American Expeditionary Force
Commanded by general John J Pershing, these US troops arrived by hundreds of thousands and the AEF assumed independent responsibility for a segment of the Western front
brinkmanship
Conservatives were pleased while others were alarmed when Dulles declared that if the US pushed communist powers to the brink of war, the communist nations would back down because of america's nuclear superiority.
Dr. Benjamin Spock
Author of the 1946 self help book Baby and Child Care, he endorsed the traditional view of a woman's role as caring for the home and children.
David Riesman
Author of the 1958 book The Lonely Crowd, this Harvard sociologist criticized conformity as it replaced "inner directed" individuals in society.
NASA
After Sputnik I and II were launched, this National Aeronautics and Space Administration was created to help the US compete in the space race.
Second Red Scare
After WWII, this second round of communist fears (that conspirators and spies had infiltrated the US society, government, and military) was supported by the tendency of the Truman administration to see conspiracy behind european and asian civil wars. In the Rosenberg Case, the FBI traced a ring of spies to the Rosenberg couple in New York. They were found guilty of treason and executed in 1953, although civil rights groups claim that anticommunist hysteria was the cause of their conviction. Joseph McCarthy, a powerful republican Wisconsin senator, charged that over 205 communists were working at the State Department. The accusations were widely publicized and his power grew because of people's fear of his finger pointing at them.
george washington carver
American botanist, agricultural chemist, and educator who developed hundreds of uses for the peanut, soybean, and sweet potato, prompting Southern farmers to produce these soil-enriching cash crops
Nativism
Native-born Americans who reacted strongly against immigrants because they feared that the foreigners would take jobs and weaken the culture of the english community
Public Works Administration
Directed by Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes, this New Deal administration gave money to state and local governments for building roads, bridges, dams, along with other public works. This gave a source of thousands of jobs.
party patronage
During the Gilded Age, neither party was very active in legislature. This left politics to be a game of winning elections, holding office, and giving jobs to those who supported your party.
WEB Du Bois
This African American criticized Booker T Washington's approach and demanded equal rights, arguing that political and social rights must occur before economic independence. He met with a group of black intellectuals in Niagara Falls and started the Niagara Movement which started the NAACP
treaty of guadalupe hidalgo
This treaty, which ended the Mexican-American War in 1848, granted the U.S. the Mexican Cession for 15 million dollars and and required Mexico to recognize its border to be at the Rio Grande.
Jones Act
Using Moral Diplomacy, Wilson passed this act which1 granted full territorial status to the Philippines2 guaranteed a bill of rights and universal male suffrage for all Filipino citizens3 promised independence for the Philippines as soon as stable government was established
Emilio Aguinaldo
a Filipino nationalist leader, after fighting beside US troops during the Spanish American War and being outraged at their denial for independence, he led bands of guerilla fighters against the US. It took 3 years and thousands of lives before the end in 1902
John Peter Zenger
a New York newspaper printer and editor who was put on trial because of libel of the governor. He won his case and this gave unspoken freedom for newspapers to take risks like his
Fort Sumter
a fort located in south carolina that was cut off from supplies, it was sent provisions by Lincoln for the union troops inside. The South open fired at the fort, starting the civil war on April 12, 1861. This event further motivated northerners to unite and fight against the south.
Auburn system
a prison reform experiment in New York, this system enforced rigid rules of discipline while also giving moral instruction and work programs.
Jacksonian Democracy
a process of spreading more political power to the people (white men)
Pontiac's Rebellion
a rebellion by Native Americans against colonists in 1763 led by chief Pontiac to drive away settlers who were settling on the western frontier which was land claimed by the Native Americans. The british sent in regular troops to deal with the rebellion.
Bacon's Rebellion
a rebellion in 1676 led by Nathaniel Bacon. The rebellion included many backwoods farmers who were unhappy with the Virginian government's lack of action that favored them. The rebels massacred and raided Native American villages and burned down Jamestown.
Great Awakening
a rebirth of religion in the colonies as emotionalism was brought into puritan services, more people joined the church and studied bible at home, and well known preachers preached about the power of the divine. This period was from the 1730s-1740s
temperence
a reform movement against the production, sale, and consumption of alcohol, it had over one million members by the 1840s. Largely opposed to this idea were german and irish immigrants. The idea was that it would reduce crime and poverty while increasing workers' output on the job. Because of this many factory owners and politicians supported this movement. Maine was the first to begin taxing alcohol and would later ban alcohol consumption all together. The movement was overshadowed by the abolitionist movement against slavery but it resurfaced in the 1870s.
Second Great Awakening
a religious revival that influenced the start of utopian societies and new sects of Christianity. It was partially a reaction against rationalism (the belief in human reason).
Credit Mobilier scandal
a scheme in which stock holders gave stock to influential congressmen to avoid investigation of the profits they were making from government subsidies for building the transcontinental railroad
King Philip's War
a war led by Metacomb (chief of the Wampanoagas) who united many tribes together to rebel against New England colonists for taking their land. The colonists won the war.
joint-stock company
a way for people to invest their money into founding colonies and other profitable areas of the economy.
Act of Toleration
an act of 1694 which allowed religious freedom to all christians in Maryland. The law also called for the death of anyone who denied the divinity of Jesus
Ku Klux Klan
an unorganized secret society meant to intimidate blacks and white reformers, they were founded in 1867 by ex-confederate general Nathaniel Bedford Forrest. They burned black owned buildings and flogged as well as murdered blacks in an effort to keep them from using their right to vote. Federal authorities were given the power to stop this violence by the Force Acts of 1870 and 1871
conquistadores
conquerors of the new world for Spain who were in search of glory, wealth, and divine approval. Some notable explorers given this title were: Vasco Nunez de Balboa, Ferdinand Magellan, Hernan Cortes, and Francisco Pizzaro,
Wilmot Proviso
proposed by David Wilmot, this called for a law to be passed that prohibited slavery in any of the new territories acquired by Mexico. It failed to pas in the senate.
indian reorganization act
1934, also known as the Wheeler-Howard Act or informally, the Indian New Deal, was a U.S. federal legislation which secured certain rights to Native Americans, including Natives. These include a reversal of the Dawes Act's privatization of common holdings of American Indians and a return to local self-government on a tribal basis. The Act also restored to Native Americans the management of their assets (being mainly land) and included provisions intended to create a sound economic foundation for the inhabitants of Indian reservations.
The Federalist Papers
85 highly persuasive essays written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay that were written for the New York newspaper. They were key in the Federalist campaign for the constitution.
John Marshall
A Federalist Supreme Court Justice appointed by Adams, he had a strong influence in the Supreme Court and strengthened central government. He established Judicial Review as a result of Marbury v. Madison.
Andrew Jackson
A U.S. general who defeated the english at the Battle of New Orleans and the Native Americans at Horseshoe Bend, he became a national hero and symbol for the "common man". He used this fame to gain the presidency. While in office, he used the spoils system, pet banks, and species circular.
Martin Luther King Jr
A black minister at the Baptist church where the civil rights movement started with the Montgomery Bus Boycott, he was an inspirational leader of nonviolent protests. He formed the Southern Christian Leadership Conference which led ministers and churches in the south to back the civil rights movement.
Marion Anderson
A distinguished african american singer, she had been refused the use of the Constitution Hall in Washington, DC by the all white Daughters of the American Revolution. Eleanor Roosevelt soon arranged for her performance at Lincoln Memorial.
The "peculiar institution"
A euphemism for slavery and its economic value for the south
booker t washington
A former slave. Encouraged blacks to keep to themselves and focus on the daily tasks of survival, rather than leading a grand uprising. Believed that building a strong economic base was more critical at that time than planning an uprising or fighting for equal rights. Washington also stated in his famous "Atlanta Compromise" speech in 1895 that blacks had to accept segregation in the short term as they focused on economic gain to achieve political equality in the future. Served as important role models for later leaders of the civil rights movement.
William Lloyd Garrison
A founder of the American Antislavery Society, he wanted immediate abolition of slavery in all states with no compensation for slave owners.He accused the constitution of being a proslavery document. He began the publication of an abolitionist newspaper called The Liberator.
war hawk
A group of new, young republicans elected to congress in 1810 who were from the western frontier. they were known for their eagerness for war with Britain. They were led by Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun. They argued that war was the only way to maintain american honor, gain Canada, and destroy Native American resistance
Chicago Race Riots of 1919
A large amount of African Americans migrated to northern cities during WWI which increased racial tensions. Whites resented them for the competition in jobs and housing. Race Riots like this one sprung up across the nation. This riot was the worst, where 40 people were killed and 500 were injured. Conditions regarding race relations were no better than in the South as racial prejudice and fear of the returning african american soldiers led to violence and lynching by whites.
wounded knee
A massacre at this native american reservation led by the US army killed some 150 native americans, ending the conflict between the sioux and the US government. A group of white Christian reformist tried to bring Christian beliefs on to the Indians. Fearing the Ghost Dance American troops were called to go with the reformist. While camped outside of an Indian reservation a gun was fired and the troops stormed the reservation killing Indian men women and children.
Social Gospel
A number of protestant clergymen in the 1880s and 1890s preached applying Christian principles to social problem solving. Lead to this movement in in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was Baptist minister Walter Rauschenbusch of New York who worked in Hell's Kitchen, a poverty stricken new York neighborhood
Thomas Paine's Common Sense
A pamphlet published in 1776 that supported independence from Britain by stating that it made no sense for a large continent to be controlled by a small, far away island and for people to remain loyal to a corrupt government.
Langston Hughes
A popular poet during the Harlem Renaissance, he wrote about his african american heritage with a large range of emotions.
Haymarket Bombing
A response to the May Day movement which called for a general strike for 8 hour work days, labor violence broke out at Chicago's McCormick Harvester plant. On May 4th a public meeting was held by workers in Haymarket Square. When [police attempted to break apart the meeting, a bomb was thrown by an unknown anarchist, killing 7 police officers. * anarchist leaders were tried for the crime and 7 were sentenced to death. Because of this event, labor unions (especially the Knights of Labor) lost membership rapidly.
Dust Bowl
A severe drought hit the Great Plains in the early 1930's. Winds blew away millions of tons of top soil, causing crops to be ruined. Thousands of Okies from this area went to California in search of new work that was rarely found. The Soil Conservation Service in 1935 to teach and subsidize the plains farmers to rotate crops, terrace fields, use contour plowing, and plant trees to stop soil erosion and conserve water. Novelist John Steinbeck wrote the book The Grapes of Wrath about the Okies and their hardships.
Lowell System
A system where mills and factories recruited young farm women and housed them in dormitories. This practice started in Lowell, Massachusetts and was imitated by many other mills and factories in the 1830s
King Cotton
A term used by southern farmers to recognize the economic importance of cotton in the United States
War of 1812
A war between Britain and France caused by the continuation of violated rights as the British were in the western frontier and helped Native Americans rebel against the U.S. and because the British were impressing American sailors.
Declaration of Independence
Adopted on July 4, 1776, the document was drafted by Thomas Jefferson. The resolution to declare independence came from Richard Lee of Virginia. A committee was formed to write the document that stated the grievances caused by the British government and the principles of the revolution. "We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."
Ida B Wells
African American journalist. published statistics about lynching, urged African Americans to protest by refusing to ride streetcards or shop in white owned stores
Tonkin Gulf Resolution
After a naval incident (north vietnamese gunboats had supposedly fired on US warships) in the Gulf of Tonkin, Johnson secured congressional authorization to send US forces into combat for the south vietnamese against the vietcong. This resolution gave the president authority to take "all necessary measures" to protect US interests in Vietnam.
Alice Paul
After breaking away from NAWSA, this leader of the National Woman's Party took more drastic approaches to win rights, such as mass pickets in the streets, parades, and hunger strikes. She focused from the beginning on winning an amendment to the constitution and winning Congress' and the president's support.
nineteenth amendment
After efforts of Women in WWI were recognized, Congress was finally persuaded to support a women's suffrage amendment. It's ratification in 1920 guaranteed women the right to vote on local, state, and national levels. Catt, leader of NAWSA quickly formed the League of Women Voters (an organization dedicated to keeping voters informed about candidates and issues.
Malcom X
After leaving prison in 1952, this new member of the Black Muslims made a reputation as the civil rights movement's most controversial speaker. He advocated self defense and eventually left the Black Muslims. He was assassinated by black opponents in 1965.
Little Rock Nine
After the Brown decision,the governor of Arkansas, Orval Faubus, used the states' national guard to prevent this group of african american students selected to begin the integration, from entering Little Rock Central High School. Eisenhower then sent in federal troops to guard and protect the black students. Even 10 years after the decision, less than 2% of blacks in the south attended integrated schools.
Panama Canal
After the Spanish-American war, America's empire included reached from Puerto Rico in the Caribbean to the Philippines in the Pacific. Because of this vast distance, The US needed an easier way to get between the Atlantic and Pacific. After the British agreed to nullify a previous treaty that would prevent this, the US began the work to create this canal. President Roosevelt orchestrated a revolt for Panama's independence after Columbia refused to cooperate with him in negotiating a way for the US to dig its canal through the isthmus of Panama. After the revolution, the US gained a 51 mile long and 10 mile wide Canal Zone. The actual building was started in 1904, and with the help of two army colonels, George Goethals and Dr. William Gorgas, who helped prevent the spread of yellow fever, it was finished quickly.
Albany Plan of Union
After the british government had the New York assembly, delegates from 7 colonies adopted this plan as a way to provide inter-colonial government, recruit troops, and collect taxes to help pay for colonial defense but the plan was turned down
Harlem Renaissance
Almost 20% of the african american population lived in the north by 1930 as migration from the south continued. Discrimination was still a setback in the north when trying to find housing and employment, the improvement came in their earnings and material standard of living. The largest african american community developed in Harlem in NYC. Harlem gained 200,000 people by 1930 and gained fame in the 1920's for their talented actors, artists, musicians, and writers. Harlem poets include Countee Cullen, Langston Hughes James Weldon Johnson, and Claude McKay. their poems commented on their african american heritage ranging from bitterness and resentment to joy and hope.
French and Indian War
Also known as the 7 years war, it was the fourth of a series of wars between european powers and conflict shifted to the colonies. The english believed that the French initiated the war as they set up forts on the Ohio River. Although the british didn't get off to a good start with the war, they eventually won.
loyalists
Also known as tories, this 20-30% of colonial population supported the British. They came from all classes but tended to be wealthier. They were probably the majority in Georgia, New Jersey, and New York. Many loyalists emigrated from the states to Canada or Britain in fear of persecution from the victorious patriots.
United Nations
Although Congress rejected the idea of the League of Nations, it readily accepted this organization as a peacekeeping organization to be put in place as soon as possible. Allied (US, Great Britain, Soviet Union, China) representatives met in 1944 near Washington DC to discuss this organization. In 1945, representatives from 50 countries met in San Francisco to draft a charter for the organization. The Senate voted immediately to accept US involvement in the UN. The UN came into being on October 24, 1945 when the majority of member nations ratified its charter.
Korematsu v. US
Although almost 20,000 japanese americans served in the military, their association with the enemy made many americans suspect japanese americans of being spies after Pearl Harbor. They feared a japanese invasion on the west coast. These fears led to the US government ordering over 100,000 japanese americans on the west coast to leave their homes and go to internment camps. In this supreme court case the internment policy was established s justified during wartime.
