U.S Modern history

U.S. Domestic Policies and Movements

• Progressive Era & Pre-Great Depression:

  • Panama Canal – Built during Theodore Roosevelt's presidency; vital for international trade.

  • Roosevelt Corollary – Addition to the Monroe Doctrine, justifying U.S. intervention in Latin America.

  • Equal Rights Amendment – Proposed to guarantee gender equality but never ratified.

  • Jazz & Harlem Renaissance – Cultural explosion among African Americans during the 1920s.

• Great Depression and the New Deal:

  • First Phase of the New Deal – Relief, Recovery, and Reform programs (e.g., CCC, AAA, NRA).

  • Second Phase of the New Deal – Social reforms like the Social Security Act and NLRA.

  • Huey Long & Dr. Francis Townsend – Critics of the New Deal, with Townsend advocating pensions for the elderly.

  • Indian Reorganization Act – Reversed assimilation policies, promoting Native American self-governance.

• U.S. Foreign Policy and Wars

  • World War I:

    • Woodrow Wilson – Advocated neutrality but entered WWI in 1917.

    • Lusitania & Zimmerman Telegram – Events pushing the U.S. into WWI.

    • Committee on Public Information – Promoted U.S. war efforts through propaganda.

    • Espionage and Sedition Acts – Limited dissent during WWI.

    • Fourteen Points & Treaty of Versailles – Wilson’s plan for peace; the treaty ended WWI but wasn’t fully embraced by the U.S.

  • Interwar Period:

    • Red Scare – Fear of communism after WWI.

    • Appeasement – Policies toward Germany before WWII.

    • Marcus Garvey – Advocated Black pride and return to Africa.

    • National Origins Act – Restricted immigration quotas.

  • World War II:

    • December 7, 1941 – Pearl Harbor attack leading to U.S. entry into WWII.

    • Lend-Lease Act – Provided military aid to Allies before direct U.S. involvement.

    • WACS & Code Talkers – Women and Indigenous contributions to the war effort.

    • Executive Order 9066 – Internment of Japanese Americans.

    • Double V Campaign & Tuskegee Airmen – African American efforts for equality and victory abroad.

    • Hiroshima and Nagasaki – Atomic bombings that ended WWII.

    • Social and Political Scandals

      • Scopes Trial – Clash between science and religion over teaching evolution.

      • Sacco and Vanzetti – Controversial trial highlighting xenophobia.

      • Teapot Dome Scandal – Major government corruption during Harding’s presidency.

      • Ku Klux Klan – Re-emergence in the 1920s promoting racism and nativism.

Notable Figures

• Presidents & Leaders:

  • Herbert Hoover – President at the start of the Great Depression.

  • Franklin & Eleanor Roosevelt – New Deal architect and activist First Lady.

• Movements:

  • Bonus Army – Veterans demanding payments during the Great Depression.

  • Black Cabinet – African American advisers to FDR.