Download US History - Paulding County Schools

1
U.S. History
Unit 1: Colonial Era
Virginia (SSUSH1a)
 The first English colony in North America was Virginia.
 It was a business venture of the Virginia Company, an English firm that planned to make
money by sending people to America to find gold and other valuable natural.
House of Burgesses (SSUSH1a)
 The Virginia Company established a legislative assembly, called the House of Burgesses.
 The House of Burgesses was the first European-type government in the New World
Development of Slavery (SSUSH1a, SSUSH2b)
 The Virginia Company discovered no gold but learned how to cultivate tobacco, which quickly
became a major cash crop.
 Tobacco farming was labor-intensive, so the Virginia colony’s economy developed a need for
African slaves.
 Virginia’s rich soil helped the colony grow, especially the Jamestown settlement.
 The trans-Atlantic trade (Triangular Trade) made it possible for the colony to prosper and
expand, by trading tobacco and other resources to Europe, Africa and back to the Colonies.
Native American’s (SSUSH1a)
 Native Americans had lived for centuries on the land the English settlers called Virginia.
 A notable Native American chieftain was Powhatan.
 Soon after the English settlers arrived, they forced Powhatan and the Native Americans off their
own land so it could be used by the settlers for agricultural purposes, especially to grow tobacco.
 The Colonist actions caused many Native Americans to flee the region and seek new places to live.
Bacon’s Rebellion (SSUSH1a)
 All the colonists did not own land.
 Poor and slave colonists staged an uprising against the governor and his landowning supporters.
 In what is called Bacon’s Rebellion, the landless rebels wanted harsher action against the
Native Americans so more land would be available to all colonists.
 The rebellion was put down, and the Virginia House of Burgesses passed laws to regulate slavery
so poor white colonist would no longer side with slaves and against rich white colonist.
Settlement of New England and the Founding of Rhode Island (SSUSH1b)
 The first New England colonies were established by the Puritans in Massachusetts.
 Most of the colonists came to pursue a better life and to practice religion as they saw fit
(Religious Tolerance).
 The Puritans, because of their strict religious beliefs, were not tolerant of religious beliefs that
differed from their own (Religious Intolerance).
 As a result of religious intolerance, Rhode Island was founded by religious dissenters from
Massachusetts who were more tolerant of different religious beliefs.
New England Government (SSUSH1b)
 In colonies the king controlled, there was often an appointed royal governor and a partially elected
legislature.
 In colonies not controlled by the king, governments were run by town meetings.
 Voting rights were limited to men who belonged to the church, and church membership was
tightly controlled.
 Puritan who were born in America, grew up to be adults who lacked a personal covenant
(relationship) with God and full Church membership.
 In response, Puritan ministers encouraged a “Half-way Covenant” to allow partial church
membership for the children and grandchildren of the original Puritans.
2
Relations with Native American (SSUSH1b)
 King Phillip’s War (1675–1676) was an early and bloody conflict between colonists and Native
Americans.
 It was named King Phillip or Metacom a leader of the Native Americans.
 Many colonists died in the war, but it caused such a heavy loss of life among the Native American
population that large areas of New England became Colonial settlements.
Loss of Massachusetts Charter (SSUSH1b)
 In 1686, the British king canceled the Massachusetts charter that made it an independent
colony.
 To get more control over trade with the colonies, he combined British colonies throughout New
England into a single territory governed from England.
 The colonists in this territory greatly disliked this centralized authority. In 1691, Massachusetts
Bay became a royal colony.
Salem Witch Trials (SSUSH1b)
 The Salem witch trials were a series of court hearings, over 150 Massachusetts colonists
accused of witchcraft were tried, 29 of which were convicted and 19 hanged.
 Causes of the Salem witch trials included extreme religious faith, stress from a growing population
and its bad relations with Native Americans, and the narrow opportunities for women and girls to
participate in Puritan society.
Mid-Atlantic Colonies (Pennsylvania, New Amsterdam and New York (SSUSH1c)
 Pennsylvania was a colony founded by the religiously tolerant Quakers led by William Penn.
 Farther north, the Dutch settled New Amsterdam.
 In 1664, the British conquered the colony and renamed it New York.
 New York like Pennsylvania was also tolerated different religions.
 A large harbor and the Hudson River allowed New York to grow into a center for trans-Atlantic
trade and one of the biggest cities in the colonies.
Quebec (SSUSH1d)
 France settled Quebec as its’ first permanent French settlement in North America.
 The French instructed their colonists start fur trading and to spread the Catholic faith in Quebec.
Impact of Location and Place on Colonial Settlement (SSUSH1e)
 New England Colonies: used trading and fishing industry to make a living
 Middle Colonies: used trading and agriculture to make a living
 Southern Colonies: used agriculture to make a living
Mercantilism (SSUSH2a)
 The founders of the British colonies were greatly influenced by an economic theory known as
mercantilism.
 Mercantilism is an economic concept where the colonies served only to provide raw materials to
the English businesses.
 Then, the English businesses used the raw materials to make finished goods and then sell the
finished goods back to the colonist.
 Consequently, the English and its businesses became stronger and wealthier, and the colonies
became poorer and weaker.
 Mercantilism also inspired Parliament to control transatlantic trade or Triangular Trade,
which connected Europe, Africa and North America (Colonies) in to a large trading group.
 The sea voyage that carried African slaves to North America (Colonies) was called the Middle
Passage because it was the middle portion of the triangular trade route.
 About two of every ten slaves died during the passage.
3
Benjamin Franklin (SSUSH2c)
 Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of American and an example of the
American Dream.
 Franklin was born into a poor Boston family in1706.
 But, through hard work, Franklin sought ways to improve himself (individualism) and to rise up
into high society (social mobility).
 Franklin succeeded in making himself one of the world’s leading authors, philosophers, scientists,
inventors, and politicians.
The Great Awakening (SSUSH2d)
 The Great Awakening preachers told followers that each believer should seek his or her own
personal relationship with God, and that doing this was more important than the Puritan idea of
congregations gathering together to hear intellectual sermons.
 Christianity grew, although established churches lost members to the new way of Christian
worship.
Unit 2: The American Revolution
French and Indian War (SSUSH3a)
 The French and Indian War broke out in 1754 when Great Britain challenged the French for
control of the land that is now Ohio and western Pennsylvania.
 Native Americans tended to support the French because, as fur traders, the French built forts
rather than permanent settlements.
 The Treaty of Paris (1763), which ended the French and Indian War, forced France to turn over
control of Canada to Great Britain.
 France also surrendered its claim to all land east of the Mississippi River, with the exception of the
city of New Orleans.
 Britain gain control of all of American colonies.
 Colonist and British tension grew when the English Parliament passed laws to tax the colonists to
pay for the cost of keeping a large standing army in North America that would protect both
Britain’s possessions and the American colonists from attacks.
 Tensions increased with the Proclamation of 1763, by which Americans were forbidden from
settling beyond the Appalachian Mountains, in an effort to limit their conflicts with Native
Americans.
Colonial Resistance (SSUSH3b)
 Britain’s American colonists believed the king and Parliament were violating their rights of
taxation without representation and protection from having troops quartered on their
property.
 The Stamp act, the Intolerable act and the violation of colonist’s rights led the colonists to rebel
against the British.
 The Stamp Act required the colonists to print newspapers and other documents, on paper
bearing special stamps (similar to postage stamps). Buying the stamped paper was the equivalent
of paying a tax. Some colonists formed groups called the Sons of Liberty to stop distribution of
the stamped paper. Nine colonies sent representatives to the Stamp Act Congress, which sent a
formal protest to the king.
 The Intolerable Acts closed the port of Boston as punishment for the Boston Tea Party.
These acts also allowed British officials accused of major crimes to be tried in England and forced
the colonists to house British troops on their property. Colonists called for the First Continental
Congress to protest these actions and formed colonial militias to resist enforcement of these acts.
 The Committees of Correspondence were the first organization linking the 13 colonies in
their opposition to British rule. The committee was instrumental in the planning for the First
Continental Congress.
4
Common Sense (SSUSH3c)
 In January 1776, patriot philosopher Thomas Paine published Common Sense.
 Paine’s small pamphlet moved many colonist to support independence from Great Britain.
 The colonists agreed with Paine’s arguments,
o The Atlantic Ocean was too wide to allow Britain to rule America as well as an American
government could
o It was foolish to think an island could rule a continent
o The idea of Britain being America’s “mother country” made Britain’s actions all the worse
because no mother would treat her children so badly.
Declaration of Independence (SSUSH4a)
 Thomas Jefferson wrote the first draft of the Declaration of Independence.
 The Declaration of Independence borrowed phrases from the influential writings of English
philosopher John Locke.
 Two of Locke’s philosophies
o Natural Rights: All people have the right to life, liberty, and property (pursuit of happiness)
o Social Contract: If government does not meet the needs of the people, then the people have a
right to overthrow the government or break the contract
 The Declaration of Independence explains the philosophical and legal reasons for seeking
independence from Britain, and ends with the conclusion that the only way for Americans to have
their rights restored is by controlling their own government.
George Washington and the Continental Army (SSUSH4c)
 When the American Revolution began, George Washington was named commander in chief of
the Continental Army.
