Historical Thinking and Founding Documents

Credibility of Primary vs Secondary sources

• Primary Sources: Records of events as they are first described, usually by witnesses or by people who were involved in the event

• Secondary Sources: an analysis or restatement of primary sources. Written after the events have taken place by people who were not present at the event

• Credibility: whether or not it is trustworthy and believable

• How to determine credibility

  • check qualifications and reputation of author; determine circumstances in which the author prepared the source; identify the perspective or bias of the author; examine accuracy and internal consistency; agreement with other credible sources

Thesis Writing

• Thesis: In a historical essay, the thesis is the main claim or position statement

• requires solid evidence to support and develop. without evidence, it is just an assertion or opinion

Long Term vs. Short term effects

• Long term causes lead to long term effects

• short term causes lead to short term effects

• Causes and effects classified easily into three categories: social, political, and economic

Declaration of Independence

• Declaration of Independence written to express the ideals of:

  • unalienable rights (life, liberty, property/pursuit of happiness)

  • consent of the people

  • equality of rights for all citizens

  • responsibility of the government to protect the rights of its citizens

• unalienable rights based on ideas of the Enlightenment. rights that cannot be taken away because people are born with them

• Dissolved association with Great Britain

Precedents set by Northwest Ordinance

• Treaty of Paris (1783) formally ended the American revolution and Britain surrender Ohio Country

• Northwest Ordinance established precedents such as:

  • schools and the means of education were encourages

  • basic civil liberties (trial by jury)

  • state governments were to be republican (later in the U.S. constitution)

  • slavery was prohibited (later included in 13th amendment of constitution)

United States Constitution

• Articles of Confederation caused many problems for National Government

  • weak provisions for management of national affairs

  • No separate executive and judicial branch

  • Limited ability for resolve disputes

  • rigid requirement for passing legislation and amending the Articles

• The Constitution convention of 1787 decided to replace Articles and create U.S. Constitution

  • strengthened structure of the national government

  • separate judicial branches were established

  • more practical means of passing legislation and amending constitution

  • The new government would have ability to address the issues facing the nation

• Constitution drafted using Enlightenment Ideas

Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists and Bill of Rights

• Federalists:

  • believed a stronger national government was necessary

  • in favour of ratifying the constitution

  • prepared a series of essays published in newspapers to convince New York to support the constitution (known as The Federalist Papers)

  • Federalist Papers argued for national taxation and showed the benefits of a strong national defence through a standing army

  • did not think a bill of rights was necessary. Distribution of powers in government protected citizens’ rights

• Anti-Federalists

  • opposed the ratification of the Constitution

  • feared that giving too much power to a national government could lead to tyranny

  • Anti-Federalist Papers is a collection of essays against the constitution.

  • The papers opposed national taxation and the use of a standing army

  • Argued that the constitution granted too much power versus state power. Failed to protect citizens’ rights because they were not written out in a bill of rights

• Bill of Rights influenced by set precedents such as:

  • right to life, liberty, property

  • right to trial by jury

  • The right to religious liberty

  • protections of the accused

  • property rights

  • right to free speech and assembly , etc

Industrialization and Progressivism (1877-1920)

Transformation of the American Economy: Industrial Revolution

• Industrial Revolution: The shift made to machine made products

• First industrial revolution in the U.S. took place in early to mid-1800’s.

  • Improvements in technology

  • use of new power resources

  • use of interchangeable parts (mass production)

• Interrupted by the civil war bur reemerged with new strength in the decades that followed.

• Second Industrial Revolution happened in late 19th to 20th century

  • rise of corporations and heavy industry which transformed the economy

  • predominance of agricultural workers to a predominance of factory workers

  • rural to urban living. Living and working conditions worsened as people moved from farms to cities

• Agriculture Modernized(mechanized farming)

  • machines (McCormick reaper, thresher, steel plow, etc) allowed farmers to increase crop production

  • Machines reduced the amount of human labor needed on farms, more efficient

Social and Economic Effects of Industrialization

• Industrial revolutions increased the demand for workers.

• Immigrants came from other countries and Americans migrated from other parts of the United States for jobs

• U.S. followed laissez-faire (hands-off) approach to economics.

  • wages and working conditions not regulated

  • Men, women, children worked long hours for low pay in dangerous conditions

• Members of the working class formed labor organizations to protect their rights

  • Demanded increased workplace safety, shorter hours, higher wages, and child labor laws through bargaining and strikes

  • American Federation of Labor founded in 1886

  • United Mine Worker of America established in 1890

  • American Railway Union was founded in 1893

• Great Railroad Strike, Homestead Strike, Pullman Strike

Immigration, Internal Migration, and Urbanization

• Mass immigration filled the demand for labor and made U.S. more diverse

  • diffused new traits into the American culture

  • impacted the growth of cities

• A large number of people who migrated were African Americans who fled the south.

