Progressive Era, Part 1

After winning "that splendid little war", the Spanish-American War, how did the terms concentration camp and pacification first emerge in the brutal two-year Filipino guerilla war against US occupation?

26. Theodore Roosevelt becomes president when McKinley is assassinated. His role in the Spanish-American War demonstrates how he enjoys war. He becomes a reform president and begins the Progressive Era, which lasts until 1917. The Age of Conservatism is a new relationship between the federal government and business. His diplomatic style is aggressive, using dollar diplomacy and gunboat diplomacy. He wins election in 1904.

27. William Howard Taft. A one-term Republican, but he launches more antitrust suits than his predecessor and signs an amendment that ends the practice of rampant election fraud in Senate elections.

Progressive Era, Part 2

At the outbreak of World War I, why is President Wilson's call for US neutrality in thought as well as action seen as somewhat dishonest and open to question?

28. Woodrow Wilson. A Democrat, Wilson is elected in 1912. He believes that anyone who opposes him on any issue is morally evil. Wilson is reelected in 1916 on the theme of "he kept us out of war" but leads the US into the war in April 1917. In Wilson's worldview, the League of Nations is to be not an idealistic utopia but a tool for the US to dominate the world.

29. Warren G. Harding. Elected in 1920 in a Republican landslide, he is considered a failure as president. His administration is riddled with cronyism and scandals (Teapot Dome), but he also has some capable cabinet members. Harding dies in office.

30. Calvin Coolidge. He is known for breaking the police strike. He seems to suit the times, is popular, and easily wins reelection in 1924. He blocks help to farmers because he sees them as inconsequential.