NATO
Although the US had previously avoided permanent alliances, Truman suggested in 1949 that they join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a military alliance for defending its members from outside attack. Ten european nations, along with canada and the US formed this organization, and Truman picked Eisenhower to be its first Supreme Commander and put off communism in western europe by sending US troops. Critics said that the Truman administration only deepened Russian fears and began an unnecessary arms race. In 1965, the Soviets formed the Warsaw Pact, a military alliance for protecting eastern european communist states. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization became one of the most successful military alliances ever. It checked Soviet expansion with the help of the deterrent power of nuclear weapons, and maintained peace with the Soviet Union until its end in 1991.
Gilded Age
An expression coined by Mark Twain as a title for a book, this was used to describe the era of "forgettable" presidents and the ignorance of problems arising in industry and cities. The parties of this time avoided taking stands on controversial issues. This name, first used in 1873, referred to the superficial glitter of new wealth and its role in the 19th century.
Bill of Rights
Anti-Federalists argued that this was needed in the constitution, and in efforts to get it ratified, the Federalists added it. It included the first ten amendments.1) freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition2) right to bear arms3) people can not be required to allow soldiers into their home (against quartering act)4) government can not illegally search/seize (search warrants)5) Due process, no forced self incrimination, no trial twice for the same case6) speedy and public trial, right to call and question witness7) right to have a trial by jury (in most civil cases)8) protection from excessive bail, protection from cruel and unusual punishment of persons accused of crime9) peoples rights: just because it's not in the constitution does not mean it is not a persons right10) states rights: anything that federal government does not do, states are in charge of Bill of Rights
Eleanor Roosevelt
As FDR's wife, she emerged as the most active first lady in history. She wrote a newspaper column, gave speeches, and travelled the country. She served as FDR's social conscious and influenced him to support minorities and the less fortunate.
Kent State and Jackson Sate
As Nixon put Vietnamization into practice, antiwar protests lessened. But when the president used US forces to destroy communist bases in Cambodia, nationwide protests sprung up on the campuses of colleges. This resulted in the National Guard killing 4 students at Kent State and 2 students at Jackson State
The Warren Court
As chief justice of the Supreme Court from 1953 to 1969, Earl Warren had a huge impact on the nation. His decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka in 1954 was imperative in the civil rights movement. He ruled in Mapp v. Ohio in 1961 that illegally seized evidence cannot be used in court, in Gideon v. Wainwright in 1963 that state courts must provide an attorney for poor defendants, in Escobedo v. Illinois in 1964 that police must inform the arrested person of their right to remain silent, in Miranda v. Arizona in 1966 that suspects have the right to a lawyer being present during police questioning, in Yates v. US in 1957 that the 1st amendment protected radical and revolutionary speech (even by communists) unless it was a "clear and present danger" to the safety of the country, in Engel v. Vitale in 1962 that state laws requiring prayers and bible readings in public schools violated the 1st amendment (separation of church and state), and in Griswold v. Connecticut in 1965 that a state could not prohibit the use of contraceptives by adults. Also under Warren, the election districts were redrawn to enforce the "one man, one vote" principle of equal representation of all citizens.
sitting bull and crazy horse
As leaders of Native American tribes, these warriors had followers who were considered violent. Among their defeats against the US army include little big horn where they defeated General George Custer
Sherman Antitrust Act
As middle class citizens' fear of unchecked power in the urban elites increased, many pushed for state control of the trusts. When the states failed to curb trusts, the issue was taken to Congress where this act was passed. It prohibited any "contract, combination, in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy in restraint of trade or commerce."
Congress of Industrial Organizations
As skilled white male workers dominated unions like the AF of L, a group of unions within it wanted to extend membership to all workers regardless of race and sex and skill level. These industrial unions formed the committee of industrial organization. With the leadership of John L Lewis, they renamed their organization this. the CIO broke away from the AF of L and concentrated on unskilled workers in the automobile, steel, and southern textile industries.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
As the democratic nominee for president for the 1932 election, he ran with John Nance Garner of Texas as his vice president. He pledged a New Deal for the people, the repeal of prohibition, help for the unemployed, and a decrease in government spending. His New Deal promised the accomplishment of the 3 R's: relief for people out of work, recovery for business and the economy as a whole, and reform of american economic institutions.. FDR used his group of trusted advisors who assisted him while he was governor of New York to assist him as president. Louis Howe was his chief political advisor and he turned to a group of university professors (the brain trust) for economic advice. FDR appointed the most diverse people into administrative positions in history with african americans, jews, catholics, and women.He was elected along with a democratic majority in both houses of congress. He led the nation for an unprecedented 12 years and 2 months as one of the most influential leaders of the 20th century. A child from a wealthy New York family and cousin to Theodore Roosevelt, he wanted to follow in his cousin's footsteps as a New York state legislature then the US assistant secretary of the navy. He first ran in 1920 with James Cox as his running mate but lost badly to Harding. He was paralyzed with polio in 1921 and although he was rich enough to retire, he wanted to continue his political career. He was eventually able to regain full power in his upper body but was unable to walk without aid and required assistance of crutches, braces, and a wheelchair. To restore confidence in banks, ordered that the banks close for a bank holiday on march 6, 1933. He also went on the radio and explained that banks would be reopened once the government reorganized them on a sound basis. He enacted the repeal of prohibition and raised tax money by having congress pass the Beer-Wine Revenue Act, which legalized the sale of beer and wine. Later the 21st amendment repealed the 18th amendment, ending prohibition completely. FDR's fireside chats restored the public's hope. HIs financial recovery and reform programs included the Emergency Banking Relief Act, the Glass Steagall Act, the Home Owners Loan Corporation, and the Farm Credit Administration. His relief for the unemployed included the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, the Public Works Administration, the Civilian Conservation Corps, and the Tennessee Valley Authority. His industrial recovery program included the National Recovery Administration and his Farm Production Control Program included the Agricultural Adjustment Administration. Other programs include the Civil Works Administration, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Federal Housing Administration. The second version of the New Deal enacted the Works Progress Administration, the Resettlement Administration, the National Labor Relations Act, the Rural Electrification Administration, and the Social Security Act.
XYZ Affair
As the first difficulty in John Adams's presidency, Adams sent a delegate to discuss with the French Government the seizure of U.S. merchant ships by the French Government. French ministers (called X,Y, and Z) requested bribes in order to negotiate but the delegates refused.
George Wallace
As the first politician of late 20th century america to marshall resentment towards the two-party system, this self nominated candidate ran for president, hoping to push the election into the House of Representatives.
Great Migration
At the end of the 19th century, about 9/10 of blacks lived in the south. In the 20th century however, blacks began moving north to seek jobs in cities because of the deterioration of race relations in the south, the boll weevil's destruction of cotton crops, and opportunities for factory jobs that opened because of the white workers being drafted for WWI. The Great Depression of the 1930s slowed the movement, but it picked back up again with WWII. Between 1940 and 1970, over 4 million African Americans moved north, and although some did improve their economic conditions, the racial tension and discrimination were on the rise everywhere
Jackson destroys the bank of the United States
Because of Jackson's dislike for the Bank of the United States, he created a number of "pet banks" in which he put government deposits (rather than in the national bank). This weakening of the bank helped assure that another charter for it would not be made once its current charter was up. Jackson also put the Specie Circular into place which only allowed federal land to be bought with silver or gold pieces. Because of eye events, the U.S. Spiraled into the Panic of 1837 after Jackson left office.
"gentlemen's agreement" of 1908
Because of San Fransisco's requiring japanese children to attend segregated schools, Japan as a nation was insulted. Roosevelt arranged a compromise using an informal understanding in which the japanese government would secretly restrict emigration of japanese workers to the US and California would repeal its discriminatory laws.
Pure Food and Drug Act
Because of the public outcry that followed Sinclair's The Jungle, congress enacted this new law which forbade the manufacture, sale, and transportation of adulterated or mislabeled foods and drugs
"cash and carry"
Because the british navy controlled the seas, the end of the US arms embargo would only aid them, not Germany. This new restrictive neutrality act allowed belligerent nations to to buy US arms if it used its own ships and paid cash
"new" immigrants
Beginning in the 1890s, different types of immigrants began coming to the US. They came from southern and western europe (Italians, Greeks, Croats, Slovaks, Poles, and Russians) and were mostly poor illiterate peasants who were unaccustomed to democratic society. They were largely Roman Catholics, Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, and Jewish
Margaret Sanger
Being an advocate for birth control education, she formed a movement which developed into the Planned Parenthood organization. She advocated for legalization of birth control and helped create the first birth control pill.
Booker T Washington's Atlanta Exposition speech
Being one of the most influential African Americans at the turn of the century, this speech by Washington argued that blacks needed education and economic progress before they could work towards political and social equality.
election of 1912
Between Debs, Taft, Roosevelt and Wilson, this presidential election brought Woodrow Wilson to the White House. Because of Debs' radical thinking and Taft's lack of popularity, the election really came down to Roosevelt and Wilson. Wilson wanted to create a New Freedom which would limit big business and big government, end corruption and bring reform, and revive competition by supporting small businesses. Roosevelt wanted to instill New Nationalism which would bring more government regulation on business and unions, women's suffrage, and more social welfare programs. Wilson won less than the majority of the popular vote, but because the Republicans were split he won by a landslide in the electoral college.
Election of 1800
Between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, the election was a turning point in governmental control. The Democratic-Republicans (Jefferson) wanted more power to go to the state governments while the Federalists (Adams) wanted more power for the Federal government. Democratic Republicans swept the vote, with Jefferson and fellow Democratic-Republican Aaron Burr ended up with equal votes from the electoral college. Jefferson, assisted by Federalist Alexander Hamilton, became president.
Andrew Carnegie
Born in 1935 in Scotland, he immigrated to the US and worked his way up from poverty to become the superintendent of the Pennsylvania railroad. In the 1870s he began manufacturing steel in Pittsburg and soon made his competitors irrelevant. He used vertical integration, a strategy in which the company controlled every step in the manufacturing process, and by 1900 he employed 20,000 workers and outproduced Britain in steel
Boston Tea Party (1773)
Boston colonists disguised as Native Americans dumped 342 chests of newly imported british tea into the harbor in response to the Tea Act
Jackie Robinson
Breaking the color barrier in Major League Baseball in 1947, this african american hired by the Brooklyn Dodgers was the first african american to play on a major league team since the 1880's. Truman also integrated the armed forces, but blacks of the South were still hindered from voting with poll taxes, literacy tests, grandfather clauses, and intimidation.
Shay's Rebellion
Captain Daniel Shay led Massachusetts farmers in a rebellion against high state taxes, imprisonment for debt, and lack of paper money. It stopped tax collectors and forced debtors courts to close. It was broken up by the Massachusetts militia in 1787
Oliver Hazard Perry
Captain of an American ship during the War of 1812. He defeated a British ship and said, "We have met the enemy and they are ours"
Camp David Accords
Carter met with leaders of Egypt and Israel at the presidential retreat in Camp David, Maryland. The two leaders negotiated this framework for peace. Later, Egypt recognized Israel as a nation and Israel took away its troops from the Sinai territory they had taken from Egypt during the 6 day war of 1967.
Women's Christian Temperance Union
Caused by excessive drinking of male factory workers (attributed to being a cause of poverty for immigrant and working-class families), the WCTU was formed in 1874. It advocated total abstinence form alcohol and was led by Francis E Willard of Evanston, Illinois. It had 500,000 members by 1898
Dwight D Eisenhower
Commander of the British, Canadian, and American forces on D-Day and Operation Torch, he succeeded in his attack and liberated countries of North Africa.
Erie Canal
Completed in New York in 1825, this linked the economies of western farms with those of eastern cities. Its success caused many more canals to be built and eventually all major rivers and lakes east of the Mississippi River were linked together, forming stronger economic ties between the east and the west
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Congress passed this act which ended literacy tests and put federal registrars in areas where blacks were kept from voting.
3/5 compromise
Created as a result of the debate on how much a slave should count towards the population of a state for representation, it stated that each slave would count as 3/5 of a person when determining population/representation.
Dawes Plan
Created by Charles Dawes (an american banker who would later become Coolidge's vice president), this plan was a compromise in which a cycle of payments would help settle war debts. The plan was set for the US to give money to Germany and for Germany to give money to the Allies. The US would lend large sums of money to Germany to help rebuild its economy and pay for reparations of Britain and France. Britain and France would then use the reparations money to pay their debts to the US . This cycle worked until the stock market crash of 1929 when bank loans stopped and the plan collapsed.
Henry Clay's American System
Created by Henry Clay as a way to advance economic growth, it consisted of three parts: protective tariffs (to promote American manufacturing and raise funds for a national transport system), nation bank (to keep the system running smoothly and provide a national currency), and internal improvements (to promote growth in the west and south
ocala platform
Demanded, among other things, the abolition of national banks, a graduated income tax, free and unlimited coinage of silver, the establishment of sub treasuries where farmers could obtain money at less than 2 percent on nonperishable products, and the election of U.S. senators by a direct vote of the people.
open door policy
Developed by Hay as an attempt to gain equal footing with countries with spheres of influence in China, this policy allowed all nations to have equal trading privileges in China.
Central Powers
During WWI, this was the alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire. They fought against the allied powers (Great Britain, France, and Russia) and lost the war, which started with the assassination of Austrian Archduke Francis Ferdinand and Austria's threatening of Serbia, and spiraled into a war when countries began to support their allies and also declare war. The main motivations for the war were nationalism, imperialism, militarism, alliances.
Allied Powers
During WWI, this was the alliance of Great Britain, France, and Russia. They fought against the Central powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire) and won the war, which started with the assassination of Austrian Archduke Francis Ferdinand and Austria's threatening of Serbia, and spiraled into a war when countries began to support their allies and also declare war. The main motivations for the war were nationalism, imperialism, militarism, alliances.
"Court-packing" bill
During his first term as president, Roosevelt did not get to appoint judges to the supreme court. He proposed the judicial reorganization bill in 1937. It suggested that the president could appoint a new judge to the supreme court for each current judge that was over 70 1/2 years old. The bill would have allowed him to add 6 justices to the court. Both republicans and democrats were appalled with this attempt to tamper with checks and balances. This was the first major bill of Roosevelt's presidency to be rejected.
Five Power Treaty
During the Washington Conference of 1921, Secretary o State Charles Evans Hughes initiated talks of naval disarmament to stabilize the US navy relative to that of other world powers. Representatives came to to the conference from Belgium, China, France, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, and Portugal. The three agreements made during the meeting were this treaty, in which the nations with the 5 largest navies maintain these ratios of their battleships and largest warships: US 5, Britain 5, Japan 3, France 1.67, Italy 1.67. Britain and the US also agreed to not fortify their possessions in the Pacific, but no limit was placed on the japanese. The other treaties made were the Four Power Treaty (the US, France, Great Britain, and Japan agreed to respect each other's territory in the pacific) and the Nine Power Treaty (All 9 nations represented at the conference agreed to respect the Open Door Policy by guaranteeing the territorial integrity of China)
"military-industrial complex"
Eisenhower spoke of this in his farewell address, warning the nation to "guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence" by this complex. Some americans feared that the US would go down Rome's path in becoming an imperial (military) state.
stock market crash
For 18 months (march 1828 to september 1929) the stock prices on Wall Street in NYC kept going up. On average, an investor who invested $1000 worth of stocks at the time of Hoover's election would double their money in less than a year. Millions of people invested in the boom market of 1928. However,on Black Thursday (October 24, 1929) there was an unprecedented amount of selling on Wall Street and stock prices plunged. A group of bankers hoping to stabilize prices bought millions of dollars of stocks the next day. It worked for one business day. Millions of investors ordered their brokers to sell but buyers were scarce. Three years later, stock prices would hit the bottom at less than 1/9 of their peak value.
