(Note to Mrs. Lawson: I would like a title for the purpose of identifying my blog on the list of APUSH blogs with more than simply "Matthew". I don't have a title in mind, perhaps you could come up with something. It's just that "Matthew" pales in comparison to "Enlightened Despot"...)
(Question for all: Can you think of another type of tires? Just wondering...)
So there was this pretty cool thing that got invented in the late 19th century. You probably know it as the car, the automobile, the motorized transport. What could be more all-American than a Ford Mustang convertible? Maybe you're more of a Corvette person. All of these, of course, are symbols of American innovation, demonstrating to the world the power of the American dream of patriotism, liberty, and freedom!
So of course it stands to reason that America didn't actually invent the gasoline engine. As you might have guessed, we "borrowed" it from the Europeans. Some of their names are just as familiar: Gottlieb Daimler (as in Chrysler), Karl Benz (as in Mercedes), Nikolaus Otto (as in...uh...auto). However, many of these earlier German innovators were merely scientists, tinkering around with their machinery.
The American innovation to the car, as you might expect, came in the form of marketing. Yes! We Americans are the proud masters of anything and everything dealing with money, and American masterminds transformed the automobile from a plaything to a necessity. Who was behind all this? By the 1890s, men such as Ransom E. Olds (as in Oldsmobile...I would hate to have this guy's name...) and Henry Ford (you can figure this one out) created the auto industry in America, leading to a massive flourishing of car companies. By the year 1910 these companies were combining to produce about 181,000 cars per year. Unfortunately, there were issues...
The newfangled cars faced ridicule from many people, who shouted "Get a horse!" to the hapless motorists stuck in their malfunctioning automobile. Indeed, the early autos were both slow and unreliable. In fact, some states were so concerned with these new cars that they passed laws requiring flares to be shot up or a man carrying a red flag walking several yards ahead of the car in order to provide ample warning to pedestrians.
Still, under the direction of Ford and others, automobiles developed into an immense American industry. Frederick W. Taylor helped the efficiency of the industry along with his ideas of eliminating wasted motion. Taylor was known as the "Father of Scientific Management", and, with his help, Ford soon got the auto industry working like a charm.
Ford set up shop in Detroit, and this Michigan city became the center of worldwide automobile manufacture, which it would remain for a very long---well, at least until the federal bailouts. Anyway, Ford's legacy is quite impressive. His genius allowed him to oversee a wide-reaching industry that contrasted quite sharply with his narrow-minded thinking. He once claimed, "History is bunk," an example of his limited perspective. Yet perhaps this narrow minded genius was able to focus (a Ford car) his efforts, and his lasting innovations reflect this.
Ford pioneered what is known as the "assembly line", where each worker does the same task over and over, and the product moves down the line until it is finally finished. This took advantage of the fact that, if someone is doing the same task repetitively, over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again, muscle memory will kick in and each person will be able to work more quickly. Plus, this reduces the number of skills required per worker to just one (i.e., the person attaching the windshield wipers doesn't have to know how to screw on hubcaps). Due to Ford's quest for efficiency, combined with the prosperity that the 1920s brought to America, Americans were able to buy Ford's Model T for a mere $260.
Ford was even so generous that he let the consumer pick the color, so long as they chose black! Anyway, Ford had created a megamillion dollar industry for himself. In 1914, Ford had manufactured his 500,000th Model T, which sounds impressive until you learn that, in 1930, this total had exploded to 20 million! Needless to say, Ford's product was incredibly popular among the American public, with the ratio of cars to Americans around 1:5 in 1929. Not only was the car popular, but Ford enjoyed great prestige among America as well. In 1923, a magazine poll showed that Ford was a popular choice for the presidential nomination of 1924. (Okay, so maybe they were about half a century off, and maybe they had the wrong Ford in mind, but still, not too bad!)
At this point in its life, the car was a symbol of American prosperity and American ingenuity. Little did America realize that perhaps Ford had created a monster. Ford has been called before "The Father of the Traffic Jam", and I would like to think that America perhaps didn't know quite what they were getting in to:
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Putting America on Rubber Tires
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Wilson's Fourteen Points: Questions 13-17
...Previously, on "APUSH Blog Chain", we learned about Wilson's idealism, courtesy of Joe. This episode illustrates Wilson's grand plan, known as the Fourteen Points:
13. Besides inspiring the allies, what effect did the 14 points have on enemy governments? Why?
The 14 points had a twofold purpose. First, the points served to breathe new vitality into the Allied countries who were quite exhausted from the arduous struggle of World War I. Secondly, they were a bit of a threat to the enemy countries, as they provided a message of independence and self-determination, giving hope to various minorities living in the Central Power countries.
(Both the Allied leaders and the Central Power minorities were taken here by Wilson's 14 points)
14. Briefly, what were the first five points? Note to whom each was appealing:
The first five of Wilson's fourteen points are as follows:
- A proposal to abolish secret treaties (liberals everywhere)
- Freedom of the seas (Germans, Americans distrustful toward British naval domination)
- Removal of economic barriers between nations (Germany, afraid of possible postwar vengeance)
- Reduction of armament burdens (taxpayers everywhere)
- Adjustment of colonial claims to reflect the interests of both natives and colonizers (anti-imperialists)
(Wilson, unfortunately, didn't have the foresight to color-code his 14 points so we could remember them more easily...)
