cites the Reform Record, 1891Historians have often noted that politics after Reconstruction tended to ignore substantive issues in favor of bitter struggles over such arcane matters as the tariff and money questions. This analysis is at best a half-truth that requires deeper exploration by instructors and students who seek a full understanding of nineteenth-century American political culture. This chapter is intended as an introduction to Gilded Age politics, with emphasis on the significance of ethnocultural factors in the political behavior of voters in an increasingly urban environment.Instructors may take advantage of the very colorful remarks from George Washington Plunkitt, Roscoe Conkling, and Julia B. Foraker to capture student interest. Discussion of these statements may be used to focus student attention on the nature of the political machine, including its important social function. This awareness should flow naturally from student inquiry into the reasons for the longevity of machine politics.As students explore the basis for the machine's support, the question of cultural politics should arise. Instructors might introduce some of Richard Jensen's and Paul Kleppner's findings to stimulate further inquiry into the sources of public interest in politics (see "Recommended Readings"). One approach to this topic would be to have one group of students research the backgrounds of civil-service reformers while another research team explores the social origins of Plunkitt, Conkling, and their supporters. The result should be an informed discussion of elite-group social aims and the contrasting goals of their opponents.Another approach would employ the graphic arts of the nineteenth century as a reflection of middle-class values and concerns. Instructors might screen several political illustrations from Gilded Age magazines and journals, asking students to compare their social content with the words of Curtis (see Document Set 1920-3). Students may thus gain an appreciation of the charged social context in which the civic-reform movement grew; moreover, the exercise will contribute to the development of the critical skills by sharpening visual literacy.The documents in this set offer an opportunity to establish linkage with modern politics. Such inquiry should clarify the origins and purposes of primary elections, voter-registration systems, at-large elections, and other institutional attacks on mass voter participation.Finally, students might deal with the concrete differences between spoilsmen and reformers by debating the civil-service issue. In analyzing the arguments, students should probe the interests and concealed agendas of the contending forces.These documents remind students that politics grows out of a social milieu. By linking the civil-service issue with the broader question of the nature and end of politics, this chapter will contribute to students' knowledge of their own political world.

Recommended Readings for Document Set 201-1


John Allswang. Bosses, Machines, and Urban Voters (1977).

John H. Dobson. Politics in the Gilded Age (1972).

Steven Erie. Rainbow's End: Irish Americans and the Dilemmas of Urban Machine Politics, 1840-1985 (1988).

Ari A. Hoogenboom. Outlawing the Spoils: The Civil Service Movement (1961).

Paul Kleppner. The Cross of Culture: A Social Analysis of Midwestern Politics, 1850-1900 (1970).

Michael E. McGerr. The Decline of Popular Politics: The American North, 1865-1928 (1986).

Seymour Mandlebaum. Boss Tweed's New York (1965).

H. Wayne Morgan. From Hayes to McKinley: National Party Politics, 1877-1896 (1969).

John G. Sproat. The Best Man: Liberal Reformers in the Gilded Age (1968).

Bruce Stave et al. "A Reassessment of the Urban Political Boss: An Exchange of Views." The History Teacher 21 (1988): 293-312.
Audiovisual Resources for Document Set 201-1


The Distorted Image (slide collection). B'nai B'rith Anti-Defamation League, 315 Lexington Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10016.

Grover Cleveland (film--50 min.). Profiles in Courage Series. Social Studies School Services, 10000 Culver Boulevard, Culver City, Calif. 90230.

Scandalous Mayor (videotape--60 min.). From The American Experience Series. PBS Video, 1320 Braddock Place, Alexandria, Va. 22314-1698.

Tiger's Tail: Thomas Nast vs. Boss Tweed (film--20 min.). Indiana University Audiovisual Center, Bloomington, Ind. 47405-5901.
Document Set 201-2

