Period 6 and 7 documents APUSH and more

Period 6 (1865-1898)

• Homestead Act (1862) – Encouraged westward expansion by providing land to settlers.

• Transcontinental Railroad (1869) – Connected the east and west, fueling economic growth.

• Dawes Act (1887) – Attempted to assimilate Native Americans by allotting land to individuals.

• Interstate Commerce Act (1887) – Regulated railroad rates, marking a shift toward government regulation.

• Sherman Antitrust Act (1890) – First federal attempt to curb monopolies and trusts.

• Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) – Upheld racial segregation under “separate but equal” doctrine.

• Pendleton Civil Service Act (1883) – Introduced merit-based hiring for government jobs.

• Chinese Exclusion Act (1882) – Banned Chinese immigration, reflecting nativist attitudes.

Period 7 (1890-1945)

Progressive Era (1890s-1920)

• Pure Food and Drug Act (1906) – Created FDA to regulate food and medicine.

• Meat Inspection Act (1906) – Established sanitary standards in meatpacking.

• Federal Reserve Act (1913) – Created a central banking system.

• Clayton Antitrust Act (1914) – Strengthened antitrust laws to prevent monopolies.

• Keating-Owen Act (1916) – Attempted (but later overturned) to regulate child labor.

• 19th Amendment (1920) – Gave women the right to vote.

Imperialism & Foreign Policy (1898-1917)

• Spanish-American War (1898) – U.S. gains control over Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines.

• Platt Amendment (1901) – Gave the U.S. control over Cuba’s foreign policy.

• Roosevelt Corollary (1904) – Expanded the Monroe Doctrine, justifying U.S. intervention in Latin America.

• Open Door Policy (1899-1900) – Ensured U.S. access to Chinese markets.

World War I & Aftermath (1914-1929)

• Espionage Act (1917) & Sedition Act (1918) – Restricted free speech during wartime.

• 14 Points (1918) – Wilson’s proposal for peace and the League of Nations.

• Treaty of Versailles (1919) – Ended WWI but failed to get U.S. Senate approval.

• Red Scare (1919-1920) – Led to immigration restrictions and the Palmer Raids.

1920s (1920-1941)

• 18th Amendment (1919) – Prohibition (repealed by the 21st Amendment in 1933).

Important Progressive Reformers & Movements:

• Muckrakers: Investigative journalists who exposed corruption and social issues.

  • Upton Sinclair: The Jungle (1906) → Led to the Meat Inspection Act & Pure Food and Drug Act.

  • Ida Tarbell: The History of Standard Oil → Exposed Rockefeller’s monopoly.

  • Jacob Riis: How the Other Half Lives → Highlighted urban poverty.

• Government Reforms:

  • Direct primary elections: Let citizens choose party candidates.

  • Initiative, Referendum, Recall: Gave voters more power in lawmaking.

  • 17th Amendment (1913): Direct election of U.S. Senators.

• Labor & Economic Reforms:

  • Clayton Antitrust Act (1914): Strengthened laws against monopolies.

  • Federal Reserve Act (1913): Created a central banking system.

  • Workers’ Rights: Child labor laws, 8-hour workday, workplace safety regulations.

• Women’s Suffrage Movement:

  • 19th Amendment (1920): Gave women the right to vote.

  • Leaders: Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Alice Paul.

• Prohibition Movement:

  • 18th Amendment (1919): Banned alcohol production and sale (later repealed by the 21st Amendment in 1933).

Major Events of U.S. Imperialism:

• Hawaiian Annexation (1898): Overthrew Queen Liliʻuokalani to gain control of sugar plantations.

• Spanish-American War (1898):

  • Causes: Sinking of USS Maine, yellow journalism, U.S. sympathy for Cuban rebels.

  • Results: Treaty of Paris (1898) → U.S. gained Puerto Rico, Guam, Philippines, and influence over Cuba.

  • Philippine-American War (1899-1902): Filipino resistance against U.S. rule; led by Emilio Aguinaldo.

• Open Door Policy (1899): U.S. promoted equal trade in China to counter European spheres of influence.

