History Midterm Review

Credit Mobilier

1872, This was a fraudulent construction company created to take the profits of the Union Pacific Railroad. Using government funds for the railroad, the Union Pacific directors gave padded construction contracts to Congress members

Chinese exclusion act

1882 law that prohibited the immigration of Chinese laborers

Americanization

The belief that assimilating immigrants into American society would make them more loyal citizens

Gentleman's Agreement (1907-1908)

Japan's government agreed to limit emigration of unskilled workers to the United States in exchange for the repeal of the San Francisco segregation order.

Settlement Houses

Community centers located in the slums and near tenements that gave aid to the poor, especially immigrants

Graft

Illegal use of political influence for personal gain

Nativism

the policy of protecting the interests of native-born or established inhabitants against those of immigrants.

Patronage

Granting favors or giving contracts or making appointments to office in return for political support

Jane Addams

1860-1935. Founder of Settlement House Movement. First American Woman to earn Nobel Peace Prize in 1931 as president of Women's International League for Peace and Freedom.

Social Gospel Movement

A social reform movement that developed within religious institutions and sought to apply the teachings of Jesus directly to society

Political Machines

Corrupt organized groups that controlled political parties in the cities. A boss leads the machine and attempts to grab more votes for his party.

Boss Tweed

William Tweed, head of Tammany Hall, NYC's powerful democratic political machine in 1868. Between 1868 and 1869 he led the Tweed Reign, a group of corrupt politicians in defrauding the city. Example: Responsible for the construction of the NY court house; actual construction cost $3million. Project cost tax payers $13million.

Tammany Hall

Political machine in New York, headed by Boss Tweed.

Pendleton Civil Service Act

Passed in 1883, an Act that created a federal civil service so that hiring and promotion would be based on merit rather than patronage.

Progressive Movement Goals

protecting social welfare, promoting moral improvement, creating economic reform, fostering efficiency

Muckrakers

Journalists who attempted to find corruption or wrongdoing in industries and expose it to the public

Suffrage

the right to vote in political elections

16th and 17th Amendments

1913 - 16th Amendment authorized Congress to levy an income tax. 1913 - 17th Amendment gave the power to elect senators to the people. Senators had previously been appointed by the legislatures of their states.

Susan B. Anthony

social reformer who campaigned for womens rights, the temperance, and was an abolitionist, helped form the National Woman Suffrage Assosiation

Teddy Roosevelt

Twenty-sixth president of the United States; he focused his efforts on trust busting, environment conservation, and strong foreign policy.

Square Deal

Economic policy by Roosevelt that favored fair relationships between companies and workers

The Jungle

This 1906 work by Upton Sinclair pointed out the abuses of the meat packing industry. The book led to the passage of the 1906 Meat Inspection Act.

Pure Food and Drug Act

1906 - Forbade the manufacture or sale of mislabeled or adulterated food or drugs, it gave the government broad powers to ensure the safety and efficacy of drugs in order to abolish the "patent" drug trade. Still in existence as the FDA.

Meat Inspection Act

Law that authorized the Secretary of Agriculture to order meat inspections and condemn any meat product found unfit for human consumption.

FTC (Federal Trade Commission)

Protects consumers from misleading and fraudulent advertising. Reviews advertising claims. Can order a company to change their ad

Federal Reserve

the central banking system of the United States

Clayton Antitrust Act

1914 act designed to strengthen the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890; certain activities previously committed by big businesses, such as not allowing unions in factories and not allowing strikes, were declared illegal.

Taft

president in 1909 believing in strict constitution interpretation

Conservation

Protecting and preserving natural resources and the environment

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

1912 Election

Election between Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson (Wilson elected because Roosevelt and Taft split the Republican voters)

Nationalism

A strong feeling of pride in and devotion to one's country

Imperialism

A policy of extending a country's power and influence through diplomacy or military force.

