Download Goal 1 United States History New Nation Washington`s Presidency

Goal 1 United States History
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New Nation
Washington’s Presidency
Whiskey Rebellion:
Washington used federal troops to end farmers rebellion
Proof that a stronger federal gov’t had been established (National troops stopped the rebellion rather than a local
militia).
Jay’s Treaty + Pickney’s Treaty(trade in New Orleans…expand use of Miss. R.)
Jay’s Treaty: avoided war from Britain, eliminated the British threats to the security of the US with the British
agreeing to abandon their military forts in the west
Farewell Address: No foreign entanglements and No political parties
Washington warned against the formation of alliances with foreign nations and the formation of political parties
US should avoid permanent, entangling alliances.
Hamilton & Federalist vs Jefferson & Democratic-Republicans
Hamilton & Federalist believed in “loose interpretation” of the Constitution
Hamilton favored Federal power: Federal Banks and Federal Debt
Democrat Republicans believed in a “Strict Interpretation” of Constitution
Jefferson argued for more State power: state debt & banks
Jefferson thought that the National Bank was an unconstitutional act that unnecessarily strengthened federal power
Hamilton’s Economic Plan:
excise tax on whiskey, creation of a National Bank, and Federal Debt from the assumption of the states’ debt from
the Revolutionary War
Hamilton’s financial plan created the most tension b/w the North and the South: the federal gov’t would assume
state debt from foreign nations
Hamilton gained support for his plan to have the federal gov’t pay off foreign and domestic debts after the
Revolutionary War by promising the South to move the Capital to the South (Washington D.C.)
Adams Presidency
XYZ Affair: French diplomats required payment to talk with US diplomats
Alien and Sedition Act – limit freedom of speech
Federalist passed to limit speech against gov’t and limit immigration, hurt Democratic-Republican party since they
were not the majority party (Specifically designed to limit the political participation of recent immigrants in the late
1790s)
Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions (written by Jefferson and James Madison) had a lasting impact on the US in that
they introduced the “Doctrine of Nullification” in which states refuse to follow federal laws they feel are in violation
of the Constitution
Both the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions and the SC Exposition and Protest dealt with states having the right to
nullify laws considered to be considered to be unconstitional
Midnight Judges- Adams appoints Federalist the last night of his presidency
Jefferson becomes next president and Madison never sends several of the appoints…Supreme Court decides in
Marbury v Madison
Jefferson’s Presidency
Election of 1800: Hamilton votes for Jefferson, Aaron Burr looses (This election was considered a “political
revolution” because political power transferred from one party to the next for the first time)
Hamilton vs. Aaron Burr… famous duel that Hamilton is killed
Property ownership was a requirement for voting prior to 1800
Louisiana Purchase 1803
Jefferson unsure he had the power to buy the land from France since he had a “strict interpretation” of
Constitution…it did not mention the power
Objective of the Lewis and Clark expedition: map out and explore the territory of the Louisiana
Purchase…Sacagawea –Indian guide
Napoleon in Europe: War b/w France and GB continues
Embargo Act of 1807- stopped foreign trade, meant to avoid war by preventing impressments of sailors, keep US
out of war from GB & France (Jefferson wanted to stop Europe’s impressment of US sailors)
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Federalist strongly opposed Jefferson’s Embargo Act because it hurt America more than Britain, it was a economic
disaster for Americans dependent on foreign trade,
Federalist opposed b/c it hurt New England seamen & merchants
President Madison and War of 1812
Causes: War Hawks and Impressment
Foreign policy prior to the War of 1812: British violations of the neutrality of American ships (Impressment)
War Hawks pushed for war between U.S. and G.B.
John Calhoun, Henry Clay, and Daniel Webster
British Impressment: captured and forced US sailors to work on their ships
Westward Expansion: conflicts b/w US and GB in western territories
War of 1812 Battles:
Low Point: Burning of Washington, GB destroys US capital city
Victories: Lake Erie (Admiral Perry victorious) & Horseshoe Bend(Jackson)
Battle of New Orleans: after treaty signed, Andrew Jackson new Hero
Treaty of Ghent—peace b/w GB and US same as before the war, nothing won/loss
Native Americans
Prior to 1820, the primary conflict between whites and Indians was the use of land
Battle of Fallen Timbers: General “Mad” Anthony Wayne defeats Tecumseh and Little Turtle…Treaty of Greenville
signed Natives pushed in NW Ohio only
Tecumseh gone but his Prophet defeated at Battle of Tippecanoe, last major conflict in the East
Goal 2 United States History
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Sectionalism, Nationalism, & Reform
President Monroe and Nationalism
Voting before 1820: only white land property owners
By 1820, landless farmers obtained suffrage (right to vote)
Removing property requirements for voting was a political issue for apprentices and tenant farmers
Sectionalism: division b/w North and South, growing cause of Civil War
Points of Tension: slavery, agrarian economy vs. industrial economy, state rights vs. power of the federal gov’t
Industrial Revolution: creates differences b/w north and south
Two Major Issues by mid-1800s: slavery and state rights
Henry Clay’s American System
Program for transportation projects, a protective tariff, and a national bank
Henry Clay: “Great Compromiser”…helps easy sectionalism in US
National Road, Erie Canal, Tariff of 1816
Erie Canal and Robert Fulton’s steam engine: helps NY city replaces Baltimore as major port in US
Nationalism: Supreme Court Cases
Chief Justice Marshall: empowered national government through decisions
Marbury v. Madison = (power of Judicial Review), Gibbons v. Ogden, & McCulloch v. Maryland: all 3 secured the
power to Federal gov’t
Nationalism and Foreign/Domestic Policy
Adams-Onis Treaty: gained Spanish Florida and claims to Oregon
Monroe Doctrine: warned European Powers that the US considered the Western Hemisphere within its sphere of
influence
Nationalism in Literature and Art:
Hudson River School for the Arts- focused on American scenic beauty as being superior than that of Europe
Washington Irving, Edgar Allen Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and James Fennimore Cooper: writers created distinct
American literature
US painters offered affordable portraits of US landscapes to the public
Webster’s Dictionary (1806) English to American language
Missouri Compromise 1820
attempts to solve slavery issue in W. Territories
Slavery prohibited north of the 36, 30 parallel in the Louisiana Purchase Territory
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Maine admitted as a free state and Missouri a slave state
Henry Clay: “Great Compromiser”
Jackson’s Presidency
Adams vs. Jackson 1824, Jackson looses,House votes for Adams/Jackson wins next
Log Cabin President and Spoils System
1st Log Cabin President... “common man” appeal
Spoils System example: loyal supporter given gov’t job as a reward
Indian Removal Act 1830
Allowed white settlement of Indian lands: Cherokee people/5 civilized tribes
Worchester v. Georgia: sided with Cherokee but Jackson said, “Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce
it.”
