Download United States History II (H) Midterm Review Sheet The Gilded Age

United States History II (H) Midterm Review Sheet
The Gilded Age
The New Immigrants - 1890-1914:
 Came from Southern and Eastern Europe
 Disliked because they had different religions, languages, cultures, were
willing to work for lower wages, were not familiar with U.S. political
system
 Called New Immigrants b/c they came from different countries than earlier
immigrants
 Most hated of all immigrant groups is the Chinese
Immigration to the cities
 Primary source of urban population in the nineteenth century was a combination
of European immigrants and migrants from agricultural areas.
Mark Twain – The Gilded Age
 Called this because the glitter and flashiness of the time seemed to mask the
ugliness and crass materialism that lay beneath the surface.
Machine Politics
 used people’s taxes for personal wealth, padded their own pay rolls, neglected
public improvements
Unions
 Most successful focused on such goals as higher wages and shorter hours for
skilled workers.
 Labor’s rights were NOT protected by Congress
Merger
 Example=U.S. Steel
Function of government
 NOT to protect workers from unfair labor practices.
The Supreme Court
 All decisions in late 19th century favored corporations
Railroad Pool
 fix prices and divide business for greater profit
Conspicuous Consumption
 lifestyle of Newport, Rhode Island’s upper class society characterized by the
accumulation of material things for the explicit purpose of showing them off
Progressivism
Goals of Progressives

