AP US History-Unit 1 Notes

Progressive Era

• Goals of the progressive

  • Address the problems of industrialization, urbanization, immigration, and inequality

    • regulation of big business

    • democracy

    • Social justice

    • Environmental justice

• Problems in America, 1900s

  • low wages—> poverty! (no minimum wage)

  • over population= slums/tenements

  • unsafe working conditions

  • unsanitary food

  • child labor

  • discrimination (race/gender)

  • ineffective government

Notable People of the Progressive Era

• Muckrakers: Journalists who exposed social problems

  • Upton Sinclair: wrote “The Jungle”, exposed the meat factories

  • Jacob Riis: wrote “How the Other Half Lives”, which showed how poor people lived and how they were treated.

  • Ida Tarbell: exposed the poor business of the Rockefeller company

  • Carry Nation: led a movement called “temperance”- to ban alcohol

  • Susan B. Anthony: fought for women’s right to vote

  • Jane Addams: opened the “Hull House”, gave the homeless a home, and taught them skills with the intention they could get a job

  • W.E.B DuBois: leader of N.A.A.C.P, fought for African Americans

• Presidents

  • Theodore Roosevelt, 1901-1909: most influential president in U.S. history, a very hands-on “man of action”

    • creates modern-day America

    • wealthy family from New York

    • Sickly child

    • Republican Party

  • More Facts about Roosevelt:

    • fought in Spanish American war 1898

    • Joined the army- “rough riders”

    • became governor of NY

    • Vice Pres. to William McKinley

    • became president 1901

    • Supported women’s rights/child labor laws

  • Lincoln Steffen: known for uncovering social problems- “shame on the cities”

  • Foreign Policy- “Big Stick”

  • 1. Great White Fleet-create a large navy

  • 2. Roosevelt Corollary to Monroe Doctrine

  • 3. Nobel Peace Prize: crated a peace treaty for the Russia - Japanese War

  • 4. Panama Canal-shortcut to get to the other side of the ocean (largest construction project)

  • Roosevelt retires in 1908

  • passes the support onto his friend William Howard Taft

• William Howard Taft, 1909-1913

  • fails presidency

  • public does not like him because he’s not T.R

  • was a lawyer

  • becomes chief justice

• Successes

  • tariff board- to investigate tariffs

  • 16 amendment-income taxes (utilize money for improvements)

  • 17th Amendment-direct elections of senators

  • Arizona/New Mexico

• Failures

  • Backs all monopolies (too much trust busting)

  • Supported the square deal-forced to make unpopular decisions

  • Payne-Aldrich Tariff-highest tariff lowering the amount of goods, prices go up leads to inflation

  • Fired Griffon Pinchot- everyone turned against him, even T.R

    • He becomes really unpopular

• Woodrow Wilson, 1913-1921

  • Virginia/ New Jersey

  • Democrat

    • Accomplishments: “New Freedom Plan (Domestic Policy)

      • Lowers tariff rate

      • Clayton antitrust act-allowed “price cutting” and the tying of contracts

      • Child Labor Laws-prohibited employment of minors

      • Adamson Act-maximum 8-hour workday for railroad

        workers

      • 18th Amendment: ban alcohol from 1919-1933

      • The Federal Reserve Act: controlled the circulation of money in the U.S.

        • The reserve requirement: amount of money banks must keep

        • Discount Rate: loan payment % buying or selling bonds

• Progressive Terms

  • Direct Primary: an election in which citizens themselves vote to select nominees for upcoming elections

  • Referendum: allowed citizens to approve or reject laws passed by a legislature

  • Social Gospel: movement let by ministers who used religious doctrine to demand better housing and living conditions for poor urban communities

  • Recall: allowed voters to remove elected officials from office

  • Muller VS Oregon: upheld an Oregon law limiting the workday for females to ten hours

  • 19th Amendment: gave women the right to vote

  • 16 Amendment: permitted congress to levy an income ta

  • Square Deal: economic policy by Roosevelt that favored fair relationships between companies and workers

  • Meat Inspection Act: rules for sanitary meat packing and government inspection of meat

  • Pure food and Drug act: forbid the manufacture of mislabeled food or drugs

  • Conservation: preservation of natural resources for future generation

    • National Parks

      • Gifford Pinchot- chief…

    • Trust Busting

      • Monopoly (business that control everything in the economy): gets rid of competition—> raises prices. “Break up these trust”

      • Dept. of commerce and labor

    • Expedition Act: any court case with a monopoly gets expedited

  • 1902 Coal Strike: coal miners went on strike

    • Teddy Roosevelt got involved, sided with the workers

    • higher wages for workers

Imperialism and World War

• Imperialism- the process of creating an empire by colonization

  • time frame: 1850-1914

• United States Foreign Policy- 1890-1914

  • arguments for expansion

  • expand business interests

  • U.S. economy boomed, companies built overseas factories for new markets

    • why? Needed raw materials and stuff to sell

• Ethic Superiority-social Darwinism: whites are superior race, must spread superiority

  • spread Christianity- all nations should be Christian

  • Thought they were doing the right thing

• Military Interests: international competition for colonies would leave America behind

