APUSH Period 6-9 (ADAM NORRIS)

APUSH PERIOD 6 (1865–1898)

The Gilded Age

→ Term coined by Mark Twain.
→ America looked prosperous on the surface, but underneath were major social, economic, and political problems.

Key features:

Government subsidies fueled westward expansion, especially railroads.
Rise of monopolies to gain power and resources.
Businesses expanded into overseas markets, especially Asia.
Social Darwinism justified wealth inequality (“survival of the fittest”).
Huge gap between rich and poor; conspicuous consumption among wealthy.

This era looked shiny but was full of inequality and corruption.

Workforce Changes

Farmers moved to cities for industrial jobs.
By 1920, more Americans lived in cities than farms.
Led to lower wages and increased child labor.

Labor Unions Emerged:

Knights of Labor
- Skilled + unskilled workers
- Declined after Haymarket Riot
American Federation of Labor (AFL)
- Skilled workers only
- Led by Samuel Gompers
- More successful

Workers organized because industrialization created harsh working conditions.

The “New South”

Idea: industrialize the South after the Civil War.
Reality: sharecropping and tenant farming still dominated.

The South talked about modernization but stayed economically dependent and racially oppressive.

Natural Resources, Land, and Farmers

Corporations vs. Conservationists

Early environmental movement began.
Example: Sierra Club sought to preserve natural areas.

Farmers’ Problems:

Mechanization displaced farmers.
Railroads overcharged for shipping.
Farmers formed the Grange to regulate railroads and grain storage.
Led to the Populist Party, which wanted more government control of railroads, telegraphs, and money supply.
Key figure: William Jennings Bryan (ran in 1896).

Omaha Platform (1892):

Direct election of senators
Income tax
Railroad regulation
Silver coinage (bimetallism)

Many Populist ideas became law during the Progressive Era.

Urbanization

New Immigrants:

From Southern & Eastern Europe (Italy, Poland).
Settled in cities and western boomtowns.
Faced discrimination from groups like the American Protective Association (APA).

City Characteristics:

Divided by ethnicity, race, and class.
Immigrants formed ethnic enclaves (Little Italy, Chinatowns).
Cities offered factory jobs to women, immigrants, and African Americans.

Political Machines:

Example: Tammany Hall (Boss Tweed).
Provided services in exchange for votes.

Settlement Houses:

Example: Jane Addams’ Hull House.
Helped immigrants adjust to urban life.

Westward Expansion After the Civil War

Reasons:

Economic opportunity
Government policies (Homestead Act, railroad subsidies)

Impact on Native Americans:

Treaties repeatedly violated
Violent conflicts increased
Examples:
- Chief Joseph’s surrender
- Custer’s Last Stand
- Wounded Knee (1890) — last major conflict

Assimilation Policies:

Dawes Act: broke up tribal land, forced farming, cut hair, sent children to boarding schools.

The U.S. government used force and assimilation to destroy Native cultures.

Gilded Age Politics

Focused on economic issues:

Tariffs (Republicans up, Democrats down)
Gold vs. Silver (16:1 ratio debate)
Laissez‑faire government (hands‑off economy)

Corruption → Calls for Reform

Initiative, referendum, recall (later Progressive Era)
Interstate Commerce Act: attempted to regulate railroads (weak at first)

Racism & Nativism:

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) → “separate but equal”
Chinese Exclusion Act (1882) → banned Chinese immigration
APA (anti‑Catholic, anti‑immigrant)

Intellectual Movements

Gospel of Wealth (Andrew Carnegie)

Wealthy should donate to improve society (libraries, education).

Social Darwinism (Herbert Spencer)

Applied evolution to society; justified wealth inequality.

Social Gospel

Protestant movement to improve cities and help the poor.
Influenced Progressive reforms.

African American & Women Reformers:

Booker T. Washington → vocational training
Ida B. Wells → anti‑lynching activism
Elizabeth Cady Stanton

APUSH Review: Period 7 In 10 Minutes! (1890 - 1945)

→ The U.S. transformed from a rural, isolationist nation into an urban, industrial, global power.
→ Three major themes define this period:

Progressivism
Imperialism & World Wars
Economic transformation (Boom → Bust → Recovery)

This period reshaped the federal government, the economy, and America’s role in the world.

Progressive Era (1890–1920)

→ Reformers wanted to fix problems caused by industrialization, urbanization, and corruption.

Who were Progressives?

Middle‑class reformers
Women
Journalists (muckrakers)
Urban professionals

They believed government should actively improve society.

