APUSH unit 7
Unit 7 Overview: Period 7 (1890–1945)
Unit 7 examines the United States’ emergence as a global power through imperialism, Progressive reforms, and involvement in two world wars. The period saw economic booms and busts, cultural shifts, and social reforms, with the Great Depression and New Deal reshaping government’s role. World War II solidified U.S. dominance, while domestic and foreign policies navigated tensions between isolationism and internationalism.
Main Concepts by Topic:
• 7.1 Contextualizing Period 7 (4.B - Explaining Continuity and Change): The U.S. transitioned from Gilded Age industrialization to global leadership, with continuities in social inequalities and reform efforts.
• 7.2 Imperialism - Debates (2.C - Evaluating Historical Developments): Debates over imperialism reflected tensions between expansionist and anti-imperialist ideals.
• 7.3 Spanish–American War (2.B - Evaluating Evidence): The 1898 war marked the U.S. as an imperial power, expanding its overseas territories.
• 7.4 The Progressives (2.C - Evaluating Historical Developments): Progressive reforms addressed social, economic, and political issues of industrialization.
• 7.5 World War I - Military and Diplomacy (2.C - Evaluating Historical Developments): U.S. entry into World War I and Wilson’s diplomacy shaped global outcomes.
• 7.6 World War I - Home Front (3.D - Explaining Significance): Wartime mobilization transformed society, with significant impacts on civil liberties and labor.
• 7.7 1920s - Innovations in Communication and Technology (5.B - Explaining Connections): Technological advances like radio and automobiles reshaped culture and the economy.
• 7.8 1920s - Cultural and Political Controversies (4.B - Explaining Continuity and Change): The 1920s saw cultural clashes over modernity, immigration, and prohibition.
• 7.9 Great Depression (5.B - Explaining Connections): The 1929 stock market crash triggered economic collapse, reshaping American society.
• 7.10 New Deal (5.B - Explaining Connections): Roosevelt’s New Deal programs expanded government to address economic hardship.
• 7.11 Interwar Foreign Policy (1.B - Explaining Historical Developments): The U.S. oscillated between isolationism and limited international engagement.
• 7.12 World War II - Mobilization (1.B - Explaining Historical Developments): Massive mobilization transformed the economy and society for the war effort.
• 7.13 World War II - Military (6.C - Evaluating Perspectives): Military strategies and battles secured Allied victory, reshaping global power dynamics.
• 7.14 Postwar Diplomacy (2.B - Evaluating Evidence): Post-WWII diplomacy established the U.S. as a superpower in a bipolar world.
• 7.15 Comparison in Period 7: The U.S. shifted from isolationism to global leadership, with domestic reforms and wars driving change.
Expanded Storyline (Connecting Units 1–7):
Unit 1 introduced Native American societies, the Columbian Exchange, and Spanish conquest, laying foundations for European colonization. Unit 2 detailed British colonies (1607–1754), with regional economies and slavery shaping early divisions. Unit 3 covered the American Revolution and nation-building (1754–1800), establishing a republic conflicted over slavery. Unit 4 explored the early republic (1800–1848), where the Market Revolution and westward expansion deepened sectional tensions. Unit 5 chronicled the Civil War and Reconstruction (1844–1877), ending slavery but failing to secure equality. Unit 6 examined the Gilded Age (1865–1898), with industrialization, immigration, and westward expansion transforming the U.S. into an economic powerhouse. By 1898, the U.S. was poised for global engagement in Unit 7.
Unit 7 begins with the U.S. embracing imperialism, driven by economic interests, missionary zeal, and naval ambitions, as articulated by Alfred Thayer Mahan. The Spanish-American War (1898) resulted in U.S. control of the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Guam, but sparked debates between expansionists like Theodore Roosevelt and anti-imperialists like Mark Twain. Progressivism emerged to address Gilded Age excesses, with reformers like Jane Addams and muckrakers like Upton Sinclair tackling urban poverty, corruption, and labor abuses. Progressive policies included trust-busting, the Pure Food Act, and women’s suffrage via the 19th Amendment (1920).
World War I (1914–1918) drew the U.S. into global conflict after initial neutrality, with submarine warfare and the Zimmerman Telegram prompting entry in 1917. Wilson’s Fourteen Points aimed for a just peace, but the Treaty of Versailles and Senate rejection of the League of Nations limited U.S. internationalism. On the home front, wartime mobilization boosted industry and women’s roles, but the Espionage and Sedition Acts curtailed civil liberties, and the Great Migration reshaped African American demographics.
The 1920s were a decade of prosperity and tension. Innovations like the radio, automobile, and electricity transformed daily life, fueling consumer culture. However, cultural controversies—Prohibition, the Scopes Trial, and nativism via the Immigration Act of 1924—reflected clashes between modernity and tradition. The Great Depression (1929–1939), triggered by the stock market crash, devastated the economy, with unemployment reaching 25%. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal introduced relief, recovery, and reform through programs like the Social Security Act and TVA, expanding government’srole but facing criticism for overreach.
