History AIR Test Review Pt. 1

Declaration of Independence

Opens with a statement that separating from GB required a defense or list of grievances the colonists have with the king of GB and Parliament; grievances refer to a series of events since the French & Indian War which the colonists deemed were tyrannical acts & destructive of their rights. Reflects an application of Enlightenment ideas to the grievances of British subjects in the American colonies

Enlightenment ideas

Natural rights (life, liberty, property) and social contract (bond between leader/country and people) Ex. Dec of Independence ends with a clear statement that the political bonds b/t the colonists & GB are ended; Independence is declared as an exercise of social contract thought

Northwest Ordinance

Addressed a need for government in the Northwest Territory and established precedents for the future governing of the US; provided the basis for temporary governances as a territory and eventual entry into the US as states. Prohibited slavery, schools/educations encouraged, & basic rights of citizenship (religious liberty, right to trial by jury, writ of habeas corpus) were assured.

Articles of Confederation

1st constitution of the US. Under this, the national government faced critical problems and resulted in a weak government (states were more powerful than the federal government, no separate executive or judicial branches); was eventually replaced by a new document.

Constitution

Strengthened the structure of the national government, created separate executive & judicial branches. Power to levy taxes, raise armies, & regulate commerce given to Congress. Federalism allocated the distribution of powers b/t the national government & the states.

Social Contract

The government's duty to protect the natural rights of the people & if the government doesn't, the people have a right to overthrow that gov't & create a new one. The Preamble to the Constitution and the creation of a representative government reflect this Enlightenment thought. Ex. Articles I-III provide for separation of powers in government & provides some limited protection of rights.

Natural Rights

Those that all people are born with, and therefore the government must protect theses rights and can't take them away; Enlightenment idea that includes life, liberty, & the pursuit of happiness

Federalist Papers

Essays that structured the national debate over the ratification of the Constitution (support); Addressed issues such as: need for national taxation, benefits of strong national defense, protection of citizens rights. A stronger national government was necessary to protect the liberty that the American Revolution had created.

Anti-Federatlist Papers

Essays that structured the national debate over the ratification of the Constitution (opposed); raised issues relating to threats posed by national taxation, use of standing army, national vs. state power, & inadequate protection of the people's rights. Feared that giving too much power to a national government could lead to tyranny.

Bill of Rights

Derived from English law (Magna Carta), ideas of the Enlightenment, experiences of American colonists, early experiences of self-goverenment and national debate over the ratification of the Constitution. Led to first 10 Amendments of the Constitution, mostly focusing on rights of individuals.

Primary Sources

Records of events as they are first described, usually by witnesses or by people who were involved in the event. Many created at the time of the event, include memoirs, oral interviews, or visual materials (photos, posters, artwork)

Secondary Sources

Written after events have taken place by people who were not present at the event, attempt to describe or explain via encyclopedias or textbooks.

Credibility

Determining whether or not sources are trustworthy & believable by looking at who wrote it & how it was written

Industrialization

Shift from hand-made to machine-made products. Characterized by the rise of corporations & heavy industry; marked shift from agricultural workers to predominance of factory workers; shift from rural to urban living (crowded & unsanitary) during late 19th & early 20th centuries

Immigration

Due to the rise of industrialization led to increased demand for workers from other countries to take jobs in northern US cities. Made the US more diverse & transformed American life by diffusing new traits into American culture & impacting the growth of cities.

Labor Unions

Members of working class try to protect their rights to address issues such as working conditions, wages, and terms of employment such as increased workplace safety, shorter hours, higher wages, & child labor laws. (Ex. ARU, AFL, UMW, IWW) Used collective bargaining & strikes to achieve goals.

Great Migration

Mass movement of African Americans who fled the rural South to the urban North to escape prejudices, discrimination, and secure better-paying jobs. Helped transform northern cities economically (workers & consumers) and culturally (art, music, literature). However, large number of AA's moving to northern cities increased competition for jobs, housing, and public services.

Urbanization

Transformed the physical nature of cities by focusing on industry & commerce. Buildings became taller, but crowding led to crimes & gangs.

