apush semester test

Andrew Johnson (1865-1869)

  • 13th Amendment: Abolished slavery.

  • Freedmen’s Bureau: Helped former slaves.

  • 1867 Alaska Purchased: U.S. bought Alaska from Russia.

  • Reconstruction Acts: Divided South into military zones.

  • 14th Amendment 1868: Gave citizenship and equal protection.

  • 1868 Tenure of Office Act/Impeachment: Restricted Johnson’s power.

  • Carnegie Steel Company Formed: Major steel company.

Ulysses S. Grant (1869-1877)

  • Transcontinental Railroad Completed (1869): Linked east and west.

  • Knights of Labor Formed: Early labor union.

  • 15th Amendment Ratified (1870): Voting rights regardless of race.

  • Standard Oil Formed: Dominant oil company.

  • 1876 Battle of Little Bighorn:

Rutherford B. Hayes (1877–1881)

  • Compromise of 1877: Hayes became president, Reconstruction ended.

  • Bland-Allison Act: Treasury to buy and coin silver.

  • Tuskegee Institute founded by Booker T. Washington.

James A. Garfield (1881)

  • Clara Barton creates the Red Cross (1881): Emergency aid and disaster relief.

  • Garfield’s Assassination (July 2, 1881): Civil service reform followed.

Chester A. Arthur (1881–1885)

  • Chinese Exclusion Act (1882): Restricted immigration based on nationality.

  • European Restriction Act: Limited immigration from Europe.

  • Jim Crow Laws Passed: Institutionalized racial segregation.

Grover Cleveland (1st Term, 1885–1889)

  • AFL Founded (1886): Focused on skilled labor.

  • Interstate Commerce Act (1887): Regulated railroad rates.

  • Haymarket Incident (1886): Labor protest turned violent.

  • Hull House Founded (1889): Helped immigrants and the poor.

Benjamin Harrison (1889–1893)

  • Sherman Antitrust Act (1890): Outlawed monopolies.

  • Battle of Wounded Knee (1890): Ended Native American resistance.

  • Populist Omaha Platform (1892): Advocated reforms.

Grover Cleveland (2nd Term, 1893–1897)

  • Pullman Strike (1894): Federal troops intervened.

  • Plessy v. Ferguson (1896): Legitimized racial segregation, "separate but equal".

  • Hawaii Revolt (1893): Overthrow of Queen Liliʻuokalani.

  • Cuban Revolt (1895): Fight for independence from Spain.

William McKinley (1897–1901)

  • Cross of Gold Speech: Advocated for bimetallism.

  • Spanish-American War (1898): U.S. gained territories.

  • Yellow Journalism: Sensationalist reporting.

  • USS Maine Explodes: Sparked Spanish-American War.

  • DeLome Letter: Criticism of McKinley increased tensions.

  • Paris Peace Treaty (1898): Ended Spanish-American War.

  • Open Door Policy (1899): Equal trade rights in China.

  • McKinley Assassinated (1901): Theodore Roosevelt became president.

  • Progressive Era: Lasted from the mid-1890s to the early 1930s. On the national level, this period was generally dominated by the Republican Party

Theodore Roosevelt (1901–1909)

  • Square Deal: Focused on consumer protection and conservation.

  • Panama Canal: U.S. supported Panama's independence.

  • The Jungle / Pure Food and Drug Act (1906): Regulation of food and drugs.

  • Ford Motor Company Founded (1903): Revolutionized manufacturing.

  • National Parks Expansion: Preserved land for conservation.

William Howard Taft (1909–1913)

  • NAACP Founded (1909): Advocated for civil rights.

  • Dollar Diplomacy: Used U.S. economic power.

  • 16th Amendment (1913): Federal income tax.

  • Titanic Sinks (1912): Changes in maritime safety.

Woodrow Wilson (1913–1921)

  • 17th Amendment (1913): Direct election of U.S. Senators.

  • Federal Reserve Act (1913): Managed U.S. monetary policy.

  • 18th Amendment (1919): Prohibition.

  • 19th Amendment (1920): Women's right to vote.

  • World War I (1914–1918): U.S. entered in 1917.

  • Nationalism: Strong pride and loyalty to one's nation.

  • Imperialism: Expanding a nation's power through military or economic control.

  • Militarism: Building up military strength and readiness for war.

  • Secret alliances: Agreements between countries kept hidden from others, often to prepare for war.

  • Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand: Archduke of Austria-Hungary was killed in 1914, sparking World War I.

  • USA stays neutral: The U.S. initially avoided involvement in World War I before joining in 1917.

  • Lusitania Sinks (1915): British ship with Americans aboard sunk by Germans; moved U.S. toward war.

  • Zimmerman Note (1917): German proposal to Mexico for alliance; angered Americans.

  • War Technologies: New weapons like machine guns, tanks, poison gas.

  • Chemical warfare: Use of toxic gases or chemicals to harm or kill enemies during war.

  • Shell shock: Psychological trauma caused by the stress of war, particularly from heavy artillery bombardment.

