U.S History Exam Study Guide

how was slavery officially ended across the country

• Slavery was officially ended across the country by the 13th Amendment.

• which abolished slavery in 1865

what did the 14th amendment do?

• The 14th Amendment granted citizenship to all people born in the U.S.

• included giving it to slaves born in the U.S. meaning all people had equal protection under the law.

what is sharecropping and how was it simular to slave labor?

• sharecropping was when land owners made people farm their land, in exchange to giving them some crops.

• wasnt very differnt than slavery other than it being a system with the law.

how did railroads help kick off the rapid industrial growth of the late 1800s

• helped by transportation and production.

• it spiked the production of coal and steel bc they were such consumers of these goods making the industrilization in thoes products spike

how did john d rockefeller come to dominate the oil industry

• by buying out his other competitors so we has the only one to get fame and money.

• He had nearly complete control over all oil production

• The Trust: rockefeller got indirect control of other companies

why was chinese immigration restricted by congress in 1882

• people thought they wouldnt assimulate to the american ways of doing things

• ex: not having work ethic, weak, couldnt speak language, weak

• didnt want them taking their jobs

how did propnents of social darwinism justify the wealth gap?

• the gap of rich and poor ppl was a threat to society bc it led to social termoil.

• “survival of the fittest” in economic ways. Rich ppl were superior and can do more than poor ppl

how did immigration change in the late 1800s

• different ethnicities (southern and eastern european) started coming to the U.S turning into a mixing pot

• this helped the U.S become more industriallized bc they were willing to work in cheap labor forces (ex: mines, factories, railroads)

how did many americans respond to these new waves of immigration?

• mixed feeling bc some felt it was good that we had new ppl to help industrialize it

• others felt that americans could do it and that they were stealing our jobs

how did political machines work to enrich and empower themsleves? what role did immigrants pla yin urban political machines?

• they enriched themselves by: political organizations, giving jobs to local supporters, funneling gov. contracts for kickbacks, run by a non elected boss

• worked in immigrant communities providing aid so that in exchange they could get votes

what enabled the rapid settlement of the Midwesr and West in late 19th century?

• the homestead act of 1862 which allowed each family to have 160 acers of land for barely any money

• traveling by train to settle faster

• many familys moving out west rapidly bc it was so cheap after the civil war and the east became expensive

what challenges did farmers face on the plains in the Midwest?

• low rainfall, hail, tornados, hot summer - cold winters

• locusts

• lack of timber so they lived in sod houses

• land was cheap so to make the land profitable was expinsive

what was the goal of the Indian School movement?

• their motto was “Kill the Indian to save the man”

• forced assimulation through the schools to fit into the american culture

what challenges did labor unions encounter in their efforts to negociate for better conditions?

• strike-breakers and firing ppl in the work force

• favoring certain buisnesses and programs not the ppl working

• little to no protection on the work force so ppl were working in bad conditions

what was the core message of the social gospel

• to apply the teachings of Jesus to solve social problems like quality and poverty

what were the underlying assumptions of the Progressive movment?

• the goal was to futher social and political reforms and trying to curve political corruption

what prompted the Spanish-American War?

• Cubas fight for freedom and yellow journalism meaning they would dig up dirt about people to give them bad reputations stirring the pot

why did many americans want to stay out of WW1

• they wanted to stay isolated

• didnt want to get into european conflict

• wanted to stay nuteral

what was the immediant cause of american want to stay out of WW1

• germany went back to unrestricted submerine warfair after we agreed not to- sunk 5 u.s ships

• Zimmerman Telegram: Germany making allies with Mexico- trying to attack us

  • Germany promised mexico would get their territory back if they joined them and the u.s entered the war

• this made America rlly mad and made us declair war on Germany

How did domestic affairs durring WW1 contredict Wilsons vision of “making the world safe from democracy”

• he thought he was doing good trying to protect us from democracy

• Wilson Idealism Failures:

  • led flase hope of independence for small nations

  • european allied nations wanted to take control of previous ottoman & German holdings

  • created mandate system: for nations “not yet fit for independance”

  • Americans were skeptical of wilsons ideas

what changes occured in the 1920s that made it seem like America was entering a “New Era” of unrivaled prosperity?

• America felt like they were moving in the right direction bc of FDR and the New Deal

• consumer products: radios, cars, tv’s

• mass culture: everyone watching and listening to the same thinging making them want the same thing. consuming all the same things

• “Jazz Age”- large culture changes, things getting popular

Why was the Ku Klux Klan revived in the 1920’s? How was it different from the first wave of them?

