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House of Burgesses
GOVERNOR GEORGE YEARDLEY arrived in Virginia from England and announced that the Virginia Company had voted to abolish martial law and create a legislative assembly. It became the House of Burgesses — the first legislative assembly in the American colonies. The first assembly met on July 30, 1619, in the church at Jamestown. -
Mayflower Compact
It was the first written framework of government established in what is now the United States. It was drafted to prevent dissent amongst Puritans and non-separatist Pilgrims who had landed at Plymouth a few days earlier. -
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Great Puritan Migration
The migration English settlers, primarily Puritans, to Massachusetts and the warm islands of the West Indies. King James opposed the growing Puritan population of England, so many Puritans moved from England to the New World. -
Roger Williams
Founded Rhode Island after being banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony for his radical views, as well as Anne Hutchinson (who was also banished). He advocated separation of church and state in Colonial America and had views on religious freedom. -
Harvard College
The oldest and first college in the US; established in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. It was created in order to train Puritan ministers. -
New England Confederation
A political and military alliance in the New England colonies (Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, Connecticut, and New Haven). It established an alliance of these colonies against the Native Americans and served as a place to settle colonial disputes. -
Thomas Hobbes
An English philosopher and his book Leviathan (written in 1651) created a foundation for most of western political philosophy. He also influenced history, geometry, theology, ethics, philosophy, and political science. He was known for his views on how humans could thrive in harmony while avoiding the perils and fear of societal conflict. -
Halfway Covenent
The Halfway Covenent granted partial membership in the church in New England. Some members felt that the people of the colonies were drifting away from the original religious purpose. -
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King Philip's War
The war was started when the Massachusetts government tried to assert court jurisdiction over the local Indians. Resulted in a series of battles between colonists and the Wampanoags. The colonists won with the help of the Mohawks, and this victory opened up additional Indian lands for expansion. -
Bacon's Rebellion
Nathaniel Bacon raised his own militia in defiance of governor Sir William Berkley in order to defend the frontier from an Indian attack. He also accused Berkeley of raising unjust taxes and interfering with his campaigns against the Indians, so he and his men burned Jamestown. -
John Locke
Proclammed that everyone was entitled to three natural rights: life, liberty, and property. He also stated that the eople should agree to be governed if the government protected them. If it did not, then they did not have to obey. -
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Salem Witch Trials
A group of young girls in Salem Village, Massachusetts, claimed to be possessed by the devil and several local women were in turn accused of witchcraft. The Massachusetts General Court later annulled guilty verdicts against the accused and granted indemnities to their families -
James Oglethorpe
He travelled to America in 1733 and landed in Savannah. He settled in the area and founded the colony that would become Georgia. The first fort to be built was Fort Argyle, named for his friend and benefactor Lord Argyle. -
John Peter Zenger Trial
John Peter Zenger was tried for printing damaging stories about the governor of Pennsylvania. The jury found him not guilty of libel because the stories were true. -
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"No Taxation Without Representation"
Slogan created by Patrick Henry and used by the colonists during the time before the American Revolution. Colonists were angered that the British Parliament could enforce taxes even though there was no American representation in the British Parliament. -
Albany Plan
The Albany Plan was proposed by Benjamin Franklin at the Albany Congress. It was one of the first attempts at achieving independence, during the French and Indian War. -
Paxton Boys
The Paxton Boys were frontiersmen of Scots-Irish origin who formed a vigilante group. They formed to retaliate against local American Indians in the aftermath of the French and Indian War and Pontiac's Rebellion. -
Pontiac's Rebellion
Native Americans living in former French territory at the conclusion of the French and Indian War found the new British authorities to be far less appeasing than the French.Ottawa Chief Pontiac gathered up Native American groups and captured British posts in his rebellion. -
Proclammation of 1763
It was created to alleviate relations with natives after the French and Indian War. It stated that Americans were not permitted to colonate past the Appalachian Mountains; the colonials did not abide by this. -
Implemtation of the Sugar Act
Enacted by the British Parliament, the Sugar Act placed a tax on all sugar goods. It was used to raise money to help pay off the debt of the French and Indian War. -
Implemtation of the Stamp Act
Enacted by the British Parliament, the Stamp Act placed a tax on all newspapers and legal documents. The colonies responded with the Stamp Act Congress and the Act was repealed in 1766. -
Implemtation of the Quartering Act
Enacted by the British Parliament, the Quatering Act forced colonists to house and provide for British troops. Adequate housing and basic necessities were to be provided for the British troops. -
Sons of Liberty
A group of rebelling American Patriots during the Revolutionary War. They battled the Stamp Act and led the Boston Tea Party. -
Implementation of the Townshend Acts
Inplemented by the British Parliament in 1767, the Townshend Acts imposed taxes on glass, lead, paints, paper and tea imported into the colonies. This tax, especially the one on tea, angered the colonists, so colonists dumped tea imports into the Boston Harbor in what became known as the Boston Tea Party. -
Boston Massacre
