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Transforming the west
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Transcontinental Railroad
The transcontinental railroad's goal was to connect the US from east to west. The union pacific built west while the central pacific built east. It met in Promontory Point, Utah and it had many problems during its building, the biggest being its exploitation of Chinese workers -
Exodusters
Former slaves who migrated to the west to look for better opportunities were known as exodusters. Although some will succeed, many settle in bad land or had no money. Some will go back to the south while others take the risk of moving out further west. -
The Homestead Act
The Homestead Act was passed by congress in 1862. it gave settles 160 acres of land if they completed 5 years of living and improving that land. many former slaves, landless farmers, and single too advantage of the Homestead Act -
Morrill Land Grant College Act
Education in America boosted after the Morrill Land Grant College Act. This act funded universities in sparsely populated areas with tax money that came from the selling of public land -
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Becoming an Industrial Power
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Knights of Labor
formed in 1869, the Knights of Labor was an organization that allowed workers of all skill level an opportunity to work. Their goal was to get workers to own businesses, not capitalist. They are the reason why we have an 8 hour work day and even a day off (Labor Day). -
Killing the Buffalo
Buffalo were the Native Americans source of life. When white settlers hunted them almost to extinction, they were very much hurt by this. Although devastating, hurting the natives this way was the goal. -
Bessemer Process
The first process to mass produce steel was known as the Bessemer process. it was invented by Sir Henry Bessemer in 1856, but when Andrew Carnegie first invested in it, it was during the 1870's -
John Rockefeller
John Rockefeller was a businessman who controlled 90% of the domestic oil industry in the 1870s. Rockefeller was the first to invent two important elements that are used today: Trust and Holding companies -
Tenements
Tenements were housing spaces that were popular in the 1870's. Many poor immigrants that barely arrived would be most commonly found in tenements. They were becoming a problem because of their disease filled, unlit, and overcrowded environment -
The Telephone
Alexander Graham Bell invented the first telephone. with the help of Thomas A. Watson, this new invention helped speed up communication around the country drastically -
Battle of Little Bighorn
Led by George Custer, the battle of Little Bighorn was a complete failure. After Custer underestimated the number of Sioux, he approached them with 600 men and to his surprise, he was faced by thousands of natives. Him and his army were completely slaughtered. After hearing about the loss, the government wanted to enforce even more settlement on native land and placing them in reservations. -
The Gilded Age
The Gilded Age was a term used during the 1870's to describe a time period that had many corruption and social issues by disguising it with a thin layer of gold. It was a time of mass growth both business and population wise. Although everything was growing, it was always a time period that had a lot of poverty -
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The Gilded Age
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The Light Bulb
one of the many inventions that were introduced in this time period was the light bulb. Thomas Edison invented the light bulb on October 14th, 1878. It became a very important tool during that time and of course, to this day. -
Robber Barons
Robber barons is a term used for capitalist who used really shady methods in order to get rich, despite how negatively it affected other people/businesses. Carnegie and Rockefeller are examples of robber barons -
The Spoils System
The spoils system was a term that referred to politicians giving their supporters, family, and friends civil service jobs after they win an election. The spoils system was then later replaced by the Pendleton Act in 1883 -
Nativist
Nativist were Americans who were against immigration and supported the deportation of non- Americans. They believed immigrants only brought things like disease, crimes, and took their jobs. The Chinese Exclusion Act was one of the results of nativist and their beliefs. -
Chinese Exclusion Act
In 1882, congress passed the Chinese Exclusions Act. This act prohibited further immigration of the Chinese into the United States. -
Pendleton Act
The Pendleton Act required that the Civil Service Exam to be taken in order to receive a government job position. It also did not allow federal employees to give money to their own party -
Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show
William Frederick Cody, a former scout and buffalo hunter, started "Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show", which influenced the view we have on the wild west today. The show included cowboys, sharpshooters, and even natives like Sioux leader, Sitting Bull, were part of the show. -
Cocaine Tooth Drops
These "cures" were advertised to help aid in curing toothaches i an instant, but they often included many drugs like cocaine. They were easily available and only about 15 cents -
Ghost Dances
Ghost dances were practiced by Native Americas as protection from white settlers. A shaman envisioned a flood that washed away whites and dead spirits stopped bullets fired from them as well, which would help the natives return to their way of life. The military saw these dances as threats. -
Steel
Steel is considered the building block of America. Although it was important and influenced the country a lot, it was hard to mass produce it since it was so expensive to do so until Andrew Cornegie came and changed the production of it forever. -
The Great Migration
In the 1890's through 1910, many African Americans moved north to escape Jim Crow laws. From 1890 to 1910,around 300 thousand African Americans populated the north. By 1970, over 7 million African Americans populated the north. -
Carrie A. Nation
Carrie A. Nation was a 64 year old American woman who was part of the Temperance Movement. She was famous for walking into bars, salooons, or anywhere that served alcohol, and destroying everything in them with a small hatchet she carried with her along with her bible -
Picture Brides
When Japanese men would like pictures of women they could potentially get married to, these women were known as picture wives. These women would get benefits from marrying these men since they would have to move to the U.S. to be with them. -
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish immigrant, who grew up poor but later became one of the wealthiest men in America. He invested in the steel industry in which he had great success in by mass producing it and selling it for low prices unlike other companies -
Sherman Anti- Trust Act
with the rising of monopolies at the time, congress wanted to limit their power by passing the Sherman Anti- Trust act, which prohibited trust companies within big businesses so that they would not take over other companies -