Militarism

A policy of glorifying military power and keeping a standing army always prepared for war

Archduke Ferdinand

Archduke of Austria Hungary assassinated by a Serbian in 1914. His murder was one of the causes of WW I.

trench warfare

A form of warfare in which opposing armies fight each other from trenches dug in the battlefield.

No Man's Land

Territory between rival Trenches, very dangerous

Lusitania

A British passenger ship that was sunk by a German U-Boat on May 7, 1915. 128 Americans died. The sinking greatly turned American opinion against the Germans, helping the move towards entering the war.

Zimmerman note

1917 - Germany sent this to Mexico instructing an ambassador to convince Mexico to go to war with the U.S. It was intercepted and caused the U.S. to mobilized against Germany, which had proven it was hostile

Selective Service Act

Law passed by Congress in 1917 that required all men from ages 21 to 30 to register for the military draft

Big Four

The four most important leaders, and the most important ones at the Paris Peace Conference. They were Woodrow Wilson- USA, David Lloyd George- UK, George Clemenceau- France, and Vittorio Orlando- Italy.

Treaty of Versailles

the treaty imposed on Germany by the Allied powers in 1920 after the end of World War I which demanded exorbitant reparations from the Germans

Propaganda

Ideas spread to influence public opinion for or against a cause.

League of Nations

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

14 Points

(1918) President Woodrow Wilson's plan for organizing post World War I Europe and for avoiding future wars.

Great Migration

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

Social Darwinism

The belief that only the fittest survive in human political and economic struggle.

Pullman Strike

in Chicago, Pullman cut wages but refused to lower rents in the "company town", Eugene Debs had American Railway Union refuse to use Pullman cars, Debs thrown in jail after being sued, strike achieved nothing

Triangle Fire

a fire in New York's Triangle Shirtwaist Company in 1911 killed 146 people, mostly women. They died because the doors were locked and the windows were too high for them to get to the ground. Dramatized the poor working conditions and let to federal regulations to protect workers.

Mother Jones

Labor activist who was a member of the Knights of Labor union and who used publicity techniques to create awareness of the plight of mine workers and child laborers.

Haymarket Affair

1886 incident that made unions, particularly the Knights of Labor, look violent because a bomb exploded during a protest of striking workers.

ICC (Interstate Commerce Commission)

A federal regulatory agency that governed over the rules and regulations of the railroading industry.

Sherman Antitrust Act

First federal action against monopolies, it was signed into law by Harrison and was extensively used by Theodore Roosevelt for trust-busting. However, it was initially misused against labor unions

AFL (American Federation of Labor)

A union of skilled workers from one or more trades which focused on collective bargaining (negotiation between labor and management) to reach written agreements on wages hours and working conditions. They used strikes as a major tactic to win higher wages and shorter work weeks.

Robber Baron

Refers to the industrialists or big business owners who gained huge profits by paying their employees extremely low wages. They also drove their competitors out of business by selling their products cheaper than it cost to produce it. Then when they controlled the market, they hiked prices high above original price.

Sacco and Vanzetti

In 1920 these two men were convicted of murder and robbery. They were found guilty and died in the electric chair unfairly

Warren Harding

29th president of the US; Republican; "Return to Normalcy" (life as it had been before WWI-peace, isolation); presidency was marred by scandal

Isolationism

A policy of nonparticipation in international economic and political relations

red scare

Intense fear of communism and other politically radical ideas

Teapot Dome Scandal

A government scandal involving a former United States Navy oil reserve in Wyoming that was secretly leased to a private oil company in 1921

Anarchists

people who oppose all forms of organized government

quota system

An arrangement placing a limit on the number of immigrants from each country

Prohibition

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

Herbert Hoover

Republican candidate who assumed the presidency in March 1929 promising the American people prosperity and attempted to first deal with the Depression by trying to restore public faith in the community.