  • sought to escape prejudice and racism

  • changed northern cities economically and culturally

• Central cities focused on industry and business, buildings became taller, tenement buildings provided housing for working families, etc

• Cities quickly became overcrowded

  • increased crime rate with development of gangs

  • poor living conditions

• Improvements in transportation aided the development of suburbs.

  • growing middle class could commute between residential areas and central cities

• Demand for resources and land in West caused American Indians to be displaced from their ancestral lands through a series of treaties and government actions

Institutionalized racist practices in post-Reconstruction America

• Racial discrimination was institutionalized with the passage of Jim Crow laws.

  • African Americans treated like second-class citizens.

  • racial segregation in schools, buses, trains, restaurants, etc

  • Laws prohibited interracial relationships

• 15th amendment provided all men the right to vote in the United States, including freed slaves

  • South used Poll taxes, literacy tests, and grandfather clauses to limit ballot access for African Americans

• U.S. Supreme Court affirmed segregation in the Plessy v. Ferguson decision, ruling the separate but equal facilities were constitutional

• The rise of Ku Klux Klan and other nativist organizations brought increased violence against African Americans.

  • Burned churches and schools

  • drove people out of their homes

  • responsible for thousands of deaths

Progressive Reforms addressing Industrial capitalism, Urbanization, and Political Corruption

• Muckrakers exposed political corruption, corporate and industrial practice, social injustice and life in urban America

  • Ida Tarbell wrote about corrupt business practices of the standard Oil company

  • Upton Sinclair exposed insanity conditions in the meatpacking industry

• Progressives introduced reforms to address the ills of industrial capitalism

  • anti-trust lawsuits, anti-trust legislation, railroad regulation, and consumer protection legislation

  • Creation of U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, and passage of New lands Act

  • Federal reserve act passed to control the nation’s money supply and regulate the banking system.

• Cities were sites for progressive reform

  • public ownership of utilities such as gas and electric utilities

  • public transit systems established

  • tax codes and zoning codes were updated

  • standard for housing and sanitation were instituted in several cities

• Progressives fought political corruption and introduced reforms to make the political process more democratic

  • Included initiative; referendum;recall;secret ballot;new types of municipal government; civil service reform; primary elections

Foreign Affairs: Imperialism to Post-World War I (1898 - 1930)

United States Emerges as a World Power

• Primary Factors for American imperial expansion:

  • global competition for markets and prestige

  • an Expanded navy

  • a sense of cultural superiority

  • Growth of industrialization demanded more natural resources and new markets for products

• U.S. engaged in series of overseas actions which contributed to its status as global power

  • U.S. annexed Hawaii. Hawaii served as mid-pacific naval base. Sugar planters wanted to annex Hawaii to eliminate tariffs

• U.S. support for Cuban independence and protection of U.S. commerce led to war with Spain.

  • Spanish American war ended Spain’s empire in the Western Hemisphere

  • Spanish give up claims on Cuba, Guam, Puerto Rico, and Philippines to U.S.

• U.S. Enters World War I on the side of the Allies

  • mobilized a large army and navy to help Allies win

  • U.S. enjoyed period of economic prosperity white Europe Rebuilt. Asserted authority as a world power

Policy of Isolationism

• U.S. emerge as world leader and pursue efforts to maintain world peace

  • President Wilson’s Fourteen Points shape help shape Treaty of Versailles (league of nations)

  • people who oppose of League of Nations wanted to avoid foreign affairs

  • U.S. did not join league of nations

• Many treaty’s put in place to avoid war, restrict use of arms, limit naval tonnage, restrict build ships and bases, etc

Prosperity, Depression and the New Deal (1919 - 1941)

Racial Intolerance, Ant-Immigrant Attitudes, and the Red Scare

• Racial Intolerance, anti-immigrant Attitudes, and the Red Scare contributed to social unrest after World War I

• Great Migration: mass movement of African Americans from he south to the north in the first half of the 20th century

  • Sought to escape prejudice, discrimination and secure better jobs

• Lynchings and the enforcement of Jim Crow legislation continued in south

  • Lynching: executing people by mob action. Act of terror meant to spread fear among African Americans

• Revival of Ku Klux Klan across United Sates

  • Second Klan used terror tactics to intimidate many groups (African american, roman Catholics, Jews, immigrants)