Bank of the United States (BUS)
Jackson wanted to do away with the National Bank in favor of state level “pet banks” that ended up printing
excessive amounts of money, creating a Recession and after the Panic of 1837
South Carolina Nullification Crisis
South Carolina challenged the US authority on the issue of the tariff act of 1828 and 1832… South called it the
“Tariff of Abominations” b/c it helped the North more than the South
President Jackson sent federal troops to S.C. to end the Nullification Crisis
Reforms in societies and the arts
2nd Great Awakening – 19th century religious movement in which individual responsibility for seeking salvation
was emphasized, along with the need for personal and social improvement
Reforms: Education: Horace Mann …Prison and Mentally Ill: Dorthea Dix
Women’s Rights: early 1800s
Seneca Falls Convention: first women’s rights convention… “All men and Women are created Equal”… Elizabeth
Cady Stanton & Susan B. Anthony
Sojourner Truth: “Ain’t I a Woman” speech
Abigail Adams had asked her husband (John Adams) to remember the ladies when they were writing the
Constitution
Abolitionist: movement against slavery,
William Lloyd Garrison: editor of the “Liberator” newspaper against slavery; it increased sectionalism
Garrison angered Southerners by condemning slavery on moral grounds and demanding immediate emancipation
and racial equality without compensation to slave owners
Transcendentalism: Literary movement focus on: Nature, Truth, Individualism
Civil Disobedience: Thoreau—impacted Gandhi and MLK
Famous Authors: Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau
Religions impact on debate of slavery: Southern women got involved in the abolition movement
Expansion
New Nation and Texas
Texas’s Independence
Austin: empressario – sells land, put in prison Mexican leader Santa Anna
“Remember the Alamo” Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie die defending a fort, all are killed, no prisoners, becomes
the war cry for Texas freedom fighters
Sam Houston defeats Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto
Texas gains independence and becomes the “Lone Star Republic”
The annexation of Texas caused sectional feelings because it might become a slave state.
President Tyler adds Texas to the Union last days of his presidency
Mexican American War
Tyler to Polk Presidency
54, 40 or Fight: Oregon Territory
Northern boundary of US peacefully decided at 49 th parallel
Polk, election in 1844: his campaign appealed to both the North and the South b/c he supported territorial expansion
Manifest Destiny- America has a destiny and right, by God, to expand from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean
Mexican-American War
President Polk favors expansion of US
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The outcome of the Mexican-American War increased sectional tensions throughout the 1850s because territorial
expansion led to debates about the extension of slavery into the new areas.
Wilmont Proviso – Increased sectionalism: stated that any land taken from the war would be free territories, no
slavery (Failed to pass Congress)
Henry David Thoreau was jailed for refusing to pay taxes for a war which he believed supported the expansion of
slavery westward. This motivated him to write “Civil Disobedience”
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
New Mexico, Arizona, Cali., Utah, and Nevada gained by the US, Mexico lost ½ its land, US paid 15 million
Result: increased sectionalism and tension between North and South because of slavery question, large tracts of land
would be open to slavery
Territorial expansion led to intense debates about the extension of slavery in the new areas
Gadsden Purchase: US paid 10 million for small piece of land set final Southern border and build transcontinental
railroal
Slavery in America
Middle Passage and Slave Trade from Africa to America
Underground Railroad secret transportation to help slaves escape North
Harriet Tubman secretly returned to the South 19 times to help free slaves
Abolition Movement Leaders—end slavery
Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglas, and William Lloyd Garrison
Uncle Tom’s Cabin and Autobiography of Frederick Douglas
 Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” which showed Northerners the horrors of slavery: “so
you’re the little woman who wrote the book that made this great war”
 The Quakers believed that Gods “inner light” shined in everyone
Economy of the South: plantations and cotton
Cotton Gin help expand slavery become a thriving institution by 1820
Invented by Eli Whitney
Because of the Cotton Gin, it was profitable and desirable to expand slavery further west and south.
Goal 3 United States History
Crisis, Civil War, and Reconstruction
Sectionalism and Division
Compromise of 1850
 California admitted as a free state, Utah and New Mexico Territories would decide slavery by Popular Sovereignty people have power to decide/vote
 Slave Trade abolished in Washington D.C.
 Extension of slavery westward increases sectionalism
 Daniel Webster, “state rights and liberty, one and inseparable.”
 Fugitive Slave Law: enabled slaveholders to recapture slaves who had fled, required free states to help capture and
return escaped slaves
 South believed that slavery, its way of life –was threatened
Dred Scott Decision:
 Dred Scott vs. Sandford: regardless of location, slaves were not citizens and had no right to sue in the U.S. courts
 Supreme Court Decision said that Congress had no power to deny slavery in the territories—Declared Missouri
Compromise Unconstitutional
Bleeding Kansas
 Kansas-Nebraska Act: Violence in Kansas (1854-55) symbolized the growing sectional division in the US because it
represented a struggle between pro-slavery and free-soil advocates over the extension of slavery
 Kansas-Nebraska Act led to bloodshed: the legislation left the issue of slavery to be determined by popular
sovereignty, so pro-slavery and anti-slavery radicals clashed over the issue
Harpers Ferry
 John Brown, Harpers Ferry, Virginia: he hoped to steal weapons from a federal arsenal for use in a slave revolt (this
renewed fears of slave revolts throughout the South).
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John Brown hanged: The North was shocked at the Southern decision to hang Brown, The South was shocked that
the North didn’t realize that Brown tried to kill them
Political Parties
Know-Nothings opposed immigration, Nativist-support people born in US
Democrat Party split between North and South on slavery issue
Republicans: new party, against slavery for territories and new states, formed from Whigs, Free-Soilers, and
Northern Democrats
Lincoln v. Douglas debates
Freeport Doctrine- Douglas’s argument for Popular Sovereignty
Lincoln lost election but gained a reputation as a strong Republican candidate for the Presidency in 1860 Election
Election of 1860: Lincoln and S.C. Secession
South Carolina warned they would secede if Lincoln was elected
Southern states seceded b/c they thought it was only a matter of time before Lincoln & the Republicans would move
to abolish slavery and they wanted to protect their state sovereignty
Please remember that the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions, the Hartford Convention, and the Webster-Hayne
Debate all dealt with the issue of states’ rights.