15. What else made the points appealing to minority groups such as the Poles?
Others of Wilson's fourteen points appealed to minorities such as the Poles, as they displayed ideas of self-determination and hopes of independence.
(Wilson's fourteen points were causing everyone to dream of going to awesome scenic locales around the world...)
16. What was the capstone point?
The capstone point, the 14th, foreshadowed the League of Nations, an organization that Wilson strongly hoped would provide a collective security for all nations of the world.
17. Why didn't certain Allied leaders like the points? How did some Republicans back home feel about it?
Some Allied leaders disliked the 14 points because they wanted to keep their territorial possessions (and the profits associated with them), and many Republicans openly mocked Wilson by calling his points "The Fourteen Commandments of God Almighty Wilson".
(However, some people were obviously still stuck in other fantastic landscapes...)
To continue the "APUSH Blog Chain", proceed to Brent's Brilliantly-Crafted Blog for the Blogless, located here.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Foreign Policy Acts
The Wilson administration saw a stark contrast in foreign policy, as Wilson was not the imperialist that TR and Taft were. Thus, the Panama Canal Tolls Act of 1912, which exempted America from tolls associated with Panama Canal shipping, was repealed in 1914 under the influence of Wilson:
Also, the Wilson administration oversaw the passage of the Jones Act (1916), which stated that the Philippines would be granted territorial status, and could be independent once a stable government was created. That day, however, did not come until 1946:
Conservation Acts
The conservationists in the progressive camp essentially had two sides: beauty vs. use. Beauty proponents included John Muir, who essentially wanted to leave the land untouched. Use proponents included Gifford Pinchot, who, while not opposed to beauty, wanted to protect the land in order to provide the greatest good to the greatest number (a bit of a utilitarian view). Following are some of the conservationist acts:
The Desert Land Act of 1877 offered desert land cheaply, so long as the buyer irrigate the land within three years:
The Forest Reserve Act of 1891 allowed the president to set aside public forests as national parks and reserves. This resulted in about 46 million acres being set aside in the 1890's alone:
The Carey Act of 1894 gave federal land to the states, so long as it was irrigated and settled (similar to the Desert Act but for any public land):
Finally, the Newlands Act of 1902 allowed the government to collect money from the sale of public land and use such revenue to fund irrigation projects:
Federal Agencies
Many agencies were created in order to further the progressive cause. Two of these, the Women's Bureau (1912) and the Children's Bureau (1920) were created out of the Department of Labor, and represented a wedge into the federal bureaucracy made by women.
Wilson instituted several new institutions to assert the progressive cause. One of these was the Federal Trade Commission of 1914, which outlawed various anti-competitive trade practices:
Wilson also created the Federal Reserve (1913), which drastically refined the banking system, allowing for regional banking districts and the relatively free issuing of paper money to increase circulation. This system helped to carry the nation through the financial situation of WWI:
Finally, the Federal Farm Loan Act (1916) appeased Populists by allowing farmers to have credit at fairly low rates of interest:
Amendments
Various amendments to the Constitution furthered the cause of progressives. The first of these, the 16th amendment, passed in 1913, instituted an income tax. This income tax quickly surpassed the tariff as the primary source of government revenue:
The 17th amendment provided for the direct election of senators, a victory stemming from the Populist movement hoping to transfer power from the interests to the people:
The 18th amendment (1919) instituted Prohibition, though of course this was only a temporary victory since Prohibition was later abolished by the 21st amendment:
Finally, the 19th amendment gave the long awaited vote to women across the country, though several western states had already done this much earlier:
Acts Protecting Workers
Many acts were passed in the Wilson administration that furthered the progressive cause and provided benefits to laborers. Among these were the La Follette Seaman's Act of 1915, which required decent treatment and a living wage of American merchant ships:
Also, the Worker's Compensation Act of 1916 gave assistance to civil-service employees for disability time:
Anti Trust Acts
Trusts increasingly became seen as an issue in American society in the late 19th century, so to combat this trend, the Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890 was passed. However, it was rather weak, in that it contained many loopholes that industrialists could exploit. Nevertheless, Taft used it to successfully break up the Standard Oil Company:
Later, in the Wilson administration, the Clayton Anti-Trust Act was passed, essentially to lengthen the list of forbidden trust practices of the Sherman Act. The Clayton Act (1914) also conferred several benefits for labor:
Food Safety Acts
In 1906, Upton Sinclair published The Jungle, a disgusting insight into various unsanitary practices in the meatpacking industry. Shortly after its publication, the Meat Inspection Act of 1906 was passed, stating that meat shipped over state lines was subject to federal inspection:
Also in 1906, the Pure Food and Drug Act was passed, essentially making mislabelling of products illegal:
Railroad Acts
The Elkins Act of 1903 grew out of the Interstate Commerce Commision's attempts to regulate the railroad industry. It specifically fined railroading companies who offered rebates to certain shippers, thus serving to lessen their dubious financial relationship:
The Hepburn Act of 1906 had a similar aim, preventing free passes from being given out to certain industries:
