A list of APUSH terms that begins in the colonial era and ends at 9/11.
Great Columbian / Biological Exchange
Exchange of plants and animals between the New World and Europe following the discovery of America in 1492.
Christopher Columbus
Italian explorer, sailed from Spain in 1492 and reached Americas, greatly increased European awareness of the North American Continent
Bartolomeo de las Casas
16th Century Spanish Historian, Dominican Friar, "Protector of the Indians;" opposed atrocities by colonizers on Indigenous people
Spanish empire
Empire control in Mexico, South America, and Florida, religious empire; Franciscans + mission system, defensive buffers vs. English, French, and Russians. Economic empire.
French empire
Empire control in Canada, Ohio, and Mississippi River Valley with Louisiana. Religious: Jesuits. Positive indigenous relations. Fur trade. Coureurs du bois.
English/British Empire
Exhibited control in the form of dominions, colonies, mandates, and territories. Queen Elizabeth I was a prominent ruler during the colonial period of this empire. French Rivalry + engaged in Columbian Exchange.
Mayflower Compact
Pilgrims/Separatists agreement: agreement to obey laws created by the community and a profession of allegiance to the king
Virginia colony
This colony was founded in 1607. First settlement was Jamestown. Charter to stock company/royal. Tobacco was vital to its survival.
1619
The year when the first U.S representative assembly was established - House of Burgesses (Jamestown, Virginia)
Bacon's rebellion
Colonial uprising that took place in 1676 in the Virginia colony, led by Nathaniel Bacon. Virginians resented William Berkeley's friendly policy towards Native Americans. This was the first rebellion in American colonies in which discontented frontiersmen took part.
Maryland colony
Founded in 1634 by Lord Baltimore, founded to be a place for persecuted Catholics to find refuge, a safe haven, act of toleration
Toleration Act
Guaranteed religious toleration to trinitarian Christians, but decreed the death penalty to Jews and atheists and others who didn't believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ,
New England colonies
The term for the colonies of Massachusetts bay, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire
Massachusetts Bay Colony
Colony founded in 1630 by John Winthrop, part of the Great Puritan Migration, founded by puritans. Had a theocratic republic. "City upon a hill"
"City upon a hill"
Said by Winthrop; refers to the idea that Puritan colonists emigrating to the New World were part of a special pact with God to create a holy community: a model society to the world/moral commonwealth
Anne Hutchinson
Woman who challenged Purtian religous authorities in Massachusetts Bay. Puritan authorities banished her because she challenged religious doctrine, gender roles. clerical authority, and claimed to have had revelations from God
King Philip's war
1675. longest and bloodiest conflict between settlers and natives in 17th century, native Wampanoags under KIng Phillip ( Indian Chieftain) resisted England encroachment on their land, they killed many settlers in Mass, English joined with Mohawks to defeat them
Salem Witch Trials
1629 outbreak of witchcraft accusations in a Massachussetts Bay puritan village marked by an atmosphere of fear, hysteria and stress. Spectral evidence was used frequently.
Rhode Island Colony
Self-governing colony founded by Roger Williams in 1636; granted freedom for all religions and non-believers; religious toleration; disestablishment, universal suffrage for white males w/property qualifications; most democratic
Disestablishment
Separation of church and state; no religion is officially supported by the state/government; opposed tax-supported church
Connecticut colony
Colony founded by Thomas Hooker in 1636; self-governing; origin of Fundamental Orders
Fundamental Orders
The first constitution written in North America; granted ALL adult males to vote not just church going land owners as was the policy in Massachutes
New Amsterdam
Dutch colonial settlement that served as the capital of New Netherland. This later became "New York City"
Restoration colonies
Colonies created as a result from the land grants in North America given by King Charles II of England The two major restoration colonies were Pennsylvania and Carolina.
New York colony
Colony founded by Dutch in 1624. Very diverse and wealthy colony. Contained the Hudson river
Pennsylvania colony
Colony formed from the "Holy Experiment"; settled by Quakers. Founded by William Penn, who bought land from the Native Americans. Allowed religious freedom
William Penn
An English Quaker, founded Pennsylvania in 1682, after receiving a charter from King Charles II the year before. He launched the colony as a "holy experiment" based on religious tolerance.
Georgia colony
Colony founded by James Oglethorpe. Its first settlers were debtors and unfortunates( "worthy poor"). Tolerant to Christians but not Catholics. Acted as a buffer between Spanish Florida and the Carolinas.
James Oglethorpe
Founded Georgia; a member of parliament; philanthropist; social reformer (helping those in debtors' prisons)
Mercantilism
Economic philosophy of 17th and 18th century European nations; sought to increase wealth and power through acquisition of gold and silver and establishing a favorable balance of trade. Colonies served interest of mother country through importation of its raw materials -> Exportation > importation
Triangular trade
Trading System between Europe, Africa, and the colonies; European purchased slaves in Africa and sold them to colonies, new materials from colonies went to Europe while European finished products were sold in the colonies.
Navigation Acts
Acts passed in 1660 passed by British parliament to increase colonial dependence on Great Britain for trade; limited goods that were exported to colonies; caused great resentment in American colonies.
Dominion of New England
1686 - The British government combined the colonies of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Connecticut into a single province headed by a royal governor (Andros). The Dominion ended in 1692, when the colonists revolted and drove out Governor Andros.
Glorious Revolution (in America)
Elimination of Dominion of England in 1689; Plymouth added to Massachusetts in 1691; Reinstatement of legislative assemblies; Coode's Rebellion; some royal governors; more closely intertwined empire
Puritanism
The religion of a group of religious dissidents who came to the New World so they would have a location to establish a "purer" church than the one that existed in England
Enlightenment
18th century philosophy stressing reason, and how it can be used to improve the human condition. Natural rights was a major idea that influenced Thomas Jefferson in the writing of the Declaration of Independence.
John Locke
English philosopher who advocated the idea of a "social contract" in which government powers are derived from the consent of the governed and in which the government serves the people; also said people have natural rights to life, liberty and property.
Benjamin Franklin
Printer, author, inventor, diplomat, statesman, and Founding Father. One of the few Americans who was highly respected in Europe, primarily due to his discoveries in the field of electricity. He helped to negotiate French support for the American Revolution.
First Great Awakening
Religious revival in the colonies in 1730s and 1740s; George Whitefield and Jonathan Edwards preached a message of atonement for sins by admitting them to God. The movement attempted to combat the growing secularism and rationalism of mid-eighteenth century America. Religious splits in the colonies became deeper.
George Whitefield
English clergyman who was known for his ability to convince many people through his sermons. He involved himself in the Great Awakening in 1739 preaching his belief in gaining salvation.
18th century immigration
Increase in non-English immigrants and fewer English immigrants; Scots-Irish, Scots, Germans, Dutch, Africans; poor move west for cheaper land
American Slavery
More than 10 million Africans brought to Americas. This institution was lifelong and generational, racial based, economically profitable, and was abolished by the 13th amendment.
Stono Rebellion
An uprising of slaves in South Carolina in 1739, leading to the tightening of already harsh slave laws. The largest slave uprising in the colonies.
Zenger case
The case that established the precedent that true statements about public officials could not be prosecuted as libel; Newspapers are not financially liable for criticism of government if actually true.
French and Indian/Seven Year's War
The war fought by French and English on American soil over control of the Ohio River Valley-- English defeated French in 1763. Historical Significance: established England as number one world power and began to gradually change attitudes of the colonists toward England for the worse (i.e taxing)
Albany Plan of Union
Plan proposed by Benjamin Franklin in 1754 that aimed to unite the 13 colonies for trade, military (defense), and other purposes; the plan was turned down at every colonial assembly and by the Crown.
Benjamin Franklin Achievements
Spread Enlightenment ideals: need for scientific research, importance of education. Advocate of religious toleration; first "self-made man" ; only American to sign the three founding documents of the U.S (Declaration of Independence, Treaty of Paris, Constitution ; only founding father to be public anti-slavery advocate ; most democratic founding father; made the middle class individual an important factor in American society.
Pontiac's Rebellion
After the French and Indian War, colonists began moving westward and settling on Indian land. This migration led to this conflict in 1763, when a large number of Indian tribes banded together under the Ottawa chief Pontiac to keep the colonists from taking over their land.
Proclamation of 1763
A proclamation from the British government which forbade British colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains, and which required any settlers already living west of the mountains to move back east.
Stamp Act
An act passed by the British parliament in 1756 that raised revenue from the American colonies by a duty in the form of a stamp required on all newspapers and legal or commercial documents
Sons of Liberty
A radical political organization formed by Samuel Adams after the passage of the Stamp Act to protest various British acts; organization used both peaceful and violent means of protest
Daughters of Liberty
This organization supported the boycott of British goods. They urged Americans to wear homemade fabrics and produce other goods that were previously available only from Britain. They believed that way, the American colonies would become economically independent.
Declaratory Act
Act passed in 1766 after the repeal of the stamp act; stated that Parliament had authority over the the colonies and the right to tax and pass legislation "in all cases whatsoever."
Townshend Acts
A tax that the British Parliament passed in 1767 that was placed on leads, glass, paint and tea
Boston Massacre
The first bloodshed of the American Revolution (1770), as British guards at the Boston Customs House opened fire on a crowd killing five Americans
Boston Tea Party
Demonstration (1773) by citizens of Boston who (disguised as Indians) raided three British ships in Boston harbor and dumped hundreds of chests of tea into the harbor
Coercive/Intolerable Acts
Acts passed in retaliation to the Boston Tea Party; the British government closed port of Boston until tea was paid for; revised the charter if Massachusetts (which drastically reduced their powers of self-government), forced colonists of Massachusetts to house British soldiers and allowed British officers to be tried in England for crimes of violence.
American Revolution (1775-1783)
A period when 13 colonies gained independence from England. Based on disapproval by colonists of several taxes and other unpopular laws. Protests lead to fighting in 1775, and after two main British armies were captured in 1777 and 1781 and an alliance of the colonists with the French, the Treaty of Paris was signed.
Continental Congress
The legislative assembly composed of delegates from the rebel colonies who met during and after the American Revolution
Common sense
A pamphlet written by Thomas Paine in 1776 that criticized monarchies and convinced many American colonists of the need to break away from Britain
Declaration of Independence
The document recording the proclamation of the second Continental Congress (4 July 1776) asserting the independence of the colonies from Great Britain
General George Washington
Commander in Chief of the Continental Army. Brilliantly led America to victory and freedom in the American Revolution. Became 1st US president
Battle of Saratoga
Turning point of the American Revolution. It was very important because it convinced the French to give the U.S. military support. It lifted American spirits, ended the British threat in New England by taking control of the Hudson River, and, most importantly, showed the French that the Americans had the potential to beat their enemy, Great Britain.
French Alliance
The French entered the war in 1778, and assisted in the victory of the Americans seeking independence from Britain
Articles of Confederation
This document, the nations first constitution, was adopted by the second continental congress in 1781 during the revolution. The document was limited because states held most of the power, and congress lacked the power to tax, regulate trade, and control coinage
Newburgh Conspiracy
The officers of the Continental Army had long gone without pay, and they met in New York to address Congress about their pay, they also considered staging a coup and seizing control of the new government, but the plotting ceased when George Washington refused to support the plan.
