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1900–1909 Lesson 1

Teacher’s Guide

LESSON 1The Decade of 1900–1909

LESSON ASSIGNMENTSYou are encouraged to be very attentive while viewing the video program.Review the video objectives and be prepared to record possible answers, inabbreviated form, as you view the video. The topics and time periods may differfrom the chapters of the textbook your school system is using. Each videoprogram chronicles a wide array of events and personalities during a specificdecade of the 20th century. One of the overarching goals of each lesson is tohelp you understand how past historical events have helped shape the political,social and economic climate of our times.

Video:

“The Decade of 1900–1909” from the series, The Remarkable 20th Century.

Activities:

Your teacher may assign one or more activities for each lesson.

OVERVIEWTwo key themes permeate the early decades of the 20th century. On thedomestic scene, a reform movement that was launched by crusaders who calledthemselves “progressives” convulsed the ethnically and racially mixed Americanpeople (almost one out of seven Americans were foreign-born in 1900). On theforeign scene, the U.S. was beginning to flex its expansionist muscles, in the wakeof its successes in the Spanish-American War. The newly emerging U.S. militarypower was destined to face conflicts with the European powers in China andelsewhere.

On the international scene, the term imperialism was used to describe theperiod from 1870 to 1914. Western Europe controlled much of the world’seconomic and intellectual life. Important advances in medicine, chemistry, andphysics contributed to strengthening European dominance in the economic andscientific fields. In the cultural realm, realism of the late 19th century wasreplaced by modernism. Writers and artists were freed from all the obligationsand rules of realism. The movement was disorganized and fragmented, united onlyin its reaction to the past.

Selected events and personalities are examined in the first episode of a decadecharacterized by transition and innovation. A multitude of personalities andevents are featured: the Boxer Rebellion in China, business tycoons such asMorgan and Carnegie, yellow journalism, the Spanish-American War, TheodoreRoosevelt, muckrakers, immigration, the impact of Henry Ford’s mass productionof automobiles, the growth of the NAACP, and the birth of advertising andragtime blues music.

Lesson 1 1900–1909

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Teacher’s Guide

LESSON GOALTo be able to understand how the following personalities and events in the firstdecade of the 20th century have affected your lives: Spanish-American War, the“progressive” movement, mass production, advertising, business tycoons such asMorgan, “ragtime” music, yellow journalism, immigration, the many inventionssuch as the Nickelodeon, etc.

VIDEO OBJECTIVESThe following objectives are designed to assist the viewer in identifying the mostsignificant aspects of the video segment of this lesson. You should take succinctnotes while viewing the video.

Video: “The Decade of 1900–1909”

1. Analyze the implications of the Spanish–American War; the revolution in St.Petersburg, Russia, in 1905; and the Boxer Rebellion for the U.S. and theworld community.

2. Evaluate the consequences of the “progressive” movement in the U.S.

3. Assess the significance of the growth of business tycoons such as Morgan,Carnegie, Ford, etc.

4. Ascertain the impact one or more of the following social and/or culturalmovements had on the world community: advertising, “ragtime” music,yellow journalism, moving pictures, immigration, literature, child labor, reformmovements led by females, efforts of Du Bois and B.T. Washington topromote black equality, etc.

TIME CODESTime Code Year Topic Description00 :00 Opening Opening00 :30 1900 Overview Howard K. Smith reviews end of

19th Century & themes of beginning of 20th Century

03 :04 Title Episode I: 1900s03 :07 1900 Social Issues Rural v. metropolitan society04 :28 1900 World Politics Britain as World Power & Boer

Wars07 :38 1900 World Politics/ US

PoliticsUS as World Power & Spanish-American War in Cuba/Philippines

10 :38 1900 World Politics China & Boxer Rebellion13 :34 1900 Natural Phenomena Galveston, Texas Hurricane14 :00 1901 Discoveries & Technology Freud – dreams, Planck –

Quantum Theory, Marconi – wireless, phone

15 :29 1901 Economy Texas & Oil Gushers16 :58 1901 Economy Advertising17 :49 1901 Economy Age of Tycoons – Morgan,

Harriman, Rockefeller, Carnegie18 :55 1901 Entertainment Ragtime and new dances

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1900–1909 Lesson 1

Teacher’s Guide

Time Code Year Topic Description19 :27 1901 Social Issues Yellow Journalism & new daily

newspapers19 :45 1901 World Politics Queen Victoria dies; reign of

Edward VII20 :53 1901 US Politics McKinley dies: Roosevelt & Trust

Busting22 :52 1902 Social Issues Muckrakers – McClure’s

Magazine, Roosevelt, Adams, Nation

24 :41 1902 US Politics Environment & government as guardian

25 :25 1903 Entertainment Baseball – 1st World Series; Theater – Barrymores; Literature – Conrad's Heart of Darkness, Potter ’s Peter Rabbit; Music – Debussy, Victrola, Caruso; Movies – Edison

29 :37 1903 Transportation Automobiles & Ford Motor Co.31 :05 1904/5 Overview Howard K. Smith segues between

1st and 2nd half of 1900 decade31 :42 1903 Transportation Wright Brothers33 :11 1903 Transportation Panama Canal33 :56 1904/05 World Politics/ US

PoliticsAnarchy in Russia & Russo/Japanese War; Roosevelt re-elected

36 :59 1905/06 Discoveries & Technology Subway, express train, intelligence testing, Einstein, Mata Hari, Radio tube, novels, Pure Food & Drug Act