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
Formed by the Niagara Movement and some white progressives, this association had the mission of abolishing all forms of segregation and achieving an increase in educational opportunities for African American children.
The Civil War
Fought between the union and the confederacy, this war was the most costly of all american wars (750,000 deaths) and the most destructive war ever fought on the western hemisphere changes the US drastically. 4 million people were freed from slavery, industrialization and modernization sped up, and the south had to rebuild itself after being destroyed by the north. The south's advantages included their having to move troops and supplies shorter distances than the north, a long indented difficult to blockade coastline, and high motivation. The union's advantages included a population of 22 million (to south's 5.5 million free whites), the US Navy, control of the economy (more than 85% of factories, 70% of railroads, and 65% of farmland).
Standard Oil
Founded by John D Rockefeller in 1863, this company would cut its prices on kerosine, allowing it to beat out rival companies. By 1881, this company controlled 90% of the oil refinery business, using horizontal integration to to bring former competitors under its control.
Populist Party
Founded by a group of farmers, this party ran on the Omaha platform which demanded1.direct popular election of US senators2. use of initiatives and referendums (procedures that allowed citizens to vote directly on proposed laws3. unlimited coinage of silver4. graduated income tax5. public ownership of railroads by US government6. telegraph and telephone systems owned and operated by the US government7. loans and federal warehouses for farmers8. an 8 hour workday for industrial workersIt attempted a political alliance between poor whites and poor blacks and attacked laissez faire capitalism.
National Organization for Women
Friedman helped create this in 1966. The movement's accomplishments include the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The law they really tried for however was not accomplished. The Equal Rights Amendment proposed a constitutional amendment saying "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the US or by any state on account of sex". It barely missed the required 38 states to ratify it because many conservatives feared this feminism would threaten women's traditional roles
"Ashcan School"
George Bellows and other social realists in the late 19th century painted scenes of everyday life in poor urban neighborhoods. This upset realists and romanticists because the paintings were abstract and most americans would not give respect to this kind of art until 1950s
Marshall Plan
George Marshall created this program for the US to give economic aid to european nations after the war to revive their economies and reinforce democratic governments. This was mainly in response to Truman's fear of the communist party, especially in Italy and France, and of communists getting voted into power. The US money given to western europe helped the countries acquire self sustaining growth by the 1950's. This put away fears of communism. US exports to europe also increased, but the divide between the non-communist west and the communist east widened.
hawks and doves
Hawks, supporters of the war, believed it was soviet backed communist aggression against south vietnam that was part of a plan to turn all of southeast asia communist. doves, opponents of the war, saw the war as a civil war fought between vietnamese nationalists and communists who wanted to overthrow the Saigon government
Robert Fulton
He developed the first steamboat (Clermont) and journeyed up the Hudson in 1807
Francis Scott Key
He wrote the star spangled banner as a tribute to the night that the British tried to take Baltimore but were stopped by Fort McHenry.
National War Labor Board
Headed by William Howard Taft, this board created during WWI was able to win wage raises, eight-hour work days, and union membership. This was created along with the War Industries Board, the Fuel Administration, the Railroad Administration, and the the Food Administration.
World's Columbian Exposition of 1893
Held in Chicago in 1893, this attracted more than 12 million people to the White City. Visitors saw new industrial technologies and architects' ideas of the ideal urban environment which demonstrated progress of american civilization.
corrupt bargain of 1824
Henry Clay used his influence in the House of Representatives to gain more votes to push John Quincy Adams into the presidency. In exchange for his help, Adams gave the seat of Vice President to Clay
Lexington and Concord
In 1775, General Thomas Gage sent British troops to seize colonial military supplies of Concord. The Lexington militia was warned by Paul Revere and tried to stop the British but were forced to retreat. The first shots of the Revolutionary war were fired there. The British entered Concord and destroyed colonial weaponry but were attacked on their route back and suffered many casualties.
Northwest Ordinance
In 1787, these laws granted limited self government to the areas between the Ohio River Valley and the Great Lakes. It also prohibited slavery in that area. It set rules for how to create a new state.
Whiskey Rebellion
In 1794, farmers in western Pennsylvania refused to pay the federal tax on whiskey, and they instead attacked tax collectors. Washington mobilized 15,000 state militia men with Alexander Hamilton as the head. No blood was shed as the rebellion was quickly calmed.
McCulloch vs Maryland
In 1819, Marshall ruled on this case, concerning Maryland trying to tax the national bank, that the federal government had the implied power to create a bank, and since it was a federal institution the state could not tax it because federal laws override states laws
Worchester vs Gerogia
In 1832, this second response to a case in 1831 (Cherokee Nation vs Georgia) was looked at by the supreme court, which determined that Georgian laws had no power within the Cherokee territory. Jackson took the side of Georgia for this debate.
Trail of Tears
In 1838 this path was taken as a route to the west by the 15,000 Cherokees forced by the U.S. to leave Georgia. 4,000 Cherokees died on their journey on this route.
Antietam
In 1862, Robert E. Lee led a confederate army into Maryland hoping that this victory would gain them the aid of european forces. They were intercepted by union soldiers at Antietam. It was the single bloodiest day of the Civil War (over 22,000 casualties). Lee was forced to retreat and Lincoln claimed a union victory.
Pullman Strike
In 1894, George Pullman cut general wages for his workers and fired leaders of the workers' delegation who bargained with him. Pullman workers appealed for help from the American railroad association (led by Eugene V Debs). Debs instructed workers to not handle any trains with Pullman cars. This boycott disrupted the rail transportation of the entire country. The strike ended when Debs and others were jailed.
In Re Debs
In 1895, this case brought the Supreme Court to approve the use of court injunctions against strikes, giving employers a powerful weapon against unions
Niagara Movement
In 1905, Du Bois and a group of black intellectuals met at Niagara Falls to discuss a program of protest and action for equal rights for blacks. They then became known as this movement
assembly line
In 1914, Henry Ford had perfected the manufacturing system in his automobile company by using this. It saved time because instead of workers losing time by moving around the factory, they stayed in one place all day and did the same task all day with rapid speed. In the 1920s, most major industries adopted his system and gained a major increase in worker productivity.
Henry Ford
In 1914, he had perfected the manufacturing system in his automobile company by using the assembly line. This saved time because instead of workers losing time by moving around the factory, they stayed in one place all day and did the same task all day with rapid speed. In the 1920s, most major industries adopted his assembly line system and gained a major increase in worker productivity.
Montgomery Bus Boycott
In 1955, Rosa Parks started this boycott by, as a middle aged black woman, refusing to give up her bus seat for a white passenger. This violated the segregation laws, and she was arrested. Reverend Martin Luther King Jr (a black minister of a baptist church) emerged as the leader of the developing nonviolent movement to end segregation. This also sparked other civil rights protest to come later in the m0vement.
Sputnik
In 1957, the Soviets launched these first satellites into earth's orbit. The US faced embarrassment as their attempted duplications of the Soviet technology failed again and again.The American school system came under criticism for not producing more scientists and engineers.. Congress passed the National Defence and Education Act in 1958 to authorize hundreds of millions of dollars to go to schools for math, science, and foreign language education. the National Aeronautics and Space Administration was also created, spending billions to match the russian satellites. This also intensified fears of nuclear war now that it was possible to deliver thermonuclear warheads anywhere in minutes.
OPEC
In 1960, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Iran, and Venezuela formed this organization as oil became critical in foreign policy. Western dependence of oil, arab nationalism, and the Israeli-Palestinian refugees caused american presidents trouble in the upcoming decades.
Bay of Pigs Invasion
In 1961, Kennedy approved this CIA scheme planned under Eisenhower to use cuban exiles to overthrow Castro. The trained force of exiles landed at the Bay, but they failed to set off rebellion as planned. Kennedy rejected the idea of using US forces to save the exiles, and Castro used this to get more aid from the Soviets.
Stonewall Riots
In 1969, the Stonewall Inn (a gay bar in New York) suffered a police raid. This was the beginning of the gay rights movement. By the mid-1970s, homosexuality was no longer seen as a mental illness, and the ban on employment of homosexuals by the federal Civil Service was dropped. Clinton also accomplished the creation on the "don't ask, don't tell" policy in the US military.
My Lai Massacre
In 1970, in american public learned of this massacre of women and children by US troops in the vietnamese village My Lai.
Yalta Conference
In February 1945, Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin met and agreed that Germany would be divided into occupation zones, there would be a free elections in the liberated countries of Eastern Europe (even though Soviet troops still controlled the territory), the Soviets would enter the war against Japan, which they did on August 8, 1945 (just as Japan was about to surrender), the Soviets would control the southern half of Sakhalin Island and the Kurile Islands in the pacific and would have special concessions in Manchuria, and a new world peace organization (to become the United Nations) would be formed as a conference in San Francisco.
Berlin Airlift
In June 1948, access by land to Berlin was cut off by Soviets. Truman, not wanting to withdraw but also not wanting to use force, ordered US planes to fly in supplies to people in West Berlin. Stalin decided not to challenge the airlift, and opened up the highways to Berlin in May 1949. This blockade lasted for 11 months and had resulted in the division between the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic.
Saratoga
In New York in 1777, General Burgoyne and his troops attempted to march from Canada and disconnect New England from the other colonies. The troops were attacked at Saratoga by the troops of Benedict Arnold and Horatio Gates and were forced to surrender. Because of this victory, France began to put in support for the colonies.
Iranian Hostage Situation
In November 1979, Iranian militants took the US embassy in Teheran, taking more than american staff members as hostages. Carter approved a 1980 rescue mission, but when the helicopters broke down the US forces had to abort the mission.
Continental Cogress
In Philadelphia in May of 1775, colonial officials met to discuss the struggle for independence. among the delegates were radicals John Adams, Samuel Adams, and Patrick Henry, moderates George Washington and John Dickinson, and conservatives John Jay and Joseph Galloway. George Washington was elected as leader of the congress. The congress was split between their reliance on the British and their want for independence. They then wrote the Olive Branch Petition.
Yorktown
In Virginia in 1781, it was the last major battle of the revolutionary war. With the aid of the French, Washington's forces succeeded in getting Cornwallis's forces to surrender.
Missouri Compromise
In order to keep the balance of slave states and free states in the senate, Henry Clay wrote this compromise in which Maine was granted early entry into statehood along with Missouri
Olive Branch Petition
In order to maintain British heritage, the continental congress voted to send this petition the King George III. It pledged loyalty to Britain, but asked the king and parliament to allow the colonists to have their rights. The king dismissed the peace offering.
Alien and Sedition Acts
In order to weaken Democratic-Republicans, the Federalists of congress authorized the punishment of those who wrote or spoke out against the government and said that aliens could be deported if thought to be dangerous and that they could be detained as prisoners of war.
Irish immigrants
In the 1840s, potato crops in Ireland were failing and as a result, many Irish immigrants came to the United States. Many were dying of disease and/or famine in their own country and saw the opportunity for a better life physically, economically, and mentally in the U.S. They faced strong discrimination because of their Roman Catholic religion
spheres of influence
In the 1890s, Russia, Japan, Great Britain, France, and Germany had all developed these in China. This meant that they could control a specific region of China's trade and investment. Hay wrote a note to the nations in control of these spheres asking them to accept an open door policy for chinese trade. By this system, all nations would have equal trading privileges in China
Eisenhower Doctrine
In this 1957 policy declared by Eisenhower, the US pledged economic and military aid to any Middle Eastern countries threatened by communism. Eisenhower applied this policy in 1958 when he sent 14,000 marines to Lebanon to prevent a civil war between christians and muslims.
Rosenberg case
In this case, after many americans became convinced that Soviet spies had stolen atomic secrets from the US (and one british scientist who had worked on the Manhattan Project admitting giving information to the Soviets), the FBI traced a ring of spies to the Rosenberg couple in New York. They were found guilty of treason and executed in 1953, although civil rights groups claim that anticommunist hysteria was the cause of their conviction.
cotton gin
Invented by Eli Whitney in 1793, it enabled farmers to easily separate cotton fibers from the seeds. This allowed cotton to become the main cash crop for he south
America First Committee
Isolationists became alarmed after war broke out in Asia and Europe and formed this committee to mobilize public opinions against war. They used speakers such as Charles Lindbergh to warn the country of europe's troubles
Articles of Confederation
It was the first US constitution, drafted by John Dickinson,and was ratified by the colonies in 1781. It established Congress as the central government, giving congress power to declare war, send diplomatic representatives, borrow money, and make treaties. Congress could NOT collect taxes, regulate commerce, or enforce its laws. It created a central government of one body, a congress. Each state was to be given one vote and at least 9 out of 13 votes required to pass important laws. One of the few successes of the Articles' congress was the passing of the Northwest Ordinance.
Embargo Act (1807)
Jefferson created this act to forbade American trading ships from trading with foreign countries. It was meant to force Britain and France to change their policies towards neutral vessels by depriving them of American trade. It was difficult to enforce because it was opposed by merchants and many others. It also hurt the national economy. Britain soon replaced american trade with south american trade, so it was replaced by the Non-Intercourse Act.
John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry
John Brown and his followers (including his 4 sons and some former slaves) planned to attack the arsenal at Harper's Ferry, arm slaves, and let them rise up in a slave revolt. His plan failed drastically and he was hanged for his crimes. This raid confirmed the south's suspicions that the north would resort to violent measures in their abolitionist movement
McCarthyism
Joseph McCarthy, a powerful republican Wisconsin senator, charged that over 205 communists were working at the State Department. The accusations were widely publicized and his power grew because of people's fear of his finger pointing at them. In 1954, he was seen, after a televised hearing about communist infiltration of the army, as a bully by millions. Congress censured McCarthy that December. This "witch hunt" for communists had ended.
JFK's New Frontier
Kennedy spoke of "the torch being passed to a new generation" and promised to lead the US into this. This program called for aid to education, federal support of health care, urban renewal,and civil rights.
flexible response
Kennedy's administration adopted this policy, moving away from the Dulles idea of massive retaliation and reliance on nuclear weapons, increasing spending on conventional weapons and mobile military forces.
Korean War
Korea had divided along the 38th parallel after the defeat of Japan, and it was occupied by Soviet forces in the north and US forces in the South. The north became communist under Kim Il Sung, while the south rested under conservative nationalist Syngman Rhee. On June 25, 1950, The North Koreans launched a surprise invasion of South Korea. Truman immediately applied his containment policy. After he called for a special session of the UN Security Council, it was authorized for the UN forces to defend South Korea. US troops made up most of the force, and they were commanded by General Douglas MacArthur. Although war was never declared, congress supported the US involvement in Korea, accepting Truman's calling it a "police action". At first the war seemed to be a win for the communists as the North Koreans pushed South Koreans and US forces to the edge of the peninsula, but using an amphibious assault, MacArthur turned the tables and the North Koreans were pushed to the border of China. Seeing this as a threat to their national security and having warned Truman of retaliation, the Chinese came across the border and overwhelmed UN forces in one of the worst defeats the US had ever faced. Truman had to caution MacArthur as MacArthur wanted to expand the war. After the general spoke out against US policy ("there is no substitute for victory") Truman recalled him. Truman was then criticized for not making the effort to completely destroy communism in Asia. As the war stalemated along the 38th parallel, peace talks began to take place at Panmunjom in July of 1951. For another two years the counties were still in negotiation, but an armistice was finally signed in 1953 by Eisenhower. More than 2.5 million people died in the war, including 54,000 americans. The Truman administration used the war to justify military expansion, but the Republicans were displeased and saw Truman and the democrats as "soft on communism".
Samuel Gompers
Leader of the AF of L until 1924, he encouraged workers to walk out until their employer agreed to use collective bargaining to establish a new contract.