Lincoln argued that secession was illegal and the establishment of the Confederate States of America had no legal
foundation under the Constitution on the basis that the Constitution of the United States, which formed the Union,
represented the collective will of the people and could not be destroyed by state legislatures…once a state ratified
the constitution they surrendered their power to the federal gov’t
Civil War
Lincoln president: Beginning of Civil War
Abraham Lincoln’s main goal at the beginning of the Civil War was to Preserve the Union
Lincoln struggles to find a General of the Union Army
General Lee offered to command of Union but couldn’t bring himself to fight against his home state of Virginia
Generals McClellan, Hooker, Burnsides, & Meade didn’t attack
Finally finds General Grant…Policy of Total War: attack and force the South to surrender unconditionally
Anaconda Plan – Union strategy of blockading southern ports, controlling the Mississippi River, cutting the South in
half, and surround and cutting off South from supplies and communications
Turning Point Battles
1st Battle of Bull Run: Confederate victory showed war would not be short
Vicksburg 1863: Union victory that split the Confederacy in half and the Union could use the Mississippi River
Gettysburg – Union victory, last battle in the North, bloodiest battle
Gettysburg Address –Lincoln’s speech unified nation
Antietam- bloodiest single day battle
Sherman’s March to the Sea – Gen. Sherman burns Atlanta, and everything in his path on the way to and through
South Carolina…enforces Total War
Helps Lincoln get re-elected
Result of the Civil War: confirmed power of National Gov’t and made by making succession illegal
Emancipation Proclamation: Lincoln freed slaves in the South
Encouraged African Americans to serve in the Union Army as they now saw the war as a battle for people’s
freedom
Paved the way for the 13th Amendment: abolished slavery
Military Technology:Monitor vs. Merrimack: iron clad ships, submarine, rifle
Income Tax and Military Draft
Income tax first time enforced by the Federal Gov’t to pay for war
Rich could buy their way out of Conscription (draft)
Other than the sale of land, the main source of revenue for the federal government before 1860 was the collection of
tariffs.
Reconstruction
Lincoln assassination hurt the South after the Civil war because Radical Republicans gained more influence over
Reconstruction policies such as the establishment of military districts – 5 in the South
Amnesty Act – pardoned former Confederates and returned the right to vote and hold public office
Johnson’s Presidency
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Radical Republicans wanted to control Reconstruction
Reconstruction Act: divided south in military districts: help stop Black Codes that regulated the lives of free blacks
Former slaves voted Republican, some elected into Congress – Hiram Revels
Civil War Amendments 13th, 14th, & 15th
13th -- freed slaves, 14th—“Equal protection under the Law” (citizenship), 15 th – right to vote
Civil Rights Acts 1866—passed to stop black codes and give rights to African American’s…vetoed by Johnson but
passed with Radical Republicans
Johnson tried to limit Congressional Reconstruction by vetoing reconstruction laws passed by Congress
Jim Crow Laws, Black Codes, Grandfather Clause
Jim Crow laws were passed by Southern States as a reaction to Radical Republicans to undermine the 14 th and 15th
amendments (Violated the equal protection clause of the 15 th Amendment)
Blacks could not vote because of Poll Taxes, Literacy tests, and Grandfather Clause
Black Codes restricted the rights of newly freed slaves.
Sharecropping is introduced (a landowner dictated the crop and provided the sharecropper with a place to live, as
well as the seeds and tools, in return for a “share” of the harvested crop
KKK created following reconstruction, viewed as terrorist organization
Johnson Impeached: 1st President to be impeached
Johnson angered Radical Republicans by vetoing Civil Rights Acts
Congressman Thaddeus Stevens led the call to impeach Johnson after he violated the Tenure of Office Act
Johnson needed permission to fire cabinet members
Johnson’s presidency was spared by one vote
President Grant was surrounded by corruption
Compromise of 1877
1876 election: Rutherford B. Hayes made a deal in order to defeat Tilden in the presidential election which ends
Reconstruction; Republicans gained the presidency, Democrats gained Home Rule in the South; Southern
Democrats strongly supported the idea of an early end to Military Reconstruction
Civil War and Reconstruction were victories for the supremacy of the National Gov’t, no state has seceded since the
war
Goal 4 United States History
The Great West and Populism
Wagons West—for furs, for gold, for farms: economic motivation
Gold Rush: 49ers
Rapid growth of California in 1849 with the discovery of Gold
1850 California becomes a states
Gold Motivated many people to move west in hopes of becoming rich
Mormons and Utah—seek religious freedom
Joseph Smith and Brigham Young migrated to Salt Lake City, Utah
Transcontinental Railroad:
The construction of the railroad (built by Chinese and Irish immigrants) had the greatest impact on successful
settlement of the Great Plains
Chinese workers for the Central Pacific Railroad company faced harsh discrimination
Railroad killed off the Buffalo…ending the Native American way of life
Homestead Act: strongly supported by Ranchers and Farmers
Gave 160 acres of land which had to be lived on for 5 years
Native Americans
Battles: Sand Creek Massacre, Little Big Horn, Wounded Knee
Crazy Horse defeated Colonel Custer at Battle of Little Big Horn
Plains Indians: Buffalo supported nomadic way of life: food, shelter, clothes, tools (Reduction of the Buffalo had the
greatest impact on the Plains Indians way of life)
Dawes Severalty Act: Assimilate American Indians into US society
Affected the lives of American Indians on the plains because it forced them to give up nomadic hunting to farm on
government allocated land
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Inspired to help by the book “A Century of Dishonor,” by Helen Jackson, failed to consider the fact that Native
Americans did not want to give up tribal identities or other aspects of their culture – broken promises of the federal
government
Farming the West
Farming innovations: windmill, steel plow
McCormick, Eli Whitney, John Deere, and Joseph Gilden all dealt with agriculture
The Long Drive: cowboys moving cattle north to the railroads on the Open Range
Refrigerated railroad cars benefited the cattle industry economically
End of Open Range: Barbed Wire- greatest technology effected Ranchers; enclosed the plains into farms and
ranches and ended the era of the great cattle drives from Texas to the railroads in Kansas and Nebraska.
The Grange: farmer organization against railroads and part of Populism late 1800s
Populism
Populist Party: formed by farmers in 1891, they made demands for reforms in money, transportation, and
government…Movement of the People
Farmers believed railroads overcharged shipping prices, called for gov’t regulation (Privately owned US railroads
used monopolistic practices)
Reforms: increase money supply with bimetallism, a graduated income tax, federal loan program, election of US
senators by popular vote, single terms for presidents, secret ballot to end voter fraud, 8hr work day, restrict
immigration
William Jennings Bryan: election of 1896 ran for president as Populist: lost
“Cross of Gold Speech” - supported bimetallist: money based on gold and silver to increase money supply
US citizens did not support the Populist nominee, William Jennings Bryan, in the 1896 election because many voters
feared that bimetallism would create inflation
Goal 5 United States History
Industrialization and Immigration
Industrialization: late 1800s
The US rises as an industrial power
Inventions and factories
Henry Ford revolutionized the auto industry by creating the assembly line production which lowered cost and
introduction of the $5 day
Ford made a car Americans could afford, even his own workers
Results of Industrialization = Urbanization-growth of cities
Problems: poverty, disease, sanitation, immigration, tenement housing
Great Chicago Fire,
Big Business and Small Gov’t
Vanderbilt had Railroads, Rockefeller had Standard Oil, Carnegie had steel, and Morgan had banks
Late 1800s development of large corporations and monopolies
John D. Rockefeller: Standard Oil Company: joined with competing companies in trust agreements; gained total
control of the oil industry in US
Created the first Trust in the US
He was criticized as a “Captain of Industry” because he employed business practices that were later deemed unfair
to establish a monopoly.
