Semester Exam Highlights

Anaconda Plan

  • Civil War era plan by General Winfield Scott.
  • Objective: Economically crush the South.
  • Method: Naval blockade and control of the Mississippi River to cut off resources.

Role of Women During the Civil War

  • Similar to World War I and World War II.
  • Women filled roles traditionally held by men.
  • Worked in industry and took on increased responsibilities in agriculture, even in the South.

Presidential vs. Congressional Reconstruction

  • Presidential Reconstruction (Lincoln's plan):
    • Aimed to reintegrate the South quickly and painlessly.
    • Lincoln did not believe the South had legally seceded.
  • Congressional (Radical Republican) Reconstruction:
    • Sought to punish the South.
    • Prevented former Confederate leaders from holding office.

Impeachment

  • Impeachment: Formal accusation by the House of Representatives.
  • Trial: Conducted by the Senate.
  • Removal from Office: Requires Senate conviction.
  • Andrew Johnson:
    • Impeached for violating the Tenure of Office Act.
    • Not convicted (acquitted by one vote).

Constitutional Amendments

  • Thirteenth Amendment: Abolished slavery.
  • Fourteenth Amendment: Guaranteed citizenship rights.
  • 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.
  • ("Youcan′tyellfireinacrowdedmovietheater.")("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.