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. |
Jamestown |
First permanent English settlement; located in Virginia. Founded by London Company |
Mayflower Compact |
Pilgrims/Separatists agreement: agreement to obey laws created by the community and a profession of allegiance to the king |
Chesapeake colonies |
Term for the colonies of Maryland and Virginia |
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" |
John Winthrop |
Puritan governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony. Speaker of "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. |
"salutary/benign neglect" |
150 years of colonial self-rule due to Neglect by British authorities |
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. |
Jonathan Edwards |
Preacher during the First Great Awakening; "Sinners in the hands of angry god" |
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 |
Loyalists |
American colonists who remained loyal to Britain and opposed the war for independence |
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. |
Louisiana Purchase |
Territory in western United States purchased from France in 1803 for $15 million |
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). |
Treaty of Ghent |
Treaty that ended the War of 1812 and maintained prewar conditions |
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 |
Eli Whitney |
United States inventor of the mechanical cotton gin (1765-1825) |
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 |
Marbury vs. Madison |
Established Judicial Review |
Gibbons decision |
Congress alone regulated interstate commerce |
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 |
Squatters and preemption |
People who would settle on land that they didn’t have a title or claim to |
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 |
Taney Court |
Private property & activities of corporations can be regulated by state legislatures |
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 |
Nathaniel Hawthorne |
Original resident of Brook Farm; disillusionment of utopias; The Scarlet Letter |
Hudson Valley School of Art |
Pre-photography w/o humans; focus on beauty of landscape–> American pride & nationalism |
Oneida |
"Perfectionists"; John Humphrey Noyes; rejected traditional notions of family & marriage |
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 |
Oberlin and Mount Holyoke colleges |
1st coed college& 1st American college for women |
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 |
Wendell Phillips |
Orator & associate of Garrison; influential abolitionist lecturer. |
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 |
Wilmot Provisio (1846) |
Rejected; slavery would be prohibited in any territory acquired from Mexico |
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. |
John Deere steel plow |
1st commercially successful steel plow used; invented by John Deere |
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 |
13th Amendment (1865) |
Abolition of slavery w/o compensation for slave-owners |
Civil War’s effects on women |
New employment opportunities: clerks, factories, nursing, teaching, etc.; beginning of national woman’s suffrage moment |
Clara Barton |
Nurse during the Civil War; founder of the American Red Cross |
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 |
Scalawags |
Southern whites who supported Republican policy through reconstruction |
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 |
Ida B. Wells |
Women activist who lead the movement to ban lynching–> fed. anti-lynching laws failed |
Exodusters |
African Americans who moved from post reconstruction South to Kansas. |
"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. |
Cowboy |
A hired hand who tends cattle and performs other duties on horseback. |
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 |
Samuel Gompers |
Leader of AFL and Cigar Makers Union |
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 |
Jane Addams |
Is best known for founding Hull House in Chicago. |
Hull House |
Dedicated to helping the urban poor |
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 |
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) |
This corporation insured individual bank deposits |
"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. |
Works Progress Administration (WPA) |
The federal jobs program established by FDR |
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. |
John L. Lewis |
Leader of United Mine Workers |
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. |
Chinese Revolution |
The fall of control to Communist Mao Zedong–> increase in fear -> 2nd Red Scare |
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. |
Bay of Pigs Incident |
(April 1961) The failed invasion of Cuba by CIA- trained anti-Castro Cubans |
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) |
Watts Disturbances |
These occurred 6 days after Voting Rights Act was signed into law |
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. |
Cambodia Invasion |
Illegal bombing of Cambodia -> Watergate Scandal |
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. |
Ralph Nader |
wrote "Unsafe at Any Speed" (1960s) that helped to create the modern consumer movement. |
Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring |
1960s book that helped to create the modern environmental movement. |
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) |
9-11 |
Terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon; led to a focus on eliminating terrorism. |
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