Ida Tarbell exposed abuses in the oil industry.
Gov’t policies toward businesses during the Gilded Age: gov’t should have minimal or no influence on business and
permit businesses to regulate themselves
The terms Gilded Age and Robber Barons are used to describe the last decades of the 19th Century when a small
number of industrial leaders gained control of the majority of the nations wealth
Laissez-Faire Economics – gov’t should keep their “hands-off” of businesses with little to no regulations and tariffs
(Example: Congress refused to pass an income tax to regulate the railroads)
Rise of corporations led to rise of corruption
Social Darwinism – applied the evolution theory of Charles Darwin and applied to human circumstance during
industrialization…people were poor b/c they were lazy or lacked intelligence; “God granted them wealth”
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The wealthy used Social Darwinism to defend the gap between the rich and the poor
Social Darwinism – later justified imperialism…white European/American countries taking over and helping natives
Immigration
Shift from West Europe to East Europe
Most immigrants came from Southern and Eastern Europe during the late 1800s early 1900s…tended to live in
ghettos (poor apartment housing) with others whom they shared the same language and cultural background
Jewish immigrants from Russia
The most significant economic impact of immigration in the late 1800s was that the factories had a steady supply of
cheap labor.
Irish lived and worked in crowded slums of major cities
In 1900, Irish Catholic citizen would have been most likely to win an elected office in NY city
Nativism: Native-Born citizens were most opposed to immigrants
Chinese Exclusionary Act: limited Chinese immigration to US
Working Conditions and Urbanization
Industrialization had the greatest impact on Urbanization in the early 1900s
Labor Unions— labor used collective bargaining to increase benefits for workers
Working Conditions
Because workers were subjected to low pay and poor working conditions, labor unions grew during the Industrial
Revolution
Children in the workforce
Eugene V. Debs: socialist and famous union leader – supportive of labor unions
Samuel Gompers was the leader of the American Federation of Labor
Strikes: become violent, gov’t sides with employers
b/c of the Haymarket Square Incident (1886: bomb thrown and 2 policemen killed), the public came to associate
labor unions with violence and anarchist activity
Great Strike of 1877, Pullman Strike (1894), and Haymarket Affair (1886): Unions used force during strikes…gov’t
law enforcement stopped strikes
Government Corruption
Political Machines—corrupt gov’t institutions where gov’t is bought and paid for with bribes and favors - graft
Tammany Hall—Political Machine in NY City and Boss Tweed was the famous leader; “Tweed Ring”
Spoils System, bribes, & graft helped support Political Machines
Goal 6 US History EOC Study Guide
Imperialism
Nationalism and Industrialization help to create Imperialism
Alfred T. Mahan
Urged gov’t officials to build up American naval power in order to compete with other powerful nations
Wrote the book: “The Influence of Sea Power Upon History” –which helped convinced the US to create a strong
Navy
Great White Fleet—new navy of the US during the early 1900s
Economics and Trade
Need for new markets and raw materials would lead to imperialism and the US’s acquisition of overseas possessions
in the late 1800s
Social Darwinism was used to justify imperialism – Survival of the Fittest
China and Japan
Boxer Rebellion – Chinese rebellion upset with foreigners, rebellion ends with several European and American
forces in China ending rebellion…China very weak
Open Door Policy – Sec. of State John Hay, keep China open to all countries for trade, but Chinese gov’t would
remain in control, Europe stop taking ports
Primary motive for the Open Door Policy in China was the far that other nations would undermine or obstruct trade
in China
Japan and Great White Fleet—forced Japan to open ports to US trade
Spanish American War
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Yellow Journalism
Influenced U.S. public opinion during the 1890s, the US public, swayed by a attitude of aggressive nationalism,
became willing to support action to liberate Cuba
William Randolph Hearst: concerned with Joseph Pulitzer to gain readers; exaggerated tales of personal scandals,
cruelty hypnotism, and even imaginary conquest of Mars
Hearst used yellow journalism during the Spanish American War; Hearst reportedly told a reporter “You furnish the
pictures and I’ll furnish the war.”
Teller and Platt Amendments
Teller Amendment: U.S. guaranteed not to annex Cuba
Platt Amendment: Cuba had to include in their Constitution claiming their status as a Protectorate of the US within
the US sphere of influence
Following the defeat of Spain in the Spanish-American War, the US assumed political control over Cuba with the
passage of the Platt Amendment
Cuba & Philippians … “A Splendid Little War”
Cuban Revolution: first event that would lead to American Involvement
Theodore Roosevelt and “Rough Riders” hero of Battle of San Juan Hill
Spanish Pacific navy destroyed by US Admiral, called it a “Splendid Little War.”….
