1912 Presidential Election

The four candidates in the presidential election of 1912: William Howard Taft, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson and Eugene V. Debs. Photo from CSPAN.

Look here for detailed information about the Election of 1912. Listen to and/or read both Theodore Roosevelt's speech "The Liberty of the People" and Woodrow Wilson's speech "On Labor." What are the differences between the two candidates for the presidency? How does each reflect the values of the Progressive Era?

Progressive Era Labor Struggles

"Bread line outside the Pressed Steel Car plant, McKees Rocks, 1909" Photo from Explore PA History.

Read John Ingham's article on the McKees Rocks strikes in 1909. The article citation is:

Ingham, John N. "A Strike in the Progressive Era: McKees Rocks, 1909." The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography 3 (1966): 353-77.

You can find the article through JSTOR, a database of scholarly journals.

1. Go to the Hunter Library website
2. Click on "Databases/Articles"
3. Find "JSTOR" in the alphabetical list
4. If you are not on campus, you must enter your Hunter netID and password to access JSTOR
5. Use the advanced search option to find the article with the citation information above.

Consider the following questions:

What is the author's argument?
What examples does he provide to prove his point?
What are the issues and/or conditions that led to the strikes?
How were the McKees Rocks strikes similar to or different from other strikes?

Plate Lunch Imperialism

Plate lunch from Rainbow Drive-In, photo from Go Visit Hawaii

In her book on the US conquest of Hawaii, Unfamiliar Fishes, Sarah Vowell writes:

Sugar plantation workers used to share food at lunchtime, swapping tofu and Chinese noodles for Korean spareribs and Portuguese bread. That habit of hodgepodge got passed down, evolving into the plate lunch now served at diners, drive-ins and lunch trucks throughout the Hawaiian archipelago….Rainbow Drive-In's menu, offering teriyaki, hot dogs, mahimahi, and Portuguese sausage, reads like a list of what America is supposed to be like--a neighborly mishmash (8).

Considering the imperialism debate within the US at the end of the 19th century, the Filipino resistance and the acquisition of colonial territories, to what degree do you think that America's increasing involvement in world affairs led to a "plate lunch" culture at home?

Vowell, Sarah. Unfamiliar Fishes. New York: Riverhead Books, 2011.

Plessy v. Ferguson

Note: This week is complicated. Section 022 (M/Th) only meets once this week (on Monday) and Section 020 (Tu/F) meets twice on Thursday and Friday. The material we cover in class may vary between sections because of this. Don't panic. Use your textbook and we'll collect ourselves after next week (which is also complicated).

ETA: Because of the schedule changes this week and next week, this post will be available to comment on until approximately 8:30 am on Wednesday, February 20. You will be able to comment on the Massacre at Rock Springs until approximately 8:30 am on Thursday, February 14. I realize this is confusing, but we'll be back to our regular schedule soon.

Also, please remember to use your full name (no pseudonyms or anonymous posts) when you comment so that your classmates know to whom they are speaking and so you can receive credit for participating.

A cafe near the tobacco market, Durham, NC, Library of Congress

The decision in Plessy v. Ferguson established legal segregation of races in the United States. Despite being overturned in 1954 by the decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, the Plessy decision remains one of the most important cases in the history of the Supreme Court. Look here for a synopsis of the case and read the excerpts from Justice John Marshall Harlan's dissenting opinion. Identify Justice Harlan's main argument, and one example that he uses to support that argument. Why is his dissent significant?

Massacre at Rock Springs, Wyoming

The massacre of the Chinese at Rock Springs, Wyoming, Library of Congress

First, read this primary account of the Massacre at Rock Springs, Wyoming in 1885. For further information about the experience of Chinese laborers in the US, read this article by William Wei.

Anti-immigration sentiment existed throughout the 19th century, but Chinese immigrants were the first group to be specifically excluded from immigrating solely on the basis of race. The Massacre at Rock Springs is a particularly brutal example of violence in the west and hostility to Chinese workers. Compare and contrast the different immigrant experiences discussed in class, the conditions of Native Americans in the west and the Rock Springs Massacre. In what ways did economic development change the meaning of "freedom" in the United States?