Key Reforms:

Muckrakers exposed corruption (Ida Tarbell, Upton Sinclair).
Political reforms: initiative, referendum, recall, direct election of senators (17th Amendment).
Social reforms: settlement houses, child labor laws, temperance.
Economic reforms: trust‑busting (Roosevelt), Federal Reserve (Wilson).

Progressives expanded federal power to regulate business and protect consumers.

Imperialism (1890s–1917)

→ The U.S. expanded overseas for markets, military bases, and global influence.

Reasons for Imperialism:

Economic expansion
Social Darwinism
Missionary impulse
Naval power (Alfred Mahan)

Key Events:

Spanish‑American War (1898) → U.S. gained Puerto Rico, Guam, Philippines.
Annexation of Hawaii
Open Door Policy → equal trade in China.
Roosevelt Corollary → U.S. became “police power” in Latin America.

Imperialism marked the U.S. shift into a global empire.

World War I (1914–1918)

U.S. Neutrality → Intervention

Reasons the U.S. entered the war:

Unrestricted submarine warfare
Zimmerman Telegram
Protecting democracy and trade

War at Home:

War Industries Board → coordinated production
Committee on Public Information → propaganda
Espionage & Sedition Acts → limited civil liberties

Aftermath:

Wilson’s 14 Points (self‑determination, League of Nations)
Treaty of Versailles rejected by Senate
U.S. returned to isolationism

WWI expanded federal power but left Americans skeptical of foreign entanglements.

1920s: Modern vs. Traditional America

→ A decade of cultural conflict and economic growth.

Economic Boom:

Consumer goods (cars, radios)
Credit and installment buying
Mass production (Ford assembly line)

Cultural Conflict:

New Women (flappers) vs. traditional gender roles
Harlem Renaissance
Scopes Trial (evolution vs. religion)
Nativism → immigration quotas (1921, 1924)

The 1920s were prosperous but socially divided.

The Great Depression (1929–1939)

Causes:

Overproduction
Uneven wealth distribution
Stock market speculation
Weak banking system
Lack of regulation

Effects:

Massive unemployment
Bank failures
Homelessness (Hoovervilles)

The Depression exposed weaknesses in the U.S. economy and limited government safety nets.

The New Deal (1933–1939)

→ FDR’s plan to provide Relief, Recovery, Reform.

Relief:

CCC (jobs for young men)
WPA (public works jobs)

Recovery:

AAA (farm subsidies)
NRA (industrial codes)

Reform:

Social Security
FDIC (bank insurance)
SEC (stock market regulation)

The New Deal expanded the federal government’s role in the economy permanently.

World War II (1939–1945)

U.S. Neutrality → Intervention

Neutrality Acts (1930s)
Lend‑Lease Act (aid to Allies)
Pearl Harbor (1941) → U.S. enters war

War Mobilization:

War Production Board
Rationing
Women in workforce (Rosie the Riveter)
Japanese internment (Executive Order 9066)

Turning Points:

D‑Day (Europe)
Midway (Pacific)
Atomic bombs on Hiroshima & Nagasaki

Aftermath:

U.S. emerged as a global superpower
United Nations created
Cold War began

APUSH Review: Period 8 In 10 Minutes! (1945 - 1980)

Post–World War II America

→ The U.S. emerged from WWII as a global superpower with a booming economy.
→ Two major themes define Period 8:

Cold War foreign policy
Domestic social, political, and economic change

This era reshaped America’s global role and transformed life at home.

The Cold War Begins (1945–1991)

→ Long-term ideological conflict between the U.S. (capitalism) and the Soviet Union (communism).

Key Policies:

Containment → stop the spread of communism
Truman Doctrine → aid to Greece & Turkey
Marshall Plan → billions to rebuild Europe
NATO → military alliance against USSR

These policies committed the U.S. to global leadership.

Cold War Conflicts

Berlin Airlift (1948–49)

U.S. supplied West Berlin after Soviet blockade.

Korean War (1950–53)

U.S. fought to contain communism in Korea.
Ended in stalemate at the 38th parallel.

Vietnam War (1955–1975)

U.S. escalated under LBJ.
Highly controversial; massive protests.
Ended with U.S. withdrawal and communist victory.

These conflicts showed the limits of containment and divided Americans.

Cold War at Home

Second Red Scare

Fear of communist infiltration.
HUAC investigated suspected communists.
McCarthyism → accusations without evidence.

Nuclear Anxiety

Duck‑and‑cover drills
Bomb shelters

The Cold War shaped American culture and politics.