British troops were sent to the city of Boston to enfore laws and keep peace. Colonists were throwing snowballs at the soldiers, so seven British soldiers fired at the crowd and killed five colonists. -
Gaspee Affair
The HMS Gaspee, a British customs ship, ran aground in Rhode Island and a Sons of Liberty group attacked and set fire to the ship. The British threat to send these Americans to trial sparked protest and a desire for colonial freedom. -
Coercive / Intolerable Acts
Passed by the British Parliament in direct response to the Boston Tea Party, the Coercive Acts were deemed the Intolerable Acts by the colonists. It closed the port of Boston until damages from the Boston Tea Party were paid, sent more British troops, and suspended the Writ of Habeas Corpus. -
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First/Second Continental Congress
The first Continental Congress voted for a total boycott of British goods. The Second Continental Congress resulted in the Olive Branch Petition - congress offered peace to the British, but King George III refused. -
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Loyalists / Tories
The group of American colonists that remained loyal to the king during and after the American Revolution. When the British lost the war many left the United States. -
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Gabriel Prosser's Rebellion
A literate enslved blacksmith, Gabriel Prosser, led a slave rebellion in the Richmond area. But, two Africans gave the plot away, and the Virginia militia crushed the uprising before it could begin. Prosser and thirty-five others were executed. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence is the statement drafted by the Second Continental Congress meeting at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It established that the thirteen American colonies were no longer to be held under British rule. -
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Battle of Saratoga
Turning point of the American Revolution because of the great colonial victory and harsh British defeat. Resulted in the alliance of the French on the colonial side; the French gave the Americans aid. -
Treaty of Alliance
The Treaty of Alliance of 1778 was a defensive alliance between France and the United States of America during the Revolutionary War. The treaty promised America that the French would provide military support in case of an attack by British forces in the future. -
3/5ths Compromise
The Three-Fifths Compromise was a compromise reached between delegates from southern states and those from northern states during the 1787 United States Constitutional Convention. It determined that slaves would be counted as 3/5ths of a person for representation -
Conneticut (Great) Compromise
The Great Compromise satisfied both the desires of the North (New Jersey Plan) and the desires of the South Virginia Plan) by creating a bicameral legislature. The South was appeased with the House of Representation with representation respresented by population. The North was appeased with the Senate, which was represented with equal representation. -
Samuel Slater
Samuel Slater was an American maufacturer that built the first successful cotton mill in the United States in 1790. He was coined the "Father of the American Industrial Revolution" and the "Father of the American Factory System." -
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Benjamin Banneker
Benjamin Banneker was a free black man who owned a farm near Baltimore. He was largely self-educated in astronomy and mathematics. He was later called upon to assist in the surveying of territory for the construction of the nation's capital. He also became an active writer of almanacs from 1792-1797. -
Citizen Genet
Edmond-Charles Genet known as Citizen Genet, was the French ambassador to the United States during the French Revolution. His attempt at recruiting American forces to aid in France's wars with Spain and Britian endangered American neutrality, which President Washington had declared in his Neutrality Proclamation. -
Eli Whitney
Eli Whitney was an American inventor who created the cotton gin in 1793. His goal was to reduce the number of slaves because the cotton gin would allow for the process of picking cotton to be easier, but its ability to increase production actually fueled the desire for slavery. -
Jay's Treaty
Jay's Treaty sought to settle the issues left unsolved between the United States and Britain after the American's declared independence. It was unpopular with the public but did accomplish the goal of maintaining peace between the two nations and preserving U.S. neutrality. -
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Barbary Pirates
North African pirates attacked US merchant ships, seized goods ,and kidnapped the crews, taking advantage of the absence of british protection of U.S. shipping in the mediterranean. They demanded tribute in exchange for refraining from attacking ships in the Mediterranean. -
Pinckney Treaty
Pinckney's Treaty was an important diplomatic success for the United States. It resolved territorial disputes between the U.S. and Spain and granted American ships the right to free navigation of the Mississippi River as well as duty-free transport through the port of New Orleans, then under Spanish control. -
Alien and Sedition Acts
Proposed by President John Adams that was passed to silence criticism from the Federalists. It discriminated against aliens, raised the residence requirements for citizenship from 5 years to 14 years, stated that the President could deport or jail foreigners in times of peace or hostilities, forbid people from speaking or writing against the government, and violated the 1st Amendment of rights to free speech and freedom of the press. -
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XYZ Affair
President Adams sent John Marshall to negotiate a settlement regarding the seizing of American ships by the French. Hoping to meet Talleyrand, the French foreign minister, the convoy was secretly approached by three go-betweens: X, Y, and Z. They demanded a bribe of $250,000 just to talk to Talleyrand in this big con-affair. -
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Virginia-Kentucky Resolutions
Written and sponsered by James Madison and Thomas Jefferson, state legislature decared the Alien and Sedition Acts illegal and argued that the states gave the government power and therefore could nulligy anything that was unfair. The Virginia-Kentucky Resolutions challenged the supremacy of the federal government. -