1963 March on washington
Led by MLK, this march was one of the largest and most successful demonstrations in US history. About 200,000 blacks and whites attended this march to support the civil rights bill. It was at this event that MLK gave his "I have a dream" speech. He spoke of the end of racial prejudice and at te end of the event everyone was singing "We Shall Overcome"
Democratic-Republicans
Led by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, the party wanted a strictly constructed constitution and opposed many Federalist ideas such as Hamilton's national bank. They soon dominated the government as Jefferson was elected as President in 1800.
Gettysburg
Lee led the confederate troops into Maryland and Pennsylvania in hopes that it would force the union to call for peace. with the union surprised, this bloodiest (over 50,000 casualties) and most crucial battle of the war unpredictably led to Lee's retreat. The confederacy would never take offensive position again.
Jamestown
Located on the James river, this was first english colony founded in America in 1607. Malaria and dysentery outbreaks devastated the population and once trade with native Americans stopped trading with them, starvation became a persistent issue. John Rolfe pulled the colony out of debt with his new variety of tobacco that became popular in Europe and became a profitable crop. It was later chartered into Virginia by the King.
zoot suit riots
Many Mexican-Americans worked in the defense industry (with 300,000 in the military). Mexican farmworkers (braceros) could enter the US without going through a formal immigration procedure under a 1942 agreement between the two countries. Whites resented the immigrants, leading to these riots in the summer of 1943
Nonintercourse Act (1809)
Much like the Embargo Act which it replaced, this act forbade trade with France and Britain, but allowed it with other foreign countries. This was an attempt to keep stop impressment of american sailors in France and Britain.
the "new south"
Not all white southerners revered the lost cause. Many looked to the future rather than the past. They attempted to modernize the South's economy and to disversify southern agriculture. They encouraged northern investment and the building of new railroads to tie the south into national and internaltional markets. Rather than a lost cause, these southerners looked to a new south
Appomattox
On April 9, 1865 Lee was cut off in his attempt to escape to the mountains of Richmond and forced to surrender to Grant. This officially ended the civil war.
Treaty of Ghent
On Christmas Eve of 1814, british and americans traveled to Belgium and discussed the end of the war of 1812. They agreed to a halt to fighting, return of conquered territory, and recognition of prewar boundaries.
Monroe Doctrine
On December 23rd, 1823, Monroe issued this statement in response to the threat of European countries suppressing republican or democratic movements in the Western Hemisphere. He warned that European countries were not to interfere with affairs of any republic in the Western Hemisphere. It resulted with angry but obedient European monarchs.
Pearl Harbor
On December 7, 1941, this event in which american sailors were asleep when japanese planes bombed the harbor devastated america. The surprise attack lasted about 2 hours, and in this time 2400 americans were killed, including 1100 that were on the now sunken battleship the Arizona. Almost 1200 were wounded, 20 warships were sunk or severely damaged, and 150 airplanes were destroyed. Although the public was shocked, the government knew to expect an attack somewhere in the pacific, but they had thought it would be in the Philippines, Dutch East Indies, or Malaya. Roosevelt declared it a "date that will live in infamy" to congress the next day. Congress declared war with only one dissenting vote on December 8, 1941. 3 days later, Italy and Germany, as allies of Japan, declared war on the US.
The Maine
On February 15, 1898, the US battleship The Maine suddenly exploded at a harbor in Havana, Cuba, killing 260 americans who were on board. The yellow press turned the american public against spain, blaming them for the explosion.
Emancipation Proclamation
On September 22, 1862, after the battle of Antietam, Lincoln foreshadowed this proclamation by issuing the statement stating that slaves in rebelling states would be recognized as free. In 1863 this statement officially put this into action, but did not free slaves in the border states, did not immediately free any slaves, made ending slavery an official goal of the war, and increased the number of slaves fleeing to the union.
Tet Offensive
On the Vietnamese Lunar New Year (Tet), the Vietcong launched a surprise attack on important US bases and provincial capitals in South Vietnam. The US counterattacked, causing much more damage than the Vietcong did to them. However although the military victory went to the US, the destruction viewed at home by millions of americans on their TV's gave the political victory to north vietnam.
Great Railroad Strike of 1877
One of the worst outbreaks of labor violence of the century was this strike in 1877. During this time of economic depression the railroads cut wages. Starting on the Baltimore and Ohio railroads, this strike quickly spread across 11 states and shut down 2/3 of the country's railroad trackage. Railroad workers and 500,000 others were striking, and for the first time since the 1830s, the president used federal troops to end the labor violence. The violence was stopped but not before 100 people had been killed.
William Jennings Bryan
Part of the democratic-populist campaign, this young candidate (only 36 years old) travelled across the country to campaign for the election he would lose to McKinley. He gave more the 600 speeches (including the Golden Cross speech, which included the famous words "We will answer their demands for a gold standard by saying to them: 'You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns, you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold'") and convinced millions of farmers and debtors that unlimited coinage of silver was their salvation. His campaign was hurt as wheat prices rose and factories threatening to shut down if he was elected.
interchangeable parts
Parts for machinery that were manufactured exactly alike to easier allow for repairs.
Taft Hartley Act
Passed in 1947, this act was vetoed by Truman as a "slave labor" bill, but he was overridden. Its purpose was to check the power of unions. it outlawed the closed shop, permitted states to pass "right to work" laws outlawing the union shop, outlawed secondary boycotts, and gave the president power to invoke an 80 day cooling off period before a strike endangering the national safety could be called.
sixteenth amendment
Passed under Taft, this amendment allowed the government to collect an income tax. Progressives approved of the tax because, at first, it applied only to the very wealthy
Federal Reserve Act
Passed under Wilson in 1914, This act created the concept that everything would be purchased in federal reserve notes (dollar bills)
prohibition
People had very conflicting attitudes towards the 18th amendment (ratified in 1919) which prohibited the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages. The Volstead Act was adopted to enforce prohibition. However in the cities it was fashionable to break the law by going to clubs and bars where liquor was smuggled in and sold (speakeasies). City police and judges were given bribes to look the other way as even elected officials including President Harding served alcoholic drinks to guests. Gangster groups, including a Chicago gang led by Al Capone fought for control of the alcohol smuggling and trade and organized crime became big business. gangs used the millions they made from selling illegal booze to do other illegal activities including prostitution, gambling, and narcotics. Many politicians publicly supported prohibition while having drinks in private. The 18th amendment was repealed in 1933 by the 21st amendment.
Ostend Manifesto
Polk offered to purchase Cuba from Spain for 100 million dollars, but Spain refused. When President Pierce sent diplomats to Belgium to secretly purchase Cuba from Spain, this manifesto was drawn out but soon leaked into the public, provoking antislavery members of congress.
Homestead Strike
Precipitated by Henry Clay Frick (manager of Carnegie's Homestead Steel plant near Pittsburgh) by cutting wages by 20% in 1892. He used lockout, private guards, and strikebreakers to defeat the steelworker's walkout after 5 months
Gasden Purchase
President Pierce purchase this piece of land from Mexico in 1853 for 10 million dollars. This forms the southern sections of present-day Arizona and New Mexico
Office of War information
Propaganda was mostly set to maintain public morale, conserve resources, and increase war production. This office controlled news about troop movements and battles. All the media reflected a cheerful, patriotic view view of the war. Norman Rockwell's illustrations (such as The "Four Freedoms") showed the liberties at stake. American unity behind the war causes that generation to remember it as "the Good War"
Tariff of 1816
Protective tariff used to protect US manufacturers from the competition of European manufacturers
Great Compromise (Connecticut Plan)
Providing a two house congress (house of representatives and the senate) it resolved the issue of representation during the constitutional convention by combining the New Jersey Plan and the Virginia Plan. The states would be equally represented in the senate, but represented according to population in the house of representatives
Pulitzer and Hearst
Publishers of newspapers (Pulitzer's New York World was the first newspaper to exceed 1 million copies in circulation), these men put stories of crimes, disasters, politcal and economic corruption, scandals, and sensationalism
Roosevelt Corollary
Rather than let Europeans intervene in Latin America (which violated the Monroe Doctrine) because of debts owed to them, Roosevelt declared that the US would intervene instead. This meant the US would send gunboats to Latin American countries which were being delinquent in paying their debts and US sailors and marines would occupy their ports until the debts were paid.
Quarantine Speech
Recognizing the dangers of fascist regimes, Roosevelt (limited by isolationist feelings of Americans) made this speech which proposed democracies put together a quarantine for the aggressor. Public reaction was mostly negative, so he dropped the idea.
Great White Fleet
Roosevelt sent this fleet of battleships on and round the world cruise to demonstrate to Japan and other nations how powerful the US navy was.
War Industries Board
Run by Bernard Baruch, this board created during WWI served to set production priorities and establish control over prices and raw materials. This was created along with the Food Administration, the Fuel Administration, the Railroad Administration, and the National War Labor Board.
Food Administration
Run by Herbert Hoover, this was created during WWI to encourage american families to eat less meat and bread so as to increase shipment of food overseas to troops. Within two years, US shipment of food tripled. This was created along with the War Industries Board, the Fuel Administration, the Railroad Administration, and the National War Labor Board.
Teapot Dome Scandal
Secretary of the Interior Albert B Fall and Attorney General Harry M Daugherty were discovered to have been dishonest men assigned by Harding. In 1924, Congress found that Fall accepted bribes for granting oil leases near Teapot Dome, Wyoming and Daugherty also took bribes to not prosecute certain criminal suspects.
caning of Sumner
Senator Sumner attacked the democratic party in a speech (The Crime Against Kansas). He also threw shade at Senator Butler and Butler's nephew (congressman Brooks) defended him by walking into he senate and beating Sumner with his cane. His argument for defense was "dueling was too good for Sumner, but a cane was fit for a dog". Northerners were greatly upset by the event where as southerners praised Brooks and sent him new canes.
Sarah Grimke
Sister of Angelina Grimke, she objected to make opposition in their antislavery activities. She wrote the Letter on the Condition of women and the Equality of he Sexes
nullification crisis
South Carolina threatened the use of nullification in response to the tariff of 1828 (tariff of abominations) which raised the current tariff. Jackson prepared to react with military force and South Carolina prepared for secession. The union was preserved once Jackson lowered the new tariff.
Treaty of Paris (1783)
Stated that Britain would acknowledge the United States as an independent nation, Mississippi would be the boundary line of the US, americans were allowed fishing rights of the coast of Canada, and America would pay debts owed to the British and honor loyalist land claims.
plessy v. ferguson
Supreme Court case about Jim Crow railroad cars in Louisiana; the Court decided by 7 to 1 that legislation could not overcome racial attitudes, and that it was constitutional to have "separate but equal" facilities for blacks and whites.
Hartford Convention
The Federalist leaders met in 1812 to discuss their displeasure with the current ruling party (democratic republicans) and agreed to try and have New England secede from the union. This was seen as a bit traitorous and the Federalists lost much support because of this convention.
Roe v. wade
The Burger Court made ruled during this case in an 7-2 decision that state laws prohibiting abortion violated women's right to privacy. The court was more conservative, but decisions like this one angered many conservatives.
NSC-68
The National Security Council recommended (in this secret report) quadrupling US government defense spending to 20% of the GNP, forming alliances with non-communist countries around the world, and convincing the american public that costly arms buildup was necessary for the national defense. It claimed these were imperative for fighting the Cold War
omaha platform
The Populist (People's) party, founded by an alliance of farmers, met in Omaha, Nebraska in 1892 and came out with this plan. It demanded:1.direct popular election of US senators2. use of initiatives and referendums (procedures that allowed citizens to vote directly on proposed laws3. unlimited coinage of silver4. graduated income tax5. public ownership of railroads by US government6. telegraph and telephone systems owned and operated by the US government7. loans and federal warehouses for farmers8. an 8 hour workday for industrial workers
Works Progress Administration
The Second New Deal administration spent millions of dollars between 1935 and 1940 to provide people with jobs. 3.4 million men and women who had been unemployed were employed under its first year of operation under Hopkins. It paid double the relief rate, but less than the going wage for average workers. Most of the people employed by the WPA worked on constructing new bridges, roads, airports, and public buildings. out of work artists, writers, actors, and photographers were paid to paint murals, write histories, and perform plays. The National Youth Administration, part of the WPA provided jobs to help young adults stay in high school and college or until they could get a job with a private employer.
Schechter v US
The Supreme Court declared the National Recovery Administration unconstitutional in this 1935 case
Cuban Missile Crisis
The US discovered in 1962 that the soviets were building underground launching sites of offensive missiles in Cuba. Kennedy's response was to announce that he would use a naval blockade until the missiles were removed.Khrushchev agreed to remove his missiles if Kennedy promised to not invade Cuba and later remove some US missiles in Turkey. Soon after this crisis, a telecommunications hotline was set up between Washington DC and Moscow in order to allow the leaders of the two superpowers to talk directly in a crisis. Also, in 1963, the Soviets, US, and 100 other nations signed the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, ending nuclear weapon testing in the atmosphere.
Marcus Garvey
The United Negro Improvement Association was brought to Harlem in 1916 by this jamaican immigrant who advocated for individual and racial pride for african americans and developed the idea of black nationalism. He established an organization for black separatism, economic self-sufficiency, and a back to Africa movement. He was charged with fraud however after he sold stock in the Black Star Steamship line, the he was tried, convicted, jailed, and later deported. other african american leaders like WEB Du Bois disagreed with his back to Africa idea but endorsed racial pride and self-respect. In the 1960's his thinking helped inspire the new generation to embrace the black pride cause and nationalism.
Adams-Onís Treaty
The United States was able to purchase Florida from Spain as Spain was in a defensive position because troops from the U.S. were slowly conquering florida. The United States payed 5 million dollars for Florida and for Spain to recognize their claims to the Oregon Country, and they gave up U.S. claims to Texas
OPEC oil embargo
The Yom Kippur war in the middle east of israel against egypt and syria, caused Nixon to airlift $2 million in arms to Israel. But arab member countries of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) placed this on Israel's supporters, causing a worldwide oil shortage and the US economy to suffer inflation, loss of manufacturing jobs, and a lower standard of living for blue collared workers.
A Philip Randolph
The action to assist minorities in gaining jobs in defense industries was taken by Roosevelt after this man (head of the Railroad Porters Union) threatened to march on Washington and demand equality in job opportunities.
annexation of Hawaii
The american government had had its eye on this territory since the mid 1800s, and in 1893 when US settlers aided in the overthrow of the queen, and the war in the Philippines allowed Congress to annex these islands. It became a US territory in 1900 and the 50th state in 1959.
election of 1860
The democratic party split into northern (voting for Douglas) and southern (voting for Breckinridge) democrats who ran against each other in this election. Lincoln, the Republican candidate and Bell, from the constitutional union party, ran against them also. Lincoln, winning 59% of the electoral votes but only 39.8% of the popular vote, winning every free state, won the overall election.
Marbury v. Madison (1803)
The first major case decided by John Marshall in 1803, it occurred because Jefferson tried to block some of the appointments made by John Adams. William Marbury sued for his commission. Marshall ruled that Marbury had the right to commission due to the Judiciary Act (1789) but also ruled that it was unconstitutional as it gave the judicial branch more power than it should have. This created Judiciary Review.
