APUSH flashcards

How did maize impact Natives?

Cultivation occurred in Mexico - led to permanent civilizations

What was Native life like in the Great Plains and Great Basin?

Largely mobile (nomadic) - climate was arid

What was Native life like in the Northeast and Mississippi River Valley?

Mixed agricultural and hunter-gatherer societies -\> permanent villages

What was Native life like in the Northwest and CA?

Hunting and gathering, some communities were supported by resources of the ocean

What were reasons for European exploration?

3 G's - Gold (wealth), Glory (military competition), and God (spread Christianity)

What was the impact of the Columbian Exchange on Europe?

New crops from the Americas (potatoes, maize) led to an increase in population, new wealth (gold and silver)

What were technological reasons for European exploration?

Improvements in maritime technology (sextant and caravel)

What was the impact of Spanish conquest on the Americas?

Widespread deadly epidemics (smallpox, measles, etc) - devastated Native populations; introduction of horses and cattle - horses increased movement and made hunting easier

What was the purpose of the Encomienda System?

Using Native labor on plantations and mines - Natives were converted to Christianity. Later replaced by African Slavery

What was the impact of the Spanish Caste System?

Incorporated the diverse population (Africans, Natives, Europeans) and limited social mobility

How were Natives often viewed by many Europeans?

As uncivilized

Why 1980 - Present was chosen as the dates for period 9

1980 \= election of Ronald Reagan, conservative movement through present day (including war on terrorism)

Foreign Policy "failures"

Helped lead to public distrust in government; example is Iran Hostage Crisis

Taxation and deregulation as victories for conservatives

Tax rates decreased under Ronald Reagan and government regulation of businesses decreased as well

Denouncing "Big Government"

Reagan criticized the growth of the federal government over the previous years (Great Society)

Reagan Administration

Elected in 1980, focused on denouncing "Big Government", decreasing taxes, increased military spending

Mikhail Gorbachev

Soviet leader that saw improved relations with Reagan, instituted glasnost and perestroika which helped lead to the downfall of the Soviet Union

Bellicose Rhetoric

Early in his administration, Reagan used aggressive words towards the Soviet Union: "Evil Empire"

9/11 Attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon

Led to the war in Afghanistan, increased US involvement in the Middle East

Conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq

Afghanistan - response to 9/11; Iraq - concerns over WMDs and terrorism (no WMDs were found); both resulted in prolonged wars

War on terrorism

Response to 9/11, US would actively fight terrorism throughout the world

Free Trade Agreements

Goal is to increase trade among countries by reducing tariffs (NAFTA - no tariffs between US, Canada, and Mexico)

Concerns Over Climate Change

Continuing of the environmental movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Debates over sources of energy

Why 1945 - 1980 was chosen as the dates for period 8

1945 \= End of WWI/Beginning of the Cold War; 1980 \= election of Ronald Reagan, conservative movement

Containment

Coined by George Kennan; urged the US to keep communism from spreading (Contain communism)

Korean War

Example of Containment; US sided with South Korea against communist North Korea; some minor domestic opposition to the war

Military-Industrial Complex

Eisenhower warned of a drastic military buildup in his farewell address

Baby Boom

Post WWII drastic increase in births in the US (1946 - 1964); led to future issues with Social Security

Suburbanization

More and more Americans moved to suburbs after WWII (cars, Interstate Highway System, Levittown)

Civil Rights Activists

Used various techniques (sit-ins, legal challenges, etc.); post-1965, debates emerged over the proper role of activists

Brown v. Board of Education

1954 Supreme Court Case that ruled separate facilities based on race inherently unequal. Reversed Plessy v. Ferguson

Sunbelt

VA to FL, extending to CA; saw a large population increase after WWII and rise of key industries

Great Society

LBJ's platform; increased the size and involvement of the government in society. Extension of New Deal programs and Civil Rights (24th amendment, Civil Rights Act of 1964.)

Immigration Laws of 1965

Reversed discriminatory quotas acts from the 1920s; favored immigrants from Latin America and Asia

Vietnam War

US aided the South (non-communist); led to sizeable, passionate, and sometimes violent protests, especially as the war went on

Counterculture

"Hippies" - protested Vietnam War; rejected many ideas of their parents' generation; used marijuana; helped start a sexual revolution

Détente

Easing of Cold War tensions between the US and Soviet Union (Examples include: SALT I and Salt II)

Environmental Problems

Brought to the attention of the public by Rachel Carson and Silent Spring; helped lead to the creation of the EPA and Clean Air Act

Why 1890 - 1945 was chosen as the dates for period 7

1890 begins with the "closing" of the frontier and 1945 marks the end of WWII

"Closing" of the Frontier

Frederick Jackson Turner's Frontier Thesis argued the frontier was "closed." Led many Americans to call for overseas expansion

Progressive Era

1890 - 1920, Progressives tended to be women, middle class, and live in urban areas. Progressives sought to use government influence to solve societal problems.

