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1492
The Columbian Exchange
Due to European colonization, people crossed the Atlantic in large nummbers aling with plants, animals, ideas, and germs. Europeans expanded their market into the New World and planted grains for the first time, along with potatoes, maize, and tomatoes. Native Americans domesticated few animals but the exchange introduced horses, pigs, cattle, and other animals. Germs and diseases such as small pox, influenza, and the bulbonic plague took an enormous toll on Native American populations. -
Jamestown
In 1606, King James I granted to the Virginia Company of London all the lands stretching from present-day North Carolina to southern New York. Its purpose was to become profitable. The Virginia Company dispatched an all-male group with no ability to support itself. They lacked fresh water and food and only 38 out of the 120 men were still alive 9 months later. Diseases were rampant. However, the Powhatan contributed to teh survival of the settlers and introduced them to tobacco(cash crop). -
Slave Trade
The transatlantic slave trade transported between 10 million to 12 million enslaved Africans across the Atlantic Ocena to the Americas. With the growth of sugar and tobacco plantations, the demand for slaves increased. The slave trade devastated many parts of Africa and affected economic and agricultural development. The Middle Passage was the brutal journey slaves had to endure to get to the Americas. Africans were packed tightly, chained, and lived in unsanitary conditions. 25% would die. -
The Enlightenment
The Enlightenment, ideas brough from Britain to the colonies, emphasized the power of human reason to understand and shape the world. It was a shift from depending on irrational and supernatural views of the world to a more logical approach. It emphasized the scientific method and evoked people to quesition things around them and why they are the way they are. It also encouraged democracy, individual liberty, freedom or expression, and seperation of church and state. -
Boston Massacre
British soldiers were stationed in Boston and were sent there to enforce tax laws like the Stamp Act and Townshend Acts. Their presence was deafening, and often colonists woud taunt them. It went on to the point where a group of nine British redcoats fired into a crowd and killed five townspeople. This incident fueleld anti-British sentiment and Boston's Radical Whigs labeled it as a "massacre". -
Coercive/Intolerable Acts
The Sons of Liberty preventedEast India Company Ships from delivering their cargoes due to the Boston Tea Party.The King was furious and as a reusult passed four Coercive Acts to force Massachusetts to pay for the tea spilled. The Boston Port Bill closed Boston Haror ro shipping; the Massachusetts Government Act annulled the colony's charter and prohibited town meetings; a new Quarterign Act mandated new baracks for British troops; and the Justice Act allowed for trials to take place in Britain. -
Second Continental Congress
After armed resistance in Lexington and Concord, Patriot leaders gathered in Philadelphia gathered for the Second Continental Congress There they established a Continental army and elected George Washington as commander-in-chief. They also drafted the Olive Branch Petition and sent it to King Geoge III in which they hoped to reach a peaceful resolution. The Congress urged Americans to reject royal authority and establish republican governments. -
Declaration of Independence
After Thomas Paine published Common Sense, more people began to advocate for independence and became anti-monarchy. The Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence, which had been mainly written by Thomas Jefferson. In the had justified independece and republicanism to Amercians and proclaimed a series of "self evident" truths: "that all men are created equal" and that they possess the "unalenable rights" of "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness". -
Battle of Yorktown
Continental troops led by General George Washingtonn joined with French troops and trapped the British amry under the command of General Charles Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia. They fooled Clinton into thinking the Continentals were planning to attack New York while in reality they were heading south to attack Cornwallis. This battle marked the last major battle of the American Revolution and was a step closer to american independence. -
Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris fomally recognized American independence from Great Britain. It concluded the American War for Independece. Great Britain relinquished its claims to lands south of the Great Lakes and east of the Mississippi River. The British negotiators did not insist on seperate territory for their Indian allies. The Treary of Paris also guaranteed freedom of navigation on the Mississippi to American citizens "forever". -
The Great Compromise
People from states with a smaller population were afraid that the large states would "crush" the small one and leave them without a say. Proposed by Connecticut delegates that the national legislature's upper chamber (the Senate) have two members from each state, while seats in the lower chamber (the House of Representatives) be apportioned by population. The delegates from the populous states reluctantly accepted this and it became known as the Great Compromise. -
Northwest Ordinance
The Northwest Ordinance created the territoies that would eventually become the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Winsconsin. The ordinance prohibited slavery and state that Congress would apppoint a governor and judges to administed to each new territory until the population got to 5,000 free adult men. At that point, citizens could elect a territorial legislature. When the population reached 60,000 the legisltaure could apply to join the Confederation. -
Eli Whitneys Cotton GIn