• During the second wave the KKK they were targetting more groups of ppl (Blacks, Jews, Catholics, immigrants)

• thought they were defenders of Christian Americans and had over 4 million members

What were the underlying causes of the Great Depression?

• The reverse multiplier effect: businesses lose $ -> get rid of workers -> ppl have less $ to spend 

• There was and over production and over consumption of products 

• Hoover rose the tax prices due to trying to balance out the debt

• Banks fail

Why/How did the crash of 1929 become full-scale economic depression

•  Because when the market crashed all the people that had money in the banks flooded the banks

• they did this to try and take out all the money at the same time causing the banks to crash

• resulting in no money and lost jobs. 

How did the New Deal attempt to recover the American economy? the 3 R’s and examples of them

• tried to help the economy by creating the 3 R’s

• Relief (immediate, short-term fix): providing aid for people hit hard by the depression and stopping the downward spiral of the economy

  - ex: FERA- federal emergency relief administration: emergency funds for the people

• Recovery (medium- term fix): getting the economy to run again by creating jobs and assisting businesses

  -ex: TVA- tennessee valley authority: jobs, electricity, no flooding, etc

• Reform (long-term fix): passing laws that would prevent an economic crisis. 

   - ex: SEC- security and exchange commission: regulated the stock market

how did roosevelt stop the cycle of collapsing banks and begin to restore Americans confidence in the bank

• made a bank holiday so there was less of a panic

• he made the Federal Deposit Insurance Act which helped ppl with spending making less a panic of a crash again

• he fed money into the banks so there was less of a possibility it would crash again

How did Huey Long, Father Coughlin, and Francis Townsend criticize the New Deal?

• They were disappointed bc they thought he didnt go far enough to really help the people and economic problems from GD

how did Roosevelt respond and adapt to his critics in the second New Deal

• he went more left

• didnt want to turn fully capatalist but more aggresive in the approach to it

How was industrialization, urbanization, and immigration all influenced each other: essay question

• like a cycle

• the more industrialization we have→ an increase in both jobs and cities allows for more places to live and more hands needed

• urbanization allows immigrants to stay at these places making them grouped up

• immigrants work hard and gain profit, which boosts other things like taxes which goes into urbanization.

• The 3 are basically directly proportional if 1 goes up the other 2 will also go up.

  
  

evaluate the efficancy of the New Deal: essay question

• The New Deal was FDR creating programs and reforms to give  regulation to the U.S(ex: relief, recovery, reform)

• The New Deal wasn't successful or a failure 

• It was successful because it created Acts and programs we use today like The Social Security Act which provides a safety net when people retire 

• It gave our financial system stability 

• It gave people many jobs because of all the different companies that were made 

• A few failures are that is never fully solved unemployment 

achivments of Reconstruction: esaay question

• education system improved in the south

• women in workfield

• 15th amendment: black men could vote and could own land

• freedmens bureau: helped former slaves transition into free life (ex: food, home, med, schools)

collapse of reconstruction:essay question

• lincon was assinated leading to Andrew Johnson taking over

• Andrew Johnson:

  • bad president

  • no one liked him

  • 10% plan

  • got impeached bc he was sabbotoging congress plans and they wanted to get rid of her

• the panic of 1873: economic crisis → caused a ressecion, causing republicans(pro-blacks) to lose their seat in congress

• slaughterhouse cases: made it difficult to protect blacks rights bc the 14th amendment became weak

• united states vs cruiskshank: the case from the federal gov. that attempted to prosecute 3 men for “causing it and violating the 14th amendment”

how did republicans tighten control of southeren states with their new reconstruction plan of 1867

• the Reconstruction Act of 1867

• put southeren states into military distrects

• granting freed blacks the right to vote

• republicans led gov. formed groups formed in the south and faced resistance from southern democrats

  • carpetbaggers: Northerners who moved south

  • scallywags: southern repubs who were viewed as traitors

why was it so difficult to crack down on the KKK

• a lot of high power ppl were in it (ex: officers, judges, law enforcment ppl) and the ppl who werent supported what they were doing. so the ppl who werent supporting it were few and didnt rlly have a say

• the terror tactics they used. they would scare ppl to not speak up bc they killed and tourtoured ppl who did

how did southeren democrats undermine republican rule in the south during reconstruction

• intimidation, unfair laws, and violence

• using violence: KKK

• used them to scare ppl to not vote or do anything

• when the federal troops left the south, the democrats regained power and were able to end reconstruction

why did northren states abandon reconstruction

• they didnt want another war

• they thought it was more important to maintain political power than maintain reconstruction

• southern resistance going on turning violent - the KKK