Tenement Buildings

Provided housing for working families due to urbanization

Suburbs

Improvements in transportation (trolleys, automobiles) facilitated the development of these as a growing middle class could easily commute b/t residential areas & the central cities for business & recreation

Native Americans

The demand for resources & land in the West changed their life; a series of treaties & gov't actions displaced them from their ancestral lands

Jim Crow Laws

Institutionalized racial discrimination in the south at state & local level; required racial segregation (schools, buses, trains, restaurants), limited ballot access (poll tax, literacy test, grandfather clause), & deprived African Americans of their civil rights and treated them as 2nd class citizens.

Plessy v. Ferguson

US Supreme Court affirmed segregation with "separate but equal" clause in 1896

Reconstruction

Post Civil War Era that began with the removal of federal troops from the South that led to the restoration of the Democratic Party's control of state governments (1865-1877)

Progressive Era

An effort to address the ills of American society stemming from industrial capitalism, urbanization, & political corruption (1890-1920)

Muckrakers

Journalists who exposed political corruption, corporate & industrial practices, social injustice & life in urban America during the Progressive Era (Ex. Ida Tarbell & Standard Oil, Upton Sinclair & The Jungle)

Federal Reserve Act

Passed to control the nation's money supply & regulate the banking system during Wilson's presidency

Progressive Reforms

Designed to address the ills associated with industrial capitalism: Antitrust Legislation (Clayton Antitrust Act), Consumer Protection (Pure Food & Drug Act, Meat Inspection Act), & Conservation (U.S. Forest Service)

16th Amendment

Power of Congress to levy an income tax

17th Amendment

Direct election of Senators

18th Amendment

Prohibition of Alcoholic beverages

19th Amendment

Women's suffrage (1920); brought more women into political process & eventually included women running for public office.

21st Amendment

Repealed Prohibition (18th Amendment) in 1933

13th Amendment

Ended slavery in the US

Factors for Imperialism

With the closing of the western frontier, Americans developed favorable attitudes toward foreign expansion; pushed along by global competition for markets & prestige, an expanded navy & sense of cultural superiority, the US engaged in a series of overseas actions which fostered its move to global power status

Manifest Destiny

1st used to defend westward expansion, later used to argue that the US had a right & duty to extend its influence & civilization in the W. Hemisphere & the Pacific

Hawaii

US annexed this in 1898; American sugar planters wanted this land to eliminate tariffs & was also important to serves as a mid-Pacific naval base

Spanish-American War

US support for Cuban independence & protection of US commerce & trade; ended Spain's empire in the W. Hemisphere & gave the US control of Guam, Puerto Rico, & the Philippines

World War I

In 1917, the US mobilized a large army & navy to help the Allies achieve victory. Afterwards, European counties were forced to concentrate their resources on rebuilding, but the US enjoyed a brief period of economic prosperity & was able to exert authority as a world power

Treaty of Versailles

Debate over its terms & efforts to avoid foreign entanglements led to its defeat in the Senate & the US decision not to join the League of Nations (Senate wanted to avoid foreign entanglements); extremely harsh vs. Germany.

Kellogg-Briand Pact

Signed by the US in 1928 to outlaw war as "an instrument of national policy"; attempt by the US to limit its involvement in international affairs after WWI (isolationism)

Ku Klux Klan

Originally created during the Reconstruction Era to target African Americans, but revived following WWI now targeting immigrants, Catholics, Jews, and essentially all non-WASP's (White Anglo-Saxon Protestants) in the North & South

First Red Scare

Success of the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia followed by post-war labor strikes (IWW) & a series of bombs sent to public & business officials in the US (Palmer Raids) stirred fears of revolution among Americans in 1919-1920 and led to the incarceration & deportations of many aliens (Sacco & Vanzetti)

"Red Summer"

Due to the "Great Migration" of AA's to the North, increased racial tension led to a series of urban riots in 25 cities in 1919. Ex. in Chicago, 15 whites & 23 AA's died, hundreds injured, and 1,000 black families left homeless from arson

Lynching

Practice of executing people by mob action; act of terror meant to spread fear among African Americans

