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DISCONTENT AND REFORM OUTLINE OF U.S. HISTORY 199 Bank in each, all supervised by a na- tional Federal Reserve Board with limited authority to set interest rates . The act assured greater flexibility in the money supply and made provi- sion for issuing federal-reserve notes to meet business demands . Greater centralization of the system […]

TAFT AND WILSON Roosevelt’s popularity was at its peak as the campaign of 1908 neared, but he was unwilling to break the 198 tradition by which no president had held office for more than two terms . Instead, he supported William How- ard Taft, who had served under him as governor of the Philippines and

ROOSEVELT(S) REFORMS By the early 20th century, most of the larger cities and more than half the states had established an eight-hour day on public works . Equally important were the work- man’s compensation laws, which made employers legally responsible for injuries sustained by employees at work . New revenue laws were also enacted, which,

THE REFORM IMPULSE The presidential election of 1900 gave the American people a chance to pass judgment on the Republican administration of President McKin- ley, especially its foreign policy . Meeting at Philadelphia, the Repub- licans expressed jubilation over the successful outcome of the war with Spain, the restoration of prosperity, and the effort to

THE STRUGGLES OF LABOR The life of a 19th-century Ameri- can industrial worker was hard . Even in good times wages were low, hours long, and working conditions hazardous . Little of the wealth that the growth of the nation had gener- ated went to its workers . Moreover, women and children made up a

AGRARIAN DISTRESS AND THE RISE OF POPULISM In spite of their remarkable prog- ress, late-19th century American farmers experienced recurring pe- riods of hardship . Mechanical im- provements greatly increased yield per hectare . The amount of land un- der cultivation grew rapidly through- out the second half of the century, as the railroads and

UNITED STATES AND ASIA Newly established in the Philip- pines and firmly entrenched in Ha- waii at the turn of the century, the United States had high hopes for a vigorous trade with China . However, Japan and various European nations had acquired established spheres of influence there in the form of naval bases, leased

THE CANAL AND THE AMERICAS The war with Spain revived U .S . interest in building a canal across the isthmus of Panama, uniting the two great oceans . The usefulness of such a canal for sea trade had long been recognized by the major com- mercial nations of the world; the French had begun

AMBIVALENT EMPIRE The last decades of the 19th century were a period of imperial expansion for the United States . The American story took a different course from that of its European rivals, however, because of the U .S . history of strug- gle against European empires and its unique democratic development . The sources

THE PLIGHT OF THE NATIVE AMERICANS As in the East, expansion into the plains and mountains by miners, ranchers, and settlers led to increas- ing conflicts with the Native Amer- icans of the West . Many tribes of Native Americans — from the Utes of the Great Basin to the Nez Perces of Idaho —