• Roosevelt Corollary (1904): Expanded the Monroe Doctrine → U.S. would intervene in Latin America to maintain stability.

• Panama Canal (Completed 1914): U.S. supported Panama’s independence from Colombia in exchange for canal construction rights.

Causes of U.S. Entry into WWI:

1. Unrestricted Submarine Warfare: Germany sank American ships (e.g., Lusitania in 1915).

2. Zimmermann Telegram (1917): Germany proposed a military alliance with Mexico against the U.S.

3. Economic Ties: U.S. had strong trade and financial investments with the Allies.

4. "Make the World Safe for Democracy": Wilson justified entering the war as a fight for democracy.

Major Effects of U.S. Involvement in WWI:

• Mobilization:

  • Selective Service Act (1917): Drafted 3 million men.

  • War Industries Board: Regulated production and prices.

  • Committee on Public Information: Used propaganda to promote support for the war.

• Espionage Act (1917) & Sedition Act (1918): Suppressed anti-war speech and criticism of the government (upheld in Schenck v. U.S.).

• Women & Minorities in WWI:

  • Women took on factory jobs → Strengthened case for suffrage.

  • Great Migration: Thousands of Black Americans moved North for factory jobs.

Wilson’s Fourteen Points & Treaty of Versailles (1919):

• Fourteen Points: Wilson’s vision for post-war peace (self-determination, free trade, League of Nations).

• Treaty of Versailles (1919):

  • Germany was punished (war guilt clause, reparations, demilitarization).

  • Created League of Nations, but the U.S. did not join due to opposition from isolationists in Congress.

After WWI, the U.S. experienced political, social, and cultural changes.

Key Trends of the 1920s:

1. Return to Isolationism:

   • U.S. rejected the Treaty of Versailles.

   • Limited foreign involvement and focused on domestic issues.

2. Red Scare (1919-1920):

   • Fear of communism after the Russian Revolution.

   • Palmer Raids: Arrest of suspected radicals and immigrants.

3. Immigration Restrictions:

   • National Origins Act (1924): Limited immigration from Southern & Eastern Europe.

4. Economic Boom:

   • Mass production, consumerism, and rise of the automobile (Henry Ford’s Model T).

5. Cultural Shifts:

   • Harlem Renaissance: Flourishing of Black art, music (jazz), and literature.

   • Women’s Liberation: Flappers, increased workforce participation.

   • Prohibition (1920-1933): Rise of speakeasies and organized crime (Al Capone).

Period 4 (1800-1848) – The Rise of Democracy & Market Revolution

1. The Revolution of 1800 & Jeffersonian Democracy

• Election of 1800: Thomas Jefferson (Democratic-Republican) defeated John Adams (Federalist). First peaceful transfer of power.

• Louisiana Purchase (1803): Doubled U.S. territory; Jefferson used loose construction of the Constitution.

• Marbury v. Madison (1803): Established judicial review (Supreme Court can declare laws unconstitutional).

• Embargo Act (1807): Stopped trade with Britain & France but hurt U.S. economy.

2. The War of 1812 & Nationalism

• Causes: British impressment of U.S. sailors, trade restrictions, Native American conflicts.

• Key Battles: Battle of New Orleans (1815, Andrew Jackson’s victory).

• Effects:

  • U.S. nationalism surged.

  • Hartford Convention (1814): Federalists opposed war → Federalist Party collapsed.

  • U.S. economy shifted toward industrialization.

3. The Market Revolution (1820s-1840s)

• Transportation Revolution: Roads, canals (Erie Canal, 1825), railroads.

• Industrialization: Factory system (Lowell Mills), mechanization (cotton gin).

• Immigration Boom: Irish (potato famine) & Germans.

• Labor Movements: Early strikes, child labor issues.

• Social Change: Women worked outside the home (cult of domesticity still strong).

4. The Age of Jackson (1828-1840s)

• Election of 1828: Andrew Jackson (Democratic Party) won on a populist platform.

• Jacksonian Democracy: Expanded suffrage to all white men, not just property owners.