Nativism

Opposition to immigrants, especially southern & eastern Europeans (undesirables); led to immigration quotas after WWI

Popular Culture & Mass Advertising

Technological innovations in communication included commercial radio broadcasts, taking motion pictures, & wider circulation of newspapers & magazines following WWI (1920s)

Automobile

Contributed to the growth of suburbs, creation of new businesses (motels, gas stations), expansion of use of rubber, plate glass, petroleum, steel, & new surfaced roads. Also challenged traditional family values & tried the patience of travelers (congestion). Young people used them as a way to exercise freedom from parental rules.

Harlem Renaissance

Celebration of African American culture & contributed to social change. AA art & literature gave pride to people of African heritage and Jazz flourished. Increased awareness of AA struggles related to intolerance & life in large urban centers.

Prohibition

Law was difficult to enforce & was later repealed. Mixed results & lacked popular support. Divided nation along secular/fundamentalist, rural/urban, modern/traditional lines. Led to speakeasies & organized crime.

Bank Loans

One of several factors leading to the Great Depression. Excessive lending fueled speculation and use of credit. Federal Reserve attempted to curb practices by constricting the money supply. However, this made economic conditions worse by making it harder for people to repay debts, and for businesses, including banks, to continue operations.

Stock Market Speculation

Another factor leading to the Great Depression. Many investors were buying on margin with the hope of making huge profits. The collapse (Crash) led may to lose investments & fortunes. Closing of many factories led to rise of consumer debt as workers lost needed income.

New Deal

FDR's plan to help battle the Depression. Greatly expanded the role of government with its efforts to help the economy recover, to provide relief to the unemployed by creating jobs, and instituted reforms for the protection of the elderly, farmers, investors, & laborers.

Latin America

Monroe Doctrine (warn Europe to stay out of W. Hemisphere) & Roosevelt Corollary (extension of MD)…used to justify US intervention

Good Neighbor Policy

US emphasized cooperation & trade rather than military force to maintain stability in the W. Hemisphere; FDR's Foreign policy towards Latin America; main principle was that of non-intervention and non-interference in the domestic affairs of Latin America during 1930s

Neutrality Acts

Attempts in the 1930s to isolate the US from the problems erupting in Asia & Europe; US tried to maintain isolationist approach, but later tried to aid countries fighting vs. fascist aggression. (Cash & Carry Policy, Destroyer-for Bases Agreement, Lend-Lease Policy).

Japan

Their expansionist policies & bombing of Pearl Harbor ended U.S. isolationist policies in 1941.

Mobilization

Act of assembling & making both soldiers and supplies ready for war; shift of US to a wartime economy during WWII. Federal Gov't reorganized factories to produce goods & services for the war effort & instituted policies to ration & redirect resources. (Peacetime draft in 1940, Scrap Drives, Rationing, Victory Gardens, War Bonds).

Internment

Japanese Americans sent to relocation camps during WWII (Korematsu v. U.S.)

Atomic bombs

Hastened the end of WWII and is considered the beginning of the nuclear age. New type of weapon capable of mass destruction, but also used as a deterrent to Soviet ambitions during Cold War.

Nuclear Arms Race

Testing & explosions of atomic bombs by the superpowers, the US & Soviet Union, created a conflict for decades & threatened world peace.

Containment

US foreign policy in the late 1940s to halt the spread of communism in Europe & Asia. The Marshall Plan & NATO were efforts to stop communism, but this was also the basis for US involvement in Korean & Vietnam wars.

Second Red Scare

Actions of the Soviets in Eastern Europe & the spread of communism in Asia sparked fears among many Americans & focused attention on the media, labor unions, universities, etc. as targets of communist subversion.

House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)

Investigations by this group prompted employers to blacklist suspected communists, including actors & writers, challenging civil liberties.

Joseph McCarthy

Senator who played on fears of subversion with charges of communists infiltrating the US Gov't in the 1950s; most accusations were unfounded, but the reputations & careers of many were ruined

The Cold War

Intense rivalry b/t the US & the Soviet Union that led to the creation of alliances & an arms race. Dominated international politics & impacted domestic politics in the US for almost 45 years.