Quota Acts of 1921 and 1924
The first of these two acts limited immigration to 3% of the number of foreign born people from a given nation counted in the 1910 census (maximum of 357,000). A second act was passed to limit immigrants from from southern and eastern europe by setting the quota to 2% based on the census of 1890 (before the arrival of most "new" immigrants. By 1927, the quotas for all asians and eastern and southern europeans were limited to 150,000 with all Japanese immigrants barred. Canadians and Latin Americans were exempt from the restrictions and almost 500,000 mexicans immigrated legally to the southwest in the 1920's
Jane Addams
The founder of a famous settlement house (hull house) in Chicago, she experimented by teaching immigrants english, pioneering early childhood education, teaching industrial arts, and establishing neighborhood theater and music schools.
Social Darwinism
The idea that Darwin's ideas of natural selection and survival of the fittest should be applied to the marketplace.
Gospel of Wealth
The idea, largely valued by Andrew Carnegie, that the wealthy had a God-given responsibility to carry out projects of philanthropy for the benefit of society and that everyone has a duty to become rich and carry out philanthropic deeds.
Louisiana Purchase
The land west of the Mississippi river was purchased by Jefferson because the Spanish started taxing the use New Orleans port for Americans. Because of the european wars between France and Britain, France sold the land to them for 15 million dollars in order to raise funds for their war efforts. It more than doubled the United States' area and increased Jefferson's popularity.
Birth of a Nation
The new Ku Klux Klan of 1915 was strong in the midwest as well as the south. They attracted new members with this book which portrayed them as heroes during reconstruction. The new Klan used modern advertising to attract 5 million new members by 1925. Most of its support was drawn from lower middle class white protestants in small cities and towns. northern branches of the KKK directed hostility towards blacks, jews, catholics, foreigners and suspected communists.
Hamilton's financial program
The plan said that the federal government would pay the state debts at full value in order to show the power of the new, strong central government. Also proposed was the bank of the United States. Tariffs were also suggested as American manufacturers were subsidized. Northern merchants provided most of the support for this plan, and Anti-Federalists opposed it. Anti-Federalists feared that the states would loose power as much as the central government gained it.
secession
The south warned that if Lincoln was elected president, they would leave the union. The first to leave was South Carolina, followed in the next 6 weeks by Georgia, Florida, Texas, Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi.
Espionage and Sedition Acts
These acts of 1917 and 1918 allowed imprisonment up to 20 years for people who tried to initiate rebellion in the armed forces or obstruct the draft and prohibited anyone from making "disloyal" or "abusive" comments about the US government. About 2000 people were prosecuted under these acts, and about half of them were jailed. Among the jailed was socialist leader Eugene Debs who was put in prison for 10 years for speaking out against the war.
"old" immigrants
The vast majority of immigrants in the 1880s were from northern and western europe (British Isles, Germany, and Scandinavia) and were protestants (although many were Irish or German Catholics). They mostly spoke english and had high literacy rates combined with occupational skills that allowed them to relatively easily blend into the early 19th century rural america.
Abigail Adams
The wife of John Adams, she said "I desire you would remember the ladies and be more generous and favorable than your ancestors". She was an advocate for women's rights.
SALT I and II
These Strategic Arms Limitations Talks accomplished Soviet agreeance to a freeze in the amount of ballistic missiles carrying nuclear warheads (bringing about detente) and the promise of both nations to limit the size of their nuclear delivery systems.
steal plow and mechanical reaper
These decreased the need for hiring workers. After these inventions more workers moved to the city to work in factories
Sacco and Vanzetti case
These two italian immigrants were convicted in 1921 in a Massachusetts court of committing a robbery and murder. It was protested by liberals that the men were innocent and had only been accused, convicted, and sentenced to death because they were poor italian anarchists. 6 years of appeals and international debates led up to their execution in 1927
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
These were the two countries devastated by the US use of the new atomic bombs on august 6th and 9th . About 250,000 japanese people died, some immediately but some after a long period of suffering. Within a week of the second bombing, Japan surrendered to the Allies on the condition that their emperor remain as a powerless head of state.
muckrakers
These were writers specializing in the middle class craved stories of underhanded schemes in politics and in depth investigative stories. An early one was Chicago's Henry Demarest Lloyd who wrote a series of articles attacking Standard Oil and railroads. These articles were published into Wealth against the Commonwealth, a full book which exposed the corruption and greed of the oil monopoly. Clure's Magazine had major success running similar stories by Lincoln Steffens and Ida Tarbell. The most popular muckraking series were published into books and novels like Jacob Riis' How the Other Half Lives (about tenement life), Lincoln Steffens' The Shame of the Cities (about big city politics), and Theodore Dreiser's The Financer and The Titan. Fictional accounts were also popular such as Frank Norris' The Octopus (about the tyranny of the railroads) and The Pit (about grain speculation). Popularity of this writing style began declining after 1910 because it became increasingly more difficult to top the last story, economic pressures were rising, and corporations were developing the field of public relations.
Environmental Protection Agency
This 1970 Agency went along with the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Endangered Species Act. This was a movement to stop pollution and destruction of nature. The laws regulated toxic substances, public drinking water, waste dumping, and they protected the natural environment and wildlife.
Civilian Conservation Corps
This New Deal employed young men during the depression on projects on federal lands and paid their families a small monthly sum.
Tennessee Valley Authority
This New Deal government corporation hired thousands of people in one of the poorest regions of the US to build dams, operate electric power plants, control flooding and erosion, and manufacture fertilizer. The TVA sold electricity to residents of the area at very low rates compared to those charged by private companies.
Agricultural Adjustment Administration
This New Deal program encouraged farmers to decrease production by offering to pay subsidies for each acre they plowed under. It was declared unconstitutional in 1935
Federal Housing Administration
This New Deal program gave the construction industry and homeowners a boost by insuring bank loans for building new houses and repairing old ones.
Social Security Act
This act created a federal insurance program based on collection of payments from employees and employers throughout peoples career as a worker. The money would then be used to provide monthly payments to retired people over 65. workers who lost their jobs the disabled, and dependent mothers and children also benefited from this act
Lend-Lease Act
This act ended the cash and carry policy by allowing Britain to purchase all US arms on credit. By this time, most americans supported the effort to help Britain.
Civil Rights Act of 1964
This act made segregation illegal in all public facilities, including hotels and restaurants, and gave the federal government more power to enforce school integration. It also set up the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to end discrimination in employment of race, sex, religion, or national origin.
GI Bill (Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944)
This act provided support for the transition of 15 million veterans. more than half of these GI's (men and women in uniform) took the opportunity given by this law to continue their education and have it paid for by the government. Over 2 million of of them attended college, resulting in a boom of higher education. Over $16 million were also given in low-interest, government backed loans to buy homes and farms and to start small businesses.
Pendleton Act of 1881
This act set up a civil service commission and started a new system of selecting government officials: they would be selected on the basis of their scores on a competitive examination. The law also prevented civil servants form giving political contributions. The law affected only 10% of federal employees at first, but the system was later expanded and used for most classified federal jobs. These jobs being classified, it took away power from politicians.
Highway Act of 1956
This act was Eisenhower's most permanent legacy. It authorized the building of 42,000 miles of interstate highways that would link all the nation's major cities. The US system of highways became a model for the world. New taxes on fuel, tires, and vehicles were set to improve national defense. The public works project established jobs, promoted the trucking industry, accelerated the growth of suburbs, and contributed to a more united national culture. However with the focus shifting to cars, trucks, and highways, the environment, railroads, and public transportation lacked in attention.
Child Labor Act
This act, passed under Wilson's New Freedom program, prohibited the shipment in interstate commerce of products manufactured by children under 14 years old. The Supreme Court however found this law unconstitutional in 1918.
Clayton Antitrust Act
This act, passed under Wilson's New Freedom program, strengthened the Sherman Antitrust Act for breaking up monopolies, but also made unions exempt from being prosecuted as trusts.
24th Amendment
This amendment ratified in 1964 abolished the practice of poll taxes, which for decades had hindered poor people from voting
Teller Ammendment
This ammendment declared that the US had no intention of gaining political control over Cuba and that the Cuban people would control their own government as soon as peace was restored on the island.
the Sunbelt
This area, with its warmer climate, lower taxes, and economic opportunities in defense related industries, attracted lots of GI's to move to this area spreading from Florida to California. As tax dollars from the Northeast and Midwest shifted to the South and West, spending during the Cold War helped finance the transition of industry, people, and politics.
Alfred Thayer Mahan's The influence of Sea Power Upon History
This author and US navy captain argued that a strong navy was the key a country needed to secure foreign markets and become a world power. This book was read by many american citizens and political leaders in europe and japan. The arguments in the book were used to persuade congress to finance the building of modern steel ships and encouraged imperialism for coaling and supply stations.
LBJ's Great Society
This being Johnson's vision of what america could be, he enacted a number of reforms including the Food Stamp Act (which expanded the federal program to help poor people buy food), the National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities (which provided federal funding for the arts and for creative and scholarly projects), Medicare (which provided health care for people over the age of 65), Medicaid (which provided funds to states to pay for medical care for the poor and disabled), the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (which provided federal funds to poor school districts, funds for special education programs, and funds to expand Head Start, an early childhood education program), the Higher Education Act (which provided federal scholarships for post secondary education), the Immigration Act (which abolished discriminatory quotas based on national origins), and the Child Nutrition Act (which added breakfasts to the school lunch program). Congress also increased funding for mass transit, public housing, rent subsidies for low income people, and crime prevention. Johnson created two new cabinet departments (the Department of Transportation and the Department of Housing Development). In response to popular books pointing out everyday dangers, there were also new regulations for the automobile industry, clean air and water laws, and the Beautify America campaign (run by Lady Bird Johnson). Although Johnson made unrealistic goals of eliminating poverty, and it was making a centralized welfare state, and being inefficient and very costly, these programs helped millions of americans including the previously ignored disabled, poor, and elderly.
Baby Boom
This being a prominent sign of postwar confidence, over 50 million babies entered the US population between 1945 and 1960 from younger marriages and larger families. Initially, this boom focused on women and their raising of children and home making, but still by 1960, 1/3 of all married women worked outside the home.
Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique
This book gave the women's movement new direction. It encouraged middle class women to obtain professional careers in addition to being a wife , mother, and homemaker. Friedman helped create the National Organization for Women in 1966. The movement's accomplishments include the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The law they really tried for however was not accomplished. The Equal Rights Amendment proposed a constitutional amendment saying "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the US or by any state on account of sex". It barely missed the required 38 states to ratify it because many conservatives feared this feminism would threaten women's traditional roles
Rachel Carson's Silent Spring
This book prompted the clean air and water laws of LBJ's Great Society
Committee on Public Information
This committee created for the war effort was lead by George Creel. It enlisted volunteer artists, actors, vaudeville performers, and movie stars to keep support for the US army and the hatred of the Central Powers high. They used films, posters, pamphlets, and volunteer speakers to increase propaganda intake of the public. Americans were also warned to watch out for German spies.
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
This committee was formed to keep the sit in movement, in which students would sit in restricted (segregated) areas, organized. In the 1960's, African Americans used the sit in tactic often, integrating pools, restaurants, hotels, libraries, and buildings.
House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)
This committee was originally created to hunt Nazis in 1939, but it was revived to seek out communists. They investigated government officials as well as communist influence organizations (like the Boy Scouts) and the Hollywood film industry.
Election of 1840
This election consisted mostly of mudslinging between candidates, but despite the attacks and insults, William Henry Harrison won the presidency. Harrison campaigned using his humble origins (showing log cabins, giving out hard cider, buttons, and hats).
Office of Price Administration
This federal agency regulated prices, wages, rents, and rationing commodities such as sugar, meat, tires, and gasoline to fight the inflation of wartime
fundementalists
This group of protestants believed every word in the bible must be interpreted as literally true. They believed in creationism and blamed liberal views of modernists for a decline in morals
modernists
This group of protestants took historic and critical views of certain bible passages and believed they could accept Darwin's theory of evolution while still keeping their faith.
Black Panthers
This group, created in 1966 by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale, was a socialist movement advocating self rule for african americans
Cesar Chavez
This hispanic american led a series of boycotts with the United Farm Workers Organization against the low payment of agricultural jobs and exploitation of mexican workers. They then gained collective bargaining rights, won a federal mandate for bilingual education to be offered at schools for hispanic children. By 2000, Hispanics had become the country's largest minority group.
Three Mile Island incident
This incident at a nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania caused the public to turn away from this technology. This was one move towards concern for the environment as human error and modern technology struck fear in many americans
American Federation of Labor
This labor union, founded in 1886 was concentrated on attaining narrower economic goals. Led by Samuel Gompers until 1924, this was made up of 25 craft unions. It focused on higher wages and improved working conditions. Skilled workers were encouraged to walk out until their employer agreed to use collective bargaining to establish a new contract. By 1910 it was the nation's largest labor union with 1 million members. It did not achieve major success however until the 20th century.
National Labor Relations (Wagner) Act
This major 1935 labor law superseded the labor provisions of the National Industrial Recovery Act after that law was declared unconstitutional. This act promised a worker's right to join a union and a union's right to bargain collectively. It also outlawed unfair business practices. The National Labor Relations Board was empowered to protect the workers and enforce the law
American Indian Movement
This movement of 1968 encouraged native americans to seek self-determination and revival of tribal traditions. AIM occupied Alcatraz and Wounded Knee, gaining recognition for the group. Congress soon passed the Indian Self-Determination Act in 1975. Unemployment and poverty on reservations were battled with improved education, helped by the Tribally Controlled Community College Assistance Act of 1978. Industries and casinos were also built on reservations, and native american cultural heritage became recognized as part of almost 3 million people.
Upton Sinclair's The Jungle
This muckraking book described the horrifying conditions of the Chicago stockyards and meatpacking industry. The public reaction after this was revealed pushed congress to pass the Pure Food and Drug Act, which forbade the manufacture, sale, and transportation of adulterated or mislabeled foods and drugs, and the Meat Inspection Act, which required federal inspectors to visit meatpacking plants to ensure they met minimum sanitation standards.
the New Deal
This plan promised in FDR's campaign was set to accomplish the 3 R's: relief for people out of work, recovery for business and the economy as a whole, and reform of american economic institutions.. FDR used his group of trusted advisors who assisted him while he was governor of New York to assist him as president. Louis Howe was his chief political advisor and he turned to a group of university professors (the brain trust) for economic advice. FDR appointed the most diverse people into administrative positions in history with african americans, jews, catholics, and women. To restore confidence in banks, ordered that the banks close for a bank holiday on march 6, 1933. He also went on the radio and explained that banks would be reopened once the government reorganized them on a sound basis. He enacted the repeal of prohibition and raised tax money by having congress pass the Beer-Wine Revenue Act, which legalized the sale of beer and wine. Later the 21st amendment repealed the 18th amendment, ending prohibition completely. FDR's fireside chats restored the public's hope. HIs financial recovery and reform programs included the Emergency Banking Relief Act, the Glass Steagall Act, the Home Owners Loan Corporation, and the Farm Credit Administration. Hia relief for the unemployed included the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, the Public Works Administration, the Civilian Conservation Corps, and the Tennessee Valley Authority. His industrial recovery program included the National Recovery Administration and his Farm Production Control Program included the Agricultural Adjustment Administration. Other programs include the Civil Works Administration, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Federal Housing Administration. The second version of this deal enacted the Works Progress Administration, the Resettlement Administration, the National Labor Relations Act, the Rural Electrification Administration, and the Social Security Act.
George Kennan's containment policy
This policy of a "long term, patient but firm and vigilant containment of Russian expansive tendencies" was suggested to help the Soviets get off their communist ideology of world domination. Kennan, along with Marshall and Acheson, influenced Truman's decision in foreign policy
Good Neighbor Policy
This policy suggested by Roosevelt in his inauguration speech to other nations in the western hemisphere. He wanted latin america cooperation to defend the region from dangers such as the militarist regimes of Germany and Italy. At the Pan American Conference in Monte Video, Uruguay 1933, the US pledged to no longer intervene in Latin american affairs. The president also convinced congress to nullify the Platt Amendment (but kept the right to maintain a base at Guantanamo Bay).