Interwar foreign policy leaned isolationist, with Neutrality Acts limiting involvement, though Roosevelt’s Good Neighbor Policy and Lend-Lease Act signaled growing engagement. World War II (1939–1945) transformed the U.S. into a global superpower. After Pearl Harbor (1941), massive mobilizationshifted the economy to wartime production, with women and minorities entering the workforce. Military campaigns in Europe (D-Day, 1944) and the Pacific (Midway, 1942) secured Allied victory, culminating in the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Postwar diplomacy, through the Yalta Conference and United Nations, established a U.S.-led world order, though tensions with the Soviet Union foreshadowed the Cold War.
By 1945, the U.S. was a global leader, transformed by wars, reforms, and economic shifts. Unit 7’s developments—imperialism, Progressivism, and global wars—set the stage for Unit 8’s Cold War, civil rights, and modern challenges, as the nation balanced its power with domestic inequalities and international responsibilities.
Top 20 Definitions
1. Spanish-American War: 1898 conflict making the U.S. an imperial power (7.3).
2. Progressivism: Reform movement addressing industrialization’s social and political issues (7.4).
3. Muckrakers: Journalists exposing corruption, e.g., Upton Sinclair (7.4).
4. 19th Amendment: 1920 amendment granting women’s suffrage (7.4).
5. World War I: 1914–1918 global conflict, U.S. entry in 1917 (7.5).
6. Fourteen Points: Wilson’s 1918 plan for post-WWI peace (7.5).
7. Espionage and Sedition Acts: WWI laws restricting free speech (7.6).
8. Great Migration: African American movement to Northern cities during WWI (7.6).
9. Prohibition: 1919–1933 ban on alcohol via the 18th Amendment (7.8).
10. Scopes Trial: 1925 trial over teaching evolution, reflecting cultural divides (7.8).
11. Great Depression: 1929–1939 economic collapse following stock market crash (7.9).
12. New Deal: Roosevelt’s programs for Depression relief, recovery, and reform (7.10).
13. Social Security Act: 1935 New Deal law providing pensions and aid (7.10).
14. Neutrality Acts: 1930s laws limiting U.S. involvement in foreign conflicts (7.11).
15. Pearl Harbor: 1941 Japanese attack prompting U.S. WWII entry (7.12).
16. Lend-Lease Act: 1941 law aiding Allies before U.S. WWII entry (7.11).
17. D-Day: 1944 Allied invasion of Normandy, key WWII turning point (7.13).
18. Manhattan Project: U.S. program developing atomic bombs used in WWII (7.13).
19. Yalta Conference: 1945 meeting planning postwar world order (7.14).
20. United Nations: 1945 organization promoting global cooperation, U.S.-led (7.14).
Thoughtful Questions Aligned to AP Standards
These questions align with the specified historical thinking skills, fostering critical analysis and evidence-based reasoning.
1. 7.1 Contextualizing Period 7 (4.B - Explaining Continuity and Change)
Explain how Gilded Age industrialization and social changes shaped the U.S.’s emergence as a global power, while identifying continuities in social inequalities.
2. 7.2 Imperialism - Debates (2.C - Evaluating Historical Developments)
Evaluate the arguments of imperialists and anti-imperialists during the Spanish-American War era.
3. 7.3 Spanish–American War (2.B - Evaluating Evidence)
Using primary sources (e.g., yellow journalism), evaluate the causes and consequences of the Spanish-American War.
4. 7.4 The Progressives (2.C - Evaluating Historical Developments)
Evaluate the effectiveness of Progressive reforms in addressing industrialization’s challenges.
5. 7.5 World War I - Military and Diplomacy (2.C - Evaluating Historical Developments)
Evaluate the impact of U.S. military and diplomatic efforts, like the Fourteen Points, on World War I’s outcome.
6. 7.6 World War I - Home Front (3.D - Explaining Significance)
Explain the significance of WWI home front changes, like the Great Migration and civil liberties restrictions.
7. 7.7 1920s - Innovations in Communication and Technology (5.B - Explaining Connections)
Explain how innovations like the radio and automobile connected to cultural and economic changes.
8. 7.8 1920s - Cultural and Political Controversies (4.B - Explaining Continuity and Change)
Explain how controversies like Prohibition reflected cultural tensions, while identifying continuities in nativism.
9. 7.9 Great Depression (5.B - Explaining Connections)
Explain how the stock market crash and economic policies connected to the Great Depression’s impact.
10. 7.10 New Deal (5.B - Explaining Connections)
Explain how New Deal programs connected to economic recovery and government expansion.
11. 7.11 Interwar Foreign Policy (1.B - Explaining Historical Developments)
Explain the shift from isolationism to limited international engagement in the interwar period.
12. 7.12 World War II - Mobilization (1.B - Explaining Historical Developments)
Explain how WWII mobilization transformed the U.S. economy and society.
13. 7.13 World War II - Military (6.C - Evaluating Perspectives)
Evaluate Allied and Axis perspectives on key WWII military strategies, like D-Day.
14. 7.14 Postwar Diplomacy (2.B - Evaluating Evidence)
Using sources like the Yalta Conference agreements, evaluate the U.S.’s role in shaping the postwar world.
15. 7.15 Comparison in Period 7
Compare the U.S.’s domestic and foreign policy approaches before and after World War II, evaluating shifts in global leadership.