Cuban Missile Crisis

Direct confrontation b/t the US & SU in 1962 as the Soviets installed nuclear missiles just 90 miles away from the US coast; Tense 13 days & closest the US & SU came to war; involved JFK & Nikita Khrushchev.

Korean War

Fed into the communist hysteria (1950-53). US was able to secure support from the United Nations for the defense of the south while the Soviet Union was boycotting the Security Council.

Vietnam War

Divided the US & sparked massive protests. Spending came at the expense of domestic programs and led to urban unrest in the 1960s. Key issue in the presidential election of 1968.

USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics)

Ideologically opposed to the US & their prolonged contest during the Cold War weakened & ultimately collapsed due to internal upheavals & American pressure in 1991.

Fall of Communism

Collapse of governments in Eastern Europe & SU due to mass demonstrations for democracy, introduction of free-market economies, & the end of the Cold War Era.

African Americans

Organizations such as the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference), SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordination Committee) & NUL (National Urban League) struggled for equal opportunities & to end segregation for this group of Americans. Led to Brown v. BOE, Civil Rights Act & Voting Rights Act of 1965

Mexican Americans

They organized through the UFW (United Farm Workers of America) to improve the conditions of migrant workers & persuade farm owners to treat them more fairly

American Indians

They organized to improve conditions on reservations, protect land rights, & improve opportunities in education & employment; led to groups such as NCAI (National Congress of American Indians) & AIM (American Indian Movement

Women

They made progress toward equal opportunities through demonstrations, lawsuits, & NOW (National Organization for Women); Discriminated in the workplace by being paid less for the same job & too few in elected gov't offices

Postwar Prosperity

Led to baby boom, increased consumerism, increased mobility via cars, pop culture, franchising, & longer life spans

Advances in Science after WWII

Medicine (polio vaccine, birth control pill, organ transplant, genetic engineering), Communication (transistor, TV, computers, Internet, Mobile phones), Nuclear Energy (Atomic weapons, nuclear power plants) & Transportation (jet planes, catalytic converters in cars)

Cities

After WWII, they became predominately black, poor, & strongly Democratic; decaying environment & low employment opportunities contributed to urban riots in the 1960s

Suburbs (After WWII)

Mainly white & leaned Republican; outlying residential areas adjacent to cities; demand for housing & car ownership led to growth

Sunbelt

Employment opportunities in defense plants & high-tech industries located in the South & South West to California led to the growth of this region; also contributed to a political power shift in the country as reflected in the reapportionment of congressional districts

1965 Immigration Act

Allowed more individuals from Asia, Africa, & Latin America to enter the US impacting the demographic makeup. Hispanics became the fastest growing minority in the US, which led to an increase in Spanish language media & funding for bilingual education.

Environmental Protection Agency

Due to research on the effects of pesticides, pollution, waste disposal, concerns about conservation and global warning led to demands from environmentalists for the Government to create this in 1970.

US Trade Deficit

Due to overseas competition, this has increased with the value of goods & services imported exceeding those that are exported. This has led to a decrease in manufacturing jobs & closing of plants/factories. It's also contributed to a shift toward service industries & a growth in lower-paying jobs in fast food & sales.

Defense Spending

Due to the end of the Cold War, reductions in this area of the government budget led to the loss of millions of US jobs in defense plants (factories)

September 11, 2001

Attacks on this date presented national security challenges for the country, debates over 2 wars (Iraq & Afghanistan) that were launched in response, the passage of the USA Patriot Act, and the detainment & torture of enemy combatants divided the US

Redlining

A discriminatory real estate practice in which members of minority groups are prevented from obtaining money to purchase homes or property in predominantly white neighborhoods. The practice derived its name from the lines depicted on maps used by real estate agents and developers.

Great Recession (2007-2009)

Worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, resulting from the bursting of the 8 trillion dollar housing bubble, sharp downturn in consumer spending, chaos on Wall Street and the financial markets, losses in business investment and a very high unemployment rate