THE GREAT EXPERIMENT: THE RISE OF INDUSTRIAL AMERICA

PART V OF V — A NEW AMERICAN CENTURY APPROACHES

Recovery, Reform, Expansion, and the Changing United States

1897–1900

Politics 1776

A Nation Standing at the Edge of a New Century

In 1897, the United States was approaching another turning point.

The country had endured the Civil War.

It had struggled through Reconstruction.

It had experienced the rapid expansion of railroads, factories, cities, and industrial corporations.

It had witnessed extraordinary technological innovation.

And it had confronted serious economic instability.

The Panic of 1893 had left businesses bankrupt, workers unemployed, and families uncertain about their futures.

But the American economy was beginning to recover.

Factories gradually increased production.

Railroads continued connecting distant markets.

Steel mills supplied materials for construction and manufacturing.

Electricity was beginning to change selected cities and workplaces.

The telephone was becoming an increasingly useful tool for commerce.

And the nation's population continued growing.

The United States was no longer simply an agricultural republic with expanding industrial centers.

It was becoming one of the world's major industrial powers.

But economic growth was only part of the story.

The country was also entering a period of important political and international change.

Americans were debating the responsibilities of large corporations.

Workers continued organizing for better conditions.

Farmers sought greater influence over economic policy.

Immigration was changing communities.

The federal government was assuming new responsibilities.

And events beyond the country's borders were beginning to influence its future.

The nation was approaching the twentieth century with enormous possibilities.

But it also faced questions that would test the principles of its constitutional system.

What should a powerful industrial republic become?

1897 — A NEW PRESIDENT AND A RECOVERING ECONOMY

William McKinley Takes Office

On March 4, 1897, William McKinley became the twenty-fifth president of the United States.

McKinley had served in the Union Army during the Civil War.

He later represented Ohio in Congress and served as governor of the state.

His election in 1896 had been shaped by economic hardship and intense debate over the nation's monetary system.

McKinley supported maintaining the gold standard.

He also favored protective tariffs intended to support domestic manufacturing.

His Democratic opponent, William Jennings Bryan, had advocated the free coinage of silver as a means of expanding the money supply.

The election reflected different understandings of how the country could restore prosperity.

By the time McKinley entered office, the economy was beginning to improve.

Recovery did not happen everywhere at the same pace.

Some businesses remained financially troubled.

Many workers continued struggling to find stable employment.

Farmers still faced uncertain prices and debt.

Nevertheless, industrial production began strengthening.

Investment increased.

The country gradually emerged from the depression that had followed the Panic of 1893.

The recovery would help shape the final years of the nineteenth century.

The Dingley Tariff

One of McKinley's early priorities was tariff legislation.

Tariffs had been debated since the founding of the United States.

Alexander Hamilton had supported policies intended to encourage American manufacturing.

Other early political leaders had questioned whether protective tariffs could favor certain economic interests at the expense of others.

Those disagreements continued throughout the nineteenth century.

By the 1890s, tariffs had become a major issue in national politics.

Supporters argued that duties on imported goods could help American manufacturers compete with foreign producers.

They believed protecting domestic industry could support employment and investment.

Critics argued that tariffs could raise prices for consumers and protect businesses from competition.

In July 1897, Congress passed the Dingley Tariff Act.

The law increased duties on many imported products.

It became an important part of McKinley's economic program.

But it did not end the tariff debate.

The question of how to balance domestic industry, consumer prices, government revenue, and international trade would remain central to American politics.

INDUSTRIAL AMERICA CONTINUES TO EXPAND

Steel, Oil, and the Growth of Manufacturing

The economic recovery encouraged further industrial expansion.

Steel production continued increasing.

Oil refining remained an important industry.

Railroads carried raw materials and finished products across the country.

Factories produced machinery, clothing, household goods, and other products for domestic and international markets.

Large corporations increasingly coordinated production, transportation, and distribution.

Industrial leaders sought greater efficiency.

Some companies invested in improved equipment.

Others acquired competitors or reorganized their operations.

Financial institutions provided capital for major projects.

The scale of American business continued growing.

But industrial expansion also created questions about competition.

Could smaller businesses survive against companies with extensive resources?

Could large corporations use their influence to restrict market access?

Should government intervene when businesses became dominant in particular industries?

The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 had established a federal legal framework for addressing certain anticompetitive practices.

