History 15 midterm 2 (Multiple choice terms only) (Cirivilleri SJSU)

The Waning Presidency

This describes a decrease in the power of the executive branch. It was characterized by scandals such as Johnson's impeachment, Grant's scandals (Fisk and Gould's attempt to influence the government and manipulate the gold market, the Whiskey Ring, failed establishment of civil service), and Hayes & the Compromise of 1877.

The Chinese Exclusion act of 1882

law that suspended Chinese immigration into America. The ban was supposed to last 10 years, but it was expanded several times and was essentially in effect until WWII. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was the first significant law that restricted immigration into the United States of an ethnic working group. Extreme example of nativism of period

The Spoils System

A system of public employment based on rewarding party loyalists and friends.

President Garfield's assassination

The assassination of President Garfield was by a mentally unbalanced stalwart who opposed the president's support of civil service reform.

Grover Cleveland

22nd and 24th president, Democrat, Honest and hardworking, fought corruption, vetoed hundreds of wasteful bills, achieved the Interstate Commerce Commission and civil service reform, violent suppression of strikes

Billion Dollar Congress

Republican congress of 1890. passed record number of significant laws that helped shape later policies and asserted authority of federal govt., gave pensions to Civil War veterans, increased government silver purchases, and passed McKinley Tariff Act of 1890

The Depression of 1893

Profits dwindled, businesses went bankrupt and slid into debt. Caused loss of business confidence. 20% of the workforce unemployed. Let to the Pullman strike.

Pullman Strike (1894)

Railroad strike that started when the Pullman Palace Car Company cut wages while maintaining high rents; led by Eugene V. Debs; ended when President Grover Cleveland called in federal troops.

The 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.

William Jennings Bryan

United States lawyer and politician who advocated free silver and prosecuted John Scopes (1925) for teaching evolution in a Tennessee high school (1860-1925)

Spanish-American War

In 1898, a conflict between the United States and Spain, in which the U.S. supported the Cubans' fight for independence

Yellow Jurnalism

journalism that is based upon sensationalism and crude exaggeration. Basically the grandfather of clickbait

Muckrakers

A group of investigative reporters who pointed out the abuses of big business and the corruption of urban politics; included Frank Norris (The Octopus) Ida Tarbell (A history of the standard oil company) Lincoln Steffens (the shame of the cities) and Upton Sinclair (The Jungle)

Sinking of the Maine (1898)

The Maine was sent to Cuba to protect and evacuate Americans if a dangerous flare-up should occur. On Feb. 15, 1898 the Maine mysteriously blew up in the Havana harbor, with a loss of 260 officers and men. Main Reason for Spanish-American War. "Remember the Maine, to Hell with Spain." Yellow journalists fueled the fires, the public wanted a fight, and McKinley unleashed the dogs of war.

Emilio Aguinaldo

Leader of the Filipino independence movement against Spain (1895-1898). He proclaimed the independence of the Philippines in 1899, but his movement was crushed and he was captured by the United States Army in 1901.

Open Door Policy

A policy proposed by the US in 1899, under which ALL nations would have equal opportunities to trade in China.

Social Justice Movement

Movement focused on freeing people from the impacts of urban life

Hull House-Jane Addams

Settlement house founded in 1889 in Chicago by Jane Addams, a social worker, that provided social, educational, and artistic programs to neighborhood residents. Encouraged women to become active in reform movements and brought about improved conditions in city neighborhoods. Settlement Houses were designed to help new immigrants adopt the ways of their new country. Staffed mostly by college-educated women

Temperance Movement

A social movement against the consumption of alcoholic beverages.

Frances Willard

Became leader of the WCTU. She worked to educate people about the evils of alcohol. She urged laws banning the sale of liquor. Also worked to outlaw saloons as step towards strengthening democracy.