Results of the Spanish American War
Spain never a world force after
Land gained: Puerto Rico, Guam, Philippians become US territories
Pancho Villa led raids into US territory; President Wilson sent General John Pershing into Mexico to capture him
Roosevelt to Wilson international involvement
Roosevelt Foreign Policy & Panama Canal
It became important to travel and trade between the Atlantic and Pacific for economic and military purposes (shorter
trade route)
Roosevelt helped Panama gain independence from Colombia
US then leased land from Panama and built the canal
Big Stick Diplomacy: “Speak softly but carry a big stick”
Because of the US “Big Stick Policy” Latin American countries came to resent the US involvement in their affairs
Roosevelt Corollary- expanded and enforced the Monroe Doctrine: protect US economic interests in Latin America
President Taft: broke more trusts & Dollar Diplomacy –influence nations with $
President Wilson:
Good Neighbor Policy replaced imperialism in international American affairs between the US and Latin America
Federal Reserve Act (1913) – designed to regulate banking industry and control money supply
Alaska and Hawaii
Seward’s Folly—Sec. of State Seward purchased Alaska from Russia…public opinion originally called it a foolish
act
Hawaii taken from Queen for Naval Base, becomes state
Goal 7 US History EOC Study Guide
Progressivism
Famous Progressive Leaders
Theodore Roosevelt
Expands role of the federal government in the US economy, he helped because the federal gov’t began to actively
enforce regulations in business
Trustbuster: enforced the Sherman Anti-trust Act
Pure Food and Drug Act passed – gov’t inspection of food (Presidential Reform)
Conservation: National Parks and Forests created: Yellowstone, Yosemite…
Eugene V. Debs- socialist and union leader
Presidents Taft and Wilson: Progressive Presidents
Upton Sinclair & IdaTarbell Muckrackers- news reporters and authors uncovered corruption, Sinclair wrote the “the
Jungle,” Tarbell uncovered Standard Oil monopolistic practices and problem with lynching
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Muckrakers were concerned about the inequalities in the US would have most likely supported Progressive reform
movements
Progressive Movements
Abolitionist, Progressives, and Suffragettes all fought to extend political and social rights to groups who were
previously denied those rights
The Progressives were most successful in changing the poor working conditions of workers from 1890-1914 – they
adopted the Populist party’s platform
Women’s Rights Movement – women’s suffrage – right to vote
Leaders: Stanton, Mott, and Susan B. Anthony
Temperance Movement: Alcohol
Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) supported the prohibition of alcohol during the late 19th and 20th
centuries
Social Gospel Movement: church should help the poor and unfortunate to improve their lives…also supported by
Rockefeller and Carnegie…gave millions
Hull House: helped poor immigrants
Progressive Legislation: gov’t regulation to protect consumers and workers
Pure Food and Drug Act—gov’t inspection of food
Passed after “The Jungle” Roosevelt disgusted by meat industry – Upton Sinclair (Meat Inspection Act)
Sherman Anti-trust Act: control & prevent the formation of monopolies
Roosevelt started enforcing (Trust Buster)…Taft tried to destroy US trust during the Progressive Era
State and City Reforms:
Referendum – voters approve laws/ Initiative – voters start laws
Direct Primary: voters choose candidates for political parties
Recall: remove official by vote of people
Public Utilities: owned by city and run by city council – “Gas and Water Socialism”
Progressive Amendments: 17th, 18th, & 19th
17th – Senators directly elected by people, not state legislatures
18th – Prohibition: alcohol is illegal
19th – Women’s suffrage: right to vote
Racial Segregation
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) Supreme Court said that “separate but equal” facilities were consistent with the 14th
amendment…segregation = legal (states violated the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment by passing Jim
Crow Laws
African Americans disappointed that Progressive reforms did not help
Great Migration –African Americans move North for more freedoms
Urban ghettos develop, Harlem Renaissance in NY, increases racial diversity
WEB Dubois vs. Booker T. Washington
WEB Dubois believed that African Americans should fight for immediate social and political equality (Immediate
End to Segregation)
Booker T. Washington: belief that African Americans would be best off if they could learn a trade and excel in “blue
collar” jobs, gain economic independence…created the Tuskegee Institute. (Economic Cooperation)
NAACP’s purpose is to promote racial and economic equality
New Technology:
Alexander Graham Bell: Telephone
Edison: light bulb—greatest impact: created longer daily production time
Sky Scrappers
Wright Brothers: plane
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Goal 8 US History EOC Study Guide
World War I
Causes of WWI
Nationalism: extreme pride in one’s country: Germany, Serbia, Austria-Hungary
Imperialism: Germany seeks land but Africa & rest of World mostly taken already
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Alliance System: Entente and Central = two original alliance
Allies Power: G.B., France, Russia, and Italy (from Entente, except Italy)
Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey (from Central)
Arch Duke Ferdinand Assassinated – sparks WWI
Series of Events: Austria-Hungary angered threatens to attack Serbia...Russia protects Serbia and attacks
Austria...Germany supports Austria…France supports Russia…Italy switches alliances and fights with allies…GB
sides with allies…Turkey = central alliance
U.S. in WWI
Isolationism – U.S. policy of neutrality during the beginning of the war
German Americans pressured Wilson to remain neutral
US forced into WWI
Lusitania: British ship sunk by Germany 1915, 128 Americans died
Zimmerman Note: Germany asks Mexico to attack US
Unrestricted Submarine warfare
Wilson’s Speech: Make the world safe for Democracy
U.S. joined the Allies in 1917
Propaganda: used by US gov’t to gain public support for the war
Selective Service Act draft passed by Congress
Sedition Acts: restricted 1st Amendment rights
Espionage and Sedition Acts affected freedom of speech & civil liberties
Schenck vs. US (1919) “Clear and Present Danger”; Eugene V. Debs faced prosecution (he was the leader of the
American Socialist Party and he spoke out against US involvement in WWI)
Turning Points and WWI
Stalemate: trench warfare, New Technology: gas, planes, tanks, machine guns
Russia quits war and has a Communist Revolution: Bolsheviks and Lenin
US. Enters war for Allied Powers General Pershing commander of AEF and Argonne Forest last major offensive
Kaiser overthrown in Germany…2 days later signed Armistice – cease fire
Results of WWI
Wilson’s 14 Points – President Wilson’s plan for World Peace after WWI
League of Nations: No U.S.
Senator Henry Cabot Lodge: leader who objected to the League of Nations
US refused to join, returned to a policy of Isolationism after the war
Result of no U.S. in League of Nations = very weak League of Nations
Treaty of Versailles
President Wilson represented the U.S. in 1919
Germany blamed for the war and forced to pay reparations, favored allies
U.S. never ratified the Versailles Treaty because the US fear involvement in the League of Nations…US did not
want to be dragged into another war (This provision was least acceptable to Senator Lodge)
New nations created: example--Poland
“Red Scare” – fear of Communism from the Bolshevik revolution in Soviet Union
Targets: Sacco and Vanzetti, aliens, and labor Unions (strikes would lead to the rise of Nativism)
Sacco-Vanzetti Trial – two communist immigrants sentenced accused of murder, represented fear of communist and
immigrants
The Justice Department authorized the Palmer Raids as result of the increasing US fear of Communism after World
War I
Goal 9 US History EOC Study Guide
Roaring 20’s and Great Depression
Roaring 20s Society: Prosperity and Presidents
President Harding: “Return to Normalcy”
Teapot Dome Scandal damaged the reputation of President Harding
President Coolidge: Laissez-faire economics – gov’t keeps hands off business
Coolidge, “the business of America is business.”
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President Hoover (Election 1928) key issue between Al Smith and Hoover was religion and prohibition (Smith was
Catholic and against Prohibition)
Hoover blamed for Great Depression
Bonus Army: WWI jobless veterans that wanted their bonuses paid early.
Mass Culture of 20s/30s: radio and moving pictures (movies) & magazines
Dancing the Charleston is an example that best reflects the popular US culture of the 1920s.