Eli Whitney patented the coton gin, a machine that would revolutionize the growing of cotton by making it more efficient and faster. Removing the seeds form the cotton fiber was time consuming and inefficient before the gin. Soon the cottton gin became America's leading export. However, Whitney made little money from it due patent issues. It also fueled the expansion of slavery in the south since cotton was even more profitable now. -
Revolution of 1800
The Revolution of 1800 was the first time that power in America had been passed orfm one party to another. The bloodless transfer of power showed that governments elected by the majority could be changed in an orderly way even in times of partisan conflict. -
Louisiana Purchase
Due to war in Europe, Napoleon feared that while his back was turned around the Louisiana territory would be invaded. He offered to sell the entire territory for $15 million the US. However, the connstitutionality of acquiring new land forced Jefferson to reconsider his strict interpretation of the Constitution. In the end, Jefferson purchases the territory and doubles the size of the country, securing New Orleans and the Mississippi RIver. -
Marbury V. Madison
The U.S. Supreme Court established the principle of judicial review, which meant the power of the federal courts to declare legislative and executive acts unconstitutional. The court also reviews that government should support and respect the implied powers and protect private property rights. Before this, the Supreme Court had very little power and could not do much. -
Embargo Act of 1807
Britain and France are at war again and Jefferson wants to remain neutral.To protect American intersts, Jefferson pursued a policy of peaceful coerciion. The Embargo Act banned all foreign trade and prohibited American ships from leaving their home ports until Britain and France stopped restricting US trade. However, the embargo act greatly damaged the economy and was opposed by merchants. -
American System
Henry Clay's vision for a strong national economy. This included a strong central bank that provides easy and abundant credit, protective tariffs to spur manufacturing, and a stronger transportation network. The revenue raised by tariffs would be used to create the stronger transportation network. Jefferson denounced Clay's American System as a cheme to "consolidate" political power in Washington. When John Quincy was elected he enacted the American System by installing protective tariffs. -
Gibbons v. Ogden
The Marsall Court again asserted the dominance of national over state statues in Gibbons v. Ogden. The decison struck down a New York law granting a monopoly to Aaron Ogden for steamboat passenger service across the Hudson River to New Jersey. This gave the federal governmetn authority over insterstate commerce. -
Transportation Revolution
Porjects such as the Eerie canal paved the way for much economic growth adn new communities. Northern manufacturers could ship equipment to farm families and in return farmers sent grain, cattle, and raw materials. Inventions such as the steamboat revolutionized the transportation of goods and made the process more time efficient. The rairoad boom also linked western cities to adjacent state. -
Temperance Movement
Evalengical protestanst took over the American Temperance Society in 1832 and set out to curb the consumption of alcoholic beverages. The movement spread under the influence of churches and women, who viewed alcoholic beverages as the root of all evil. People of the time drank heavily considering most water would make them sick. The movement also served as an opportunity for Christian women to enter American public life. These efforts led to people taking temperance "pledges". -
Abolitionist Movement
Gained popularity due to the Second Great Awakening. Antislavery activists linked human bondage as contrary to republicanism and liberty. Black leaders founded churches, schools, and self-help associations. These efforts recieved negative attitudes from many whites, which led to mobs terrorizing black communities. Influential leaders included Willliam Lloyd Garrison, Frederick Douglass, and many others. Abolitionsists aided fugitive slaves through the Underground Railroad. -
Trail of Tears
Many whites demanded the resettlement of Indian peoples west of the Mississippi river. However, they did not want to leave their ancestral lands on which they had lived on for centuries. Jackson sent troops to expel them by froce thorugh the Indian Removal Act of 1830. They were marched on a 1200 mile journey that became known as the Trail of Tears, in which 3000 Indians died of starvaton and exposure. -
Cherokee v. Georgia
Cherokees carried the defense of their lands to the Supreme Court, where they claimed the status of a "foreign nation". Chief Justice John Marshall denied the claim and declared that the Indian peoples were a "domestic dependent nation". However, in Worcester V. Georgia(1832) Marshall and the Court sided with the Cherokees against Georgia. The Court declared that they had territorial boundaries which were going to be respected, but they were not. Insteadthe US government took it from them. -
Nat Turner's Revolt
Nat Turner was a slave in Southampton County VIrginia who staged a bloody revolt. Turner had a religious vision in which "the Spirit" told him that he had to fight against devil(the institution of slavery). When he saw an eclipse as an omen he and a handful of relatives and friends started a rebellion and killed at least 55 white men, women, and children. However his rebellion did not attract many poeple an a white milita quickly dispersed his small army. Turner died by hanging. -
Bank War
The bank was privately managed under a twenty year charter from the federal government. Expansion-minded bankers, Jackson, and ordinary Americans feared that the Second Banks would force weak banks to close.Henry Clay and Daniel Webster persuaded Nicholas Biddle to seek an early extension of the bank's charter but Jackson vetoed the rechartering bill.He declared Congress had no constitutional authority to charter a national bank.He condemned the bank as a threat to liberty and a monopoly. -
Compromise Tariff of 1883