  • Trench warfare: Combat in which soldiers fight from deep trenches, leading to stalemates and harsh conditions.

  • Espionage & Sedition Acts (1917–1918): Limited anti-war speech.

  • Fourteen Points: Wilson’s peace plan.

  • Treaty of Versailles (1919): Ended WWI.

Warren G. Harding (1921–1923)

  • Naval Disarmament: Limited naval arms.

  • Dawes Plan (1924): U.S. loaned money to Germany.

  • Teapot Dome Scandal: Corruption scandal.

Calvin Coolidge (1923–1929)

  • FBI / J. Edgar Hoover: Hoover became director.

  • Scopes Trial (1925): Debate over teaching evolution.

  • Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928): Renounced war.

Herbert Hoover (1929–1933)

  • Stock Market Crash (1929): Triggered the Great Depression.

  • Hawley-Smoot Tariff (1930): Worsened the depression.

  • Hattie Caraway: First woman elected to the U.S. Senate.

  • 20th Amendment: Changed presidential inauguration to Jan 20.

Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933–1945)

  • Bank Holiday: Closed banks temporarily.

  • Share the Wealth (Huey Long): Radical proposal.

  • New Deal: Programs for relief and reform.

  • World War II: U.S. joined after Pearl Harbor.

  • Pearl Harbor (1941): Led to U.S. entry into WWII.

  • D-Day (1944): Allied invasion of France.

  • Eisenhower/MacArthur: Military leaders during WWII.

  • Holocaust: Nazi genocide.

  • Chinese Atrocities: Refers to events like the Rape of Nanking.

  • War Bonds: Financed the war.

  • Women Workers: Took factory jobs.

Harry Truman (1945–1953)

  • End of WWII (1945): Atomic bombs on Hiroshima & Nagasaki.

  • Korean War (1950–1953): U.S. led UN forces.

  • Ended Military Discrimination (1948): Desegregated armed forces.

  • Marshall Plan (1948): Aid to rebuild Europe.

  • Truman Doctrine (1947): Aid to countries resisting communism.

  • Creation of Israel (1948): U.S. recognized Israel.

Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953–1961)

  • Brown v. Board of Education (1954): Ended segregation in schools.

  • McCarthyism: Anti-communist hysteria.

  • National Interstate and Defense Highways Act (1956): Created highway system.

  • Levittown Suburbs: Postwar suburban growth.

  • Little Rock Crisis (1957): Enforced school integration.

  • Sputnik (1957): Started the space race.

John F. Kennedy (1961–1963)

  • Bay of Pigs Invasion (1961): Failed attempt to overthrow Castro.

  • Vietnam: Increased U.S. involvement.

  • Civil Rights Marches: End racial segregation.

  • Cuban Missile Crisis (1962): Nuclear war averted.

  • Space Race: Committed to landing on the moon.

  • Assassination (1963): Killed in Dallas, Texas.

Lyndon B. Johnson (1963–1969)

  • Vietnam War: Major escalation.

  • Tonkin Gulf Incident/Resolution (1964): Gave LBJ war powers.

  • Tet Offensive (1968): Public opinion against the war.

  • The Great Society: Programs to fight poverty.

Richard M. Nixon (1969–1974)

  • Vietnam War: Vietnamization.

  • Pentagon Papers (1971): Government deception about Vietnam.

  • Kent State Massacre (1970): Students protesting the war.

  • Trip to China (1972): Opened diplomatic relations.

  • Watergate Scandal (1972–1974): Led to Nixon’s resignation.

Gerald Ford (1974–1977)

  • Pardoned Nixon (1974): Ended Watergate saga.

  • OPEC Crisis / Gas Prices Rise: Fuel shortages and inflation.

Jimmy Carter (1977–1981)

  • Love Canal/Three Mile Island: Environmental disasters.

  • Iran Hostage Crisis (1979–1981): Americans held for 444 days.

Ronald Reagan (1981–1989)

  • Reaganomics: Tax cuts and deregulation.

  • Terrorism / Beirut Bombing (1983): U.S. Marines killed.

  • Sandra Day O’Connor (1981): First woman on Supreme Court.

George H. W. Bush (1989–1993)

  • Fall of Communism / Berlin Wall (1989): End of Cold War.

  • Persian Gulf War / Desert Storm (1991): Expelled Iraq from Kuwait.

Bill Clinton (1993–2001)

  • “It’s the Economy, Stupid”: Focus on economic issues.

  • 1993 WTC Bombing: First terrorist attack.

  • Oklahoma City Bombing (1995): Domestic terrorism.

  • NAFTA Passed (1994): Free trade zone.

  • Impeachment (1998): Perjury and obstruction.

George W. Bush (2001–2009)

  • 9/11 Attacks (2001): Terrorist attacks on NYC and DC.

  • Osama bin Laden/Afghanistan War (2001–present): U.S. invasion of Afghanistan.

  • Saddam Hussein/Iraq War (2003–2010): U.S. invasion of Iraq.