Electricity leads to vacuum cleaners, toasters, and washing machines in homes across US
Magazines: contributed to spread of new fashions among women
Racial Confusion
Harlem Renaissance: literary and cultural awakening of African Americans NY city…Louis Armstrong, Langston
Hughes, and Zora Neal Hurston…Jazz and Authors (writers, musicians, actors, and dancers)
Langston Hughes was a writer and leader during the Harlem Renaissance.
KKK grew as a result of Red Scare…Increased Nativism in 1920 to 1930s raised KKK membership
Prohibition was passed to accomplished the goals of the Temperance Movement: but it failed… speakeasies,
bootleggers, Al Capone
Carrie Nation: leader of the Temperance Movement
Flappers –women short hair and short skirts: challenged the accepted social order of the 1920s
Scopes Trial: fundamentalism vs. evolution: the teaching of evolution challenged fundamentalist religious views/
conflict b/w Science and Religion
Religious fundamentalist: truth only through the bible/ “Adam and Eve”
Scientist: man has evolved, theory of human evolution
1920s Generation is know as the “Lost Generation” b/c people lost their sense of optimism and did not find beliefs
to replace it, writers who felt disillusionment over the result of WWI
Causes of Great Depression
Buying on Credit and Margin
Consumers purchased washing machines, vacuum cleaners, & radios on installment plans…”pay as you go”
Today’s use of Credit Cards resembles the 1920s principle of “Buying on Margin” or similar to buying real estate
today
Buying on Margin example: A stock costs $100. You buy it for $50 and then borrow the rest in the hope that it will
do well enough for you to still make money. Meanwhile, you pay interest on the difference.
Buying on the Margin is one of the factors that led to the Stock Market Crash of 1929.
Farmers and overproduction: agriculture = weakest industry during 1920s
Agriculture was hurt the most after WWI b/c contracts ended with the gov’t
Farmers were left out of the prosperity of the 1920s
Hoover: “We in America today are nearer to the final triumph over poverty that ever before in the history than any
land”…..farmers would have disagreed
Stock Market Crash
Stock Market Crash 1929, “Wall Street Lays an Egg”
Crash leads to failure of banks and people rush to take all their money out
Great Depression Effects
Farmers hurt most…Depression hits around the World
The New Deal helped farmers because the government paid farmers to limit production.
Failed Banks and Unemployment rises to 30 to 50%, many people lost their life savings
Hoover blamed for Depression, shacks around the country are called “Hoovervilles”
Popular phrase: “Blame it on Hoover”
Election of FDR: Bonus Army seeking aid and money promised for serving in WWI turned away by Hoover by
force…Hoover looks worse and FDR easily elected
FDR and the New Deal
1st 100 days of office…Congress passes everything in hope to revitalize the country
Roosevelt, “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” He was addressing the effects of the Great Depression
African Americans shift from Republican Party to Democrats b/c of FDR
New Deal legislation—expanded power of federal government
New Deal Agencies provide jobs: CCC, NYA, CWA
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TVA= Appalachian area Tennessee valley, dams created, control flooding (provides electricity to the region to
prevent catastrophic flooding with the dams)
“Yardstick for measuring fair prices for electrical power”
Workers gain the right to Unionize and bargain collectively
1937, labor leaders were upset that after giving Roosevelt their support he criticized their actions
Big business opposed New Deal b/c of more gov’t regulations
Lasting Impact of the New Deal
Direct Relief legislation: Social Security for retired workers, still has impact on people’s lives today
SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission): arrest brokers on insider trading charges
FDIC (insures money deposited in banks up to $100,000)and Glass-Steagall Act 1933 restored people’s confidence
in banks
Court Packing Scheme
Idea of Checks and Balances was important in the decision not to add Judges to the Supreme Court
The New Deal enlarged the size of the federal government
During the Great Depression, the federal government helped the American people by providing relief programs.
Goal 10 US History EOC Study Guide
World War II
 Causes of WWII
 Totalitarian Dictatorships of the 1930s expressed the belief that the states is more important than the individual
 Perceived failure of democracies to solve economic problems opened the way for new dictators who promised
to restore order and national pride
 Hitler and Germany
 Hitler comes to power b/c of German inflation and depression, military growth, and failure to enforce Treaty of
Versailles
 Hitler offered solutions to inflation and unemployment
 Hitler invaded the Rhineland 1936, violation of Versailles Treaty
 Mussolini and Italy
 Militarism and Japan
 Japan invaded Manchuria 1931 (Imperialistic action taking land from China)
 Appeasement: giving into the demands of the aggressive nation in hopes of peace
 Munich Agreement – Germany given Sudendenland, Czech.
 Condemnation of Appeasement: “Britain and France had to choose b/w war and dishonor. They chose
dishonor. They will have war.”
 In 1937, FDR warned that there was a “worldwide trend in growing lawlessness” and that the US must make
every effort to preserve peace. He was referring to the rise of fascism and imperialism in Germany, Japan, and
Italy.
 Beginning of War and U.S. involvement
 Nazi Soviet Pact – Poland divided
 Germany and the Soviet Union signed a nonaggression pact in 1939, Poland became their first victim, Germany
signed to avoid a two front war
 Hitler and Stalin cleared the way for Germany to invade Poland
 Germany invades Poland – 1938…WWII begins…France and GB declare War
 U.S. Neutrality Acts 1930s: US avoid being drawn into WWII (demonstrates the policy of US isolationism)
 U.S. Foreign Policy of 1920s & 1930s: Isolationism from world affairs
 Japan attacks Pearl Harbor forces U.S. into WWII, Dec. 7, 1941
 Mobilization of U.S. forces
 Pearl Harbor: Japanese attack US naval base in Hawaii forcing the US into WWII
 Roosevelt position at entering WWII: concentrate on Europe First...help GB
 Minorities in WWII
 Women’s Role: nurses—WACs and volunteers in hospitals
 Navaho Code Talkers…only code never broken during WWII
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African Americans: Tuskegee Airmen: all black fighter plane unit, no one bomber crashed while under their
protection….Soldiers hoped to end segregation at home as a result of their participation in WWII
European Theatre of WWII: Battles and Turning Points
Battle of Britain – GB stops Germany air invasion
Battle of Stalingrad: Eastern Front turning point, defeat of German troops by Russians, led to the continued
retreat of the Germans
D-Day: Allies invade Normandy, France; begins liberation of Western Europe
Operation Overlord- planned greatest amphibious invasion in history
General Dwight Eisenhower—US commander of allied invasion
Battle of the Bulge: stopped Germany’s last counter-offensive and led to the successful invasion of Germany
Pacific Theatre of WWII: Battles and Turning Points
Battle of Coral Sea: US victory forced Japan to give up invasion of Australia
Battle of Midway: Turning point in the Pacific, US now has stronger Navy (Japanese expansion was stopped in
the Pacific)
Island Hopping was a strategy used in the Pacific, skip over islands
War at Home
Japanese Interment camps: Korematzu v. U.S. – Supreme Court upheld internment of US citizens during a
time of military necessity.