Expansionism and Its Consequences: Developing A Strategy for Empire

1. 1. Alfred Thayer Mahan Defines Security in Terms of Sea Power, 1897
2. 2. Albert J. Beveridge Endorses Imperialism, 1898
3. 3. Charles Denby's Argument for the Retention of the Philippines, 1898
4. 4. Senator John McLaurin Demands an Open Door in China, 1899
5. The American Asiatic Association Organizes Businessmen in Support of an Aggressive China Policy, 1899, 1905
6. Secretary of State John Hay Presents a Coherent Strategy for Empire, 1899
7. 7. Bryan's Solution to the Philippine Problem, 1900The text material and the supporting documents address issues directly relevant to problems confronted by the United States in the formulation and conduct of modern foreign policy. In the wake of the Vietnam experience, scholars and citizens have reexamined American policies with greater sensitivity to the limits of power; this chapter may shed further light on the problem by exploring the origins and implications of world power.Instructors might introduce the documents by sketching the dramatic changes in foreign-policy outlook that took place in the 1890s, providing both an interpretive slant on the rise to world power and a context for analysis of the evidence. The documents offer an excellent opportunity to assess the role of economics in the rise of imperialism, while considering other causes as well. Since students often opt for uncritical acceptance of an economic argument, however, skillful guidance will be necessary if they are to develop a sophisticated interpretation of expansionism and empire.Because China and the Open Door policy were central to the new strategy of empire, they form the centerpiece of this analytical exercise. Emphasis on the Far East also forces students to confront Tthe Philippine problem as is athe key issue in the debate over empire. With adequate introductions these documents can provide background for a classroom debate focused on annexation and government policy toward the Philippines. Students could be asked to argue the case for or against imperialism from the standpoint of the participants. Furthermore, the opportunity exists to draw cautious comparisons between American colonial policy during the insurrection and the Vietnam conflict. In approaching this topic, instructors may help students see the potential as well as the limitations of historical analogy. Finally, the Philippine question should enable instructors to link foreign and domestic policy. By encouraging students to consider southern racial proscription in relation to the subjugation of the Filipinos, instructors can focus discussion on the tie between racism and imperialism.The organizing principle for this chapter is the development of a long-term strategy for empire. Instructors may wish to discuss the crisis mentality of the 1890s and Open Door expansionism as a new imperial strategy for a new century. This discussion, which should flow from examination of the documents on China policy, can establish linkage between formal imperialism and the more sophisticated neo-imperialism of the twentieth century. Moreover, careful examination of Bryan's anti-imperialist statement should reveal the breadth of the national consensus in support of benevolent economic expansion.

Recommended Readings for Document Set 201-2


Cesar J. Ayala, American Sugar Kingdom: The Plantation Economy of the Spanish Caribbean, 1898-1934 (1999).

H. W. Brands. Bound to Empire: The United States and the Philippines (1992).

Charles S. Campbell. Special Business Interests and the Open Door Policy (1951).

David F. Healy. U.S. Expansionism: The Imperialist Urge in the 1890s (1970).

Matthew F. Jacobson, Barbarian Virtues: The United States Encounters Foreign Peoples at Home and Abroad, 1877-1900 (2000).

Walter LaFeber, The New Empire: An Interpretation of American Expansion (1963). See also LaFeber, "That Splendid Little Michael Hunt. The Making of a Special Relationship: The United States and China, to 1914 (1983).

Walter LaFeber. The New Empire: An Interpretation of American Expansion (1963). See also La Feber, "That Splendid Little War in Historical Perspective." Texas Quarterly 2 (1968): 89-98.

David M. Pletcher, The Diplomacy of Trade and Investment: American Economic Expansion in the Hemisphere, 1865-1900 (1998).

Thomas J. McCormick. China Market (1967).

Mark Russell Shulman. Navalism and the Emergence of American Sea Power, 1882-1893 (1995).

Paul A. Varg. The Making of a Myth: The United States and China, 1897-1912 (1968). For a shortcut see Varg, "The Myth of the China Market, 1890-1914." American Historical Review 73 (Feb. 1968): 742-758.

Richard E. Welch, Jr. Response to Imperialism: The United States and the Philippine-American War, 1899-1902 (1978).

Marilyn Blatt Young. The Rhetoric of Empire: American China Policy, 1895-1901 (1968).
Audiovisual Resources for Document Set 201-2


The Boxer Rebellion (film--21 min.). Learning Corporation of America, 711 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10022.

A Cartoon History of the Spanish-American War (16 reproductions). Documentary Photo Aids, P.O. Box 956, Mt. Dora, Fla. 32757.

Hawaii's Last Queen (videotape--60 min.). PBS Video, 1320 Braddock Place, Alexandria, Va. 22314-1698.

The Lure of Empire: America Debates Imperialism (film--27 min.). Learning Corporation of America, 711 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10022.

Savage Acts: Wars, Fairs, and Empire (videotape--30 min.). American Social History Project, 99 Hudson Street, New York, N.Y. 10013.
Document Set 201-3

The Farmers Alliance and The People's Party: Populism as A Product of A Movement Culture

