Chapter One America: Taking the Twentieth Century by Storm

As the nineteenth century dissolved into the twentieth, America was all puffed up and full of herself. Anguishing wounds left by the Civil War had all but healed during the 35 years from its end. Following the Battle of Wounded Knee in 1891, a conquered western frontier was reshaped by homesteading farmers and barbed wire. Native Americans lived on reservations while the mighty herds of buffalo were part of the nostalgic past of the wild, wild west. By the end of the 1800s a transcontinental railroad linked the economies of the east coast to the west and led to the standardization of time zones across the country. Growth in industry and economic power began to transform …show more content…
And why wouldn't he? It lasted about 100 days with only 289 losses on the American side. Troops marched off to battle with John Philip Souza's patriotic strains ringing in their ears and the glow of pride radiating from parents, girlfriends and wives. In the end, a fading European power was roundly defeated, and America was “feeling her oats”. Theodore Roosevelt became a hero in Cuba with his band of Rough Riders and subsequently became the Vice-President of the United States. After McKinley's assassination in 1901, Roosevelt became President and was left to deal with the consequences of the war he had wanted so …show more content…
What to do with the Philippines? McKinley was never passionate for war and did not think occupying the archipelago was in America's best interest. After all, the continental United States was still being established and developed, infrastructure was needed, public works awaited funding. Resources were better used at home. Others in the government felt that the islands were not ready for independence; that their tribal and cultural differences would result in anarchy, or their weakness would lead to occupation by the Japanese or Germans. In the end, it was the strategic and commercial potential the islands offered for the American business community that tipped the balance for McKinley. With the Europeans monopolizing trade in the Far East and Japan's increasing military power, America felt a foothold in Asia was both a timely and fortuitous event