Peace of Paris (1783)
Great Britain recognized the independence of the United States, agreed to the Mississippi boundary in the west, Florida was passed back to Spain; Loyalist property that had been confiscated would be returned.
Republicanism
Political movement / ideology that supports the ideas that all power and sovereignty comes directly from the people and not from some authoritative person and that the success of a government depends on the characters of its citizens.
Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom
1779 - Written by Thomas Jefferson, this statute outlawed an established church and called for separation of Church and State. (Disestablishment)
Republican Motherhood
The idea that American women had a special responsibility to cultivate "civic virtue" in their children
Land ordinance and Northwest Ordinance
Systematic survey of land, land divided in 6 x 6 mile regions; Established a system for setting up governments in the western territories so they could eventually join the Union on an equal footing with the original 13 states ; laid the legal and cultural groundwork for midwestern (and subsequently, western) development
Shay's Rebellion
This conflict in Massachusetts caused many to criticize the Articles of Confederation and admit the weak central government was not working; uprising led by Daniel Shays in an effort to prevent courts from foreclosing on the farms of those who could not pay the taxes
Philadelphia (Constitutional) Convention
The meeting of state delegates in 1787 in Philadelphia called to revise the Articles of Confederation. It instead designed a new plan of government, the US Constitution.
James Madison
Strict constructionist, 4th president, father of the Constitution, leads nation through War of 1812, author of Bill of Rights
Virginia Plan
Virginia delegate James Madison's plan of government, in which states got a number of representatives in Congress based on their population
New Jersey Plan
New Jersey delegate William Paterson's plan of government, in which states got an equal number of representatives in Congress
Great Compromise
Compromise made by Constitutional Convention in which states would have equal representation in one house of the legislature (Senate) and representation based on population in the other house (House of Representatives)
3/5 Compromise
The decision at the Constitutional convention to count slaves as 3/5 of a person for the purpose of deciding the population and determining how many seats each state would have in Congress
Charles Beard's Constitution thesis
A historian who argued that the Constitution was designed to protect the economic self-interest of its framers. Beard's view is largely rejected by contemporary scholars
Ratification of the Constitution debate
Opponents (anti-federalists) feared central power and wanted Bill of Rights; Constitution ratified at conventions; ultimately ratified b/c support of Washington and Franklin (Federalists), Federalist Papers, promise to add Bill of Rights
Federalist Papers
Series of essays, written by Hamilton, Madison, and Jay, that defended the Constitution and tried to reassure Americans that the states would not be overpowered by the federal government.
Bill of Rights
A formal statement of the fundamental rights of the people of the United States, incorporated in the Constitution as Amendments 1-10, and in all state constitutions.
Washington's Presidency (1789-1797)
He set the precedent for being the President of the United States. He humbly served two terms and appointed the first cabinet. He stayed out of Congress' way and supported the United States' isolationist stance in world affairs.
Hamilton's financial program
A financial plan involving the funding of national debt at par value, the assumption of state debts, and the establishment of a national bank
Establishment of Washington D.C as nation's capital
Disagreements rose as to which state it would be a part of. In 1790, Alexander Hamilton proposed a solution that established the new permanent capital on federal land rather than in a state. President George Washington was asked to pick the site. Both Maryland and Virginia gave up land along the Potomac River that became the District of Columbia, established in 1791.
Neutrality Proclamation
A 1793 statement by President Washington that the United States would not support or aid either France or Britain in their European conflict following the French Revolution
Jay's Treaty
An agreement between made up by John Jay; said that Britain was to pay for Americans ships that were seized in 1793 ; Americans had to pay British merchants debts owed from before the revolution ; Britain had agreed to remove their troops from the Ohio Valley
Pinckney's Treaty
Agreement with Spain that changed Florida's border, opened the Mississippi River to American navigation, and granted Americans the right of deposit in New Orleans; Spain agreed to the treaty because it feared that Jay's Treaty included an Anglo-American alliance.
Whiskey Rebellion
A protest caused by tax on liquor; it tested the will of the government; Washington's quick response showed the government's strength and mercy (led an army to put down the rebellion)
First Party System: Federalists vs. Democratic-Republicans
A term that defines the period of time when the Federalists and Democratic-Republicans competed for the presidency. Federalists (Hamilton): industrial society, strong central govt., loose interpretation;Republicans(Jefferson/Madison): decentralized, agrarian society and economy, limited central govt., belief in states rights, strict interpretation. It was ended with the Era of Good Feelings. ,
Washington's Farewell Address
Warned against permanent foreign alliances and political parties, called for unity of the country, established precedent of two-term presidency
John Adams' Presidency (1797-1801)
He was the second president of the United States and a Federalist. He was responsible for passing the Alien and Sedition Acts. Prevented all out war with France after the XYZ Affair. His passing of the Alien and Sedition Acts severely hurt the popularity of the Federalist party and himself
XYZ Affair
Incident in which French agents demanded a bribe and loan from the U.S. diplomats in exchange for discussing an agreement that French privateers would no longer attack American ships; led to an undeclared war between U.S. and France
Quasi-War
Term widely used to describe French and American naval conflicts between 1798 to 1800. Neither nation declared war, although they carried out naval operations against each other
Alien and Sedition Acts
A series of laws that sought to restrict the activities of people who opposed Federalist policies (1798)
Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions
Written anonymously by Jefferson and Madison in response to the Alien and Sedition Acts, they declared that states could nullify federal laws that the states considered unconstitutional.
Election of 1800
Jefferson and Burr each received 73 votes in the Electoral College, so the House of Representatives had to decide the outcome. The House chose Jefferson as President and Burr as Vice President.
Midnight appointments
After 1800, the only branch left in the Federalists' hands was the Judiciary. On John Adam's last night as president he made last minute appointments for Federalists to judgeships. He did so in an attempt to maintain Federalist control of judiciary branch.
Jefferson's Presidency (1801-1809)
Democrat-Republican; Major events during his presidency include the Louisiana Purchase (1803) and the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804-1806), as well as escalating tensions with both Britain and France that led to war with Britain in 1812, after he left office.
Second Great Awakening
A series of religious revivals starting in 1801, based on Methodism and Baptism. Stressed a religious philosophy of salvation through good deeds and tolerance for all Protestant sects. The revivals attracted women, Blacks, and Native Americans.
Charles Finney
A leading evangelist of the Second Great Awakening, he preached that each person had capacity for spiritual rebirth and salvation and that through individual effort could be saved. His concept of "utility of benevolence" proposed the reformation of society as well as of individuals.
Lewis and Clark Expedition
An expedition sent by Thomas Jefferson to explore the northwestern territories (Louisiana territory) of the United States ; led by Merriwether Lewis and William Clark; traveled from St. Louis to the mouth of the Columbia River from 1803 to 1806
Burr Conspiracy
Scheme by Vice-President Aaron Burr to lead the succession of the Louisiana Territory from the US and create his own empire. He was captured in 1807 and charged with treason. Because there was no evidence or two witnesses he was acquitted. Marshall upholds the strict rules for trying someone for treason.
Impressment
The British practice of taking American sailors from American ships and forcing them into the British navy; a factor in the War of 1812.
Chesapeake-Leopard incident
A feud that occurred in 1807 when the US Chesapeake was stopped in the mid-Atlantic by the British Leopard ; led to British attacks ; ultimately led to the enforcement of the Embargo Act by Jefferson
Embargo Act
1807 act which ended all of America's importation and exportation. Jefferson hoped the act would pressure the French and British to recognize U.S. neutrality rights in exchange for U.S. goods. In reality, it hurt Americans and its economy and got repealed in 1809.
Tenskwatawa/"The Prophet"
He inspired a religious revival that spread through many tribes and united them; killed by Harrison at battle of Tippecanoe
Tecumseh and the Indian Confederation
As American settlers moved westward in the early 1800s, a Shawnee chief named Tecumseh realized that the Indians had to unify against encroachment on their land. With the inspiration of his brother, a religious visionary who became known as The Prophet, Tecumseh formed a confederation of Indian tribes determined to thwart the taking of Indian lands
James Madison's Presidency (1809-1817)
Democratic-republican; includes War of 1812, Protective Tariff and renewal of bank, beginning of Era of Good Feelings
War Hawks
The nationalist members of Congress who strongly supported war with Great Britain on the eve of the War of 1812; included Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun.
War of 1812 (1812-1815)
Fought between Britain and the United States largely over the issues of trade and impressment. Though the war ended in a relative draw, it demonstrated America's willingness to defend its interests militarily, earning the young nation new found respect from European powers.
Hartford Convention
Meeting of Federalists near the end of the War of 1812 in which the party listed it's complaints against the rulings of the Republican Party. These actions were viewed as traitorous to the country and had lost the Federalists much influence and respect (The practical end of the Federalist Party).
Battle of New Orleans
A battle in 1815 between American and British troops for control of New Orleans, ending in an American victory
James Monroe (1817-1825)
The fifth President of the United States (1817-1825).His administration was marked by the acquisition of Florida (1819); the Missouri Compromise (1820), in which Missouri was declared a slave state; and the profession of the Monroe Doctrine (1823), declaring U.S. opposition to European interference in the Americas.
Era of Good Feelings
A name for President Monroe's two terms, a period of strong nationalism, economic growth, and territorial expansion. Since the Federalist party dissolved after the War of 1812, there was only one political party (democratic-republican) and no partisan conflicts.
Adams-Onis/Transcontinental Treaty
Spain ceded Florida to US; established border between US and Spanish Mexico in 1819
Monroe Doctrine
A statement of foreign policy which proclaimed that Europe should not interfere in affairs within the United States or in the development of other countries in the Western Hemisphere
U.S Industrial Revolution
Transformation of manufacturing; power-driven machines took place of hand-operated tools especially after 1815
Samuel Slater
He was a British mechanic that moved to America and in 1791 invented the first American machine for spinning cotton. He is known as "the Father of the Factory System" and he started the idea of child labor in America's factories.
Tariff of 1816
This protective tariff helped American industry by raising the prices of British manufactured goods, which were often cheaper and of higher quality than those produced in the U.S.
Second Bank of the U.S
A national bank chartered by Congress in 1816 with extensive regulatory powers over currency and credit; modeled after Hamilton's original bank and fixing Revolutionary War debt
National road
The first highway built by the federal government. Constructed during 1825-1850, it stretched from Pennsylvania to Illinois. It was a major overland shipping route and an important connection between the North and the West.
Robert Fulton
American inventor who designed the first commercially successful steamboat and the first steam warship (1765-1815)
Erie Canal
A canal between the New York cities of Albany and Buffalo, completed in 1825. The canal, considered a marvel of the modern world at the time, allowed western farmers to ship surplus crops to sell in the North and allowed northern manufacturers to ship finished goods to sell in the West.
De Witt Clinton
The leader of government officials who came up with the plan to link New York City with the Great Lakes region.
Bonus Bill
Calhoun presented this bill in 1817, 1.5 million bank funds to fund internal improvements; passed but vetoed by Madison in his last day in office
Lowell-Waltham system
This system developed in the textile mills of Lowell, Massachusetts in the 1820s, in these factories as much machinery as possible was used, so that few skilled workers were needed in the production process; the workers were almost all young single farm woman.
