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The Westward Spirit
The United States had largely unexplored the land west of the Mississippi. Most Americans perceived this area as a desert wasteland fit only for American Indians. The federal government offered many incentives, and it became viable for most of the Americans who moved westward. The cost of moving an entire family west, combined with the risks and the uncertain chances of success, made the trip impossible for most. -
Reconstruction Era
The Reconstruction Era occurred after the American Civil War. The United States attempted to rebuild the Southern states and merge formerly enslaved African Americans into society as free citizens. The era faced intense resistance in the South, leading to the rise of white supremacist groups, like the KKK, and the eventual rollback of many reforms after federal troops withdrew in 1877. -
Radical Reconstruction
The 1867 Military Reconstruction Act set a new direction for Reconstruction in the South. Republicans saw this law, and three supplementary laws passed by Congress that year. The 1867 act divided the ten southern states that had to ratify the Fourteenth Amendment into five military districts. Martial law was imposed, and a Union general commanded each district. -
Industrialization and the Rise of Big Business
Encouraged by Great Britain's Industrial Revolution, and hungry for economic prosperity after the Civil War, business investors looked to the newest ideas on which they could find a profit, both to restore the nation and to find a personal profit. -
The Growing Pains of Urbanization
Urbanization grew very fast in the middle of the nineteenth century due to many factors. New technologies such as electricity and the steam engine changed factory work to the point that factories could now move close to cities and far from the rivers. The growth of factories created a need for workers, who poured in from rural areas of the United States as well as from eastern and southern Europe. -
The Progressive Movement
The Progressive Movement was a movement that initiated reforms at the state and local levels. The movement included African Americans, men and women, and rural and urban dwellers in its ranks. Progressive causes ranged from anti-liquor crusades to good wages. Together, Progressives sought to advance the growth of democracy, government and business efficiency, and social justice. -
American Foreign Policy
The nation's prior isolationism came from the serious wounds the Civil War left upon it. As the industrial revolution shifted the way that the nation was run and the American West extended to its utmost, American thinking regarding foreign expansion started to shift. Businesses -
Americans and the Great War
With the war engulfing Europe and the total war strategy used by the aggressive powers directed at trade and travel, it became clear that the United States could no longer remain above the conflict. The American public were split in their opinions, some disagreed with the idea of American intervention and American lives lost, no matter how bad the situation is. -
Redefining the Nation
This mix of social, political, economic, and cultural change led the decade to become known as the "Roaring Twenties" or the "Jazz Age." This time period was full of partying nonstop, with dancing, music, flappers, and bootlegged liquor. -
A New Generation
Many young Americans who were living in cities, embraced a new morality that was much more permissive than the older generation. In spite of prohibition, which outlawed alcohol, criminal bootlegging and importing enterprises flourished. The decade was not a joy ride for everyone, however, the aftermath of the Great War had many waiting in anticipation for the promise of a new generation. -
The Great Depression
The Great Depression was brought on by the stock market crash of October 1929, but underlying factors were to blame, accelerated by a series of man-made and natural catastrophes. The Americans coped very poorly in the early years of the Depression, and as the situation deteriorated and the government took no action, they grew increasingly desperate for change. -
Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal
The presidency of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was relief to the American people, but also a lasting realignment of the federal government's role in guiding the economy. As Roosevelts New Deal evolved, Americans learned more about the root changes their new president brought to the Oval Office. -
The Second New Deal
The Supreme Court struck down a number of the most significant provisions of the First New Deal, enraging Roosevelt and leading him to try to pack the courts in his second term. The First New Deal focused on stemming the short-term distress of the American people, but the Second New Deal established policies that reshaped America's social safety net for all time. -
Fighting the Good Fight in World War II
World War II forced the United States to intervene in European affairs again, and it also helped to relieve unemployment in the 1930s. Americans see themselves as part of a powerful, united nation dedicated to the defense of freedom and democracy, but the war exposed many of the nation's racial and ethnic fault lines, both on the battlefield and at home. The war also created new opportunities for ethnic minorities and women. -
Post-War Prosperity and Cold War Fears
By the end of World War II, American veterans returned all longed for war prosperity to transfer. The GI Bill eased many veterans' by awarding them unemployment benefits, low-interest loans, and educational funds. African American, Mexican American, and gay veterans were unable to use these benefits at all. Japanese Americans were facing an uphill struggle to return to normal, and women who had built professional careers in the war were thrown away from their workplaces. -
The African American Struggle for Civil Rights
After World War II, African Americans began organizing against racially discriminatory in most of the United States. In the South, they protested to tear down down racially segregated institutions. Civil rights activists criticized racially discriminatory housing policies, laws requiring African Americans and Whites to be educated separately, and more. Most of these initiatives were successful, but life did not necessarily improve for African Americans. -
America in the 1960s
The 1960s was a war decade, a decade of hope that witnessed a tremendous change in American society. Americans helped reveal a far more divided society, hence why women and men of every color attempted to create a more equitable American society. The United States began to initiate measures to assert what it perceived as a beneficial influence upon the world. John F. Kennedy's election spurred others to strive towards a brighter future for the poor and the middle class. -
Political Storms at Home and Abroad
Native Americans, the LGBTQ+, and women organized to change discriminatory laws and to persuade the government to support their causes. Some distanced themselves and formed their own counter cultures for peace, environmental awareness, and drug experimentation. These societies tended to meet hostility, but yet they remained determined to see through their goals and the privileges they were justly entitled as U.S. citizens. -
Vietnam's Downward Spiral
In 1969, President Johnson was beginning to withdraw troops from Vietnam while simultaneously looking for a "knockout blow" against the North Vietnamese. The war's escalation made Nixons withdrawal increasingly impossible. American soldiers who were fighting in a foreign environment, came to regard the Vietnamese as backward, cowardly people and the South Vietnamese government as ineptly inefficient and corrupt. -
The Election of 1976
Democratic nominee Jimmy Carter won the 1967 election. Accepting his party's nomination, he pledged to combat racism, sexism, and overhaul the tax system. He openly professed his Christian faith as a born-again Christian and pledged to overhaul the welfare system and provide comprehensive health coverage to neglected citizens who were entitled to compassion.
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