Download Marbury(one of Adams`s midnight judges)v Madison(secretary of s

Marbury(one of Adams’s midnight judges)v Madison(secretary of state):1803, the Supreme
court affirmed the doctrine of judiciary review(the power of the Supreme court to review the
constitutionality of acts of congress and the states)
Hay-Herrán Treaty: 1903, allowed US to construct a canal in Panama, if Columbia sold a
strip of land across the Isthmus, (for 10 million dollars) and for an annual rent of 250.000
dollars after 9 years
NIRA: National Industrial Recovery Act, 1933, part of(the “backbone” of) the New Deal,
1933, codes of fair competition, right of collective bargaining guaranteed, it included that
codes should establish minimum wages and maximal working hours, the act was considered
unconstitutional by the Supreme Court
TVA: Tennessee Valley Authority,1935, the US government’s first involvement in regional
planning: economic development, recreation, reforestation, price of electricity reduced by
40%, later crucial help in Manhattan Project
Red scare: 1.)fear of radical movements after WWI, 2.)same after World War 2, House
Committee on Un-American Activities established in 1938, prosecution and witch-hunt of
communists
Cash-and-carry: 1939, US policy: any power could purchase arms and materials in the US, if
the could pa in cash and carry the goods away on their own ships, this in fact favoured the
British and the French
The TET offensive: 1968, January: querilla forces attacked Americans even in Saigon, this
arose the doubts in the Americans in the formerly alleged victories, this was a turning point in
the evaluation of the war, very strong anti-war feelings were raised
Gadsden purchase: 1853, final territorial settlement of US-Mexico, US received the presentday S-Arizona, and New New Mexico, Mexico got 15million dollars, and US assumes all
claims of its citizens against Mexico
Emancipation Proclamation: President Lincoln issued the proclamation in1863 (Jan), :all
persons held as slaves in the rebellious territories would be free
Missouri Compromise: 1820-21, Missouri territory petitioned for statehood, but as it was a
slave-holding territory this would have upset the balance of salve-holding, and anti-slavery
favouring states(in Senate), thus as a compromise Maine was also admitted to the states, and
slavery was prohibited north of 36°30’, parallel to Louisiana territory…(the later was declared
unconstitutional)
The Pentagon Papers: multivolume studies on the Vietnam war commissioned by
McNamara (Secretary of Defence), but D. Ellsberg and A. J. Russo copied it and sent it to the
newspapers, which started to publish it from the 1870s, this could not be stopped…
Counterculture: during Vietnam war students alienated from the government propaganda
(e.g.: speeches in universities), the main ideas of counterculture movements were: antitheses
the mainstream American culture: communalism, sharing and harmony instead of careerism
and competition, “symbols”: jeans, long hair, drugs, anti-war attitudes)
Truman Doctrine: 1947(march), asked the Congress to provide economic help to Turkey and
Greece, which faced communist-led insurrection, Truman declared that US would assist any
country facing similar problems( this was considered an expression of containment policy)
Massive retaliation: instead of the to “mild” containment policy Dulles proposed the
“rollback of communism”, and a more aggressive policy
Watergate scandal: 1972, during the presidential race some people employed by the Nixon
administration broke into the Headquarters of the Democratic party, investigations led to the
White house, where cover-up started, and Nixon obstructed the truth when questioned, Nixon
had to resign in August to avoid impeachment, Ford pardoned him…
Platt Amendment: American-Cuban relation were determined on basis of it for 3 decades
after 1901, it stated the independence of Cuba, the island was not to conclude treaties that
would impair its independence, US was to be allowed to intervene any time for the
preservation of independence of Cuba
Louisiana Purchase: 1803, the Louisiana territory(from Mississippi to Rocky mountains and
the Spanish possessions in the South-West) was bought from the French, originally they only
wanted to purchase the Isle of Orleans, where New Orleans stood, but were offered the whole
territory for 15million dollars
Dred Scott v Sanford:1857, DS a slave sued his master claiming that he became free when
taken to a slavery prohibiting territory by his master, decision:1.) DS was not a citizen of
Missouri, not even of US thus cannot sue his master, 2.) Slaves were properties and the
government has no right to prohibit owning a certain kind of property, thus Missouri
compromise was unconstitutional, 3.) the status of a property will not change if it is taken to
some other place
Four freedoms: F. D. Roosevelt in speech to the congress announced that the world should
be created upon the principles of four human freedoms: f. of speech, f. of religion, f. from
want and f. from fear
Sacco- Vanzetti case: 1920, two Italian anarchists were arrested for armed robbery, and
although counter-evidence existed they were executed in 1927, a manifestation of the Red
scare
Spoils system: idea proposed by senator Marry from New York in 1832, it practically meant
that party affiliations played a crucial role in appointment to offices, presently 90% of the
federal positions is filled on the basis of Civil service classification lists and only the rest is let
for people outside…
Atlantic charter: 1941, F. D. Roosevelt and W. Churchill, described an idealistic world after
the war: opposition to territorial changes against the will of people, people can chose what
form of government they prefer, equal access to trade and raw materials of the world, freedom
of the seas, the four freedoms…
Eisenhower Doctrine: 1957, the president announced in an address to the Congress, that the
US would provide economic and military help to the Middle-East countries to stop soviet