 Washington started a training program to turn inexperienced recruits into a professional military.
 Turning points of Revolutionary War (Crossing of the Delaware and Valley Forge).
o Crossing of the Delaware River: As a snowstorm pounded Washington and his soldiers, they
crossed the Delaware River to stage a surprise attack on a fort occupied by Hessian mercenaries
fighting for the British. This victory proved Washington’s army could fight as well as an
experienced European army.
o Valley Forge: Washington and his troops spent the winter of 1777–1778 in Valley Forge,
Pennsylvania. They spent six months there. At Valley Forge the army faced problems with
housing, food, clothing, disease and cold weather. Yet Washington and the Continental Army
were able to turn there selves into a stronger military.
French Alliance (SSUSH4b)
 Another turning point in the Revolutionary War was the decision by France to support the
American cause.
 Benjamin Franklin, serving as the American ambassador to France, convinced the French to
form a military alliance with the Americans, and France agreed to wage war against Britain until
America gained independence.
 Marquis de Lafayette was a French soldier that commanded American troops and fought
battles in many states.
American Victory (SSUSH4d)
 Britain’s plan to counter the French–American alliance was to have General Charles
Cornwallis move the war to the southern states to try to separate those colonies from
revolutionary forces in the North.
 At the Battle of Yorktown, the British forces were attacked by the combined French and
American armies and a French fleet.
 The combined attach trapped the British forces on a peninsula. Cut-off from any reinforcements,
Cornwallis was forced to surrender, and the American Revolution came to an end in North
America.
5
1783 Treaty of Paris (SSUSH4d)
 The 1783 Treaty of Paris officially ended the American Revolutionary War.
 The United States won its independence from Great Britain and gained control of land stretching
to the Mississippi River.
Unit 3: The Constitution
Articles of Confederation (SSUSH5a)
 The Articles of Confederation was the first attempt at self-government for the Americans
 The Articles of Confederation showed that Americans’ feared a powerful national (Federal or
central) government.
 As a result, the Articles created a government that had
o no executive branch
o lacked the power to tax
o could not regulate commerce
o no ability to establish a national currency
o gave power to the states governments (not the national government)
 The Articles of Confederation resulted in a weak national (Federal or central) government and
convinces Americans that then needed a new government.
Shays’s Rebellion (SSUSH5a)
 In Shay’s Rebellion, Daniel Shays led more than a thousand farmers who, like him, were
burdened with personal debts caused by economic problems stemming from the Revolutionary
War debts. Shays and his men tried to seize a federal arsenal in Massachusetts.
 Without the power to tax, America and the Articles of Confederation could not repair the national
economy.
 As a result of Shays’s Rebellion, Americans began to support the establishment of a stronger
national (Federal or Central) government.
 In May of 1787, George Washington was elected president of the Constitutional Convention in
Philadelphia, where he and the Founding Fathers created the United States Constitution.
 The United States Constitution created a new national (Federal or Central) government.
Creating the Constitution: The Great Compromise (SSUSH5c)
 One great issue facing the delegates to the Constitutional Convention was how different sized
states could have equal representation in the new government.
 States with large populations supported the Virginia Plan. This plan created a legislative branch
in which representatives were assigned based on each state’s population (Today: California has 55
representative, Georgia has 16 representatives).
 States with smaller populations supported a New Jersey Plan. This plan created a legislative
branch in which all states were equally represented (2 representatives for each state).
 Delegates to the Constitutional Convention settled the issue of representation in Congress by
approving the Great Compromise.
 The Great Compromise called for the creation of a legislature with two chambers (Bicameral): a House of Representatives, with representation based on population, and a
Senate, with equal representation for all states.
Creating the Constitution: Slavery (SSUSH5c)
 Though slavery existed in all the states, southern states depended on slave labor because their
economies were based on producing cash crops.
 When it became clear that states with large populations might have more representatives in the
new national government, states with large slave populations demanded to be allowed to count
their slaves as a part of their population. Northern states resisted.
 Both sides compromised by creating the Three-Fifth Compromise.
6

The Three-Fifth Compromise: allowed the states to count three-fifths of their slaves when
calculating their entire population.
Creating the Constitution: Limited Government (SSUSH5c, 5b)
 Despite the fact that the Constitution was constructed to fix the weakness of the Articles of
Confederation and a weak national (Federal or Central) government, many still feared strong
central governments.
 To stop the Constitution from becoming too powerful, the framers of the Constitution created a
limited government with divided powers.
 Three limits to the national government
o Separation of Powers: Created by French political thinker Charles de Montesquieu.
Separation of Powers limits the federal government’s power by creating a legislative, executive,
and judicial branch of government.
o Federalism: Power is divided between the national and state governments.
o Checks and Balances: limits the national government by balancing the power between the
legislative, executive and judicial branch by giving each branch certain powers of the other
branches.
 For example, the legislature can override a presidential veto of a bill, and the Supreme Court
can rule that a bill signed by the president is unconstitutional.
Creating the Constitution: Federalists and Anti-Federalists (SSUSH5b)
 As soon the Constitution were published, the Federalist and the anti-Federalist began to argue of
the contents of the document
 The Federalist wanted the Constitution and a strong national (federal or central) government.
 The anti-Federalists and Thomas Jefferson: believed the government created by the
Constitution would be too powerful and would eliminate the power of the states.
 The anti-Federalist also argued that the Constitution did not have a Bill of Rights to describe the
rights guaranteed to the states and to each citizen.
 To counter these claims of the anti-Federalist. James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and the
Federalist wrote The Federalist papers that supported ratification of the Constitution and
explained the intent behind its major provisions.
 James Madison also wrote the Bill of Rights to be added to the Constitution after it was ratified.
 The Bill of Rights is the first 10 amendments to the Constitution and they guarantee states’
rights and individuals’ rights.
 The Constitution was eventually ratified and became the basis for all law, rights, and governmental
power in the United States.
Creating the Constitution: Bill of Rights protects states’ and individuals’ rights.
(SSUSH5d)
 1st Amend: Guarantees freedom of religion, of speech, and of the press, and the right to petition
the government
 9th Amend: Declares that rights not mentioned in the Constitution belong to the people
 10th Amend: Declares that powers not given to the national government belong to the states or to
the people
Presidency of George Washington (SSUSH5e)
 During George Washington time as the President of the United States, it was important for him
to show that the new Constitutional Government was strong.
 Washington was force to show the strength of the new government, when Congress passed taxes
on liquor to help pay the states’ debt from the Revolutionary War.
 The tax hit the small whiskey-makers in western settlements particularly hard because they made
liquor using excess crops of grain in order to make it easier to transport.
 The Whiskey Rebellion resulted when, western citizens, armed violence broke out as farmers
frightened and attacked federal tax collectors.
7


George Washington led a large militia force into the western counties and put down the rebellion.
The Whiskey Rebellion showed the Constitutional (federal, national, central) Government was
strong.
Washington’s Farwell Address (Nonintervention and Political Parties) (SSUSH5e)
 Washington was the most influential and popular figure in the United States.
 During Washington’s Farwell Address, he warned citizens about two future political issues
o He favored nonintervention (Isolationism or Neutrality) in European affairs. He avoided siding
with France against Great Britain on political issues.
o He warned about the dangers of political parties (factions). Example: Federalist vs. antiFederalist.
Presidency of John Adams (SSUSH5e)
 Like Washington, John Adams set examples that influenced future presidents as well as the course
of American history and continued the disagreement between Federalist (Adams) and antiFederalist (Jefferson)
 During Adams Presidency, Congress and Adams passed the Alien and Sedition Acts.
o The Alien Act: increased citizenship requirements so that Jefferson could not receive support
from the immigrant community.
o The Sedition Act: tried to stop the anti-Federalist criticism with attempts to limit the speech
and press rights of Jefferson’s followers.
 Jefferson and Madison then argued over the Kentucky and Virginia Resolution which said
that states could refuse to enforce federal laws they did not agree with.
 The Kentucky and Virginia Resolution was the beginning of the states’ rights concept.
Unit 4: Creating a Nation
Northwest Ordinance (SSUSH6a)
 The first U.S. governmental territory outside the original states was the Northwest Territory
(Michigan, Illinois, Indiana), which was created by the Northwest Ordinance (one of the few
positive of from the Article of Confederation).
 Three benefits of the Northwest Ordinance
o Encouraged westward expansion (Manifest Destiny)
o Banned slavery in the Northwest Territory.
o Establishment of public schools in the Northwest Territory.
Louisiana Purchase (SSUSH6b)
 In the early 1800s, President Thomas Jefferson sent James Monroe to France to negotiate the
purchase of the important port city of New Orleans.
 France and Napoleon controlled New Orleans and much of the land west of the Mississippi River.
 In 1803, Napoleon agreed to sell to the United States not only New Orleans but also the entire
Louisiana Territory for $15 million.
 The Louisiana Purchase continued Americans desire to expand westward and it doubled in
geographic area.
Lewis and Clark Expedition (SSUSH6b)
 Thomas Jefferson sent the Lewis and Clark Expedition to explore the Louisiana Purchase and
the western lands all the way to the Pacific Ocean.