Solution to the Nullification Crisis of 1832. President Adams approved the Tariff of 1828 which would impose taxes on manufacutured good and raw materials, which Southeners viewed as detrimental to them and beneficial for the North. South Carolina responds by declaring the tariff unconstitutional and void. Jackson responds by threathening to act with force, which Henry Clay responds to with a compromise. The tariff rates above 20% would be reduced by one tenth every 2 years until it went down. -
Mexican American War
President Polk looked to acquire Mexico's northern provinces.Polk ordered an 2,000 soliderts to occupy disputed lands so that Mexico would commence a fight. The armies clashed an Polk declared that American blood had been spilled on "American soil". The majority in Congress voted for war. Zachary Taylor's army crossed the Rio Grande and eventually controlled much of northeastern Mexico. An American Army of 14,000 seized the Mexican capital and a new Mexican government made a forced peace. -
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
The Mexican government surrendered to the United States and looked to settle negotiations to end the war. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo officially brought an end to the Mexican-American war. Mexico would cede 55 percent of its territory, unlcuding parts of present-day Arizona, California, New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, Nevada, and Utah to the United States. Mexico also acknowledged that the Rio Grande was the boundary with the US. -
Seneca Falls Convention
Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott organized a gathering of women's rights activists in the small New York ton of Seneca Falls. Seventy women and thirty men attended the Seneca Falls Convention. This gathering fueled to fight for women's rights and equality. However, most men dismissed the Seneca Fallls convention as nonsese, and so did many women who thought a woman's role was just to be a housewife. Even amidst this, the women's rights movement continued to grow and strenghten. -
Compromise of 1850
After the Mexican-American War there was much debate over whether these new states would free of slave states. Whig and Democratic politicians worked to preserve the Union and resolve this conflict. The Compromise of 1850 included a new Fugitive Slave Act giving federal support to slave catchers. To satisfy the North, the legislation admitted California as a free state and abolished the slave trade in teh District of Columbia. -
Bleeding Kansas
The Kansas-Nebraska Act had given Kansas and Nebraska the right to decide whether or not to permit slavery when it joined the Union with popular sovereignty. The Missouri senator encouraged his residents to cross over temporarily inot Kansas and vote in the crucial elections there. The majority of Kansas residents favored free soil, which led to violence between the two groups. A proslavery force looted and burned the free soil town of Lawrence. -
Dred Scott v. Sandford
Dred Scott was an enslaved African American who had lvied for a time with his owner in the free state of Illinois, where the Missouri compromise prohibited slavery. Scott claimed that residence there had made him free, but Buchanan opposed Scott's appeal. Seven of the nine justices declared that Scott was still a slave. Chief Justice Roger B. Taney declared that Negroes, whether enslaved or free, could not be citizens of the US and therefore Scott had no right in federal court, which was nottrue -
Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter can be viewed as the start of the Civil War. Fort Sumter was a federal garrison in Charleston Harbor. President Lincoln announced plans to resupply the fort. However, South Carolina was suspicious and paranoid that they were actually going to send reinforcements instead of supplies. The Confederates decided to seize the fort and opened fire on April 12. This prompted Lincoln to call militiamen into federal service. -
Homestead Act
The Homestaed Act gave 160 acres of federal land to any applicant who occupied and improved the property. Republicans hoped the bill would help biuld up the West and incentivize people to move there. It was also a way to fund the trancontinental railroad.Along with the Homestead Act, the Morrill Act set aside 140 million federal acres that states could sell to rause money for public universities. -
Emancipation Proclamation
Initially, Lincold had rejeted emancipation as a war aim, but he faced much pressured from Radical Republicans. He linked black freedom with the Union without freeing any slave. The Emancipation Proclamation did not actually end slavery, it proclaimed the legal abolition of slavery in all states that remained out of the Union on Jnauary 1. The rebel states could have chosen to preserve slavery by renouncing secession, but none chose to do so. -
Sherman's March to the Sea
Union General Willaim T. Sherman led some 60,000 soldiers on a 258 mile march to the Sea to fighten Georgia's civilian population into abandoning the Confederate cause. They stole food and livestock and burned the houses and barns of poeple who tried to fight back. The march severely depleted the South's resources, especially the destruction of factories in Atlanta which were their only source of manufactured goods. -
Black Codes
Black codes were enacted to force slaves back into plantation labor. The codes were in favor of of plantation owners' economic interests. They imposed severe penalties on blacks who did not hold full-year labor contracts and also set up procedures for taking black children form their parents and apprenticing them to former slave masters. -
14th Amendment
The 14th amendment declared that all people born or naturalized in the United States were citizens of the U.S.. No state could take that right away from them or deprive them of life, liberty, or property without the due process of law. President Johnson had opposed ratification, public opinion overcame him. -
Freedmen's Bureau
