Fifteenth Amendment: Granted suffrage (voting rights) to freedmen.
Sharecropping
System where freedmen and poor whites worked land owned by plantation owners.
Rent was paid with a portion of the crops produced.
Debt Peonage: Workers became trapped in a cycle of debt, unable to leave the land until debts were paid.
Plains Indians
Native American tribes in the central United States.
Pushed westward due to expansion.
Destruction of the buffalo: Forced Native Americans to settle on reservations.
Battles and Acts
Battle of Little Bighorn: Victory for Native Americans (Custer's Last Stand).
Dawes Act: Assimilation policy that broke up reservation land into individual plots, similar to the Homestead Act, attempting to force Native Americans to assimilate into white culture.
Wounded Knee Massacre: Significant loss for Native Americans, considered the last major conflict of the Indian Wars; many women and children killed by U.S. soldiers.
Laissez-Faire
Economic system with minimal government intervention.
Belief that less government control is better for capitalism.
Supported by Republicans.
Transcontinental Railroad
Linked the East and West coasts.
Government provided land grants and subsidies to facilitate construction.
Corruption: e.g., Credit Mobilier scandal.
Monopolies
Control of an entire industry by a single company or group of companies.
Standard Oil is the most famous example.
Sherman Antitrust Act: Passed to break up monopolies, but initially ineffective.
Northern Securities vs. United States (1905): Example of the Sherman Antitrust Act being used to break up a railroad monopoly.
Clayton Antitrust Act: Passed later to make it easier to break up monopolies.
Closed Shops
Workplaces that only hire union members.
Gained popularity over time.
Populism
Inspired by farmers (The Grange, Farmers' Alliance).
Populist Party: Not very successful.
Progressives: More successful, largely composed of middle-class women in cities.
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
Doors chained shut to prevent workers from taking breaks, resulting in a fire.
Led to anti-sweatshop laws and workers' compensation.
Improved safety conditions for workers.
Immigration
Old Immigrants: From Northern and Western Europe.
New Immigrants: From Southern and Eastern Europe.
Nativists: Opposed new immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe.
Plessy vs. Ferguson
Established the "separate but equal" doctrine.
Allowed segregation as long as facilities were equal.
Overturned by Brown vs. Board of Education.
Spanish-American War
Causes:
Sinking of the USS Maine.
DeLome Letter: Spanish official criticizing President McKinley.
Yellow Journalism: Sensationalized news coverage.
Theodore Roosevelt's Foreign Policy
"Big Stick" Diplomacy: "Speak softly and carry a big stick."
Great White Fleet: Powerful navy used for intimidation and influence.
Panama Canal
Connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
Economic benefits through reduced shipping times and costs.
Facilitates naval movement.
Open Door Policy
Initiated by Secretary of State John Hay.
Opened China to trade with all nations, ending spheres of influence.
Dollar Diplomacy
President Taft's policy.
Used economic incentives to influence countries.
World War I Causes
Spark: Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.
Alliance System: Triggered a chain reaction of declarations of war.
Unrestricted Submarine Warfare: Primary reason for U.S. entry.
Fourteen Points
President Wilson's plan for peace after World War I.
Great Migration
Movement of African Americans from the South to the North and West.
Accelerated during World War I and World War II.
Schenck vs. United States
Established the "clear and present danger" principle.
Free speech is not protected during times of war if it presents a clear danger.
("You can't yell fire in a crowded movie theater.")
Henry Ford
Assembly Line: Increased production of cars by dividing labor.
Scopes Trial
Controversial issue: Science vs. religion.
John scopes was convicted of teaching evolution in schools.
Harlem Renaissance
Flowering of African American culture in Harlem, New York City.
Literature, art, and music (jazz).
Post-World War I Foreign Policy
Return to isolationism. Most American were on board with the return; to isolation.
Great Depression
Immediate Cause: Stock market crash.
Contributing Factors: Overextension of credit, farmers' difficulties, massive deflation.
Smoot-Hawley Tariff
Response to the Great Depression.
High tariffs aimed to keep money in America but triggered a worldwide depression.
Buying on Margin
Buying stocks on credit (10% down).