 On their 16-month expedition, Lewis and Clark charted the trails west, mapped rivers and
mountain ranges, wrote descriptions and collected samples of unfamiliar animals and plants, and
recorded facts and figures about the various Native American tribes and customs west of the
Mississippi River.
War of 1812: Causes and Result (SSUSH6c)
 In 1812, America declared war on Great Britain.
 The three causes of the War of 1821
8
o Americans objected to Britain try to block American trading with the French.
o The British policy of impressment.
 British impressment forced thousands of American sailors to serve in the British navy after
their American ships were captured at sea.
o Americans wished to drive the British out of North America altogether by conquering Canada
 The result of the War of 1812,
o Never again would Britain and the United States wage war over political disputes
o Encouraged nationalist sentiments (Proud to be an American)
National Infrastructure (SSUSH6d)
 Although travel was difficult during this time period, many Americans wanted to move west into
the new territories.
 Improvement in national infrastructure
o Companies built nation’s roads and waterways
o Barges were used on rivers to carry people and goods––as long as the rivers flowed in the same
direction that the settlers and merchants wanted to travel
o The steamboat, enabled people to travel upstream as easily as downstream
o Government leaders joined businesspeople to build canals––artificial rivers
Erie Canal (SSUSH6d)
 The most famous canal built in this era was the Erie Canal, which connected the Great Lakes, to
the Hudson River, to New York, to the Atlantic Ocean.
 The Erie Canal greatly lowered transportation costs and helped connect the eastern and the
western parts of the United States.
Rise of New York City (SSUSH6d)
 By 1835, the population had grown so large that New York City outpaced Philadelphia as the
largest U.S. city.
 Trade grew when the Erie Canal made the city’s harbors the link between European merchants
and the great agricultural markets across the Appalachians from New York City.
 The city was home to the biggest gathering of artisans, crafts workers, bankers, and commercial
activity in the United States.
Monroe Doctrine (SSUSH6e)
 In 1823, President James Monroe created the Monroe Doctrine and defined U.S. foreign policy in
the Americas (North and South America).
 The Monroe Doctrine announced that the United States would prevent European nations from
interfering with independent American countries.
 Further, if European wars broke out in the America, the United States would view the wars as
hostile actions against the United States.
Eli Whitney and the Industrial Revolution (SSUSH7a)
 The industrial revolution is when power driven machines operated by semiskilled or unskilled
workers replaced hand tools operated by skilled laborers, altering the quality of work for many
people.
 American inventor Eli Whitney best illustrates the Industrial Revolution with his invention of the
cotton gin and his development of interchangeable parts for muskets.
 The cotton gin rapidly removes cotton plant seeds from the valuable cotton fiber. By producing
more cotton in a day, the gin reduced the cost of processing cotton and greatly raised the profit
from growing it.
 One negative of the cotton gin, unskilled slaves were often put to work running the cotton gins in
the southern states. This increased the need for slaves.
 Before Whitney’s development of interchangeable parts a broken machine had to be discarded and
replaced because all its parts had been handmade by skilled workers to fit only that mechanism.
9

Whitney introduced interchangeable parts allowed for the manufacturing of identical parts so
only the broken part would need to be replaced to repair the whole machine.
 Interchangeable parts made it possible for semiskilled workers to mass-produce mechanical
products.
Westward Growth and Manifest Destiny (SSUSH7b)
 Between 1800 and 1860, the United States more than doubled in size and the number of states
expanded from 16 to 33.
 There were three primary motivations for America’s westward growth:
o The desire of most Americans to own their own land
o The discovery of gold and other valuable resources
o Manifest Destiny: the belief that the United States was destined to stretch across North
America or “from sea to shining sea.”
 There were strong economic motivations behind this belief, as well as racism regarding Native
Americans (Trail of Tears) and Mexican people (Mexican American War).
Reform Movements (SSUSH7c)
 Temperance movement
o Issue: People should drink less alcohol, or alcohol should be outlawed altogether.
o Impact: This movement increased the size of Protestant religious organizations. Women played
an important role, which laid the foundation for the women’s movement.
 Abolitionist movement
o Issue: Slavery should be abolished and it should not be allowed in new states.
o Impact: This movement made slavery and its expansion an important political issue.
 Public school movement
o Issue: All children should be required to attend free schools supported by taxpayers and staffed
by trained teachers.
o Impact: This movement established education as a right for all children and as a state and local
issue it improved the quality of schools by requiring trained teachers.
Women’s Suffrage (SSUSH7d)
 Women did not have the right to vote (suffrage) and often lacked legal custody of their own
children in the early 1800s.
 Elizabeth Cady Stanton was an outspoken advocate for women’s full rights of citizenship,
including voting rights and parental and custody rights.
 In 1848, she organized the Seneca Falls Conference––America’s first women’s rights
convention––in New York.
 The Seneca Falls Conference marked the beginning of organized efforts by women in the United
States to gain civil rights equal to those of men.
Popular Political Culture and Jacksonian Democracy (SSUSH7e)
 President Andrew Jackson and his supporters shared a political philosophy later referred to as
“Jacksonian Democracy.”
 What was Jacksonian Democracy?
o Wanted a stronger executive branch and a weaker Congress
o Increased voter participation by allowing all adult white males, not just landowners, to vote.
o Spoils system: politicians should be allowed to appoint their followers to government jobs as a
way of limiting the power of elite groups.
o Favored Manifest Destiny and greater westward expansion of the United States.
o Favored American Nationalism: Americans should be Protestant (religion) and speak the
English language.
10
Unit 5: A Nation Divided or Pre Civil War
Abolition (SSUSH8a)
 The Abolitionist campaigned to abolish slavery immediately and to grant no financial
compensation to slave owners.
 Among the most notable were the following:
o William Lloyd Garrison: was an important white abolitionist. He published an antislavery
newspaper (The Liberator) that printed graphic stories of the bad treatment received by slaves.
o Frederick Douglass: A former slave that later published autobiographies and his own
antislavery newspaper (The Northern Star).
o The Grimke sisters, Sarah and Angelina, were southern women who lectured publicly about
the evils of slavery they had seen growing up on a plantation.
Nat Turner (SSUSH8a)
 African American preacher Nat Turner believed his mission was to free his people from slavery.
 Turner led a violent slave rebellion on four Virginia plantations and they killed 60 whites.
 Turner was captured, tried, and executed.
 To stop such slave uprisings, white leaders passed new laws limit the rights of slaves.
Missouri Compromise of 1820 (SSUSH8b)
 When settlers in the slaveholding Missouri Territory sought statehood, proslavery and antislavery
politicians made slavery a central issue in national politics.
 The state constitution proposed by Missouri allowed slavery.
 Because half the states in the union allowed slavery while the other half did not, statehood for
Missouri would upset the U.S. Senate’s equal balance between proslavery and antislavery senators.
 This issue was resolved when Congress passed the Missouri Compromise.
o Maine would be admitted to the Union as a free state
o Missouri would be admitted as a slave state
 The balance between proslavery and antislavery senators was equal again––until the next state
asked to enter the Union.
Nullification Crisis (SSUSH8c)
 The Nullification Crisis, resulted when Vice President John C. Calhoun and South Carolina
sought to nullify (cancel) a high tariff (tax) Congress had passed on manufactured goods
imported from Europe.
 The tariff and federal law helped northern manufacturers but hurt southern plantation owners, so
legislators nullified the tariff in South Carolina.
 Calhoun’s had two arguments for the Nullification Crisis
o Sectionalism: loyalty to a region (North vs. South) and not the entire United States.
o States’ rights: the idea that states have certain rights and political powers separate from those
held by the federal government
 Northerners believed sectionalism and states’ rights would destroy the Union and lead to a Civil
War.
Mexican-American War (SSUSH8d)
 Reason for Mexican-American War, the United States took Texas into the Union and set its sights
on the Mexican territories of New Mexico and California.
 The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo officially ends the war and the U.S. gains Texas, California,
New Mexico and Arizona.
Wilmot Proviso (SSUSH8d)
 During the Mexican-American War, Congress debated whether slavery would be allowed in New
Mexico and California if these territories were acquired from Mexico.
11

The antislavery position was outlined in a proposal called the Wilmot Proviso, but the House of
Representatives failed to approve it, and the issue of whether to allow or prohibit slavery in new
states remained unresolved.
 Divides democratic party into a Northern and Southern Branch.
Compromise of 1850 (SSUSH8e)
 Due to land gained during the Mexican-American War and population growth in the West political
tensions between free-states and slave states over the extension of slavery continued.
 Eventually the free-states and slave states agreed to the Compromise of 1850.
 The Compromise of 1850 stated:
o The state of New Mexico would be established by carving its borders from the state of Texas.
o New Mexico voters would determine whether the state would permit or prohibit the practice of
slavery.
o California would be admitted to the Union as a free state.
o All citizens would be required to apprehend runaway slaves and return them to their owners.
Those who failed to do so would be fined or imprisoned.
o The slave trade would be abolished in the District of Columbia, but the practice of slavery would
be allowed to continue there.
 The Compromise of 1850 eased sectional tensions over slavery for a short time.
Kansas-Nebraska Act (SSUSH9a)
 In 1854, Congress again took up the issue of slavery.