Transition from Rural to Urban Society

US society adjusted as more people moved to cities - 1920 census - more people live in cities than rural areas

Harlem Renaissance

Celebration of African American culture through music, poetry, and writing. Key people - Langston Hughes, Claude Monet, Zora Neale Hurston

World War I

US entrance in 1917. US played a relatively minor role in the war, but large role in postwar negotiations.

Treaty of Versailles and League of Nations

Treaty that ended WWI; League led to debates over the role of the US in the world; ultimately, the US did NOT join the League

Great Migration

Mass movement of African Americans from the South to the North during WWI for economic opportunities

Red Scare

Fear of Communism after WWI, caused by: Russian Revolution, labor strikes post WWI, nativism; led to a crackdown on immigrants and radicals (suppression of rights)

Restrictive Immigration Quotas

1921 and 1924 acts that severely limited immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe ("New immigrants")

Great Depression

Worst financial crisis in US history, led to calls for the creation of a stronger financial regulatory system

New Deal

Drew on ideas from the Progressive Era, sought to address causes of the Depression; faced opposition by the left and right; left a legacy of reforms that are still around today

World War II

US remained neutral until Pearl Harbor; US and Allies won due to: political and military cooperation, industrial production, and scientific advancements; US emerged as a world power

Japanese Internment

Japanese and Japanese Americans were placed in camps beginning in 1942; upheld by Korematsu v. US

Decision to drop the atomic bombs on Japan

Many reasons - save American lives, end the war quickly, etc.; raised questions about American values

Why 1865 - 1898 was chosen as the dates for period 6

1865 begins with the end of the Civil War and 1898 marks the beginning of the Spanish-American War

Gilded Age

Coin termed by Mark Twain; period from 1870s - 1890s, businesses grew at a rapid rate and many problems lied below perceived prosperity

Social Darwinism

Charles Darwin's ideas applied to humans, "survival of the fittest." Used by wealthy to justify their position in life

Labor Unions

Knights of Labor - skilled and unskilled; AFL - skilled labor only; sought to improve working conditions and increase pay

"New South"

Idea that the south should industrialize after the Civil War. Despite calls for industrialization, sharecropping and tenant farming persisted in the South

Sharecropping

Persisted in the South (especially for African Americans.) They had to give a share of their crops to plantation owners. Way for southerners to get around the 13th amendment.

Mechanized Agriculture

Using machines in farming to increase farm production; displaced many farmers; farmers created organizations to resist corporate power (Grange)

People's (Populist) Party

Created in response to the growth of corporate power; called for political reform (election of senators, secret ballot) and increased government involvement in economy

Political Machines

Appealed to immigrants and urban poor; provided services in exchange for support. Think Boss Tweed and Tammany Hall

Settlement Houses (Notably Jane Addams' Hull House)

Helped immigrants adjust to American life. Focused on providing education and other skills for women, immigrants, and children

Decimation of the buffalo

Buffalo almost became extinct due to westward expansion and over hunting of buffalo (buffalo hide); impacted Native Americans

Plessy v. Ferguson

Established the doctrine of "separate but equal." Upheld Jim Crow laws in the South, led to increased discrimination against African Americans; later overturned by Brown v. Board.

Social Gospel

Protestant Church Movement that sought to improve the conditions of cities

Assimilation of Native Americans

Process of making Natives "American"; Dawes Act - assimilated through cutting hair, changing tribal identities, providing individual land plots

What were reasons for westward migration? (Manifest Destiny)

Access to natural and mineral resources, economic opportunities for settlers, religious refuge (Mormons).

What were arguments to annex western lands?

Manifest Destiny and American institutions (democracy).

What were the impacts of the US acquiring the Mexican Cession?

Debates over the status of slavery (Wilmot Proviso), Native Americans, and Mexicans in the newly acquired land.

How did the government encourage westward migration?

Passing new legislation (think Homestead Act) encouraging settlers to move west, government gave land and subsidies to RR companies.

