ush final
1860-1877:
Civil War: The Civil War was between The Confederacy (the southern states who seceded) and The Union (northern states) and lasted 4 years. The main reason behind the war was the dispute over if slavery should be allowed to expand into newly gained western territory. It ended in a Union victory and outlawed slavery.
Lincoln
A Union Commander in Chief who was willing to use force to defend Federal law and the Union. His main goal was to preserve the union and would have done so at any cost, including by allowing slavery to continue so the Union would not fall.
Election of 1860
Abraham Lincoln (rep) won because the South was split over slavery. As a result, the South no longer felt as if they had a voice in politics and 11 states seceded from the Union.
Pseudosciences
a false science or a collection of beliefs or practices mistakenly
Kansas Nebraska Act
1854 - Revoke the Missouri compromise, created two new territories (present-day states of Kansas, Nebraska, Montana and the Dakotas), and allowed for popular sovereignty (the idea that government is authorized by citizens and influenced by what they want)
Bleeding Kansas
A violent uprising produced by the Kansas-Nebraska act. It was a border war on the Kansas-Missouri border and lasted from 1854 into the civil war in 1861.
Cotton Gin
The Cotton Gin was a machine that made cotton production far more efficient, which in turn led to the need for more southern slaves.
Secession of southern states
When the Lower and Upper southern severed their ties with the union (December 20, 1860 - June 8, 1860)
States that seceded
South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina.
Anaconda plan
The Anaconda Plan was a military strategy proposed by Union General Winfield Scott early in the American Civil War. The main goal was to cut off supplies to Confederate forces and divide and conquer their fighting force.
Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation, declared by Abraham Lincoln, said that “all persons held as slaves” within the rebellious states “are, and henceforward shall be free” The states were South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, and North Carolina.
It also declared that freed slaves could enlist in the Union Army, which increased the Union Army’s strength.
Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg was a 3 day battle which marked the turning point of the civil war. It was a great loss to the Confederate army, but both armies combined lost about 48,000 men.
Assasination
Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by the Confederate John Wilkes Booth with the motive of getting revenge for the Confederate States.
Ulysses S Grant
A Union commanding general whose victories were the first major Union successes of the war.
Confederate States of America
The southern states that succeed. Their main goal was to achieve a separate and independent country based on what they called “Southern institutions” which was mostly based on slavery.
Reconstruction: The Reconstruction Era was the time period after the Civil War where the US tried to integrate millions of former slaves into American social, political, and labor systems. It was a significant time of transformation within the US.
Freedmen’s bureau
It provided assistance to formerly enslaved people and helped them establish schools, purchase land, locate family members, and legalize marriages.
Sharecropping
Sharecropping was a system where the landlord allows a tenant to use the land in exchange for a share of the crop.
Establishment of KKK
The KKK was established in 1868 and which had the goal of defeating the Republican Party and the maintenance of absolute white supremacy in response to newly gained civil and political rights.
Grant
Ulysses S Grant was inconsistent in his policy supporting Reconstruction.
Jim Crow Laws
Jim Crow laws were laws in all of the former confederate states that mandated segregation, beginning in the 1870s and lasted for almost 100 years.
Some examples”
Marriage between a white person and an African American was prohibited
School integration was strictly prohibted
1877 - 1919:
Hayes
Rutherford B. Hayes was the 19th president from 1877-1881 and oversaw the end of the reconstruction and the beginning of the gilded age. He attempted to restore the relationship between the North and South left over from the Civil War
Compromise of 1877
The Compromise of 1877 was an unwritten political deal to settle the dispute of results over the 1876 presidential election. It ended reconstruction due to the withdrawal of the last federal troops from the South.
Gilded Age
The Gilded Age occurred during the 1870s to the late 1890s. It was a time of wealth for a small portion of the population, but for others it was filled of poverty and struggle. Many immigrants came to the US during this time.
Robber barons/captains of industry
Robber Barons/captains of industry were terms used to describe prominent business leaders such as John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, and Cornelius Vanderbilt who were ruthless in the name of wealth but could also be argued to have created jobs and revolutionized industries.
Urbanization
The increase of concentration in population, political power, and economic activity in urban areas.
Inventions
Many significant inventions were created during this time period, examples:
Telephone (1876)
Electric light bulb (1879)
Typewriter (1870s)
Immigration
During the Gilded Age around 11.7 million people came to America, which led to a large industrial workforce and cities became industrial hubs which offered jobs, furthering urbanization.