 This time, Congress approved the Kansas- Nebraska Act, which repealed the Missouri
Compromise of 1820 and gave the settlers in Kansas and Nebraska popular sovereignty (rule
by the people) the right to decide for themselves whether their state would be a free or a slave
state.
 Pro- and antislavery groups moved to Kansas to support their political views.
 Popular sovereignty eventually failed and led to Bleeding Kansas a violent or warlike battle
between pro and antislavery groups.
Dred Scott (SSUSH9a)
 In 1857, the U.S. Supreme Court issued the Dred Scott decision, settling a lawsuit in which an
African American slave named Dred Scott claimed he should be a free man because he had lived
with his master in slave states and in free-states.
 The Court ruled
o No African American could ever be a U.S. citizen
o Congress could not prohibit slavery in federal territories
o Popular sovereignty was unconstitutional
 The Dred Scott decision gave slavery the protection of the U.S. Constitution.
John Brown (SSUSH9a)
 John Brown, a white abolitionist, decided to fight slavery with violence and killing.
 He led a group of white and black men in a raid on the federal armory at Harpers Ferry, Virginia.
 John Brown’s Raid was to deliver the weapons and ammunition to slaves, who would then use
them in an uprising against slaveholders and proslavery government officials.
 Brown raid failed and he was convicted of treason against the state of Virginia and executed by
hanging.
 Southerners thought Brown was a terrorist. Northerners thought he was an abolitionist martyr.
Unit 6: The Civil War and Reconstruction
Preserving the Union (SSUSH9b)
 Republican Abraham Lincoln was elected president in 1860.
12
 South Carolina voted to secede (separate from) the United States, followed by Mississippi,
Florida, Alabama Georgia, Louisiana, and then Texas. They formed a new country called the
Confederate States of America (the “Confederacy”).
 President Lincoln believed preservation of the United States (the “Union”) was the most
important task for any U.S. president (see Gettysburg Address and Lincoln’s Second
Inaugural Address).
 Lincoln did not believe the southern states had the right to secede from the Union and thought
they were merely rebelling against the government.
 He never considered the Confederacy a separate country.
North versus South (SSUSH9f)
 From the start, the Confederacy was at a serious disadvantage.
 The southern economy differed greatly from the economy of the northern states
Northern Economy
 Population: 71% of U.S. population; 99% free, 1% slave;
 Manufacturing Resources: 92% of U.S. industrial output; Military weapons, supplies and
equipment.
 Food Production: Twice as much as the South produced
 Railroads: 71% of U.S. railroad network; Ready capacity to transport troops and their supplies,
food, etc.
Southern Economy
 Population: 29% of U.S. population; 67% free, 33% slave; too few free men to assemble an army
capable of defending the Confederacy
 Manufacturing Resources: 8% of U.S. industrial output; minimal resources to produce many
weapons and other military supplies and equipment
 Food Production: Less than half as much as the North
 Railroads: 29% of U.S. railroad network; Poor capacity to transport troops and their supplies, food,
etc.
Lincoln’s Emergency Powers: Habeas Corpus & Emancipation Proclamation
(SSUSH9b, e)
 Northern Confederates did not support President Lincoln’s efforts to preserve the Union.
 During the war, Lincoln suspended the constitutional right of habeas corpus––the legal rule
that anyone imprisoned must be taken before a judge to determine if the prisoner is being legally
held in custody.
 The Constitution allows a president to suspend habeas corpus during a national emergency
(WAR).
 13,000 Northern Confederates were held without a trial and without a judge to agree that they
were legally imprisoned.
 Next, Lincoln used his emergency powers again to issue the Emancipation Proclamation,
which emancipated (freed) all slaves held in the Confederate states.
 Lincoln did not expect Confederate slaveholders to free their slaves, but he thought news of the
proclamation would reach southern slaves and encourage them to flee to the North.
 African Americans understood the proclamation announced a new goal for the Union troops––
besides preserving the Union, the troops were fighting for the belief that the United States would
abolish slavery throughout the nation.
Key Leaders of Civil War (SSUSH9c)
North
 President: Abraham Lincoln
o President of United States of America, 1861–1865
o Issued Emancipation Proclamation and Gettysburg Address
13
 General: Ulysses S. Grant
o Appointed commanding general of Union armies by Lincoln
o Accepted surrender of Confederate Gen. Lee to end Civil War
 General: William Tecumseh Sherman
o
Destroyed Atlanta and led the March to the Sea.
South
 President: Jefferson Davis
o President of Confederate States of America, 1861–1865
 General: Robert E. Lee
o Appointed general in chief of Confederate armies by Davis
o Surrendered to U.S. Gen. Grant to end Civil War
 General: Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson
o Gen. Lee second hand man
o Died in battle
Key Battles of the Civil War (SSUSH9d)
 Fort Sumter––April 1861––
o Confederate forces staged a 24-hour bombardment against a federal fort in South Carolina and,
by attacking federal property, had committed an act of open rebellion.
o President Lincoln believed he had no choice but to call for troops to respond against the
Confederacy
o Significance: The Battle of Fort Sumter was the beginning of the Civil War.
 Antietam––September 1862––
o first major battle on northern soil
o Neither side won a victory
o Significance: The South’s failure to win the battle encouraged Lincoln to issue the Emancipation
Proclamation.
 Gettysburg––July 1863–
o The South hoped that an invasion of Union territory would significantly weaken Northern
support for the war effort.
o A major Southern victory on northern soil might also convince Great Britain and France to aid
Confederate forces.
o Significance: South gave up attempts to invade the North and Lincoln delivered the
Gettysburg Address.
o Gettysburg Address: Lincoln’s address helped raise the spirits of Northerners (fight for the
soldiers we have lost and fight as one nation)
 Vicksburg––May–July 1863––
o North lay siege to Vicksburg, Mississippi, in order to gained control of the Mississippi River.
o Significance: Confederate troops and supplies in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas were cut off
from the Confederacy and North gains control of Mississippi River.
 Atlanta––July–September 1864––
o North tries to capture Atlanta for its manufacturing and railway traffic.
o Significance: Union troops burned Atlanta to the ground and starts Sherman’s March to the
Sea. Sherman’s March destroys the railways, roads, and bridges along the path to the sea
(Savannah). Now the South knows it would lose the Civil War.
Gettysburg Address and Lincoln Second Inaugural Address (SSUSH9b)
 Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address helped shape popular opinion in favor of preserving the Union.
 He spoke for just two minutes in what is now considered one of the greatest speeches in the
English language. “Four score and seven years ago.”
 His address helped raise the spirits of Northerners who had grown weary of the war and
convinced the people that the United States was one indivisible nation.
14
 When Lincoln delivered his second inaugural address, Union victory over the Confederacy
was certain, and Americans foresaw an end to slavery.
 Instead of boasting about that victory, Lincoln expressed sorrow that the states had not been able
to resolve their differences peacefully.
 Lincoln urged reconstruction of the South “with malice toward none; with charity for all.”
 He said the war had been fought to preserve the Union as an indivisible nation of citizens who
would no longer profit from taking the earnings from the labor of unpaid slaves.
Presidential Reconstruction vs. Radical Republican Reconstruction (SSUSH10a, b, c)
 The purpose of Presidential Reconstruction (Lincoln and Andrew Jackson) was urge no
revenge on former Confederate supporters and to readmit the southern states to the Union as
quickly as possible.
 Radical Republicans in Congress, however, were outraged by the fact that the new southern state
governments were passing laws that deprived the newly freed slaves of their rights.
 To remedy the Radical Republicans’ outrage, Congress forced the southern states to reapply
for admission to the Union and to take steps to secure the rights of the newly freed slaves.
 Southern states were required to ratify three amendments before they could rejoin the Union.
o 13th Amendment: Abolished slavery
o 14th Amendment: All persons born in the U.S. are citizens
o 15th Amendment: All male U.S. citizens over the age of 21 can vote
 Other benefits of Radical Reconstruction
o Morehouse College
 Founded in Atlanta in 1867
 A former slave and ministers founded it for the education of African American men in the
fields of ministry and education.
o Freedmen’s Bureau
 Helped former slaves solve everyday problems by providing food, clothing, jobs, medicine, and
medical-care facilities.
 Land grants would have provided African Americans with some level of economic
independence.
Impeachment of Andrew Johnson (SSUSH10e)
 During the Reconstruction period, Radical Republicans impeached President Andrew
Johnson.
 The U.S. Constitution allows Congress to remove the president from office by impeaching
(accusing) him of committing “high crimes and misdemeanors,” so Radical Republicans
impeached Johnson when he ignored laws they had passed to limit presidential powers.
 They passed these laws to stop Johnson from curbing the Radical Republicans’ hostile treatment of
former Confederate states and their leaders.
 Johnson missed being convicted by one vote, so he was not removed from office.
Resistance to Racial Equality (SSUSH10d)
 During Reconstruction Black Codes and The KKK were created to resist racial equality.
 Black Codes deprived voting rights to freed slaves and allowed plantation owners to take
advantage of black workers in ways that made it seem that slavery had not been abolished.
 Other white Southerners (The Ku Klux Klan) formed secret societies that used murder, arson,
and other threatening actions as a means of controlling freed African Americans and of pressuring
them not to vote.
 Some southern leaders urged the Klan to step down because federal troops would stay in the South
as long as African Americans needed protection from the society.