What was the goal of the Nativist movement?

It was especially Anti-Catholic. The nativists hoped to limit the power and cultural influence of the immigrants (Irish and Germans).

What was the free soil movement?

Sought to keep slavery from expanding into newly acquired territories.

What were ways abolitionists campaigned against slavery?

Moral arguments (think William Lloyd Garrison), assisting slaves' escapes (think Underground RR), using violence (think Bleeding-Kansas and Harpers Ferry).

How did the South justify and defend slavery?

They claimed slavery was a positive good (John C. Calhoun).

What was the Compromise of 1850?

Dealt with the Mexican Cession - popular sovereignty would be used in the territory, slave trade was banned in Washington D.C., California was added as a free state, a more strict fugitive slave law was created.

What was the Kansas-Nebraska Act?

Overturned the MO Compromise - introduced popular sovereignty in Kansas and Nebraska. Helped lead to the creation of the Republican Party.

What did the Supreme Court rule in Dred Scott v. Sanford?

Slaves were property, not citizens; Congress could NOT legislate slavery in the territories.

What did Lincoln campaign on in the election of 1860?

A free soil platform - non extension of slavery

What was a result of the election of 1860?

South Carolina seceded from the union, with other states following afterwards.

How did Lincoln's views towards the war change over time?

Lincoln viewed the war initially as preserving the union, but eventually sought to end slavery -\> Emancipation Proclamation and Gettysburg Address.

Why did the Union ultimately prevail in the Civil War?

Improvements in leadership and strategy (Grant and the "Anaconda Plan"), Key Victories - Gettysburg, Antietam, Greater resources - more factories and RRs, the South's infrastructure was destroyed.

What did the 13 - 15 amendments do?

13 - abolished slavery
14 - granted citizenship and equal protection
15 - universal adult male suffrage

Why did the 15 amendment split the women's rights movement?

Some women advocated suffrage be extended to women as well as African American males.

Why did Reconstruction end?

Compromise of 1877 withdrew troops from the South; The North's WANING resolve led to many in the North to no longer support Reconstruction.

What is sharecropping?

Renting of land to former slaves - limited economic opportunities to former slaves and poor whites in the south.

What were ways the South resisted the 14th and 15th amendments? (Great Short Answer Question if you ask me)

Segregation - Jim Crow laws
Violence - KKK an White League
Supreme Court Decisions - Plessy v. Ferguson ("Separate but equal")
Local political tactics - poll taxes, literacy tests, and grandfather clauses

What issues did the political parties debate over in the early 1800s? (Federalists and Democratic-Republicans)

Tariffs, power of the federal government, relations with European powers (France and England)

What did Supreme Court decisions determine in the early 1800s? (Under John Marshall)

The primacy of the judiciary in determining the meaning of the Constitution (think judicial review) and giving federal laws power over state governments (think Gibbons v. Ogden and McCulloch v. Maryland)

What did Whigs and Democrats disagree over?

Role and powers of the federal government, National Bank, tariffs, federally funded internal improvements (Think Henry Clay's American System)

What helped decide a politicians beliefs/stance on slavery and economic policy?

The region they lived it. Regional interests often trumped national concerns.

What was the impact of the Second Great Awakening?

Moral and social reforms (think abolitionism, women's rights, temperance, etc.)

How did enslaved and free blacks seek to change their status?

Joined political efforts and they employed strategies to protect their dignity and family structures.

What was the Seneca Falls Convention?

Women's Rights convention that sought greater equality (attended by men too such as Frederick Douglass)

What were new innovations during the Market Revolution?

Textile machinery (spinning jenny), steam engines, interchangeable parts (Eli Whitney), telegraph, and agricultural inventions (cotton gin - Whitney again)

What regions were closely linked as a result of the Market Revolution?

North and Midwest (most of the internal improvements occurred there too)

How did the production of goods change during the Market Revolution?

Goods were increasingly made outside the home. Women and men began working in factories.

Where did international immigrants settle during this time? (Think Old Immigration - Germany and Ireland)

Irish settled in northern cities, Germans settled on the frontier - worked as farmers (CINCINNATI!)

What was the American System?

Henry Clay!'s plan to unify the American economy. Focused on a 2nd BUS, Internal Improvements, and Tariffs. The north and midwest benefitted more than the south.

What was the Monroe Doctrine?

President Monroe's message to Europe to NOT colonize any new land in Latin America. The US would stay out of European affairs.