Separate Spheres
Nineteenth-century idea in Western societies that men and women, especially of the middle class, should have different roles in society: women as wives, mothers, and homemakers; men as breadwinners and participants in business and politics
John Marshall's Supreme Court
Period of court ruling from 1801 to 1835; shaped interpretation of Constitution (loose); strengthened judicial branch; increased power of federal government over state; support of economic activity
Dartmouth College decision
Corporation contracts were inviolable and could not be controlled by state govts.
Placed restrictions on the power of state govts. to control corporations
McCulloch decision
Upheld constitutionality of Bank of the United States ; Established loose/broad construction/interpretation of the Constitution as constitutional
Worcester Decision
Invalidated Georgia law that required U.S. citizens entering Cherokee territory to obtain permission from governor of Georgia
Antebellum urbanization
Enlarged population due to largest immigration in US history; migration to cities b/c native farming classes forced off land due to changes in agriculture and immigrants; improved transportation, beginnings of industrialization
Panic of 1819
This was the first widespread economic crisis in the United States which brought deflation, depression, bank failures, and unemployment. This set back nationalism to more sectionalism and hurt the poorer class, which gave way to Jacksonian Democracy.
Sectionalism
A narrow-minded concern for, or devotion to, the interests of one section of a country over the interests of the nation as a whole
Missouri Crisis and Compromise
Missouri was not supposed to be a slave state, but it was, and its admission into the Union would tip the balance in favor of the South; Allowed Missouri to enter the union as a slave state, Maine to enter the union as a free state, prohibited slavery north of latitude 36˚ 30' within the Louisiana Territory (1820)
Democracy in America
Classic French text by Alexis de Tocqueville on the United States in the 1830s and its strengths and weaknesses such as the tyranny of the majority; explained why republicanism succeeded in the U.S. and failed elsewhere.
Universal Manhood Suffrage
Giving all adult men the right to vote, whether they owned property or not.
Dorr Rebellion
Short-lived armed insurrection in the U.S. state of Rhode Island; Agitation for changes to the state's electoral system
Spoil's system
The system where one is elected and replaces former government officials/workers with members of his/ her own political party or his/ her friends and supporters.
National Party Conventions
Held to select the each parties official Presidential & adopt the party's platform; delegates to convention were usually members of local party elitists
Maysville Road veto
veto by Jackson that prevented the Maysville road from being funded by federal money since it only benefited Kentucky;this was a blow to Clay's American System, & it irritated the West.
Daniel Webster
Senator of Massachusetts; famous American politician & orator; advocated renewal & opposed the financial policy of Jackson; many of the principles of finance he spoke about were later incorporated in the Federal Reserve System; later pushed for a strong union.
"Liberty and Union" Speech
response to S. Carolina Senator Robert Y. Hayne's defense of nullification theory; "Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable"
John C. Calhoun
S. Carolina Senator who advocate for state's rights, limited government, & nullification; damaged relations w/ Jackson
Tariff of Abominations
favored Western agricultural interests by raising tariffs or import taxes, thus favoring Northern manufacturers; in the South, these tariffs raised the cost of manufactured goods, thus angering them & causing more sectionalist feelings--> nullification
South Carolina Exposition and Protest
Written in 1828 by Vice President Calhoun of S. Carolina to protest the the "Tariff of Abominations", which seemed to favor Northern industry; introduced the concept of state interposition & became the basis for S. Carolina's Nullification Doctrine of 1833.
Nullification Crisis
Southerners favored freedom of trade & believed in the authority of states over the fed. gov.--> declared federal protective tariffs null and void; South believed individual state cannot defy fed. gov. alone; led to increased sense among Southerners as "minority" & threat of secession rather than nullification was the South's ultimate weapon
Force Bill (1833)
Jackson's response to S. Carolina's ordinance of nullification that declared the tariffs of 1828 & 2832 null and void, & S. Carolina would not collect duties on them; authorized President Jackson to use military force to collect duties on the Tariffs of 1828 and 1832; never invoked b/c it was passed by Congress the same day as the Compromise Tariff of 1833, so it became unnecessary; nullified by S. Carolina
Compromise Tariff of 1833
A new tariff proposed by Henry Clay & John Calhoun that gradually lowered the tariff to the level of the tariff of 1816; avoided civil war & prolonged the union for another 30 years.
Eastern Indian Removal
Process of white westerners wanting valuable Indian (savages) land (1830-42); $ appropriated to negotiate treaties & remove Indians; Indian Intercourse Act created Indian territory in Oklahoma
Trail of Tears (1838)
The route taken by Native Americans as they were relocated to Oklahoma; 20-25% perished before reaching Oklahoma
Bank War
Jackson vs. Biddle (fed. gov. director of bank); Jackson believed the Bank of US had too much power and was too rich; vetoed the 2nd Bank charter & withdrew gov. money from the US Banks & put it into "pet banks";Jackson vetoed bill he thought was wrong
Charles River Bridge Case
dispute over the constitutional clause regarding obligation of contract, decided that public convenience takes precedence
Second Party System: Democrats and Whigs
Whigs (opposed Jackson= Webster, Calhoun, Clay) - fed. gov. aid economic development (American System), cautious of territorial expansion; Democrats (Jackson, Van Buren) - limit fed. gov. power and protect states rights, suspicious of gov. attempts to stimulate commercial/industrial growth, support territorial expansion
Presidency of Martin Van Buren (1837-1841)
Panic of 1837; created Independent Treasury/Subtreasury System; loaned money to states for infrastructure; would not involve gov. to stop depression
Panic of 1837 and economic depression
Government only accepted "specie" as payment for public lands + crop failures --> 5 year depression
Independent Treasury
Van Buren reaction to Panic of 1837; fed gov. placed funds in independent treasury--> fed. gov. divorced
Election of 1840
William Henry Harrison (Whig) vs. Martin Van Buren (Democrat); result: Whig victory & a truly national two-party system.
Noah Webster
American writer who wrote textbooks to help the advancement of education; wrote a dictionary which helped standardize the American language.
James Fenimore Cooper
1st truly American novelist noted for his stories of Indians and the frontier life; man's relationship w/ nature & westward expansion
Walt Whitman
Unrestrained celebration of democracy; liberation of individual; broke traditional forms of verse
Herman Melville
Moby Dick; he rejected the optimism of the transcendentalists and felt that man faced a tragic destiny
Hudson Valley School of Art
Pre-photography w/o humans; focus on beauty of landscape--> American pride & nationalism
Shakers
1770's by "Mother" Ann Lee; Utopian group that splintered from the Quakers; believed that they & all other churches had grown too interested in this world & neglectful of their afterlives; prohibited marriage and sexual relationships; practiced celibacy
Mormons
Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints; founded by Joseph Smith in 1830; began in upstate NY, "burned-over district"; moved to Salt Lake City, Utah
Transcendentalists
Individuals strive to "transcend" limits of intellect" & allow emotions/ soul to create original relation to universe
Ralph Waldo Emerson
American transcendentalist who was against slavery and stressed self-reliance, optimism, self-improvement, self-confidence, and freedom; prime example of a transcendentalist; "Nature" & "Self-Reliance"
Henry David Thoreau
Transcendentalist; civil disobedience; gov. that violates individual morality has no legit authority
Feminism-Woman's Rights
"Separate spheres"/ "cult of domesticity" v. feminism/ Seneca Falls- Antebellum period; reform movements
Lucretia Mott
Quaker activist in both the abolitionist and women's movements; w/ Elizabeth Cady Stanton, she was a principal organizer of the Seneca Falls Convention
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Suffragette who, w/ Lucretia Mott, organized the 1sr convention on women's rights held in Seneca Falls; issued the Declaration of Sentiments which declared men and women to be equal and demanded the right to vote for women; co-founded the National Women's Suffrage Association w/ Susan B. Anthony in 1869
Susan B. Anthony
Social reformer who campaigned for women's rights, the temperance, & was an abolitionist, helped form the National Woman Suffrage Association
Seneca Falls Convention
Took place in upperstate New York in 1848; women of all ages and even some men went to discuss the rights and conditions of women; wrote the Declaration of Sentiments which tried to get women the right to vote.
Catherine Beecher
Female reformer that pushed for female employment as teachers; still embraced the role of a good homemaker for women; an example of the fact that not all women were pushing for radical reforms.
Horace Mann
Secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education; "Father of the public school system"; a prominent proponent of public school reform, & set the standard for public schools throughout the nation; lengthened academic year; pro training & higher salaries to teachers
Maine Laws
Passed in 1851; 1st big step in the Temperance Movement - outlawed sale & manufacturing of alcohol except for medical purposes
Dorothea Dix
Rights activist; created 1st wave of US mental asylums; began national movement for new methods to treat the mentally ill
Penitentiaries
New prisons built in Pennsylvania that experimented with the technique of placing prisoners in solitary confinement; these experiments were dropped because of the high suicide rate.
American Colonization Society
Society that thought slavery was bad; challenged slavery w/o challenging property rights of Southerners; would buy land in Africa & get free blacks to move there to establish their own country
Abolitionism
Militant effort to do away with slavery; began in the N in the 1700's; becoming a major issue in the 1830's, it dominated politics by the 1840's; Congress became a battle ground between the pro and anti slavery forces
William Lloyd Garrison
Radical abolitionist believed slavery must be viewed from perspective of blacks; demanded immediate emancipation of slaves w/o compensation to slave owners; full citizenship rights
The Liberator
Anti-slavery newspaper written by William Lloyd Garrison; drew attention to abolition, both positive and negative, causing a war of words btw supporters of slavery and those opposed.
Frederick Douglass
One of the most prominent African American figures in the abolitionist movement; escaped from slavery; advocated freedom from slavery & full citizenship rights for all blacks
David Walker
Black abolitionist who called for the immediate emancipation of slaves; wrote the "Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World."- called for a bloody end to white supremacy; believed that the only way to end slavery was for slaves to physically revolt.
Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad
Set up a network of white and African American abolitionists who helped slave escape to freedom in the North or Canada. She was the most famous and successful conductor.