End of Reconstruction (SSUSH10f)
 Compromise of 1877 or “The Great Betrayal”
o South agrees to give Rutherford B. Hayes, its electoral votes (becomes President)
15
o Hayes removes federal troops from the South
o Reconstruction comes to an end
 Southern states quickly passed laws that deprived blacks of their rights and worked to strengthen
the segregation of southern society
Unit 7: Industrialization and Progressive Movement
Railroads (SSUSH11a)
 The Transcontinental Railroad: the federal government granted vast areas of western land to
railroad owners so they would lay train track connecting the eastern and western states.
 To complete the railroad, the owners relied mainly on cheap Chinese labor.
 The Chinese labor accepted lower pay, were willing to work with explosives, and worked through
rock slides and heavy snow fall. These Asian immigrants accepted lower pay than other laborers
demanded.
Steel (SSUSH11a)
 The railroads were the biggest customers for the steel industry because thousands of miles of
steel track were laid. In turn, the railroads had a great impact on the steel industry.
 To supply their biggest customers, steel producers developed cheap, efficient methods for the mass
production of steel rails.
 The rapid rise of the steel and railroad industries spurred the growth of other big businesses,
especially in the oil, financial, and manufacturing sectors of the economy.
Oil (SSUSH11c)
 The most famous big business of the era was the Standard Oil Company, founded by John D.
Rockefeller.
 Rockefeller used the concepts of trust and monopoly to control more than 90% of America’s oil
industry.
 Trust: where several companies give one company the right to make financial decisions for them.
 Monopoly: a single company that controlled virtually all the U.S. oil production and distribution.
Electricity (SSUSH11d)
 The most famous inventor of the period is Thomas Edison.
 He invented the electric light bulb, the phonograph, motion pictures and many other
technologies powered by electricity.
 Edison’s inventions eliminated much manual labor that had been associated with everyday
household activities and improved Americans’ quality of life.
Old Conflict (SSUSH12c)
 As a result of the Transcontinental Railroad, many people began to move west.
 In turn, Native Americans had to compete with these newcomers for land.
 The Sioux and the Battle of Wounded Knee
o The Sioux signed a treaty with the U.S. government promising “no white persons” in the
Dakotas.
o Later gold was discovered in the Dakotas, the U.S. government tried to reclaim the land
o The Sioux leader, Sitting Bull, led a rebellion against U.S. Troops
o Eventually Sitting Bull and his people agreed to settle on a reservation.
o 10 years later, government officials ordered Sitting Bull’s arrest. He died in a brief gun battle.
o After Sitting Bull died, several hundred of his people fled to an area of South Dakota called
Wounded Knee.
o U.S. soldiers went there to confiscate weapons from the Sioux.
o A gun was fired––nobody knows by whom––and U.S soldiers then opened machine-gun fire,
killing more than 300 Sioux.
o The Battle of Wounded Knee ended the Native Americans’ long conflict against Americans
settling Native American lands.
16
New Immigrants (SSUSH12a)
 In the decades after the Civil War, more and more Europeans immigrated to America.
 Early immigrant groups
o Location: northern and western Europe
o Religion: Protestant
o Language: English
 New immigrants
o Location: eastern and southern Europe
o Religion: Jewish or Catholic
o Language: spoke no English
 At Ellis Island in New York, new immigrants were forced pass health and welfare tests
 The new immigrants were mostly poor, so they worked as unskilled laborers and lived mostly in
cities.
 The new immigrants did not blend into American society.
 They created communities to imitate the cultures of their home countries (little Italy).
American Federation of Labor and Samuel Gompers (SSUSH12b)
 Unskilled laborers were subject to low wages, long workdays, no vacations, and unsafe workplaces.
 Unskilled labors decided to band together in labor unions to demand better pay and working
conditions.
 The most famous labor union American Federation of Labor, was led by Samuel Gompers.
 Samuel Gompers goal was to use strikes (work stoppages) to convince employers to give
workers shorter workdays, better working conditions, higher wages, and greater control over how
they carried out their workplace responsibilities.
Pullman Strike(SSUSH12d)
 During poor economic times, violence erupted when employers sought to fire some workers and to
lower the wages of those still employed.
 When the Pullman railcar factory fired almost half its workforce and cut wages, its workers went
on strike.
 The Pullman company responded by hiring new workers, but these workers were attacked by
strikers when they attempted to go to work.
 Business leaders asked President Grover Cleveland to send in the U.S. Army to restore peace.
 Both big business and the U.S. government feared labor unions were a menace to America’s
capitalist economy.
Muckrakers (SSUSH13a, d)
 Muckrakers were journalists investigated and exposed political corruption, child labor, slum
conditions, and other social issues.
 Two famous Muckrakers
o Upton Sinclair
 Wrote: The Jungle (Book)
 Significance: Exposed poor labor practices and unsanitary conditions that produced
contaminated meat.
 Result: Passage of the Meat Inspection Act and Pure Food and Drug Act
o Ida Tarbell
 Wrote: The History of the Standard Oil Company
 Significance: She criticized Standard Oil Company’s unfair business practices.
 Result: Standard Oil Company convicted of violating the Sherman Antitrust Act. Forced the
company to split up into 32 “baby Standards”.
Progressive Reforms (SSUSH13e)
 The Progressives supported new ideas and policies they believed would improve people’s lives.
17
 They supported protecting immigrant’s rights, increasing citizens voting rights, and policies to
conserve natural resources.
 Three Major Issues for Progressives
o Immigration Reform
 Jane Addams established Hull House in Chicago.
 Hull House was a social service agency that provided help to recent immigrants about home
economics, basic medical care, the English language and legal rights.
o Political Reform
 Initiative is a means by which a petition signed by a certain number of voters can force a
public vote.
 Referendum is a vote in which the voting population is asked to accept or reject a particular
proposal.
 Recall is a procedure to remove an elected official from office before his or her term has
ended.
 17th Amendment: Direct election of Senators
o Land Reform
 Theodore Roosevelt supported the conservation movement.
 The conservation movement helped save millions of acres of wilderness land and created
the national park system
 Examples: Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon
African American Rights (SSUSH13c)
 During this time racial discrimination and segregation continued to decline in the South.
 The decline of African American rights
o Jim Crow laws were established in the South and resulted in inferior education, health care,
and transportation systems for African Americans.
o In Plessy v. Ferguson, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Jim Crow laws were
constitutional. Under the “separate but equal” doctrine, the court ruled racial segregation was
legal in public facilities.
o To legally fight against the loss of their civil rights, African Americans created the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
Asian American Rights (SSUSH14a)
 In the west, Asian Americans faced anti-immigrant sentiment.
 The decline of Asian Americans rights
o Chinese Americans
 They accepted low wages for jobs whites had held, so employers lowered the pay for all
workers.
 White workers encouraged Congress to pass the Chinese Exclusion Act, which banned all
future Chinese immigrants.
o Japanese Americans
 It was against California law for them to buy land or become U.S. citizens
 U.S. Government limited Japanese immigration.
Unit 8: U.S Becomes a World Power and Jazz Age
American Expansionism or Imperialism (SSUSH14b, c)
 American Expansionism was the idea that Americans needed to spread democracy into Latin
America and other world regions.
 Four Results of American Expansionism
o Spanish-American War
 Reason: Spain refused to grant independence to rebels fighting in Cuba and sinking of the
battle ship Maine.
 Result: Cuba becomes independent country and the U.S. gains Puerto Rico, Guam and the
Philippines.
18
o Philippine-American War
 Reason: Spain refused to grant independence to rebels fighting in the Philippines. After
defeating Spain, the U.S. refuses to grant the Philippines their independence
 Result: The U.S. gains control of the Philippines.
o Roosevelt Corollary
 Reason: Latin American governments were unstable and owed large amounts of money to
European countries. U.S. feared that European countries would control Latin and South
American governments.
 Result: The Roosevelt Corollary (addition to Monroe Doctrine) announced to the world
that the United States would exercise international policing power in the Western Hemisphere
in order to protect its interests in the area.
o Panama Canal
 Reason: U.S. Government wants to build a shipping canal across the country of Panama. The
purpose of the canal was to create a faster sea route that connected the Atlantic and Pacific
Oceans.
 Result: U.S. has a greater reason to enforce the Roosevelt Corollary and the biggest
engineering project of the era and
World War I––Origins (SSUSH15a)
 When World War I began in Europe in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson was determined to
guarantee U.S. neutrality and to keep the United States out of the war.
 Reasons the U.S. entered World War I
o German unrestricted submarine warfare
o Sinking of the Lusitania, German submarines sink boat that has over 100 U.S. citizens on board.
World War I––Impacts (SSUSH15b, d)
 Four Major Impacts of WWI (IN AMERICA)
o Great Migration
 Reason: WWI created jobs in northeastern and mid-western cities.
 Result: The Great Migration was when African Americans moved from the South to take
jobs and create African American communities in the North.
o Espionage Act
 Reason: During the war, President Wilson want to silence critics of the war and pacifist.
 Result: The Espionage Act made it a crime to communicate any information that would
interfere with U.S. military operations or aid its enemies. Later, Eugene V. Debs (a famous
socialist politician) was convicted for hindering military recruiting by making a speech against
it; he was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
o 18th Amendment
 Reason: Americans’ anti-German feelings led to a campaign to outlaw beer and other alcoholic
beverages.