But the meaning and enforcement of the law remained contested.

The country had begun regulating aspects of industrial commerce.

It had not yet settled how far that regulation should extend.

THE SUPREME COURT AND THE LIMITS OF ANTITRUST LAW

United States v. E. C. Knight Company

In 1895, shortly before the period covered by this chapter, the Supreme Court had decided an important antitrust case.

The federal government challenged a combination that gave the American Sugar Refining Company control over a very large share of the nation's sugar-refining capacity.

The government argued that the arrangement violated the Sherman Antitrust Act.

In United States v. E. C. Knight Company, the Supreme Court ruled against the government's effort to apply the law to the acquisition.

The Court distinguished manufacturing from interstate commerce for purposes of the federal power asserted in the case.

The decision limited the federal government's ability to use the Sherman Act against certain manufacturing combinations under the legal interpretation of that time.

It did not mean that all large corporations were immune from antitrust law.

But it demonstrated the difficulties of applying federal legislation to complex industrial enterprises.

As the nineteenth century ended, the boundaries of federal economic authority remained a major legal question.

Later courts and lawmakers would revisit these issues.

A NEW TECHNOLOGY BEGINS TO CHANGE TRANSPORTATION

The Automobile Appears

For most Americans in 1900, transportation still depended heavily on railroads, horses, wagons, streetcars, and walking.

But inventors were experimenting with self-propelled road vehicles.

European engineers had developed practical gasoline-powered automobiles during the 1880s.

American inventors and manufacturers began developing their own designs.

In 1893, brothers Charles and Frank Duryea tested an early gasoline-powered automobile in Massachusetts.

During the following years, several American companies experimented with automobile production.

Ransom E. Olds became an important figure in the emerging industry.

In 1897, he organized the Olds Motor Vehicle Company.

The automobile remained a novelty for most people.

Vehicles were expensive.

Road conditions varied considerably.

Fuel and repair services were limited.

But the technology pointed toward a future in which transportation would become less dependent on rail schedules and horse-drawn vehicles.

That future had not yet arrived.

The automobile industry was only beginning.

ELECTRICITY AND THE MODERN CITY

A New Source of Power

Electricity continued expanding during the final years of the nineteenth century.

Earlier inventors and engineers had developed generators, motors, lighting systems, and methods of distributing electrical power.

Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse, Nikola Tesla, and many other contributors played important roles in these developments.

Alternating-current systems became increasingly significant for transmitting electricity over greater distances.

Electric lighting appeared in more commercial buildings and urban districts.

Electric streetcars expanded in many cities.

Factories began adopting electric motors for selected applications.

But access remained uneven.

Many households still depended on oil lamps, gas lighting, or other traditional sources.

Rural electrification remained far in the future.

The technology was transforming parts of American life without yet reaching everyone.

Electricity offered possibilities that would become central to the twentieth century.

Factories could reorganize production around electrical machinery.

Cities could expand transportation systems.

Businesses could operate with new forms of lighting and power.

The industrial age was creating the foundations of modern infrastructure.

IMMIGRATION AND THE GROWING AMERICAN POPULATION

A Country Attracting New Arrivals

The United States continued receiving immigrants during the late nineteenth century.

People arrived from many regions of Europe and other parts of the world.

Some sought employment in industrial cities.

Others hoped to establish farms or businesses.

Many joined relatives who had arrived earlier.

Immigrants contributed to construction, manufacturing, mining, transportation, agriculture, and commerce.

They also helped shape American culture.

Communities developed newspapers, religious institutions, schools, businesses, and mutual-aid organizations.

New languages and traditions became part of everyday life in American cities.

But immigration remained controversial.

Economic competition, religious prejudice, racial discrimination, and debates over national identity influenced public attitudes.

Federal restrictions on Chinese immigration continued.

The country benefited from immigrant labor while limiting opportunities for particular groups.

The contrast between opportunity and exclusion remained an important part of American history.

THE CITIES OF INDUSTRIAL AMERICA

Growth Creates New Challenges

By the end of the nineteenth century, cities had become increasingly important centers of American economic life.

New York was a major commercial and financial center.

Chicago had grown into a transportation and manufacturing hub.

Pittsburgh was closely associated with steel production.

Philadelphia remained an important industrial city.

Cleveland, Detroit, and other urban centers continued developing.

Factories attracted workers.