"King Cotton"
"Driving force" of Southern economy; coined by James Hammond; "upper" South--> "lower"/"deep" South b/c of westward expansion
Upper South
Climate & geography distinguished from lower south; emerged out of economic crisis in the 1850s by diversifying agriculture, urbanization, and expansion of manufacturing and trade; single-crop; tobacco--> wheat & corn
Deep South
"Lower south" or "cotton kingdom"; area where the majority of the country's cotton was produced; plagued w/ disease
Planter Class
Whites that owned 20-50 slaves & 800 or more acres; political, social, & economic domination; only about 5% of Southern population
Toussaint L'Ouverture's rebellion in Haiti (1804)
Successful slave rebellion from that increased Southern white paranoia of black resistance
Denmark Vesey rebellion (1822)
Rebellion in S. Carolina discovered before it began; argued slavery violated Christianity and republicanism
Nat Turner rebellion (1831)
Almost 60 whites killed in Virginia; over 100 blacks executed -> increased fear of slave revolt; increased fear of slave revolt; same year as The Liberator began
Manifest Destiny
Belief that the US was destined to stretch across the continent; idealistic, sent by God, not for economic or territorial reasons
"Great American Desert"
Vast arid territory west of the Missouri River & east of the Rocky Mountains; encouraged westward expansion after Stephen Long's Expedition
"Mountain Men'"
American adventurers and fur trappers who spent most of their time in the Rocky Mountains; 1st to move into Indian territory, land they would ultimately dominate
Texas Revolution (1836)
(1836) Texan gov. declared independence from Mexico; American settlers proclaimed Texan independence; Sam Houston won independence (treaty rejected by Mexican legislature); Texans wanted annexation by U.S.; not done b/c opposition from northerners and anti-slavery groups; fear of sectional controversy
Overland Trails
Westward trail route of wagon trains bearing settlers; collective experience; despite contradicting stories, Indian attacks were extremely rare & more helpful than harmful
Mormon Migration to Utah
Driven from NY b/c of persecution; after Joseph Smith was charged w/treason and killed; led by Brigham Young
Brigham Young
Successor to the Mormons after the death of Joseph Smith; responsible for the survival of the sect and its establishment in Salt Lake City, Utah
Oregon Country
Under "joint occupation" by US & Britain; increased immigration & interest; missionaries failed to convert residing natives
John C. Fremont
American military officer, explorer, the 1st candidate of the Republican Party for the office of President of the US & 1st presidential candidate of a major party to run on a platform in opposition to slavery; founded & explored CA in preceding decades; "Pathfinder"- mapped Oregon Trail; 1845 report on explorations encouraged westward movement
James K. Polk's Presidency (1845-1849)
Objectives that were achieved: reduction of tariff, re-establishment of Independent Treasury, annexation of Texas, settlement of Oregon question, & acquisition of CA
Mexican War (1846-1848)
Conflict between the US and Mexico that after the US annexation of Texas, which Mexico still considered its own; US troops fought primarily on foreign soil; covered by mass-circulation newspapers; Whigs opposed
Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo (1848)
Treaty that ended the Mexican War, granting the U.S. control of Texas, New Mexico, and CA in exchange for $15 million
California Gold Rush
1849 (San Francisco 49ers) Gold discovered in California attracted a rush of people all over the country and world to San Francisco; arrival of the Chinese; increased pressure on fed gov. to establish a stable gov. in CA
Compromise of 1850
CA admitted as a free state, increased fugitive slave laws, slave trade banned in Washington DC; popular sovereignty in most other states from Mexican- American War
Cyrus McCormick reaper
Horse-drawn machine that greatly increased the amount of wheat a farmer could harvest; invented by Cyrus McCormick in 1831 & produced wheat in large quantities.
Antebellum mass immigration (1840's and 50's)
Migration into cities; largest in US history; majority Irish, then Germans b/c of widespread famine in their native countries
Know-Nothings and the American Party
Nativism- opposed immigration; aided in the collapse of the second-party system
Uncle Tom's Cabin (1853)
By Harriet Beecher Stowe- highly influenced England's view on the American Deep South & slavery; novel promoting abolition; intensified sectional conflict.
Fugitive Slave Act
Law that provided for harsh treatment for escaped slaves & for those who helped them; made it a crime to help runaway slaves; allowed for the arrest of escaped slaves in areas where slavery was illegal and required their return to slaveholders; Supreme Court eventually overturned the laws--> South outraged
Anthony Burns incident
Affected by the fugitive slave act after he became a fugitive in Massachusetts; was captured & tried; 1st person in the United States tried under the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850
"Young America" movement
American political and cultural attitude in the mid-19th century that supported ideas like "manifest destiny" & the expansion of democracy westward to distract Americans from slavery issue; formed as a political organization; advocated free trade, expansion southward into the territories, & support for republican movements abroad; became a faction in the Democratic Party in the 1850s
Gadsden Purchase
Agreement w/ Mexico that gave the US parts of present-day New Mexico & Arizona in exchange for $10 million; all but completed the continental expansion envisioned by those who believed in Manifest Destiny.
Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)
Created Nebraska and Kansas as states & gave the ppl in those territories the right to chose to be either a free or slave state through popular sovereignty.; repealed Missouri Compromise; destroyed Whig party & led to emergence of Republican party
Stephen Douglas
Senator from Illinois, author of the Kansas-Nebraska Act & the Freeport Doctrine, argues in favor of popular sovereignty; debated Lincoln prior to the 1860 presidential election
"Free-soil" ideology
Political ideology of the 1840s that opposed the expansion of slavery in order to allow white farmers to settle in western territories; believed slavery was dangerous b/c it was a threat to whites & the rights of all; believe the South wanted to extend slavery & destroy Northern capitalism--> formed Republican party
Republican Party
Political party that believed in the non-expansion of slavery & consisted of Whigs, N. Democrats, & Free-Soilers in defiance to the Slave Powers
"Bleeding Kansas"
sequence of violent events involving abolitionists & pro-Slavery elements that took place in Kansas-Nebraska Territory; dispute further strained the relations of the North and South, making civil war imminent; Kansas- symbol of conflict
Sack of Lawrence
Heavily armed Pro slavery radicals burned most of the city of Lawrence to the ground, stole their hogs, scattered their women and children.
Pottawatomie Massacre
Abolitionist John Brown and his men killed 5 pro-slavery men in Kansas; response to Sack of Lawrence
Beating of Charles Sumner
Sumner of Massachusetts criticized Bulter of S. Carolina in Senate--> Preston Brooks beat Sumner w/ cane--> angered Northerners
Dred Scott decision (1857)
Ruling by the Supreme Court —reversed by the 14th Amendment in 1868— black Americans were not citizens under the Constitution; the Missouri Compromise (which banned slavery in the territories) was unconstitutional
Lecompton Crisis (1857-1858)
Free-staters refuse to participate in election in Kansas; fraudulent election; opposed by Douglas; constitution resubmitted and rejected by Kansas voters; South angry at Douglas; Kansas admitted as free state
Lincoln Douglas debates
During the race to become Senator Lincoln asked to have multiple debates with Douglas; certain topics of these debates were slavery, how to deal with slavery, and where slavery should be allowed; although Lincoln lost the election to Douglas, he was known throughout the country because of the debates; Douglas said ppl could exclude slavery by not enforcing & protecting slave-owner property--> ppl would not support Douglas for president
John Brown's raid at Harper's Ferry
John Brown's failed scheme to invade the South w/ armed slaves, backed by sponsoring, N. abolitionists; seized the fed. arsenal; Brown & remnants were caught by Robert E. Lee and the US Marines; Brown was hanged; South feared danger if it stayed in Union
Election of 1860
Lincoln, the Republican candidate, won this election b/c the Democratic party was split over slavery; as a result, the South no longer felt like it has a voice in politics and a # of states seceded from the Union.
Secession Crisis
After Lincoln was elected President and threatened to abolish slavery, the Southern states secceeded from the North; 7 originally seceded, but 4 soon followed.
Confederate States of America
Eventually made up of 11 former states that seceded; Jefferson Davis was the 1st & only president; unable to defeat the North b/c of lack of railroad lines, lack of industry, & inability to get European nations to support their cause.
Abraham Lincoln's presidency (1861-1865)
Civil War: effective commander-in-chief, took advantage of Northern materials, destruction of Confederate armies; ignored parts of the Constitution
Civil War (1861-1865)
total war; Union is perpetual v. liberty before Union; began w/ bombardment of Fort Sumter; Lee surrendered at Appotomax; 600k casualties; legacy expanded federal power and destroyed agrarian south
Union military draft
Passed March 1863; virtually all males eligible to be in army; could escape service by paying gov. or finding replacement; increased voluntary enlistments
New York City draft riot
Reaction to the Union military draft; anti-black Irish Americans burnt down buildings and killed blacks; feared for their jobs; opposition of draft by immigrants & laborers
Lincoln's restriction of civil liberties
Habeas Corpus was suspended; civil law was suspended in those areas of the South under Union Control & placed under martial law; censorship imposed on several newspapers and journalist; restrictions on commerce enacted & enforced; attacked opposition, arrested civilian dissenters
"Copperheads" / Peace Democrats
N. Democrats who opposed the Civil War & sympathized w/ the South; fought against Lincoln, the draft & emancipation
Republican (Civil War) economic legislation
Morrill Tariff; National Banking Act; Homestead Act; Morrill Land Grant Act--> land-grant colleges; Pacific Railway Acts--> 1st transcontinental railroads; Contract Labor Law- import immigration labor; bound northern industrialists & western farmers to Republican party & contributed to rapid postwar expansion of US industrialization
Union financing of war
Taxation (levied taxes on all goods and services); paper currency (greenbacks printed backed by gov.); borrowing American ppl & banks/ war bonds
Confederate constitution
Drafted 1861; similar to the original; guaranteed sovereignty of the Confederate states & prohibited the Confederate Congress from enacting protective tariffs & from supporting internal improvements; specifically sanctioned slavery; president had 6-year terms; line-item veto
Confederate military draft
Began in Apr. 1862; 1st in US history; subjected all white males to service for 3 years unless substitute was provided or owned slaves; intense opposition; repealed 1863; reintroduced in 1864 & allowed slaves to join; 1 white man for every 20 slaves was left on plantations
Confederate financing of war
Used specie money backed by gold and silver; paper money was overprinted & not uniform--> mass inflation (9000%); small/unstable banking system; hard to request funds from states, income tax, & borrowing unable to raise significant funds
Trent affair
Foreign event involving Union seizure of British ship with Confederate diplomats; tensions btw Britain & US eased w/ Lincoln's negotiations
Battle of Gettysburg and Siege of Vicksburg
Turning points of Civil War in 1863; G: bloodiest battle where Lee's army never recovered from casualties; V: placed Mississippi River under control of Union & split Confederacy in 1/2
Election of 1864
5 political parties supported candidates for the presidency: War Democrats, Peace Democrats, Copperheads, Radical Republicans, & National Union Party; each political party offered a diff. point of view on how the war should be run & what should be done to the Confederate states after the war; National Union Party joined w/ Lincoln, who won the election on the recent northern victories against the South; decided that the Confederacy would lose & that slavery was dead
William T. Sherman and the March to the Sea
Campaign from Atlanta to the Atlantic Ocean; Union army destroyed everything on path; "forty acres and a mule" legend
"Total war"
All-out war that affects civilians at home as well as soldiers in combat; military, economic, political, & social war; destruction of resources was vital
Confiscation Acts
Series of laws passed by fed gov. designed to liberate slaves in seceded states; authorized Union seizure of rebel property, and stated that all slaves who fought with Confederate military services were freed of further obligations to their masters; virtually emancipation act of all slaves in Confederacy
Emancipation Proclamation
Issued by Lincoln on Sept. 22, 1862; declared that all slaves in the rebellious Confederate states would be free; not applied to border states; gov. actively enlists blacks into Union military; abolition of slavery was a Union war goal
Civil War's effects on women
New employment opportunities: clerks, factories, nursing, teaching, etc.; beginning of national woman's suffrage moment
Reconstruction (1863-1877)
Period after the Civil War in the US when the southern states were reorganized and reintegrated into the Union; struggle over status of former Confederate states & political, social, economic position of freedmen
Freedman's Bureau
Fed. agency set up to help former slaves after the Civil War; focus was to provide food, medical care, administer justice, manage abandoned & confiscated property, regulate labor, and establish schools.