Revolution of 1800
The election of 1800, also referred to as the Revolution of 1800, saw the defeat of President John Adams by Vice President Thomas Jefferson for the presidency. The transition was a peaceful transfer of power. -
Marbury vs. Madison
James Madison, the new Secretary of State, had cut the salary of Judge Marbury, so Marbury sued James Madison for his pay. Marbury ended up getting his pay, but the decision showed the the Supreme Court had the final authority in determining the meaning of the Constitution (judicial review). -
Embargo Act of 1807
The Embargo Act of 1807 made any and all exports from the United States illegal. President Jefferson hoped this would weaken Britain and France by stopping trade. -
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War Hawks / War Doves
A large group of was supporters in the Repblican Party were referred to as War Hawks. These people supported the War of 1812. The Federalists opposed the war because they supported Britian and many feared America would lose. These people were called War Doves. -
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Hartford Convention
In Hartford Connecticut, the New England Federalist Party met to discuss their grievances concerning the ongoing War of 1812. The convention met to discuss the wrongs that the Federalists felt had been done during the War of 1812. -
Treaty of Ghent
The Treaty of Ghent was a simple cease fire in which both sides stopped fighting and conquered territory was restored. John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay went to Ghent for the signing. -
American Colonization Society
The focus of the American Colonization Society was transporting freed blacks back to Africa. The organization established Liberia, a West-African settlement inteded as a haven for emancipated slaves. -
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The Era of Good Feelings
The Presidency of James Monroe was dubbed the "Era of Good Feelings" because after the War of 1812, Americans finally became more nationalist. President James Monroe established the Monroe Doctrine in 1823 that enacted the foreign policy ideals of non-intervention and non-colonization. -
Adams-Onis Treaty
The Adams-Onis Treaty was also known as the Transcontinental Treaty. It was a treaty between the United States and Spain in 1819 that ceded Florida to the U.S. and defined the boundary between the U.S. and New Spain. -
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Irish Immigration
In the mid-1800s, more than half of the population of Ireland emigrated to the United States. Most of them came because of civil unrest, severe unemployment or almost inconceivable hardships at home. -
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The Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was a vast network of people who helped fugitive (runaway) slaves escape to the North and to Canada. One of the most known "conductors" was Harriet Tubman. -
Gibbons vs. Ogden
The Supreme Court case of Gibbons vs. Ogden grew out of an attempt by the state of New York to grant a private concern a monopoly of waterborne commerce between New York and New Jersey. The purpose was so that no other company could use the waterway; New York lost the case. -
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William Lloyd Garrison
William Lloyd Garrison was publisher and editor of The Liberator, and abolitionist newspaper from 1831 until 1865. He called for immediate and unconditional abolition of slavery but not violence because he was a pacifist. -
Dorothea Dix
In 1836, Dorothea Dix observes the treatment of the mentally ill and persuades many states to pass laws and set up public hospitals. She created the first generation of American mental asylums and also spurred prison reform. -
John Deere
John Deere developed the first commercially successful, self-scouring steel plow. It made it easier to work in prairie soil and cut labor. Deere hoped it would reduce the amount of slaves but ended up increasing them. -
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Trail of Tears
Part of President Andrew Jackson's Indian Removal Act. The Trail of Tears was the path the Cherokee nation took when they were forced to give up their lands east of the Mississippi River and to migrate to an area in present-day Oklahoma -
Commonwealth vs. Hunt
This case centers around the legality of early labor unions. Jeremiah Home refused to pay a fine for violating the group's rules in 1839. The society persuaded Home's employer to fire him and as a result, Home brought charges of criminal conspiracy against the society. -
Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo
The treaty officially declared peace between the U.S. and Mexico and officially ended the Mexican-American War. The U.S. received the Mexican Cession, a large amount of land, agreeing to pay $15 million. -
Seneca Falls Convention
Organized by Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the Seneca Falls Convention based several resolutions on women's rights on the Declaration of Independence. This was the beginning of a national women's rights movement. -
Compromise of 1850
New lands after the Mexican-American War threatened the new sectional balance of 15 free states and 15 slave states when California applied as a free state. Entailed that California would be admitted as a free state, the New Mexico and Utah territories would have no restriction on slavery, the dispute of the New Mexico-Texas boder is settled, slave trade is outlawed in Washington, D.C., and enforced a stronger fugitive slave law. -
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Popular Sovereignty
Popular sovereignty is ruling by popular vote. The idea of popular sovereignty was key in the Compromise of 1850 and the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and it was the platform of 1864 presidential candidate Stephen Douglas. -
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Nashville Convention
A two-session meeting of proslavery Southerners called upon by John C. Calhoun. 1st meeting (June 1850) platform: extend the 36'30' line. 2nd meeting (November 1850) platform: rejected South Carolina's resolution advocating united secession, approved the right of secession, denounced theCompromise of 1850, and recommended a southern congress. -
