The Super Summary of World History

by Alan Dale Daniel

  From the Civil War to 1900

  Industrial Expansion

  From the end of the Civil War until 1900 was a period of relative peace and prosperity in the United States.[147] The power of America’s industrial base continued to grow. During this time Rockefeller, Carnegie, and other industrialists consolidated economic might into monopolies or trusts; and financial wizards like J.P. Morgan built financial empires spanning the globe. To demonstrate the power of these men we note that J. P. Morgan bailed out the US Treasury after the financial panic of 1893-1895 when a gold drain threatened the nation’s money value. Think about that for a moment, one man possessed the financial power to save the US Treasury. In 1869, the transcontinental railroad linked the US east to west with the driving of the golden spike in Utah, and the Panama Canal opened, linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through the small isthmus connecting North and South America. This canal was vital to US military and economic interests because it allowed linking the East and West Coasts of the United States by sea, avoiding the extremely long sea route around Cape Horn at the tip of South America. In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone and revolutionized communication.

  Other occurrences were starting to influence the nation. Western farmers since the end of the Civil War were under great economic pressure because of the government’s refusal to sponsor cheap money; that is, go off the gold standard and print money thereby causing inflation. To overcome some of the problems of the era farmers formed the Grange, an organization helping farmers modernize farming methods, and increasing their political power. The Democrats soon learned to harness the votes of these folks by appealing to their special needs. In the industrial areas of the nation workers began forming unions. One of the first large unions, the National Labor Union, had a real influence on the election of 1872. The membership and power of these early labor unions grew until the Panic of 1873, after which the number of unemployed swelled substantially; thus, shrinking union power. Nonetheless, the power of reform movements to stop government corruption, and help the workers and farmers, advanced during the late 1800s. The resurgent Democrats were the main beneficiaries of these movements. Liberal Republicans wanted similar reforms but failed to gain control of their party. This philosophical split reduced the power of the Republican party.

  The Panic of 1873 was severe. In 1866 and 1870, Europe suffered through two wars of limited extent; still, these wars brought on recessions and numerous European business failures. Europeans sold their American securities driving down the price, and reducing their value as collateral held on loans. This in turn affected American banks holding these securities as collateral making their financial positions weaker (for more information on depressions and the accompanying financial mumbo jumbo see our discussion of the Great Depression). In the USA there was no central bank, leading to an inability to transfer funds from bank to bank. For example, a bank failing in Kansas would need money to stay open; however, it would have a hard time getting additional funds from New York banks that held all the cash. Worse, if the New York banks began to fail they could literally make it impossible to for other banks to get money (capital) to continue business operations (remember, they held almost all the money), leading to a chain of failures.

  Then the next blow fell. The railroads needed money because shipping was down and the investment houses put money into them thus draining the New York banks of their financial reserves (now no bank had money). When major bank drafts (checks) began showing up New York banks held no money to meet the demand—so they shut their doors (wow, sounds like 1929, 2008 etc). Of course, this caused a wave of bank failures followed by businesses bankruptcies. Between 1873 and 1878, business failures went from 500 per year to 10,000 per year, and about 40 percent of the nation’s factory workers lost their jobs. The price farmers received for their products fell dramatically. This caused a demand for relief, mainly through cheap money polices, such as the unlimited coinage of silver. Farmers, among others, wanted inflation. Inflation would allow the sale of crops for more than they paid to grow them. Tight money policies forced farmers to sell crops at about the same price it cost to grow them, leaving farmers no profit. As tight money policies continued states passed legislation bringing some railroad cheats under control.[148] At least the legislation against railroad discrimination provided the farmers some relief from overly expensive transportation costs.

  The Panic of 1873 did not end until 1879, and unemployment hit 14 percent by 1876. The economic problems led to railroad strikes and violence when President R. B. Hayes called in Federal troops to end the strikes. All of this led to political problems for the Republicans. As a result of the long depression the Democrats won the House of Representatives in 1874. Similar events were taking place in Europe, but Europe recovered faster.