Businesses attracted investment.

Railroads connected cities to national markets.

But rapid growth placed pressure on housing and public services.

Many working families lived in crowded neighborhoods.

Sanitation systems were often inadequate.

Industrial pollution affected air and water.

Workplace accidents remained serious concerns.

Local governments struggled to provide infrastructure for expanding populations.

These conditions encouraged reform efforts.

Some focused on public health.

Others emphasized housing, education, workplace conditions, or municipal government.

The country was beginning to develop movements that would become central to the Progressive Era.

JANE ADDAMS AND THE SETTLEMENT HOUSE MOVEMENT

Hull House in Chicago

In 1889, Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr established Hull House in Chicago.

The settlement house was located in a neighborhood with a substantial immigrant and working-class population.

Hull House provided educational, cultural, and community programs.

Its activities expanded over time.

Residents and volunteers worked with neighborhood families.

They studied social conditions and advocated reforms.

The settlement house movement reflected a growing belief that communities could organize practical responses to urban challenges.

It also demonstrated the increasing public role of women in education, social reform, and civic life.

Women did not yet possess the right to vote in most federal and state elections.

But they were participating in organizations that influenced public policy and community development.

Settlement houses became important centers of Progressive Era reform.

Their work showed how industrial cities were creating new forms of civic participation.

WOMEN AND THE MOVEMENT FOR POLITICAL RIGHTS

The Continuing Struggle for Suffrage

The movement for women's voting rights had developed over decades.

The Seneca Falls Convention of 1848 had helped bring national attention to the issue.

After the Civil War, disagreements over constitutional amendments and political strategy contributed to divisions within the suffrage movement.

In 1890, two major organizations merged to form the National American Woman Suffrage Association.

Leaders and activists pursued changes through state campaigns, public education, petitions, and national advocacy.

Some western states had already extended voting rights to women.

Wyoming entered the Union in 1890 with women's suffrage protected under its state constitution.

Colorado adopted women's suffrage in 1893.

Utah and Idaho followed in 1896.

But women remained excluded from voting in most states.

The movement reflected an ongoing debate over citizenship, representation, and political equality.

The Constitution had created mechanisms for amendment.

Suffrage advocates sought to use those mechanisms and state political processes to expand voting rights.

Their efforts would continue into the twentieth century.

1898 — THE UNITED STATES GOES TO WAR WITH SPAIN

Trouble in Cuba

As the United States approached the twentieth century, events beyond its borders became increasingly important.

Cuba remained under Spanish colonial rule.

Cuban independence movements had challenged Spanish authority for decades.

In 1895, a new struggle for independence began.

The conflict produced widespread suffering.

Spanish military authorities adopted harsh measures, including policies that forced rural civilians into designated areas.

Disease, hunger, and poor conditions caused many deaths.

American newspapers reported extensively on the conflict.

Some publications used sensational language and images.

Public sympathy for Cuban independence grew in the United States.

American businesses also had economic interests in Cuba.

The McKinley administration initially sought a diplomatic resolution.

But tensions increased.

THE USS MAINE

An Explosion in Havana Harbor

In January 1898, the United States sent the battleship USS Maine to Havana.

The ship's presence was intended in part to protect American interests amid instability in Cuba.

On February 15, 1898, an explosion destroyed the vessel.

More than 260 American sailors and Marines died.

The disaster shocked the country.

Its cause became a subject of investigation and controversy.

Many Americans suspected Spanish responsibility.

Some newspapers intensified demands for action.

But the available evidence did not establish that Spain had deliberately attacked the ship.

Later investigations and historical assessments have offered differing explanations for the explosion.

The exact cause remains disputed.

The destruction of the Maine contributed to rising tensions.

But the war that followed also grew from the larger conflict over Cuba and disagreements about American intervention.

THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR

Congress Authorizes Intervention

In April 1898, President McKinley asked Congress for authority to intervene in Cuba.

Congress adopted a joint resolution supporting Cuban independence and authorizing the use of force.

The resolution included the Teller Amendment.

The amendment declared that the United States did not intend to exercise sovereignty over Cuba and would leave control of the island to its people after pacification.

Spain and the United States entered into war.

The conflict lasted only a few months.

American naval and military forces fought Spanish forces in the Caribbean and the Pacific.

The war became a major turning point in American foreign policy.