Calvin Coolidge

Became president when Harding died of pneumonia. He was known for practicing a rigid economy in money and words, and acquired the name "Silent Cal" for being so soft-spoken. He was a true republican and industrialist. Believed in the government supporting big business.

Scopes Trial

1925 court case in which Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan debated the issue of teaching evolution in public schools

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.

Harlem Renaissance

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

Lost Generation

Group of writers in 1920s who shared the belief that they were lost in a greedy, materialistic world that lacked moral values and often choose to flee to Europe

speakeasy

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

flapper

Young women of the 1920s that behaved and dressed in a radical fashion

Double standard

a set of principles granting greater sexual freedom to men than to women

Captain of industry

Robber Barons

FDR

32nd President of the United States, Roosevelt, the President of the United States during the Depression and WWII. He instituted the New Deal. Served from 1933 to 1945, he was the only president in U.S. history to be elected to four terms

Hoovervilles

Depression shantytowns, named after the president whom many blamed for their financial distress

Shantytowns

Unplanned slum development on the margins of cities, dominated by crude dwellings and shelters made mostly of scrap wood, iron, and even pieces of cardboard.

Relief, Reform, Recovery

These were the "3 R's" of Roosevelt's New Deal during the Great Depression

Charles Coughlin

A radio priest who was anti-Semetic and anti-New Deal. He catered away some support from FDR.

Great Depression

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

Dust Bowl

Region of the Great Plains that experienced a drought in 1930 lasting for a decade, leaving many farmers without work or substantial wages.

Huey long

"Kingfish" Rep. senator of LA; pushed "Share Our Wealth" program and make "Every Man a King' at the expense of the wealthy; assassinated

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

Francis Townsend

American physician and social reformer whose plan for a government-sponsored old-age pension was a precursor of the Social Security Act of 1935.

Black Tuesday

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

Court Packing

Attempt by Roosevelt to appoint one new Supreme Court justice for every sitting justice over the age of 70 who had been there for at least 10 years. Wanted to prevent justices from dismantling the new deal. Plan died in congress and made opponents of New Deal inflamed.

Minimum Wage

lowest legal wage that can be paid to most workers. Imposed by the NIRA, found unconstitutional and reestablished by Fair Labor Standards act.

SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission)

Monitors the stock market and enforces laws regulating the sale of stocks and bonds

Deficit spending

Government practice of spending more than it takes in from taxes

Dorthea Lange

American photographer who recorded the Great Depression by taking pictures of the unemployed and rural poor.

Wagner Act

1935, also National Labor Relations Act; granted rights to unions; allowed collective bargaining

Joseph Stalin

Russian leader who succeeded Lenin as head of the Communist Party and created a totalitarian state by purging all opposition (1879-1953)

Adolf Hitler

Austrian born Dictator of Germany, implement Fascism and caused WWII and Holocoust.

Benito Mussolini

Fascist dictator of Italy (1922-1943). He led Italy to conquer Ethiopia (1935), joined Germany in the Axis pact (1936), and allied Italy with Germany in World War II. He was overthrown in 1943 when the Allies invaded Italy.

Totalitarianism

A form of government in which the ruler is an absolute dictator (not restricted by a constitution or laws or opposition etc.)

Fascism

A political system headed by a dictator that calls for extreme nationalism and racism and no tolerance of opposition

Tripartite Pact

Signed between the Axis powers in 1940 (Italy, Germany and Japan) where they pledged to help the others in the event of an attack by the US

Neutrality Acts

Originally designed to avoid American involvement in World War II by preventing loans to those countries taking part in the conflict; they were later modified in 1939 to allow aid to Great Britain and other Allied nations.

Neville Chamberlain

Great British prime minister who advocated peace and a policy of appeasement

Munich Pact

agreement made between Germany, Italy, Great Britain, and France in 1938 that sacrificed the Sudetenland to preserve peace

Nonaggression Pact

1939-Secret agreement between German leader Hitler and Soviet Leader Stalin not to attack one another and to divide Poland