Presidential Reconstruction plans (Lincoln and Johnson)
L: 10% Plan used to encourage people to join Republican party; pocket-vetoed Congress's Wade-Davis Bill; J: appointed provisional governors, allowing former Confederate officials to immediately regain power; amnesty to Southerners who took allegiance; rapid readmission of Confederate states
Black codes
Laws passed in the South after the civil war aimed at controlling freedmen & enabling plantation owners to exploit African American workers; denied all blacks rights; guaranteed white supremacy
Election of 1866
Congressional election; radical republicans took control of Congress & started Congressional Reconstruction--> Congress could enact its own plan over Johnson's veto
Congressional (Radical) Reconstruction plans
Military districts in south; respond with Wade-Davis Bill - authorized President to appoint provisional governor for each conquered state; new state constitutions that renounce secession as illegal, abolish slavery, disenfranchise Confederate leaders; repudiate Confederate debts
14th Amendment
Declares that all persons born in the U.S. are citizens & are guaranteed equal protection of the laws; citizenship by birth & naturalization; prohibited state gov. from infringing on equal rights; gave black Americans citizenship & legal equality; still allowed the North to prohibit black suffrage
15th Amendment
Citizens cannot be denied the right to vote b/c of race, color , or precious condition of servitude
Lucy Stone vs. Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton
15th amendment caused split in women's movement b/c did not give women's suffrage
Congressional-Radical-Military Reconstruction
10 southern states were divided into 5 military districts in 1867; register voters; Congress sovereign in all governing decisions in South; ratification of Southern state constitutions only need majority of actual voters rather than those registered; black voters registered
Andrew Johnson Impeachment
Attempted against President in 1868; power struggle b/t him and Congress; President removed cabinet officer w/o Senate approval & interfered w/ Congressional reconstruction; crippled his presidency
Reconstruction southern state governments
Reality after Civil War; unqualified blacks held gov. positions but never achieved dominance; corruption existed but no more than during Gilded Age; increased taxes & public debt - to pay for public schools; new constitutions of southern states - established free public school abolished property & qualifications for voting/jury duty
Carpetbaggers
Northern whites who moved to the South & served as Republican leaders during reconstruction
"Forty acres and a mule"
Sherman's Special Field Order; slogan promising blacks (freedman) forty acres of land & a mule to plow with ; failed reconstruction attempt
Dunning School of historical interpretation
Historian William Dunning wrote Reconstruction was oppressive in South
Ku Klux Klan
Started by Nathan Bedford Forrest; secret organization that used terrorist tactics in an attempt to restore white supremacy in Southern states after the Civil War.
Force Acts (reconstruction)
Gave expanded power to fed. authorities to stop KKK violence & to protect civil rights of citizens in the South.
Mississippi Plan (1875)
Advocated white Democratic Southerners must gain political power by any means
White Supremacy terrorism (reconstruction)
Reduced tensions b/t poor whites & bourbons; race unity; KKK prevented black citizens & white republicans from voting through open intimidation; Mississippi Plan
Compromise of 1877
Deal that settled the 1876 presidential election contest between Rutherford Hayes (Rep) & Samuel Tilden (Dem.); Hayes was awarded presidency in exchange for the permanent removal of fed. troops from the South--> ended Reconstruction
"Redeemers"
Largely former slave owners who were the bitterest opponents of the Republican program in the South; staged a major counterrevolution to "redeem" the south by taking back southern state gov.; foundation rested on the idea of racism & white supremacy; waged and aggressive assault on African Americans; political power to white Democrats; lower taxation, lower gov. spending, lower education; advances of Reconstruction gov. dismantled
Tenant farming
System of farming in which a person rents land to farm from a planter & pays in crops or $
Sharecropping and crop-lien system
System that allowed farmers to get more credit; used harvested crops to pay back loans.
Duke tobacco
Began in 1865, by 1890 it had bought out its competitors & created American Tobacco Company ; 1 market that South controlled; 90% of US tobacco production
Southern voting discrimination laws
Attempts at disenfranchisement of blacks; included poll tax, grandfather clause, literacy tests; 1890s discrimination in voting; loopholes for whites
Jim Crow laws
Laws designed to enforce segregation of blacks from whites in all public facilities & social interaction; white supremacy ideology
Slaughterhouse cases, U.S. v Cruikshank and Civil Rights Cases
Ruled that the 14th Amendment did not create a new set of national citizenship rights; did not give US gov. power to suppress ordinary crimes, only when states denied rights; did not prohibit private organizations from discriminating
Plessy vs Ferguson
A case that was brought to challenge the legality of segregation; court ruled that separate accommodations did not deprive blacks of rights if accommodations were equal
"Lost Cause" of the Confederacy
Myth: Civil War fought over states' rights & creation of independent nation; slavery was not a major cause; slavery would have been eventually eliminated; unity b/t North & South to exclusion of blacks
Booker T. Washington
African American progressive who supported segregation & demanded that African American better themselves individually to achieve equality
"Atlanta Compromise"
Argument put forward by Booker T. Washington that African-Americans should not focus on civil rights or social equality but concentrate on economic self-improvement; should not challenge segregation
W.E.B DuBois
Attacked "Atlanta Compromise" in The Souls for the Black Folk; believed that African Americans should strive for full rights immediately; demanded restoration of civil rights by "ceaseless agitation"
Niagara Movement (1905)
Founded by W.E.B. DuBois to promote the education of African Americans in the liberal arts; end segregation & discrimination in unions, courts, & public accommodations; equality of opportunity
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
Founded in 1909 to abolish segregation and discrimination; opposed racism & strove to gain civil rights for African Americans; got Supreme Court to declare grandfather clause unconstitutional
Peoples-Societies of the Trans-Mississippi West
Refers to a region that had unique socioeconomic developments post-Civil War; contained sources of agricultural goods and raw materials that fed urban and industrial growth; included racial division in which whites used violence to assert their dominance; people living here looked beyond their region for human and financial resources; whites exploited Latinos and forced Indians to assimilate; mining, ranching and agriculture were used initially -> followed by corporations
Transcontinental railroads
These were built across North America in the 1860s, linking the railway network of the Eastern United States with California on the Pacific coast; made communication and trade throughout the country easier; opened west to miners and open range ranching; Irish and Chinese workers played role in construction; led to the near extinction of buffalo
Homestead Act
This act, passed in 1862, gave 160 acres of public land to any settler who would farm the land for five years.
Mining
This economic activity stimulated railroad construction, founded communities, created mining laws and lead to statehood; it often lead to environmental disaster
Cattle Drives
This refers to the forced migration of massive numbers of cattle to the railroads where they could be shipped to the East.
Open Range
A vast area of grassland owned by the federal government where ranchers could graze their herds for free.
Mark Twain
The writer and humorist best known for his novels about Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn (1835-1910); used "realistic fiction".
Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show
A show made by William Frederick Cody which reenacted famous frontier events and life in the west; justified American cause to take territory; desputed battles performed around the world; used Sitting Bull
Frederick Jackson Turner's frontier thesis
Idea that held that the existence of cheap and unsettled land played a key role in making American society more democratic; the frontier helped create the American spirit of democracy and egalitarianism, acted as a safety valve for Americans to escape bad economic conditions, and stimulated nationalism and individualism
Native American reservation system
Areas of federal land set aside for Native Americans; where hunting was limited to.
Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868)
This treaty created two large reservations for Plains Indian Territory (Oklahoma) and Dakotas; reaction due to Indian Warfare -> ended Sioux Wars; unsuccessful and violated
Indian wars of post-Civil War period
Wars that resulted from the Western desire to expand; involved cycles of promises made and broken between the government and tribes; included "Chivington massacre," Battle of Little Big Horn," and "Wounded Knee"
Dawes Severalty Act
The act passed with the intent to assimilate Native Americans into mainstream of American life by dissolving tribes as legal entities and eliminating tribal ownership of land.
Trans-Mississippi West Farming
Beginning in the mid 1880s agricultural economy began long steady decline (overproduction b/c too many farmers); involved problems with fencing land, water, debt; prices (grievances -> Populism); commercial farmer prevails over yeoman (Bonanza farms); overseas sales (international business); spread through the railroads
Andrew Carnegie
United States industrialist and philanthropist who endowed education and public libraries and research trusts; a "robber barron," developed the steel industry; practiced vertical integration; believed in the "Gospel of Wealth"
John D. Rockefeller
The Richest man in history; known for revolutionizing the oil industry with both vertical and horizontal integration. His company, Standard Oil, held a monopoly on domestic oil in the U.S. Also known for his great contributions in philantrophy
J.P. Morgan
A highly successful banker who bought out Carnegie. With Carnegie's holdings and some others, he launched U.S Steel and made it the first billion-dollar corporation
Gustavus Swift and Philip Armour
Founders of the American meat-packing industry. Targeted in Upton Sinclair's muckraker novel The Jungle due to the absence of federal inspections resulting in tainted meat and eventually the passing of the Federal Meat Inspection Act of 1906.
Duke family
Founders of the American Tobacco Company, one of the original 12 members of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Quickly grew to control the cigarette market with the company known as the "tobacco trust".
Gospel of Wealth
The belief that, as the guardians of society's wealth, the rich have a duty to serve society; promoted by Andrew Carnegie; Carnegie donated more than $350 million to libraries, school, peace initiatives, and the arts
Social Darwinism
The belief that the fittest survive in both nature and society; wealthy business leaders used this to justify their success. Practioners believe that urban problems are part of a natural evolutionary process that humans cannot control
Knights of Labor
Led by Terence V. Powderly; open-membership policy extending to unskilled, semiskilled, women, African-Americans, immigrants; goal was to create a cooperative society between in which labors owned the industries in which they worked
American Federation of Labor
Led by Samuel Gompers; alliance of skilled workers in craft unions; focus was bread-and butter issues such as higher wages, shorter hours, and better working conditions
Haymarket riot
In this location, a bomb was hurled toward police officials, and police opened fire on the demonstrators; numerous policemen and demonstrators were killed and wounded; response in nation's press was decidedly anti-union.
Homestead strike
Battle among strikers and Carnegie's Pinkerton detectives in 1892; Carnegie's reputation damaged by strike
Pullman strike
Strike that resulted from wages slashed 25%; led by Debs, a leading proponent of socialism; shutdown of railroad transportation; injunction issued and Debs served jail time (1893-94)
"New immigration"
Refers to immigration from small towns and villages in southern and eastern Europe beginning in 1880; immigrants primarily settled in large cities in the Northeast and Midwest
Settlement houses
Community centers located in the slums and near tenements that gave aid to the poor, especially immigrants
Sherman Antitrust Act
1890 congressional legislation designed to break up industrial trusts such as the one created by John D. Rockefeller and Standard Oil. The bill stated that any combination of businesses that was "in the restraint of trade" was illegal. Because of the vagueness of the legislation and the lack of enforcements tools in the hands of the federal government, few trusts were actually prosecuted as a result of this bill.