The Battle of Manila Bay

On May 1, 1898, Commodore George Dewey led an American naval squadron against Spanish forces in Manila Bay in the Philippines.

The American fleet destroyed or disabled the Spanish squadron.

The victory attracted national attention.

It demonstrated the growing capabilities of the United States Navy.

But it also brought the United States into a complex political situation in the Philippines.

Filipino revolutionaries had been fighting for independence from Spanish colonial rule.

Their aspirations would soon come into conflict with American decisions about the islands' future.

The war against Spain was creating questions that extended far beyond the original dispute over Cuba.

Fighting in Cuba

American forces also fought in Cuba.

One of the best-known engagements occurred near Santiago in July 1898.

American troops attacked Spanish positions at San Juan Heights.

The fighting involved regular Army units, including Black soldiers serving in segregated regiments, as well as volunteer forces.

The First United States Volunteer Cavalry, popularly known as the Rough Riders, became especially famous.

The unit was associated with Theodore Roosevelt, who had resigned from his position as assistant secretary of the Navy to participate in the war.

The American victory contributed to the collapse of Spanish resistance around Santiago.

Naval operations also played a decisive role.

On July 3, the Spanish fleet attempting to escape Santiago Harbor was destroyed by American naval forces.

Spain's military position deteriorated rapidly.

An armistice followed in August.

The war formally ended through a peace treaty signed later that year.

THE TREATY OF PARIS — 1898

A New International Position

On December 10, 1898, representatives of the United States and Spain signed the Treaty of Paris.

Under the treaty, Spain relinquished sovereignty over Cuba.

Spain also ceded Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines to the United States.

The United States agreed to pay Spain $20 million in connection with the Philippine cession.

The treaty required approval by the United States Senate.

It was ratified in February 1899.

The agreement marked a major change in the country's international position.

The United States had acquired overseas territories.

It was becoming more directly involved in political affairs beyond North America.

But these developments created immediate controversy.

What did territorial expansion mean for a republic founded on the principle of government by consent?

Could the United States govern populations overseas without their full participation in American political institutions?

How should constitutional protections apply in newly acquired territories?

And was overseas expansion compatible with the country's founding ideals?

Americans did not agree.

THE GREAT DEBATE OVER IMPERIALISM

Expansion or Self-Government?

Supporters of overseas expansion offered several arguments.

Some believed American territories could provide strategic naval bases and access to international markets.

Others argued that the United States had responsibilities to maintain order or promote institutions it considered beneficial.

Some viewed territorial acquisition as evidence of national strength.

Critics challenged these arguments.

They warned that governing distant populations without their consent conflicted with American principles of self-government.

They questioned the constitutional and moral implications of imperial rule.

The Anti-Imperialist League, organized in 1898, brought together individuals who opposed the annexation of the Philippines and other forms of overseas imperial expansion.

Its supporters included prominent public figures with differing political backgrounds.

The debate crossed traditional party lines.

It was not simply a disagreement between supporters and opponents of national strength.

It concerned the meaning of American republican government.

The United States had declared independence from an empire in 1776.

Now Americans were debating whether their own country should govern overseas territories.

The historical contrast was impossible to ignore.

1899 — WAR IN THE PHILIPPINES

Independence Aspirations and American Authority

The conflict over the Philippines did not end with Spain's defeat.

Filipino revolutionaries had fought for independence from Spanish rule.

Emilio Aguinaldo and other Filipino leaders sought an independent Philippine republic.

But the Treaty of Paris transferred Spanish claims to the islands to the United States.

American authorities did not recognize the Philippine republic as an independent sovereign government.

Tensions escalated.

In February 1899, fighting began between American and Filipino forces near Manila.

The conflict became known as the Philippine-American War.

It involved conventional battles and later guerrilla warfare.

The war caused substantial suffering.

American soldiers died.

Filipino combatants were killed.

Civilians suffered from violence, displacement, disease, and the disruption of agriculture and communities.

The conflict continued beyond 1900.

It raised difficult questions about national power, self-determination, and the responsibilities of government.

For Americans who supported overseas expansion, the conflict was often framed in terms of security, order, and national interests.

For Filipino independence supporters, it was a struggle against foreign rule.

For American anti-imperialists, the war demonstrated the dangers of abandoning the principle of consent of the governed.

The dispute became one of the defining constitutional and political controversies at the turn of the century.

