APUSH Final Exam Review Notes

Spanish American War

• Fought between Spain and the United States in 1898.
• Resulted in the U.S. acquiring territories like Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines.
• The sinking of the USS Maine in Havana harbor was a major catalyst.

Open Door Policy

• Aimed at maintaining free trade in China for all nations.
• Proposed by U.S. Secretary of State John Hay in 1899.

Jamestown: Tobacco, Motivations

• Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in North America (1607).
• Tobacco cultivation, introduced by John Rolfe, became the economic backbone of the colony.
• Motivations for settlement included economic opportunities and the search for wealth.

Pilgrims

• English religious separatists who founded Plymouth Colony in 1620.
• Sought religious freedom from the Church of England.

Mayflower Compact

• An agreement signed by the Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower in 1620.
• Established a form of self-government based on majority rule.

Mercantilism

• Economic theory that emphasizes government regulation of trade to benefit the mother country.
• Colonies exist to provide raw materials and markets for the mother country.

New England vs. Middle vs. Southern Colonies

• New England: Focused on shipbuilding, fishing, and commerce; characterized by Puritan religious values.
• Middle Colonies: Diverse economy including farming and trade; known for religious tolerance and diverse population.
• Southern Colonies: Agrarian economy based on cash crops like tobacco and cotton; reliant on slave labor.

Containment

• U.S. foreign policy during the Cold War aimed at preventing the spread of communism.
• George Kennan's "Long Telegram" outlined the strategy.

Reasons for Korean War

• North Korea's invasion of South Korea in 1950, supported by the Soviet Union and China.
• U.S. involvement was based on the policy of containment.

End of Korean War

• Ended in 1953 with an armistice agreement, but no formal peace treaty.
• The Korean peninsula remained divided at the 38th parallel.

Stamp Act

• British tax imposed on the American colonies in 1765 requiring a stamp on all printed materials.
• Led to widespread protests and boycotts, contributing to the growing tensions between Britain and the colonies.
• "No taxation without representation" became a rallying cry.

French and Indian War Causes

• Conflict between Britain and France (1754-1763) over control of North America.
• Competition for land and resources in the Ohio River Valley.

Reaganomics

• Economic policies of President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s.
• Focused on supply-side economics, tax cuts, deregulation, and reduced government spending.

Common Sense

• A pamphlet written by Thomas Paine in 1776 advocating for American independence.
• Played a significant role in swaying public opinion towards independence.

Kent State

• Site of a shooting in 1970 where National Guard troops killed four students protesting the Vietnam War.
• Symbolic of the growing anti-war sentiment and social unrest in the United States.

Treaty of Paris 1783

• Ended the American Revolutionary War.
• Britain recognized American independence and ceded territory east of the Mississippi River.

Articles of Confederation

• The first government established by the newly independent United States (1781-1789).
• Weak central government with limited powers, leading to significant challenges.

Shay's Rebellion

• An uprising in Massachusetts in 1786-1787 led by Daniel Shays, a veteran of the Revolutionary War.
• Highlighted the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation and the need for a stronger national government.

Great Society

• A set of domestic programs launched by President Lyndon B. Johnson in the 1960s.
• Aimed at poverty reduction, racial equality, and improved education and healthcare; included programs like Medicare and Medicaid.

Arab Oil Embargo

• In 1973, Arab members of OPEC imposed an embargo on oil exports to the United States and other countries supporting Israel.
• Led to an energy crisis and increased inflation.

Constitutional Convention

• Meeting in Philadelphia in 1787 to revise the Articles of Confederation.
• Resulted in the drafting of the United States Constitution.

Iran-Contra Affair

• A political scandal in the 1980s involving the Reagan administration.
• Secretly sold arms to Iran in exchange for the release of American hostages, and profits from the sales were used to fund the Contras in Nicaragua.

Social Darwinism

• The application of Darwinian principles of natural selection to human society.
• Justified social inequality and laissez-faire economics.

Waves of Immigration

• Old Immigration: Primarily from Northern and Western Europe in the early to mid-19th century.
• New Immigration: Primarily from Southern and Eastern Europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Collective Bargaining

• Negotiations between employers and employees (usually through a union) to determine wages, hours, and working conditions.

AFL and Knights of Labor

• Knights of Labor: An early labor organization that sought to unite workers across different skill levels and industries.
• American Federation of Labor (AFL): A federation of craft unions focused on skilled workers and practical goals.