Prejudice that existed against Japanese Americans
Patriotism and Propaganda
“Rosie the Riveter” the country needed women in the work fore to replace the men who went to war
Propaganda to buy war bonds: “If you can’t go over, come across,” “Dig deep down,” “Buy shares of
America.”
Rationing – way of distributing scarce food, used to allocate consumer goods for war effort…Victory
Gardens…people grow their own food (reserve essential materials for military use)
End of WWII and the Cold War & 1950s
End of WWII
Yalta and Potsdam Conference—Big three meeting to discussed end of WWII (Stalin, Churchill, Roosevelt
meet to discuss the fate of Germany)
VE Day: allies victory in Europe
Germany divided b/w democracy West and Communist East Berlin
Nuremburg Trials: end of WWII Germans put on trial for Holocaust crimes
Marshall Plan—help support democracy with financial aid (it benefited the US through improved trade)
(provided Western Europe the funds critical for recovery after WWII and prevented the spread of Communism)
Financial assistance to help rebuild Europe, S.U. declines
Economic program to help Western European nations after WWII
VJ Day: Atomic Bomb ends WWII begins Arms Race
Hiroshima and Nagasaki: two cities US destroyed with atomic bomb
Reasons Truman decided to drop the atomic bomb: prevent US causalities, end the war quickly, and impress the
Soviet Union, force Japan’s unconditional surrender
Development of the atomic bomb affected US foreign policy b/c it led to an arms race with the Soviet Union
ICBM’s intensified arms race: intercontinental missiles could carry nuclear weapons from one side of the world
to another
Fear of nuclear threat leads many to build fallout shelters in US
United Nations 1945: tries to succeed where the League of Nations failed (designed to promote world peace and
cooperation among nations after WWII)
The UN Security Council has primary responsibility to maintain world peace.
Goal 11 US History EOC Study Guide
Beginning of the Cold War
U.S. Policies: Containment and Domino Theory
Domino Theory: “if one country falls to Communism, they all fall.”
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Containment: US policy to control and stop the spread of Communism
Truman Doctrine: Truman’s Policy… president when Cold War begins
Greece and Turkey: Truman used Containment to protect democracy
Berlin Airlift: prevent the western zones of Berlin from falling under Soviet control…food and supplies were flown
into Berlin
The US assistance to the Greek and Turkish governments, the Berlin Airlift, and the Korean War are examples of
containment.
Korean War – first major US war enforcing Containment Policy and protecting Democracy (the US became more
militarily involved in Asia)
China had fallen to Communism, Korea had been divided b/w US and SU
North Korea invaded South…UN enters conflict with mostly US military support
North Korea pushed to Chinese border…Communist China enters the War
MacArthur urges Truman to use the A-bomb…Truman fires MacArthur
38th Parallel: stalemate near the original border…war begins and ends 38 th Parallel
New Alliances
NATO and SEATO
US joined NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) after WWII a moral commitment to any nation if attacked by
the Soviet Union
Warsaw Pact—Soviet Union and Eastern European alliance (this was in response to NATO)
US involvement in SEATO (US and Pacific Nations alliance)led to US involvement in Vietnam
Eisenhower’s Farewell Address: an effort by military and industrial leaders to keep the US on a permanent wartime
status for economic gain (he believed that the military-industrial complex would dictate the direction of US foreign
policy)
1950s Culture
Suburbs
Levittown was mass producing of the housing project designed to create suburbs built near large cities
Reasons Suburbs increased: increased pollution and crime, boom of auto industry, affordable housing by gov’t loans
(GI bill), no public efforts to revitalize cities
White Flight: movement of white Americans to suburbs from the cities as urban minority populations increased
The Feminine Mystique: encouraged middle-class women to seek advancement in professional careers
Suburb living dependent on the automobile
Interstate Highway Act of 1956: increased suburban growth and economic decline of cities
GI Bill of Rights – provided money for college and home loans for soldiers
Baby Boomer Generation and Domestic Issues
Children spent more time watching TV
Medical Innovation: Polio Vaccine (Dr. Jonas Salk)
Republican Party became more socially conservative that it had been previously, following WWII
Sputnik and Space Race: US and Soviet Union Competition
Soviets create 1st satellite, Sputnik, encouraged US schools to emphasize science and math and prompted the US to
accelerate its activity in the space race.
Space Race to the Moon b/w US and SU
New Technologies microwaves, nuclear power, jet travel
McCarthyism: Fear of Communism sweeps the country
Senator McCarthy put suspected communist on trial, unjustly uses fear for political gain
Hollywood blacklist—accused of being communist…director in 1950s learns that no producer would work with him
Turbulent Times: 1960s
Youth Counter Culture—move against conservative 1950s (The Counterculture Movement)
Political Activism, Women’s Rights, Hippies, Woodstock, Haight Ashbury—socialistic community of 60s
Betty Friedan revived the women’s movement in the early 1960s.
Migrant Workers: Ceasar Chavez works for Hispanic rights of migrant workers in the West.
Environment Movement: Clean Air and Water Acts, EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) created
Native Americans
President Kennedy
Kennedy vs. Nixon Debates (1960 Election)
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Television played important role in outcome of election
First televised debates…Nixon was sweating and sickly looking; Kennedy’s youthful image helped him defeat
Nixon.
TV: most effective way for politicians to reach a large number of people
Peace Corps – started by Kennedy to help impoverished nations
Alliance for Progress: economic cooperation between the US and Latin America
Cuba: Problems only 90 miles away
Bay of Pigs—failed invasion of Cuba supported by US CIA
Kennedy’s administration relations deteriorated between US and Cuba after the Bay of Pigs incident; tensions
increased because of Castro’s military alliance with the Soviet Union.
Cuban Missile Crisis
Soviet Union placed nuclear missiles on Cuba
Kennedy blockaded and quarantined Cuba…SU backed down
The Berlin Wall symbolized Cold War tensions
Vietnam
Kennedy: sent 16,000 advisors
Domino Theory: played major role in our involvement in Vietnam
In 1954, French forces in Vietnam suffered major defeat at the battle of Dien Bien Phu/Result: French forces
retreated, and US increased military aid
President Johnson and Vietnam – this was the first war that was viewed extensively on television.