The 1950s: Prosperity & Conformity

Economic Boom

Growth of suburbs (Levittown)
Baby Boom
Consumer culture (TV, cars, appliances)

GI Bill

Education & housing benefits for veterans
Expanded middle class

Conformity

Traditional gender roles
Religious revival
Corporate culture

The 1950s were prosperous but socially restrictive.

Civil Rights Movement (1940s–1960s)

Legal Challenges:

Brown v. Board (1954) → ended school segregation
Overturned Plessy v. Ferguson

Direct Action:

Montgomery Bus Boycott
Sit‑ins
Freedom Rides
March on Washington

Key Leaders:

Martin Luther King Jr.
Malcolm X
Rosa Parks

Major Legislation:

Civil Rights Act (1964)
Voting Rights Act (1965)

The movement dismantled Jim Crow and expanded democracy.

1960s: Liberal Reform & Social Change

Kennedy:

New Frontier
Space Race

Johnson:

Great Society → Medicare, Medicaid, education funding
War on Poverty

Social Movements:

Women’s movement (NOW, Betty Friedan)
Chicano movement
American Indian Movement
Gay rights (Stonewall)

The 1960s expanded federal power and challenged traditional norms.

1970s: Crisis & Conservatism

Vietnam Ends (1973)

U.S. withdrawal
Distrust of government grows

Watergate (1972–74)

Nixon resigns
Public loses faith in political institutions

Economic Problems:

Stagflation (high inflation + unemployment)
Oil crises (1973, 1979)

Rise of Conservatism:

Reaction to liberal reforms
Evangelical political activism grows

The 1970s marked a shift toward conservative politics and skepticism of government.

Foreign Policy Shifts

Détente (Nixon & Ford)

Easing tensions with USSR
SALT I treaty
Opening relations with China

Carter:

Human rights focus
Camp David Accords
Iran Hostage Crisis

APUSH Review: Period 9 In 10 Minutes! (1980 - Present)

→ The U.S. shifted toward conservatism, globalization, and technological transformation.
→ Three major themes define this period:

Rise of modern conservatism
End of the Cold War & new foreign policy challenges
Economic and demographic changes shaping modern America

This era explains the political and cultural world you live in today.

Rise of Conservatism (1980s)

Why conservatism rose:

Distrust of government after Vietnam & Watergate
Economic problems of the 1970s (inflation, unemployment)
Growth of the religious right
Reaction against liberal policies of the 1960s–70s

Conservatives argued for smaller government, lower taxes, and traditional values.

Ronald Reagan (1981–1989)

Reaganomics (“supply‑side economics”):

Tax cuts
Deregulation
Reduced social spending
Increased military spending

Supporters said it stimulated growth; critics said it increased inequality and national debt.

Cold War Policy:

Called USSR the “evil empire”
Massive military buildup
Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI)
Negotiated with Gorbachev → arms reduction treaties

Reagan helped accelerate the end of the Cold War.

End of the Cold War (1989–1991)

Reasons for collapse of the USSR:

Economic stagnation
Cost of arms race
Reform movements in Eastern Europe
Gorbachev’s policies (glasnost, perestroika)

U.S. Response:

George H.W. Bush supported democratic movements
Berlin Wall fell (1989)
USSR dissolved (1991)

The U.S. emerged as the world’s sole superpower.

Post–Cold War Foreign Policy

New challenges:

Middle East conflicts
Terrorism
Humanitarian interventions
Globalization

Key Events:

Gulf War (1991)
9/11 attacks (2001)
War in Afghanistan
Iraq War (2003)

U.S. foreign policy shifted from containing communism to combating terrorism and promoting global stability.

Economic Transformations

Globalization:

Growth of international trade
Outsourcing of jobs
Rise of multinational corporations

Technology Boom:

Computers
Internet
Cell phones
Social media

These changes reshaped work, communication, and the global economy.

Social & Demographic Changes

Immigration:

Increased immigration from Latin America & Asia
Growth of multicultural society
Debates over border security and immigration policy

Population Shifts:

Movement to the Sun Belt (South & West)
Growth of suburbs
Aging population

Cultural Debates:

LGBTQ+ rights
Abortion
Gender roles
Race relations

These debates shaped modern political polarization.

Environmental & Health Issues

Climate change concerns
Debates over energy policy
Healthcare reform (Affordable Care Act, 2010)

Environmental and health policy became major political battlegrounds.

Key Themes of Period 9

Conservatism reshaped government and politics
U.S. became the dominant global power
Globalization transformed the economy
Technology revolutionized daily life
Immigration and demographic shifts changed American society