39 :20 1906 Natural Phenomena San Francisco Quake41 :21 1906 Social Issues Scandal – Thaw shoots White over

actress wife Nesbitt41 :54 1907 Social Issues Immigrat ion43 :33 1907 Entertainment Ziegfeld – Follies, Circus – Merger,

Art – Picasso, Music – Schoenberg45 :21 1907 Discoveries & Technology Science – polymers & plastic45 :41 1908 Transportation Model T automobiles46 :39 1908 Social Issues Women’s working conditions47 :06 1908 Entertainment Sports – Johnson & Boxing47 :28 1908 Natural Phenomena Fireball / meteorite in Siberia47 :53 1908 US Politics Taft as 27th President48 :40 1909 Discoveries & Technology

/ Social IssuesPeary to North Pole with African American assistant; Racial Issues – Washington & DuBois & the NAACP

50 :54 1909 Social Issues Geronimo dies – end of Old West Era

51 :17 1909 US Politics Taft in Office – less significant environmental issues & trust busting than Teddy

52 :02 1909 Overview End of decade – Prosperity & stage set for war

52 :44 1909 Overview Howard K. Smith talks about Teddy Roosevelt

54 :16 Closing Closing Credits

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Teacher’s Guide

WEB ACTIVITIESThese activities are not required unless your teacher assigns them. They areoffered as suggestions to help you learn more about the material presented inthis lesson.

Visit the Library of Congress at http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/media.html

1. Scroll to the bottom of the page to the activity “Turn-of-the-Century Child”listed under the topic “Photographs” and read the description of the dataworksheets. Then access each data sheet (1-2-3) and review the contents.

2. Then access “Who are these children?” at http://nuevaschool.org/~debbie/library/cur/20c/turn1.html. Select one child labor photograph from each ofthe “Artifact” groups (Artifact 1, Artifact 2, and Artifact 3) to analyze.

3. Use the photograph(s) you have selected as the basis for completing“Twentieth Century Data Sheets 1-2-3” found at the following Web sites:

http://nuevaschool.org/~debbie/library/cur/20c/turn/artifacts/ds1.html

http://nuevaschool.org/~debbie/library/cur/20c/turn/artifacts/ds2.html

http://nuevaschool.org/~debbie/library/cur/20c/turn/artifacts/ds3.html

PRACTICE TESTAfter watching the video and reviewing the objectives, you should be able tocomplete the following Practice Test. When you have completed the PracticeTest, turn to the Answer Key to score your answers.

Multiple-choice

Select the single best answer. If more than one answer is required, it will be soindicated.

1. China’s Boxer Rebellion was an attempt to:

A. overthrow the corrupt Chinese government.

B. establish American power in the Far East.

C. throw out or kill all foreigners.

D. destroy the Open Door Policy.

2. Which of the following was not related to the Spanish-American War:

A. Battle of Manila Bay.

B. Rough Riders.

C. Treaty of Portsmouth.

D. Sinking of the battleship Maine.

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1900–1909 Lesson 1

Teacher’s Guide

3. Which of the following men was not considered a business tycoon whoused the trusts in an attempt to monopolize business:

A. U. Sinclair.

B. J. Pierpont Morgan.

C. Andrew Carnegie.

D. John D. Rockefeller.

4. As one progressive explained, the “real heart” of the progressive movementwas to:

A. preserve world peace.

B. use the government as an agency of human welfare.

C. ensure the Jeffersonian style of government.

D. reinstate the policy of laissez-faire.

5. Most muckrakers believed that their primary function in the progressiveattack on social ills was to:

A. formulate a consistent philosophy of social reform.

B. explain the causes of social ills.

C. devise solutions to society’s problems.

D. make the public aware of social problems.

6. Which of the following statements concerning either Booker T. Washingtonor Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois is not accurate:

A. Dr. Du Bois helped organize the NAACP.

B. Booker T. Washington believed the key to political and civil rights forAfrican Americans was economic independence.

C. Dr. Du Bois supported the idea of the “talented tenth”.

D. Booker T. Washington represented a direct challenge to whitesupremacy.

7. Which of the following men was the leader of the “ragtime” musicmovement:

A. S. Freud.

B. S. Joplin.

C. W.R. Hearst.

D. J. Adams.

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Teacher’s Guide

Essay/Problem Questions

8. In what ways was the city a “frontier of opportunity for women”? Name atleast one woman who seized this “opportunity” and elaborate on herexperiences.

9. Do you think the United States needed laws restricting immigration in thefirst decade of the twentieth century? If so, explain the kinds of restrictionsyou think were needed. If you do not think laws restricting immigration wereneeded, why not?

10. Cite at least one figure in each of the following categories and describe themajor theme of his or her work. Then tell why you think your choice reflectsthe reality of life in the early twentieth century.

a. journalism

b. literature

c. scientific inventions

d. music

e. art

ANSWER KEYThe following provides the answers and references for the practice testquestions. Video objectives are referenced using the following abbreviation:V=Video Objective.

Multiple Choice: Essay/Problem Questions:

1. C Ref. V 1 8. Ref. V 4

2. C Ref. V 1 9. Ref. V 4

3. A Ref. V 3 10. Ref. V 4

4. B Ref. V 2

5. D Ref. V 2

6. C Ref. V 4

7. B Ref. V 4