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Regents Busters Colonial Era: All 13 colonies were on the East (Atlantic) coast. South is warm and fertile, had plantations and many slaves. North is cool and less fertile and was less reliant on slaves, had more manufacturing and trade. British economic policy was mercantilism, by which the 13 colonies existed to benefit Britain, so Britain restricted colonial trade. The French and Indian War established British colonial dominance in North America but led to tension between the British and the colonists. To avoid conflict with Indians, the king’s Proclamation of 1763 prohibited settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains and the British began taxing the colonists to pay for the costs of the war. This ended the period of Salutary Neglect, during which the British loosely enforced mercantilist laws. The colonists protested against this practice, calling it “taxation without representation,” because the colonists had no representatives in the British Parliament. American Revolution and Constitution: Enlightenment thinkers like John inspired the Declaration of Independence Locke Locke proclaimed that all men are equal, have natural rights, and that a government’s power comes from the consent of the governed. Locke also argued that a government that did not protect natural rights should be overthrown. Many Americans were inspired to support independence by Thomas Paine’s pamphlet Common Sense The United States won the Revolutionary War and began its existence as an independent country under the Articles of Confederation. This system of government established a very weak national government and was replaced by the Constitution. The weakness of the Articles was revealed by Shays’ Rebellion. The Constitution created a government consisting of three branches – legislative executive, and judicial – and a strong national government. Supporters of ratifying (approving) the Constitution were called Federalists; they wrote. The Federalist Papers to drum up support for the Constitution Opponents of the Constitution were called anti-Federalists; they demanded a Bill of Rights be added to the Constitution. Early Presidents: George Washington was the first president; he established several important precedents (examples), including having a group of advisors known as a cabinet, proclaiming neutrality in foreign policy, and serving only two terms as president. Two of Washington’s most important advisors were Thomas Jefferson (leader of the DemocraticRepublicans) and Alexander Hamilton (leader of the Federalist Party). Thomas Jefferson believed in a limited national government and a strict interpretation of the Constitution – in which Congress only had the power to do what was listed in the Constitution. Hamilton’s financial plan helped establish the credit of the United States. Hamilton believed in a stronger national government and a loose interpretation of the Constitution. Hamilton claimed that the elastic clause allowed Congress to pass all laws that are “necessary and proper,” including the creation of a national bank, which Jefferson opposed. Jefferson reversed his opinion on strict interpretation of the Constitution when he made the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. This purchase doubled the size of the United States and allowed it to establish control over the Mississippi River and New Orleans. Andrew Jackson’s presidency was a time when Jackson claimed to support the common man (who had recently gained the right to vote). He used the spoils system to reward his supporters with government jobs and vetoed the renewal of the 2nd Bank of the United States because he thought it only helped the wealthy. Jackson also strongly opposed South Carolina’s claim that it could nullify – not follow – a tariff law passed by the United States. Jackson’s opponents claimed he abused his power and acted like a king. The president who probably came closest to acting like a king was John Adams, who signed the Alien and Sedition Acts in 1798, which made it a crime to criticize the government. Jefferson and Madison claimed in the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions that states could nullify unconstitutional federal laws. The Supreme Court actually has the power to declare laws unconstitutional, a practice known as judicial review. This was established by the Marshall Court in Marbury v. Madison. In addition to strengthening the judicial branch, the Marshall Court strengthened the national government. The Civil War and Reconstruction: The issue of slavery and differences in economic development (Northern manufacturing vs. Southern plantations) led to sectional tensions between the North and South, Sectional tensions increased with the issue of the westward expansion of slavery. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 and the Compromise of 1850 tried to resolve this tension, but Civil War broke out after southern states seceded from the Union in 1860 and 1861. Abraham Lincoln proclaimed that his goal at the start of the war was simply to preserve the Union, but he ended up issuing the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, freeing slaves in areas in rebellion. The Union won the war (because it was more industrialized) and slavery was completely abolished by the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. Southern states used Black Codes to restrict the rights of newly freed slaves. African Americans were given new rights during the period of Reconstruction (18651877) The 14th Amendment guaranteed citizenship and equal protection under the law The 15th Amendment gave black men the right to vote. But after Reconstruction ended, they were often denied these rights in the Southern states until the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 60s. Jim Crow laws established segregation and were upheld as constitutional if facilities were “separate but equal” in the case of Plessy v. Ferguson. Poll taxes, literacy tests, and grandfather clauses prevented Southern African-Americans from exercising their 15th Amendment right to vote. President Johnson and the Radical Republicans in Congress disagreed on Reconstruction policy, resulting in Johnson’s impeachment in 1868. W.E.B. DuBois urged African-Americans to demand immediate social and political equality, while Booker T. Washington said African-Americans should improve their economic status through vocational training and temporarily accept segregation. Industrialization: After the Civil War, the United States’ economy rapidly expanded through industrialization. Businesses were not regulated by the federal government, which followed a laissez-faire economic policy. Availability of factory jobs encouraged many Americans and immigrants to move to cities in a process known as urbanization. Harsh treatment of workers led to the establishment of labor unions like the Knights of Labor and the American Federation of Labor (AFL). The AFL focused on “bread and butter unionism” – improving wages, working conditions, and hours; they were successful because they were a union of skilled workers. But, generally government policy favored business whenever workers went on strike. Laws regulating the economy, like the Interstate Commerce Act and Sherman Antitrust Act were passed in the late 19th century period known as the Gilded Age, but were not enforced until the early 20th century Progressivism: In an attempt to remedy the problems associated with industrialization and urbanization, the Progressive Movement developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Progressives believed that government could help improve the lives of people. Progressive reforms included laws to ensure that food products were safe, the environment was conserved, and constitutional amendments: A. Providing for a personal income tax (16th), B. Direct election of Senators (17th), C. The right to vote for women (19th). Journalists called muckrakers inspired many of these reforms. Reforms like initiative, recall, and referendum tried to make the country more democratic. T. Roosevelt and Taft were trustbusters; Wilson was also a progressive. The Federal Reserve was created during Wilson’s presidency to regulate interest rates and the money supply. Imperialism and World War I: In the late 1800s and early 1900s, the United States sought to expand overseas, an extension of the idea of Manifest Destiny, which had inspired settlement of the West and the acquisition of new territories from Mexico in the 1840s. The U.S. wanted to gain new markets for trade (Open Door Policy in China, for example) and sources of natural resources. The United States fought a war with Spain, inspired in part by Yellow Journalism, in 1898; after winning, the U.S. added Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines to its empire. The three Progressive presidents, Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson all got the U.S. involved in Latin America, though Roosevelt was the most enthusiastic about it. He expanded the Monroe Doctrine, which in 1823 had warned European powers to stay out of the Western Hemisphere, to claim the right of the U.S. to act as “international police power” in Latin America. The U.S. found itself drawn into World War I in 1917, mainly because German submarines sank many American ships. The U.S. helped the Allies win the war But, the rest of the Allies who harshly punished Germany in the Treaty of Versailles largely ignored President Woodrow Wilson’s peace proposal, known as the 14 Points. The Senate rejected the Treaty of Versailles because it would have required the U.S. to join the League of Nations, violating the traditional principle of avoiding the permanent alliances, which Washington had warned about in his Farewell Address. The Roaring 20s and the Great Depression: The 1920s seemed to be a time of economic prosperity, but overproduction, unwise purchases made on credit, and an increasing gap between rich and poor contributed to the beginning of the Great Depression in 1929. Social changes took place in the 1920s (flappers, Harlem Renaissance) People resisted Prohibition (18th Amendment), proving that it is impossible to legislate morality. Nativism led to immigration quotas in the 1920s. The Great Depression saw unemployment rates reach 25% and resulted in tremendous suffering. President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal attempted to end the depression by involving the federal government in the economy and in people’s well being more than it had ever done before. He was much more popular than Hoover, the president at the start of the Depression, who refused to provide direct relief to the suffering people because Hoover was a believer in “rugged individualism.” World War II: Germany’s anger over the Treaty of Versailles led to World War II breaking out in Europe in 1939, after failed attempts by other European powers to appease Hitler by giving into his aggressive demands. The United States tried to avoid being drawn into the war by passing a series of Neutrality Acts in the 1930s, but when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941, the United States entered the war, fighting on two fronts – in Europe and the Pacific. Even before Pearl Harbor, the policies of Cash