 Result: 18th Amendment (Prohibition) which prohibited “the manufacture, sale, or
transportation of intoxicating liquors.”
o 19th Amendment
 Reason: Women had supported their country during WWI by taking jobs in factories.
 Result: 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote.
Isolationism (SSUSH15c)
 Before the United States entered WWI, President Wilson gave a speech in which he described his
Fourteen Points Plan.
 Wilson’s Fourteen Points Plan
o Creation of the League of Nation, an international peacekeeping organization
o Wanted to prevent future wars by having countries work together
 U.S. Senate and the Fourteen Points Plan
o The U.S. Senate to refuse to ratify the treaty
19
o The Isolationist Senate believe the plan force the U.S. to get involved in future wars
 Result: The United States never joined the League of Nations.
Communism and Socialism (SSUSH16a)
 In the late 1800s and early 1900s, a new political ideology called communism became a popular
form of government.
 Basis of Communism
o Single-party government ruled by a dictator
o There is no private ownership; all property is owned by the state
 In 1919, the communist party led by the Bolsheviks overthrew the czar in Russia, established the
Soviet Union, and called for a worldwide revolution to destroy capitalism, people in the United
States began to fear communists.
 This fear of the spread of communism was called the Red Scare because red was the color of the
communist flag.
 The Red Scare led to the U.S. government’s pursuit of suspected communists.
Immigration Restrictions (SSUSH16a)
 The Red Scare was one factor that led to the development of Nativism and new restrictions on
immigration
 Major points of Nativism
o People born in America were superior to immigrants
o America should keep its traditional culture intact.
 Results of Nativism
o Return of the Ku Klux Klan (Not just the South)
o New restriction on immigrants (low the number of immigrants)Anti-immigrant
Popular Culture (SSUSH16b, c, d)
 What Boomed in the 1920’s
o Radio and movies helped create the first media stars
o Jazz music
 An original American art form, became popular
 Louis Armstrong: biggest star of jazz music
o Tin Pan Alley
 An actual place in Manhattan, but also names the group of music writers and publishers who
worked there
 Irving Berlin: who wrote hundreds of songs during his career, including “God Bless
America” and “White Christmas.”
o The Automobile
 Henry Ford develops the assembly line which lead to the mass production of cars
 The mass production of cars helped lower the price of cars (everyone wants a car)
o Harlem Renaissance
 Great Migration increased the African American population in Northern cities
 Harlem Renaissance was a rebirth of African American culture in America. Writing,
painting, music, dance and more
 Langston Hughes: Famous poet of the movement, poems had the tempo of jazz or blues,
wrote about the working class African Americans.
Unit 9: The Great Depression and the New Deal
Four Factors that led to the Great Depression (SSUSH17a)
 Under consumption: working class lost the ability to purchase goods because their wages
stayed the same as prices rose.
 Over production: The decrease in consumer spending resulted in business overproducing goods
(surplus).
20
 Buy on Margin: The banks loaned people money to buy stocks, with little money down on the
loan. Rising stock prices and the ability of ordinary people to buy stock on credit increased
investment in the stock market and inflated the price of stocks above their actual value. Buying on
Margin caused some investors to panic and sell their stocks.
 Stock Market Crash of 1929: As more people sold their stock, other people panicked and sold
their stock as well, driving down their prices and causing a stock market crash.
The Great Depression (SSUSH17c)
 The Great Depression––a severe economic recession in the 1930s that affected all the
industrialized nations profits, business profits, and personal incomes.
 Two major results
o Widespread Unemployment ( 25% of people unemployed)
o Increase in homeless population
 Led to the creation of Hoovervilles, homeless camps during Great Depression
 Named after President Herbert Hoover, negative attack on Hoover.
Dust Bowl (SSUSH17b)
 The Dustbowl was a series of severe dust storms that greatly damaged the Great Plains of the United
States.
 Two Factors that led to the dust bowl
o Over-farming: Farmers turned too much of the grasslands into a cultivated cropland.
o Climate: In the 1930, the Great Plains experience a great drought.
 The result of dust bowl was that it forced tens of thousands of families to abandon their farms and
migrate west to California
Putting People to Work (SSUSH18a,b,c)
 Roosevelt’s New Deal and Second New Deal were government programs designed to create Relief,
Recovery, and Reform for the American Economy.
 Three of Important New Deal Programs
 Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)
o A series of dams and power plants built along the Tennessee River
o Helped control flooding
o Gave cheap electrical energy to the South
o Created hundreds of jobs
 Wagner Act or National Labor Relations Act
o Designed to promote labor unions
o Established collective bargaining rights for workers
o Businesses could no longer intimidate workers, fire union members, and keep workers joining a
union.
 Social Security Program
o Old-age insurance for retirees aged 65 or older
o Unemployment compensation paid by a federal tax on employers and administered by the states
o Aid for the disabled and for families with dependent children paid by the federal government and
administered by the states
Eleanor Roosevelt (SSUSH18d)
 President Roosevelt’s wife, Eleanor, was very influential in her own right.
 She was interested in humanitarian causes and social progress, and she was very vocal about them
during her husband’s time in the White House.
 As a supporter of women’s activism, she was also instrumental in convincing Roosevelt to appoint
more women to government positions.
Roosevelt’s Political Challenges (SSUSH18e)
 Opponents of the New Deal came from all parts of the political spectrum.
 Conservatives vs. Liberals
21
o Conservatives thought Roosevelt had made the federal government too large and too
powerful and that it did not respect the rights of individuals and property.
o Liberals thought Roosevelt had not gone far enough to socialize the economy and eliminate
inequality in America.
 Senator Huey Long of Louisiana
 Roosevelt’s biggest liberal critic
 Every American a home, food, clothes, and an education, among other things.
 Roosevelt’s failures
o Roosevelt is denied entry into World War II
 To prevent Roosevelt from entering WWII, Congress passes the Neutrality Acts.
 Neutrality Acts make it illegal to sell arms or make loans to nations at war.
o Court-Packing bill (Judiciary Reorganization Bill)
 The bill was a law Roosevelt proposed to give presidents the power to appoint an extra
Supreme Court justice for every sitting justice over the age of 70 ½.
 Roosevelt wanted to add more of his supporters to the Supreme Court to pass his New Deal
programs
 Congress denies Roosevelt’s because his bill would weaken the idea of checks and balances.
Unit 10: World War II and the Civil War
Pearl Harbor and Its Aftermath (SSUSH19b)
 Attack on Pearl Harbor (Dec. 7. 1941)
o Japanese surprise attack on the United States
o Over 2,400 Americans were killed
o Result: United States officially enters World War II and creates Japanese Internment
Camps in U.S.
o In the name of national security, Roosevelt ordered all people of Japanese ancestry to be placed
in internment camps.
o Mostly Japanese, but Italians, Germans and some Native Americans from Alaska were place in
camps on the west coast.
Mobilization (SSUSH19d)
 After Pearl Harbor, the War at Home begins
 5 million men volunteered for military service
 The Selective Service System expanded the draft, and 10 million more men joined the ranks of
the American armed forces.
 The Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps was formed to fill noncombat positions otherwise filled
by men.
 Women at home volunteered to work in plants and factors to build tanks, planes, ships, guns,
bullets and boots.
 Wartime conservation leads people to carpool to work and a nation-wide collection of
resources (scrap iron, newspapers, cooking grease)
 The government rationing system was created. Each household received a “c book” with coupons
that were used to buy scarce items such as meat, sugar, coffee and gasoline.
 Eventually, it was the hard work at home that helped America win World War II.
Major Events of World War II (SSUSH19c, f)
 Many battles were fought between the Allied nations and the Axis powers from 1939 to 1945.
 The Four major World War II events, (not including Attack on Pearl Harbor)
o Lend-Lease (March 1941, before attack on Pearl Harbor)
 Congress passed the act to amend the Neutrality Acts
 The U.S. could lend military equipment and supplies to any nation the president said was vital
to the defense of the United States.
22
United States lends $50 billion worth of equipment and supplies to Britain, France, the Soviet
Union, and China.
o Battle of Midway (June 1942, after Pearl Harbor)
 Major turning point in the Pacific Theater
 The U.S. Navy win sea battle against Japanese Navy
 American wins control of refueling station (Island of Midway) for ships and airplanes
 Huge moral boost for Americans
 U.S. gains geographic control of the Pacific Ocean.
 Japan never recovers from defeat.
o D-Day (Jun 1944)
 Major turning point in the European Theater
 The code name for the first day of Operation Overlord, the mass Allied invasion of Nazioccupied France
 Allies met heavy resistance in small areas, the invasion went almost exactly according to plan
 U.S. and Allies gains geographic control of part of Europe, so they could resupply their forces
and push east to Germany
o Fall of Berlin (April–May 1945)
 One of the final battles of the European theater during WWII
 Soviet army groups attacked Berlin from the east and west
 Historically one of the bloodiest battles of all time
 German leader Adolf Hitler committed suicide during battle
 End of WWII in Europe
Atom Bomb (SSUSH19e, f)
 End of the WWII in the Pacific Theater
o The U.S. had defeated the Japanese navy in the Pacific Ocean
o The U.S. feared they would lose millions of people in an invasion of Japan
o President Truman decides to drop the Atomic bomb on Japan (August 1945)
o End of the World War II (Sept. 2, 1945)
 Building of the Atomic Bomb and its results
o Code name for building the bomb was “The Manhattan Project”
o U.S. assembles two atomic bombs in a secret laboratory in Los Alamos, New Mexico
o Result: U.S. becomes a super power and Soviet Union quickly develops a bomb and becomes a
super power.
o Result 2: U.S. and Soviet Union begin a period of military, political and economic hostility
called the Cold War.
