USHistory Final Study Guide M. Sanchez

Reconstruction Era

The period post-Civil War focused on rebuilding the US, especially the South, and integrating freed slaves into society.

13th Amendment

Abolished slavery in the United States, freeing all slaves.

14th Amendment

Granted citizenship to all born or naturalized in the US, ensuring equal protection under the law.

15th Amendment

Prohibited denial of voting rights based on race, color, or previous servitude.

Freedmen’s Bureau

Federal agency aiding freed slaves in the South post-Civil War with resources like food, housing, and education.

Significance of Freedman’s Bureau

Help former slaves (give resources and help them back into society) (houses, education, aid…)

Carpetbaggers

Northerners moving to the South during Reconstruction for economic gain or to aid in rebuilding.

Significance of Carpetbaggers

Economic opportunities (northerners moved south to take advantage of the damage in the south)

Scalawags

Southern whites supporting Reconstruction and the Republican Party post-Civil War.

Significance of Scalawags

Scalawags were particularly hated by Southern Democrats, who called Scalawags traitors to their region

Muckrakers

Exposed corruption - journalists/writers and photographers who claimed to expose corruption (propaganda)

Black Codes

Laws in the South post-Civil War restricting rights of freed African Americans.

Sharecropping

System where freedmen and poor whites worked on others' land for a share of crops.

Significance of Sharecropping

Very difficult for them to leave (still kind of enslaved). These people were constantly in debt. Better off working on the land for necessities

Yellow Journalism

Journalist luring in people to buy the paper by using blown out headlines

Abraham Lincoln's 10% Plan

Reconstruction plan allowing a state back into the Union with 10% voter allegiance.

Significance of 10% Plan

Radical Republican plan stricter than Abraham Lincoln’s plan, thought is was too “leniet“; The plan offered amnesty to Confederates who swore an oath of loyalty to the United States.

Abolitionist

Advocates for ending slavery.

The Main Goal of the Reconstruction Era

To rebuild the South, integrate freed slaves into society, and ensure their civil rights

Emancipation Proclamation

Lincoln's order freeing slaves in Confederate states.

Significance of the Emancipation Proclamation

To declare all slaves in confederate states to be free

19th Amendment

Granted women the right to vote in the United States

Industrialization

Development of industries on a large scale in a country or region.

Nativist Movements

Movements limiting immigration to protect native-born citizens' interests.

Significance of Nativist Movement

Due to a lot of people from other places coming in and taking jobs there started to be a lot of competition and that is why the nativist movement started

Second Industrial Revolution

Period of rapid industrial growth and innovation in steel, electricity, and chemicals.

Impact of Second Industrial Revolution

Led to urbanization, economic growth, and significant social changes, including improved transportation and communication.

Homestead Strike

An industrial strike at the Homestead Steel Works in Pennsylvania, which resulted in a violent conflict between workers and private security.

Significance of Homestead Strike

It started because the government stepped in to help the private security and not the workers. This led to conflict between workers and private security.

Effects of child labor

Children had limited education, were exploited, and led to physical and psychological harm

Gilded Age in America

FACTORIES, RAIL ROADS, and COAL MINING. A period marked by rapid economic growth, political corruption, and stark social inequalities

What was made during the gilded age

steel, oil, telephone, and lightbulbs

Chinese Exclusion Act

Federal law that prohibited the immigration of Chinese laborers

Social Darwinism

The application of Darwin's theory of natural selection to human society, used to justify political conservatism, imperialism, and racism.

What was Darwinism used for

competition on who's stronger and better. Before that it was based on economics.

Causes of WWI

Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, and Nationalism

US involvement in WWI

The US entered the war in 1917 helping the Allies

Zimmerman Telegram

A secret communication from Germany to Mexico asking for an alliance against the United Sates

Good Neighbor Policy

FDR’s foreign policy initiative aimed at improving relations with Latin American countries

New Deal

a series of programs and reforms introduced by President FDR to combat the Great Depression

Franklin D. Roosevelt

32nd president of the US who led the country through the Great Depression and WWII

Stock Market Crash

The collapse of the stock market, which marked the beginning of the Great Depression

Harlem Renaissance

A cultural, social, and artistic movement centered in Harlem, New York, celebrating African American culture

Great Migration

Movement of African Americans from the South to urban areas in the North and West.

Buying on Margin

Purchasing stock with borrowed money, contributing to the stock market crash when prices fell

Flappers

Young women in the 1920s defying traditional norms with fashion and behavior.

Teapot Dome Scandal

Bribery scandal involving the Secretary of the Interior and oil companies in the Harding administration.

Banana Wars

US military intervention in Central America and the Caribbean to protect American commercial interests

Diplomatic Policy of Appeasement

The policy of making concessions to dictatorial powers to avoid conflict, most notably used by Britain and France towards Nazi Germany

Hideki Tojo

Prime Minister of Japan during most of WWII, responsible for many military decisions

Benito Mussolini

Fascist leader of Italy during WWII

Battle of Midway

A naval battle in the Pacific Theater that turned the tide in favor for the Allies

Treaty of Versailles

Peace treaty that ended WWI, but created harsh punishment for Germany

Stalingrad

Major battle on the eastern front of WWII marking a turning point with a Soviet victory over Nazi Germany

Battle of Britain

European theatre A major air campaign fought over the UK, where the Royal Air Force defended against the German Luftwaffe

Pearl Harbor

Surprise Japanese attack on the US naval base in Hawaii, leading to US entry into WWII.

Purpose of the Lend-Lease Act

Allowed the US to supply Allied powers with war materials while remaining neutral

Japanese Interment Camps

Forced relocation of Japanese Americans during WWII in order to prevent espionage

Anti-Semitism

prejudice against, hatred of, or discrimination against Jews

Holocaust

The Holocaust was led by Hitler, the Nazi leader of Germany during WWII. It started with Kristallnacht, the "Night of Broken Glass," when Nazis attacked Jews across Germany. This marked the beginning of a campaign to exterminate Jews. In 1942, Hitler's "Final Solution" aimed to kill all Jews in Europe. Jews were taken to concentration camps where they were forced to work or were killed

What was the Cold War

A period of geopolitical tension between the Soviet Union and the United States, and their respective allies after WWII

Soviet Union Occupation after WWII

The USSR had created communist governments in eastern european countries leading to the division with western democracies

NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)

A military alliance formed in 1949 between North American and European countries to counter Soviet influence

Warsaw Pact

A military alliance of communist nation in Eastern Europe organized in response to NATO

Goal of Truman Doctrine

To contain the spread of communism by providing political, military, and economic assistance to threatened nations

Focus of Marshall Plan

To rebuild war-torn Europe, promote economic recovery, and prevent the spread of communism by providing financial aid

Proxy Wars

Mini wars that were during the cold war between other opposing countries while the US and Soviets had supported opposing sides instead of being directly involved

Major Cold War Conflicts

Korean War, Vietnam War, Cuban Missile Crisis, Soviet-Afghan War.

Ho Chi Minh

Leader of North Vietnam and the communist movement during the Vietnam War

Domino Theory

The belief that the fall of one country to communism would lead to the spread of communism to neighboring countries.