• Success of Russian Revolution, U.S. Labor strikes, and bombings stirred fears of revolution among Americans

  • Red Scare of 1919-1920 was reaction to these perceived threats

  • led to imprisonment and deportation of many foreign born residents perceived as radicals

Improved Living Standards and technological innovations —> social and Cultural Changes and Tensions

• U.S. experienced period of successful advances in industry and economic boom that improved standard of living

• Technological innovations include:

  • the first commercial radio broadcast, talking motion pictures, less expensive printing (news and magazine prices were lowers) development of a popular culture and mass advertising

• Advances in Transportation include:

  • Model A Ford and the airplane. Model A replaced Model T. First airplane took off in 1903 but not commonplace until 1925

• Some innovations challenged traditional social customs and created tensions

  • Automobile —> growth of suburbs, creation of new businesses (motels, gas stations), expansion of related production factories (rubber, plate glass, steel, petroleum)

Harlem Renaissance, African-American Migration, Women’s suffrage and Prohibition

• Harlem became center of African American culture during 1920’s, attracting African American intellectuals and artists

• Harlem Renaissance was a celebration of African American culture and contributed to social change

  • art and literature increased awareness of the struggles related to intolerance

  • Jazz Music flourished and became an established American music genre

• African American population increased In major cities in the north dramatically

  • increased competition for jobs, housing, and public services. Major source of tenting between African Americans and whites

• Supporters of women’s suffrage argued granting women the right to vote would prove that he allies were fighting for democracy

  • Passage of 19th amendment in 1920 allowed women to vote. brought more women into the political process

• Movement to prohibit alcohol resulted in the ratification of the 18th amendment

  • banned the production, transport, sale,( but not private passion of consumption) of alcohol

  • Mixed results. Established closed, enforcing law proved almost impossible (smuggling, organized crimes, speakeasies, etc). Divided the nation

  • Prohibition repealed with 21st Amendment in 1933

Causes of the Great Depression

• Great Depression caused in part by federal governments monetary policies, stock market speculation, and consumer debt

  • Excessive amount of lending by banks. Led to stock market speculation and use of credit

  • Federal Reserve attempted to control this by constricting money supply

  • Harder for people to repay debts for businesses, including banks

  • More goods being produced than most people could afford. Factories closed, workers lost income, consumer debt increased

• Stock Market Speculation

  • Investors buying on Margin with the hope to make huge profits

  • Individuals took out loans for as much as 90% of the stock price

  • Problematic when stock prices fell and banks could not recoup their loans

Efforts to Combat Great Depression and an Expanded Role of the Federal Government

• Newly elected Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932 created the New Deal to Combat Great Depression

  • Role of federal government greatly expanded

  • National Recovery Administration (NRA) designed to help economy recover

  • Works Progress Administration (WPA) and Civilization Conservation Corps provided relief to the unemployed by creating jobs

  • Other programs introduced reforms for the protection of the elderly, farmers, investors, and laborers

From Isolation to World War II (1930-1945)

American Isolationist Sentiment in the Interwar Period

• U.S. government attempted to distance the country from events in Europe and Asia until the beginning of WWII

  • U.S. reluctant to become entangled in overseas conflict after WWI

  • Neighbor Policy emphasized cooperation and trade rather than military force to maintain stability

• U.S. passed laws asserting neutrality before WWII to prevent being entangled in foreign war

  • Neutrality Acts banned trade of arms with countries at war

• Expansionist policies of Japan and bombing of Pearl Harbor ended U.S. Isolationist policies

  • U.S. declared war on Japan on December 8, 1941, one day after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor

Mobilization of Economics and Military Resourced during WWII

• Mobilization is the act of assembling and making both soldiers and supplies ready for war

  • Federal government reorganized factories, converting them from producing consumer good and services to making materials to support war effort

  • Rationing system established to regulate amount of commodities consumers could purchase

• Peacetime draft instituted in 1940

  • Every man between ages 21-35 was required to register

• Scrap drives conducted to reuse materials for war goods

• Raised victory gardens to supplement food supplies and purchased war bonds to help fund war

• Job opportunities in workforce and military opened for women and minorities

  • women worked in factories previously opened to only men

  • African Americans organized to end discrimination so they could contribute to war effort

  • More than 1 million African Americans served in u.s. military during the war

  • Japanese Americans interned in relocation camps by the government. despite this, many enlisted in armed services

The Cold War

Social Transformations in the United States

United states and the Post-Cold War World (1991 - Present)