1899 — THE OPEN DOOR POLICY

American Interests in China

As American industry expanded, access to international markets became increasingly important.

China attracted commercial interest from several major powers.

European nations and Japan had established spheres of influence and obtained commercial privileges in different parts of China.

American officials worried that competing powers might restrict trade.

In 1899, Secretary of State John Hay circulated diplomatic notes proposing principles intended to preserve equal commercial opportunities in China.

The proposals became known as the Open Door Policy.

The policy sought to protect access to Chinese markets without dividing China into exclusive trading territories.

It did not establish complete equality among nations or eliminate foreign interference in China.

But it reflected the growing interest of the United States in international commerce.

The country was becoming more involved in economic and diplomatic questions far beyond its borders.

Industrial growth was changing not only the American economy.

It was also changing America's relationship with the world.

1900 — A NEW CENTURY APPROACHES

The Gold Standard Act

The monetary debate that had dominated the election of 1896 continued into McKinley's presidency.

In March 1900, Congress passed the Gold Standard Act.

The legislation formally established gold as the standard of value for the country's monetary system.

Supporters argued that the law would strengthen confidence and monetary stability.

Critics continued questioning whether the gold standard adequately served farmers, debtors, and other Americans facing economic pressure.

The act represented an important victory for gold-standard advocates.

But it did not end debates over banking, currency, and financial stability.

Those questions would reappear during the twentieth century.

THE UNITED STATES IN 1900

A Country Transformed

The census of 1900 recorded a United States population of approximately 76 million people.

The country had grown dramatically since the Civil War.

Cities had expanded.

Manufacturing had become a major source of national wealth.

Railroads connected distant regions.

Electricity was beginning to transform transportation and industry.

The telephone had become an important business technology.

Large corporations operated across state lines.

Immigration continued shaping American communities.

Women were organizing for political rights.

Labor organizations were seeking improvements in wages and working conditions.

Farmers continued debating credit, transportation, and market access.

And the United States had become more involved in international affairs.

The country entering the twentieth century was very different from the republic established in the eighteenth.

Yet many of its most important political questions remained familiar.

How should power be divided?

How should government be held accountable?

What protections should individuals possess?

How should economic opportunity be preserved?

And what responsibilities accompanied national power?

The institutions created by the Constitution continued providing the framework for those debates.

THE ELECTION OF 1900

McKinley and Bryan Meet Again

The presidential election of 1900 brought another contest between William McKinley and William Jennings Bryan.

McKinley sought reelection as the Republican nominee.

Theodore Roosevelt, then governor of New York and a prominent figure from the Spanish-American War, became his running mate.

Bryan again represented the Democratic Party.

Economic policy remained important.

But overseas expansion and the Philippine-American War also became major issues.

McKinley's supporters emphasized economic recovery and the administration's record.

Bryan criticized imperialism and continued advocating economic reforms.

The election reflected a country debating both its domestic future and its international responsibilities.

McKinley won reelection.

He received 292 electoral votes to Bryan's 155.

The result confirmed the continuation of Republican leadership.

But the political questions surrounding industrial power, labor, reform, and overseas expansion remained unresolved.

Those issues would become increasingly important in the years ahead.

THE INDUSTRIAL AGE LEAVES A COMPLICATED LEGACY

What America Gained

Between 1877 and 1900, the United States experienced extraordinary economic and technological growth.

Railroads connected markets and communities.

Steel production expanded.

Oil refining became a major industry.

Factories increased manufacturing capacity.

Electricity began changing cities.

Telephones improved communication.

New businesses created employment and investment opportunities.

The national economy became more productive and interconnected.

These developments helped establish the foundations of twentieth-century American prosperity.

They also demonstrated the importance of invention, entrepreneurship, investment, skilled labor, and transportation.

The country had become a major industrial power.

What America Still Had to Confront

Industrialization also left serious challenges.

Economic downturns caused widespread hardship.

Workplace accidents and difficult conditions affected many laborers.

Large corporations raised concerns about competition and concentrated economic influence.

Cities struggled with housing, sanitation, and public health.

Immigration generated both opportunity and discrimination.

Women continued seeking equal political participation.

Indigenous communities endured the consequences of federal land and assimilation policies.

Black Americans faced escalating racial discrimination, disenfranchisement, and violence, particularly in the South.