Haymarket Riot

• A labor protest in Chicago in 1886 that turned violent after a bomb exploded.
• Damaged the labor movement's reputation and led to the decline of the Knights of Labor.

Laissez-faire

• Economic doctrine that opposes government intervention in the economy.
• Advocates for free markets and minimal regulation.

Sherman Antitrust

• The first federal antitrust law, passed in 1890.
• Aimed at preventing monopolies and promoting competition.

Jefferson and the Bank

• Thomas Jefferson opposed the creation of a national bank, arguing that it was unconstitutional.
• He believed it would benefit commercial interests at the expense of farmers.

Washington Foreign Policy

• President George Washington advocated for a policy of neutrality and non-intervention in foreign affairs.
• Warned against entangling alliances in his Farewell Address.

Alien and Sedition Acts

• Four laws passed by the Federalist-controlled Congress in 1798.
• Increased the residency requirement for citizenship, allowed the president to deport aliens, and criminalized criticism of the government.

Embargo Act 1807

• A law passed by Congress that prohibited American ships from trading with foreign ports.
• Intended to pressure Britain and France to respect American neutrality, but it harmed the American economy.

Louisiana Purchase

• The acquisition of the Louisiana Territory from France in 1803.
• Doubled the size of the United States and gave it control of the Mississippi River.

Federalists vs. Democratic Republicans (their beliefs)

• Federalists: Advocated for a strong central government, supported by commercial interests.
• Democratic-Republicans: Favored a limited government, supported by farmers and planters.

Progressive Movement and Industrialization

• The Progressive Movement (late 19th and early 20th centuries) sought to address the social and economic problems caused by industrialization.
• Focused on reforms such as regulation of monopolies, improved working conditions, and women's suffrage.

Middle Class Progressive Movement

• Driven by middle-class reformers who sought to improve society through education, regulation, and moral reform.

Monroe Doctrine

• A U.S. foreign policy statement issued in 1823.
• Declared that the Americas were no longer open to European colonization and warned against European interference in the affairs of independent American nations.

Clay's American System

• A set of policies promoted by Henry Clay in the early 19th century.
• Included a national bank, protective tariffs, and internal improvements (roads, canals, etc.).

Nullification

• The idea that a state can declare a federal law unconstitutional and refuse to enforce it.
• Prominent during the Nullification Crisis of the 1830s, when South Carolina attempted to nullify federal tariffs.

Muckrakers

• Investigative journalists who exposed corruption and social problems in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
• Examples include Upton Sinclair (The Jungle) and Ida Tarbell (The History of the Standard Oil Company).

Seneca Falls Convention

• The first women's rights convention in the United States, held in Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848.
• Issued the Declaration of Sentiments, calling for women's equality and suffrage.

Anthracite Coal Strike 1902

• A strike by coal miners in Pennsylvania that threatened the nation's coal supply.
• President Theodore Roosevelt intervened, mediating a settlement that gave the miners some of their demands.

Manifest Destiny

• The belief that the United States was destined to expand across the North American continent.
• Used to justify westward expansion and the displacement of Native Americans.

Gadsden Purchase

• The purchase of a strip of land from Mexico in 1853.
• Completed the continental expansion of the United States.

Era of Good Feelings

• A period in the United States following the War of 1812 (1815-1825).
• Marked by a sense of national unity and political harmony during James Monroe's presidency.

The Jungle

• A novel by Upton Sinclair published in 1906.
• Exposed the unsanitary conditions in the meatpacking industry and led to the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act.

Trust Busting

• Government action to break up monopolies and trusts.
• Associated with President Theodore Roosevelt, who earned the nickname "trustbuster."

Jackson on Nullification

• President Andrew Jackson opposed nullification and threatened to use military force to enforce federal laws in South Carolina.

Common Man Politics

• Andrew Jackson's presidency marked a shift towards greater popular participation in politics.
• Expanded suffrage and emphasized the importance of the common person.

Election of 1912: The split

• Presidential election in which Theodore Roosevelt ran as a third-party candidate (Progressive Party).
• Split the Republican vote and allowed Democrat Woodrow Wilson to win.

Missouri Compromise

• An agreement in 1820 that admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state.
• Prohibited slavery in the Louisiana Territory north of the 36°30′ parallel.

Popular Sovereignty

• The idea that residents of a territory should decide whether to allow slavery.
• Used in the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, which led to violence in Kansas.

