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Declaration of Independance
The declaration of independence was adopted by congress in 1776 and the 13 colonies cut their ties with Britain. This declaration summarized their motivation for seeking independence. It was the first formal statement by the nations people asserting their right to choose their own government. -
"E Pluribus Unum"
This Latin term means "out of many, one" and was a traditional motto of the US as a reference to the fact that our single nation was a result of 13 smaller colonies joining together. It was proposed by John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson and went on to be adopted on the great seal of the united states in 1782. -
U.S Constitution
The US constitution was written in 1787, ratified in 1788, and revised in 1992. This is the fundamental law of the U.S federal system of government and a landmark document. This document is important because it outlines limited government, republicanism, checks and balances, federalism, separation of powers, and popular sovereignty. This document guarantees every fundamental right as well as the rights of protection of life, liberty, and property. -
Bill of Rights
The first 10 amendments in the Constitution make up the Bill of Rights and was written by James Madison. These amendments list prohibitions on the power of government in order to protect individual liberties. The Anti- Federalists during this time felt it was necessary to have this to protect their liberties. -
Political Machines
Political Machines are political organizations in which a small group or a person with enough authority and votes or is popular enough to have control over a political administration or any type of government. The main goal of political machines during the gilded age was to control the local government. They operated by offering services to voters in exchange for political or financial support. One of the most infamous ones was Tammany Hall in New York. -
Alex De Tocqueville and his 5 principles
He was a French political writer who was known for his writings of his analysis on American institutions. He came up with 5 principles that he felt were crucial to Americas success as a constitutional republic. These 5 values were liberty, egalitarianism, populism, and Laissez- faire. These values and his works shaped the 19th century conversations of liberasim and equality. -
Homestead act
The homestead act was put into effect during the Civil war and was important to the gilded age and progressive era because it was an attempt to encourage western migration. The act allowed any citizen or intended citizen to claim 160 acres of surveyed government land with the only rule that they had to improve and cultivate the land. It ended up failing due to the harsh climate, lack of experience , and/or the ability to obtain good farm land. -
Tenements
Tenement buildings in the gilded age were cheap high rise apartment buildings that housed several families one on top of the other. They were built to house the waves of immigrants in the 1840s and 50s. They were very poor living conditions that were cramped, poorly lit, no indoor plumbing, and filled with disease. The Tenement House act of 1901 was one of the reforms of the progressive era that was put into effect after the failure of the 1867 law. -
Social Darwinism
This was a survival of the fittest idea created by Charles Darwin in the late 19th century.Social Darwinism has been used to justify imperialism, racism, eugenics and social inequality.Many Darwinists embraced laissez-faire capitalism and racism. They also believed that government should not get involved in the “survival of the fittest” by helping the poor, and promoted the idea that some races are biologically superior to others. -
Nativism
Nativism was a reaction against immigrants. They reserved special hatred for chinese immigrants and passed the Chinese Exclusion act in 1882 that completely banned them from migrating to the US. Nativists thought that new immigrants would not be able to assimilate into American society. Despite the civil rights movements the affects of nativism still linger in todays society. -
Tin Pan Alley
Tin Pan Alley was the popular music publishing center of the world between 1885 to the 1920's.This is where the american popular music industry began and saw the most diversity and prolific output. Tin pan alley created the modern music marketing industry. -
Settlement House Movement
This movement was a reformist social movement that began in the US in 1886 with the goal of bringing the rich and the poor together. In 1889 Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr began Hull house in Chicago. This was Chicago's first social settlement and a place where immigrants and diversity was welcome. They gathered here to eat, learn, and adapt to their new lives in their new country. -
Muckraker
Muckrakers were American writers that identified with pre world war 1 reform. These journalists wrote detailed accounts of political and economic corruption that were caused by the power of big buisnesses in the newly industrializing US. They were important because they were trying to raise public awareness to urban poverty, unsafe working conditions, prostitution, and child labor. -
Homestead strike
This was a violent labor dispute between Carnegie Steel Company and many of their workers. The striking workers had been fired July 2nd and private security guards hired by the company arrived July 6th and they exchanged gunfire. This was caused by tensions between the workers and management and the protest was a product of industrialization, and changing ideas of employee rights during the gilded age. -
Klondike Gold Rush
In August of 1896 Skookum Jim and his family found gold in Canadas yukon territory along the Klondike river. This sparked one of the most frantic gold rushes in history. It attracted approximately 100,000 people to migrate to the region with the dream of getting rich. This rush was credited for helping the united states out of a depression. However it did cause destruction to the local environment and severely impacted the native people. -
Eugenics
Eugenics was the belief that you can improve the genetic quality of the human population through selective breeding. Eugenics was considered a progressive reform because of its emphasis on the good of society. The movement gained much support from progressive reform thinkers who saw the opportunity to attack social problems efficiently Francis Galton was the first to coin the term eugenics in 1883 and Charles Davenport was one of the leaders of the movement. -
Spanish American war
The Spanish American war was between the US and Spain that ended Spanish colonial rule in the Americas. The main causes of the war was the sinking of the USS Maine, yellow journalism, and US wanting to protect buisness interests in Cuba. 30 signficant battlles were a fought a few of them being , the battle of Manila bay and the battle of san juan heights. In 1898 the treaty of paris was signed and the war ended. Under the treaty US aqquires control over cuba, puerto rico, guam, and phillipines. -
Big Stick Policy
The big stick policy was introduced by president Roosevelt. This ideology was that of carefully meditated negotiation supported by the unspoken threat of a big and powerful military. It was a way of intimidating other countries without harming them and symbolized his power and readiness to use military force if necessary. -
16th Amendment
