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Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris (1763) ended the French and Indian War. Great Britain gained all land in North America east of the Mississippi River. France gave Spain the city of New Orleans and all of LA (as a "thank you"). The British exchanged Cuba and the Philippines for Spanish Florida. This treaty ended French power in North America (other than Haiti). -
Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation was the first agreement for America after the Revolutionary War. The Articles of Confederation gave a lot of power to the states (which backfires for America). The federal government did not have much of a role under the Articles, except that they could declare war, create embassies and treaties, and set up post offices. They had to ask the states for money, and they had no control of interstate commerce. The only branch of the federal government was Congress. -
Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris (1783) ended the Revolutionary War. Great Britain recognized American independence, and limited its boundaries to east of the Mississippi River. We also had the rights to fish in Newfoundland. The US had to pay debts to Britain as well. This marked the beginning of the America as a free country. -
Creation of the Constitution
The Constitution created three branches of government: Executive, Legislative, and Judicial; each branch would be assigned certain responsibilities. The Executive branch included responsibilities of the president, the Legislative branch would hold the task of making laws, and the Judicial branch would hold the courts that enforced law. This created a larger national government, with a balance of powers and a Bill of Rights to protect the American people from the government -
3/5 Compromise
This was proposed by Madison, the idea held that each slave would count as three fifths of a person in the determination of the population of each state for representation. This created slave power in the House of Representatives, in which the South had more representatives and power in the electoral college because of southern slave population. -
Electoral College
The Electoral College is composed of individuals who cast a ballot for president. They are representatives of their state, and base their vote off the majority in their states. The representatives consist of two electoral college member (senators) and the number of representatives from a particular state, affects by slave power. -
The Great Compromise
The Great Compromise, one of the few brought up during the Constitutional Convention, was drawn up by Roger Sherman of Connecticut. It created two houses, one whose member count depended on population (House of Representatives) and one whose member count was equal regardless of population (Senate). It was the first step in creating a modern government. -
Judiciary Act
This created federal courts with nine Supreme Court Justices. The Circuit Court of Appeal defines jurisdiction. -
First National Bank of the US
The bank was proposed by Alexander Hamilton, and disputed by Thomas Jefferson-- a strict proponent of the Constitution-- as unconstitutional. This represents one of the first battles over the interpretation of the Constitution; ultimately, the Natioanl Bank was chartered. -
Alien and Sedition Acts
The Alien Act stated that the President has the power to expel any immigrant he deems dangerous from the country; this granted more power to the executive branch, making many people nervous. The Sedition Act addressed opposition of the government, maling in punishable by fine or imprisonment, showing the vulnerable state of the government in it's early years. -
Louisiana Purchase
The purchase of Lousiane from Talleyrhand for $15 million dollars is disputed because the Constitution did not say if one could or could not acquire territory from another country. -
Second Bank of the United States
The Second Bank of the United States was created after the War of 1812 (during Madison's presidency) to help kickstart the economy after the expensive war. Supporters of the bank believed that it would be a safe place to deposit government funds and to transfer money between states. -
Missouri Compromise
In an attempt to balance the amount of free and slaves states in America, Congress did not allow slavery in Louisiana territory above the 36'30 parallel. North of the Ohio River became free territory, and South became slave. This fear of an more slave states showed that Slave Power was still existent. -
Jacksonian Democracy
The belief the power to manage government affairs should be held my the American people. This reflects a rising industrial and agricultural society, and expanded democracy beyond political aspects to include social and economic factors. -
Spoils System
Jackson used patronage in the executive branch to make twenty percent of his cabinet his friends; this political strategy worked to his advantage. It seemed that any American could work in the government, people feared that this would affect the rotation in office and make the government corrupt. This gave more power to Jackson, and in 1881 the Pendleton Act outlawed patronage. -
Bank War
The Bank War was the nickname of President Andrew Jackson's campaign to get rid of the Second Bank of the United States. In 1832, Jackson vetoed the recharter bill of the Second BUS (by Clay). He then removed federal deposits from the bank to ensure its "death," and put them into "pet banks," or state banks. Because of the Bank War, Congress censured him - the only time Congress has even done this to a president. But, the Second BUS was not renewed, and Jackson had won the Bank War. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