New Fugitive Slave Law
The new fugitive slave law was included in the Compromise of 1850. This new law appointed federal commissioners that could issue warrants and force citizens to help catch runaway slaves. -
Maine Law
The Maine Law, or "Maine Liquor Law," was one of the first implementations of the temperance movement. It was passed and signed by the “Father of Prohibition,” Governor John Hubbard and prohibited manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages. -
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Beecher Stowe (a white woman) wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin in 1852. The novel depicted the lives of slave in the South, which included stories of being sold, beaten, running to freedom, etc. This novel was a long-term factor in the causes of the American Civil War. -
Gadsden Purchase
The Gadsden Purchase was an agreement between the U.S. and Mexico in which the U.S. agreed to pay Mexico $10 million for a portion of Mexico that later became part of Arizona and New Mexico. It provided land for the southern transcontinental railroad. -
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Bleeding Kansas
In response to the Kansas-Nebraska Act, proslavery and free-state advocates flooded into Kansas to try to influence the decision on whether or not the state would permit slavery. Violence soon erupted as both sides fought for control. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
Stephen A. Douglas pushed for the organization of the Kansas and Nebraska territories, which were above the 36'30' line and destined to be free states. He proposed the idea of popular sovereignty to determine the status of a state, which in turn repealed the Missouri Compromise -
Ostend Manifesto
It stated that if Spain didn't allow America to buy Cuba for $120 million, then America would attack Cuba on grounds that Spain's continued ownership of Cuba endangered American interests. The document eventually leaked out and the Northerners foiled President Pierce's slave-driven plan. -
Sumner-Brooks Affair
Abolitionist Senator Charles Sumner gave a speech in Congress about the evils of slavery and said that all pro-slavory sympathizers were from the "vomit of civilization." Preston Brooks, a South Carolina Congress, beat Sumner nearly to death with a can on the Senate floor. -
Dred Scott vs Stanford
Dred Scott sued for his freedom after his master died, saying he should be freed since he once lived on free soil. The Supreme Court ruled that Scott was a slave and not a citizen ,so he had no to sue; slaves were property and Congress could not take away property; and Congress had no power to prohibit slavery in territories, which meant that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional. -
Lecompton Constitution
The Lecompton Constitution stated that the people were not allowed to vote for or against the constitution as a whole, but instead whether or not it would include slavery. If slavery was voted against, then one of the provisions in the constitution would protect those who already owned slaves in Kansas. -
Freeport Doctrine
The Freeport Doctrine was articulated by Stephen A. Douglas in the second of the Lincoln-Douglas Senatorial debates. He said that slavery would not exist in a territory if the territory refused to pass laws that supported it; he said that the decision of slavery should be determined by the people (popular soveriegnty). -
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The Molly Maguires
The Molly Maguires was a 19th century secret society active in Ireland, Liverpool, and parts of the Eastern United States. They are best known for their activism among Irish American and Irish immigrant coal miners in Pennsylvania. -
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Trent Affair
Two Confederate envoys were arrested while sailing to Europe aboard the Trent in order to seek support for the South in the Civil War. President Lincoln’s administration released the envoyss, avoiding an armed conflict with Britain. -
Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation given by Lincoln in response to the Union victory at Antietam freed all slave from territories still in rebellion. It did not actually free any slaves, but it was a morale booster for the Union. -
The Salvation Army
The Salvation Army, originally named the East London Christian Mission, was founded in 1865 in London's East End. It was founded by one-time Methodist Church Reform minister William Booth and his wife Catherine. -
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13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments
13th Amendment: abolished slavery and involutary servitude except as a punishment for a crime. (1865)
14th Amendment: gives citizenship rights and equal protection of the laws to African Americans. (1868)
15th Amendment: prohibits the federal and state governments from denying a citizen the right to vote based on race. (1870) -
Civil Rights Act of 1866
The Civil Rights Act of 1866 granted citizenship and the same rights enjoyed by white citizens to all male persons in the United States. Andrew Johnson vetoed the bill, but a two-thirds majority in Congress overruled the veto and made the law. -
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National Labor Union
The National Labor Union was the first national labor union. It attracted 600,000 members and lasted from 1866 until 1873. -
Tenure of Office Act
Intending to limit President Johnson's power and interfere with Radical Reconstruction of the South, Congress passed this bill in 1867. Congress used this controversial law as the legal basis for its impeachment case against President Andrew Johnson in 1868. -
Knights of Labor
The Knights of Labor organization was founded in 1869 and led by Terence V. Powderly. It included skilled and unskilled workers. The Knights of Labor was blamed for the Haymarket Affair in Chicago of 1886, so they lost their influence. -
John D. Rockefeller
John D. Rockefeller founded Standard Oil in 1870. By 1877, he controlled 95% of the oil refineries in the naion. He eliminated competition in order to create the "American Beauty Rose." -
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The Gilded Age
Marks the time period from 1870 until around 1900. The term was coined by writer Mark Twain in The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today, which satirized an era of serious social problems masked by a thin gold gilding. -