Four Foreign Policy Attempts to Stop the Spread of Communism (SSUSH20a)
 Marshall Plan (named after George Marshall)
o America’s foreign aid program to rebuild Western Europe and opposing communism after
World War II.
o From 1947 to 1951, the United States spent $13 billion on economic and technical assistance for
Western European countries that had been nearly destroyed during World War II.
o The plan offered foreign aid to the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe if they made political
reforms and accept certain outside controls; however, the Soviets rejected this proposal.
 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
o To stop the spread of communism the United States formed a military alliance with the
noncommunist nations in Western Europe (Britain and France).
o The Warsaw Pact was the Soviet Union response to NATO, an alliance of the communist
nations it controlled in Eastern Europe.
 Containment Policy
o U.S. foreign policy to stop the spread of communism
o U.S. scared that Soviet Union was tried to spread communism throughout the world

23
 Truman Doctrine
o Foreign policy named after President Harry S. Truman
o The plan said the United States would supply any nation with economic and military aid to
prevent its falling under the Soviet sphere of influence.
o Truman called upon the United States to “support free peoples who are resisting attempted
subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures (Soviet Union).”
Communism in the United States (SSUSH20b)
 Senator Joseph McCarthy’s wanted to stop the spread of communism in the U.S.
 McCarthy made statements about alleged communist infiltration of the U.S. government and U.S.
Army
 Ultimately McCarthy’s statements violated the rights of many U.S. citizens (even communists) and
many of his accusations were wrong.
 McCarthyism is when someone makes unfair accusations of guilt but he or she uses improper
investigative practices to prove the guilt.
Cold War Confrontations (SSUSH20b, c, d, e)
 Korean War
o In 1950, the U.S. and South Korean went to war against the communist government of North
Korea and China
o The U.S. used the containment policy to justify its attempt to stop the spread of communism in
Korea
o Result: Neither side could gain control of the Korean peninsula, North and South Korea was
created with the 38th parallel as the border between the nations.
 Cuba
o With U.S. support, Fidel Castro led the Cuban Revolution in 1956
o Later, Castro allied himself and Cuba with the Soviet Union (communism)
o The U.S. used it’s containment policy to stop the spread of communism in Cuba (90 miles for
America)
o Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba
 Cuban exiles trained by the U.S attempt to invade communist Cuba
 Biggest failure of President Kennedy
 Invasion fails because Kennedy would not us the U.S. military
 The United States was forced to give $53 million worth of food and supplies to Cuba for
release of the 1,200 captives.
o Cuban Missile Crisis
 To stop future invasion of Cuba, the Soviet Union build military missile launch sites in Cuba.
 American spy planes take photos of a Soviet missile site in Cuba and Kennedy immediately
began planning a response.
 Soviet missiles 90 miles from the U.S. posed a serious threat to American security.
 Kennedy’s plan was to create a blockade of Cuba and threatened to invade unless the Soviets
promised to withdraw from Cuba.
 Soviets agree to remove missiles if the U.S. removed its nuclear missiles from Turkey.
 Vietnam War
o In the early 1960s, U.S. involvement began to increase in Vietnam; it lasted until the early
1970s.
o South Vietnam was supported by the United States, North Vietnam and a military organization
called the Vietcong was supported by the communist.
o U.S. policymakers believed that if Vietnam came to be ruled by a communist government,
communism would spread throughout Southeast Asia and perhaps beyond.
o Tet-Offensive (1968)
 The largest Vietcong campaign of the war (8 months)
 Tet Offensive fails to drive American out of Vietnam
24
It did inspire Vietnam protesters to question why the U.S. was in the war and if we were
winning the war.
 Most protesters favored ending the draft and removing all American troops from Vietnam.
Unit 11: Baby Boom and Civil Rights
Three Signs of Economic Growth after WWII (SSUSH21a)
 Baby Boom
o American soldiers return from WWII and settle back into the lives they had left behind.
o The effect was a huge growth in population called the baby boom.
o From mid-1940s to the mid-1960s (4 million babies were born 1957)
 Levittown
o American soldiers returning and the baby boom led to a housing shortage.
o William Levitt created methods of building houses faster and cheaper
o Levittown’s were the first master planned communities, created in New York’s Long Island
o Levittown’s were the first suburbs, communities outside of a city, for people who worked in the
city
 Interstate Highway Act
o The baby boom and Levittowns led to a need for more cars and roads.
o Congress passed the Interstate Highway Act, authorizing the construction of a national
network of highways to connect every major city in America.
o In all, 41,000 miles of new expressways, or freeways, were built.
Television Changes (SSUSH21b)
 Kennedy/Nixon Presidential Debates
o Seventy million people watch the 1960 debate
o Nixon seems more knowledgeable about foreign policy and other topics, but he looked sick
o Kennedy was coached on how to look and speak during the debate by television producers
o Kennedy’s performance on T.V. helped him win the presidency.
 The Civil Rights Movement
o In the 1960’s, T.V. gave all American the chance to see civil rights demonstration
o American witnessed African Americans being hit by high pressure fire hoses and attacked by
police dogs.
o Attacks encourage Americans and Kennedy to demand new civil rights laws. (Civil Rights Act of
1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965)
Technological Wonders (SSUSH21c)
 In addition to the television, air-conditioning, the personal computer, the internet and cellular
phones were developed during the 1950’s to the 1970’s.
Sputnik I and the Cold War (SSUSH21d)
 Sputnik I
o In 1957, the Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite
o Americans believed the United States had “fallen behind” the Soviet Union in terms of
understanding science and the uses of technology.
o Americans also feared that the Soviet Union could use rockets to launch nuclear weapons
o U.S. government increases spending on education, especially in mathematics and science, and
on national military defense programs
Racial Integration (SSUSH 19a, 22a, b, c, d, e)
 African Americans fought in World War II and also worked in war industries in the United States
during the war.
 After the war, they once again faced the racial discrimination that had been traditional before the
war, but many people took bold actions to end discrimination and promote integration.
 Review the following details of the major events in the recent history of the civil rights movement.

25
Protesting Discrimination
 A. Philip Randolph (1941)
o The founder of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters
o Proposed a march on Washington, D.C., to protest racial discrimination in the military and in
industry.
o He called on African Americans from all over the United States to come to Washington and join
him.
o President Roosevelt tries to stop the march by talking to Randolph, but Randolph refuses to talk
o Result: Roosevelt issued an executive order that called on employers and labor unions to cease
discrimination in hiring practices in industries related to defense. (march canceled)
 Jackie Robinson (1947)
o First African American to play for a major league baseball team in the United States, the
Brooklyn Dodgers.
o This led to the complete integration of baseball and other professional sports
 President Harry Truman (1948)
o Issued an executive order to integrate the U.S. armed forces and to end discrimination in the
hiring of U.S. government employees.
 Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
o U.S. Supreme Court declared that state laws establishing “separate but equal” public schools
denied African American students the equal education
o The decision reversed the Plessy v. Ferguson case in 1896.
o The governor of Arkansas refused to follow the decision and ordered the National Guard to
keep nine African American students from attending Little Rock’s Central High School
o President Eisenhower sent federal troops to Little Rock to force the high school to integrate.
 Martin Luther King Jr. (1963)
o “Letter From Birmingham Jail” (letter)
 MLK was arrested in Birmingham, Alabama, while demonstrating against racial segregation.
 In Jail he wrote his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” to address fears white religious
leaders had that he was moving too fast toward desegregation.
 King explained why victims of segregation, violent attacks, and murder found it difficult to
wait for those injustices to end.
o “I Have a Dream” (Speech)
 MLK’s most famous speech
 He spoke to over 250,000 people at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.
 In this speech, King asked for peace and racial harmony.
 Civil Rights Act of 1964
o Signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson.
o The law prohibited discrimination based on race, religion, national origin, and gender.
o This law was the result of years of civil rights protest and the slow work of previous presidents (
Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy)
 Voting Rights Act of 1965
o Outlawed literacy tests to register to vote, because this requirement was judged as unfair to
minorities.
o The act provided money to pay for programs to register voters in areas with large numbers of
unregistered minorities, and it gave the Department of Justice the right to oversee the voting
laws
Unit 12: Modern Politics
Individual Rights (SSUSH23a)
 During the 1950’s and 1960’s the Warren Court (Justice Earl Warren), as it was known,
became famous for issuing landmark decisions.
26
 Two famous Warren Court decisions
o Brown v. Board of Education
 Declared “Separate but Equal” unconstitutional and strengthened Americans individual rights.
o Miranda v. Arizona
 Police questioned Ernesto Miranda without telling him he had the right to speak with an
attorney and the right to stay silent.