Populism
Political ideology supported by Southern and Western Democrats, women, "muckrakers", Social Gospel and college-educated, included socialists such as Debs. They wanted government ownership of railroads and control of money supply (bimetallism).
Panic-Depression of the 1890's
Worst depression in American history up to this time; caused by the collapse of two major corporations -> led to the collapse of the stock market -> led to bank failures because many banks invested in the stock market. Long term causes = depressed agricultural prices + decreased purchasing power of farmers, depression in Europe, the rapid expansion of business, and the interdependence of the American economy; led to political and labor unrest.
Election of 1896
Republican William McKinley defeated Democratic-Populist "Popocrat" William Jennings Bryan. 1st election in 24 years than Republicans won a majority of the popular vote. McKinley won promoting the gold standard, pluralism, and industrial growth.
President William McKinley
President during the Spanish-American War. Issued the Open Door policy in China that would lead to the Boxer Rebellion
Progressivism
A movement that desired political and social reform, and was most influential in America from the 1890s up until WW1. Many popular causes included reforming city government, better conditions for urban workers, education of immigrants, and regulation of big businesses. "________ after it had shaved its whiskers, washed its shirt, put on a derby and moved up into the middle class" - William Allen White. They had optimistic beliefs in progress that society is an organic whole. They had a desire for order, stability and morality, and wanted an active government who could enforce laws in the interest of faith in knowledge & efficiency.
Muckrakers
Journalists of the Progressive era who attempted to expose the evils of government and big business. Many wrote of the corruption of city and state political machines + factory and living conditions of workers
Jacob Riis
He described the awful living conditions of poor people in the tenements of New York City in "How the other half lives"; led to many social reforms.
Ida Tarbell
A leading muckraker and magazine editor, she exposed the corruption of the oil industry with her 1904 work "A History of Standard Oil."
Lincoln Steffens
United States journalist who exposes in 1906 started an era of muckraking journalism (1866-1936), Writing for McClure's Magazine, he criticized the trend of urbanization with a series of articles under the title Shame of the Cities.
Upton Sinclair
Muckraker who shocked the nation when he published The Jungle, a novel that revealed gruesome details about the meat packing industry in Chicago.
The Jungle
This 1906 work by Upton Sinclair pointed out the abuses of the meat packing industry. The book led to the passage of the 1906 Meat Inspection Act.
Charlotte Perkins Gilman
A feminist who published "Women + economics." ; called upon women to abandon their dependent status and contribute to the larger life of the community through productive involvement in the economy; wrote "The Yellow Wallpaper"
Social Gospel
Late 19th century movement Protestant movement preaching that all true Christians should be concerned with the plight of immigrants and other poor residents of American cities and should financially support efforts to improve lives of these poor urban dwellers. Settlement houses were often financed by funds raised by ministers of this movement.
Triangle Shirtwaist Fire
March 1911 fire in New York factory that trapped young women workers inside locked exit doors; nearly 50 ended up jumping to their death; while 100 died inside the factory; led to the establishment of many factory reforms, including increasing safety precautions for workers
Al Smith
Governor of New York four times, and was the Democratic U.S. presidential candidate in 1928. He was the first Roman Catholic and Irish-American to run for President as a major party nominee. He lost the election to Herbert Hoover.
Income tax (16th Amendment)
This legislation gave the right to tax people's income; the more you make, the more you're taxed
Direct Election of Senators (17th Amendment)
This legislation established the direct election of U.S. Senators by popular vote
NAWSA
The major organization for suffrage for women, it was founded in 1890 by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Supported the Wilson administration during World War Iand split with the more radical National Woman's Party, who in 1917 began to picket the White House because Wilson had not forcefully stated that women should get the vote
Carrie Chapman Catt
Conservative leader of the NAWSA from 1915 - 1920 and pushed the suffrage movement nation-wide.
National Women's Party
A militant feminist group led by Alice Paul that argued the Nineteenth Amendment was not adequate enough to protect women's rights. They believed they needed a more constitutional amendment that would clearly provide legal protection of their rights and prohibit sex-based discrimination.
Alice Paul
Head of the National Woman's party that campaigned for an equal rights amendment to the Constitution. She opposed legislation protecting women workers because such laws implied women's inferiority. Most condemned her way of thinking.
Booker T. Washington
African American progressive who supported segregation and demanded that African American better themselves individually to achieve equality.
W.E.B. Du Bois
He believed that African Americans should strive for full rights immediately; founded the NAACP
Marcus Garvey
Many poor urban blacks turned to him. He was head of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and he urged black economic cooperation and founded a chain of UNIA grocery stores and other business.
Square Deal
The philosophy of President Theodore Roosevelt; included in this was the desire to treat both sides fairly in any dispute. In the coal miner's strike of 1902 he treated the United Mine Workers representatives and company bosses as equals; this approach continued during his efforts to regulate the railroads and other businesses during his second term.
New Freedom
An approach favored by Southern and Midwestern Democrats, this policy stated that economic and political preparation for World War I should be done in a decentralized manner; this would prevent too much power falling into the hands of the federal government. President Wilson first favored this approach, but then established federal agencies to organize mobilization.
Federal Reserve Act
This act established the Federal System, which established 12 distinct reserve to be controlled by the banks in each district; in addition, a Federal Reserve board was established to regulate the entire structure; improved public confidence in the banking system.
Clayton Antitrust Act
1914 act designed to strengthen the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890; certain activities previously committed by big businesses, such as not allowing unions in factories and not allowing strikes, were declared illegal.
Acquisition of Alaska
Known as "Seward's Folly"; early attempt to expand American power. Inspired by the early Manifest Destiny. Purchase made in 1867
Alfred Thayer Mahan
Navy officer whose ideas on naval warfare and the importance of sea-power changed how America viewed its navy; wrote "The influence of Sea Power upon History"
Spanish American War
War that began in 1898 and stemmed from furor in America over treatment of Cubans by Spanish troops that controlled the island; a major result of this was the acquisition of the Phillipines, which made America a major power in the Pacific.
Teller Amendment
As Americans were preparing for war with Spain over Cuba in 1898, this Senate measure stated that under no circumstances would the United States annex Cuba. The amendment was passed as many in the muckraking press were suggesting that the Cuban people would be better off "under the protection" of the U.S
Platt Amendment
forced into Cuban Constitution. Cuba could not make treaties with other nations; US had right to intervene in Cuba; US naval bases on Cuban land
Philippine War
(1898-1902); War in which America used brutal tactics to crush rebellion; involved executions, concentration camps, destruction, and savagery; Jones Act allowed for independence of this nation when ready, but did not specify a specific date. Eventually, citizens would gain independence in 1946.
Open Door Policy
The policy that China should be open to trade with all of the major powers, and that all, including the United States, should have equal right to trade there. This was the official American Position toward China as announced by Secretary of State John Hay in 1899.
Boxer Rebellion
Rebellion in China against foreigners that occurred soon after the "Open Door" notes. Caused by foreign (American and European) "spheres of influence" within the Chinese empire. Led to no formal division of China and the world powers accepted compensation from the Chinese for damages instead.
President Theodore Roosevelt
Aggressive foreign policy: believed the world was divided between civilized and uncivilized nations. Expanded the power of the U.S. Navy, created the Joint Chief of Staff (advisors to the Secretary of War), mediated he Portsmouth peace conference, ending the Russo-Japanese War and earning him the Nobel Peace Prize.
Panama Canal
Hay-Herran Treaty: Secretary of State John Hay pressured Colombian diplomat Tomas Herran to sign an agreement allowing U.S. to build a canal through Panama from which Columbia would receive big $ but was rejected by Colombian Senate. TR supported a rebellion in Panama (organized & financed by Philippe Bunau-Varilla) and recognized Panama as an independent nation.
Roosevelt Corollary
Extension of the Monroe Doctrine in 1904 stating that the U.S. had the right to intervene in order to "stabilize" the economic affairs of small states in the Caribbean and Central America, if they were unable to pay their international debts. Established the foundation later for FDR's "Good Neighbor" policy --> establishment of "protectorates"
Big Stick Diplomacy
Slogan describing TR's Roosevelt corollary. Comes from the phrase, "speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far." emphasis on military preparedness; willingness to use military force to achieve foreign policy goals.
Dollar Diplomacy
Foreign policy of President William Howard Taft, which favored increased American investment in the world as the major method for increasing American influence and stability abroad; in some parts of the world, such as in Latin America, the increased American influence was resented.
Moral Diplomacy
Foreign policy of President Woodrow Wilson. Wilson hoped to influence and control other countries through economic pressure, refusing to support non-democratic countries. Helped with the advancement of human rights in Latin America.
President Woodrow Wilson
Progressive; issued banking reform with Federal Reserve Act; ended protective tariff (Underwood-Simmons) + legislation to end trusts (Clayton Anti-Trust Act/Federal Trade Commission); resegregation of federal government; moral diplomacy; president during WWI
Lusitania incident
British passenger ship sunk by a German U-boat --> 1198 dead including 128 Americans. key issue: American right to sail on belligerent ships. Germany had to stop U-boat attacks, respect neutral rights. Sec. of State William Jennings Bryan resigned (real neutrality did not exist)
Sussex Pledge
Germans would not sink merchant & passenger (non-military) vessels. Wilson - "any little . . . [U-boat] commander can put is into war at any time by some calculated outrage". Violated later with the later resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare
Fourteen Points
Wilson's Progressive plan for postwar peace; response to Bolsheviks in Russia. 3 main categories: 1) self-determination, 2) principles of international conduct, establishment of League of Nations
Treaty of Versailles
Many of Wilson's 14 points rejected. 1) surrender of German Territory, 2) reparations to Britain and France, 3) occupation of Rhineland by Allies, 4) Germany had to admit guilt for starting war 5), League of Nations established with Article X, example of multilateralism
Ratification fight over the Treaty of Versailles
"Irreconcilables" - Senators who opposed ANY involvement in European affairs (La Follette, Hiram Johnson) vs. Republicans - sought winning election issue; led by Henry Cabot Lodge vs. "reservationists" opposed Article X (League of Nations) but supported rest (unilateralism). Treaty rejected by Senate.
Great Migration (of the 20th century)
Movement of about 2 million blacks out of the Southern United States. African Americans migrated to the Midwest, Northeast, and West. They were recruited to work in northern factories because of war production; move to urban areas; aggravate racial tensions; WW1
Red Scare
Vigorous repression of radicals, "political subversives," and undesirable" immigrant groups in the years immediately following World War I. Nearly 6500 "radicals" were arrested and sent to jail; some sat in jail without ever being charged a crime while nearly 500 immigrants were deported
Palmer Raids
Part of the Red Scare, these were measures to hunt out political radicals and immigrants who were potential threats to American security; led to the arrest of nearly 5,500 people and the deportation of nearly 400.
Women's suffrage amendment (19th amendment)
This legislation provided constitutional suffrage for women. Progressive achievement during WWI area. Helped by contributions made by women at home and abroad in WWI
Andrew Mellon's "trickle-down economics"
Economic philosophy that involved large tax cuts on corporate profits, personal incomes, and inheritance taxes (close cooperation between business and government).