  • America wanted to keep up w/ the rest of the world

  • “Imperialism” began with “manifest destiny”

    • 1898 Spanish-American war

• The Great War

  • cost 30 billion

  • almost 9 million dead

World War I

• Causes of WWI

  • Long Term Causes:

    • industrialization

      • building lots of weapons

      • causing large armies

    • Imperialism

      • European countries competing for resources in Africa and Asia (except Russia)

    • Alliances: European nations locked together in political economic and military alliances

      • Triple Alliance: (Central Powers)-Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy (Italy switches sides in 1915)

      • Triple Entente: (Allies Power)- England, France, Russia, United States

    • International Anarchy (lack of government)

      • No world court—> no organization that aimed for keeping peace

    • Nationalism

      • Europe thought they were better than everyone else

  • Immediate Cause

    • The assignation of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

      • June 1914- him and his wife Sofia killed by assassin: Gavrilo Princip, was a Serbian who lived in Bosnia and wanted Bosnia to break away

      • Austria-Hungary blamed Serbia for the assassination and declared war on July 28, 1914

• Woodrow Wilson was president at the tie “he kept us out of war”

  • Why did America enter WWI?

    • 1. Sinking of Lusitania—> not and American ship

      • Germany used U-boats to sink the ship

        • British curse ship

        • many citizens died (innocent lives lost)

          • 128 Americans dies—> America becomes angry at Germany

    • 2. Zimmerman note: British spices discovered message Germany was sending to Mexico

      • Germany attempt to get Mexico to attack America

    • 3. German Unrestricted Submarine Welfare

      • Any boat that is not their own is going to get sunken

      • 4 American ships were blown up

• April 1917 U.S. declares war on the Central Powers

• New Technology of WW1

  • Airplane

  • Tanks

  • Submarines

  • hand grenades

  • flamethrowers

  • gas warfare

  • machine gun

  • trench warfare

• The Russian Revolution

  • TSAR Nicholas Romanov II (1894-1917)

    • poor leader (thought he was better than the Russian people)

    • Economic problems

    • disastrous wars-poor strategy

    • Working class rebellion

    • Romanov dynasty overthrown

    • Nicholas and his family captured and held in Serbia

• The Bolsheviks: communist

  • 1st communist government

  • Leader: Vladimir Lenin

  • took control from provincial Govt.

  • Russia becomes U.S.S.R/ Soviet Union

  • Brest-Litovsk Treaty: pulls Russia out of WWI

• July 1918- Lenin executed TSAR’s family

  • 1921-22 widespread famine

  • millions starve

  • people began to revolt against communism

  • Lenin savagely puts down rebellion

  • Lenin dies in 1923

  • Joseph Stalin took power

    • Kills 50 million of his own people

Final Stages of the Great War

• War Chronology

  • 1917 U.S. declare war

  • Bolshevik revolution pulls Russia out of war

  • Germans try to launch massive offensive before the U.S. can mobilize its Germans forces

    • Defeated by U.S./France/England

  • Austria-Hungary surrender on November 3,1918

  • Germany surrenders November 11, 1918

• Treaty of Versailles

  • Wilson’s peace plan, also included Lloyd George from England and Clemenceau from France

  • “The 14 Points”

    • Free Trade/Navigation of the seas

    • reduction of arms in all nations

    • grant citizens of colonies the right to declare their own government

    • League of Nations

      • congress does not like this!

      • strips them of their power

    • Germany take the blame for the war

      • gives up all colonies

      • army limited to 100,000 troops

      • limited amounts of weapons

      • forced to pay $32 billion dollars

    • Austria-Hungary dismantled

    • Russia loses land

      • they became communist and pulled out early

• Treaty of Versailles never passes in the United States

1920’s Era

• Warren Harding

  • 29th president

  • won the 1920 election

  • Vice President Calvin Coolidge

• Known as “Mr. Conservative”

  • wanted America to return to normal- “return to normalcy”

  • believed in a Laissez-faire government

    • meaning the government plays a lesser role in regulating business and managing the economy

  • Conservative Actions

    • cut taxes

    • established a Federal budget system, led to economic prosperity

    • restores the high protective tariff

    • imposed tight limitations upon immigration

    • he enabled Andrew Mellon for Secretary of treasure

      • to push through tax cuts for the rich

      • to stop antitrust actions

      • to oppose organized labor

• Ohio Gang

  • who were they? Corrupt Ohio politicians and industry leaders

  • Defrauded the government

  • some went to jail

• Teapot Dome Scandal

  • Illegal leasing of federal oil reserves

    • navy wanted coal burning to oil burning ships

    • Wilson and Taft granted oil Reserves in California and Wyoming to Navy

• Calvin Coolidge

  • “The business of America is business”

    • meaning America is too invested in social programs when our resources should be invested into the future businesses

  • Achievements

    • granted U.S. citizenship to all Native Americans born in the U.S.

