American History in the Secondary School

ARTHUR M. WOLFSON, PH.D., Editor.

RECENT AMERICAN HISTORY.

The New Era.

By the year 1876 or 1877, the period of Reconstruction may be said to have come to an end. From that time on the people of the United States were busy developing new ideas and attempting to settle new problems. Only gradually, however, did they recognize this fact; not till the end of the nineteenth century did the country awake to a full realization that the old order was no more, that a new order had come into existence. Just because this new order has been so recently born, however, because so many of its elements are so imperfectly understood, the teacher will probably find special difficulties in teaching it to his classes.

The Age of Extra-Continental Expansion and of New Economic Development.

To begin with, the student must be taught that this last generation in America has witnessed two almost entirely new developments: (1) the extra-continental expansion of the United States, and (2) the growth of enormous combinations of labor and of capital. The first reached its climax in the Spanish-American War, the acquisition of the Philippines and of Porto Rico, the assumption of a quasi-protectorate over the republics of Central America, and the interference in the affairs of China and Japan. With the details of this movement we shall not attempt to deal in this article. Instead we shall devote all of our space to a consideration of the second series of events.

The history and the results of the growth of these large combinations of labor and of capital present themselves in three more or less distinct phases: (a) the struggle of the laborer for his full share in the distribution of wealth; (b) the development of capitalistic enterprise through the large corporations; and (c) the effort of the consumer to keep from being crushed by the weight of the two contending forces.

Though the interest of the consumer in these new economic problems is destined, in the opinion of many students, to become the paramount one, up to the present time it has received but little direct attention from constructive statesmen, and it does not, therefore, properly belong among the subjects to be discussed in the history class room. The teacher may, nevertheless, call the attention of his students to the evidences of the beginning of the definite movement to protect the interests of the consumer: the recent Pure Food Acts, the legislation of the various states designed to limit the profits of railway and other public service corporations, and the widespread agitation of the present day over the high cost of living.

The Labor Problem.

In studying the labor problem, our investigations must begin as far back as the middle of the last century when the first trade unions were organized in the United States. Since then they have grown steadily till to-day they number their members in the millions. In the beginning, these unions were limited to one locality and to men who were working in the same trade; gradually, however, they broadened their scope till they became national in their limits and universal in the class of workmen who were eligible to membership. In presenting the movement, it will be well for the teacher to select some thoroughly typical trade union, such as the Brotherhood of Railway Engineers, some thoroughly typical amalgamated union, such as the American Federation of Labor, for purposes of illustration. To get the class to investigate the history of these unions as far as possible, and to confine the discussion to their activities will be the teacher’s duty, else the study will result in hopeless confusion.

The principal weapons of the unions have been the strike and the boycott. The history of the use of both of these should be followed briefly. Then should come the consideration of the counterblast which the corporations and the consumer have recently called to their aid: the judicial injunction (study the history of the Debs case and the more recent Bucks Stove Case), and the application of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890 to the labor unions as associations in restraint of trade (study the Danbury Hatters’ Case, in which the decision of the Court was issued only a few months ago).

The Railroad Problem.

In studying the history of the large corporations, it pays in the beginning to indicate clearly the difference between (1) public service corporations, those which enjoy partial or complete monopoly under franchises granted by the government, and (2) industrial corporations, whose operations do not differ essentially from the enterprises of single individuals, except in the amount of capital which they command. Public service corporations may again be divided into two classes: (1) the interstate railroads, and (2) those corporations whose business is local in its nature, such as the street railroad, the water companies and the gas companies.

Attacking the problem of the interstate railroads first, the class must begin its work by studying the history of the growth of the great trunk lines, like the New York Central and the Pennsylvania, and of the transcontinental railroads, like the Union Pacific and the Northern Pacific. Next in order will come the story of the vicious practices which grew out of the excessive competition among these railroads: rate wars, unfair discriminations against localities and against individual shippers, overcapitalization, etc.

Early in the ’80’s the railroads themselves attempted to remedy these evils by forming the famous pooling associations, but these pooling associations were later prohibited by law. Next the individual states attempted to improve conditions by passing special railroad codes and by creating state railroad commissions. Finally, in 1887, the national government, by the Interstate Commerce Act attempted to better conditions, but improvement came but slowly. Since then, by numerous Court decisions, the most important of which was the decision in the Northern Securities Case, and by at least two amendments to the Interstate Commerce Act, the Elkins Act of 1903 and the Hepburn Act of 1907, the national government has attempted to improve the situation. Conditions to-day are much better than they have ever been in the past, but there is still room for much improvement.

Municipal Public Service Corporations.

In discussing local public service corporations, it is well for the teacher to develop in the beginning the fact that there are two possible ways of dealing with them: (1) municipal ownership, and (2) state regulation. Even in this country the first method has been tried to some extent; most of our largest cities now own their own water supply, and some of them are in possession of their own gas and electric light plants. Thus far, however, most American states and cities have been content to confine their activities in dealing with public service corporation to regulating their functions and privileges by special legislation and by establishing special commissions. Still, the history of the regulation of public service corporations in this country is as yet in its beginnings; the teacher can therefore go but little farther than to set his students thinking upon the question as to which is the better method of dealing with the problem.

Industrial Corporations.

Like the trunk lines and the transcontinental railroads, the great industrial corporations had their origin in the years following the period of the Civil War and Reconstruction. Among these corporations, the Standard Oil Company is, of course, the most famous; still, the teacher will do well to attempt to follow with his class the history of some other industrial corporation as well—if possible, some corporation whose operations have not stirred up so much opposition as the Standard Oil Company. In estimating the effect of these corporations upon the economic history of the country, one should attempt to bring out the benefits which they have bestowed upon the people as well as the evils which have resulted from their operations.

In attempting to regulate the activities of these corporations most states have passed special laws and established special commissions. In consequence, the newspapers are full of accounts of prosecutions under these laws and by these commissions and the student should be encouraged to read them. The national government, too, has passed at least one law, the famous Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890, with a view to regulating these great corporations. More recently still, the Bureau of Corporations was established, while at the present time new legislation on this subject is pending in Congress. Yet with all the agitation and with all the legislation, it cannot be said that the problem is even on the verge of being settled. That will take, in all probability, at least another generation.

The Literature of the Subject.

To recommend one or two, or even half a dozen books on this period of American history is impossible. Most of the discussion is evanescent, and books are antiquated almost before they have been printed. For much of the subject matter to be discussed the student should be sent to such manuals as (1) the American Annual Cyclopedia, and (2) the Statesman’s Year Book. Much valuable material can also be gleaned from (3) the annual almanacs published by many of the larger daily papers. For statutes and government regulations, the student should consult (4) MacDonald’s “Select Statutes,” 1861-1898.

Comprehensive and comparatively recent discussions of these subjects will be found: (a) on trade unions, in (1) Ely’s, “The Labor Movement in America;” (2) Adams and Sumner’s “Labor Problems,” and (3) Commons’ “Trade Unionism and Labor Problems;” (b) on railroads, in (1) Hadley’s “Railroad Transportation;” (2) Haines’ “Restrictive Railroad Legislation,” and (3) Ripley’s “Railroad Problems;” (c) on municipal public service corporations, in (1) Bemis’ “Municipal Monopolies,” and (2) Foote’s “Municipal Public Service Industries;” (d) on industrial corporations, in (1) Jenks’ “The Trust Problem;” (2) Ely’s “Monopolies and Trusts;” (3) Ripley’s “Trusts, Pools and Corporations,” and (4) Tarbell’s “History of the Standard Oil Company.” Beside all these the student will find much that is valuable in the current reviews and journals, at least one of which should be in every school library.