USH Regents Prep - General

Franklin D. Roosevelt

32nd US President - He began New Deal programs to help the nation out of the Great Depression, and he was the nation's leader during most of WWII

Richard Nixon

1968 and 1972; Republican; Vietnam: advocated "Vietnamization" (replace US troops with Vietnamese), but also bombed Cambodia/Laos, created a "credibility gap," Paris Peace Accords ended direct US involvement; economy-took US off gold standard (currency valued by strength of economy); created the Environmental Protection Agency, was president during first moon landing; SALT I and new policy of detente between US and Soviet Union; Watergate scandal: became first and only president to resign

Woodrow Wilson

President of the United States (1913-1921) - major policies include: 14 points of peace, US declaration of war in World War 1, unable to persuade the U.S. Congress to ratify the Treaty of Versailles or join the League of Nations.

Theodore Roosevelt

26th president, known for: conservationism, trust-busting, safe food regulations, "Square Deal," Panama Canal

JFK

1961-1963, Democrat, both parties had the platform of civil rights planks and a national health program, participated in the Space Race with Soviet Union, Cuban Missile Crisis and Bay of Pigs Invasion, assassinated

LBJ's Great Society

goals = elimination of poverty - failed because of Vietnam war and radical injustice; new major spending programs - education and Vietnam war; easier transportation; medical care

LBJ and Vietnam

The Gulf of Tonkin incident was widely believed to be staged, giving LBJ bad PR over Vietnam from the beginning. He sent large amounts of US troops to Vietnam because he did not want to be seen as going too soft on communism. He is also criticized for his "blank check" given to him by congress, allowing him to do almost whatever he wanted in Vietnam. The killing of innocent civilizations and the widely-hated draft also led to LBJ's PR downfall.

Abraham Lincoln

16th president of the United States; helped preserve the United States by leading the defeat of the secessionist Confederacy; an outspoken opponent of the expansion of slavery.

Progressive Era

time at the turn of the 20th century in which groups sought to reform America economically, socially, and politically, big changes include Meat Inspection Act, Women's Suffrage, Tenement Housing Act, Federal Reserve Banking system, Sherman Anti Trust act

Articles of Confederation

1st Constitution of the U.S. 1781-1788 (weaknesses-no executive, no judicial, no power to tax, no power to regulate trade)

Isolationism

During the 1930s, the combination of the Great Depression and the memory of tragic losses in World War I contributed to pushing American public opinion and policy toward isolationism. Isolationists advocated non-involvement in European and Asian conflicts and non-entanglement in international politics.

New Deal

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

Interstate Commerce Act

1887 law passed to regulate railroad and other interstate businesses

Judicial Review

The power of the courts to declare laws unconstitutional - established for SCOTUS by Marbury v. Madison

Neutrality Acts

4 laws passed in the late 1930s that were designed to keep the US out of international incidents (WW2)

Electoral College

a body of people representing the states of the US, who formally cast votes for the election of the president and vice president.

Checks and Balances

A system that allows each branch of government to limit the powers of the other branches in order to prevent abuse of power

Great Depression

the economic crisis beginning with the stock market crash in 1929 and continuing through the 1930s

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the Constitution, including things like freedom of speech, etc.

Populism/Populist Party

Populist party formed in 1892 by members of the Farmer's Alliance, this party was designed to appeal to workers in all parts of the country. Populists favored a larger role of government in American Society, a progressive income tax, and more direct methods of democracy.

Prohibition (18th amendment)

(18th Amendment) illegal to manufacture, distribute, or possess any type of alcoholic beverage (distilled spirits). The Noble Experiment. Opened the door for organized crime (Al Capone), bootleggers and smuggling, undone by the 21st amendment

Federalism

A system in which power is divided between the national and state governments

Cold War

A conflict that was between the US and the Soviet Union. The nations never directly confronted each other on the battlefield but deadly threats went on for years.

Dred Scott v. Sanford

Supreme Court case that decided US Congress did not have the power to prohibit slavery in federal territories and slaves, as private property, could not be taken away without due process - basically slaves would remain slaves in non-slave states and slaves could not sue because they were not citizens

Manifest Destiny (1845)

Stated that the US was destined to expand to the Pacific Ocean

Monroe Doctrine

an American foreign policy opposing interference in the Western hemisphere from outside powers

Reconstruction

the period after the Civil War in the United States when the southern states were reorganized and reintegrated into the Union

Louisiana Purchase

1803 purchase of the Louisiana territory from France. Made by Jefferson, this doubled the size of the US.

Alexander Hamilton

1789-1795; First Secretary of the Treasury. He advocated creation of a national bank, assumption of state debts by the federal government, and a tariff system to pay off the national debt.

Ronald Reagan

first elected president in 1980 and elected again in 1984. He ran on a campaign based on the common man and "populist" ideas. He served as governor of California from 1966-1974, and he participated in the McCarthy Communist scare. Iran released hostages on his Inauguration Day in 1980. While president, he developed Reagannomics, the trickle down effect of government incentives. He cut out many welfare and public works programs. He used the Strategic Defense Initiative to avoid conflict. His meetings with Gorbachev were the first steps to ending the Cold War. He was also responsible for the Iran-contra Affair which bought hostages with guns.

Andrew Jackson

(1829-1833) and (1833-1837), Indian removal act, nullification crisis, Old Hickory," first southern/ western president," President for the common man," pet banks, spoils system, trail of tears

Dwight D. Eisenhower

leader of the Allied forces in Europe during WW2--leader of troops in Africa and commander in DDay invasion-elected president-president during integration of Little Rock Central High School

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)

Spanish-American War

1898 war that began when the United States demanded Cuba's independence from Spain, prior to the war bombing of USS Maine, end of war US became owner of colonies (Guam, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Philippines)

Jim Crow

Laws written to separate blacks and whites in public areas/meant African Americans had unequal opportunities in housing, work, education, and government

Sacco and Vanzetti

Italian radicals who became symbols of the Red Scare of the 1920s; arrested (1920), tried and executed (1927) for a robbery/murder, they were believed by many to have been innocent but convicted because of their immigrant status and radical political beliefs.

John D. Rockefeller

Established the Standard Oil Company, the greatest, wisest, and meanest monopoly known in history

14th Amendment

Declares that all persons born in the U.S. are citizens and are guaranteed equal protection of the laws

Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton

leading figures in the women's rights movement

Brown v. Board of Education

1954 - The Supreme Court overruled Plessy v. Ferguson, declared that racially segregated facilities are inherently unequal and ordered all public schools desegregated.

Nativism

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

Elastic Clause

Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution, which allows Congress to make all laws that are "necessary and proper" to carry out the powers of the Constitution.

Dust Bowl

A drought in the 1930s that turned the Great Planes very dry.

Mercantilism

An economic policy under which nations sought to increase their wealth and power by obtaining large amounts of gold and silver and by selling more goods than they bought

Salutary Neglect

an English policy of relaxing the enforcement of regulations in its colonies in return for the colonies' continued economic loyalty