    • National debt was lowered

    • taxes were lowered

    • economy soared, generating business profits and growth in stock market

  • Conservative

    • he was drawn to progressive political philosophy and policies during the early years of his presidency

      Laws Passed

  • Suppressed the KKK

  • Placed Oklahoma under Martial Law

  • Immigration act of 1924

  • Revenue Act of 1924

• Red Scare

  • immigrants from Europe and Russia came to the USA

  • Anyone who was an Anarchist, Leftist, or Communist were kicked from the country

  • Alexander Palmer: US general attorney was involved

  • debates on whether this was constitutional

  • raid criticized for violating civil right

  • Palmer mocked by press-Palmer looses credibility

  • Bolshevik revolution fuels fear of global communist takeover

  • Nicola Scco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were Italian immigrants and anarchists

    • 1920: convicted of murdering Alessandro Berardelli and Frederick Parmenter

    • Anti-immigrant and anti-anarchist bias shaped their trial

    • sentenced to death by electrocution

  • Nativism: the policy of protecting the interests of native born or established inhabitants against those of immigrants

  • immigrants were unjustly convicted because of the overwhelming nationalism in America

  • Red Scare sets stage for Cold War

• Prohibition of the 1920s

  • Volstead Act enforces 18th amendment

    • defined alcohol as an intoxicating beverage that contained more than 0.5% alcohol

  • Pharmacists could prescribe whiskey for medicinal purposes - 11 million whiskey prescriptions during 1920’s

  • Bootlegging

    • illegal manufacturing and smuggling of drugs and alcohol

      Speakeasy-illegal nightclubs were smuggled alcohol was served

  • Al-Capone

    • Nicknamed “Scarface” he was an American gangster and businessman

    • co-founder of the Chicago outfit (Italian-American mafia) from 1925-1931

    • Untouchables- U.S. Agents led by Eliot Ness to stop Al-Capone and his gang

      • caught Capone in 1933 and imprisoned him

  • 21st Amendment: the amendment repealed the 18th amendment

• Jazz Age

  • The radio become America’s new favorite pastime

  • April 11, 1921, first event to be broadcasted on radio was a boxing match

  • Famous Musicians

    • Louis Armstrong

    • Duke Ellington

    • Bessie Smith

  • Originate?

    • black American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, developing from blues and ragtime

    • Vibrant rebellious and a symbol of youth and freedom, significant to the nightlife in the “Roaring Twenties”

  • Speakeasies emerged, so people could drink and enjoy jazz music

  • The Jazz age helped women embrace their freedom and pushed for political and social rights, when providing jobs to women as performers

  • Flappers: bold young women in the Jazz Age known for their energetic dances

  • The Jazz Age ended with the stock market crash of 1929

• Women in 1920’s

  • expectations: take care of home, husband, and children

  • New Technology changing housework like Vacuum cleaners and Electric Mixer

  • Jobs Available to Women

    • factory worker

    • teacher

    • dressmaker

    • typist

  • Women in WWI

    • took on motherly roles

    • were heavily depended on

    • worked for the good of the country

      • nurses/doctors

      • seamstress’s

      • cooks

    • women were respected because of this and granted of their rights they had fought for as well as opportunity that they had been working towards

  • First birth control clinic opened on October 16, 1916, by Margaret Sanger

    • deemed illegal and was raided

  • Jeannette Rankin: first women elected to congress as a member of the House of Representatives

• Automobiles

  • by the 1920s many people owned cars and made them the central point of their daily lives

  • cost about $300

  • car prices started to decrease due to manufacturing of cars increasing

  • Ford’s Model T: most popular car, known for their durability and how affordable it was

  • Henry Ford changed the way of life for many people because he made cars more affordable and practical

  • Influenced America in a lot of ways like

    • more jobs

    • development of roads and highways caused cities to expand

    • boosted industries like: oil, steel, and lubber which helped the economy grow

    • improved trade by making it easier and faster to transport goods

    • gave women a lot of freedom and independence

• Harlem Renaissance

  • Jim crow laws enforced segregation

  • rise of KKK and racial violence

  • Why was the Harlem Renaissance Necessary:

    • to counter stereotypes and fight for equality

    • to provide a platform for African American artists

    • Langston Hughes: Poet, Activist, cultural leader

      • his poetry expressed African American struggles and joy

• Scopes Monkey Trail

  • Roaring 20s led to rapid cultural changes, southerners were opposed if this newfound change led to a rise of religious fundamentalism

  • Darwinism vs Creationism

    • Darwinism: believes all living things evolved from previous organisms

    • Creationism: taken from the bible, believed god made the world in 6 days

  • Butler Act: illegal to teach any theory that denied the biblical story of creation, specifically evolution

  • John Scopes: teacher who taught evolution

    • got charged for violating “Butler act” and fined $100

  • continued the anti-evolution movement

  • controversy of teaching evolution has continued

• Show Biz in the 1920s

  • new movie theater for big time movies

    • made tons of money

  • Charles Lindbergh: made first nonstop flight from NYC to Paris

  • Charlie Chaplin: Actor, known for his character “The Tramp”

  • Clara Bow: Actress, 46 silent films, leading sex symbol

  • Babe Ruth: popularized baseball

  • F. Scott Fitzgerald: writer known for his short stories