expansion in the area
Great society: first used by president Johnson in 1964, he applied it to his program to abolish
poverty and provide education and opportunities to all
Cuban missile crisis: US intelligence discovered in Oct 1962 that the soviets were deploying
nuclear missiles around San Christobal in Cuba, Kennedy demanded publicly that the soviets
withdrew, there were several days, when there was a great possibility of the outbreak of a war,
but then the Soviets withdrew
Plessy v Ferguson: landmark Supreme Court decision in 1896, legalised separate but equal
treatment in connection with different races(Brown v Board of education at Topeka, 1954:
separate treatment is unconstitutional)
Dollar diplomacy: policy of supporting Us economic interest abroad and using economic
resources to achieve political goals (policies Theodore Roosevelt and W. H. Taft in the
Caribbean central America in the first decade of the 20th century were called so)
Kitchen cabinet: term applied to Jackson’s intimate advisors who formulated the policies of
the administration in reality, while the official Cabinet merely executed departmental duties
AAA: 1933, Agricultural Adjustment Act, stabilisation of farm prices, aimed at reducing
overproduction of farm crops and giving farmers a larger purchasing power, it was declared
unconstitutionally by the Supreme Court , in 1936 2nd AAA: federal crop insurance and a
system of parity payments introduced
Nation of Islam: Black Muslims, movement founded in Detroit, 1930, leaders later: Elijah
Muhammed, denounced Christianity as a means of white suppression, advocated black racial
superiority and black separatism
Wilmot Proviso: 1846, Rep. David Wilmot of Pennsylvania suggested that slavery not be
allowed in the territories acquired in the Mexican-American War(46-48), after long, fierce
debates the Proviso was killed in Congress
SNCC: Students Nonviolent coordinating Committee: April, 1960, to coordinate the civil
rights activities of the southern, black college students, it radicalised in the 1960s, endorsed
black separatism and revolutionary violence
Carter Doctrine: 1980, in stet of Union address: an attack by any outside force to gain
control in the Persian Gulf region will be regarded an assault on the vital interest of US,
repelled by any means including military ones
Abraham Lincoln: Republican president of the U.S. (1861-65). Lincoln beleived that his
paramount task should be saving the Union. He became an outstanding commander-in-chief
and statesman is office. He was shot by a Southern sympatizer in 1865.
Theodore Roosevelt: president of the U.S (1901-1909), advocated progressive reforms in the
country:he wished to restrict the power of the big corporations, to regulate the railboards, to
introduce reforms in the civil service and to initiate large-scale programs for national
conservation. He also supported the construction of the Panama Canal, continued the Open
Door Policy
Social security Act: it introduced a system under which payroll tax was imposed to create
pension fundsm and the act also provided for a system of unemployment insurance. The first
measure of kind in the history of the U.S.; it provided for federal grants to states to contribute
to their expenditures realted to welfare payments, while another title of the act granted federal
assistance for child welfare services
Fourteen Points: President Wilson’s ideas about American peace terms expressed in a
speech delivered to Congress in 1918. The Fourteen Points were accepted by the Allies with
certain reservations: (1) replacing the European balance of power with a world that would be
open and free economically and largely self-determined politically; and (2) offering a liberal
alternative to Bolshevism
The Gulf of Tonkin resolution: (August 7, 1964) after the incident between the Maddox
and North Vietnamiese patrol boatsin the Tonkin Gulf, Congress authorized President
Johnson “to take all necessary meaures to repeal any armed attack against the forces of the
U.S. The resolution was repealed in 1971.
Vertical integration of business: companies at all levels of production were purchased by a
single individual, who thus gained control power over production from the raw material to the
finished product.
Herber Hoover: president of the U.S (1929-1933) as a beleiver in economic laissez-faire he
initiated only inadequate measures to alleviate the consequences of the Depression.
The Crittenden Peace Resolution: in 1860, the last suggestion for a compromise, which
suggested the extension of the Missiouri Compromise line as far as the Pacific rejected
Lyndon B. Johnson: president of the U.S (1963-69), Though he was arguably the most
reform-minded president, he is mostly remembered as the President who involved America in
the Vietnam War and who was chased out of the White House because of his Vietnam
politics. In his period the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and 1968 and the Voting Rights Act of
1965 passed: his main vision was to abolish poverty in America
The Bay of Pigs incident: (April 17, 1961) a group of CIA-trained Cuban anti-Castro forces
landed in Cuba to topple the Communist leader’s power with the help of an expected popular
insurrection on the island. However, because of the false hopes and logistical mistakes, the
members of the group were either killed or captured by the Castro forces. The incident was a
major setback for the prestige of the Kennedy administration
Calvin Coolidge: President of the U.S. (1923-1929); after being Vice-President he succeeded
Warren G. Harding upon Harding’s death. He favoured laissez-faire policy toward business
and tax cuts during the prosperity years in the 1920s. He typified the conservative Republican
thoughts of the age
The Lustitania case: the British ocean liner was torpedoed by a German submarine off the
coast of Ireland on May, 7 1915. The wilson administration demanded that Germany observe
the rights of the neutral countries on the hihgh seas. This is the symbol Of German cruality.