Divided the Louisiana territory into Nebraska and Kansas territory; making the Missouri Compromise void. It establish popular serveignty in the territories to determine the status of slaves within that territory (decided by state law). This resulted in the creation of the Republican Party for support of free soil -
Congress funded railroads
The Federal Government funded the Union Pacific Railroad, starting in Nebraska to improve transportation of goods thoughout the more prosperous country. -
Homestead Act
The Federal Government made it easier for people to move west and buy cheaper land that used to be blocked by Southerners. This was dubbed as a "give away" program because the Federal Government gave away land to prevent the spread of slavery west. -
Emancipation Proclomation
The Federal Government was often forced to intervene in slave issues; disputing over the balance of slave and free states, etc. Many poor, white, northerns did not wants slavery to come to the North because they thought they would be in direct competition as cheap labor. The emancipation proclomation allowed blacks soldiers in the army, many of whom were former slaves. -
Ten-Percent Plan
The Ten-Percent Plan was Lincoln's plan to entice the South to surrender. It was an effort to get the Confederate states to rejoin the Union after the Civil War. Once 10% of voters in a southern state took a loyalty oath, that state would be admitted into the Union. Everyone in that states would then be granted a pardon, excluding highest-ranking Confederate officials. Unfortunately, this plan did not pass. -
The Gettysburg Address
The Gettysburg Address is one of the most famous speeches in American history. It was given by President Abraham Lincoln at the dedication ceremony for the National Cemetery of Gettysburg, PA, for the Union soldiers who risked their lives during the Battle of Gettysburg - the bloodiest battle of the Civil War. In his speech, he stated that equality should exist for all men in the United States, and the desire for "a new birth of freedom." -
Reconstruction Act
This act split the South into 5 different regions, with a military general in charge of each region. All former southern states had to write new state Constitutions, all including the 14th and later the 15th amendments. Former Confederate supporters were banned from voting as well. -
Imperialsim
Imperialism is when stronger nations exert military, economic, & social control over weaker nations. The US wanted military and economic power and wanted to grow as a nation, so during the late 19th and early 20th century they decided to do this by taking nations such as Cuba, Hawaii, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, & Guam. The US promised them indpendence, but did not give it to them for years. While this caused the US governement and the nation to grow, we often took advantage of these nations. -
Interstate Commerce Act
Congress passed the Interstate Commerce Act in 1887: a five-member Interstate Commerce Commission was established to oversee the practices of interstate railroads. The law banned monopolistic activity, such as discriminatory short-distance rates, fraud, kickbacks, and free passes. This act did not do much, but it was significant because it was the first time the government attempted to regulate business. -
The Dawes Act
This act represents the Federal Government's efforts to bring Indians into American society by granting 160 acres of land to Native Americans. Then, if they behaved well, they could attain full ownership of their property as well as US citizenship. -
Laissez-faire Capitalism
(the 1890s). At this point, the government did not get involved in economic policies: "Hands off." Laissez-faire Capitalism states that if individuals act on their own will, then society will be more successful. Therefore, it was believed that government involvement at this time would have disrupted social order by helping the poor. They believed that nobody would benefit from governmental regulation. -
Social Standards
At this time, the wealthy were not charitable, corporations disrespected emplyoees, and poverty/unemployment was high due to Laissez-faire government. -
The Panic of 1893
The Panic of 1893 was a huge recession that affected both the farmers and the urban dwellers of America. The Silver Sherman Purchase Act of 1890 drained gold reserves and helped trigger the Panic. Stock prices fell, gold reserves sank, and by the end of the year, 74 railroads and more than 15,000 commercial institutions (including banks) had failed. Unemployment soared to 20-25%. The Panic showed that the government needed to stop Laissez-faire capitalism and start getting involved economically. -
Laissez-faire Capitalism Weakens
Because of the Panic of 1893, the US realized that the government needed to get more invovled in economic policies. The Panic of 1893 showed that like the poor, even the higher classes struggled to survive during the recession. Because of this, Laissez-faire Capitalism weakened. -
Teller Amendment
Expanded the power of the Federal Government to declare a nation independent after war; this was brought about after American established troops in Cuba and declared them indepedent after the Spanish-American War. -
The Great White Fleet
The U.S. Navy was sent on a "public representation" mission around the world to promote peace and good will. Roosevelt's true intention was to intimidate Japan, the United State's only threat in the Pacific. This action of the U.S. Navy was to show our strength; it also represented the Federal Government's intention of becoming a world power/influence. -