And overseas expansion created new conflicts over constitutional principles and self-government.

Industrial growth did not resolve these issues.

In many cases, it made them more visible.

The next generation of Americans would inherit both the achievements and the unresolved questions of the nineteenth century.

WHAT 1877–1900 CHANGED

The Rise of Industrial America transformed the United States in several lasting ways.

First, the country developed a truly national industrial economy.

Railroads, factories, financial institutions, and communication networks connected regions more closely than ever before.

Second, large corporations became central to American economic life.

Their growth encouraged innovation and efficiency while raising concerns about competition and concentrated power.

Third, workers became increasingly organized.

Labor movements challenged wages, working conditions, and the relationship between employees and employers.

Fourth, the federal government's economic responsibilities began expanding.

The Interstate Commerce Commission and Sherman Antitrust Act established new approaches to regulating aspects of national commerce.

Fifth, technological innovation changed everyday possibilities.

Electricity, telephones, steel construction, and early automobiles pointed toward a rapidly changing future.

Sixth, urbanization and immigration reshaped American communities.

Cities became centers of employment, commerce, cultural exchange, and social reform.

Seventh, economic crises exposed the vulnerabilities of industrial capitalism.

The Panic of 1893 demonstrated that financial instability could spread across the national economy and affect millions of families.

Eighth, political reform movements gained momentum.

Labor organizations, settlement houses, suffrage advocates, and other reformers sought changes in American institutions and society.

Ninth, the United States became more active in international affairs.

The Spanish-American War and overseas territorial acquisitions raised major questions about national power and self-government.

Finally, Americans entered the twentieth century with renewed debates over the meaning of liberty, opportunity, representation, and responsibility.

The country had changed dramatically.

Its constitutional experiment continued.

THE GREAT EXPERIMENT: THE REPUBLIC ENTERS A NEW AGE

The founders created a constitutional system designed to establish representative government, divide political authority, and protect the nation from unchecked power.

They debated commerce, taxation, banking, national authority, and individual liberty.

They did not agree on every issue.

But they established institutions through which future generations could continue debating the country's direction.

By 1900, those institutions were confronting challenges that would have been difficult to imagine in 1787.

Industrial corporations operated across the continent.

Railroads connected distant regions.

Factories employed thousands of workers.

Cities housed enormous populations.

New technologies transformed communication and transportation.

American military forces operated overseas.

And the country was debating whether its international actions remained consistent with its founding principles.

The Constitution had not eliminated political disagreement.

It had created a framework within which disagreement could be addressed through laws, elections, courts, amendments, and public participation.

The industrial era demonstrated both the strength and the difficulty of that arrangement.

Americans held different views about the proper role of government.

Some emphasized private enterprise, limited regulation, and individual initiative.

Others supported stronger public oversight, labor protections, and political reform.

Some believed overseas expansion advanced national interests.

Others argued that it contradicted the principle of government by consent.

These disagreements were not simply obstacles to the nation's development.

They were part of the continuing debate over what the American republic should become.

The people remained central to that process.

Through elections, civic organizations, public discussion, and lawful political participation, Americans could influence the institutions that governed them.

But access to that participation remained unequal, and many Americans continued struggling for rights and representation.

The great experiment was still unfinished.

America had become an industrial power. The next challenge was determining how that power should be governed—and how the country's founding principles would apply in a new century.

The nineteenth century was ending.

A new era of reform, political conflict, technological change, and international influence was beginning.

THE STORY CONTINUES

THE GREAT EXPERIMENT: THE PROGRESSIVE ERA

Reform, Regulation, Democracy, and the Changing American Republic

1901–1920

The next major chapter of our historical journey follows the United States into the early twentieth century.

The assassination of President William McKinley in 1901 will bring Theodore Roosevelt to the White House.

Debates over trusts and corporate power will intensify.

Progressive reformers will challenge political corruption, dangerous working conditions, and problems associated with urban growth.

Women will continue the struggle for voting rights.

Americans will debate the role of the federal government in regulating business and protecting consumers.

New technologies will transform transportation, communication, and daily life.

And international events will draw the United States into conflicts that reshape the world.

The industrial era created the foundations of modern America.

The Progressive Era will reveal how Americans attempted to respond to the country industrialization had created.

Our Money Matters. Our Choices Matter. Our Voice Matters.

The People. The Voice. The Future.

Politics 1776