• Nullification Crisis (1832-1833): South Carolina opposed tariffs; Jackson threatened military force.

• Indian Removal Act (1830): Led to Trail of Tears (forced migration of Cherokee).

• Bank War: Jackson killed the National Bank, leading to the Panic of 1837.

5. Second Great Awakening & Reform Movements

• Religious Revival: Emphasized salvation through faith & good works.

• Abolitionism: William Lloyd Garrison (The Liberator), Frederick Douglass.

• Women’s Rights: Seneca Falls Convention (1848), Declaration of Sentiments.

• Education Reform: Horace Mann pushed for public schooling.

Period 5 (1844-1877) – Manifest Destiny, Civil War, and Reconstruction

1. Manifest Destiny & Westward Expansion (1840s-1850s)

• Texas Annexation (1845): Led to tensions with Mexico.

• Mexican-American War (1846-1848): U.S. won, gained California & Southwest (Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo).

• Compromise of 1850: California = Free state, stricter Fugitive Slave Law.

• Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854): Allowed popular sovereignty → "Bleeding Kansas" violence.

• Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857): Supreme Court ruled that African Americans were not citizens.

2. The Civil War (1861-1865)

• Causes:

  • Expansion of slavery into new territories.

  • Lincoln’s election (1860).

  • Secession of Southern states → Confederate States of America formed.

• Key Events:

  • Emancipation Proclamation (1863): Freed enslaved people in Confederate states.

  • Gettysburg (1863): Turning point; Union victory.

  • Sherman’s March to the Sea (1864): Total war tactics devastated the South.

• Effects:

  • Union Victory (1865): South surrendered at Appomattox Court House.

  • 13th Amendment (1865): Abolished slavery.

3. Reconstruction (1865-1877)

• Presidential vs. Radical Reconstruction:

  • Lincoln & Johnson = lenient plans for South.

  • Radical Republicans = strict policies, military occupation of South.

• 14th Amendment (1868): Gave African Americans citizenship.

• 15th Amendment (1870): Gave African American men voting rights.

• Rise of the KKK & Black Codes: Southern resistance to Reconstruction.

• Compromise of 1877: Ended Reconstruction; federal troops left South. Jim Crow laws followed.

Period 6 (1865-1898) – The Gilded Age: Industrialization & Inequality

1. The Rise of Big Business & Industrialization

• Captains of Industry vs. Robber Barons:

  • John D. Rockefeller (oil), Andrew Carnegie (steel), J.P. Morgan (finance).

• Monopolies & Trusts: Companies controlled entire industries (Standard Oil).

• Laissez-Faire Capitalism: Minimal government interference.

• Social Darwinism: Justified wealth disparity.

2. Urbanization & Immigration

• New Immigrants (1880-1920): Southern & Eastern Europeans (Italians, Jews, Poles).

• Nativism: Anti-immigrant sentiment; Chinese Exclusion Act (1882).

• City Growth: Skyscrapers, slums, political machines (Tammany Hall, Boss Tweed).

3. Labor Unrest & Unionization

• Knights of Labor (1869): Open to all workers, declined after Haymarket Riot (1886).

• American Federation of Labor (AFL, 1886): Skilled workers, focused on wages & hours.

• Major Strikes:

  • Homestead Strike (1892): Steelworkers vs. Carnegie’s company.

  • Pullman Strike (1894): Government sent troops to break it.

4. The Agrarian Revolt & Populism

• Farmers’ Problems: Railroad monopolies, debt, declining crop prices.

• The Grange Movement: Pushed for regulation of railroads.

• Populist Party (1892):

  • Called for bimetallism (free silver to help farmers).

  • Election of 1896: William Jennings Bryan lost to William McKinley → Populism declined.

5. The Gilded Age Politics: Corruption & Reform

• Political Machines: Corrupt bosses controlled city politics.

• Pendleton Civil Service Act (1883): Required government jobs based on merit, not political connections.

• Interstate Commerce Act (1887): Regulated railroads.

• Sherman Antitrust Act (1890): First law to limit monopolies (rarely enforced).