16th Amendment
Because of the newly passed Underwood-Simmons tariff, which greatly lowered the tariff, the government lost its major source of revenue. The US created a new source of revenue through the 16th Amendment, which created a graduated income tax (with a maximum rate of 7% on incomes over $500,000). This is significant because it gave the federal government a new source of revenue and basically made the wealthy pay the federal government. It helped the federal government grow financially. -
Clayton Antitrust Act
Passed by President Woodrow Wilson. This act listed all corporate activities that could possibly lead to a federal lawsuit, but it exempted labor unions. It was called the "labor magna carta" by Samuel Gompers. This was significant because it gave the government more power to break up trusts, and was highly successful (much more successful than the Sherman Antitrust Act). -
Liberty Loans
Liberty Loans were government-issued bonds that were sold during World War One to raise money and support for the allied war effort. During this time the Federal Government was intent on raising morale for the war effort by gaining as much support from American Citizens as possible. -
Espionage Act
The Espionage Act prohibited the American people's ability to do or say anything that would negatively effect the war effort or anything that would jeopardize the prosperity and success of the United States Army. This could be seen as a violation of the constitutional right of American citizen's to freedom of speech, but it was thought to be a legitimate precaution in times of war. -
Sedition Act
The Sedition Act was a law created to prevent disloyal speech about the government, the United States flag, and the United States military. It also made it illegal to disrupt the purchase of war bonds. This law mainly targeted socialists and peace leaders who advocated for the ending of the war. -
Washington Naval Conference
At this conference in Washington D.C., the government decided on a ten year break from building ships in an attempt to downsize the navy, this was recognized as disarmament. At this conference, Great Britain and America also pledged not to fortify the East. In agreeing to this, the government was attempting to keep American out of foreign affairs. -
Kellogg-Briand Treaty
This pact renounced war as a policy because it was in America's best interest to stay out of foreign affairs. It returned America to its former policy of isolationism. -
Hawley-Smoot Tariff
This tariff imposed some of the highest rates ever to encourage people to buy American products with what money they had left. The Hawley-Smoot Tariff was passed by Hoover. -
Civilian Conservation Corps
This gave jobs to young men do physically laborious, outdoors jobs. In turn for working on these projects, the men would be housed in barracks, offered food, and classes. They would also be required to send home part of their earnings. This was very successful in relieving the jobless youth of America. -
The New Deal
-1935
Roosevelt passed legislation to relieve, reform, and recover the American people, specifically in industry. He ran his New Deal campaign with his circle of advisers- Brain Trust. -
National Industrial Recovery Act
Signified the United States Government's attempt to stimulate the economy. It mandated the number of hours a laborer could work, their living wages, and working conditions. It used patriotism and was very friendly to unions. -
Civil Works Administration
This employed thousands of young men to do short term projects in an attempt to stop the bank runs. It was only in affect for one winter, and it was criticized as a "make work program." It followed New Deal trend of the government attempting to relieve pressure on unemployed Americans. -
Emergency Banking Act
After Roosevelt ordered all banks to close, this act was passed to regulate the banks. Only the banks that had been deemed running well could re-open. The banks that were deemed bad would be helped to eventually re-open by separating savings and investments. -
Social Security Act
This piece of legislation was drafted by Frances Perkins, the first female cabinet members. It created workers pensions and unemployment insurance for disabled persons and dependent mothers. The money for social securty comes from a tax on a percentage of pay checks. -
Works Progress Adminstration
The Works Progress Administration was run by Harry Hopkins and it created construction jobs and white collar carers, asing writers and historians to write history books and work on other projects. Some of these jobs are considered useless. -
Fair Labor Standards Act
This act banned child labor, set a national minimum wage, and a maximum work week. Many people criticized FDR as a socialist because the New Deal was seen as possibly expanding the role of the Government's power too much. -
Office of Price Administration
The Office of Price Administration was an agency that aimed to control inflation through regulating prices and rationing items. This gave the government the power to adjust prices of items sold by businesses and to control the amount of items Americans could buy, thus expanding the power of the government during World War II. -
War Production Board
This agency gave quotas to businesses, standardized production, allocated materials, and told companies what they could and could not make during World War II. This gave the government the power to control businesses and companies during this time of war, therefore expanding the power of the government. -
