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Monroe Doctrine
The Western Hemisphere was no longer open for European colonization. The political system of the Americas was different from Europe (democracy vs monarchy). The United States would regard any interference in Western hemispheric affairs as a thwart to its security. The United States would keep out of European wars and would not disturb existing colonies in the Western Hemisphere. All of the above contributed to justifying American imperialism. -
California Gold Rush
James Wilson Marshall finds gold at Sutters Mill in the Sacramento Valley of California, causing a rush of people to California in hopes of finding gold themselves. At the time of the discovery, there were about 150,000 people living in California, of which only about 700 were Americans and the rest Native Americans. By the end of 1849, the non native population was over 100,000. The people who moved to California so quickly were mainly those who were in close proximity to it or who took a boat. -
Underground Railroad
A system through which slaves could escape from their masters in the south and reach the north. The south lost about 100,000 slaves because of it between 1800 and 1850. Conductors on the railroad were usually former slaves and would help slaves get to a new area after initially escaping. This well run system caused the desire for fugitive slave laws -
Gadsden Purchase
America bought land from Mexico that gave them more land to mine and that gave the south the responsibility of the railroad due to their lands being less mountainous and more settled than the north -
Lincoln-Douglas debates
They were first initiated by Lincoln challenging Douglas to debate, both vying over the Senate Seat for Illinois. They debated passionately over issues such as the Freeport Question, which Douglas dressed with the Freeport Doctrine. Ultimately Douglas won the Senate Seat, but these debates drew national attention to Lincoln which helped him become president -
John Brown
A fierce abolitionist who was criminal in his methods, John Brown sought to rally up slaves into a rebellion against the government but in his efforts killed some people and when caught by the government and put on trial, vied for execution because he knew it would fire up other abolitionists. He became a glorified martyr and stirred the flame that grew into the Civil War. -
The Election of 1860
In which Lincoln won by popular vote of 39.79%, vs Douglas with 29.40%, Breckinridge with 18.20%, and Bell with 12.61%. So, the majority of the country wanted someone else besides Abe in office, especially the south, who didn't vote for him at all. Due to the results of this election, South Carolina had an excuse to secede from the union and overall the country became split more into the sections that would lead to civil war than ever before. -
Freedman's Bureau
was created to aid newly emancipated slaves by providing food, clothing, medical care, education, and legal support. Its achievements were uneven and depended largely on the quality of local administrators; mostly worked through education. President Johnson tried to kill it and it expired in 1872 -
Ku Klux Klan
an extremist, paramilitary, right wing secret society; was anti foreign, anti-black, anti-Jewish, anti-pacifist, anti-communist, anti-internationalist, anti-evolutionist, and anti-bootlegger, but pro Anglo-Saxon and pro Protestant -
The Grange
also known as the Patrons of Husbandry, the Grange was founded to advance methods of agriculture, as well as to promote social and economic needs of farmers in the United States. The Grange also noticed corruption in the railroad system and fought to regulate costs there. -
Industrial Revolution
Machinery, architecture, and inventions improved and thus standards of living rose, urban areas became densely populated, and women were provided with new economic and social opportunities. Parts of the Industrial Revolution include railroad inventions, the electric light, telephones, typewriters, elevators, steel, phonographs, motion pictures, electric generators, and internal combustion engines. -
Chinese Exclusion Act
was a ten year prevention on chinese immigration to america, sprouted from nativist views that couldn't accept the chinese even though they made up only 0.002 percent of the population. The chinese who already lived in america could stay according to this law, but if they left the country they wouldn't be let back in. -
How the Other Half Lives
was a pictoral essay displaying immigrant life, published by Jacob Riis to educate the rich about slum life and make them want to do something about improving it. Was a significant bridge between the rich and the poor, as in it did exactly what Riis wanted it to do and made a difference in the lives of such people and children in the pictures he took. -
Sherman Anti-trust Act
Broke up all trusts, good and bad, as it realized that bigness rather than badness was the problem. Early on was unsuccessful as more trusts were formed after 1890 than before, but eventually became successful in 1914 -
The US as a world power- Imperialism
The US in 1890 produced twice as much as its nearest competitor, and Britain was second. The US had a successful economy, but not military- Britain had 5x the size of army and 10x the size of navy. -
Panic of 1893
It contributed to America's expansion; was a major railroad struggle, sparking nearly 4 million to be unemployed. President Cleveland did nothing, expecting this was normal boom bust business cycle. People pulled out of the stock market which led to lack of European finally backing. Gold reserve falls under $100 million, leading people to equation government and economy. -
Elkins Act
Heavy fines could now be imposed both on the railroads that gave rebates and on the shippers that accepted them. -
Platt Amendment
Cuba can't enter into a treaty with another country that may impact independence, stay out of debt, US can intervene in Cuba if they feel independence is being threatened, everything passed by US during control of Cuba shall stay, keep Cuba clean to prevent disease, and Cuba will sell or lease land to US for naval purposes. -
Hepburn Act
Free passes for railroads were severely restricted. -
Pure Food and Drug Act
was designed to vent the adulteration and mislabeling of foods and pharmaceuticals. -
Mass Consumption Society
