American History - Midterm

What is a primary source?

first hand account, news paper, journal, autobiography

What is a secondary source?

Information gathered by someone who did not take part in or witness an event, biography, essays, textbooks

What is the historical context of the Declaration of Independence

We were declaring our freedom, established a new American revolutionary government, officially declared war against Great Britain.

What is the historical context of the US Constitution

It was constructed on September 17, 1787 after months of conflicting use heated debate and clashing ideas finally yielded to compromise and thoughtful reconsiderations.

What are the historical influences for the Declaration of Independence

Writings of the English philosopher John Locke

What are the important elements of the Declaration of Independence

Call made all men equal and gave them the rights of life liberty and pursuit of happiness

What are the important elements of the northwest ordinance

Northwest ordinance charted a government for the northwest territory provided a method for admitting new states to the union from the territory, admitted a bill of rights guaranteed in the territory

What are the historical consequences of the northwest ordinance

It limited the future growth of slavery into the western territories

What are the historical influences on the division of power in the US Constitution

To prevent one branch of government from becoming too powerful

What is the difference between anti-federalist and federalist

Federalist wanted a strong federal government an anti-federalist wanted a strong state and local government

Define federalist

People who believe in creating a strong federal government which would care of the problem is created by the articles of confederation

Define anti-federalist

People who were concerned that a powerful federal government would be too much like the British government and would trample upon the rights individuals and the power of the state and local governments

Define Jim Crow laws

system of laws in the late 1800s that segregated African Americans and forced them to use separate, inferior facilities

Identify the roles of the Republican Party

No disappointing right leaning ideologies of conservatism, social conservatism, and and economic libertarianism, amount other -isms.

How is the republican party related to reconstruction

Radical Republicans increasingly took control they demanded harsher measures in the south more production for freedom and more guarantees that the confederate nationalism was totally eliminated

Identify the roles of the Democratic Party

Represents left leaning, liberal and progressive ideology values, does advocating for a stronger government regulate business and support for the citizens of the United States.

How is the democratic party related to reconstruction

Seven Democrats launch the campaign of vilification against reconstruction

Explain the compromise of 1877

Democrats agreed to accept Republican Rutherford B. Hayes as president in return for the removal of federal troops from the South. Without the protection of the federal government the last of the state governments collapsed, ending Reconstruction.

Plessy v. Ferguson

a 1896 Supreme Court decision which legalized state ordered segregation so long as the facilities for blacks and whites were equal, upheld the constitutionally of Racial segregation under the separate but equal doctrine.

Who is W.E.B. Du Bois and why is he important?

He was an influential African American writer and scholar, who is today acknowledged as the father of social science. He joined many activists to form NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People)

Who is Booker T. Washington?

A famous African American born as a slave child in Virginia before the Civil War who grew up to become a famous educator, writer, and public speaker after the war ended. In the late 1800s and early 1900s he argued that economic progress for blacks was more important than immediate social equality. He believed that vocational education (job training) would help blacks make economic progress, and that social equality would follow on its own quickly.

What is the 13th amendment?

abolished slavery

What is the 14th amendment?

granted citizenship to all who were natural born in the us

What is the 15th amendment?

gave African American men the right to vote

What's the role of miners during the Western Expansion

They discovered gold which sparked a massive wave of westward migration

What is the significance of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869

Revolutionize travel, connecting areas of the western United States with the east

How did the US government attempt to assimilate Native Americans into greater American culture at the end of the 19th century

Encouraging them towards farming and agriculture

What is the significance of Battle of Little Bighorn

Decisive native American victory in the worst US army defeat in the long plains Indian war.

Who is Helen hunt Jackson

American poet and writer who became an activist on behalf of improved treatment of Native Americans by the U.S. government, she wrote a Century of Dishonor, about how Native Americans were treated, and

Who is Crazy Horse?

A Lakota war leader of Oglala in the 19th Century, he fought against the U.S. Federal Government to fight against encroachment by white American settlers on Native American territory.

Frederick Jackson Turner

American historian who said that humanity would continue to progress as long as there was new land to move into. The frontier provided a place for homeless and solved social problems.

What are the demographical shifts in the late 19th century in America

Industrial expansion and population growth radically changed the face of nation's cities, people from rural America migrated to the cities.