McKinley
25th president (1843-1901) His presidency marked the end of the gilded age. His presidency led to rapid economic recovery and was successful. He was president during the US’ war with Spain (did we ever learn about this in class?) and it only lasted 100 days leading to Spain ceding the territories of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines to the US. He was assassinated
T.Roosevelt
Theodore “teddy” Roosevelt was the 26th president of the US (1901-1909) who took office after McKinley’s assassination. He started construction of the Panama Canal and established national parks, forests, and monuments to preserve natural resources.
Taft
William Howard Taft was the 27th president (1909-1913). he was a really bad president and lowkey the worst out of any president we learned about. guys i legit cannot find anything good that he did. he is
NAACP founded
The NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) is a human rights group founded in 1909 aimed to secure the rights for all people guaranteed in the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments.
1919 - 1945:
Wilson: Woodrow Wilson was the 28th president (1913-1921). He was a leader of the Progressive Movement. At the outbreak of WW1, he pledged to stay neutral, but then decided to lead America into war in order to “make the world safe for democracy”
Reemergence of KKK, “birth of a nation”
The film ‘The Birth Of A Nation’ revived the KKK due to America’s anti-immigrant attitude and the KKK aligned themselves with the movie and used it as a recruiting tool.
Jesse Washington
Jesse Washington was a 17 year old African American boy who was lynched after being wrongfully accused of raping and murdering a white woman. The widespread images of Jesse’s lynching led to the public condemning lynching and anyone who found enjoyment in it.
Great Depression: The Great Depression was a economic downturn from 1929-1939.
Hoover
Herbert Hoover was the 31st president (1929 - 1933). He did not provide direct federal relief to the unemployed but did promote indirect relief through public works projects and loans to the state. His programs did not work since the number of unemployed workers increased from 7 million in 1931 to 11 million in 1933.
1929 stock market
The 1929 stock market crash is the main cause the great depression. Around $14 billion in stock value was lost due to investors trading in around 16 million shares which led to people rapidly trying to withdraw money from their banks, which led to banks failing.
F. Roosevelt
Franklin Roosevelt was the 32nd president (1933-1945) and was elected when 13 million people were unemployed and nearly every bank was closed. He immediately proposed a program to congress within his first 100 days which was to bring recovery to business and agriculture, relief to the unemployed.
Though his most important program was Social Security which introduced heavier taxes on the wealthy, and an enormous work relief program for the unemployed
He also directed organization of the US’ armies and resources for war after the Pearl Harbor Attacks, and put much thought into planning of a United Nations to settle international difficulties.
1st new deal
Roosevelt introduced the 1st new deal which overall addressed the unemployed. A Federal Emergency Relief Administration provided direct assistance to the states, which then passed it on to the unemployed.
The three goals for the 1st new deal were:
Relief for the needy
Economic recovery
Financial reform
2nd new deal
The major legislations that came from the 2nd new deal were the
Works progress administration
Made to boost employment and the purchasing power of cash
National Labor Relations
A policy to prohibit employers from interfering with employees who wish to exercise their collective bargaining rights (meet at reasonable times, have respect to hours and wages, standards of productivity and performance, and conditions of employment)
Social Security Act
A social insurance program designed to pay retired workers age 65 or older a continuing income after retirement
Wealth Tax Act
A new progressive tax that taxed people making more than $5 million a year up to 75%
WWI: A global conflict between the Allies (France, the UK, Russia, the US, Italy, and Japan) and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire). It set the stage for redefinition of American citizenship and the role of the US in global politics.
Zimmerman note
The Zimmerman Note was a German telegram intercepted by Britain that said in return if Carranza (the Mexican president at the time) went to war with the United States, any alliance with Mexico would include Germany’s assistance in recovering territory taken from them after the Mexican-American war.
14 points
The 14 Points were a proposal made by Wilson that outlined his vision for ending WWI that would prevent a war like WWI from ever happening again. They failed due to Wilson not taking into account the claims of France, Britain, and their allies.
1. Open diplomacy without secret treaties
2. Economic free trade on the seas during war and peace
3. Equal trade conditions
4. Decrease armaments among all nations
5. Adjust colonial claims
6. Evacuation of all Central Powers from Russia and allow it to define its own independence
7. Belgium to be evacuated and restored
8. Return of Alsace-Lorraine region and all French territories
9. Readjust Italian borders
10. Austria-Hungary to be provided an opportunity for self-determination
11. Redraw the borders of the Balkan region creating Roumania, Serbia and Montenegro
12. Creation of a Turkish state with guaranteed free trade in the Dardanelles
13. Creation of an independent Polish state
14. Creation of the League of Nations
idk if u need to know them but learn a few i think i forget what she said
Lusitania
Lusitania was a British cruise liner traveling from New York to Liverpool and a German submarine sank it. It killed 1959 people including 123 Americans.