  Much of the progress from 1864 to 1900 was wonderful for the common person. The average American (or European) gained the ability to travel from coast to coast, talk to friends over the telephone, and buy goods from all over the world. However, like all changes, it also brought undesirable results. The urban world brought urban squalor and intense poverty. It seems as people advance technologically they stayed the same emotionally and intellectually. Reformers arose and challenged society to fix these problems, but they were never fixed; however, it was not from lack of trying. Recall these reformers came forward and demanded society “do something” about the plight of the underclass during an age of progress when society thought any problem could be solved. Unfortunately, nothing any government tried since 1750 solved the problem of urban poverty and the disassociation from society caused by world modernization. The new, larger, and more powerful cities created new, larger, and relatively powerless groups of people struggling along on next to nothing while living hungry and often immoral lives. In turn, this group gave birth to children who fared no better, so the cycle of poverty, immorality, crime, drug use, filthy living conditions, and exploitation continued unabated.

  The new cities were (and are) massive, and the problems of this struggling class are unsolvable (so far). Urban reformers always wailed for more money to give these careworn folks, but giving them money failed. Feeding and clothing them at public expense, and trying to train them for productive work, among other efforts, failed consistently. The problem with urban reforms, stopping drug addition, preventing alcohol abuse, limiting crime, feeding the poor, and helping the underprivileged, all turn on the one invariable of history—human nature. Reforms will fail as long as human nature remains the same. How can we know that? History tells us so. From ancient Rome to modern New York the results of these programs are always the same, total failure. Why? Because human nature stays the same. For unknown reasons, human nature does not allow anything, including better living conditions, extra money, gifts, training, or education, to change its basic character. Criminals stay criminals, prostitutes stay prostitutes, lazy folks remain lazy; thus, all the reforms tried by all the societies that ever existed failed to change these facts. Somehow, this lesson of history remains unlearned. New theories of social reform, new psychology, and new government programs consistently came forth with ever increasing financial demands on the average person to pay up and pull these people out of poverty and squalor. However, nothing ever worked. Rome, Great Britain, America, and an endless parade of other societies tried numerous solutions; still, the urban underclass and their problems remained.

  It seems strange to mention that as all this urbanization and modernization was going on one Colonel George Armstrong Custer, along with 265 of his men, underwent a butchering by Sioux warriors at the Little Bighorn River in 1876. This displays the many contrasts on the American scene. “Wild Indians” were attacking cavalry units in the west while people were planning to string telephone lines over paved city streets in the East.

  In 1850, most Americans wanted to stay out of world affairs. The same was true in 1900 because the nation was fundamentally isolationist. However, powerful men wanted the United States i
n the world arena, and to that end they would build up the American military and project the nation onto the world stage. In 1885, Josiah Strong published Our Country, which argued for American Imperialism. How could a nation that rebelled against British Imperialism now want to embrace the very thing it fought so hard to jettison? Under Secretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt the US Navy expanded and modernized its fleet. It seems politicians always want more power both at home and on the world scene. So it was that in 1898, Cuba became the center of US attention, mostly through US newspapers demanding war with Spain.