The Credit Mobilier Scandal
Erupted when Union Pacific Railroad insiders formed their own company and then hired themselves at inflated prices, earning high dividends. Government officials had been bribed to stay quiet about the inside deal. -
The Battle of Little Bighorn
Fought near the Little Bighorn River, the Battle of Little Bighorn pitted federal troops led by Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer against a band of Sioux. The tensions and battle arose from the discovery of gold on Native American lands. Federal forces were outnumbered and eventually overwhelmed. -
Bland-Allison Act
The Bland-Allison Act is also referred to as the Grand Bland Plan of 1878. It required the U.S. Treasury to buy a certain amount of silver and put it into circulation as silver dollars. -
Chinese Exclusion Act
The Chinese Exclusion Act was a United States federal law signed by President Chester A. Arthur. It prohibited the immigration of Chinese laborers. -
Helen Hunt Jackson
Helen Hunt Jackson was a poet, author, and Native American rights activist. Inspired by Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, she wrote Ramona, a fictionalized account of the plight of Southern California’s dispossessed Mission Indians. -
American Federation of Labor
This labor union was founded in May of 1886 and consisted of an association of other unions that all worked together. Samuel Gompers drained the silled workers from the Knights of Labor and had them join this union. -
Interstate Commerce Act
The Interstate Commerce Act was designed to regulate the railroad industry, particularly its monopolistic practices. It created the Interstate Commerce Commission to oversee the railroads and prohibited certain business practices. -
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie, the philanthropist of the robber barons, founded Carnegie Steel. In 1889, he wrote the Gospel of Wealth, which detailed how great wealth in the hands of a few men was good for everyone becuase those few men could give responsibly to other citizens in need. -
Sherman Antitrust Act
Named for Senator John Sherman, the Sherman Antitrust Act was the first measure taken by Congress to prohibit trusts. It declared every contract, combination, and conspiracy in restraint of interstate and forign trade illegal. -
Sherman Silver Purchase Act
It was passed by Congress to replace the Bland-Allison Act of 1878. It required the U.S. government to purchase nearly twice as much silver and also added substantially to the amount of money already in circulation. -
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Populist (People's) Party
The Populists wanted free and unlimited coinage of silver; a graduated income tax; government ownership of the telegraph, telephone, and railroad; an immigration restriction; initiative, recall, and referendum; and equal treatment of black citizens. They ran James B. Weaver for president in 1892. -
William Jennings Bryan
He ran as Democratic presidential candidate in 1896 where he gave his Cross of Gold speech that favored free silver. He lost in this election to William McKinley and subsequently lost in the elections of 1900 and 1908. -
Plessy vs. Ferguson
In the 1896 Supreme Court Case, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the South's segregation. It ruled that "separate but equal" facilities for blacks were legal under the 14th Amendment. -
Spanish-American War
The Spanish-American War originated in the Cuban struggle for independence from Spain. It ended Spanish colonial rule in the Americas and resulted in U.S. acquisition of territories in the western Pacific and Latin America. -
Spheres of Influence
The spheres of influence is a claim by a state to exclusive or predominant control over a foreign area or territory. Particularly in China Germany, Russia, Great Britain and France controlled much of the trade and natural resources. -
J.P. Morgan
J.P. Morgan, a banker and investor, bought Carnegie steel for $400 million after being prompted to by Carnegie. He renamed it U.S. steel in 1901 which became the nation's first billion dollar company. -
Emilio Aguinaldo
Leader of the Philippines, Emilio Aguinaldo led his country to independence from Spain in 1898. A Filipino American War commenced afterwards until 1901 when Aguinaldo swore an oath of allegience to the U.S. -
Insular Cases
The Insular Cases are Supreme Court decisions regarding the status of territories gained in the Spanish-American War. It ruled that full constitutional rights do not automatically extend to all places under American control. -
Athracite Coal Strike
The Coal Strike of 1902 was a strike by the United Mine Workers of America in the anthracite coalfields of eastern Pennsylvania. Miners were on strike asking for higher wages, shorter workdays and the recognition of their union. -
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Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over imperial ambitions for control of lands in Manchuria and Korea. U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt mediated a peace treaty at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, which he was later awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for. -
Roosevelt Corollary
President Theodore Roosevelt's assertive approach to Latin America and the Caribbean has been characterized as the “Big Stick” Policy. It was an extension of the Monroe Doctrine and stated that the United States had the right to protect its economic interests in South And Central America by using military force. -
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Construction of the Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a 48 mile ship canal in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean. The Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty was signed on November 18, 1903, , which established the Panama Canal Zone and the subsequent construction of the Panama Canal. -
Wobblies
The International Workers of the World (IWW), or Wobblies, was a radical union aimed to unite the American working class into one union to promote labor's interests. It organized unskilled and foreign-born laborers, advocated social revolution, led several major strikes, and stressed solidarity. -
Upton Sinclair
Upton Sinclair was an American activist writer. His work, The Jungle, uncovered the mistreatment of workers in the meatpacking industry. As a result of this novel, the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act were both passed in 1906. -
