AP U.S. History Comprehensive Review

Westward Expansion

• Definition and Overview: Westward Expansion refers to the massive movement of Americans across the North American continent during the $1800s$. It was primarily driven by economic opportunity, intense nationalism, and the ideological belief in Manifest Destiny.

• Key Causes:   

•   * Desire for Land and Farming: Settlers sought fertile territory for agriculture.

•   * Gold and Natural Resources: Discovery of wealth-generating materials pulled people west.  

•    * Population Growth: Rapid increases in the eastern populations necessitated more space.     * Railroads and Transportation: Improved infrastructure made the journey more feasible.     * Nationalistic Belief: The conviction that America should stretch from coast to coast.

• Important Events:    

•  * Louisiana Purchase ($1803$): Effectively doubled the geographic size of the United States.     * Lewis and Clark Expedition: Commissioned to explore the newly acquired western territory.    

•  * Texas Annexation ($1845$).    

•  * Mexican-American War ($1846$]–$1848$).   

•   * Oregon Territory Compromise.  

•    * Homestead Act ($1862$): Offered land to encourage western migration.     * Transcontinental Railroad ($1869$): Linked the eastern and western halves of the nation.

• Positive Effects:  

•    * Significant national economic growth.   

•   * Admission of new states into the Union.    

•  * Increased capacity for trade and agricultural production.

• Negative Effects:    

•  * Forced removal of Native Americans from their ancestral land.    

•  * The destruction of great buffalo populations.  

•    * Increased sectional tensions regarding the expansion of slavery into new territories.

Manifest Destiny

• Definition: The specific belief that the United States was divinely destined by God to expand its territory across the entirety of North America.

• Major Effects:   

•   * A significant increase in American nationalism.  

•    * Heightened conflict with Mexico and Native Americans.    

•  * Aggravation of the national debate regarding the growth of slavery.

Gold Rush ($1848$–$1855$)

• Overview: Gold was discovered in California at Sutter’s Mill.

• Key Facts:   

•   * Migrants known as "$49ers$" rushed west in search of fortune.   

•   * The California population exploded rapidly.  

•    * California achieved statehood very quickly due to the population influx.

• Major Effects:   

•   * Boosted the national economy.  

•    * Accelerated western development.     

• * Created diverse immigration patterns.     

• * Repeatedly raised the issue of whether western territories should permit slavery.

Civil War ($1861$–$1865$)

• Main Causes:   

•   * The institution of slavery.   

•   * Debates over states’ rights.   

•   * Pronounced sectional economic differences.

• Major Events:  

•    * Fort Sumter: The opening battle of the war.  

•    * Emancipation Proclamation: President Lincoln's decree freeing slaves in rebel states.     * Gettysburg: A pivotal turning point for the Union.  

•    * Sherman’s March: A total-war campaign through the South.   

• Primary Results:    

•  * A decisive victory for the Union.  

•    * The $13th$ Amendment was passed to abolish slavery.  

•    * Federal power was significantly increased.  

•    * The era of Reconstruction officially began.

Reconstruction ($1865$–$1877$)

• Primary Goals:

•     * Rebuild the Southern United States.  

•    * Reintegrate former Confederate states into the Union.

•     * Protect the legal rights of freedmen.

• Constitutional Amendments:

•     * $13th$ Amendment: Officially abolished slavery.   

•   * $14th$ Amendment: Provided for citizenship and guaranteed equal protection under the law.  

•    * $15th$ Amendment: Guaranteed voting rights for Black men.

• Persistent Problems:     

• * Legislative restrictions known as Black Codes.  

•    * Terrorism and violence from the Ku Klux Klan ($KKK$).

•     * The economic cycle of sharecropping.

• End of Reconstruction:   

•   * Concluded with the Compromise of $1877$.   

•   * Followed by the rise of Jim Crow laws.

Jim Crow and Segregation

• Important Case: Plessy v. Ferguson ($1896$), which codified the doctrine of "separate but equal."

• Methods of Control:  

•    * Poll taxes.

•     * Literacy tests.  

•    * Grandfather clauses.  

•    * Violence and intimidation.

• Major Effects:  

•   * The establishment of institutional racism.  

•    * Mandated segregation in schools and public facilities.

Industrialization

• Primary Causes: Expansion of railroads, abundance of natural resources, large-scale immigration, and new technology.

• Important Industrialists:

•     * Andrew Carnegie: Leader in the steel industry.   

•   * John D. Rockefeller: Leader in the oil industry.    

•  * J.P. Morgan: Leader in the banking industry.

• Big Business Concepts:  

•    * Vertical Integration: Owning all phases of production.  

•    * Horizontal Integration: Merging with competitors in the same market.

•     * Monopoly: Exclusive control over a commodity or service.

• Positive Effects: Economic expansion and rapid urbanization.

• Negative Effects: Exploitative working conditions, child labor, and environmental pollution.

Gilded Age

• Core Characteristics: A massive wealth gap, the influence of political machines, and rapid urban growth.

• Labor Movements: The Knights of Labor and the American Federation of Labor ($AFL$).

• Important strikes: The Haymarket Riot, the Homestead Strike, and the Pullman Strike.

Progressive Era ($1890s$–$1920s$)

• Goals: To remedy problems created by industrialization.

• Political Reforms: The $17th$ Amendment (direct election of senators), as well as the implementation of initiative, referendum, and recall.

• Social Reforms: Enforcement of child labor laws and creation of safer workplaces.

• Economic Reforms: Implementation of trust-busting and business regulation.

