American History: 1877 to Present - Study Guide
The North and The South
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A) Founding Colonies of North and South1...
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Definition/Description: The establishment of colonies in North America by the British, with distinct economic, cultural, and political differences between the North and South1....
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Context: Early European settlement, Jamestown (South) in 1607, Plymouth (North) in 16202. Two major reasons British came to the Americas: land and religious freedom2.
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Significance: These differences laid the groundwork for future sectional divisions and conflicts1.
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B) Slavery2...
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Definition/Description: A system of forced labor that heavily influenced the economic and social structures of the North and South2....
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Context: Staple crops in the South, three phases of labor in America, five ways that American slavery is different, the growth of race-based slavery2. Slavery was always a choice2.
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Significance: Slavery created significant economic and moral divisions between the regions, leading to debates over its expansion and eventual abolition3.
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C) Big vs Small Government3...
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Definition/Description: Differing views on the size and power of government, reflecting sectional divisions3....
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Context: Mercantilism, Articles of Confederation, three articles dealing with slavery in the Constitution, Nullification Crisis (1820s-1830s), The South Carolina Exposition and Protest (1828)3.... Southerners favored small government4.
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Significance: These differing views led to conflicts over tariffs, states' rights, and the balance of power between the federal government and individual states3.
II. The Civil War
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A) Land Expansion4...
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Definition/Description: The expansion of the United States into new territories, which intensified debates over the expansion of slavery4....
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Context: Louisiana Purchase (1803), territory from US-Mexican War (1846), Missouri Compromise, Popular Sovereignty, Brooks-Sumner Caning (May 22, 1856), Dred Scott (1857)4....
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Significance: Land expansion heightened tensions between the North and South, contributing to the outbreak of the Civil War5.
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B) The Civil War5...
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Definition/Description: A war fought between the United States (Union) and the Confederate States of America (Confederacy) from 1861 to 18655....
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Context: Southern Nationalism, Election of 1860, South Carolina Secedes (December 20, 1860). Problems of Modern Warfare: Minié Ball, The Battle of Antietam (September 17, 1862), Mathew Brady, Emancipation Proclamation (September 22, 1862), Exhaustion Plan, Sherman’s March to the Sea5....
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Significance: The war resulted in the abolition of slavery, preservation of the Union, and significant social and economic changes5. It was the first experience of modern warfare in the Americas5.
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C) The Effects of War8...
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Definition/Description: The changes and controversies that arose in the United States as a result of the Civil War8....
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Context: Transcontinental Telegraph Act, Pacific Railway Act, Newton Knight, “Twenty Negro Law”, Lee surrenders at Appomattox (April 9, 1865), Abraham Lincoln’s Assassination (April 14, 1865), United Daughters of the Confederacy (formed 1894), The Myth of the Lost Cause, Reasons Why the Confederacy Lost8....
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Significance: The war led to economic expansion in the North and economic contraction in the South, social unrest, and differing experiences for the North and South8....
III. Reconstruction and the Gilded Age
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A) Reconstruction and White Supremacy8...
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Definition/Description: The period after the Civil War focused on rebuilding the United States and the rise of white supremacist ideologies and practices8....
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Context: Thirteenth Amendment (January 31, 1865), 10-Percent Plan, Andrew Johnson, Black Codes, Civil Rights Act of 1866, Fourteenth Amendment (June 13, 1866), Reconstruction Act (March 2, 1867), Fifteenth Amendment (1869), The Klan, Congress’s Force Acts (1870 and 1871), Freedmen’s Bureau (March 3, 1865), Sharecropping8....
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Significance: Despite efforts to establish equality, white supremacists sought to maintain their dominance through various means, undermining the goals of Reconstruction8.
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B) The Gilded Age and Inequality11...
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Definition/Description: A period of rapid economic growth and industrialization in the late 19th century, characterized by significant inequality and social problems11....
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Context: Booker T. Washington, Accommodationism, W.E.B. De Bois, The Talented Tenth, The Niagara Movement (1905), Trusts, John D. Rockefeller & Standard Oil, Horizontal Integration, Vertical Integration, The Wabash Case (1886), The Interstate Commerce Act (1887), The Sherman Antitrust Act (1890), Social Darwinism, Herbert Spencer, The Knights of Labor (1870s), Haymarket (1886), The American Federation of Labor, The Pendleton Act (1883)11.... Losing Black Rights: Poll taxes, literacy requirements, and grandfather clause, Civil Rights Act of 1875, Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), Cummings v. the Board of Education of Virginia (1899)12.