Pure Food and Drug Act
The Act prevented the manufacture, sale, or transportation of adulterated, misbranded, poisonous, deleterious foods, drugs, medicines, and liquors. It prohibited dangerous additives and inaccurate labeling. It was the first law to regulate the manufacturing of food and medicines. -
Gentlemen's Agreement
It was an agreement between the United States and Japan that prevented a war between the two nations. Japan agreed to limit immigration, and Roosevelt agreed to discuss with the San Francisco School Board about stopping segregation of Japanese children in school. -
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Great White Fleet
The Great White Fleet was the popular nickname for the United States Navy battle fleet that completed a circumnavigation of the globe by order of President Theodore Roosevelt. The fleet went on this route to display the United States's naval power. -
Dollar Diplomacy
The Dollar Diplomacy was the foreign policy established by President William Howard Taft. It's purpose was to further aims in Latin America and East Asia through use of economic power by guaranteeing loans made to foreign countries. -
Ballinger-Pinchot Affair
The Ballinger-Pinchot Affair was a dispute between U.S. Forest Service Chief Gifford Pinchot and U.S. Secretary of the Interior Richard Achilles Ballinger. It contributed to the split of the Republican Party before the 1912 Presidential Election. -
Booker T. Washington
He founded the Tuskegee Institute in 1896. He was called an "accommodationist" because he believed that blacks should improve themselves and not openly challenge white supremacy. He found the NAACP in 1910. -
New Freedom
The New Freedom was a collection of speeches Woodrow Wilson made during his presidential campaign of 1912. It favored the small business, entrepreneurship, and the free functioning of unregulated and unmonopolized markets. -
16th and 17th Amendments
16th Amendment: Allows Congress to levy an income tax (February 3, 1913).
17th Amendment: Allows direct election of Senators by the people (1913) -
Federal Trade Commission
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency established in 1914 by the Federal Trade Commission Act. Its principal mission is the promotion of consumer protection and the elimination and prevention of anticompetitive business practices. -
Clayton Antitrust Act
The Clayton Antitrust Act provided further clarification and substance to the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890. It ultimately helped to cut down on monopolies and legalized strikes as a form of peaceful assembly. -
Sinking of the Lusitania
May 7, 1915 a German U-Boat topedoed and sank a British passenger ship the RMS Lusitania killing more than 120 American passengers aboard. This event was one of the causes of America's entrance into WWI. -
Zimmermann Telegram
The Zimmermann Telegram was sent from Germany to Mexico proposing a military alliance between the two nations against the the United States during WWI. The United States intercepted the telegram and entered WWI. -
Committee on Public Information
The Committee on Public Information, or Creel Committee was created to influence U.S. public opinion regarding American participation in World War I. It was led by muckraking journalist George Creel. -
Food Administration
The U.S. Food Administration was established to manage the wartime supply, conservation, distribution, and transportation of food. As appointed head of the administration, Herbert Hoover developed a voluntary program that relied on Americans’ compassion and sense of patriotism to support the larger war effort - "Meatless Tuesdays" and "Wheatless Wednesdays." -
Henry Ford
Henry Ford's Model T car was America's first middle-class affordable car. His production line develped the process of the assembly line and specialization of workers. By, 1918, half of all cars in America were Model T's. -
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Harlem Renaissance
An African-American cultural movement located primarily in the Harlem borough of New York City. The age saw talents of Duke Ellington, Bessie Smith, Buddy Holiday, Jelly Roll Morton, and Louis Armstrong. -
Shenck vs. United States
Schenck v. United States is a United States Supreme Court case concerning enforcement of the Espionage Act of 1917 during World War I. It ruled that First Amendment Rights could be withheld in a time of "clear and present danger." -
"Back to Africa Movement"
The Back-to-Africa movement is also known as the Colonization movement or Black Zionism. It was led by Marcus Garvey who encouraged those of African descent to return to the African homelands of their ancestors. -
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles officially ended World War I. It reassigned German boundaries and assigned liability for reparations of the war. -
Article X
Article X is a section of the League of Nations proposed in the Paris Peace Conference. It morally bound the U. S. to aid any member of the League of Nations that experienced any external aggression. -
Universal Negro Improvement Association
The Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) was a black nationalist fraternal organization founded by Marcus Mosiah Garvey. In 1919, the UNIA purchased the first of what would be numerous Liberty Halls. -
League of Nations
Proposed by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, the League of Nations called for the establishment of a permanent international body to maintain peace in the postwar world. Wilson suffered a stroke in 1920, which prevented him from compromising with Congress, so the Senate refused to ratify the Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations. As the U.S. failed to join their own establishment, the League of Nations proved to be ineffective. -
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18th, 19th, 20th, and 21st Amendments
18th Amendment: established prohibition (Jan. 16, 1920)
19th Amendment: allows women the right to vote (Aug. 18, 1920)
20th Amendment: moved the beginning and ending of the terms of the president and vice president from March 4 to January 20 (Jan. 23, 1933)
21st Amendment: repealed prohibition (Dec. 5, 1933) -
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Teapot Dome Scandal