The Atlantic Charter: was signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill at a
meeting in August 1941. The carter spelt out an idealistic world order after the war: oppostion
to territorial cahnges against wishes of the people concerned; the right of the people to choose
their own form of government; equal acces to trade and raw materials of the world; freedom
of the seas; freedom from want to fear; the establishment of a permanent system of peace; and
the promotion of the welfare state
Containment: George F. Kennan’s “Long Telegram”: he propoes that the Soviet Union be
“contained” (the American strategy regarding the postwar rivalry with the Soviet Union )
John Foster Dulles: secretary of state (1953-59), he critized the containment policy as too
passive and advocated the “rollback of Communism” and the doctrine of “massive retaliation”
The three-fifth clause in the Constitution: a deal between the nothern and southern
delegates at the Constitutional Convention. The compromise provided that a slave was
counted as three-fifth of a person both as regard property in the apportionment of federal taxes
and as far as the size of the individual state’s delegations in the House of Representatives was
concerned
D-Day: Allied troops landing in Normandy on June 6, 1944 (the beginning of Operation
Overlord). The Allied troops liberated France and then , after the last German counterattack in
the Ardennes in December 1944, they entered Germany from the West
John F. Kennedy: president of the U.S. (1961-63). He was a Representative and a Senator
before being elected President. He advocated reforms at home (New Frontier) in fields like
ducation and civil rights, while abroad he ‘opened’ toward Latin America and the Third Wold
(with the creation of the Peace of Corps). He was assassinated in Dallas, TX, on November
22, 1963
The Battle of Gettysburg: on July 1-3, 1863: arguably the msot important battle of the Civil
War. Gen.Meade manages to prevent Lee’S army from breaking further into Union territories
(Pennsylvania)
The Spanish-American war: it started with destruction of the battleship U.S.S. Maine in the
harbor of Havana on 15 February, 1898, plus the De Lome Letter served as enough excuse for
the President to ask Congress to declare war on Spain. The ‘splenid little war’ ended within
weeks with complete American victory both in Cuba and in the Pacific, where Admiral
George Dewey defeated the Spanish navy in Manilla Bay.
Joseph McCarthy: U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, from the late 1940s on he pursued an
exrteme right-wing policy by carrying on a crusade against liberals and suspected left-wing
sympatisers. Delivered a campaign to uncover spies and Communist sympatisers in the
administration
The Mexican - American War (1846-48): the hostilities begins in 1846, and the U.S.
Congress declares war on May 13. Mexico broke off diplomatic relations with the U.S. when
Texas was admitted into the Union in 1845. They argued about the borderlines. More and
more Americans wished to bring California to the Union, and when Maxicans refused to sell
the disputed lands, American troops moved to the Rio Grande. Finally, in the Treaty of
Guadalupe Hidalgo of 1848 Mexico ceded all the disputed lands to the U.S.
Andrew Jackson: president of the U.S. (1829-37), He earned a reputation as a military hero
when he defeated the British at the Battle of New Orleans in 1815. He promised to introduce
more democracy in all walks of life, including the government. He dfened the Union, but
wished to decentralize power at the same time. He was the first president to be elected from
the West (Tennessee) and the first to use the veto power extensively
Andrew Johnson: president of the U.S. (1865-69). Before the Civil War, he was a
Congressman, governor of Tennessee, and a Senator. As vice-president he succeeded Lincoln
in 1865. Because of his conservative views he clashed with the Radical Republicans on a
number of questions. When he dismissed his Secretary of War, disregarding the Tenure of
Office Act, a movemnet was started in Congress to impeach him, but one vote was missing
from the necessary two-third majority in the Senate.
Civil War Amendments: (Reconstruction Acts) = suggested a new reconstruction: slavery
was abolished by the 13th Amendment in 1865, the 14th Amendment divided the southern
states except Tennesse into five military districts, later T. was re-admitted to the Union, the
15th Amendment came into force (voting rights cannot be denied on account of race) in 1870.
All of them were vetoed by President Johnson
‘to make the world safe for democracy’: President Wilson said, in connection with the
WWI.
Wagner Act of 1935: (National Labor Relation Act): it was passed in 1935 to replace Section
7(a) of the NIRA, which was declared unconstitunional by the Supreme Court in the
Schechter case. Its most important provisions were the encouragement of collective
bargaining, the outlawing of company unions, and the legality of the ‘closed shops’
The venues of the meetings of the Big Three during WW II: Teheran (November 28December 1, 1943), Jalta (February 4-11, 1945), Potsdam (July 17-August 2)
Housing Act of 1968? Parity system?