  America Becomes an Imperial Power—1898

  On February 15, 1898, an explosion aboard the USS Maine anchored in Cuba’s Havana Harbor sunk the ship, killing and injuring many men. An ammunition accident in the battleship’s forward main battery probably caused the enormous explosion.[149] American newsmen, blaming the Spanish government for placing a mine, shrieked for war against Spain. Much to the joy of the Hurst newspaper chain Spain’s diplomatic overtures fell on deaf ears. The United States declared war on April 21, 1898. The Spanish-American War was a short, sharp conflict where the US Navy under Commodore George Dewey managed to defeat the Spanish fleet at Manila Bay in the Philippines on May 1, 1898, and the US Army defeated the Spanish in a series of battles in Cuba centered on the city of Santiago. Theodore Roosevelt was in Cuba leading the charge of the Rough Riders (who were foot soldiers) up the critical position of San Juan Hill. After several battles the Spanish defenders of Cuba surrendered at Santiago on July 17, 1898. Defeats in Cuba and the Philippines convinced Spain to throw in the towel. The Americans acquired significant Spanish possessions in the Caribbean and the Pacific. Thus, America became an imperial power gaining the Philippines, Cuba, Guam, Wake Island, and Puerto Rico from Spain. Cuba gained independence rather soon in comparison to the Philippines that remained a virtual colony for decades. The people in the Philippines did not like US imperial rule any better than Spanish imperial rule and revolted against the United States in 1899. This blood-spattered guerrilla insurrection went on for years, ending in 1902 with the United States declaring the Philippines unorganized territory whose people were not US citizens.

  So now the United States fought rebellions in its imperial territory much like England in 1776. A weird circumstance brought about by leaders in the US Government, and the US news media, desiring world power for the United States. As such, they copied England, as Germany and the rest of Europe did, and created an overseas empire. The United States could not compete with the British, a major trading and financial partner, but some leaders in America wanted their share of the international spotlight; so, they created an empire, small as it was. As time marched on Cuba became a thorn in the side of the US Government for decades (after Castro), and the Philippines required an immense sum of money and lives to free it from Japan’s conquest in World War II. After WWII the US quickly got rid of its colonial “empire.” Overall, this imperial adventure proved costly in the extreme for the United States of America.

  Copying Britain

  Throughout the 1800s, nations desiring world power copied the greatest of world powers at the time, the United Kingdom, by seeking colonies and empires. It seems a bit odd trying to gain a world empire in 1900, because England, Holland, and France already controlled most of the world, so little remained for the Johnny-come-lately. Nations like Germany and the United States needed to follow a different path to greatness, but no one had any ideas on how else to do it. And, naturally, just as everyone began wanting an empire the Imperial Age became an anachronism, ending because colonies were hard to keep. Between putting money into them for development, other financial outlays became constant and necessary to protect the original investment. The overall costs were more than the benefits derived, but few noticed at the time. England’s imperial system created a preferred trade zone where exchanges within the British Empire were duty free. Britain protected the sea-lanes, built railroads to bring goods to market, and otherwise expended effort to gain more benefit from its colonies. To make this work Britain needed several colonies with a wide variety of raw materials and locally manufactured goods. Unless another nation could recreate this variety of resources and pour a lot of money into infrastructure development the payoff was not there for gaining colonies. The English put the infrastructure in place over many decades; thus, the funds were sunk costs, and maintenance alone could hold the infrastructure together. New nations on the colonial scene had a lot of expensive catching up to do, as the USA, Germany, Italy and others were to find out. Smart political leadership looks for new ways to achieve goals, but smart political leadership is a rare commodity; thus, new nations chased England and France to become world powers. Not smart. At least the US kept it small and did not get upset when more could not be acquired. Germany would react differently.

  From 1800 to 1900, industrial and technological development around the world continued. Especially important was the development of electricity. From about 1800, when Alessandra Volta invented the battery, to 1886 when Nikola Tesla invented alternating current, the new phenomenon of electricity was showing what the future could look like. Michael Faraday invented the electric motor in 1821 and this allowed the use of electricity for an ever-increasing number of applications. The invention of alternating current propelled the world forward into a new age of power some have termed the second industrial revolution. Tesla invented so many modern concepts he is called the Father of the Modern World. Some of his accomplishments include alternating current, the induction motor, the rotating magnetic field, wireless technology, and the US Supreme Court deemed Tesla the true inventor of the radio. In 1884 in Britain, Parson’s steam turbine was unveiled. In 1885, Daimler of Germany created the internal combustion engine.[150] In 1895, the first public cinema opened in France. In 1901, J.P. Morgan created US Steel, the first billion-dollar corporation. America cheered its first Rose Bowl game in 1902.[151] On December 17, 1903, the Wright brothers became the first to manage powered flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.[152] In 1908, Henry Ford opened the first assembly line for vehicles.