Congress established the Freedmen's Bureau to aid displaced blacks and other war refugees. In early 1866, Congress voted to extend the bureau, gave it direct funding for the first time, and authorized its agents to investigate southern abuses. -
Surrender at Appomattox
Trapped by the federals near Appomattox Court House, Confederate general Robert E. Lee surrendered his army to Union general Ulysses S. Grant. -
13th Amendment
Outlawed slavery/involuntary servitude, unless it was as a punishment for a crime. Because the emancipation proclamation was not a permanent solution, Abraham LIncoln passed the 13th amendment in the aftermath of the Civil War. -
Transcontinental Railroad
Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroad companies were tasked with linking the United States from east to west. The two companies competed with each other to build the most railroad tracks.The two lines of track would meet in the middle and each company would recieve bonds for every mile of track built. If it was not completed by 1872, companies would forfeit land money. The companies finished 3 years ahead of schedule and even kept building extra to keep making money. -
Pendleton Act
In response to President Garfield’s assasination, the Pendleton Act was passed in order to get rid of the Spoils System. It required a Civil Service Commission for those who applied to federal jobs. The laws put talented officials in office and discouraged politicians from appointing unqualified people from the same party. Those who wished to apply for a federal position were now required to pass the Civil Service Exam, which in return ended the Spoils System thus reducing corrupt -
Haymarket Square RIot
Protest at the McCormick reaper works in Chicago led to a clash with police, 4 strikers were killed. Local anarchists called a protest meeting the next day at Haymarket square. When police tried to disperse the crowd, someone threw a bomb that killed several policemen. The violence damaged the American labor movement and led to the decline of the Knights of Labor, as no one wanted to be associated with them. Created hysteria towards immigrants nad labor unions. -
Americanization of Native Americans
Whites disapporved of Native people's lifestyles and viewed European lifestyle as the proper way. In an effort to americanize Native Americans, reformers supported the costruction of Indian Boarding schools. In these schools children were ripped from their families at a young age and forced to attend these schools. There they were forced to speak English, cut their hair, and dress in white clothes. Many children there suffered abuse. There was also the Dawes Severalty act. -
Dawes Severalty Act
White settlers and reformers disapproved of native people’s lifestyles. In an effort to assimilate natives into white life , reformers introduced the Dawes Severalty Act. They hoped that in forcing natives into individual landholdings like white farmers, they would learn to become selfish and not depend on a community lifestyle. However, the Dawes Act only served as a way for whites to gain more land, resulting in natives losing 66% of their allotted lands. -
Sherman Anti-Trust Act
The first federal attempt to forbid any "combination, in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade. It authorized the federal government the authority to act against or dissolve trusts. Theodore Roosevelt targeted the trusts he deemed "bad", such as those that exploited consumers. His first victim was J. Pierpont Morgan of a railroad company named Northern Securities, which had formed a monopoly and intended to eliminate all other competition. -
Populist Party
The populist party rose up in response to high debt, failing farm prices, and high unemployment in the lower classes. Popular amongst agrarian workers, but sometimes reformers allied with the party as well. They were viewed as a party of radicals and they tended to be anti-industry. They advocated for the free and unlimited coinage of silver to aid in debt farmers, banking reform, graduated income tax, and direct election of US senators. Willaim Jennings Bryant was their presidential nominee -
Cuban Independence Movement
Cuba wished to be independent and free from Spain. This gave way to the Cuban revolt against Spain. Spain responded by sending 100,000 soldiers to Cuba in 1895. They set up concentration camps and the peopel of Cuba suffered much abuse and death. This caught the attention of the United States, considering Cuba had much exploitative value. American sympathy for the Cuban rebels also arose due to yellow journalism. -
Plessy V. Ferguson
Supreme Court case that established the precedent of "separate but equal" and provided the legal justification for the expansion of segregation in America. These Jim Crow laws applied to public schools and parks and also to emerging commercial spaces, hotels, restaurants, streetcars, trains, and more. The Plessy decision was proof that consumer culture could be modern and innovative without being politically progressive. Business and consumer culture were shaped by racial and class injustices. -
Spanish American War
With the explosion and sinking of the USS Maine in Havana harbor(which had been sent to protect U.S. citizens),the growing popular demand for U.S intervention, and the de Lome Letter, the Spanish American War was declared. Spain was not prepared for war and its navy could not compete with the American navy, paving the way for victory for the United States. Spain lost control of Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines and Guam.However, TheTeller Amendment declared that the US had no claim to Cuba. -
Annexation of the Phillippines
The US paid Spain $20 million to annex the Philippines, which in return outraged the Filipinos. This prompted a rebellion, which was quickly squashed by American forces. American exceptionalism, the belief that it was the United States' duty to spread democracy and "save" them from their barbaric ways, was used to justify the annexation of the Philippines, even if it was against the wishes of the inhabitants there. -
Platt Amendment