Radical Republicans and Reconstruction

• Radical Republicans in Congress sought to protect the rights of African Americans and punish the South during Reconstruction.

Plessy vs. Ferguson

• A Supreme Court case in 1896 that upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation under the "separate but equal" doctrine.

Spanish American War: The Philippines

• The U.S. victory in the Spanish-American War led to the acquisition of the Philippines.
• Filipino nationalists, led by Emilio Aguinaldo, fought for independence from both Spain and the United States.

Big Stick Policy

• President Theodore Roosevelt's foreign policy approach.
• Advocated for using military strength to promote American interests in Latin America; "Speak softly and carry a big stick."

Roosevelt Corollary

• An addition to the Monroe Doctrine, articulated by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1904.
• Asserted the right of the United States to intervene in the domestic affairs of Latin American countries to maintain stability.

Dollar Diplomacy

• President William Howard Taft's foreign policy approach.
• Emphasized the use of economic power to promote American interests in Latin America and East Asia.

Moral Diplomacy

• President Woodrow Wilson's foreign policy approach.
• Focused on promoting democracy and human rights around the world.

Zimmerman Telegram

• A secret diplomatic communication issued from the German Foreign Office in January 1917 that proposed a military alliance between Germany and Mexico in the event of the United States entering World War I against Germany.
• Intercepted by the British and revealed to the United States which helped generate support for U.S. entry into World War I.

U.S. Entry into WW2

• The United States entered World War II after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941.

Sedition and Espionage Acts 1918

• Laws passed during World War I that restricted freedom of speech and allowed the government to imprison or deport those who criticized the war effort.

League of Nations

• An international organization established after World War I to promote peace and cooperation.
• The United States did not join, due to opposition in the Senate.

Appeasement

• A policy of giving in to the demands of an aggressor to avoid war.
• Used by Britain and France towards Nazi Germany in the 1930s.

Isolationism

• Foreign policy approach of avoiding alliances and involvement in international conflicts.
• Popular in the United States between World War I and World War II.

Japan's Invasion of Manchuria

• Japan's invasion of Manchuria in 1931, a violation of international agreements.
• Demonstrated the weakness of the League of Nations.

Japanese Internment

• The forced relocation and incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II.
• Based on fears of espionage and sabotage.

End of Great Depression

• The Great Depression gradually ended with the mobilization of the U.S. economy for World War II.

Women Post-WW2

• After World War II, many women were encouraged to return to traditional roles as homemakers.
• However, women's participation in the workforce continued to increase in the following decades.

Kellog-Briand Pact

• A treaty signed in 1928 that outlawed war as an instrument of national policy.
• Proved ineffective, as it lacked enforcement mechanisms.

Treaty of Versailles

• The treaty that ended World War I.
• Imposed harsh terms on Germany, including territorial losses, reparations, and disarmament.

Republican Formula

• Associated with the 1920s, emphasizing high tariffs, low taxes, and limited government regulation of business.

Leisure time of the 1930s

• Despite the economic hardship of the Great Depression, leisure activities such as movies, radio, and sports remained popular.

Red Scare

• A period of intense anti-communist fear in the United States after World War I and World War II.
• Led to the persecution of suspected radicals and political repression.

Farmers in the 1920s

• Farmers struggled during the 1920s due to overproduction and falling prices.

Stock Market Crash

• The stock market crash of 1929 marked the beginning of the Great Depression.

Hoover and the Depression

• President Herbert Hoover's response to the Great Depression was criticized for being inadequate.
• He initially opposed direct government relief, believing it would undermine individual initiative.

Bonus Army

• A group of World War I veterans who marched on Washington, D.C., in 1932 to demand early payment of their promised bonuses.
• Driven away by the military, which damaged Hoover's reputation.

FDR winning in 1932

• Franklin D. Roosevelt won the 1932 presidential election in a landslide victory over Herbert Hoover.
• Promised a "New Deal" for the American people.

CCC and CWA: What's the point?

• Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and Civil Works Administration (CWA) were New Deal programs designed to provide employment during the Great Depression.
• CCC focused on conservation projects, while CWA focused on infrastructure projects.

Agricultural Adjustment Act

• A New Deal program that sought to raise crop prices by paying farmers to reduce production.