Where are the people living in the late 19th century and why

People lived in cities because of industrial expansion and theirs more jobs in the cities rather in rural parts of America.

What is the purpose of labor unions

Labor unions collectively bargain for better working conditions and better wages. Strikes are a last resort.

Why is there a rise in immigration

There was a rise in immigration because of more jobs and better living conditions, some people left places where there was war also.

Why was some immigration discouraged?

Because after a lot of the jobs were filled up some Americans didn't like working for such low amounts of money so they started to form unions, this led to jobs being gave to immigrants cause they just wanted to work.

What is the relationship between immigrants and the democratic party in the late 19th century

The democrats welcomed them because they they wanted them to vote for the democrats because the immigrants had such a high population.

What is the significance of social Darwinism

It was used as a justification for the inferior treatment of colonial people

Who is Horatio Alger?

He was a popular novelist who wrote about honesty and virtue would be rewarded with success, wealth and honor. His stories were involved a poor boy who became successful. He created this idea that anyone can make it

Who is Eugene V. Debs?

The leader of the American Railway Union at the time of the Pullman Strike. He was also the most prominent socialist of the time.

Who is John D. Rockefeller?

the Ohio businessman who started the Standard Oil Company, and gained near monopoly control over the oil business in the U.S. He developed many good ideas for better production and refining of oil into products like kerosene. But he is also criticized for using "hard-ball" tactics to take over competing oil companies, and later for forming the Standard Oil Trust as another way to eliminate competition. Later in his life, he became a philanthropist, giving away hundreds of millions of dollars to medical, educational, and scientific causes.

Who is Andrew Carnegie?

A rich Scottish immigrant who borrowed money and began his own steel mill. With the profits, he bought iron mines, railroad and steamship lines and warehouses.

Who is Buffalo Bill Cody?

An American soilder and bison hunter, and showman, killed 4,282 bison because he thought " one bison dead equals one dead Native American." He crated Buffalo Bills Wild West, a show that traveled around the World and brought the Wild West to you.

Who is Henry Ford

1863-1947. American businessman, founder of Ford Motor Company, father of modern assembly lines, and inventor credited with 161 patents.

Who is J.P. Morgan?

an American banker and art collector known for managing and handling money. He became one of the richest men of his era and founded the bank now called JPMorgan Chase, one of the oldest banks in the world today.

What is progressivism?

movement that responded to the pressures of industrialization and urbanization by promoting reforms

What is a muckraker?

a journalist who uncovers abuse and corruption of business and politics

What are the consequences of the Spanish American War

I was independence of Cuba, ceded in Puerto Rico and Guam see United States, and a victorious power to purchase the Philippines islands from Spain for $20 million

Why did the U.S. have an interest in annexing Hawaii

US military leader shared potential Japanese occupation of the islands and credited to strategic naval base in the center of the Pacific

Who is Ida Tarbell?

A female reporter who published an expose on Standard Oil and J.D. Rockefeller.

Who is Upton Sinclair?

muckraking journalist who exposed the terrible conditions of the meatpacking industry, wrote the Jungle

Who is Theodore Roosevelt?

president of the U.S. from 1901 - 1909 who was known for his support of Progressive reforms. He was called the "trust buster" for bringing legal action against monopolies in business. He also supported passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act.

Who is John Muir?

Famous naturalist and forester who studied forestry under Gifford Pinchot but would actually develop contrasting views to Pinchot when he became an advocate of preservation over conservation.

Who is Jacob Riis?

Wrote "How the other half lives" talking about life in tenements

What are some of Wilisons decisions concerning Civil Rights

He gave women the right to vote, and laws that prohibited child labor, and mandated an 8-hour workday for railroad workers.

What are the causes of WWI

Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, Nationalism

What brought the US into WWI?

Sinking of the Lusitania, Sub warfare, Zimmerman Note

What are the consequences of the Russian Revolution on the USA

The United States withheld diplomatic recognition of the Soviet Union until 1933,

What are Wilson's 14 points?

Statement of principles for peace that was used for peace negotiations to end World War I

What is the Treaty of Versailles?

Peace treaty at the end of WWI. It made Germany take full responsibility for the war

Why did the U.S. Senate reject the Treaty of Versailles?