The Platt Amendment was a treaty between the U.S. and Cuba that attempted to protect Cuba's independence from foreign intervention. It permitted extensive U.S. involvement in Cuban international and domestic affairs for the enforcement of Cuban independence. Allowed the US to lease or buy and for the purpose of establishing naval bases(Guantanamo Bay) with the justification of "preservation of Cuban independence". Was repealed in 1934 as part of FDR's Good Neighbor policy toward Latin America. -
Pure Food and Drug Act
Muckraker Upton Sinclare exposed some of the most extreme forms of labor exploitation in his novel The Jungle, which described appalling conditions in Chicago meat-packing plants. Sinclair's account of workers' plight did not capture the nation's attention as much as the descriptions of rotten meat and filthy conditions did. Congress passed the act and created the FDA to oversee compliance with the new law. The impact of The Jungle showed how urban reformers could affect national politics. -
Great White Fleet
The "Great White Fleet" was sent around the world by President Theodore Roosevelt and consisted of 16 new battleships of the Atlantic Fleet. They were painted white so that they could be easily spotted and attract attention. Its purpose was to establish a global presence as well as to display US naval power. It also sent the message of diplomacy and international partnerships. Part of Roosevelt's big stick policy. -
Model T
Henry Ford introduces the Model T in 1908. The Mode-T was a mass-produced and affordable car, which was made using the assembly line and scientific management. It also greatly increased his worker's wages, shortened hours, and made weekends possible. Workers felt valued. As cars became more accessible, vacations and living far from work became common. Construction, oil, glass, and steel industries prospered while railroad industries were hurt. Cars led to urban decay, specially in the city. -
Election of 1912
Roosevelt learned of Taft's doings as president and felt betrayed that he did not live up to his principles. Teddy had the majority votes but Taft controlled the party. Republicans chose Taft. Roosevelt then led his followers to the Progressive Party, who called themselves "Bull Mooses".Because the Republican voters split between Teddy and Taft, Wilson won the election with only 42% popular vote, becoming the first Democratic president since 1897, paving the way for future Democratic presidents. -
16th amendment
The 16th amendment gave Congress the power to lay and collect taxes on incomes. President Wilson aimed to lower tariff rates in order to lessen the power of big businesses. This form of taxation supplied the government with higher revenue than tariffs ever supplied. Big businesses and wealthy individuals disliked this amendment because they were taxed more. -
Panama Canal
The United States biult the Panama Canal to have quicker passage to the Pacific from the Atlantic and vice versa. It gave the US a commanding position in the Western Hemisphere. Roosevelt's big stick policy played a large role as he wanted naval power. After Columbia rejected his proposal, the US lent covert assistance to the Panamians independence movement, and the US recognized the nation of Panama. 60,000 laborers were hired and the engineering feat took 8 years. -
Federal Trade Commission
Gave the president the power to investigate the activities of trusts and stop unfair trade practices. The Federal Trade Commission received broad powers to decide what was fair and would investigate companies and issue "cease and desist" orders against monopolistic and anti-competitive practices. Was created to protect consumers from unfair methods of competition between businesses. -
Palmer Raids
Raids conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice in 1919 and 1920 in an attempt to arrest foreign anarchists, communists, and radical leftists. Recently appointed attourney general A. Mitchell Palmer's agents stormed the headquarters of radical organizations. They captured thousands of immigrants who had committed no crimes but held radical and anarchist beliefs. Many were deported without indictment or trial. They invaded homes and meeting halls. -
18th Amendment
Prohibition was a nationwide ban on the sale and import of alcoholic beverages. The temperance movement goes back to the early 19th century, the American Temperance Society. Advocates of prohibition had argued that the banning of alcohol would reduce criminal activity. Instead it led directly to the rise of organized crime. Bootlegging (illegal distillation and sale of alcohol) became widespread. Notable gangster was Al Capone, who made fortunes from illegally distributing alcohol. -
19th Amendment
After much effort, the 19th amendment legally guaranteed American women the right to vote. The women's suffrage movement goes back to the mid-19th century. At the beginning of the 20th century, the role of women was changing drastically as more women joined the workforce to make ends meet. After jailed suffragists went on hunger strikes, Wilson agreed to the suffrage amendment to save his administration's image. However, women of color were still barred from voting (Civil Rights Movement.) -
Sacco & Venzetti
Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were Italian immigrants living in Massachusetts who led blue-collar lives and held communist/anarchist beliefs. When 2 workers were killed in a robbery gone wrong, Sacco and Vanzetti were accused of the crime. Their guilty verdict reflected the anti-immigrant sentiment of the US at the time, as well as an anti-radical attitude. The two were sentenced to death solely on the fact that they were Italian immigrants and held radical beliefs. -
Imigration Act of 1924
The immigration act of 1924 limited the number of immigrants allowed entry into the United States through a national origins quota. The quota provided immigration visas to 2% of the total # of people of each nationality in the United States based on an 1890 national census. It also completely excluded immigrants from Asia. Factors such as the Red Scare and the arrival of the "new immigrant" (Eastern Europe) played a role in the passing of the act. -
