CONTENTS 99 CH 19 HENRY FORD 85 CH 20 WILLIAM McKINLEY 89 CH 2I WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN 95 CH 22 WILLIAM RANDOLPH HEARST 98 CH 23 BoOKER T WASHINGTON 102 CH 24 W E B Du Bois 107 CH 25 THEODORE ROOSEVELT 112 CH 26 WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT 121 CH 27 EUGENE V DEBS 127 CH 28 THEODORE DREISER 129 CH 29 UPTON SINCLAIR 132 CH 30 IDA M TARBELL 135 CH 31 EMMA GoLDMAN 138 CH 32 MARGARET SANGER 140 I 103 CONCLUSION I43 GLOSSARY 145 FOR MORE INFORMATION 149 BIBLIOGRAPHY 152 INDEX I54 136
INTRODUCTION he era explored in this collection of biographies the late 19th and early 20th centuries represents the matural tion of the United States into a world power Moving on from the divisions that plagued the nation during the Civil War and Reconstruction the United States transformed itself politically economi cally culturally and socially Many of these changes are embodied in the lives of the fig ures profiled here Marking the beginning of this era was the decision by President Rutherford B Hayes to remove the last federal troops from the South in 1877 ending the bitter Reconstruction period Under the leader shipofthe 25thpresident William McKinley the United States extended its influence overseas by making territorial acquisi tions following the Spanish American War in 1898 Following McKinley President Theodore Roosevelt continued the momentum of American internationalism by using what he called the bully pulpit of the presidency to promote the nation's role and responsibilities in politics beyond 8
INTRODUCTION its borders Speak softly and carry a big stick Roosevelt said of his policy on rela tions with other countries which displayed the new maturity and resolve of the nation Yet with its expanding influence and growing fortunes the United States suf fered from new economic disparities John D Rockefeller Andrew Carnegie and Jay Gould amassed great dynastic wealth from oil steel and railroads respectively and other industrialists and financiers found similar success often at the expense of workers Because of their fortunes and the growing gap between rich and poor Roosevelt would later brand these capital ists male factors of great wealth inspiring a new age of activism for the lower classes Labor leaders social workers novelists and journalists such as Samuel Gompers Jane Addams Upton Sinclair and Jacob Riis shone a light on the plight of the poor figuratively and in the case of Riis's pho tography literally Using the newly invented flashbulb Riis photographed the New York slums of the late 19th century exposing the city and the nation to shocking scenes