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Significance: This era saw the rise of big business, labor movements, and attempts to address the problems of racism and industrialization11.
IV. The Beginnings of an American Empire
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A) The West14...
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Definition/Description: The expansion of the United States into the Great Plains and the treatment of Native Americans14....
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Context: Homestead Act (1862), two issues in the way of white expansion: Natives and Bison. Native American Reservations, Bison extermination, Dawes Severalty Act (1887), Sioux, Comanche, and Cheyenne, Little Bighorn (1876), The Ghost Dance, Wounded Knee (1890)14....
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Significance: The U.S. adopted an increasingly imperialistic attitude toward Native Americans, leading to conflict and displacement14.
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B) Currency Issues and Populism14...
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Definition/Description: Debates over currency and the rise of the Populist movement14....
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Context: Two major issues in Gilded Age Politics: Tariffs and Currency. Greenbacks, Gold Standard, Sherman Silver Purchase Act, Alliance Movement, Populists (formed 1892), Jacob Coxey, William Jennings Bryan, “Cross of Gold,” William McKinley14....
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Significance: Currency debates and the Populist movement reflected the economic hardships and political discontent of farmers and laborers14.
V. The Spanish-American War
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A) The Expansionist Impulse17...
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Definition/Description: Reasons why many in the United States believed expanding into new territory would be beneficial17....
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Context: Monroe Doctrine, Manifest Destiny, John L. O’Sullivan, American Exceptionalism, The Influence of Sea Power in History, Alfred T. Mahan, Frontier Thesis, Frederick Jackson Turner17....
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Significance: This expansionist impulse led to the Spanish-American War and the acquisition of new territories17.
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B) The Spanish-American War17...
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Definition/Description: The war and its acquisitions as manifestations of imperialist attitudes in the U.S17....
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Context: Cuba, The Yellow Press, The Maine (February 1898), The Teller Amendment (April 20, 1898), Annexation of Hawaii, Philippines, Anti-Imperialism, Puerto Rico, Downes v. Bidwell (1901), Race and Citizenship17....
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Significance: The war resulted in the U.S. acquiring territories such as the Philippines, Puerto Rico and Guam, marking a shift towards imperialism17.
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C) Intervention Instead of Colonization19...
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Definition/Description: The difference between early U.S. expansion and foreign policy post-189819....
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Context: The Platt Amendment (1901), The Roosevelt Corollary (1904), “Dollar Diplomacy,” Panama Canal (acquired 1903), Cuba19....
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Significance: The U.S. shifted towards interventionist policies rather than direct colonization20.
VI. The Progressive Era
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A) Progressive Era Foundations20...
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Definition/Description: Reasons why Progressive Era reforms were necessary and who the reformers were20....
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Context: Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire (March 25, 1911), Interchangeable Parts, Standardization, 3 Social Results of the Rise of Industrialization, Managerial Capitalism, Segmented Cities, Muckraking Reformers, Jacob Riis, Social Gospel Movement, Challenging Social Darwinism, Jane Addams, Hull House20....
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Significance: Progressive reforms aimed to address the social and economic problems caused by industrialization and urbanization20.
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B) Progressive Era Regulation23...
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Definition/Description: Court cases and legislation attempting to fix the problems of unregulated industrialization23....
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Context: The Socialist Party of America (1901), The Appeal to Reason, Fourteenth Amendment Interpretation, Allgeyer vs Louisiana (1897), “liberty of contract”, Lochner v. New York (1905), Muller v. Oregon (1908), Prohibition Movement, Women’s Suffrage Movement, The Pure Food and Drug Act (1906), The Meat Inspection Act (1906), Roosevelt and Big Government, The Bureau of Corporations (1903), The Hepburn Act (1906)23....
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Significance: These regulations sought to protect workers, consumers, and the public interest from the negative effects of industrialization23.
VII. The First World War and Its Legacies
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A) The Origins of WWI23...
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Definition/Description: How the war started and the initial U.S. reactions to the war in Europe23....
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Context: Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand (June 28, 1914), Gavrilo Princip, 3 Big Causes of WWI, Nationalism, Colonialism, Alliance System, Congress of Vienna (1815), Woodrow Wilson, U-Boats, RMS Lusitania (May 1915), National Defense Act (1916), Trench Warfare, The Selective Service Act of 1917, Committee for Public Information23....
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Significance: The war's origins in European conflicts and the initial U.S. response set the stage for eventual American involvement23.