Scopes Monkey Trial
John T. Scopes, a high school biology teacher from Tennessee, was indicted for teaching evolution after a recent bill(Butler Act)had made it illegal. Defended by attorney Clarence Darrow and prosecuted by William Jennings Bryant, Scopes was found guilty. The trial highlighted the clash between old beliefs and new beliefs as Fundamentalists continued to put emphasis on the literal meaning of the bible and Modernists supported the teachings of new and modern science. -
Bonus Amry
A gathering of around 10,000 to 25,000 WWI veterans staged a protest in Washington D.C. demanding an immediate bonus payment for wartime services to alleviate their economic hardships during the Great Depression. Those pension awards were due to be paid in 1945, but they were in need. The Bonus Army set up camps near the Capitol. Hoover called out regular army troops who forcefully evicted the marchers and burned their encampment to the ground. Hoover's popularity plunged. -
"100 Days"
In efforts to combat the effects of the Great Depression,FDR and Congress passed more than 15 major pieces of the New Deal legislation FDR wanted relief with the Emergency banking bill, WPA, and PWA. Recovery with the TVA for regional development. Reform with the Social Security Act, which provided pension for workers, Federal Deposit Insurance, and more.The New deal changed the role of the federal government as it became more involved in the social and economic problems of the people. -
Neutrality Act of 1935
The Neutrality Act of 1935 imposed an embargo on selling arms to warring countries and declared that Americans traveling on the ships of belligerent nations did so at their own risk. It was passed to prevent American participation in the war in Europe. In 1936, Congress banned loans to belligerents. In 1937, it imposed a "cash-and-carry" requirement if a warring country wanted to purchase nonmilitary goods from the U.S., meaning they had to carry the goods in their own ships. -
Works Progress Administration
As part of the New Deal and in efforts to alleviate unemployment of the Great Depression, FDR funded the WPA, which employed 8.5 million Americans between 1935 and 1943. The agency's workers contructed or repaired 651,087 miles of road, 124,087 bridges, 125,110 public buildings, 8,192 parks, and 853 airports. Although the WPA did a lot, it only reach about 1/3 of the nation's unemployed. -
Atlantic Charter
FDR's meeting with Winston Churchill became known as the Atlantic Charter, in which they discussed post war aspirations. The charter called for economic cooperation, national self-determination, and guarantees of political stability after the war to ensure "that all men all the lands may live out their lives in freedom from fear and want." It would set up the basis for American-led transatlantic alliance after the war. -
Four Freedoms Speech
Freedom from want and fear, and freedom of speech and worship. By highlighting the Four Freedoms in his speech, Roosevelt cast the war as a defense of democratic liberties. He linked the preservation of democracy in Western Europe with that of the United States, saying that the outcome of the war would affect democracy not just in Europe and America but internationally. In doing so he was justifying why the US should abandon its isolationist policies that emerged from WWI. -
Executive Order 8802
A. Philip Randolph, head of the largest black labor union in the country, announced plans for a march on Washington. Roosevelt was not a strong supporter of African American equality but wanted to avoid public protest and a disruption of the nation's war preparations. He issued Executive Order 8802, which prohibited the "discrimination in the employment of workers in defense industries or government because of race, creed, color, or nationality. The act offered new opportunities for African Amer -
Pearl Harbor
Japan invades Machuria and Indo China, whom the US had economic ties with. Japan refuses to withdraw and the US stops selling oil to them. Japan takes this as an attack, and in response launches a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. The attack crippled the US Navy and 2,400 servicemen were lost. In the time it takes to repair, Japan contunies to expand. FDR adressed the nation and declares war, spurring the nation into action and ending the Depression. "A sleeping giant has awakened." -
Executive Order 9066
FDR responded to Japanese fears by issuing Executive Order 9066, which authorized the War Department to force Japanese Americans from their West Coast homes and hold them in relocation camps for the rest of the war. In response to the attack on Pearl Harbor, Americans began to fear spies and sabotage combined with California's already racist history towards Asian immigrants.The order shocked Japanese Americans, many of who were Nisei(2nd generation). They were forced to leave everything behind. -
Hirabayashi V. United States
Gordon Hirabayashi was a Nisei Japanese-American who actively resisted incarceration. He refused to report for evacuation and turned himself in to the FBI. "I wanted to uphold the principles of the Constitution." He stated that the curfew and evacuation orders which singled out a group on the basis of ethnicity violated those principles. The Court, however, allowed for the removal of Japanese Americans from the West Coast, highlighting the fragility of civil liberties during wartime. -
G.I. Bill
Also known as the Servicemen's Readjustment Act (1944). Provided education, job training, medical care, pensions, and mortage loans for men and women who had served in the armed forces. Veterans who had come back from the war were given a chance to smoothly integrate back into society and were encouraged to go to trade school or get a college education. It put higher edcuation within the reach of millions of verterans of WWII and later military conflicts. -
D-day/Operation Overlord