democratization of the political structure

reformation of children’s labor laws

expansion of women’s rights
Muckrakers
 They were leading critics of urban boss politics and corruption in business
 Teddy Roosevelt criticized them because he said they were more adept at
exposing abuses than at constructive efforts.
The Jungle
 Brought about the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act
Constitutional amendments 16-19
 16: imposition of an income tax
 17: procedures for electing United States senators
 18: prohibition of the sale of alcoholic beverages
 19: extension of suffrage to women
Initiative
 reform that enabled a group of voters in a state to directly introduce legislation
Recall
 allows voters to force public officials to face another election before the end of
their terms if enough voters ask for it
Theodore Roosevelt - The Modern Presidency
 Accomplishments
o the regulation of trusts
o the revival of the Sherman Antitrust Act
o the conservation of natural resources
William Howard Taft
 lost Progressive support because Teddy Roosevelt ran for office in 1912
Federal Trade Commission
 Established during Woodrow Wilson’s administration, the federal government
attempted to counteract the economic influence of big business
Imperialism: Establishing colonies and building empires for economic gain, prestige and
missionary purposes
Reason for expansion
 raw materials.
 markets for manufactured goods.
 naval bases around the world
American expansion in 1890s focused on Latin America and Asia.
Imperialist powers
 U.S.
 Japan
 Germany
Albert Beveridge
 Supported imperialism, believed U.S. needs an overseas empire to ensure its
economic prosperity
Alfred T. Mahan
 major influence upon the adoption of imperialism in America
Hawaiian Annexation Controversy
 was annexed by the US just before the Spanish American War.
The Spanish American War – causes/aftermath
 Explanations for U.S. entry into war
o President McKinley was too weak to withstand the multitude of pressures
forcing
him toward a decision for war.
o Yellow journals created an irresistible war fever by publicizing atrocities
allegedly being committed by the Spanish in Cuba.
o American businessmen wanted to protect their investments in Cuba and
assure a Cuban market for their products.
 Territories U.S. acquired from Spain
o Puerto Rico, Cuba, Philippines
The Philippine Insurrection
 U.S. soldiers destroyed their fields, burned their villages, and turned their widows
and orphans out-of-doors, forced all of them to assimilate
The Open Door Policy
 Free and equal trade in China
The Roosevelt Corollary - Dominican Republic
 Issued by Roosevelt because of American fear that financial instability in the
Dominican Republic would lead to European intervention
 The policy by which the United States assumed the role of “police officer” in the
Western Hemisphere
The Big Stick Policy
 Intervention by the U.S. government in the affairs of other nations to impose
stability
The Panama Canal
 The United States gained control of the land it needed to build the Panama Canal
by encouraging and supporting Panamanian independence
The Russo-Japanese War
 Theodore Roosevelt’s mediation in the Russo-Japanese War reflected his belief
that United States interests were best served by a balance of power between
Russia and Japan
World War I
Zimmermann Note
 proposed an alliance with Mexico if the United States declared war on Germany
Causes of War in Europe
o colonial expansion into Africa and Asia.
o a build up of armaments in industrial nations.
o a spirit of nationalism.
Trade between the US and Europe
o nearly quadrupled from 1914-1917
freedom of the seas
 The principal foreign policy issue confronting the Wilson administration between
the outbreak of the First World War in 1914 and United States involvement in the
conflict in 1917
The American Expeditionary Force
o American armed forces contributed enough strength in troops and morale to
enable the Allied armies to force the enemy to request an armistice
The Russian Revolution
o Russia experienced this during World War I and had to sign treaty with Germany
to end fighting early
Committee on Public Information
 Issued propaganda to persuade Americans that
o The United States was fighting for freedom and democracy.
o The United States was fighting a barbarous nation.
o Buying bonds was important to support the war effort.
War Boards
 primary function was to increase cooperation among business, labor, and
government
The Espionage and Sedition Acts
o During World War I, to control the opinions and actions of those opposed to the
war effort, Congress passed and the President signed
The Treaty of Versailles
o officially ending WWI.
o creating a League of Nations.
o creating new nations in Europe.
o U.S. failed to obtain ratification of the Treaty because Wilson was unwilling to
make any compromise with Senator Henry Cabot Lodge
The League of Nations
 Woodrow Wilson believed this was the key to a successful peace settlement at
Versailles
 U.S. refused to join because
o fear of further involvement in foreign wars.
o personal and political rivalries between President Woodrow Wilson and
Senator Henry Cabot Lodge.
o President Woodrow Wilson’s illness.
o a group of United States senators who opposed American participation on
any terms.
1920s
Coolidge - The Business of America Is Business
o Supported businesses above all else
Harlem Renaissance
o It flourished during the 1920s
o It consisted of a period of dramatic Black intellectual and artistic creativity
American Foreign Policy
o often took leadership roles in international disarmament agreements
Election of 1928
o enormous bigotry against Al Smith
o Smith's assertive display of his Roman Catholicism
o a popular sense that Hoover represented both tradition and progress
Washington Naval Conference
o imposed specific limitations on the number of battleships allowed to the signatory
nations
Kellogg-Briand Pact
o It was a multilateral pact condemning recourse to war
KKK
o favored immigration restriction as well as White Supremacy
Immigration Act of 1924
o Laws passed during the 1920s restricted immigration sharply, basing their quotas
on the relative size of each immigrant group in the country in previous years
Prohibition
o Supported by
o the social reform ideology of the Progressive Era
o womens’ belief in the need to protect the family
o anti-immigrant and anti-Catholic prejudice
Teapot Dome
o Republicans preside over corruption, Democrats over war
o the lease of government oil reserves to private speculators.
American Farming
o 1941-1949: low prices for agricultural products
Palmer Raids
o conducted against suspected communists and anarchists
The Great Depression
Bull Market
o Occurred because
o the climate of optimism indicated everyone was meant to get rich.
o margin accounts allowed investors to buy with borrowed money.
o stocks were bought based on speculation
Buying on Margin
o buyer borrows part of the purchase price of the stock
Causes of the Great Depression
o unequal distribution of income
o stock market crash
o overproduction
Most urgent task facing President Roosevelt in 1933 was relief to the unemployed.
FDR’s first act as president: declare a "bank holiday," temporarily closing all the banks.
Herbert Hoover – reaction to Depression
o OPPOSED federal welfare programs to give relief directly to the poor.
There will be three maps on the test with multiple choice questions
and ONE ESSAY to answer.
Essay:
In 1903, the words of Emma Lazarus’ sonnet The New Colossus were engraved on a bronze
plaque and mounted inside the lower level of the Statue of Liberty’s pedestal. The poem
declared “keep ancient lands, your storied pomp! Cries she with silent lips.
Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the Golden Door.
While inspirational, did these words truly capture America’s attitude towards
immigration? Discuss this topic in an essay using your knowledge of U.S. attitudes and
policies regarding immigration up to the early 1920s.