Herbert Hoover
This president during the Great Depression urged businesses to not cut wages, unions not to strike, and private charities to increase their efforts for the needy and jobless. fearing that government assistance would destroy people's self-reliance, he finally asked Congress for legislative action for the economy in 1930. He took the view that public relief should come from the state and local government, not the federal government. Named a "Lame Duck" president, he was powerless during the 4 months between Roosevelt's election and inauguration. He offered to work with Roosevelt during this time but, wanting to limit his ties to the current president, Roosevelt refused. The 20th Amendment (the lame duck amendment) was passed in February 1933 and ratified in October 1933. It shortened the period between presidential election and inauguration. The new start of a new president's term was January 20th.
Vietnamization
This process put into effect by Nixon gradually withdrew US troops from Vietnam while also giving the south vietnamese money, weapons, and training to take over the war. The number of troops in vietnam went from 540,000 in 1969 to 30,000 in 1972. The president also declared that asian allies would get US support without the extensive use of ground forces
detente
This reduction of cold war tensions was accomplished by Kissinger and Nixon taking advantage of the rivalry between China and the Soviet Union.
Fair Deal
This reform program launched by Truman was defeated because of the president's political conflicts with congress and the foreign policy concerns of the cold war. Truman tried to convince congress to enact national health care insurance, federal aid to education, civil rights legislation, funds for public housing, and a new farm program. The conservatives of congress blocked most of his proposed laws, but they did increase the minimum wage from 40 cents to 75 cents an hour and included more workers under social security.
Operation Wetback
This response to complaints by white native born workers in the 1950's who were concerned about Mexican immigrants taking their opportunities sent 3.8 million people back to Mexico. This went along with discrimination and exploitation often faced by those who remained in the US
Watergate scandal
This scandal that ruined Nixon's presidency occurred when his reelection committee hired a group of men to break into and bug the democratic national headquarters. This was discovered to be only one of many illegal activites run by the Committee to Re-Elect the President (CREEP). Previously, Nixon had requested wiretaps on government employees and reporters to stop news leaks such as the bombing in Cambodia and the Pentagon Papers. A group of men called the "plumbers" were hired to fix these leaks, and they went to the extreme of breaking into the office of the psychiatrist of Daniel Ellsberg to obtain discrediting information on him. They also made an "enemies list" of prominent americans who were against Nixon and investigated the individuals using government agencies like the IRS. The Scandal resulted in the jailing of 26 white house officials and aids as well as resignations. Although it is unclear whether or not Nixon knew of the illegal activities, it is obvious that he participated in illegal coverups to avoid scandal. It was then discovered that Nixon had a taping system in the Oval Office, which could prove his guilt or innocence, but he claimed executive privilege and and refused to give the tapes.
Huey Long
This senator from Louisiana became a national figure by proposing a program to "share our wealth" that promised a minimum annual income of $5,000 for every American family to be paid for by taxes on the wealthy. He challenged Roosevelt's leadership by announcing his presidential candidacy, but was assassinated.
Four Freedoms Speech
This speech in which Roosevelt justified the new policies of lending money to Britain by saying that the US had a duty to protect nations from the four freedoms (freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
This supreme court case argued in the 1950's by Thurgood Marshall, a lawyer for the NAACP took on the case of segregation in schools. Marshall said that segregation in public schools violated the 14th amendment. In May of 1954, the supreme court agreed with Marshall and overturned the Plessy case, deciding unanimously that "separate facilities are inherently unequal" and unconstitutional and that school segregation should end with "all deliberate speed". After this decision, southern resistance intensified. 101 congress members signed the Southern Manifesto which claimed the supreme court had abused judicial power, states temporarily closed schools and set up private schools, and the KKK violence increased. The governor of Arkansas, Orval Faubus used the states' national guard to prevent the Little Rock Nine, african american students selected to begin the integration, from entering Little Rock Central High School. Eisenhower then sent in federal troops to guard and protect the black students. Even 10 years after the decision, less than 2% of blacks in the south attended integrated schools.
Hawley-Smoot tariff
This tariff was the highest in history. It was signed into law by Hoover in 1930 and increased taxes from 31% to 49% on foreign imports. Europeans retaliated to the US tariff by putting their own taxes on US goods. The effect was a reduction of trade for all nations, leading national and international economies into depression.
the "lost generation"
This term coined by Gertrude Stein referred to the authors of the time, including F Scott Fitzgerald (novelist), Ernest Hemingway (novelist), Sinclair Lewis (novelist), Ezra Pound (poet), TS Eliot (poet), and Eugene O'Neill (playwright). They wrote of disillusionment and ideals of an earlier time and with materialism fit for a business oriented culture. Fitzgerald and O'Neill fell into a life of drinking while Eliot and Hemingway moved to exile in Europe
Iron Curtain
This term used by Winston Churchill ("an iron curtain has descended across the continent") was later used to acknowledge to metaphorical wall between Soviet satellite states and Eastern Europe during the Cold War. In his speech, Churchill asked for western democracies to stop communist expansion.
Turner's frontier thesis
This thesis theorized that as long as there was new land to move into, humanity would progress. The american frontier was the best example of "americanization"
the Scopes trial
This trial of a Tennessee school teacher who disobeyed the law by teaching darwin's theory of evolution in a public school tested the constitutionality of the laws prohibiting this. Clarence Darrow defended Scopes and the modernists while William Jennings Bryan represented the fundamentalists as an expert on the bible. Scopes was convicted but it was later overturned because of a technicality. Laws banning the teaching of evolution remained in place for years, although they were rarely enforces. The press concluded that Darrow had successfully discredited the fundamentalists
Era of Good Feelings
This was a term used to describe James Monroe's two terms in office because it was marked by the spirit of nationalism, optimism, and goodwill. During this time the Federalist Party faded away, leaving the democratic-republican party in control
counterculture
This was expressed by young people in rebellious clothing, music, drugs, and communal living. "Hippies" ("flower children") of the 1960's added long hair, beards, beads, and jeans. Music of Joan Baez, Bob dylan, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Jim Morrison, and Janis Joplin gave life to the movement among young people. Some people experimented with hallucinogenic drugs such as LSD or becoming addicted to other drugs, which ruined their lives.
comformity
This was promoted by large corporations which implemented a dress code for male workers. This loss of individuality was written about by novelist William Whyte in his 1956 book The Organization of Man
the Lusitania Crisis
This was the first major crisis that challenged the US neutrality. German torpedoes sank a british passenger ship causing most of the passengers to drown, including 128 americans. Wilson sent Germany and strongly worded diplomatic warning which made it clear the Germany would be held to strict accountability if it continued sinking unarmed ships. The messaged was not supported by secretary of state William Jennings Bryan, who resigned from his position because the message was too warlike
Fair Labor Standards Act
This was the last major reform of the New Deal. Enacted by congress in 1938, this act fixed the minimum wage to 40 cents an hour, set a maximum standard work week of 40 hours with extra pay for time and a half (aka overtime), restricted child labor (hiring people under 16).
Manhattan Project
This was the top secret project of building the first atomic bombs. It began in 1942, employed over 100,000 people, and spent $2 billion developing this weapon that split the atom with devastating results.
bonus march
Thousands of unemployed WWI veterans marched to Washington DC to demand payment of bonuses they were promised to receive at a later date in 1945. They were joined by thousands of other veterans who brought their wives and children and camped in shacks close to the capitol. After 2 veterans were killed in a clash with police, Hoover instructed the army to break up the camp. General Douglas MacArthur was the army's chief of staff and used tanks and tear gas to destroy the encampment and drive veterans away from washington. This caused many to view Hoover as heartless and uncaring.
Neutrality Acts
To ensure neutrality in war broke out in europe, the US passed these acts which in 1935 allowed the president to prohibit all arms shipments and to forbid US citizens to travel on ships of belligerent nations, in 1936 forbade the extension of loans and credit to belligerents, and in 1937 forbade the shipment of arms to the opposing sides in the civil war in Spain
Truman Doctrine
Truman implemented his containment policy in response to a communist led uprising against the Greek government and Soviet requests to have some control of a water route in Turkey. In this doctrine, Truman asked congress to give $400 million in economic as well as military aid to help the "free people" of Greece and Turkey against "totalitarian" regimes. He was able to gain congressional support from both democrats and republicans.
Zimmerman telegram
US newspapers shocked the public with the news that Germany had sent a secret telegram to Mexico in which it offered recovery of territories taken by the US (Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona) in exchange for their alliance.
impressment
When Britain and France took American sailors and claimed them to be their own citizens and made them fight for them. This violated the U.S. neutrality rights. This was one of the causes of the war of 1812
Indian Reorganization Act
When John Collier was appointed as commissioner of the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1933, he establish conservation projects on reservations and gained native american involvement in the WPA and other New Deal programs. In 1944 the Dawes Act was repealed and replaced it with this act. This returned lands to the control of tribes and supported preservation of their culture.
Pancho Villa
When Mexico's government fell into the hands of Venustiano Carranza, rebels loyal to Pancho Villa immediately challenged the new government. Villa led raids across the Mexican-US border and murdered several people in Texas and New Mexico. President Wilson ordered General John J Pershing and an expeditionary force to pursue Villa into northern Mexico. Villa was never captured.
"big stick diplomacy"
When describing his foreign policy, new president Theodore Roosevelt said his motto was "speak softly and carry a big stick". Using this policy, Roosevelt made many bold decisions in an attempt to build the US into a world power. Imperialists approved greatly of his policy but the critics were disturbed by the breaking of the tradition of noninvolvement in global politics.
U-2 incident
When the Russians shot down this US spy plane over the Soviet Union, Eisenhower took full responsibility. After the proposed open-skies policy had been rejected by the Soviet Union in 1955 the US made regular spy flights over Soviet territory. Khrushchev walked out of the Paris Summit and denounced the US
Cross of Gold Speech
William Jennings Bryan's speech which ended with the words: "We will answer their demands for a gold standard by saying to them: 'You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns, you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold'" which helped gain him the democratic, and eventually populist as well, nominee.
Boss Tweed
William Tweed , boss of the local new york democratic party, created schemes in which he and his cronies made a profit of about 200 million dollars form new york tax payers. The schemes were exposed in the New York Times by Thomas Nast and Tweed was arrested and imprisoned in 1871
the fourteen points
Wilson wanted these points to be made realities in the Treaty of Versailles, but settled for compromises on most of them. they were pertaining to these broader points: recognition of freedom of the seas, an end to the practice of making secret treaties, reduction of national armaments, an impartial adjustment to all colonial claims, self-determination for the various nationalities, removal of trade barriers, and a general associated of nations for the purpose of affording mutual guarantees of political independence and territorial integrity to great and small states alike.
Liberty Bonds
Wilson's war government was able to raise 33 billion dollars in two years by convincing americans to buy these to contribute to the war effort. Income taxes were also increased and an excise tax was placed on luxury goods.
Levittown
With demand for housing rising after the war, a construction boom occurred. William J Levitt led the boom by producing 17,000 mass produced, low priced family homes on Long Island, New York. The suburbs became more and more popular as the low interest rate on government insured and tax deductible mortgages allowed lower class families to move. Because of the new suburban concentration, inner cities became increasingly poor and racially divided.
Thomas Edison
With his profits from his invention, a machine that recorded votes, he established a research facility in Menlo Park, New Jersey in 1876. His methods helped develop the concept of engineers and mechanics working side by side as a team. His laboratory produced more than a thousand patented inventions including the phonograph, the first practical electric lightbulb, the dynamo, the mimeograph machine, and the motion picture camera
Henry Kissinger
With international relations being Nixon's first concern, this national security advisor (and later secretary of state) helped him create a foreign policy that would reduce cold war tensions.
Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions
Written by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, this response to the Alien and Sedition Acts stated that a state could nullify federal laws within its borders if it felt that the compact between it and the national government had been violated.
Triangle Trade
a 3 part round trip that carried products from the colonies, west indies, or slaves from Africa. A ship would go from a New England port and carry rum to west Africa, trade rum for slaves, then go to the West Indies to trade slaves for sugarcane.
John Muir
a Californian preservationist, president of the Sierra Club; opposed to businesses taking land for econ. gains; gets govt. to set aside 35 mil. acres for a natl. foresta Californian preservationist, president of the Sierra Club; opposed to businesses taking land for econ. gains; gets govt. to set aside 35 mil. acres for a natl. forest
Ulysses S. Grant
a West Point graduate, he was in command of the union's campaign to control the Mississippi. He took 2 forts on a branch of the Mississippi and won the battle Shiloh. By 1864, he was in charge of the whole union army.
Deism
a belief that God created natural laws when creating the universe but gave minimal divine intervention after creation. This was a concept accepted by many Enlightenment thinkers who also accepted rationalism and the view that humans were capable of solving their own problems. It emphasized reason, science, and respect of humanity.
Massachusetts Bay colony
a colony founded by a group of puritans seeking religious freedom. Later towns such as Boston were created in this area. A civil war in England in the 1630s drove some 15,000 settlers to this colony. This is known as the Great Migration.
manifest destiny
a common belief that the U.S. had a divine mission to expand from sea to sea, this was driven by nationalism, population increase, economic developments, technological advances, and new reform ideas. Many northerners were critics as they claimed that manifest destiny was only another southern effort to expand slavery
Harriet Tubman
a conductor on the underground railroad and an escaped slave herself, she made at least 19 trips to the south and rescued about 300 slaves from slavery.
Jonathan Edwards
a congregational preacher of the Great Awakening who preached about the fiery depths of hell that awaited sinners
Seneca Falls Convention
a convention in which leading advocates for women's rights and feminism met for the first convention in US history for women's rights. The Declaration of Sentiments (very similar to the declaration of independence) was issued at the end of the convention and it declared that all men and women are equal, listing women's grievances and ways to fix the problems.
Oregon Trail
a dangerous trek made by americans wishing to utilize the land in Oregon and California, it started usually in St. Joseph or Independence, Missouri. Along with the California, Mormon, and Santa Fe trails, this trail was taken by hundreds of thousands of americans by 1860. The average day would only gain a traveller 15 miles, taking months for them to reach the Rockies. The most common and serious dangers on the trail were disease and depression because of the harsh conditions every day on the trail.
Panic of 1819
a depression following the economic boom after the War of 1812. The second national bank tried to fix the problems but were blamed for the vast inflation of U.S. currency.
Mayflower Compact
a document created by the pilgrims on the Mayflower that stated that their government would be based on a majority ruling.
grange movement
a farmers' organization and movement that started as a social/educational association; the Grange later organized politically to pass a series of laws to regulate railroads in various states.
Dorothea Dix
a former massachusetts school teacher, she discovered the horrid treatment of the mentally ill (they were put in prison with criminals). She dedicated her life to traveling around the country to better mental institutions, influencing many states to open new hospitals and improve upon their current institutions.
Frederick Douglass
a former slave who spoke out against the brutality and degradation of slavery from first hand experience, he advocated for political and direct action to end slavery and racial prejudice. He started an antislavery journal called "The North Star"
The Redeemers
a group of southern conservatives, they took control of state governments. Their four main purposes were:1) state's rights2) reduced taxes3) reduced spending on social programs4) white supermacey
Pueblo
a large southwestern Native American tribe that used developments such as irrigation and multi-story housing.