Contributed to the Great Depression when stock values crashed.
Bonus Army
World War I veterans marched on Washington seeking early payment of their bonuses.
President Hoover denied their request.
Dust Bowl
Drought on the Great Plains.
Caused by poor farming practices and loss of topsoil.
Hoovervilles
Shantytowns named after President Hoover during the Great Depression.
FDR's Challenges
Polio: Suffered from polio, which left him paralyzed.
New Deal
FDR's response to the Great Depression via government spending and new programs which included relief, recovery and reform, also known as the three R's.
Fireside Chats
FDR's radio addresses to reassure and inform the public during the Great Depression.
Court Packing
FDR's plan to add justices to the Supreme Court to support his New Deal legislation.
Violated checks and balances and separation of powers.
Causes of World War II
Treaty of Versailles: Punished Germany after World War I, leading to the rise of Hitler.
Appeasement: Giving in to Hitler's demands, such as at the Munich Conference with the Sudetenland.
Neutrality Acts
Passed by Congress to prevent U.S. involvement in World War II.
Made it illegal to sell arms to belligerent countries.
Lend-Lease Act
Provided aid to Britain and other allies, making the U.S. the "arsenal of democracy."
Pearl Harbor
Japanese attack that brought the U.S. into World War II, ending isolationism.
Turning Point Battles
Midway: Turning point in the Pacific Theater.
Stalingrad: Turning point in Europe (Eastern Front).
Manhattan Project
Produced the atomic bomb.
Arsenal of Democracy
The U.S. role in producing weapons and supplies for the Allies.
A. Philip Randolph
Marched on Washington to protest discrimination in factories during World War II.
Led to the creation of the Fair Employment Practices Commission.
Tuskegee Airmen
African American pilots trained at Tuskegee Institute.
Their success helped convince President Truman to desegregate the armed forces.
Rosie the Riveter
Propaganda symbol encouraging women to work in factories during World War II.
Nuremberg Trials
Trials of German officials for war crimes committed during World War II.
Yalta Conference
Germany was divided into four zones (and so was Berlin), leading to East and West Germany.
Containment Doctrine
Aim: To contain the spread of communism.
The Truman Doctrine: Supported nations resisting communist takeovers.
Marshall Plan: Provided economic aid to Western Europe to prevent the spread of communism.
Iron Curtain
Divided Eastern and Western Europe.
Separated Western democracies from Soviet-dominated communist countries.
Korean War
Started with the invasion of South Korea by North Korea.
The United Nations and the US supported South Korea's resistance during the war.
NATO
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Defensive alliance between Western Europe, the United States, Canada, Turkey, and Greece directed against the Soviet Union.
An attack on one member is an attack on all.
Red Scare
Fear of communism in the government.
Senator Joseph McCarthy: Led a witch hunt, claiming to have lists of communists in the government.
McCarthyism: This ends when he goes after the US army and the trials are televised.
Desegregation
President Truman desegregated the armed forces and the federal governement which led to complete desegregation.
GI Bill of Rights
Provided tuition, home loans, and business loans for veterans of World War II.
Levittown
Early example of a suburb, with mass-produced, similar-looking houses. These suburbs mark where most americans live today.
Election of JFK
JFK's new fronteir was a big influence which included the space program and the Peace Corps. This led to catching up to the Societs in the space race.
Brown vs. Board of Education
Overturned Plessy vs. Ferguson, outlawing segregation.
Rosa Parks: Refused to give up her seat on a bus, leading to the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
Montgomery Bus Boycott: Led by Martin Luther King Jr., advocating nonviolent disobedience.
Civil Rights Movement
Martin Luther King Jr.'s leadership focused on nonviolent disobedience to end segregation and Jim Crow laws.
Sit-ins: Protests where activists sat in segregated establishments and refused to leave.
Freedom Rides: Aimed to desegregate bus terminals and challenged segregated facilities.
Landmark Legislation
Civil Rights Act of 1964: Expanded civil rights, outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
Voting Rights Act of 1965: Addressed inequities in voter registration and voting procedures.
Selma Campaign: Voter registration drive, ultimately inspiring the Voting Rights Act of 1965.