It was significant due to it turning the US’ public opinion against Germany, particularly since the US was mainly neutral.
WWII: A war fought from 1939 to 1945 between the Axis powers (Germany, Italy, and Japan) and the Allies (France, Britain, the USSR, and the US). WW2 basically stopped the great depression and brought the US economy back
Pearl Harbor
Pearl harbor was a bombing on the Hawaiian American harbor of the same name, done by the Japanese. Before the attack, many Americans were reluctant to become involved in WW2, but due to Pearl Harbor, the US declared war on Japan which brought the US into WW2 on the side of the Allies.
Japanese internment camps
Japanese internment camps were camps set up where Japanese Americans were sent due to a fear of attack on the west coast. The Americans feared there would be potential Japanese spies, so Executive Order 9066 approved the relocation of them into internment camps.
Manhattan project
The manhattan project was a secret project where the building of the world’s first atomic bomb was built. It was headed by J. Robert Oppenheimer.
Truman
Harry S Truman was the 33rd president (1945-1953). He was president during WW2 and part of the Cold War.
WW2
He mandated the desegregation of the US military.
he ordered the atomic bomb to be dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which led to a Japanese surrender, successfully ending WW2
Atomic weaponry
The usage of the US’ atomic bomb on Japan led to many other countries (especially ussr) building them out of fear of a nuclear war (arms race spoiler 🤫 )
1945 - 1989
Civil Rights Movement: A social movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 to abolish legalized racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement in the country.
Leaders of the Civil Rights Movement
Malcolm X
An African-American revolutionary, Muslim minister and human rights activist. His main goals were black power, black self-defense and black economic autonomy, and encouraged racial pride. He was assassinated in 1965.
Martin Luther King
A social activist and Baptist minister who shaped the Civil Rights movement and advocated for non-violent protests for change. His main goal was equality and human rights for African Americans, poorer people, and all victims of injustice.
Rosa Parks
A civil rights activist who is known as the ‘mother of the civil rights movement’. She refused to give up her seat on a public bus which caused the Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott.
Tactics of the Civil Rights Movement
Civil disobedience
Nonviolent resistance
Marches
Protests
Freedom Rides
Ralliers
Brown v Board
Brown v Board was a court case that was also a milestone in the civil rights movement. It was a ruling by the US supreme court that US state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the segregated schools are otherwise equal in quality (they rarely were)
Emmitt Till
Emmitt Till was an African American 14 year old who was abducted, tortured, and lynched in Mississippi after being accused of offending a white woman.
His murder sparked an upsurge of activism and resistance that became known as the civil rights movement. When people saw the pictures of his tortured body, it started national outrage and shaped public opinion of racial equality.
Montgomery bus boycott
A civil rights protest during which African Americans refused to ride city buses in Montgomery, Alabama to protest segregated seating. It is seen as the first large-scale US protest against segregation.
Greensboro sit-ins
In 1960, four friends sat down at a lunch counter where African Americans weren’t allowed to sit, which served as a template for nonviolent protests in the future.
Freedom Riders
A series of protests against segregation by Black and White civil rights activists who rode buses together through the South.
Cold War and Proxy Conflicts:
The Cold War was a political rivalry between the US and the USSR and their respective allies (the US - Canada, the UK, other western European countries - basically nato) + (the ussr - Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, east Germany, Hungary, Poland, and Romania) that developed after WW2.
Proxy Conflicts are wars fought between different countries, but with each side getting support from a different superpower country.
Ideological divides
The contrasting beliefs between the US/Capitalism and USSR/Communism which caused proxy wars and the cold war
Domino theory
The ‘domino theory’ or ‘domino effect’ means when one nation falls to communism the impact is to weaken the resistance of other countries and make them fall to communism.
Korean war
The Korean War (1950-1953), fought between North Korea (being supported by the USSR) and South Korea (being supported by the US) was to stop an invasion from the North to spread communism into South Korea. It ended in a ceasefire, but the two nations are still political enemies with the DMZ (demilitarized zone) still existing.
Eisenhower
Dwight D Eisenhower was the 34th president (1953-1961). He was very focused on the Cold War with his main focus being on the USSR’s satellites while also their weapons. He had the US build a stockpile of nuclear weapons and nuclear delivery systems to deter military threats while cutting back the money spent on Army combat units.