Established the governments right to impose a federal income tax. This amendment allowed congress to make the tax system more progressive to make sure that those who could afford to pay more due to a higher income, paid more. -
17th Amendment
The 17th amendment simply put is that the US senate should be made up of 2 elected senators from each state. These candidates have to meet all the needed requirements and qualifications by the state legislatures. This gave the people more of a say in government instead of giving them all the power. -
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal was built to lower the distance, cost, and time it took for ships to carry cargo between the Atlantic and Pacific. Construction of the canal began in 1881 by the french but was taken over and funded by the US in 1904 and opened after many difficulties in 1914. President Roosevelt made this decision because he knew if they could move ships from the east to west quickly they would control power because they would control the oceans. -
National Parks
Theodore Roosevelt expanded the use of the national park system however it was president Woodrow Wilson who formally created the NPS. It was established in 1916 by an act of congress that was signed into law by wilson. This law stated to conserve the scenery and natural and historic objects so as to leave them untouched for the future generations. This act/law was known as the organic act. -
Reasons for US entry into WW1
The 1st reason was the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915 killing thousands among which were 128 Americans which outraged America. The 2nd reason was when Belgium was invaded in 1914 by Germany. The 3rd reason was that the US had vested financial interest in the war and if they didnt win they were unlikely to get their money back. Germany also continued the unrestricted warfare in 1917. Last in Jan. 1917 the zimerman telegram was intercepted. It was the Germans proposing an alliance with mexico. -
18th Amendment
This amendment was the prohibition of liquor. It prohibited the manufacturing, sale, and transportation of alcohol. This amendment was a product of the temperance movement which held the belief that banning the sale of alcohol would better poverty and other societal issues. -
Harlem Renissance
The Harlem Renaissance followed the civil war and was a turning point in Black cultural history. It helped African American writers and artists gain more control over the representation of Black culture and experience and gave them new confidence.It also provided a new social consciousness, and a new commitment to political activism, all which would later provide a foundation for the Civil Rights Movement to come. -
19th Amendment
This amendment gave all women the right to vote and helped millions of women move closer to equality in all aspects of American life. This was important to the progressive era because they finally progressed after years and years of protests and and attempted reforms led by the womens suffrage movement. -
Teapot dome scandal
The Teapot Dome Scandal involved Secretary of the Interior Albert Fall. He accepted large sums of money and valuable gifts from private oil companies from 1921 to 1923. In exchange, Fall allowed the companies to control government oil reserves in Elk Hills, California, and Teapot Dome in Wyoming. He was convicted of bribery and was the first cabinet offical to serve time.This caused citizens to lose faith in the federal government due to scandals. -
Immigration Act
The Immigration Act of 1924 limited the number of immigrants that were allowed entry into the United States through a national origins quota It was designed to keep wages and living standards high for the existing population and the new arrivals that made it through legally. It also completely prohibited immigration from Asia. -
American Indian Citizenship Act of 1924
Congress enacted the Indian Citizenship Act, which granted citizenship to all Native Americans born in the U.S. -
Deportation during the depression
.The US began deporting people of mexican decent even if they were born in the US. These were the “repatriation drives,” a series of raids that took place around the United States during the Great Depression The reasoning behind these raids was that Mexican immigrants were supposedly using resources and working jobs that should go to white Americans affected by the Great Depression,The raids tore apart families and communities and left lasting trauma for Mexican Americans who remained in the US. -
Flying tigers
They were former pilots of the U.S. armed services who voluntarily flew with the Chinese Air Force to resist Japanese aggression. They shot down 229 japanese aircrafts during their service. They became famous for being able to do sizeable damage to japans sophisticated and larger fleet of aircrafts. -
executive order 9066
This order issued by Franklin Roosevelt allowed the evacuation of all persons deemed a threat to national security from the West Coast to relocation centers further inland. This initiated a controversial World War II policy with consequences for Japanese Americans.Many felt it paved the way for the removal and incarceration of 120,000 Japanese-Americans from the West Coast during World War II. -
Bataan Death March
The march forced 70,000 U.S. and Filipino prisoners of war from WW2 captured by the Japanese in the Philippines to walk from the southern end of the peninsula 63 miles to a prison camp. During the march, prisoners received little food or water, and thousands died before reaching the camp. They were subjected to severe physical abuse, including beatings and torture. -
Bracero program
This agreement between Mexico and the United States allowed millions of Mexican men to work legally in the United States on short-term labor contracts. The lasting effect of the Bracero Program is that it institutionalized networks and labor market relationships between Mexico and the United States. The program ended in 1964 partly because of concerns about abuses of the program and the treatment of the Bracero workers. -
Manhattan project
The Manhattan Project produced the first atomic bomb The Manhattan Project name was a code word and was started in response to fears that German scientists had been working on a weapon using nuclear technology and that Adolf Hitler was prepared to use it. These project bombs were put to use in the bombing of hiroshima and Nagasaki to get the Japanesse to surrender. The nuclear technology that was perfected during this project has become the basis for the development of several other things today -
Korematsu vs US
This case was a landmark decision by the Supreme Court to uphold the exclusion of Japanese Americans from the West Coast Military Area during World War II. After the bombing of pearl harbor the 9066 order was put into effect. Fred Korematsu decided to stay at his residence instead of obeying the relocation order and was soon arrested and convicted. He argued that the 9066 order violates the 5th amendment. The court ruled that the detention was a military necessity not based on race. -
Nuremburg trials
The trials uncovered the German leadership that supported the Nazi dictatorship.They were first international war crimes in history that revealed the true extent of German atrocities and held some of the most powerful and prominent Nazis accountable for their crimes.In total of the 199 defendants that were tried, 161 were convicted, and 37 were sentenced to death.