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution – Congress gives war powers to Johnson after attack on US battleship…expands the war
1968: America looses the War and Public Opinion
Tet Offensive—major offensive attacking major cities in Vietnam and capturing the US embassy and capital city
(Tet was technically a defeat for the North Vietnamese Army; because of this, US public opinion begins to turn
against the war)
My Lai Massacre—US soldiers kill and destroy innocent village, public opinion turns against war (it represented
clearly that some US soldiers did commit atrocities against unarmed civilians)
War on Poverty: LBJ – education, housing, and healthcare
Great Society: Creative thought of President Lyndon B. Johnson
Democrat Convention of 1968: Johnson does NOT run for President (public displeasure with the war in Vietnam)
Leading Democrat: Bobby Kennedy assassinated
President Nixon and Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnamization: plan to train Vietnamese to remove American forces
Cambodia and Laos Invasion: Expands war and Protests
Kent State University: 4 students shot by National Guard (represents the growing discontent with US involvement in
Vietnam)
The result of anti-war protests during Vietnam led to the US withdrawal from the war
Pentagon Papers—increased public disapproval
Kissinger and Paris Peace Acccords
Foreign Policy: détente (brought hope of better relations with communist nations)
Nixon visited China and opened relations with China and the US
Watergate Scandal…Nixon’s resigns
Political reform create by Watergate Scandal put limits on role of private contributions to presidential candidates
Distrust created by the scandal leads to the election of outsider Jimmy Carter
Civil Rights Movement
Brown v Board of Education (1954) –ends segregation in schools
Federal gov’t played the most prominent role with the integration of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas
The initial response by several governors of Southern states to Brown vs. Board was to obstruct the court directive
to integrate public schools, forcing the federal government to enforce integration.
Overturns Plessy v. Ferguson, “Separate but equal is inherently unequal”
Swann vs. Charlotte-Mecklenburg integrated schools by legalizing the use of forced busing
Martin Luther King Jr.
Civil Disobedience: peaceful demonstrations: marches and sit-ins
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Most effective means of protesting segregation in 1950-1960s
Rosa Parks and Montgomery Bus Boycott lasts for months…MLK gains national recognition and desegregated
public transportation in Birmingham, Alabama
March on Washington D.C….”I have a Dream Speech”
Black Militants
Malcolm X: advocated black separatism
Black Panthers
SNCC: African American voter registration throughout the South – “Freedom Summer”
President Johnson and Civil Rights Legislation
Civil Rights Act (1964): prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, sex, national origin, or religion in public
places and most work places by employers (influenced by the 1963 March on Washington)
24th Amendment—protects right to vote: poll tax illegal
Affirmative Action
Regents vs. Blakke (1978): declared the use of racial classifications for college admissions should be
limited…affirmative action was reverse discrimination
Title IX legislation(1972) schools & universities must spend equal amount of money for men and women athletic
programs
Cesar Chavez mobilized migrant workers to protest working conditions
Greensboro Sit-ins: students refused to give up their seat at a segregated diner
Movement spread across nation to end segregation in restaurants
The goal of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was to eliminate discrimination on the basis of gender.
Goal 12 US History EOC Study Guide
U.S. since Vietnam
Ford’s Presidency
Watergate Scandal – Nixon Resigns, Gerald Ford 1st man to serve either as vice-President and President without
being elected
Ford and Stagflation – problems with inflation and unemployment
OPEC formed and started an oil embargo…increased stagflation
Carter Presidency
1976 Election
Voter disgust toward Washington D.C. and the Political establishment
Washington outsider elected as a solution to Nixon’s scandals
Stagflation: inflation (higher prices) with high unemployment
Causes: high inflation, large number of new workers in job market, increased competition from foreign trade, and
dependence on oil from other countries
Micro-management – Carter failed to delegate efficiently
3 Mile Island – Nuclear plant dangerous near “melt down” incident…Radiation released into community that is
abandoned…Nuclear Power dangers shown (led to Carter proposing the reorganization of the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission)
Energy Crisis of the 1970s: US citizens purchased more fuel-efficient cars
The Energy Crisis led to inflation and the interest rate increased
Carter’s foreign policy regarding South Africa was in support of human rights
Iran Hostage Crisis
November 4, 1979, armed students seized the US embassy in Tehran and took 52 Americans hostage
The militants demanded that the US send the shah back to Iran in return for the release of hostages
President Carter refused…the captives were finally released January 20, 1981 shortly after Ronald Reagan was
sworn in as President
President Reagan
Rise of Conservatism
Appointed conservative judges
Nixon, Ford, and Reagan focused on giving power back to the states; decreasing the federal gov’t power
Reagonomics – tax cuts and trickle down economics
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Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act (1985): main concept was to mandate automatic across-the-board spending cuts
Reagan’s economic policy of the 1980s was gov’t deregulation
Reagan’s attempt to balance the national budget included a reduction in social programs
Star Wars – Reagan’s plan for a missile defense system…Criticized b/c of the billions required to create…today
praised as effective tool against N. Korea and Terrorism
Iron Curtain Falls… Reagan told SU to “tear down that wall” (Berlin Wall)
Afghanistan – U.S. supports Taliban who fight the Soviet Union
Iran-Nicaragua –
President Bush
Soviet Union Collapsed
Persian Gulf War: Desert Storm
1991 Liberation of Kuwait from Iraq (drive Iraqi forces out of Kuwait)
Military goal of US during Persian Gulf War: liberate Kuwait from Iraqi occupation
Texas v. Johnson: the Supreme Court ruled that Johnson’s act of burning the US flag was constitutional because
was engaging in political protest and was therefore protected by the Constitution
Current Events
Clinton at Home
New Democrat
Scandal and Impeachment
NAFTA: free trade
Clinton’s Foreign Policy
Involvement around the world
Bosnia and Yugoslavia: Clinton use of US military to end conflicts
Clinton used force in an attempt to end regional conflicts Western Europe
Ethiopia, Somalia, and Rwanda
Regarded universal health care as a major issue for the federal government to resolve
Brady Bill: requires a waiting period on sales of handguns, along with a criminal background check on the buyer
Bush
2000 Election/Recession
Immigration and Latin America
Last 20 years were most immigration has come from Latin America
Middle East region and Western Europe is the geographic area that the US has received the least amount of
immigrants b/w 1975 and 2000
No Child Left Behind Act (2001)
Terrorism
9/11 attacks: Al-Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden responsible
Department of Homeland Security
Patriot Act—root out terrorist but limits certain freedoms (opposed by the American Civil Liberties Union)
Afghanistan and Iraq
Operation Enduring Freedom
UN and Security Council
UN has limited involvement in solving economic and political problems b/c it lacks an armed service of its own to
commit to areas of conflict
Limited power to solve problems b/c any of the five permanent members of the Security Council may veto any
action
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