The Decade Of 1910 Essay Research Paper — страница 2

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within the Justice Department, and appointed J. Edgar Hoover as its head. Hoover began collecting files on known radicals, and raids on various organizations led to deportations of scores of people. Although Palmer s dire warnings continued to fuel what became known as the Red Scare, the threats never materialized; and by the summer of 1920, the American people realized that the United States was safe from anarchy. In the election of 1912 republican activists were determined to prevent Taft s re-nomination in 1912. They found their leader in Roosevelt, who had become increasingly alienated from Taft and who made a strong campaign for the presidential nominations in the winter and spring of 1912. Democrats had taken the 1910 congressional and gubernatorial elections; and, after

the disruption of the Republican Party in the spring of 1912, it was obvious that almost any passable Democrat could win the presidency in that year. Woodrow Wilson, former president of Princeton University, who had made a brilliant Progressive record as governor of New Jersey, was nominated by the Democrats on the 46th ballot. (Bailey, 95) The real contest was between Roosevelt and Wilson in the election of 1912, not Taft and Roosevelt for control of the Progressive majority. Campaigning on a platform that he called the New Nationalism, Roosevelt demanded control of big business through a strong federal commission and tax reform. (Bailey, 236) In contrast Wilson seemed conservative with a program he called the New Freedom; it was an effort to destroy monopoly and to open the

doors of economic opportunity to small businessmen through drastic tariff reduction and banking reform. (Bailey, 237) As a result Wilson won a large majority of electoral votes, though receiving only about 42 percent of the popular vote resulting in his election to office. As president, Wilson s interest was in politics at home in the U.S., although he had to deal primarily with foreign affairs while in the White House; and before the end of his presidency he had become one of the most commanding figures in world affairs. He was a strong president in the conduct of foreign policy, writing most of the important diplomatic messages of his government and making all-important decisions himself. If Wilson had followed conventional policy and the urgings of Americans with interests in

Mexico, he might have acted differently. Under Wilson s presidency the U.S. State Department sent several strong protests to London, particularly against British suppression of American exports of food and raw materials to Germany. Anglo-American blockade controversies were not small; however, because the British put their blockade controls into effect gradually, always paid for goods seized, argued persuasively that in a total war food and raw materials were as essential as guns and ammunition, and pointed out that they, the British, were simply following blockade precedents established by the United States itself during the American Civil War. As a result of the unspoken Anglo-American agreement, the United States soon became the chief external source of supply for the food,

raw materials, and munitions that fed the British and French war machines. (Schmitt, 231) In addition, and in accordance with the strict rules of neutrality, the Wilson administration permitted the allied governments to borrow more than 2 billion dollars in order to finance the war trade. At the same time, the president resisted all efforts by German Americans for an arms embargo on the ground that such a measure would be largely unneutral toward the Allies. Many important events and developments also happened during the decade of 1910 other than the war and election of 1912. By 1910, advances in travel were becoming front-page news. The coming of the war gave a great stimulus to the development of the aircraft. On land, the railway was being challenged by the motor car, which

was replacing horse-drawn transport on the roads. In the years before World War One, there was enormous confidence in science and technology. Marie Curie and her 17 year-old daughter Irene spent 1915 touring the battlefields in their radiological car, using X-rays to probe the bodies of injured soldiers. (Fisher, 41) Then, in 1912, came a disaster which shook this confidence the sinking of the Titanic. The Titanic was launched as the largest and most modern ship in the world. On April 10, 1912, the Titanic left Southampton on her maiden voyage to New York. The cruise across the Atlantic was uneventful until April 14, when the ship sailed into floating ice. The night was completely calm and clear, with plenty of stars but no moon. There was no wind which meant there were no small