7.1+Contextualizing+Period+7

Contextualizing Period 7 (1890-1945)

Overview

• Transition from horses/buggies to automobiles/airplanes.

• American involvement in two world wars and the Great Depression.

• Emergence of the U.S. as a world leader by 1945.

• Industrial, economic, and social transformations during this period.

Economic Growth

• Shift from a rural, agricultural economy to an urban, industrial one.

• Growth of large corporations; cycles of economic booms and busts.

• The Great Depression of the 1930s caused severe economic hardship.

Stability and Democracy

• Significant reform periods: Progressive Era and New Deal.

• Progressives addressed economic instability:

  • Created the Federal Reserve to regulate banking and the business cycle.

  • Reformed corrupt election practices (direct elections of senators).

  • Women's suffrage movement leading to a constitutional amendment granting voting rights.

• The New Deal established a limited welfare state to combat economic crises:

  • Laws regulating banks/stock markets and guaranteeing a minimum wage.

  • Introduction of Social Security and labor union protections.

Conflicts in Culture and Society

• Growth of mass media (radio, motion pictures) leading to cultural shifts.

• Value conflicts emerged over education, religion, and science (e.g., evolution in schools).

• Immigration debates and federal restrictions based on ethnicity/national origin.

• Resurgent Ku Klux Klan targeted African Americans, Catholics, Jews, and immigrants.

Shifts in Foreign Relations

• Debates over imperialism and America’s global role heightened with the Spanish-American War.

• Disagreement over involvement in World War I; rejection of League of Nations.

• World War II established the U.S. as a global leader with significant economic, political, and military power.

• Formation of the United Nations and commitment to collective security post-WWII.

• Foreign policy shaped by alliances with Western Europe and anti-communism.

Landmark Events (1890-1950)

• 1898: Start of the Spanish-American War.

• 1901: Theodore Roosevelt becomes president.

• 1917: U.S. enters World War I.

• 1919: Versailles Treaty concludes World War I.

• 1924: Immigration Quota Law passed.

• 1929: Great Depression begins.

• 1933: Franklin Roosevelt implements the New Deal.

• 1941: U.S. enters World War II.

• 1945: U.S. drops atomic bombs on Japan; Franklin Roosevelt elected president.