Free-Soil movement
a movement that had an end goal of keeping the west a land of white opportunity, void of slavery and african americans in general, their slogan was "free soil, free labor, and free men". Although their main goal was to prevent the prevention of slavery, they also supported public land grants to small farmers and internal improvements
"carpet baggers"
a nickname given by southerners to northern republicans who came to the south after the war, this referred to those who went there on humanitarian business, economic business, and those who simply went to plunder.
Iroquois Confederation
a political organization of 5 tribes (Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, and Mohawk) that worked together to defend themselves from enemies (other tribes and the europeans). It was a powerful force from the 16th century to the American Revolution
Democrats
a political party led by Andrew Jackson in the early to mid 1800s, it fought against a strong central government and elitism and worked towards opportunity for white men and free trade.
George Whitefield
a preacher of the Great Awakening who preached about the power of and importance of believing in God and Jesus. He stressed that ordinary people were capable of learning scripture without religious leaders
New England Confederation
a short-lived military alliance formed of the New England Colonies, it was formed in response to the constant threat of Native American, Dutch, and French attack. It included Plymouth, Massachusetts bay, connecticut, and new haven. It lasted from 1643-1684 and set a precedent to help colonies unite for a common goal
Lakota Souix
a small semi-nomadic Native American tribe of the Great Plains that primarily hunted buffalo and eventually used newly acquired european horses to aid them in this task.
Pueblo Revolt
a successful uprising of enslaved native americans against the spanish in New Mexico because harsh efforts to convert native Americans to christianity
headright system
a system in Virginia that rewarded anyone who payed for an immigrant to come to America by giving them 50 acres of land, or gave 50 acres of land was given to any immigrant who payed for their own passage
sharecropping
a system in which the landlord provided farming materials to workers who would then share (usually give half) the harvest with their landlord, it gave poor blacks and poor whites an opportunity to farm for themselves, but it often left the workers in debt and/or dependent on the landlord
asiento system
a system that allowed africans to be brought to the new world to work as slaves for spaniards. This system required that all slaves be taxed and these taxes went to the crown.
encomienda system
a system that allowed the king of Spain to give land and the natives on that land to noble spaniards. The natives they gained would then work as slaves for the owners and the spaniards would in turn care for them (but they didn't care for them. Often the natives died of overworking or disease).
subsistence farming
a type of farming very common in New England which provided only enough food for the farmers and their families with no excess to sell
Palmer Raids
after a series of unexplained bombings, Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer established an office under J. Edgar Hoover to collect information on radicals. Palmer ordered mass arrests of anarchists, socialists, and labor agitators. Over 6000 people were arrested based on limited evidence between November 1919 and January 1920. Most suspects were foreign born, 500 of which were deported. Palmer then warned of huge riots on May Day 1920 but they never happened, causing him to lose credibility.
Know-Nothing Party
also known as the american party, it grew out of the growing tensions in the mid-1850s between native-born protestant americans and german and irish immigrants. The party drew support from the whigs and ultimately weakened them.
Coercive Acts (1774)
also known as the intolerable acts by colonists, they were created in response to the Boston Tea Party. The 4 acts were the Port Act (which closed the Boston port and prohibited trade in the port until the tea wasted could be paid for), the Massachusetts Government Act (which lowered the power of the massachusetts legislature while heightening the power of the royal governor), the Administration of Justice Act (which allowed royal officials who were accused of crimes to be tried in England rather than in the colonies), and the Expansion of the Quartering Act (which allowed british troops to seek shelter in all private property and applied to every colony).
Sugar Act (1764)
also known as the revenue act, it placed duties on sugar and other luxuries in order to raise money for the crown. Companions laws of this act also put stricter rules on smuggling.
Halfway Covenant
an agreement that allowed people to take part in the church without their full dedication to the church. This helped puritan churches gain many more members, but was rejected by some puritan leaders
John Locke
an englishman who opposed the king and his government's laws and encouraged others to do the same. He suggested that governments need to follow "natural laws" because people have some rights just because they are human. He said citizens have a right to revolt against a government that is not protecting their natural rights
William Howard Taft
as Roosevelt's secretary of war, he hand picked by Roosevelt to be his successor. During his presidency, he continued Roosevelt's aggressive policies. He ordered the prosecution of almost twice the number of antitrust cases as Roosevelt including one against US Steel. He established the Bureau of Mines, added large tracts in the Appalachians to the national forest reserves, and was the first president to set aside federal oil lands. Under him, the Mann-Elkins Act (which gave the ICC power to suspend new railroad rates and oversee telephone, telegraph, and cable companies) and the 16th Amendment (which created a income tax which at first applied only to the very wealthy) were passed.
Lincoln-Douglas Debates
battling for the seat in the US senate, these debates made southerners view Lincoln as a radical because of his "house divided" speech Douglas lost support from southern democrats because of his relatively little support for the Dred Scott case. Douglas won the senate seat, but this enlarged Lincoln's popularity greatly.
mexican-american war
because Mexico refused to sell the U.S. land (California and New Mexico) and the dispute over the Texas-Mexico border, this war began in 1846 when Polk sent troops to the Rio Grande and claimed that Mexicans had shed American blood on American soil. It was ended with the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which granted the U.S. the Mexican Cession for 15 million dollars and and required Mexico to recognize its border to be at the Rio Grande. It also increased tensions of sectionalism leading up tot he Civil War
Theodore Roosevelt
becoming president as a result of McKinley's assassination, this president described his foreign policy by using the motto "speak softly and carry a big stick". He used this "big stick diplomacy" to help build the US into a world power, make bold decisions, and set the legislative agenda for Congress. His "square deal" in which he called in a union leader and coal mine owners to the White House and formulated a compromise in which the owners agreed to a special commission (a 10 percent wage increase and a 9 hour workday for miners) after the president threatened to take over the mines with federal troops. He was reelected in 1904 because of the mass approval for this move. He increased his popularity further by becoming the first president since its passage to enforce the Sherman Antitrust Act. He became known as a trust-buster and made important distinctions between breaking up "bad trusts" and regulating "good trusts". Under him, the Elkins Act (which allowed the International Commerce Committee greater authority to stop railroads from giving rebates to favored customers) and the Hepburn Act (which let the ICC fix "just and reasonable" rates for railroads. He also used the Forest Reserve Act many times, won passage of the Newlands Reclamation Act, and publicized the need for conservation. Because of a conference he held, the national Conservation Commission was established.
J. D. Rockefeller
beginning in 1863, only 4 years after the first US oil well was drilled, he founded Standard Oil, a company which would force rival companies to sell out. He used the latest technology and efficient practices to bring himself to the top. He used horizontal integration, buying out rival companies, to succeed.
Knights of Labor
beginning in 1869 as a secret society led by Terence V Powderly, this national labor union became public in 1881. Its membership was opened to all, including african americans and women. They worked against trusts and monopolies as well as child labor, while trying to gain worker cooperatives. Its peak of membership with 730,000 workers was in 1886 but the members declined rapidly after the Haymarket Bombing
transcedentalists
believing in the importance of nature and degrading materialism,this philosophy was pioneered by Ralph Waldo Emerson. They believed that one's direct connection with God outranked the need for organized churches and that artistic expression was more important than wealth. They valued intuition, promoted individualism, self reliance, and put emphasis on emotions. They supported the antislavery movement and two important leaders of the Transcendentalists were Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau
utopian experiments
communities created by withdrawing from society to become the ideal system. Many "backwoods utopias" were created, or at least attempted in the antebellum period. New Harmony was one non-religious experimental utopian society put together by Robert Owed in New Harmony Indiana. He hoped this socialist community would solve the problems of inequality and alienation caused by the Industrial Revolution
Henry David Thoreau
conducted a two year experiment where he lived by himself in the woods and pondered essential truths about life and the universe, which he published in his book Walden. He also wrote "On Civil Disobedience" which established his thought that non-violent protests would solve issues effectively. He refused to pay a tax for the war against Mexico because he saw it as immoral and was sent to Concord Jail for one night. He later inspired MLK JR and Gandhi.
Preemption Acts
congress passed these acts in the 1830s and 1840s which gave squatters the right to settle on public lands and purchase them for low prices once the government put them up for sale
laissez-faire
created by Adam Smith in 1776, this theory of economics sought to prove that business should not be regulated by the government, but instead by the "invisible hand" of supply and demand. If the government did not interfere with business, businesses would be motivated by their own self interest to offer better goods and services at better prices.
tenements
created by landlords to make a large profit, these inner city housing units consisted of small windowless rooms occupied by the poor (usually immigrants). In 1879 New York City passed a law that required each bedroom to have a window, but in order to keep a large profit, a single ventilation shaft was built in the center of the building (creating "dumbell tenements"). With the overcrowding (more than 4,000 people could be fit into a single city block) and filth in these residencies, deadly disease spread quickly, creating outbreaks of typhoid, cholera, and tuberculosis. Groups of immigrants often created distinct ethnic neighborhoods where groups could maintain their language, culture, church/temple, and social club (these crowded, unhealthy, crime-ridden neighborhoods, called "ghettos", and often served as a springboard for ambitious hard working immigrants and their family to achieve their American Dream.
Freedman's Bureau
created in March, 1865 by Congress, this was an early welfare agency, providing food, shelter, and medical aid for those struggling after the war (mostly poor whites and freed blacks). They had the authority to resettle blacks on farmland confiscated from southern planters. They established nearly 3000 schools for free blacks.
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
created to guarantee individual bank deposits, this New Deal corporation was put into action after the Glass-Steagall Act which increased regulation of banks and how manks invest customers' money. The gold standard was also restricted to international transactions and americans could no longer exchange dollars for gold.
Securities and Exchange Commission
created to regulate the stock market and put limits on the speculative practices that led to the crash in 1929, this New Deal program required full audits of and financial disclosure by corporations to protect investors from fraud.
Presidential Reconstruction (the plan of Lincoln and Johnson)
disfranchisement of:1) all former leaders and office holders of the confederacy2)confederates with more than 20,000 dollars in taxable property
Woodrow Wilson
elected in the 1912 election against Debs, Taft, and Roosevelt, he was the first southerner to occupy the white house since Zachary Taylor, this president was idealistic, intellectual, righteous, and inflexible. Immediately after becoming president he lowered tariffs for the first time in 50 years. He passed the Federal Reserve Act which he believed would fix the corruption of the banking system. This act created the concept that everything would be purchased in federal reserve notes (dollar bills). He also passed the Clayton Antitrust Act, enacted the Federal Trade Commision, passed the Federal Farm Loan Act, and passed the Child Labor Act.
Anne Hutchinson
founded Portsmouth in 1638 after being cast out of the Massachusetts Bay colony for her belief in antinomianism.
Roger Williams
founded Providence in 1636 after being cast out of the Massachusetts Bay colony for the respected puritan minister's belief that an individual's conscience outranked the church's authority. He recognized the rights of native Americans and paid them for land. His government allowed Catholics, Quakers, and Jews to worship freely
John Dickinson's Letters From a Farmer in Pennsylvania
letters published in the colonies that insisted that Parliament could not regulate commerce in the colonies and only representatives of colonial governments could approve taxes.
Republican party
founded in Wisconsin in 1854 as a reaction to the Kansas-Nebraska Act, it was a combination of free soilers and antislavery whigs democrats, all in the north and west. The goal of the party was to prevent the spreading of slavery into the new territories. Its first platform called for the repeal of the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the Fugitive Slave Act. It was soon established as the second largest party and took the 1860 presidential election with Lincoln.
Washington's farewell address
given in 1769, Washington warned against getting involved in european affairs, making permanent alliances, forming political parties, and sectionalism.
yellow journalism
helping to promote going to war, this form of journalism featured stories on crime, disaster, and scandal in newspapers. Some of the most notable of these papers were Pulitzer's World and Hearst's Journal. They printed false and exaggerated stories of the Spanish and their involvement in Cuba. Many americans took these stories as truth and pushed for military action for humanitarian reasons and to put a stop to the atrocities and suffering.
Helen Hunt Jackson's A century of dishonor
hoping to bring attention to the injustices enacted by the US government against native americans, Jackson published this book in 1881. This led to more attempts to civilize Native Americans (schools to press white culture on them, dividing of land into family plots
Dred Scott v. Sandford
in 1857, the case of Dred Scott made its way to the Supreme Court. His case was that because he lived in a free state for 2 years, he could't be held as a slave in Missouri. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Roger Taney (a southern democrat), and the rest of the Supreme Court ruled that 1) Dred Scott did not have the right to sue in a federal court because the constitution did not allow/intend for people of African descnt to be U.S. citizens2) Congress could not take away any persons property without due process of law (if slaves were considered property then Congress could not forbid it from federal territory)3) The Missouri Compromise was unconstitutionalNorthern republicans were shocked and outraged while southern democrats were pleased with the decision.
John Rolfe
introduced tobacco as a main cash crop to Jamestown which saved the colony from being in severe debt.
Samuel Morse
inventor of the electric telegraph, he brought about growth of railroads and progress on timely communication and transportation with his innovative invention
Federalists
led by George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Ben Franklin, and James Madison, this party supported the constitution and a strong central government. In order to push away the Articles of Confederation, they used the argument that the other side had no solutions to the problems. They had strong organized leaders, but originally had no Bill of Rights and the constitution was new and untried.
Whigs
led by Henry Clay, this political party opposed Jacksonian Democracy. This party supported the American system and worked to get a national bank, a strong presidency, higher tariffs, and internal improvements.
John Winthrop
led the puritans to found the Massachusetts Bay Colony and helped found Boston and other towns in the region.
ghost dance
meant to serve as a revival of native american culture and religion, this ritual gave hope to the declining native american culture. A cult that tried to call the spirits of past warriors to inspire the young braves to fight. It was crushed at the Battle of Wounded Knee after spreading to the Dakota Sioux. The Ghost Dance led to the Dawes Severalty Act of 1887. This act tried to reform Indian tribes and turn them into "white" citizens. It did little good.
Selective Service Act
more young men were needed to fight even after thousands had already volunteered to serve in the war, causing the creation of this act in 1917 in which the Secretary of War made this system to draft men into the military. This democratic method ensured that all groups in the population would be called into service. All men between the ages of 21 and 30 (later 18 and 45) were required by the government to register for possible military service. Under this act, about 2.8 million men were chosen using this lottery system, adding to the 2 million men who had already volunteered.
exodusters (from lecture)
name given to African Americans who fled the Southern United States for Kansas in 1879 and 1880 because of racial oppression and rumors of the reinstitution of slavery.
Townshend Acts (1767)
new duties were collected on imported tea, glass, and paper. The writ of assistance was created to give officials easy access to people's property to search for smuggled items.
American Colonization Society
originating the idea to ship freed slaves to an African colony, the ideas of the group were often supported by antislavery reformers and politicians because many racist whites hoped to banish free blacks from society. They established an African American settlement in Monrovia, Liberia but colonization never proved to be a practical option. Between 1820 and 1860, about 12,000 African Americans were settled in Africa, but the slave population in the US grew by 2.5 million
Rosie the Riveter
over 200,000 women served in the army, navy, and marines in noncombat roles, but those who stayed at home (about 5 million of them) took jobs left by men in industrial jobs, defense plants, and shipyards. This perfect figure of a working woman helped increase the married women in the workforce to 24%, although they were payed much less than men
rough riders
participating in one of the most celebrated events in the Spanish American war, this regiment of volunteers led by Theodore Roosevelt preformed a cavalry charge up San Juan Hill. They were aided in their victory by veteran regiments of African Americans.
Fugitive Slave Act
passed as a part of the compromise of 1850, the purpose of this law was to find fugitive slaves, capture them, and return them to their southern slave owners. antislavery northerners heavily resisted this law and were punished severely if caught assisting a runaway slave. This law also put fugitive slave cases under the rule of the federal government and denied blacks the right of trial by jury.
