Transformative 1890s
The transformative 1890s led to conflicting opinions and instability in the United States, setting the stage for the rise of yellow journalism.
Economic troubles in the U.S. led to the Panic of 1893
Americans began looking to overseas markets, thus sparking interest in imperialism. (U.S. History, 22.1: Turner, Mahan, and the Roots of Empire)
ANNUAL EXPORTS
$234 million (1856)
↓
$1.3 billion (1898)
ANNUAL IMPORTS
$238 million (1865)
↓
$616 million (1898)
national unity threatened by a changing society
Frederick Jackson Turner
{University of Utah Digital Library}
The close of the frontier, in addition to the increasingly global economy, signified the loss of a unifying cause and common American identity.
"For nearly three centuries the dominant fact in American life has been expansion... American energy will continually demand a wider field for its exercise"
~ Frederick Jackson Turner's Frontier Thesis
Immigrants arriving at Ellis Island, NY, c. 1900. {The Granger Collection}
The U.S. experienced increased immigration and population toward the late 1800s (U.S. History, 22.1: Turner, Mahan, and the Roots of Empire).
Americans worried that society was becoming too diverse, and that they needed to integrate and reform society.