and Carry, Destroyers for Bases, and Lend-Lease clearly showed the U.S. wanted the Allies to win. The U.S. and its Allies won World War II. Japan was forced to surrender after the United States dropped two atomic bombs on it in 1945, but the U.S. occupation of Japan helped that country become democratic and an economic power. The Nuremberg Trials punished Nazi leaders for planning the Holocaust, establishing the precedent that individuals could be held accountable for their actions during wartime. The United States emerged from World War II as one of two superpowers, the other being the Soviet Union, an ally during World War II. The two superpowers were soon engaged in the Cold War Cold War: The U.S. and U.S.S.R. were rivals from 1945 until the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. During most of this time period, the United States’ foreign policy was containment, a determination to stop the spread of communism. Containment efforts in Europe included the Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan, Berlin Airlift and the creation of NATO. The Eisenhower Doctrine expanded containment to the oil-rich region known as the Middle East. Containment in the Western Hemisphere included the Bay of Pigs Invasion of Cuba which helped lead to the Cuban Missile Crisis and nearly a nuclear war. Containment efforts in Asia included the Korean War, an undeclared war in which the United Nations authorized the use of force to repel an invasion of South Korea by the communist North, and the Vietnam War. The U.S. tried to prevent Vietnam from becoming communist because of belief in the domino theory, that if Vietnam became communist, so would its neighbors. The U.S. lost the Vietnam War in part because of guerilla tactics of Vietnamese Communists, and in part because American public opinion had turned against the war and the draft. Defeat in Vietnam led Richard Nixon to pursue détente, an easing of tensions with the Soviet Union, a concept symbolized by efforts like the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT). The Vietnam War also led to reforms like: The end of the military draft, The War Powers Act, Extension of the right to vote to 18 year olds with the 26th Amendment. Détente ended around 1980 Ronald Reagan called the Soviets an “Evil Empire” Reagan resumed the arms race and some believe singlehandedly caused the Soviet Union to go bankrupt and collapse. The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 marked a major milestone in the end of the Cold War. Post World War II Presidents: Truman – desegregated the military and proposed to expand the New Deal with the Fair Deal Eisenhower – built Interstate Highway System and used the Army to protect the Little Rock 9 Kennedy – New Frontier was his liberal domestic agenda; the Peace Corps reached out to the 3rd World, and the Alliance for Progress reached out to Latin America Johnson’s (New Deal like) Great Society was his liberal combination of government programs to end poverty and racism, but the Vietnam War made it hard to pay for these programs Nixon – would have been impeached for the Watergate Scandal, resigned instead and executive privilege was weakened Ford – was never elected either president or vice president and he pardoned Nixon; Carter was unpopular because of the poor economy (stagflation) and foreign policy setbacks like the Iran Hostage Crisis Reagan brought back optimism and cut taxes based on supply-side economics, which combined with military spending, increased the national debt George H.W. Bush was hugely popular for his handling of the Persian Gulf War, but was not re-elected because of a struggling economy; Bill Clinton presided over an economic boom, but was impeached (though not removed from office) for perjury and obstruction of justice George W. Bush cut taxes and began the War on Terror, launching invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq and was president during the financial crisis of 2008 Barack Obama has tried to fix the economy, with limited success. Post World War II Society and Economy: The 1950s were characterized by the baby boom, prosperity, and suburbanization. The Civil Rights movement had major milestones with Jackie Robinson in 1947, desegregation of the military in 1948, Brown v. Board of Ed in 1954, the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955-6, sit-ins beginning in 1960, the March on Washington in 1963. · Martin Luther King advocated non-violent civil disobedience to achieve civil rights · Malcolm X advocated the use of violence if necessary The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 were important laws passed in response to the Civil Rights Movement. The movement also inspired the push for women’s rights (Betty Friedan and N.O.W.), gay rights, the American Indian Movement, Hispanic rights (Cesar Chavez), and student protests against the Vietnam War. The Warren Court (1953-1969) made many liberal Supreme Court decisions banning prayer in school and expanding rights for those accused of crimes. Conservatives opposed these decisions and the later decision in Roe v. Wade legalizing abortion on the basis of the right to privacy. The 9/11 attacks led to the creation of the Department of Homeland Security and the Patriot Act. Economics: Computers have contributed to globalization – an increased international economic interdependence NAFTA shows U.S. commitment to globalization – there has also been an economic shift from manufacturing to service sector jobs. U.S. often has a trade deficit, importing more than it exports. In the 1980s and into the 1990s, Japan was our chief economic rival; today that rival is China.