Unit+4


 * 12/13/10**

**What is the Frontier?**

 * an **idea/concept**, almost like a myth of the "Great American West"
 * imaginary place where there's opportunity, resources, challanges -- you have to make it yourself
 * frontier "line" moves from Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean
 * place of fresh beginnings & bold undertakings

**Development of the West through the buffalo, railroads, and the Chinese :**

 * buffalo = economic basis for the Plains Indians (food, clothing, shoes, tepees, blankets, fuel, etc), which attracted trade with whites -- the whites eventuallty dominated them and settled more west
 * buffalo = symbol of process of whites coming and overpowering the natives
 * buffalo hunters worked for railroad companies
 * 90% of workers on transcontinental railroad were Chinese - after railroad was done, many went to cities and formed "Chinatowns"
 * Chinese spoke different languages, different religions, more opportunities for work, and just different cultures in general - formed barrier with whites that led to racism

^ Chinese migrated significantly after the gold rush in CA -- very hardworking, advanced and willing to work for low wages; but whites were racist towards them due to jealousy (as seen with the Chinese Exclusion Act that lasted from 1882-1912)
 * "Coolies" = Chinese indentured servants treated like slaves

^ for every mile of track laid, the gov. sold land beside it at bargain prices in order to encourage settlement in the west -- it worked!
 * railroads = major transportation method for people, helped trade go on faster
 * **gov. policy** : Homestead Acts (& others) - very reduced rate land grants made to encourage settlement in west, economic growth, etc
 * pushing idea of everyone having American dream -- welfare capitalism (gov. intervention in economy)


 * 12/15/10**
 * = **Myth** ||= **Reality** ||
 * = the west was uninhabited ||= the west was already settled on by the natives & others -- it was very diverse ||
 * = because Asians are small, theyre genetically suited for deep mines ||= only a justification since the Asians were so hardworking and the whites were jealous ||
 * = because Asians were used to heat, they could withstand arduous working conditions ||= (same as above) ||
 * = the "Great American Desert" ||= there was a period of great rainfall in 1870s ||
 * = they were rugged individualists ||= relied heavily on federal gov. assistance ||
 * = cowboys were powerful, enduring heroes -- ideal "natural man" ||= cowboys were low-paid workers ||
 * = "frontier" = open land full of easy oppotunites ||= the west was bounded by the Mississippi River and the Pacific Ocean ; people had to work hard to take advantage of opportunities ||
 * = "the myth of the garden" ||= the west wasn't perfect -- no utopia ; democracy wasn't THAT important ||
 * = the "gold rush" made everyone rich ||= only a few people were able to "make it big" ||
 * = everyone had an equal chance of opportunity in the west ||= Chinese = economic threat ; mainly only whites were able to prosper ||
 * = American dream = everyone had their own land and were successful ||= only a few people became successful, not everyone ||


 * 12/16/10**

Ch.17 Industrial Supremacy (the 2nd Industrial Revolution)

 * laissez-faire ideas of Social Darwinism - opposed by radicals like Henry George : poverty created b/c of modern industry
 * rising wealthy class - made people resent monopoly even more
 * start of corporate research
 * growth of capitalism + its critics (esp. of Social Darwinism)
 * horizontal integration - same businesses came together to form corporations
 * vertical integration - when one big corporation took over all of the little companies
 * more and more labor unions & strikes
 * more women working in companies than ever before - had lowest wages
 * child labor
 * monopolies
 * each new ethnic class was treated worse than the class before it (like the Irish were actually higher-paid now compared to the Greeks)
 * work places : now centralized control
 * wages + working conditions reached low - higher skilled people would go make up their own companies (there were always opportunities to replace workers)
 * National Labor Union (w/ people that had little direct relationship to labor) ended after Panic of 1873
 * widespread unemployment + widespread middle-class resentment toward the labor unions
 * "Molly Maguires"

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 * 12/20/10**

**Connections to capitalism, social D, Gospel of Wealth, Inequality: **

 * social darwinism allowed for competition in capitalism since it was survival of the fittest and everyone was looking out for themselves when it came to work, especailly tycoons like Rockefeller
 * gospel of wealth = softer version of social darwinism --> wealth comes with responsibility; helping poor people help themselves by creating more opportunities for people to be successful too -- making society better philanthropically

__**CH 18: The Age of the City**__ media type="custom" key="7973952"
 * 12/21/10**
 * industrialism spread from northeast to northwest, and also in areas near the MI River, like Memphis and New Orleans
 * from 1900 to 1915, immigrants made up more than half of the US population (which increased greatly)
 * especially along industrial areas, immigrants made up the dominant group
 * nativism arose once again


 * 1/5/11**
 * CH.20 Preview:**

__Imperialism__:
 * taking over the world
 * extending a nation's influence abroad
 * territorial aquisition - ex. US annexation of Hawaii
 * economic and/or political influence - ex. US exerted political influence in Venezuela
 * linked to Monroe Doctrine
 * Social Darwinism = justification -- survival of the fittest
 * expanding power internationally
 * new Manifest Destiny (doesn't apply to just US expanion in North America ; its outside of the continent)
 * extending power out of its original borders
 * colonization, annexation, protectorate, sphere of influence
 * industrialized nations exerting power and influence over underdeveloped nations
 * **imperialism is the belief in or practice of ; an imperialist is one who believes in or practices**

__Motivations for Imperialism:__ __Examples of American Imperialism:__
 * resources from land (like oil, gold, sugar cane, etc)
 * cheap labor
 * military bases (like Pearl Harbor) -- strategic locations
 * trade
 * spread of Christianity + democracy
 * assimilation
 * pride
 * military allies
 * new markets + customers
 * environmental conservation
 * Hawaii - resouces and location
 * Philippines - military base
 * Guam - military base and resources
 * Cuba - military base and trade
 * Venezuela - political influence
 * Puerto Rico - military base, resources, markets, trade
 * Liberia - shipping
 * Iraq War - resources
 * Panama - Panama Canal
 * Samoa - military base
 * Virgin Islands -
 * Northern Mariana Islands -
 * Guano Islands - resources

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From 1781 to 1915, economic factors pushed the United States to develop its own unique identity as a modern nation. This occurred though the growth of industrialization, but more specifically through the need for a cheap labor force,
 * __Thesis of US History, 1781-1915:__**

//Partner's Thesis//: Basically throughout the time perioid (from 1781 to 1915) the US had been focused in developing its own national identity and solving its own internal problems (becoming more stable i.e. eliminating slavery and establishing state's rights/national oversight) before going out into the world and meddling in other's. The only exception would be the Spanish American war in which initially it was humanitation but turned into a conquering army.

//Group Thesis:// From 1781 to 1915, the persence of the United States flourished as iit expanded its borders and grew into being a high world power.

//Mr.Max's Theories:// From 1781 to 1915, the United States experienced periods of debate and division, as well as progress and unity, as the country developed its own identity, expanded its territory, argued over interpretations of the Constitution and the slavery issue, industrialized ... etc. From 1781 to 1915, the United States grew and developed into a modern industrial world power in which rich, white males of European descent consistently dominated and subjugated women, African and Native Americans, the working class, and, eventually, the residents of other nations.