The Teapot Dome Scandal occured during the presidency of Warren G. Harding. Secretary of the Interior Albert Bacon Fall had leased Navy petroleum reserves at Teapot Dome in Wyoming and two other locations in California to private oil companies at low rates without competitive bidding. Fall was convicted of accepting bribes from the oil companies. -
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Washington Naval Conference
The Washington Naval Conference was called by US President Warren G. Harding. Conducted outside the auspice of the League of Nations, it was attended by nine nations—the United States, Japan, China, France, Britain, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, and Portugal. The Soviet Russia was not invited to join. -
National Origins Act
The National Origins Act was also referred to as the Immigration Act of 1924. It limited the annual number of immigrants who could be admitted from any country to 2% of the number of people from that country who were already living in the United States. -
Sacco and Vanzetti
Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were Italian-born US anarchists who were convicted of murdering a guard and a paymaster during an armed robbery. They were anarchists and atheists. Sacco and Vanzetti were executed by the electric chair seven years later at Charlestown State Prison. -
Kellogg-Briand Pact
The Kellogg-Briand Pact was an agreement to outlaw war signed on August 27, 1928. Sometimes called the Pact of Paris for the city in which it was signed, the pact was one of many international efforts to prevent another World War but did little to prevent the onset of WWII. -
Hoovervilles
During the early 1930s, shantytowns made out of garbage emerged as the Depression caused families to lose money and be evicted from their homes. The people blamed the federal government, especially President Hoover, ad in response nicknames these towns as Hoovervilles. -
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Franklin Delano Roosevelt
U.S. President FDR was in office from 1933 until his death in 1945. He was a Democrat and was elected four times to the presidency. He led the US out of the Great Depression with his New Deal plan, and he led during the bulk of WWII. -
Bank Holiday
Two days after FDR took the oath of office, he issued a national "bank holiday" from March 6 to March 10. During this period, Roosevelt presented the new Congress with the Emergency Banking Act, which allowed the president to reopen banks that were solvent and assist those that were not. -
National Recovery Administration
The National Recovery Administration (NRA) was created by the NIRA and allowed industries to get together and write "codes of fair competition." In 1935, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously declared that the NRA law was unconstitutional, ruling that it infringed the separation of powers under the United States Constitution. -
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New Deal
The New Deal was President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's plan to get the United States out of the Great Depression. Many of his ideas were socialist ideas and were founded on the "3 Rs," Relief, Recovery, and Reform. -
National Industrial Recovery Act
The National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) authorized the President to regulate industry in order to stimulate economic recovery. It established the WPA. The NIRA was deemed unconstitutional in 1935. -
Indian Reorganiation Act
The Indian Reorganization, or the Wheeler-Howard Act, was U.S. federal legislation that dealt with the status of Native Americans. The Act restored to Indians the management of their assets—land and mineral rights—and included provisions intended to create a sound economic foundation for the inhabitants of Indian reservations. -
Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States
In A.L.A. Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States, the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional a central piece of FDR's New Deal legislation. In reviewing the conviction of the company for breaking the Live Poultry Code (part of the NIRA), the Court held that the code violated the Constitution's separation of powers because it was written by agents of the president with no genuine congressional direction. -
National Labor Relations Act
The National Labor Relations Act is also known as the Wagoner Act after NY Senator Robert F. Wagoner. It allowed private sector employees to organize into trade unions, engage in collective bargaining for better terms and conditions at work, and take collective action including strike if necessary. The act also created the National Labor Relations Board. -
Congress of Industrial Organizations
The Congress of Industrial Organizations was a federation of unions that organized workers in industrial unions in the United States and Canada from 1935 to 1955. Created by John L. Lewis in 1935, it was originally called the Committee for Industrial Organization, but changed its name in 1938 when it broke away from the American Federation of Labor. -
Fair Labor Standards Act
The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 is a federal statute of the United States. The FLSA introduced the forty-hour work week, established a national minimum wage, guaranteed "time-and-a-half" for overtime in certain jobs, and prohibited most employment of minors in "oppressive child labor." -
John Steinbeck
John Steinbeck is the author of The Grapes of Wrath set during the Great Depression Era. It follows a family forced to leave their home during the Dust Bowl and the hardships faced during their treck to California. -
Lend-Lease Act
The US supplied Allied nations with food, oil, and materiel between 1941 and August 1945. Also, weaponry was given. In return, the U.S. was given leases on army and naval bases in Allied territory during the war. -
Social Security Act
The Social Security Act was a social welfare legislative act which created the Social Security system in the United States. The original purpose was to provide federal assistance to those unable to work (especially for the elderly.) -
Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X
1960s Civil Rights Leaders:
Martin Luther King Jr. was a Baptist minister and civil rights leader. He opposed discrimination against blacks by organizing nonviolent resistance and peaceful mass demonstrations.