War Manpower Commission
This agency allowed the government to supervise the labor needs of industry and agriculture and the mobilization of men and women for the armed forces. This expanded the government's power by allowing it to oversee the labor needed for agriculture, industry, and the armed forces. -
Truman Doctrine
President Truman established the Truman Doctrine, which gave $400 million to Turkey and Greece, which were two countries who were being bombarded with the threat of communism. This gave power to the federal government by allowing it to aid coutnries in need of help. -
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan is very similar to NATO, as it created the European Recovery of Economies, which provided military and financial aid to European countries to prevent the spread of communism. This gave the federal government the power to prevent the spread of communism through military and financial aid. -
NATO
NATO, or the North Atlantic Treaty Organziation, was an alliance created to prevent a third World War. It spread democracy throughout Eastern Europe in defense of communism that the Soviet Union was spreading. This gave power to the federal government to prevent the spread of communism in Europe. -
NSC-86
NSC-68 was a blueprint for the Cold War. It was a review of the US defensive policy. It called for more than just containment, but for a build-up of the military, more weapons, a larger budget, and more actions by the CIA. By 1960, 50% of the fedeal budget was defense. This increase in the federal budget shows the growth of the federal government under NSC-68. -
Massive Retaliation
Massive Retalitation was a policy announced by US Secretary of State John Foster Dulles. It said that the US was prepared to return nuclear aggression from the Soviet Union if attacked. This allowed the federal government to monitor world peace and protect our country. -
Eisenhower Doctrine
The Eisenhower Doctrine said that the US would send military aid and/or troops to the Middle East to prevent the spread of communism. The Soviet Union went to the Middle East for their oil, and started to spread communism in the area. This gave the federal government more power to prevent the spread of communism. -
Flexible Response/ Foreign Policy with Southeast Asia and Berlin
JFK, as president, believed that the nation had to be ready to stop and respond to any kind of war, this response would meet any threat with equal force- alternate to Eisenhower's Massive Retaliation. It also called on intercontinental forces to battle communist aggression. -
Peace Corps
The Kennedy Adminstration created the Peace Corps to help needy countries in the Middle East; the thought process was that if the US aided third world countries, then they would be less likey influenced by Communism. They also dedicated much time to improving the space program, contributing to the race to spave with the Soviet Union. -
Bay of Pigs
The U.S. trained Cuban exiles for an invasion of their homeland. The goal of the invasion was to overthrow Fidel Castron, and establish an anti-communist government that would be friendly to the United States Government. Ultimately, the uprising never happened. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The United States government had to be ready to respond to any attacks made by Cube and the USSR, after Khruschev gave Cuba bombers. The US government promised not to invade Cuba and was forced to take missiles out of Turkey; in exchange, the USSR removed their missiles from Cuba. In doing so, the United States avoided a Nuclear War. -
Civil Rights Act
Lydon B. Johnson created this federal agency, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commision to ensure that there is no discrimination in the firing or hiring of employees. Similarly, it banned segregation in all public accomodations. This showed how society was slowly changing, and that African Americans were starting to vote democratically. -
Great Society
Lyndon B. Johnson created the Great Society programs, expanding on JFK's New Frontier and Roosevelt's New Deal after the death of JFK. LBJ's "War on Poverty" surpassed the New Deal with liberal legislation and verged on Socialism. It created the Economic Opportunity Act, the Voting Rights Act, the Civil Rights Act, Medicare (health insurance for the elderly, un social security), and Medicaid (health vare for the poor). -
Economic Opportunity Act
This piece of Great Society legislation created the Office of Economic Opportunity. The Office of Economic Opportunity both funded and created a jobs corps that trained people in marketable skills. An example of a domestic peace corps is Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA). -
Voting Rights Act
This Great Society legislation allowed the Federal Government to oversee state elections and registrations in an attempt to eliminate discrimination. In doing so, it also abolished literacy tests which often restrained African Americans from voting -
Nixon Doctrine
The Nixon Doctrine said that allied nations were partners, not protectors, and that each allied nation was in charge of their own security, but when necessary the US would act as a nuclear umbrella. This also established Vietnamization, which said that the US would start to remove troops in South Vietnam and train the South Vietnamese to take their place. -
SALT I
The Strategic Arms Limitation Talks was an agreement between the US and the USSR regarding nuclear missiles. It froze the number of long-range nuclear missiles from 1969 to 1972.