Between the years from 1921 to 1924 the nation’s gross national product jumped from $69 billion to $93 billion and wages rose by 22% from roughly $36.4 billion to $51.5 billion. Rise of prosperity, attempt to keep up with peers, and buying on credit to live up to a certain lifestyle and purchase the exciting new goods became popular, and eventually everything led to the stock market crash due to inflation. -
18th Amendment
prohibited the sale and use of alcohol through the temperance movement -
Emergency Quota Act of 1921
3% of any given nationality per year based off of population in America in 1910 -
Scopes Trial
John Scopes of Tennessee was indicted for teaching evolution as it was against the law to teach anything contradicting the bible story of creation.Scopes agreed to be a test subject and willingly broke the law to bring the topic into the front page of the news. Williams Jenning Bryan represented Scopes and was opposed by Charles Darrow. Scopes was found guilty and received a $100 fine. -
Wealth
The richest 1% of all Americans owned over a third of all American assets. Wealth concentrated in the hands of the few limits the growth of the many. The wealthy tended to save money that might have been put back into the economy if it were spread among the middle and lower classes, which made it harder for everybody when the Great Depression came along. -
Automobile Industry
By 1929, middle-class Americans had already stretched their debt capacities by purchasing new inventions such as automobiles and thus were made susceptible to the Great Depression -
Banks
Few regulations were placed on banks and they lent money to those who speculated recklessly in stocks. Banks operated without guarantees to their customers, creating a climate of panic when times got tough during the Great Depression. -
1932 Election
FDR wins over Hoover (472 electoral votes to 59) and immediately begins working on fixing the great depression with his brain trust -
21 Ammendment
Prohibition is appealed after Roosevelt lightly lifts it to create more jobs and boost the economy through taxes put on beer and wine with under 3.2% alcohol content. -
Dust Bowl
Drought and wind, along with Native Americans and buffalo no longer existing on the land between Colorado and western Mississippi, caused dust storms that continued due to farmers depending too much on quick farming and technology. In 5 years, over 350,000 left the region. -
Brown vs Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas
in which the Supreme Court ruled that segregation in public schools was "inherently unequal' and thus unconstitutional, -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
sparked when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat in the "Whites Only" section on the bus, and moved many blacks of the South to boycott the buses and walk instead. This movement boosted the prominence of Martin Luther King Jr -
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)
a sit-in movement that bloomed into wade-ins, lie-ins, and pray-ins to compel equal treatment in restaurants, transportation, employment, housing, and voter registration across the South -
Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)
a campus-based political organization founded in 1961 by Tom Hayden that became an iconic representative of the New Left. Originally geared towards the intellectual promise of "participatory democracy", SDS emerged at the forefront of the civil rights, antipoverty, and antiwar movements during the 1960s. -
March on Washington
in which over 200,000 black and white Americans marched in D.C. to the Washington Monument in support of new civil rights legislation tp protect black citizens, and where Dr King gave his famous "I have a dream" speech -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
a federal law that banned racial discrimination in public facilities and strengthened the federal government's power to fight segregation in schools. Title VII of the act prohibited employees from discriminating based on race in their hiring practices, and empowered the Equal Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to regulate fair employment. This is an example of the federal government getting involved to prevent racial discrimination which was a partial success for blacks in the 1960s. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
legislation pushed through Congress by Lyndon Johnson that prohibited ballot-denying tactics, such as literacy tests and intimidation. The voting rights act was a successor to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and sought to make racial disenfranchisement explicitly illegal. -
Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)
once it was approved by Congress, it declared that "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged my the United Staes or by any State on account of sex." Presidents Nixon and Ford both endorsed it and gave suffragists hope for equality between genders in America. -
Roe v. Wade
a case in which the Supreme Court challenged sex discrimination in legislation and employment by striking down laws prohibiting abortion, arguing that a woman's decision to terminate a pregnancy was protected by the constitutional right of privacy. -
New Right
a conservative movement that Reagan was a part of that spent the 1970s building an interlocking network of advocacy groups, political action committees, and think tanks. The New Right emphasized cultural issues such as the ERA, abortion, busing, and school curricula, as well as a nationalist foreign policy outlook that rejected détente and international treaties. -
Moral Majority
a political advocacy group launched by Reverend Jerry Falwell, an evangelical minister, that preached against sexual permissiveness, abortion, feminism, and the spread of gay rights. By using radio, television, and direct-mail marketing, Falwell reached between 2 million and 3 million people to bring into this group and became an aggressive political force for conservative causes. -
Iran-Contra Affair
Major political scandal of Reagan's second term that was an illicit arrangement of selling "arms for hostages" with Iran and using money to support the contras in Nicaragua; the scandal deeply damaged Reagan's credibility. -
Black Monday
the largest single-day decline in the Dow Jones Industrial Average until September 2001. The downturn indicated the instability in the booming business culture of the 80s but didn't lead to a serious economic recession.