Malcom X was the Minister of the Nation of Islam. He urged blacks to claim their rights by any means necessary. He was more radical than other civil rights leaders of the time. -
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps was founded March 1, 1961 by Harris Wofford, Mark Shriver, John F. Kennedy, Sargent Shriver, Eunice Kennedy Shriver. Its goal was to have volunteers who help third world nations and prevent the spread of Communism by getting rid of poverty. -
Bay of Pigs
The CIA launched a full-scale invasion of Cuba with 1,400 American-trained Cubans who had fled their homes when Castro took over. However, the invasion did not go well: the invaders were badly outnumbered by Castro’s troops, and they surrendered after less than 24 hours of fighting. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
Cuban Missile Crisis In October 1962, the United States and the USSR came close to nuclear war when President Kennedy insisted that Khrushchev remove the 42 missiles he had in Cuba. The USSR eventually did so and nuclear war was averted. -
Gideon v. Wainwright
Gideon, who could not afford a lawyer for himself, was denied of being providend an attorney because his crime was not severe enough. He defended and represented himself without a lawyer, but was sentenced to five years imprisonment. He appealed to the Supreme Court which ruled that the Constitution requires the states to provide defense attorneys to criminal defendants charged with serious offenses who cannot afford lawyers themselves. -
JFK Assassination
President John F. Kennedy was assassinated as he rode in a motorcade through Dealey Plaza in downtown Dallas, Texas. Lee Harvey Oswald was the American sniper who assassinated Kennedy while riding in a topless motor car. -
War on Poverty
In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson declared a war on poverty in response to a national poverty rate of around nineteen percent. His goal was to provide greater social services for the poor and elderly. -
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Great Society
President Lyndon B. Johnson's goal of eliminating poverty and racial injustice. It included Medicare, civil rights legislations, and federal aid given to education. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
It extended voting rights and outlawed racial segregation in schools, workplaces, and facilities serving the general public.This act outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. -
Gulf Tonkin Resolution
It authorized President Johnson to take any measures he believed were necessary to retaliate and to promote the maintenance of international peace and security in southeast Asia. It was in response to two alleged minor naval skirmishes on the coast of North Vietnam. -
Economic Opportunity Act
It authorized the formation of local Community Action Agencies as part of the War on Poverty. These agencies are directly regulated by the federal government. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
It was a federal law that increased government supervision of local election practices, suspended the use of literacy tests to prevent people (usually African Americans) from voting, and expanded government efforts to register voters. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson. -
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Stagflation
Coined in 1965, stagflation is an economic situation in which inflation and economic stagnation occur simultaneously and remain unchecked for a significant period of time. It occurred in the 1960s and 1970s. -
Miranda v. Arizona
Ernesto Miranda was arrested in his house and brought to the police station where he was questioned by police officers in connection with a kidnapping and rape. After the interrogation, the police obtained a written confession from Miranda and used it in the court case despite an objection from Miranda's lawyer that stated that he had not been informed of his right to attorney during an interrogation. He was found guilty and convicted. -
Vietnamization
Vietnamization President Nixon's strategy for ending US involvement in Vietnam, involving a gradual withdrawl of US troops and replacement of them with South Vietnamese forces. He held his Nixon Doctrine (Guam Doctrine) is Guam before finalizing this idea in November. -
Kent State Shooting
On May 4, 1970 members of the Ohio National Guard fired into a crowd of Kent State University demonstrators, killing four and wounding nine Kent State students. The impact of the shootings was dramatic. The event triggered a nationwide student strike that forced hundreds of colleges and universities to close. -
Salt I Treaty
The first Strategic Arms Limitation Talk (SALT) led to the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and an interim agreement between the US and Soviet Union countries. They wanted to limit the development of both offensive and defensive strategic systems , which would stabilize U.S.-Soviet relations. -
Roe v. Wade
The Court ruled that a right to privacy under the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment extended to a woman's decision to have an abortion. It tied state regulation of abortion to the third trimester of pregnancy. -
War Powers Act
The Resolution was adopted in the form of a United States Congress joint resolution. It provides that the U.S. President can send U.S. Armed Forces into action abroad only by declaration of war by Congress, "statutory authorization," or in case of "a national emergency." -
Mayaguez Incident
A peace time military rescue operation conducted by US armed forces against Cambodia. Many consider it to be the "final battle" of the Vietnam War. -
Helsinki Accords
It was a political and human rights agreement signed by the Soviet Union and Western countries. It was an attempt to improve relations between the Communists and the Democratic West. -
Washington Outsiders
The name of Jimmy Carter (Dem.) during the election of 1976 because he was politically and outsider and uncorrupted by Washington. He defeated Gerald Ford in a marginal victory. -
Bakke v. Board of Regents
The Supreme Court ruled that a university's use of racial "quotas" in its admissions process was unconstitutional. But, a school's use of "affirmative action" to accept more minority applicants was constitutional as long as filling quotas were not used. -
Camp David Accords
Secret negotiations held at Camp David witnessed by President Jimmy Carter. The negotiations saw a peace treaty between Israel and Egypt where Egypt agreed to recognize the nation state of Israel. -
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Reaganomics
President Ronald Reagan's economic beliefs that a captitalist system free from taxation and government involvement would be most productive. It incorporated the "Trickle Down Effect." It called for called for widespread tax cuts, decreased social spending, increased military spending, and the deregulation of domestic markets.