• Muckrakers:   

•   * Upton Sinclair: Author of "The Jungle."   and Ida Tarbell: Exposed Standard Oil.

Immigration

• Old Immigration: Primarily consisted of people from Northern and Western Europe.

• New Immigration: Primarily consisted of people from Southern and Eastern Europe, along with Asian immigration.

• Important Terms: Ellis Island, Angel Island, and Nativism.

• Legislative Acts:     * Chinese Exclusion Act ($1882$).   and * Immigration Act of $1924$.

World War I

• Causes (MAIN): Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, and Nationalism.

• U.S. Entry: Sparked by the Zimmerman Telegram and Germany’s use of unrestricted submarine warfare.

• Major Effects: The United States reached world power status, and the nation experienced the first Red Scare.

World War II

• Primary Causes: The rise of dictators, the failure of the Treaty of Versailles, and the policy of appeasement.

• U.S. Entry: Triggered by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in $1941$.

• Major Events: D-Day, the Battle of Midway, and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

• Major Effects: The U.S. and USSR emerged as superpowers, the United Nations ($UN$) was formed, and the Cold War began.

Cold War

• Overview: A long-standing conflict between the U.S. and the Soviet Union after WWII.

• Key Policies: Containment, the Truman Doctrine, and the Marshall Plan.

• Major Events: The Berlin Airlift, the Korean War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the Vietnam War.

• End: Marked by the fall of the Berlin Wall in $1989$ and the collapse of the Soviet Union in $1991$.

Civil Rights Movement

• Key Leaders: Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and Rosa Parks.

• Important Events: Brown v. Board of Education, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the March on Washington, the Civil Rights Act of $1964$, and the Voting Rights Act of $1965$.

• Strategies: Use of nonviolent protest, civil disobedience, sit-ins, and freedom rides.

Foreign Policy

• Isolationism: The policy of avoiding foreign alliances.

• Interventionism: Active involvement in international affairs.

• Key Policies: Monroe Doctrine, Roosevelt Corollary, Truman Doctrine, and Reagan Doctrine.

Constitution and Articles of Confederation

• Articles of Confederation Weaknesses: Included the lack of a president, the inability to tax, and a weak central government.

• Constitution Principles: Based on checks and balances, separation of powers, and federalism.

• Branches: Legislative, Executive, and Judicial.

• Bill of Rights: The first $10$ amendments to the Constitution.

Social Movements

• Women’s Rights: Included the Seneca Falls Convention and the passage of the $19th$ Amendment.

• Labor Movement: Fought for better wages and hours.

• LGBTQ+ Movement: Centered around the Stonewall Riots.

Columbian Exchange

• Definition: The exchange of diseases, animals, goods, and ideas between Europe and the Americas.

• To the Americas: Horses, wheat, and smallpox.

• To Europe: Corn, potatoes, and tomatoes.

• Major Effects: Massive Native American deaths due to disease and increased global trade.

Historical Cause and Effect Themes

• Industrialization: Caused by technology and railroads; resulted in urbanization and labor movements.

• Westward Expansion: Caused by Manifest Destiny; resulted in Native American displacement and slavery debates.

• Civil Rights Movement: Caused by segregation and discrimination; resulted in the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts.

Key Historical Figures

• Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Paine, George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison.

• Alexander Hamilton, Henry Clay, Abraham Lincoln, Jane Addams, Woodrow Wilson.

• Lyndon B. Johnson, Martin Luther King Jr., Ronald Reagan, John F. Kennedy, Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR).

Essential Historical Documents

• Declaration of Independence.: adopted on July 4, 1776, is a fundamental document of American history that proclaimed the thirteen American colonies as independent from British rule. It is renowned for articulating the principles of individual liberty and the rights of citizens.

• The Constitution: The Constitution is the foundational document of the United States, created in 1787, outlining the framework of the federal government, principles of democracy, and the separation of powers among legislative, executive, and judicial branches. It includes the Bill of Rights, which comprises the first ten amendments guaranteeing individual liberties and rights.

• The Federalist Papers.: The Federalist Papers are a collection of 85 articles and essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay in the late 1780s. They were written to promote the ratification of the U.S. Constitution and explain its principles. The essays argue for a strong central government and address concerns about the potential dangers of federal authority, emphasizing the need for checks and balances within the government to protect individual rights and maintain liberty.

• The Emancipation Proclamation.: This executive order, issued by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863, declared the freedom of all enslaved people in Confederate-held territory, marking a pivotal moment in the Civil War by redefining the war's purpose to include the fight for freedom.

• The Gettysburg Address.: The Gettysburg Address is a speech by President Abraham Lincoln delivered on November 19, 1863, at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. It emphasized human equality and framed the Civil War as a struggle for both the Union and the principle of liberty. Lincoln famously stated that the nation should have a 'new birth of freedom.'

Must-Know Supreme Court Cases

• Marbury v. Madison.

• McCulloch v. Maryland.

• Dred Scott v. Sandford.

• Plessy v. Ferguson.

• Brown v. Board of Education.

• Korematsu v. U.S.

Chronological Timeline

• $1776$: Declaration of Independence.

• $1787$: The Constitution.

• $1803$: The Louisiana Purchase.

• $1848$: Start of the Gold Rush.

• $1861$]–$1865$: The American Civil War.

• $1865$]–$1877$: The Reconstruction Era.

• $1890s$: The Progressive Era.

• $1914$]–$1918$: World War I.

• $1929$: The Great Depression.

• $1939$]–$1945$: World War II.

• $1947$]–$1991$: The Cold War.

• $1950s$]–$1960s$: The Civil Rights Movement.