156,000 American, British, and Canadian forces landed on 5 beaches along a 50-mile stretch of the heavily fortified coast of France's Normandy region. The invasion came to be one of the largest military assaults in history and took 18 months of planning. The Allies carried out a massive deception operation to mislead the Germans about the real invasion target. The operation was a turning point in the war as, within 7 days, the Allies controlled 80 miles of the coast. -
Truman Doctrine
Foreign policy of the United States from 1947-1953 under President Truman during the Cold War. He asserted the responsibility that the Truman Doctrine would militarily aid those fighting the rise of communism in their countries. Truman asked congress for $400 milion in aid plus US troops/advisors to help both Greece and Turkey to fight the rise of communism. This would also lead the US to get involved in Vietnam and to militarly assist South Korea. -
Marshall Plan
The United States contributed nearly $13 billion to provide economic assistance to restore postwar Europe's infrastructure. People were starving, there was no credit, wages were stagnant, and the market had collapsed. A global depression was a looming threat. The Marshall Plan illustrated the new influence America could have on the world, as the appeal of Communist parties waned in Western Europe. The United States was one of the world powers left to fill the power vacuum after the war. -
William J. Levitt & Levittown
Levittown homes were designed to be inexpensive and available to both white and blue-collar workers. The homes were mass-produced and meant for veterans and their wives. Levittown became synonymous with the great American migration and the American dream of homeownership. With the rise of the "affluent society", Levittowns were a symbol of post-war prosperity. However, they also enforced a conformist and racist society. Suburbs grew as predominantly white Americans fled the city. -
Korean War
After the end of WWII a power vacucum was left in Korea(liberated from Japanese control). June 1950 communist North Korea invaded South Korea. US came to aid of South Korea in efforts to maintain their containment policy(stop spread of communism). Communist China joined North Korea in Nov, unleashing massive attack against American forces. In July 1953 an armstice was signed, ending the war at the 38th parallerl border and marking the fisrt "hot" war of the Cold War. -
Brown V Board of Education Topeka
Linda Brown, a black pupil in Topeka, had been forced to attend a distant segregated school. Thurgood Marshall argued that this was unconstitutional because it denied Linda the "equal protection of the laws" guaranteed by the 14th amendment. The court agreed and overturned the "seperate but equal" doctrined and that it had no place in the field of education. Intergration such as with the littel rock 9 would proceed. However, intergration was largely unpopular with whites and met with resistance. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
Rosa Parks, a civil rights activist, and longtime NAACP member refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white man. She was arrested and charged with violating a local segregation ordinance. MLK endorsed a plan proposed by a local black women's organization to boycott Montgomery's bus system. For 381 days, African Americans carpooled or walked to work. The transit company nearly went bankrupt. The Supreme Court ruled that bus segregation was unconstitutional in November of 1956. -
National Interstate and Defense Highway Act
President Eisenhower signed the act in 1956, stating that the interstates would make travel faster and more efficient, get rid of traffic jams, and allow for safe, fast travel. The interstate highway act became the largest public works project in the nation’s history. It also played on cold war fears, as Eisenhower assured that the interstates could make evacuation easier, act as emergency runways and airways, and was overall for the nation’s defense. -
Eisenhower on Military Indistrial Complex
Eisenhower coined the term "military-industrial complex" when he warned Americans against it as a threat to democratic government. His worries stemmed from the costs of an arms race with the Soviet Union and the resources it would take from other areas, such as education. He feared that combined lobbying efforts of the armed services and industries would lead to excessive Congressional spending. His points still stan today as the US has the highest spending military budget in the world. -
Freedom Riders attacked in Anniston, AL
Over 1000 student volunteers of both black and white rode buses from D.C. to the deep South to draw attention to and protest segregation. On this date, a freedom bus was firebombed in Anniston, Alabama, where the protesters were then met by hostile whites who beat them with clubs, bricks, pipes, etc. Though warned earlier that a mob had gathered at the station, local police did not arrive until after the assault had begun. News of this incident fueled the ongoing civil rights movement. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
An American U-2 spy plane secretly photographed nuclear missile sites being built by the Soviet Union on the island of Cuba. JKF could either order airstrikes on missile sites in Cuba and riks nuclear war with the USSR or place a naval blockade to stop soviet ships from bringing in missles and equipment. Reaction was unsure. JFK places naval blockade, US navy fire star shells across bow, USSR chooses to turn around back to port. Marks the closest we've ever been to nuclear war. -
March on Washington
Under the leadership of A. Philip Randolph, thousands of volunteers across the country coordinated carpools, "freedom buses", and "freedom trains" which delivered 250 thousand people to the Lincoln Memorial for the March on Washington in efforts to marshall support for Kennedy's civil rights bill. The march had support from the NAACP, SNCC, & CORE. There, MLK delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. Became one of the largest civil rights rallies in US history. -
The Economic Opportunity Act of 1964