National Recovery Administration

• A New Deal agency that attempted to regulate industry and stabilize prices.
• Later declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

Huey Long's Share the Wealth

• Huey Long: Louisiana Governor and Senator.
• "Share Our Wealth" plan proposed redistribution of wealth by capping personal fortunes and guaranteeing a minimum income to each family.

Court Packing Controversy

• President Franklin D. Roosevelt's plan to expand the Supreme Court to appoint justices who supported his New Deal programs.
• Met with strong opposition and ultimately failed.

New Deal

• A set of programs and policies enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Great Depression.
• Aimed at providing relief, recovery, and reform.

Social Security Act

• Landmark legislation passed in 1935 that established a system of old-age insurance, unemployment compensation, and aid to families with dependent children.

Watergate

• A political scandal in the 1970s involving the Nixon administration.
• Began with a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate Hotel; led to Nixon's resignation.

McCarthyism

• A period of intense anti-communist suspicion in the United States in the early 1950s.
• Led by Senator Joseph McCarthy, who accused many Americans of being communists or communist sympathizers.

Flappers

• Young women in the 1920s who challenged traditional gender roles through their dress, behavior, and attitudes.

Dust Bowl

• An ecological disaster that struck the Great Plains in the 1930s.
• Caused by drought, overfarming, and high winds which led to widespread crop failure and displacement.

Persian Gulf War

• A military conflict in 1991 in which a coalition of countries, led by the United States, liberated Kuwait from Iraqi occupation.

Atomic Bombs

• The United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, in August 1945.
• Led to Japan's surrender and the end of World War II.

Impeachment of Clinton

• President Bill Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives in 1998 on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice.
• He was acquitted by the Senate.

JFK Assassination

• President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, in November 1963.
• Lee Harvey Oswald was accused of the crime.

Pearl Harbor

• The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, which led to the United States entering World War II.

Emancipation Proclamation

• An executive order issued by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863.
• Declared that all slaves in Confederate-held territory were free.

War of 1812

• A conflict between the United States and Great Britain (1812-1815).
• Causes included British impressment of American sailors and interference with American trade.

XYZ Affair

• A diplomatic incident in 1797 and 1798 between the United States and France.
• American diplomats were asked to pay a bribe to meet with French officials, leading to outrage in the United States.

Iran Contra

• See Iran-Contra Affair.

14 points

• President Woodrow Wilson's plan for peace after World War I.
• Included proposals for self-determination, open diplomacy, and the League of Nations.

Star Wars

• Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI). Proposed by President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s to create a space-based missile defense system.

Vietnamization

• President Richard Nixon's policy of gradually withdrawing U.S. troops from Vietnam and turning over the fighting to the South Vietnamese.

Mexican War

• A conflict between the United States and Mexico (1846-1848) over territory in the Southwest.
• The United States won and acquired vast territories, including California and New Mexico.

3 Rs

• Relief, Recovery, Reform: The three main goals of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal program to alleviate the effects of the Great Depression.

Whiskey Rebellion

• A protest in 1794 by farmers in western Pennsylvania against a federal tax on whiskey.
• Suppressed by the Washington administration, demonstrating the power of the federal government.

Indian Removal

• A policy of the United States government in the 19th century that forced Native American tribes to relocate west of the Mississippi River.
• The Trail of Tears was the forced march of the Cherokee Nation from their homeland to Oklahoma.

Cuban Missile Crisis

• A confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union in 1962 over the presence of Soviet missiles in Cuba.
• Brought the world to the brink of nuclear war.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

• A resolution passed by Congress in 1964 that authorized President Lyndon B. Johnson to take military action in Vietnam.

Spoils System

• The practice of rewarding political supporters with government jobs.
• Associated with President Andrew Jackson.

CREEP

• Committee to Re-Elect the President: Richard Nixon's campaign committee in 1972 that engaged in illegal activities, including the Watergate break-in.

Hartford Convention

• A meeting of New England Federalists in 1814 to discuss their grievances with the War of 1812.
• Some participants proposed secession, which damaged the Federalist Party's reputation.

Oregon Treaty

• A treaty between the United States and Great Britain in 1846 that established the boundary between the United States and British North America (Canada) at the 49th parallel.

Bank Holiday

• A temporary closure of banks declared by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933 to stabilize the banking system during the Great Depression.

Jay's Treaty

• A treaty between the United States and Great Britain in 1794 that resolved some issues left over from the Revolutionary War.
• It was controversial due to perceived concessions to the British.