Fourteenth Ammendment
passed by congress in 1866 and ratified in 1868, this ammendment had the main purposes of:1) declaring all persons born/naturalized in the U.S. a legal citizen2) requiring that states respect the rights of all citizens and treat them with equality in legal mattersthe ammendment also had parts applying specifically to congress:1) disqualified former Confederate political leaders from holding state/federal offices2) repudiated the debts of the defeated governments of the Confederacy3) penalized any state that denied voting rights to certain people by reducing that state's representation in congress/the electoral college
Proclamation of 1763
prevented colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains in order to prevent further conflict with the Native Americans, but the colonists were angered and moved westward anyway.
compromise of 1850
proposed by Henry Clay, this compromise was meant to deal with the imbalance that letting California in as a free state would create. The compromise called for 1) the admission of California to the union as a free state2)dividing the remainder of the Mexican Cession into two territories (Utah and New Mexico) and allowing the settlers there to decide the salvery issue by popular sovereignty3)give the land in disputed between Texas and New Mexico territories to the new territories in return for the federal government assuming Texas' public debt of $10 million4)ban slave trade in the District of Columbia but still allow whites to hold slaves5) adopt a new fugitive slave law and enforce it strictlyHenry Clay was supported by Daniel Webster but opposed by John C. Calhoun as they each gave their last great speeches when addressing this compromise. Once Millard Fillmore took office, the bills were immediately signed into effect.
Crittenden Compromise
proposed by senator John Crittenden of Kentucky, this compromise would have allowed slavery in all territories below that 36 30 line. Lincoln saw this as an opposition to the republican position against slavery expansion
"bleeding Kansas"
proslavery and antislavery activists waged conflict, including John Brown killing 5.
New York City draft riots
provoked by the Conscription Act (which forced all men ages 20 to 45 to be ready for military service unless they payed a 300 dollar fee) , these riots erupted in 1863 and were led primarily by Irish Americans against blacks and wealthy whites. About 117 people were killed before federal troops broke up the riots and the act was temporarily suspended.
Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin
published by a northern writer, it was the most popular book of its time. It told the story of a man named Tom and his brutal slaveowner/master Simone Legree. The book heavily influenced abolitionists and encouraged many to join the movement as the readers now saw all slave owners as monstrously cruel. Southerners were angry about the novel, claiming that it was untruthful and it was proof of the prejudice of the north towards the south. When president Lincoln met the author, he is reported to have said "So you're the little woman who wrote the book that made this great war" crediting her with the cause of the Civil War.
Quartering Act (1765)
required colonists to provide food and shelter to british soldiers
Stamp Act (1765)
required revenue stamps to be put on almost all paper products (newspaper, legal documents, pamphlets, advertisements) in order to collect taxes to fund the british military. It was the first direct tax on the colonists.
Congressional (Racial) Reconstruction (plan of radical republicans in congress)
revolutionize southern society by:1) an extended period of military rule of the south in which african americans would be free to excersize their rights2) blacks being educated in schools operated by the federal government3) blacks would receive lands confiscated from planter class
Panic of 1857
sent by the federal government to Japan, his goal was to force Japan to open its ports for trade with americans. In 1854, Japan signed a treaty that opened two of its ports to american trade.
Matthew C. Perry
sent to Japan to persuade the country to begin trading with the Americans, he convinced Japan's government to sign a treaty which opened 2 of their ports to U.S. trade.
Jim Crowe Laws
series of laws passed in southern states in the 1880s and 1890s that segregated the races in many facets of life, including public conveyances, waiting areas, bathrooms, and theaters; it legalized segregation and was upheld as constitutional by Plessy v. Ferguson.
Chinese Exclusion Act
signed in 1882, this law was the first to restrict immigration to the US due to race/nationality. Much of the transcontinental railroad was built by chinese immigrant workers, but this act ensured that they would be payed very little and have a difficult life financially.
Indian Removal Act of 1830
signed into law by Andrew Jackson, who wanted to take more land for the U.S., it forced the resettlement of thousands of Native Americans who moved westward of the Mississippi River. It led to the creation of the Bureau of Indian affairs which assisted resettling tribes.
Kansas-Nebraska Act
signed into law by president Pierce in 1854, it was created by senator Stephen A. Douglass of Illinois and helped him gain support from the south for another bill that would allow a transcontinental railroad to be built. It proposed that the Nebraska Territory be divided into Kansas and Nebraska Territory and that the slavery issue should be solved with popular sovereignty. It basically nullified the Missouri Compromise and led up to bleeding Kansas
Compromise of 1877
solving the electoral college dispute concerning the presidential election of 1877, this compromise won Rutherford B Hayes the presidency under conditions from southern democrats that he:1) immediately end federal support for Republicans in the South 2) support the building of a transcontinental railroad in the south
Black Codes
southern state legislatures adopted these laws to restrict the rights and movement of the newly freed blacks. The laws established the following restrictions on blacks:1) prevented blacks from renting land and borrowing money to buy land2) placed free slaves into a form of semibondage by forcing them to sign into contracts as "apprentices" and "vagrants"3) prohibited blacks to testify against whites in court
consumer credit
stores were able to increase sales of appliances and automobiles by letting consumers pay with this method. As consumers face more "easy monthly payments" than they could pay, they curtailed buying, leading to the collapse of the economic boom.
Treaty of Versailles
taking place in the Palace of Versailles after the armistice, this negotiation for peace had representation from all the allied sources. Nations wanted both revenge against Germany and compensation in the form of territory. Representatives from Great Britain, France, and Italy met with Wilson as the Big Four. After months of talk, compromises were settled regarding the 14 points, including the creation of the League of Nations. The peace terms included 1) Germany being disarmed, stripped of its colonies, forced to admit guilt, forced to accept french occupation of Rhineland for 15 years and pay for reparation in Great Britain and France, 2) self-determination would be applied to territories previously controlled by Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Russia, and Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, and Poland were granted independence, and the new countries of Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia were created, 3) countries that signed the treaty would join the League of Nations, an international peace organization. The covenant required that each member nation stand ready to protect the independence and territorial integrity of other nations. Wilson left office in 1971, after which the US officially made peace with Germany. The treaty was never ratified and the US did not join the League of Nations
Thirteenth Ammendment
the amendment needed to end slavery officially, it was strongly pushed in Congress by Lincoln and was finally ratified in December of 1865.
George Washington
the commander and chief of the continental army during the revolutionary war and the head of the continental congress. He would later go on the be the first president of the US.
Robert E. Lee
the confederate general for the eastern area during the civil war, he won many battles against the union but lost other very important battles such as Antietam and Gettysburg
Confederate States of America
the country created by the southern states as they seceded from the union, its president was Jefferson Davis. They always had economic shortages. They fought against the union in the Civil War and sustained about one million troops at its peak.
Enlightenment
the emergence of a belief system that human knowledge can improve society. there was more open mindedness and hostility towards authority during this part of the 18th century. John Locke was a major figure who suggested that governments need to follow "natural laws" because people have some rights just because they are human. He said citizens have a right to revolt against a government that is not protecting their natural rights
Phillis Wheatley
the first african writer in the Americas. Her poetry was very well respected
House of Burgesses
the first representative type of government in the colonies. It was originally created as a way to ensure incoming colonists to Jamestown that they could take part in government.
William Penn
the founder of Pennsylvania which he intended to be a "holy experiment" and give refuge to Quakers and others persecuted because of their religious beliefs. His government allowed for unrestricted immigration and freedom of worship for all, had a constitution, and required a representative assembly. He intended his colony to be a refuge for persecuted people, to enact liberal government ideas, and to generate a profit for himself
mexican cession
the land purchased by the U.S. in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, this included present day California, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, and Colorado
Horace Mann
the leading advocate for the common (public) schools movement, he was the secretary for the Massachusetts Board of Education. He worked to improve schools by striving toward compulsory attendance by students, a longer school year, and increased teacher preparation.
Middle Passage
the part of triangle trade in which africans were shipped in horrible conditions to the Americas to be sold as slaves
mercantilism
the principle that colonies served the purpose of helping their mother countries to thrive by giving their mother countries resources and having the government regulate trade and production of the colonists
insular cases
the question of whether or not the constitution applied to territories acquired by the US was one that led to these cases from 1901 to 1903. The court ruled that constitutional rights were not automatically given to territories but the power to decide to give them or not belongs to congress.
Schenck v US
the supreme court held the constitutionality of the Espionage Act in the case involving a man who was imprisoned for giving out pamphlets against the draft. Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes concluded in 1919 that the right to free speech could be limited when it represented a "clear and present danger" to public safety
cult of domesticity
the woman's role in the family was to work around the house, but also to teach the children morals. Married women held lots of power in the household as they controlled what the children thought when their husbands were working
dawes severalty act
this act dismantled American Indian tribes, set up individuals as family heads with 160 acres, tried to make rugged individualists out of the Indians, attempt to assimilate the Indian population into that of the American
Civil Rights Act of 1875
this act guarenteed equal accommodations in public places (theatres, hotels, railroads) and prohibited courts from excluding african americans from juries. the law was poorly enforced dueto moderate and conservative republicans got tired of trying to to reform an unwilling south. They also feared losing the white votes in the north.
Platt Ammendment
this amendment was in response to congress withdrawing troops from Cuba with Cuba's acceptance of this amendment. It required that Cuba agree to 1 never sign a treaty with a foreign power that impaired its independence 2 permit the US to intervene in Cuba's affairs to preserve its independence and maintain law and order3 allow the US to remain in naval bases in Cuba including a permanent one at Guantanamo Bay
Fifteenth Ammendment
this ammendment prevented states from denying a citizen their right to vote "on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude"
imperialism
this being the process of acquiring territory or gaining control over the political or economic life of other countries, it was a controversial issue in the United States. Some believed it was a good thing, arguing that the United States had to compete with european powers in gaining territory in order to remain a first class power.
stagflation
this combination of stagnation and inflation that struck america during Nixon's presidency was battled by Nixon in multiple ways. He first tried cutting federal spending, but that only resulted in a recession and unemployment. Then he tried using deficit spending to bring the middle class and blue collared workers closer. Then in august of 1971, he began a 90 day wage and price freeze. Next he took the dollar off the gold standard, devaluing it relative to foreign currencies. Then a 10% surtax was placed on all imports, which improved the balance of US and foreign trade
jingoism
this growing public opinion stemmed from intense nationalism and promoted aggressive foreign policy. Some believers in this were expansionists who called for the US to join the imperialist european nations
flappers
this new fashion trend among young women was influenced by movie actresses and desires for independence. Elders were shocked by this new style of hemming skirts at the knee instead of the ankle, short hair cuts (bobbs), smoking cigarettes, and driving cars.
Hudson River School
this school of thought brought its students the desire to paint american landscapes and nature. They were fascinated with the natural world.
xenophobia
this term, meaning hatred and fear of foreigners, was on this rise in China near the end of the 19th century. In 1900, a group of Chinese nationalists, Boxers, attacked foreign settlements and murdered dozens of christian missionaries. The US quickly responded by marching into Beijing and crushing the Boxer Rebellion
Treaty of Paris (1898)
this treaty, signed in Paris in 1898, provided for 1 recognition of Cuban independence2 US acquisition of Guam and Puerto Rico from Spain3 US acquisition of the Philippines from Spain for 20 million dollars.
"dollar diplomacy"
this was Taft's policy of promoting US trade by supporting American enterprises abroad. He believed private American financial investment in China and Central America would help bring greater stability there and also promote US business.
"moral diplomacy"
this was Wilson's policy of showing respect for other nations' rights and support for the spread of democracy. Using this policy, Wilson passed the Jones Act of 1916, along with other acts benefitting Puerto Rico and Panama.
"fifty-four forty or fight"
this was the campaign slogan for James K Polk and the Democratic party during the 1844 election. It referred to the line of latitude 54 40 that marked the northern border between the Oregon territory and russian alaska.
National American Woman Suffrage Association
two pioneer feminists of the 1840s (Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B Anthony) helped found the NAWSA in 1890 to secure the vote for women. The first big success for the women of this association was in 1869 when Wyoming became the first state to grant full women's suffrage. Carrie Chapman Catt became the president of this organization in 1900 and argued for broadening of democracy so as to empower women. Catt at first fought to win votes for women at a state level, but then went towards the goal of an amendment to the US constitution which would guarantee women's rights to vote.
spoils system
used by pro democrat Andrew Jackson, this system replaced federal officials who were not loyal with officials who were. Some believed it supported government corruption.
indentured servants
usually poor europeans whose voyage to the colonies was payed for by a colonist. The european brought over would then work for the colonist for an agreed amount of time (usual lay 4 to 7 years) in exchange for passage to the Americas. This system benefited landowners because it provided them with labor, although temporary
Bartolome de las Casas
was a spanish priest who, after realizing the monstrosity of slavery, attempted to protect and convince others to protect the native americans, who he explained had "souls" and weren't just animals.
Columbian Exchange
was an exchange of goods, ideas, and diseases from the old world (europe) to the new world (the americas) and vise versa. Europeans learned of new plants,including corn, beans, sweet potatoes, white potatoes, tomatoes, and tobacco. Native Americans received important things as well, such as sugar cane, bluegrasses, pigs, horses, the wheel, iron implements, and guns. Negatively, they gave syphilis to Europeans while Europeans gave them measles and small pox, raising the mortality rate of native Americans to more than 90%
Sherman's March
when General William Tecumseh Sherman led 100,000 men from Tennessee through Georgia and South Carolina, the troops did a lot of damage to the south, destroying everything in their path. They took Atlanta in 1864 (which helped with Lincoln's reelection) and ended the campaign in 1865.
Boston Massacre (1770)
when many colonists attacked and harassed guards at the customs house. The guards fired on the crowd killing 5 people including an African American named Crispus Attucks. It was first called a massacre by Samuel Adams who used the event to promote anti-british propaganda
Coxey's Army
when the depression deepened and joblessness increased, this group marched to Washington, led by populist Jacob A Coxey, and demanded that the federal government spend 500 million dollars on public programs to create jobs. The marchers turned back when Coxey and other leaders were arrested for trespassing.
transcontinental railroad
with congress authorizing its construction during the Civil War, construction began to connect the atlantic and pacific states. The Union Pacific, thousands of immigrants and veterans under direction of General Grenville Dodge, started from Nebraska and built westward while the Central Pacific, thousands of workers including 6,000 chinese immigrants under the direction of Charles Crocker, started from California and built eastward.On May 10th, 1869, a golden spike was put ceremoniously in the rail line in Promontory, Utah where the two ends of the railroad connected.
James K. Polk
with the campaign slogan "fifty-four forty or fight", this dark horse candidate from Tennessee won the presidency for the Democratic party and took the steps necessary to take Texas, California, and Oregon
J. P. Morgan
with the financial panic of 1893 pushing railroads into bankruptcy, he and many 0thers swooped in to create a monopoly on the railroad business. But by 1900 the rail systems became more efficient because of their consolidation.
Pacific Railway Act
with their wartime majority, the Republicans were able to pass this law in 1862 which authorized the building of a transcontinental railroad ton link the economies of California and the western territories with the eastern states.
Morrill Land Grant Act
with their wartime majority, the Republicans were able to pass this law in 1862 which encouraged states to use the sale of federal land grants to pay for agricultural and technical colleges.
Homestead Act
with their wartime majority, the Republicans were able to pass this law in 1862 which promoted settlement of the Great Plains by offering 1600 acres of free land to any person/family who settled there for 5 years.