The major reason for this was the fact that many senators were afraid that membership in the league of nations would reduce the sovereignty of the US and its ability to have complete control over its own foreign policy and military actions

Why did people begin investing in the 1920s

It was easier to do so than ever before

buying on margin

paying a small percentage of a stock's price as a down payment and borrowing the rest

Andrew Melon

Secretary of Treasury under Harding. His tax policies favored low taxes and the reducing of government regulation on business, basically ran the country

Buying on Credit

people would purchase things and make partial payments on set intervals: installment plans, led to a lot of debt

Consumerism in the 1920s

Americans were fascinated with new consumer products in the 1920s and began overspending and borrowing on credit. Would later lead to causes of the Great Depression

Great Migration

movement of over 300,000 African American from the rural south into Northern cities between 1914 and 1920

Harlem Renaissance

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

Jazz

A style of dance music popular in the 1920s

Radios in the 1920s

Sparked communication, how FDR talked to people, had his own show

18th Amendment

Prohibited the manufacture, sale, and distribution of alcoholic beverages

How did the 18th amendment lead to more organized crime

It lead to bootlegging and speakeasy's

Al Capone

A mob king in Chicago who controlled a large network of speakeasies with enormous profits. His illegal activities convey the failure of prohibition in the twenties and the problems with gangs.

Bootlegging

the act of making of transporting alcoholic liquor for sale illegally

Speakeasy

A place where alcoholic drinks were sold and consumed illegally during prohibition

21st Amendment

Amendment which ended the Prohibition of alcohol in the US, repealing the 18th amendment

Culture divide between rural and urban America

Bro society was one which has not industrialized, whereas present-day urban society is highly urbanized and industrialized

Billy Sunday

American fundamentalist minister; he used colorful language and powerful sermons to drive home the message of salvation through Jesus and to oppose radical and progressive groups.

Scopes Monkey Trial

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

Williams Jennings Bryan

Three-time candidate for president for the Democratic Party, nominated because of support from the Populist party. He never won, but was the most important Populist in American history. His famous "Cross of Gold" speech electrified the Democratic National Convention in 1896 when he asked that the people of the country not be "crucified on a cross of gold." He was referring to the Republican's proposal to eliminate silver coinage and adopt a strict gold standard.

Clarence Darrow

A famed criminal defense lawyer for Scopes, who supported evolution. He caused William Jennings Bryan to appear foolish when Darrow questioned Bryan about the Bible.

ACLU

American Civil Liberties Union

Red Scare

A period of general fear of communists

Palmer Raids

A 1920 operation coordinated by Attorney General Mitchel Palmer in which federal marshals raided the homes of suspected radicals and the headquarters of radical organization in 32 cities

How did the red scare lead to the FBI

The Director of the FBI was an ardent anti-communist who's influence had perpetrated the first red scare. Hoover and his investigators use used espionage tactics of their own to locate potential communists, including wire taps, surveillance, and infiltrating leftist organizations.

J. Edgar Hoover

The director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation who investigated and harassed alleged radicals.

Nativism

A policy of favoring native-born individuals over foreign-born ones

Sacco and Vanzetti Case

Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were Italian immigrants charged with murdering a guard and robbing a shoe factory in Braintree; Mass. The trial lasted from 1920-1927. Convicted on circumstantial evidence; many believed they had been framed for the crime because of their anarchist and pro-union activities.

Stock Market Crash of 1929

Plunge in stock market prices that marked the beginning of the Great Depression

FDR during the depression

created the new deal and systems that helped boost the economy and expand the government.

Eleanor Roosevelt during the depression

She wanted equality for all and called out her husband in front of the us meaning that he'd have to help everyone

New Deal

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

Bonus Army

Group of WWI vets. that marched to D.C. in 1932 to demand the immediate payment of their goverment war bonuses in cash

Douglas MacArthur

American general, who commanded allied troops in the Pacific during World War II.

Bank Holiday

closed all banks until gov. examiners could investigate their financial condition; only sound/solvent banks were allowed to reopen

Fireside Chats

informal talks given by FDR over the radio; sat by White House fireplace; gained the confidence of the people

CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps)

relief that provided work for young men 18-25 years old in food control, planting, flood work, etc.

TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority)

New Deal program which gave electricity and jobs to rural Appalachia, including AL

NRA (National Recovery Administration)

New Deal agency that promoted economic recovery by regulating production, prices, and wages

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