 Created the Miranda Rights and strengthened Americans individual rights.
Murder in Dallas (SSUSH23b)
 President Kennedy was Assassinated in Dallas, Texas, in November 1963
 Showed Americans just how strong gov’t was because, although the president could be killed, the
U.S. gov’t would live on. (Chain of Command)
 The assassination gave the new president, Lyndon Johnson, the political capital to force three
domestic legislative package through Congress.
Great Society (SSUSH24c)
 A series of laws and programs that would later be called President Johnson’s “Great Society”
 The Great Society programs were designed to improve Americans standard of living and give
citizens greater opportunities regardless of their background.
 Three Great Society laws
o Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 (War on Poverty)
o Civil Rights Act of 1964
o Medicare: federal funding for the medical cost of the elderly
1968 (SSUSH23d)
 The year 1968 was one of social and political turmoil in the United States.
 Four Key Events of 1968
o Tet Offensive (January)
 Many Americans turned against the Vietnam War and against the Johnson administration,
which had claimed the enemy was near defeat.
o Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. (April)
 Caused riots in over 100 cities across America
 One week after King’s death, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1968, which prevented
discrimination in housing.
o Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy (June)
 Robert Kennedy was running for president
 He wanted new social reforms and he opposed the Vietnam War
o Democratic Convention (August)
 Held in Chicago Illinois
 Violent protest breaks out and police use clubs and tear gas to stop the protesters on live TV.
Civil Rights Movement (SSUSH24a)
 The Two Civil Rights Groups
o The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)
 Founder: MLK Jr.
 Goal: to carry on nonviolent crusades against African Americans
 Tactics: marches and protests
o The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)
 Founder: African American college students (Shaw University)
 Goal: speed up the changes mandated by Brown v. Board of Education.
 Tactics: Sit-ins, Freedom rides, registering African Americans to votes, later used violence
Anti–Vietnam War Movement (SSUSH24c)
 Americans against the war in Vietnam
27
 Many antiwar groups started on college campuses to urge the government to end selective
service (the draft) and to bring home all American troops from Vietnam.
 Protesters became more radical, burning their draft cards, going to prison rather than going to
Vietnam, and even fleeing to Canada.
Women’s Movement (SSUSH24b)
 The National Organization for Women (NOW) was founded in 1966 to promote equal rights
and opportunities for America’s women.
 NOW’s goals included equality in employment, political and social equality, and the passage of the
equal rights amendment.
United Farm Workers’ Movement (SSUSH24d)
 César Chávez and his United Farm Workers movement, protested for equal rights in the
work place.
 Chávez believed in nonviolent methods to achieve his goals.
 In 1965, he started a nationwide boycott of California grapes, forcing grape growers to negotiate a
contract with the United Farm Workers in 1970.
 This contract gave farm workers higher wages and other benefits for which they had been
protesting through the sixties.
Environmental Movement (SSUSH24e)
 In 1962, Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring, exposed Americans to the dangers of pesticides
on the environment.
 Three Results of Silent Spring
o Creation of the Water Quality Act of 1965.
o The first Earth Day was celebrated
o Creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set limits on pollution, to
conduct environmental research, and to assist state and local governments in the cleanup of
polluted sites.
Conservative Movement (SSUSH24f)
 The Conservative Movement began to pick up steam with the nomination of the Republican
Senator Barry Goldwater for president and the election of Republican Richard M. Nixon to
President.
 Goldwater and Nixon believed in New Federalism
 New Federalism would take away some federal government powers, such as social welfare, and
give them to state and local governments.
 New Federalism would reverse President Johnson’s Great Society programs.
Supreme Court Decisions (SSUSH25b)
 Two controversial civil rights cases during the 1970’s
o Roe v. Wade (1973)
 Women’s right to choose whether to have an abortion under certain circumstances
 By expanding the constitutional right of privacy to include abortion, the Court extended civil
liberties protections.
o Regents of University of California v. Bakke (1978) (also known as the Bakke
decision).
 Ruled race can be used when considering applicants to colleges, but racial quotas cannot be
used.
 The Court barred the use of quota systems in college admissions but expanded Americans’
civil rights by giving constitutional protection to affirmative action programs that give equal
access to minorities.
Nixon and Ford Administrations (SSUSH25a)
 Richard Nixon
o Political Success
28
Visit to China (1971)
 Visited China to seek scientific, cultural and trade agreements
 Hoped Chinese and the U.S. would become allies against the Soviet Union
o Political Failure
 Watergate Scandal
 Nixon administration’s attempt to cover up a burglary of the offices of the Democratic Party in
the Watergate apartment and office complex in Washington, D.C.
 Nixon wanted information on Democrats to help him win his reelection.
 Nixon won reelection in 1972, but his efforts to cover up the crime soon unraveled and, facing
impeachment, he resigned in 1974.
 The result of scandal was a decrease in Americans trust in the federal government (voting
decreases) and government creates new laws on campaign financing.
 Gerald Ford
o Political Success
 Ford was able to end the Vietnam war
o Political Failures
 Pardoned Nixon
 Failed to stop the worst economic recession since Great Depression
Carter Administration (SSUSH25c)
 Jimmy Carter
o Political Success
 Camp David Accords
 Carter negotiated a peace agreement between the Egyptian president and the Israeli prime
mister
 First peace agreement between Middle Eastern nations.
o Political Failure
 Iran Hostage Crisis
 Began with the Iranian Revolution
 The shah (king) of Iran (friendly to Americans) was removed by the new Ayatollah (Muslim
Religious Leader) of Iran.
 Later, the shah seeks medical help from Carter in America
 Angry Iranians invaded the U.S. embassy in Iran and took 52 Americans captive.
 The Iranian hostage crisis lasted 444 days, until the captives were released after the
election of Ronald Reagan as president, and it nurtured anti- Americanism among Muslims
around the world.
Reagan Administration (SSUSH25d)
 Ronald Reagan
o Political Success
 Collapse of the Soviet Union
 A foreign policy were Reagan talked the Soviet Union leader (Mikhail Gorbachev) into
allowing free speech (glasnost) and freedom of assembly in the U.S.S.R.
 These policy put the U.S.S.R on the path to a democratic form of government.
 In a 1987 speech, Reagan challenged Gorbachev to “tear down this wall!” as a symbol of
increasing freedom in the U.S.S.R.
 The Wall fell on Nov. 9th 1989 (symbolic end of Soviet Union)
o Political Failure
 Reaganomics
 An economic policy that included budget cuts, tax cuts and increased defense spending.
 By cutting social welfare budgets, Reagan’s policy hurt lower-income Americans and led to a
severe recession.

29
Iran-Contra scandal
 A foreign policy were America sold weapons to Iran (enemy of the United States).
 The U.S. then took the profits from selling the weapons and funded a rebellion in Nicaragua.
 The Nicaragua rebels were called the Contras.
Clinton Administration (SSUSH25e)
 Bill Clinton
o Political Success
 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
 NAFTA brought Mexico into a free-trade (tariff-free) zone already existing between Canada
and the United States.
 Opponents believed NAFTA would send U.S. jobs to Mexico and harm the environment
 Supporters believed it would open up the growing Mexican market to U.S. companies; these
pros and cons are still argued today.
o Political Failure
 The Impeachment of Bill Clinton
 The second president in U.S. history to suffer impeachment.
 The House of Representatives charged him with perjury and obstruction of justice.
 The charges were based on accusations of improper use of money from a real estate deal and
allegations he had lied under oath about an improper relationship with a White House
intern.
 Clinton denied the charges and the Senate acquitted him, allowing Clinton to remain in office
and finish his second term.
2000 Presidential Election (SSUSH25f)
 The presidential election of 2000 saw Al Gore, facing the Republican governor of Texas, George
W. Bush
 Gore won the national popular vote by over 500,000 of the 105 million votes cast, but when
American voters cast ballots for president, the national popular vote has no legal significance.
 Rather, Americans are voting for members of the Electoral College representing each candidate.
 Each state is assigned “electors” in equal number to its total number of U.S. representatives and
senators.
 (For example, Georgia had thirteen electors in 2000: eleven representatives and two senators.) In
the 2000 election, Bush won by receiving 271 votes in the Electoral College to Gore’s 266.
Bush Administration (SSUSH25g)
 George W. Bush
o September 11, 2001, (9/11) al-Qaeda’s attack on the Twin Towers.
 American Response to 9/11 attack
 Created the Patriot Act, which increased the ability of American law enforcement agencies
can search private communications and personal records
 Created the Department of Homeland Security (responds to terrorist attacks and
natural disasters)
 Operation Enduring Freedom (2001), U.S. invasion of Afghanistan with allied forces.
(for harboring al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and start of War on Terrorism)
 Operation Iraqi Freedom (2003), U.S. invasion of Iraq to search for Weapons of
Mass Destruction (WMD) and as part of War on Terrorism.
 U.S. captures Iraq’s president, Saddam Hussein. U.S. fears Hussein had and could supply
terrorist in America. (Executed in 2006 for crimes against humanity)
 U.S. captures al-Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden. U.S fears bin Laden had and could supply
terrorist in America. (Killed in 2011, ordered by Barack Obama)