Prohibition

the period from 1920 to 1933 when the sale of alcoholic beverages was prohibited in the United States by a constitutional amendment

The 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

Pragmatism

A philosophy which focuses only on the outcomes and effects of processes and situations. Being Practical

Muller vs. Oregon

1908 - Louis D Branders got the Supreme Court to accept laws protecting women against the harmful effects of factory labor

Louis Brandeis

A lawyer and jurist, he created the "Brandeis Brief," which succinctly outlines the facts of the case and cites legal precedents, in order to persuade the judge to make a certain ruling.

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.

Carrie Chapman Catt

(1859-1947) A suffragette who was president of the National Women's Suffrage Association, and founder of the International Woman Suffrage Alliance. Instrumental in obtaining passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920.

16th Amendment

Allows the federal government to collect income tax

17th Amendment

Established the direct election of senators (instead of being chosen by state legislatures)

18th Amendment

Prohibited the manufacture, sale, and distribution of alcoholic beverages(Note: it didn't prohibit the consumption of alcoholic beverages)

19th Amendment

Gave women the right to vote

graduated income tax

a method of taxation that taxes people at different rates depending on income

Jim Crow Laws

Limited rights of blacks. Literacy tests, grandfather clauses and poll taxes limited black voting rights

Pressy v. Ferguson

Supreme Court ruling upheld southern Jim Crow laws, segregated facilities didn't violate the civil rights of African Americans

W.E.B. DuBois

1st black to earn Ph.D. from Harvard, encouraged blacks to resist systems of segregation and discrimination, helped create NAACP in 1910

N. A. A. C. P.

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Its purpose was to abolish segregation and discrimination, to approve racism and gain civil rights for African Americans

Robert LaFollette

Republican Senator from Wisconsin - ran for president under the Progressive Party - proponent of Progressivism and a vocal opponent of railroad trusts, bossism, World War I, and the League of Nations

Direct Democracy

Government in which citizens vote on laws and select officials directly.

Initiative

A procedure by which voters can propose a law or a constitutional amendment.

Referendum

A state-level method of direct legislation that gives voters a chance to approve or disapprove proposed legislation or a proposed constitutional amendment.

Recall

procedure whereby voters can remove an elected official from office

Teddy Roosevelt's Square Deal

domestic program formed upon three basic ideas: conservation of natural resources, control of corporations, and consumer protection

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 book was fiction but based on the things Sinclair had seen.

The Panama Canal

a ship canal 40 miles long across the Isthmus of Panama built by the United States (1904-1914) (Allowed for a two ocean navy)

Dollar Diplomacy

Foreign policy created under President Taft that had the U.S. exchanging financial support ($) for the right to "help" countries make decisions about trade and other commercial ventures. Basically it was exchanging money for political influence in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Wilson's Moral Diplomacy

The U.S. had a duty to promote democracy in Latin nations in order to prevent war and revolution.

Triple Entente (Allied Powers)

Great Britain, France, Russia

Triple Alliance (Central Powers)

Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy. (Italy backed out before war was over)

Wilson's Neutrality Policy

Wilson claimed neutrality as war broke out in 1914, due to the fact that the people of America were divided on who to support ie. British-Americans sided with origin (GB), German-Americans sided with Germany, etc

Sinking of the Lusitania

Cruise ship that was sunk by German submarines and helped bring the US closer to involvement in WWI

Election of 1916

Wilson was anti-war Hughes was pro-war. Wilson won by a little more than 3 percent vote. (He kept us out of the war)

Zimmerman Telegram

March 1917. Sent from German Foreign Secretary, addressed to German minister in Mexico City. Mexico should attack the US if US goes to war with Germany (needed that advantage due to Mexico's promixity to the US). In return, Germany would give back Tex, NM, Arizona etc to Mexico.

Jeanette Rankin

First woman to serve in Congress. Suffragist and pacifist, voted against US involvement in WWI and WWII.

War Industries Board

Agency established during WWI to increase efficiency & discourage waste in war-related industries.

Committee on Public Information

It was headed by George Creel. The purpose of this committee was to mobilize people's minds for war, both in America and abroad. Tried to get the entire U.S. public to support U.S. involvement in WWI. Creel's organization, employed some 150,000 workers at home and oversees. He proved that words were indeed weapons.

