1898: The Birth of the American Century

by David Traxel

Overview

In 1898: The Birth of the American Century, David Traxel tells the story of a watershed year, a year of foreign conflict, extravagant adventure, and breakneck social change that forged a new America—a sudden empire with many far-flung possessions, a dynamic new player upon the global stage.

At the heart of this vivid, anecdotal history is a masterly account of the Spanish-American War, the "splendid little war" that garnered the nation Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines.  From the sinking of the Maine in waters off Havana to Teddy Roosevelt's rough riders and the triumph of Admiral Dewey, here is the lightning-swift military episode that transformed America into a world power. Here too are many stories not so often told—the bloody first successes of the new United Mine Workers, the tentative beginnings of the Ford Motor Company, the million-dollar launch of the Uneeda Biscuit—each in its way as important as the harbinger of the American century.  Compulsively readable, frequently humorous, utterly fascinating in its every detail, 1898 is popular history at its finest.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780679776710
Publisher:	Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Publication date:	12/07/1999
Edition description:	1 VINTAGE
Pages:	384
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

David Traxel received his B.A. in history from the University of California, Berkley, and earned his M.A. and Ph.D. at the University of California, Santa Cruz.  He has been the recipient of Fulbright, Smithsonian, and National Endowment for the Humanities fellowships, and is the author of An American Saga: The Life and Times of Rockwell Kent.  Currently at work on a biography of the American journalist Richard Harding Davis, Traxel lives with his wife, Rosemary, in Philadelphia.

Table of Contents

Preface	xi
Prologue	3
Chapter 1 LAND OF CONTRASTS	17
Chapter 2 THE ADVENTURE OF PROGRESS	39
Chapter 3 YOUTH AND NEW IDEAS	63
Chapter 4 HUMANITY AND SELF-INTEREST	87
Chapter 5 WAR FEVER	107
Chapter 6 THE GLORIOUS FIRST OF MAY	127
Chapter 7 WAITING FOR ORDERS	154
Chapter 8 THE REAL THING	171
Chapter 9 WAGES OF WAR	195
Chapter 10 A WORLDWIDE VICTORY	214
Chapter 11 BATTLES AT HOME	237
Chapter 12 OPPORTUNITIES	264
Chapter 13 THE NEW AMERICAN WAY	287
Epilogue	310
Notes	321
Bibliography	341
Index	349

Editorial Reviews

"History composed with zest and care and an eye for the anecdote."- The Boston Globe

"Engaging, compelling and gracefully written."-Los Angeles Times

"Entertaining... A fund of good stories."- The New York Times Book Review

"Traxel is a lucid, engaging writer with a sure sense of narrative movement."-The Washington Post

From the Publisher

The year 1898 is remembered in the U.S. as "one of those rare years [that] changed the course of American history." Traxel (An American Saga: The Life and Times of Rockwell Kent) has a flair for the good story and the telling anecdote that he puts to skillful use as he reviews the year's high points. They include the creation of the five-borough City of New York; the Great Blizzard; the sinking of the Maine during the Spanish-American War; the triumph of Teddy Roosevelt (the prototype of the modern politician); the creation of the National Biscuit Company (the prototype of the modern marketing empire); the great newspaper circulation wars between Hearst and Pulitzer; a cruel coal miners' strike; one of the last Indian battles; the emergence of John Muir and the conservation movement; and the beginnings of an overseas American empire in Hawaii and the Philippines. Traxel's footnotes indicate that his sources are rarely firsthand, but he is as proficient a name-dropper as he is a storyteller, and we hear about Edison, Ford, Frank Baum, Gifford Pinchot, Frederick Taylor, Clara Barton, Stephen Crane, Dewey (both the admiral and the educator) and William Jennings Bryan. And 1898 is presented as the year that marked the end of the old WASP America and the beginnings of a new America full of Catholics, Jews, blacks and all the social and ethical issues faced by a country that has suddenly become an international power. The year may not have been as tidy a turning point as Traxel portrays it, but his account of it is certainly entertaining to read. Photos. (May)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

The year 1898 stands out as one pivotal to American history and, to a lesser extent, world history. Each of these books by two independent scholars emphasizes the ways in which that year's events set the stage for the 20th century. Corry's overview of domestic and international politics draws clear connections between European imperial rivalries and the Spanish-American War but merely glances at equally important events in Asia that do not quite fit into the chronological framework. George Dewey's triumph at Manila Bay was part of a larger American push across the Pacific toward Asia: the events of 1898 had global ramifications. Culling stories, testimony, and documents from a wide range of printed sources and existing studies, Corry's narrative occasionally takes on the appearance of a scrapbook but offers a useful point of departure. Somewhat more engrossing is Traxel's lively account of American society and politics during these same 12 months. The Spanish-American War and its heroes, including Teddy Roosevelt, take center stage, but Traxel offers an insightful glimpse into the making of modern America, complete with the growth of large corporations, advancements in technology, and labor strife. Those taking a bow include Admiral Peary, Clara Barton, W.E.B. DuBois, and Geronimo. Traxel leaves the reader to draw comparisons with today's end-of-century challenges and dilemmas, suggesting that 100 years may not be all that long ago. In any case, there is more than the Maine for us to remember about the year that, Traxel claims, gave birth to the American century.Brooks D. Simpson, Arizona State Univ., Tempe

Library Journal

Historian Traxel narrates the extraordinary events of 1898 to unfold the story of America's metamorphosis from a rural, isolationist society into a commanding presence on the world stage. The account centers upon America's first foray into international military affairs, the Spanish-American War, but also covers worker uprisings, racial conflict, the last battle between Native Americans and the US Army, advances in technology, and the growing importance of advertising. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Booknews

A narrative history of the watershed year of 1898, when a previously self-absorbed, isolationist America suddenly turned outward, becoming an exuberant player on the world stage. Traxel (An American Saga, 1980) argues persuasively that during 1898 the US þadvanced from being viewed as a country of sharp-dealing businessmen with a second-rate military to acknowledgment as a respected member of the imperialists' club.þ This was in large part because of Americaþs swift victory in the Spanish-American War. There were, however, other elements at work. By 1898 a number of industries began to turn outward in search of new, large markets for American goods. American technology, after a period of experimentation following the Civil War, had hit its stride. The work of Edison, Ford, Taylor (the father of assembly-line efficiency), Armour, Westinghouse, and many others profoundly (and permanently) altered American life. Admiral Mahanþs persuasive study, The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, published in 1890, reshaped American thinking about the military, arguing that a great nation needed foreign markets, and that the competition for such markets would be won by the nation with the most efficient naval power. These were matters well understood by Theodore Roosevelt, the first þmodernþ president and the man who spurred the creation of a new American fleet. At the same time, on the homefront, many women were leaving the security (and restrictions) of the home to pursue higher education, jobs, and, of course, the right to vote. Unions, their growth spurred by often atrocious working conditions, found themselves in pitched battles with corporations. At the sametime reformers (such as Jane Addams in Chicago), achieved a new visibility in American life, initiating crusades for better housing, better education, and job safety. A lively survey, rich with anecdotal material, of the year that witnessed the combustion of the forces that were to make America a dominant power. (8 photos, not seen)

Kirkus Reviews