Henry Ford
United States manufacturer of automobiles who pioneered mass production; proponent of the Assembly Line and Standardization; invented the Model T; upheld the philosophy of "____ism" = workers paid salary high enough to buy products they made
Harding Scandals
Refers to controversy in Harding's presidency; cabinet filled with friends and associates; leased oil reserves for money -> secretary convicted of bribery and jailed
"Lost Generation"
Group of American intellectuals who viewed America in the 1920s as bigoted, intellectually shallow, and consumed by the quest for the dollar; many became extremely disillusioned with American life and went to Paris. Earnest Hemingway wrote of this group in The Sun Also Rises.
Jazz Age
Term used to describe the image of the liberated, urbanized 1920s, with a flapper as a dominant symbol of that era. Many rural, fundamentalist Americans deeply resented the changes in American culture that occurred in the "Roaring 20s."
Prohibition (18th amendment)
Often referred to as "the Noble Experiment", this piece of legislation banned the production, sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages. Its roots can be found in the temperance movement of the late 1800s Progressive Era. It became increasingly unpopular and was eventually repealed. However, it did lower the amount of drinking within the United States.
National Origins Act
Very restrictive immigration legislation passed in 1924, which lowered immigration to 2 percent of each nationality as found in the 1890 census. This lowered immigration dramatically and, quite intentionally, almost eliminated immigration from Eastern and Southern Europe.
Scopes Trial
1925 Tennesse trial where teacher John Scopes was charged with teaching evolution; Darrow = defense; Bryan = prosecutor; demonstrated religous fundamentalism vs. modernism
Harlem Renaissance
Black literary and artistic movement centered in Harlem that lasted from the 1920s into the early 1930s that both celebrated and lamented black life in America; Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston were two famous writers of this movement.
Election of 1928
Herbert Hoover/republican ("A Chicken in Every Pot") vs. Al Smith/democrat (first catholic to run for president) -> Hoover Wins
Stock Market Crash
Event in which the value of stock fell so low which caused people to be left with huge debts; banks ran out of money and closed, people lost jobs; beginning of Great Depression
Bonus March
Event when nearly 17,000 veterans marched on Washington in 1932, to demand the military bonuses that they had been promised; this group was eventually driven from their camp city by the U.S army; increased the public perception that the Hoover administration cared little about the poor.
New Deal
Series of policies instituted by Franklin Roosevelt and his advisors from 1933to 1941 that attempted to offset the effects of the Great Depression on American society. Many policies were clearly experimental; in the end it was the onset of WWII, and not these policies, that pulled the U.S out of the Great Depression
President Franklin D. Roosevelt
President that had a "new deal" philosophy; developed Democratic coalition; made government large and activist; made presidency the most powerful branch; established welfare state; used Keynesian economics; increased reputation of business; revitalized American spirit
"Hundred Days"
Period that Congress received and enacted 15 major proposals from FDR; established CCC, TVA, AAA, emergency banking act, NRA, and other organizations that had the purpose of combating socioeconomic problems
National Recovery Administration (NRA)
This organization provided for a system of Industrial Self-regulation under federal supervision
Agricultural Adjustment Agency (AAA)
This organization put limits on crop production in order to raise prices on agricultural goods to "parity" farm prices; farmers paid to limit production
"Second" New Deal
The period of FDR legislation that focused on "trickle-up" / "soak the rich" economics, Keynesian economics, increased regulation of business, and contained anti-business rhetoric
Social Security Act
The act passed by FDR that provided for immediate relief for poor elderly; national Old-Age and survivors insurance, a shared federal-state plan of unemployment insurance, and public assistance programs (AFDC)
Wagner National Labor Relations Act
The act that guaranteed the right of labor to bargain through unions of their own choice, prohibited employers from interfering with union activities, and set up a National Labor Relations Board.
Rural Electrification Administration (REA)
The administration that provided electricity for rural America; utility co-ops
Huey Long
Immensely popular governor and senator of Louisiana; provided tax favors, roads, schools, free textbooks, charity hospitals, and improved public services for Louisiana citizens; cost: corruption and personal dictatorship; formed national organization (Share Our Wealth)
Dr. Francis Townsend
Medical doctor from Long Beach, California; promoted Townsend Plan ($200 month to all citizens over 60 + had to spend money within one month)
Fr. Charles Coughlin
"Radio Priest"; proposed monetary reforms; attacked bankers; initially supportive of new deal; grew critical of FDR's treatment of "money powers" -> developed into anti-Semitism.
Congress of Industrial Organization (CIO)
Group of unions that broke from the AFL in 1938 and organized effective union drives in automobile and rubber industries; supported sit-down strikes in major rubber plants. Reaffiliated with the AFL in 1955.
Sit-down strikes
Event in which workers in General Motors plant sat down on the job and refused to leave until they gained recognition for union; successful, however, unpopular with many Americans (including FDR)
Supreme Court "Packing" Plan
Plan in which FDR proposed 6 judges to be added to Supreme Court because justices were overworked and over 70 years of age; plan was heavily criticized; Result: Plan rejected -> Court began to accept New Deal Legislation; some Supreme Court Judges retired and were replaced by pro-New Deal judges
"Roosevelt Recession"
This terms refers to the period when FDR cut government spending to balance budget; this led to a recession
Conservative coalition
The coalition formed by Republicans and conservative Southern Democrats to block New Deal-liberal legislation of FDR and his successors.
Isolationist Movement
The movement that upheld the ideology of straying away from foreign affairs and global involvement and focusing more on internal affairs.
Unilateralism vs. multilateralism
This refers to clash of ideologies cornering the U.S position in foreign affairs; this clash also had an effect on FDR's foreign policies -> Quarantine speech, military and industrial mobilization, revision of Neutrality Act, Destroyers for bases agreement, Lend-Lease, etc.
Destroyer for bases agreement (between U.S. and Britain)
Agreement made in 1940; transferred 50 US ships in exchange for land rights in British possession.
Lend Lease
Legislation proposed by FDR and adopted by congress, stating that the U.S could either sell or lease arms and other equipment to any country whose security was vital to America's interest -> military equipment to help Britain war effort was shipped from U.S
Fair Employment Practices Commission (FEPC)
FDR's executive order desegregating government jobs. It ordered that all companies with government contracts could not discriminate based on "race, creed, color, or national origin." The law was never fully implemented due to opposition in Congress and hostility from the South. Led to five states NY, NJ, MA, CT, and WA to create their own state versions of the law.
World War II war production
This was fostered by agencies that were established by the federal government: War Production Board (WPB), Office for War Mobilization(OWM), Office of Price Administration (OPA), War Labor Board (WLB), Fair Employment Practices Committee (FEPC), and Office of War Information (OWI). Ultimately, this brought America out of the Great Depression.
"Rosie the Riveter"
Inspirational figure for women during WWII to take up the blue collar jobs that men had left in order to fight.
Japanese Internment
This term describes the event in which FDR ordered all Japanese Americans to be put in relocation camps, Korematsu vs. U.S. ruled that it was constitutionally permissable; did not apply to Hawaii because it would have damaged the economy.
Yalta Conference
Meeting between Churchill, FDR, and Stalin; acceptance of the UN, free elections in Poland, Allied "zones of occupation" in Germany, and USSR received Japanese territory.
President Harry Truman
The president who presided over the end of World War II (ordered droppings of atomic bombs); "New Deal liberal" -> favored direct government intervention into economy; "Fair Deal"; National Housing Act; ended racism in government hiring and armed forces; Taft-Hartley Act; NATO; NSC-68
Atomic Bomb Controversy
The controversy over whether or not it was justified to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of WWII; also involved the exclusion of USSR in the development process which ultimately led them to develop there own -> arms race
GI Bill
Law passed in 1944 to help returning veterans buy homes and pay for higher educations like college.
United Nations
Worldwide organization dedicated to finding peaceful solutions to international problems; member nations would not help aggressor nations; disputes settled peacefully; included a General Assembly and Security Council. In the Security Council, 5 superpowers held permanent seats and a single veto from any nation could block a decision from happening.
Taft-Hartley Act
Act passed in 1947 that put increased restrictions on labor unions. Also, it allowed states to pass "right to work" laws: prohibited "union" shop (= workers must join union after being hired). It also prohibited secondary boycotts and established that the President has power to issue injections in strikes that endangered national health & safety ("cooling off" period)
George Kennan's long telegram
Russia (tsarist or Communist) expansionist nation yet cautious; U.S. must oppose expansion & "contain" Soviets politically; no compromise with present Soviet leadership (Stalin) ---> origins of containment
Dean Acheson
2nd term (for Truman) Secretary of State. Had a "defense perimeter speech" for the Korean War
Truman Doctrine
Established U.S. Cold War Foreign policy; U.S. will aid any nation fighting communism. Truman meant Europe ---> applied worldwide
Second Red Scare
caused by rise of "Red China" and the Shocks of 1949; Origins from formation of HUAC who made accusations about "subversives" (traitors/Communists) in government. Included FELP, blacklist, Alger Hiss Case, Rosenberg Case, and Joe McCarthy (rise of McCarthyism); deportations; escalated by Korean War
Federal Employee Loyalty Program (FELP)
Program that required every person entering civil government employment to be subject to background investigation in order to eliminate any possibility of political "deviance"
George C. Marshall
The head of allied forces in World War II; proposed economic aid to to rebuild Western Europe -> Marshall Plan
Marshall Plan
U.S. economic aid to rebuild W. Europe ($13 billion); proposed by State Secretary George Marshall (head of Allied forces in World War II)
Berlin (Airlift) Crisis
Successful effort by the United States and Britain to ship by air 2.3 million tons of supplies to the residents of the Western-controlled sectors of Berlin from June 1948 to May 1949, in response to a Soviet blockade of all land and canal routes to the divided city; increased tensions between the U.S. and U.S.S.R.
NATO
(North Atlantic Treaty Organization) U.S., Britain, France, and other Western European nations formed a military alliance: attack upon one nation is attack upon all. This was the first peacetime military alliance for the U.S. since 1800 (Franco-American alliance).
Truman's civil rights proposals
Truman's proposals (including most of the Fair Deal legislation) which were mostly blocked the the "conservative coalition," although, he ended racial discrimination in government hiring and armed forces.
"Shocks of '49"
Paranoia caused by the Soviets' explosion of an atomic bomb, the rise of "Red China" under Mao Zedong, and the Alger Hiss trials.
Korean War
("The Forgotten War") ORIGINS: civil war between Communists and anti-Communists. North Korea attacked South Korea (June 25, 1950); United Nation (UN) forces led by U.S.) defended South Korea
Truman vs. MacArthur
Dispute between MacArthur and Truman; MacArthur wanted to expand war to China maniland but Truman was all like "We have to limit war man because I fear that this would lead to a WWIII". MacArthur was fired because of public disagreement with Truman's war policy ---> reflection of policy difference between Eurocentrists ("he who controls Europe is well on his way toward controlling the whole world") VS Asianist; origins of containment vs "rollback" anti- Communist U.S. foreign policy
McCarthyism
"Trumanism carried to its logical conclusion" - Murray Kempton highlights the need for improved security of govt. secrets from Communist spies and McCarthy remained powerful until 1954 when he investigated communism within the army. His bullying tactics to expose "Communists" within the govt. were exposed themselves to a television audience and he lost his popularity.