President Johnson was determined to "end poverty in our time" and called it a disgrace that 1/5 of all Americans lived in poverty. A series of programs were created(Jonhson's War on Poverty) which included initiatives like Head Start(free nursery schools), The Job Corps, VISTA, and regional development programs focused on spurring economic growth. The 1964 legislation provided services for the poor rather than jobs, leading to some critics accusing the War on Poverty of doing too little. -
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution gave Johnson the freedom to conduct operations in Vietnam as he saw fit. Johnson was in alignment with the Cold War policy of containment. Reports that North Vietnamese torpedo boats had fired on the U.S. destroyer Maddox led Johnson to begin a massive American takeover of the war in Vietnam and intensified bombing against North Vietnam(Operation Rolling Thunder). North Vietnam's will to fight remained strong, but Vietnam's countryside was devastated. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Outlawed discrimination in employment on the basis of race, religion, national origin, and sex. Guaranteed equal access to public accommodations & schools. Granted new enforcement powers to the US attorney general and established the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to implement the prohibition against job discrimination. This was a law with real teeth as it was much more enforced. However, it still left untouched the obstacles to black voting. It was a big step forward but not enough. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
The voting rights act, signed by President Johnson, outlawed literacy tests, poll taxes, intimidation, and other measures that prevented African Americans from voting. It authorized the US attorney general to send federal officials to the South to register black voters in the event that local registrars did not comply with the law, and it authorized the federal government to supervise elections. By 1966, over half a million Southern blacks had registered to vote and were given a voice. -
Selma to Montgomery March
In March of 1965, James Bevel of the SCLC called for a 54 mile march from Selma, AL, to the state capital, Montgomery, to protest the murder of a voting rights activist. Over 25,000 peole participated. As soon as the six hundred marchers left Selma, crossing over the Edmund Pettus Bridge, they were met with state troopers and white vigilante groups who attacked them with tear gas and clubs. The day became known as Bloody Sunday. The march paved the way for the Voting Rights Act of 1965. -
Tet Offensive
Vietcong unleashed a massive, well-coordinated assault in South Vietnam in which they nearly overran the US embassy. In military terms, the Tet Offensive was a failure and also had a devastating psychological effect on the people watching the live images on television. The Tet Offensive made a mockery of the official claim that the US was winning the war. As a result, the number of war opponents decreased and Johnson's popularity plummetted. -
Democratic National Convention
In Chicago at the 1968 Democratic National Convention, the political divisions regarding the war consumed the party and were tearing it apart. Thousands of protesters gathered in the city, the most notable of them being the Youth International Party, to protest the Vietnam War and the political status quo. A "police riot" ensued when they began to attack protesters with tear gas and clubs. This set the image of Democrats as the party of disorder, leading to their loss in the 1968 election. -
My Lai Massacre
American troops brutally massacred innocent women and children in the South Vietnamese village of My Lai. The massacre was only known amongst the military until 1969 when journalist Seymor Hersh exposed the atrocities committed in Life magazine. Only one soldier was convicted. There was reduced support for the war which produced outrage. A group called the Vietnam Veterans Against the War exposed other atrocities and held demonstrations outside the capital. Protests intensified(Vietnam Moratoriu -
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
As the energy crisis became a wake up call that the earth's resources are not limitless and the Santa Barbara oil spill occured, Congress passed the National Environmental Policy Act, which created the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The law required developers to asses the environmental impacts their projects would have on ecosystems. However, corporations opposed environmental regulations as did many of their workers. With the EPA, the impact of pollution was reduced. -
Kent State Shooting
Even with Vietnamization, the antiwar movement intensified. On April 30, 1970, as part of a secret bombing campaign against the Vietcong supply lines, American troops destroyed enemy bases in neutral Cambodia. When news got out, college campuses across the country erupted in protest. At Kent State University Ohio, National Guardsmen fired into an antiwar rally, wounding 11 students and killing 4. Less than 2 weeks later guardsmen killed 2 black students. Support for the war continued to drop. -
Election of 1972
The 1972 election set the stage for a political realignment as Democrats fell into chaos. Reformers were bent on sweeping away the party's old guard and adopted new rules that granted women, African Americans, and young ppl delegate seats. George McGovern, a liberal South Dakota senator, rose to the stage but was no match for Nixon, who proclaimed prematurely a cease-fire in Vietnam and appealed to the "silent majority". 1972 marked a pivotal moment as the country shifted to the right. -
Watergate Scandal
At Washington's Watergate office complex, 5 men were caught carrying wiretapping equipment in an attempt to break into the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee (DNC). Nixon denied any White House involvement, and the 2 men were found to be former FBI and CIA agents working for Nixon's Committee to Re-elect the President.Certain of being convicted by the Senate, Nixon became the first US president to resign from office. The scandal broke the people's trust in politicians.