Space Race
The Space Race was a competition between the Soviets and the Americans to see who could land a man on the moon first. The Soviets got the first man into space, but Americans landed a man on the moon first.
Kennedy
John F Kennedy was the 35th president (1961-1963). He pledged to revitalize American nuclear forces. One of his most successful operations was the resolving of the Cuban Missile Crisis. He kept a strong relationship with allies and was very driven for the Americans to beat the Soviets in the space race. Unfortunately he was assassinated before he got to see a man land on the moon.
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was the discovery of newly constructed Soviet missile silos in Cuba that were in range of most major American cities. JFK peacefully resolved this by placing a naval blockade of ships around Cuba which prevented military supplies from being transported there. He then demanded the removal of the missiles and silos, and he removed the American missile silos in Turkey as a result of the Soviets complying.
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B Johnson was the 36th president (1963-1968) and was sworn in after JFK’s assassination. He introduced Medicare and Medicaid. Signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law, which prohibited discrimination on the basic of race, color. religion, gender or national origin.
Nixon
37th us president (1969-1974). was president during Vietnam war and ended American involvement in it in 1973. He improved diplomatic relations between the US and China due to his visit in 1972, and concluded the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, which limited the deployment of missile systems used in defense (ex. if a country shot a missile to u and u shot another one to shoot it down and it blows up and it blows up the whole country. thats what the treaty stopped)
Vietnam war
A war fought between the communist North Vietnam against South Vietnam which was being supported by the US. The war was fueled due to the ongoing cold war between the US and the USSR. The US entered Vietnam with the purpose of preventing a communist takeover, but it failed and in 1976 both of the Vietnams were united and had a communist government.
The Viet Cong were the North Vietnamese army
Truman during the cold war
When Truman decided to authorize the development of a weapon that was more powerful than the atomic bomb - the hydrogen bomb - to counter soviets, it accelerated the arms race.
1970s to Present
Watergate
A major political scandal in 1972 following a break in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington D.C and the controversy was based around Nixon (a republican) trying to cover up his involvement. The scandal led to the discovery of multiple abuses of power by the Nixon administration. It resulted in 69 government officials being charged and 48 found guilty and Nixon resigning. During his presidency, there was also lots of stagflation.
Ford
Gerald Ford was 38th president (1974-1977) and became president due to Nixon’s resignation. Ford then pardoned Nixon which led to his defeat in the 1976 presidential election. Ford then tried to repair the stagflation left by Nixon by tightening the money supply by raising interest rates and limiting government spending.
Stagflation
A period of slow economic growth and high unemployment (stagnation) while prices rise (inflation). The rise in unemployment resulted largely from increased foreign competition that slowed economic growth and job creation, and from a larger number of Americans looking for work.
Carter
Jimmy Carter was the 39th President (1977-1981). He attempted to free the hostages in Iran via refusing to burn Iranian oil. He wanted to establish peace between Israel and Egypt (they are still allies)
Iran Hostage Crisis
The Iran Hostage Crisis was 444 days when 52 American citizens were held hostage after Islamic students stormed the American embassy in Tehran, Iran. There were many attempts by Carter to free the hostages, such as refusing to burn Iranian oil and Operation Eagle Claw. They were finally free after the signing of the Algiers Accords.
Reagan
Ronald Reagan was the 40th president (1981-1989) He played a major role in ending the Cold War. He signed the INF treaty with Gorbachev from the USSR to reduce nuclear weapons. He signed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act which created strategies and policies that would combat the growing issue of drug abuse in America
Though many people believe there were racial implications to his drug policies, due to prison sentences being an 100:1 ratio for crack versus powdered cocaine. Many black neighborhoods would use crack instead of cocaine, since it was cheaper to produce.
Reaganomics
Reaganomics was Reagan’s theory that if you cut taxes, it will spur the growth of public spending and improve the economy. It included tax breaks for the rich, “supply-side economics” (a theory that maintains that increasing the supply of goods and services is the engine of economic growth) and “trickle down” theory, which means disproportionately favoring the higher class with means tax breaks, and then their benefits will ‘trickle down’ to everyone else.
Berlin Wall
Built August 13, 1961. A wall built by East Germany (Soviet Union) to divide the city of Berlin into an east and west side, with the East being controlled by the USSR and the west being controlled by the US. Reagan was also focused on tearing down the wall and gave a speech of the same name calling for Gorbachev to destroy the wall. It was torn down on November 9, 1989.