  Figure 42 Tesla, father of the modern world

  However, something patented in 1883 by Hiram Maxim would change the face of the world by blowing it off with great efficiency—the machine gun. The name itself tells the story, a gun of the machine age. It fired large amounts of ammunition automatically, that is, without a person reloading it one round at a time. By just pulling the trigger it fired until the ammunition ran out. The main financier of the factory needed to construct these guns was Vickers (an English firm), and they were constructed in large numbers by England in the late 1800s. Their use in colonial warfare was decisive, allowing advancing technology to keep the Europeans in control of their far-flung empires with fewer men. Their use in the Great War of 1914 to 1918 caused paralysis on the Western Front and millions of deaths.

  The world is now at 1900, a watershed in history. The world changed dramatically since 1800. The twentieth century saw unmitigated change, social disorder, ideological upheaval, and endless butchery. It is to that story we now proceed.

  Books and Resources

  Dreadnought, Robert K. Massie, 1992, Ballantine Books. Massie reviews the entire era leading up to WWI in grand style. He gives fairly complete biographies on each major personage of the times from Cecil Rhodes to Queen Victoria.

  Wizard:TheLifeandTimesofNikolaTesla:BiographyofaGenius, Marc Seifer, 2001, Citadel Press Books

  Chapter 12

  1900: The Dividing Line

  to the Modern World

  Since a new era is dawning, we need to review what was going on around 1900.

  Industrialism and the Machine Age

  The years between 1880 and 1900 were an era of great prosperity and a belief in a glorious future. Progress was everywhere. Trains were moving people and goods faster than ever and at reduced prices. Transportation influenced prices on all kinds of goods and services so as transportation prices fell prices on nearly everythin
g fell. Mass production became common, and this made textiles and a wide array of manufactured goods available at lower prices. At sea, fast ships traveling around the world brought goods to Europe and America from across the globe. As Europe thrived, the third world prospered by supplying the Europeans with their needs and wants which consistently grew. New factories were constructed, and new factories meant better machines and more competition, driving prices down. It also upped employment numbers. International trade was booming, and the future looked brilliant. Machines seemed to be the key to the future. They made everything better.

  In terms of warfare, the last ninety years were good because very few large wars between major powers occurred. Since Napoleon’s defeat in 1815, European nations cooperated as never before in preventing war. If events in Europe appeared to be moving toward an armed clash, the ambassadors gathered and started working out terms to prevent a conflict.[153]

  Overall, the world seemed to work well; however, underneath it all a growing angst presided. Philosophy started predicting an irrational world, one ruled by harsh reality, power, and greed. Art was coming undone. Reality evaporated, and modern painting started taking over wherein the minds of artists turned to images of wilting watches and fantastic scenes never glimpsed before. Even this degenerated into darker paintings of worlds without recognizable features. Literature followed suit with stories of meaningless existence overlain by horror. Music also echoed the tune of no rhyme or theme and began to declare there was no unity in music or in life. It all came together in science, where the world people thought they knew melted away with incomprehensible theories that failed to fit everyday experience. The theory of relativity (Einstein) told the world that the universe was a strange place where the speed of light never changed, and events changed depending on a person’s viewpoint in space. Plank’s quantum theory postulated a world of atoms where “certainty” was a calculation which stated only the possibilities—NOTHING was certain here. Freud displayed the power of hidden areas of the human mind and proved rational decisions were anything but rational. Decisions and ideas were not based on systematic thought (logic and reason), but on the emotional, and very irrational, part of the mind he called the subconscious. Freud made the mind irrational and thus the world irrational. Where could this be leading?