Sedition and Espionage Acts

U.S. laws that made it illegal to criticize the war

Schneck vs. United States

A Supreme Court decision that upheld the Espionage and Sedition Acts, reasoning that freedom of speech could be curtailed when it posed a "clear and present danger" to the nation.

Trench Warfare

a type of combat in which opposing troops fight from trenches facing each other.

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

treaty between Russia and Germany that would end Russia's involvement in WWI in 1917

League of Nations

an international organization formed in 1920 to promote cooperation and peace among nations

Harding Scandals

Major incidents of corruption in government that occurred while Harding was president. Most notable, lease of federally owned oil reserve land to private interests in return for bribes.

U.S. Economy after the Great War

Business was booming and the US became essentially the most economically powerful nation in the world.

Tulsa Race Riot

1921; started b/c a black shoe shiner was accused of assaulting a young, white, female elevator worker; lynching was rumors and white and black assembled to protect/defend their respective people; America's wealthiest black neighborhood "Black Wall Street" ended up being burned to the ground

The 1920 U.S. Census

The results of the 1920 census revealed a major and continuing shift of the population of the United States from rural to urban areas. More people in cities rather than rural areas.

Harlem Renaissance

A period in the 1920s when African-American achievements in art and music and literature flourished

KKK (Ku Klux Klan)

Hate group/America 's first terrorist group

Scopes Monkey Trial

1925, the trial that pitted the teaching of Darwin's theory of evolution against teaching Bible creationism

"Flappers" and the New Woman

female liberation as a lifestyle in the young women of the era; characterized with bobbed hair, short skirts, public smoking/drinking, and use of birth-control methods; example of change in standards of sexual behavior

National Origins Act of 1924

A law that severely restricted immigration by establishing a system of national quotas that blatantly discriminated against immigrants from southern and eastern Europe and virtually excluded Asians. The policy stayed in effect until the 1960s.

Stock Market Speculation

Took place in late 20s, people thought the market would just keep going up, put money in just for kicks, with no regard for the actual company. Caused giant bubble, led in part to the 1929 Crash.

Black Tuesday

October 29, 1929; date of the worst stock-market crash in American history and beginning of the Great Depression.

Hoover's "Voluntary Cooperation"

Hoover's response to depression. Get industrial leaders to agree to maintain prices and wages at high levels. Promise was only kept for a few months.

The New Deal

A series of reforms enacted by the Franklin Roosevelt administration between 1933 and 1942 with the goal of ending the Great Depression.

Fireside Chats

radio broadcasts made by FDR to the American people to explain his initiatives

Emergency Banking Relief Act

gave the President power over the banking system and set up a system by which banks would be reorganized or reopened

Agricultural Adjustment Act

Gave farmers money to reduce crop size to reduce production and bring up the value of crops

Federal Emergancy Relief Act

Provided jobs for unemployed workers.

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)

New Deal program that hired unemployed men to work on natural conservation projects

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 preist"; said capitalism was the cause of the depression, blamed jewish bankers for economic woes, called for a soviet economic system

Roosevelt's "Second New Deal"

It was the second stage of the New Deal, from 1935-1936. There were 5 major goals to this. Improved use of: natural resources, security against old age, unemployment and illness, as well as a national relief work program to replace direct relief programs.

The Wagner Act

guaranteed the right of unions to organize and to collectively bargain with management.

Works Progress Administration

New Deal agency that helped create jobs for those that needed them. It created around 9 million jobs working on bridges, roads, and buildings.

Social Security Act

(FDR) 1935, guaranteed retirement payments for enrolled workers beginning at age 65; set up federal-state system of unemployment insurance and care for dependent mothers and children, the handicapped, and public health

The Roosevelt recession

A recession from 1937 to 1938 that occurred after President Roosevelt cut the federal budget.

National War Labor Board

A board that negotiated labor disputes and gave workers what they wanted to prevent strikes that would disrupt the war