1. The Farmers Alliance Proposes a Cooperative Commonwealth, 1889
2. Political and Economic Cooperation as the Solution to the Race Problem, 1891
3. Bettie Gay Views the Alliance as an Opportunity for Women, 1891
4. The Alliance's Vision of Community, 1891
5. Tom Watson Indicts Corporate Plunder, 1892
6. The Omaha Platform, 1892The long-standing debate over the interpretation of Populism has been heightened by the work of Lawrence Goodwyn, which stresses the development of a movement culture among southern and western farmers. The documents in this set encourage students to think about the assumptions, objectives, and beliefs of the agrarian rebels who raised a challenge to the two-party system and to the emerging corporate America of the 1890s. By examining the evidence, students can assess the social and economic implications of the farm rebellion, with emphasis on its commitment to the creation of a democratic community among producers in the formative period between 1889 and 1892. This exercise blends well with the substantial textbook discussion of agrarian unrest.The documents present an excellent opportunity for instructors to help students sharpen their critical skills by focusing attention on the importance of language and precision in the use and interpretation of words. A key theme in the agrarian rebellion was the effective use of the language of labor to appeal for support among urban and rural producers. The documents contain ample illustration of the purposeful use of movement rhetoric. One approach to class discussion would involve the assignment of various words to individual students, who might be asked to research their derivations, archaic uses, and modern definitions. When students return to class to share their findings, the result can be a lively discussion of the terms (for example, producer, corporation, cooperation, cooperative, radical, commonwealth, revolution, alliance, populist, progress, opportunity, reform, individualism, socialistic, feudal, liberties, systems, class, society, corruption, pauperized, injustice, union, republic, monopoly). This exercise will sensitize students to the nuance, multiple meanings, messages, and signals that language and usage often contain.Once students become familiar with "movement language" and its meaning for the people of the 1890s, they will be ready for a challenging exploration of the agrarian rebels' goals and intentions, including their interpretation of the cooperative commonwealth as a workable structure for social organization. A good point of departure for this inquiry would be discussion of the term cooperation and its prominence in the rhetoric of the farm rebellion. Instructors may want to introduce the topic with some background material on the concept of the cooperative commonwealth so that students will have a reasonable context within which to interpret the documents. An examination of the component groups that constituted the Alliance/Populist coalition would further inform this discussion.An alternative method for investigating the significance of the agrarian rebellion would be to focus on the practicality of the Alliance/Populist agenda and the entire orientation of the farm protest movement. Beginning with an analysis of the roots of rural discontent (for which the textbook will prepare them), students might be asked to assess the usefulness of the Populist program as a response to the problems confronting rural producers in a rapidly industrializing society. Student debate teams could be asked to defend or attack the proposition that the Omaha Platform provided farmers with a reasonable, workable program for survival in an industrial age. This discussion would encourage students to decide whether Populism looked to the past or the future.Another possible outcome of this exploration would be an attempt to trace the twentieth century evolution of the term populism. Such discussion would offer an excellent opportunity to establish past-present linkage through investigation of similarities and differences between the "authentic" Populists of the late nineteenth century and their latter-day descendants. Students might be asked to consider the extent to which the issues and outcomes of the 1896 election still have a bearing on modern political discourse.Another approach to an evaluation of late-nineteenth-century agrarian protest might involve discussion of the definition of success. The Omaha Platform could be the basis for an inquiry into the long-term implications of Populism. Students could be asked to assess the ideas in the platform and relate them to the political ideas of the next generation. In the process, they should come to realize that what seemed radical in 1896 became orthodox by 1920. As they consider the exceptions to this generalization, moreover, students could also be asked to explain why particular Populist ideas never gained acceptance.Finally, this unit permits instructors to introduce the topics of racial and gender relations in late-nineteenth-century America. Several documents address the race question, thus calling attention to the unrealized potential for racial accommodation inherent in the Populist class analysis. Similarly, the evidence reveals an element of progressive thought with regard to women's place within the Alliance and the culture at large. Instructors may use these materials to prompt discussion of context and the importance of understanding historical personalities as products of their times. Despite the farm rebellion's limited successes, the inclusiveness of movement rhetoric produced a significant commitment to racial and gender equity that students will be sure to notice. Instructors might help students see that the Populists' short-term failure did not detract from the significance of their efforts.

Recommended Readings for Document Set 201-3


O. Gene Clanton. Kansas Populism: Men and Ideas (1991).

Lawrence C. Goodwyn. Democratic Promise: The Populist Movement in America (1976).

Stephen Hahn. The Roots of Southern Populism: Yeoman Farmers and the Transformation of the Southern Upcountry, 1850-1890 (1983).

Julie Roy Jeffrey. "Women in the Southern Farmers' Alliance: A Reconsideration of the Roles and Status of Women in the Late 19th Century South," Feminist Studies 3 (1975): 72-91.

Michael Kazin. The Populist Persuasion: An American History (1995).

Robert McMath. American Populism: A Social History, 1877-1898 (1993).

Scott G. McNall. The Road to Rebellion: Class Formation and Kansas Populism (1988).

Bruce Palmer. "Men Over Money": The Southern Populist Critique of American Capitalism (1980).

Norman Pollack. The Human Economy: Populism, Capitalism, and Democracy (1990).

James Turner. "Understanding the Populists," Journal of American History 67 (September 1980): 354-373.
Audiovisual Resources for Document Set 2201-3


"Cross of Gold" speech, Great American Speeches (record). Caedmon Publishers, 110 Tremont Street, Boston, Mass. 02107.

Plowing Up a Storm (videotape--90 min.). Nebraska ETV Network, P.O. Box 83111, Lincoln, Neb. 68501.

A Rebellion of the People (audiocassette--30 min.). Audiotape Program 4, Annenberg/CPB Project American History Series. Annenberg/CPB Project, 1111 16th Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20036.

A Third Choice (videotape--57 min.). Films for the Humanities and Sciences, P.O. Box 2053, Princeton, N.J. 08543-2053.

Torchlight (videotape--22 min.). From America the Beautiful Series, VEP, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, Calif. 93407.