President Dwight Eisenhower
Domestic policy: "Modern Republicanism"; did not repeal New Deal. "New Conservatism": need for government to regulate personal behavior and restore Christian morality. Opposed by libertarian "free man" vs. "good man." Appointed Earl Warren to Supreme Court. End of Joe McCarthy yet continuation of the Red Scare. Sputnik I --> "missile gap" --> education; foreign policy: rejected isolationism: "containment" not "rollback". warned against "military-industrial complex".
(post-WWII) Conservative movement
Movement that upheld the ideology that the U.S. was suffering disillusionment after WWII--> need for gov. to regulate behavior and restore Christian morality
Warren Court
Appointed Earl Warren as Chief Justice and William Brennan as Associate Justice ---> liberal activist judges. ALSO criticized and praised for being judicial activists (creating law rather than interpreting law) SUMMARY - expanded rights of individual Americans
"Beats"
This cultural group/movement supported bohemianism and harsh critiques of U.S. society; strong influence on 1960s counterculture
Brown Decision
"Separate but equal" in public school education is inherently unequal; thus, school segregation is unconstitutional
Montgomery Bus Boycott
Rosa Parks jailed for refusing to give up seat to white person --> boycott of bus services ("My feet are tired, but my soul is rested") *Rise of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. & use of nonviolent protest
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
This person used non- violent protest with the GOAL of desegregation of bus service in Montgomery, Alabama. RESULT: ended with Court-ordered bus integration. IMPORTANCE: he took desire the for justice among blacks & channeled it into nonviolent protests
Greensboro Sit-ins
Members of the SNCC organized "sit - in" of all-white lunch counters at the Woolworth. RESULT: Despite white harassment, it eventually led to the desegregation of lunch counters. NOTE: Dr. King DID NOT organize or lead these protests. SIGNIFICANCE: King did not cause the civil rights movement & large numbers of blacks were motivated to end racial segregation & discrimination.
National Highway Act/Interstate Highway Act
Creation of interstate highway system by Ike for transportation and defense.
CIA: Iran and Guatemala
CIA secretly overthrew parliamentary government of Mossadegh in ____; Overthrew democratically-elected government of Jacobo Arbenz in _______.
"Containment" vs. "rollback"
"________" vs. "_________". 1st supported stopping of advancement of Communist influence in Eastern Europe & Asia. 2nd supported by senator Barry Goldwater: "1st was defeatist" and U.S. should push back Communism from the influenced areas.
Sputnik
USSR's 1st space satellite. Led to a "missile gap" in the U.S. and eventually led to the reform of education with the National Defense Education Act.
Space Race
JFK set goal of "man on the moon voyage" by the end of the decade ---> achieved by July 1969
U-2 Affair
American reconnaissance aircraft shot down over the Soviet Union in May 1960. President Eisenhower refused to acknowledge that this was a spy flight; this incident increased Cold War tensions
President John F. Kennedy
description of years as President: "Camelot"; advocated a "new frontier" to revitalize Americans at home and to reenergize America for continued battles against the Soviet Union.
Creation of Berlin Wall
This physical barrier was created in Berlin due to tensions between U.S. and USSSR
Cuban Missile Crisis
(Oct 1962) U.S. forced USSR to withdraw nukes from Cuba by agreeing to not invade the mainland of Cuba. CONSEQUENCES: Prevented nuclear catastrophe
Birmingham protests
The attempts to desegregate the "citadel of segregation"; police chief Eugene "Bull' Connor used police dogs & fire hoses on non-violent protesters; King's "letter from a Birmingham Jail"; RESULT: desegregation partially achieved; use of these brutal tactics (shown on national television) created sympathy for civil rights movement ---> JFK's civil rights speech
President Lyndon B. Johnson
President from 1963 to 1969. Most legislatively productive U.S. President. Civil Rights Legislation, Keynesian economics (Kennedy tax cut), Immigration Act, Warren Report, Great Society, War on Poverty (Office of Economic Opportunity, Head Start, Food Stamps, Medicaid), Medicare, money lost to Vietnam - escalation
Civil Rights Act of 1964
This act ended discrimination in public accommodations; legal/ "de jure" segregation / made Jim Crow laws illegal
Great Society
President Johnson called his version of the Democratic reform program this. Involved measures such as Medicare, civil rights legislation, and federal aid to education
Michael Harrington's The Other America
inspired JFK to investigate & develop anti-poverty plan ---> LBJ's War on Poverty
War on Poverty
LBJ's initiative to carry out Kennedy's goal; involved the Economic Opportunity Act which included training programs such as Job Corps, granted loans to rural families + small urban businesses + migrant workers, and launched VISTA.
Immigration Act of 1965
This act abolished the National Origins system; increased annual admission to 170,000 and put a population cap of 20,000 on immigrants from any single nation.
Medicare
Health care for aged; part of LBJ's Great Society program and War on Poverty. Lost much funding due to the Vietnam War.
Students for a Democratic Society
The leader of this movement was Tom Hayden. Port Huron Statement (declaration of beliefs): "We are the people of this generation, bred in at least moderate comfort, housed in universities, looking uncomfortable to the world we inherit." Also, the idea of "participatory democracy" was upheld.
Free Speech Movement
(Berzerkley 1964) Mario Salvo. Students protested against limits on passing out of literature ---> questioned university & society that created it and this signaled the beginning of numerous campus protests: People's Park protest (Berzerkly 1969) was the longest campus protest
Young Americans for Freedom
(YAF 1960) conservative youth organization critical of liberal public policy, govt. economic involvement, changes in social mores, & "containment" foreign policy ---> strong support for Barry Goldwater's 1964 presidential campaign ---> 1980s conservative activists
"Counterculture"
60s youth involved in alternative lifestyles: drug use, long hair, flamboyant clothing, iconoclastic & obscene language - more common, "sexual revolution:", rejection of conventionl, middle- class culture, rock & soul music, creation of new set of norms, Woodstock Music Festival (Aug. 1969), and changes in movies.
Betty Freidan's The Feminine Mystique
Seen as first event of post - WWII women's liberation POWERFUL IMPACT: did not cause revival of feminism, but gave voice to a rising movement
Selma protests
March from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama to support voting rights bill; violence by police against nonviolent marchers ("Bloody Sunday") gained support for march
Voting Rights Act
Ended literacy tests, established federal supervision of voting registration, & federal supervision of all elections in areas of previous discrimination (South)
Black Power Movement
influence of Malcolm X ---> Stokely Carmichael & more militant SNCC ---. Black Panthers: Huey Newton, Bobby Seale, Eldridge Cleaver
Gulf of Tonkin controversy
Naval incidents lead Congress to pass a resolution that gave the President power to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack on US forces to prevent future aggression; increased. US involvement in Vietnam
Tet Offensive
One of the greatest American intelligence failures; massive North Vietnamese offensive that made Americans realize that defeat is possible; Military victory, but political defeat
1968
The year that contained a series of shocks; the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy; Tet Offensive; Prague Spring; Democratic convention riot; urban riots
Election of 1968
The election in which Nixon won; conservative republican victory; demonstrated that the majority of the American electorate turned their back on liberal reform and activist governments
Governor George Wallace
He called for federal job training programs, stronger unemployment benefits, national health insurance, a higher minimum wage, and a further extension of union rights.
President Richard Nixon
Continued Vietnam; invasion of Cambodia; ended Vietnam War; detente with China and Russia (better relations); destabilized Chile ; expanded welfare state (social security, protect environment, expand food stamps); forced to resign after Watergate Scandal; end liberal reform; SALT 1; EPA, Clean Air Act
Détente
Relaxation of strained relations between nations, especially among the United States, the Soviet Union, and China in the late 1970s and late 1980s.
Nixon's visit to China
This was an important step in formally normalizing relations between the United States and the People's Republic of China
SALT I
A series of negotiations between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. on the issue of nuclear arms reduction. The talks helped lower the total number of missiles each side would have and eased the tension between the two. Strategic Arms Limitations Treaty
Watergate Crisis
Descriptive term for all illegal activities of the Nixon Administration ( not only for the break-in of Democratic Administration at Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C. involved the two different scandals: 1) General pattern of abuses of power by White House ("plumbers") & CREEP (Committee to Re-Elect the President) and 2) Watergate break-in itself & the cover-up.
1970s cultural divisions
Conservatives vs. liberals in media; conservative + "moral majority" determination to censor media content clashed with a liberal commitment to free speech and toleration for diversity in lifestyles.
Three Mile Island crisis
The event in 1979 in which a plume of radioactive steam spewed from a nuclear reactor at Three Mile Island; support for nuclear energy decreased
"Human Rights" foreign policy
Carter insisted that the United States should take a moral posture by giving human rights a higher priority; he spoke on behalf of political prisoners; reduced aid to dictatorships.
Iranian Hostage Crisis
In 1979, Iranian fundamentalists seized the American embassy in Tehran and held fifty-three American diplomats hostage for over a year; weakened Carter's presidency; hostages released on Reagan's inauguration.
President Ronald Reagan
Limited power of labor unions; Involved in Iran-Contra Scandal, INF treaty. Iran-Iraq War, and reducing inflation rate; supply-side economics; more homeless; sharply increased military spending.
"Reaganomics"
The economic policies adopted by Reagan. They were based on tax-cuts, budget-cuts, and the belief of trickle-down economics. This economic policy caused a great deal of discontent, but after he left office, the country was no longer troubled by high inflation and unemployment.
Iran-Contra scandal
A major scandal of Reagan's second term that involved shipping arms to Iran to free hostages and diverting the money from the sale of these weapons to the Contra rebels in Nicaragua.
INF treaty
Reagan and Gorbachev signed this treaty, which provided for the dismantling of all intermediate range nuclear weapons in Russia and all of Europe. Considered by some to be Reagan's single most important piece of foreign policy.
Tiananmen Square Controversy
The crushing of students protesting for democracy by Communist leadership during George H. W. Bush's presidency; Bush muted American protests in 1989.
Fall of the Berlin Wall
The removal of the wall that separated East and West Germany in 1989. Symbolized the end of the Cold War.
End of the Cold War
Marked by the fall of the Soviet Union which was the result of Eastern European countries gaining independence, Gorbachev's reform policies, and a series of nuclear limitation treaties.
Persian Gulf War (1991)
Conflict between Iraq and a coalition of countries led by the U.S. to remove Iraqi forces from Kuwait which they have invaded in hopes of controlling the oil supply. A very one-sided war with the U.S. coalition emerging victorious
Clinton's budget plan (1993)
A plan to reduce deficit and provide investments to stimulate economy and repair the nation's decaying public infrastructure.
Welfare reform
Ended guarantees of federal aid to children, turned over programs such programs to states, food stamp spending cut, added five year limit on payments to any family.
Bill Clinton's impeachment
Impeached for perjury, suborning perjury, and obstruction of justice stemming from his affair with intern Monica Lewinsky; he was acquitted of all charges.
Election of 2000
George W Bush vs. Al Gore. Florida had re-counts; Supreme Court made final decision (George Bush)