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Imperial America
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Wounded Knee
While performing a traditional ghost dance, the Sioux were approached by American Calvary. When the Sioux tribe was asked to surrender their weapons, a gun accidentally went off, which triggered a massacre. Around 300 Sioux men, women, and children were killed during the massacre -
City Beautiful Movement
The city beautiful movement was a reform movement that was meant to develop and improve the new cities by building public parks, monuments, and introducing beautiful architecture -
Sears & Roebuck Catalog
In 1894, Sears and Roebuck released a catalog that included not only watches and jewelry, but many other items like sewing machines, clothing, baby items, etc -
Sanford Dole
Sanford Dole was responsible for Hawaii's downfall and its major changes after that. He overthrew Queen Liliuokalani, Made himself President, and eradicated traditional Hawaiian religion. Once Hawaii was annexed however, his presidency came to an end and it Hawaii was now under U.S. control -
Pullman Strike
After the depression of 1893 hurt George Pullman's Railroad car business, he had to cut wages by a very large amount to still make money. When workers were tired of their bad pay and long hours, they went on strike nationwide. -
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Progressive Era
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Rough Riders
The Rough Riders were the first U.S. volunteer Calvary led by Theodore Roosevelt. People such as cowboys, cops, African Americans, etc joined the famous Calvary. after much training, they had much success under Roosevelt's leadership like defeating Spanish troops at the battle of San Juan Hill, gaining them and Roosevelt fame and attention for their win -
Yellow Journalism
Yellow Journalism was a form of journalism that extremely exaggerated stories, which helped increase newspaper sales a lot. Yellow journalism was often used to attack the Spanish by publishing stories of woman being abused by them and rape and murder incidents in countries like Cuba -
Treaty of Paris 1898
In 1898, the treaty of Paris signed, which made Spain give up Cuba and gave the United States Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines, which helps the U.S. become a world power -
The Siege of Santiago
The siege of Santiago was the last battle of the Spanish- American War. The war was fought between the U.S. and Spain in Santiago, Cuba. It ended in and American victory, marking the end of the way and led to the Treaty of Paris of 1898 to being signed -
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt, or "Teddy" was the 26th U.S. President after the assassination of McKinley. He was known for being a "big little kid" because he was very playful, energetic, athletic, outdoorsy, and more. He was liked by many and believed in taking action when needed. -
Big Stick Policy
Once President Roosevelt declared Latin America off limits to Europeans, his famous quote "speak softly and carry a big stick", was used as a message to Europe to let them know that the U.S. will use force if necessary to keep them out of that territory -
The Teddy Bear
Roosevelt enjoyed hunting, however when he encountered a trapped bear cub and being pressured by the men he was with to kill it, he refused and let the bear cub go.After that incident, a bear plush became know as the "teddy bear", in honor of him saving the bear cub! -
Henry Ford
Henry Ford influenced the auto industry a lot by introducing the model T, standardizing auto parts, and improving the machinery. he made many cars available for the public for less, affecting how the industry is to this day -
Meat Inspection Act
The Meat Inspection Act of 1906 enforced food safety and sanitation rules in the meat industry, heavily influenced by "The Jungle" -
Muckrakers
Muckrakers were journalist or reporters that exposed the truth of corruption of businesses and the government. Muckrakers influenced laws to help protect workers from the harsh conditions they had to work in. -
The Jungle
The Jungle, written by Upton Sinclair was a book that exposed the terrible and disgusting conditions that the meat industry had by exposing the disease and rotten meat they would sell to the public. This book was so influential that it led to a lot of food safety laws later in time. -
Great White Fleet
President Theodore Roosevelt ordered a fleet on 16 battleships to be painted white and sail around the globe. The purpose of this was to show American power to other countries -
Gentlemen Agreement
In an effort to keep Japanese immigration under control because Americans were worried that they would take their jobs, President Roosevelt limited Japanese Immigration in the U.S, by implementing the Gentlemen Agreement. In return, he allowed Japanese women to come to their husbands who lived in the United States (picture brides) and live with them here. -
Model T
The model T was the first car made by Henry Ford that was relatively inexpensive for people who weren't wealthy. It was not the first car, but because of its inexpensive price and mass production, it became the most popular automobile at the time. -
Angel Island
After the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco happened, many Chinese immigrated to the U.S. because a lot of birth records and important paperwork was lost, so it was very easy for them to get in. Angel Island was opened up to help identify immigrants who actually belonged in the U.S. at the time -
17th Amendment
Before the 17th amendment, senators were elected by the state legislature. However, when it was passed, this changed that, making them be directly elected by the people instead of the state legislature -
Neutrality
Unlike the other foreign alligned countries, the United States the only country that remained neutral in the beginning of the war as ordered by President Woodrow Wilson -
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World War I
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Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
On June 28th, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was shot and killed by Gavrilo Princip. When traveling around Sarajevo, the car he was in rolled off when a bomb struck it. When he was turning around, he made a wrong turn, encountered Princip, and was shot dead on sight. -
Schlieffen Plan
The Schlieffen Plan was a strategy developed by German Chief Alfred von Schlieffen. Its purpose was to speedily defeat France in way that would prevent a two front war between Germany and France. However, the plan failed because they were not as quick as they expected and the Russians were able to invade Germany -
Shell Shock
During the war, soldiers were exposed to many terrible sights that caused them emotional, physical, and psychological distress. this was known as "shell shock", which was basically PTSD but for soldiers. It was first used during WWI to describe the affected soldiers and was coined by Charles Myers -
RMS Lusitania
The RMS Lusitania was a British passenger ship that was attacked by Germans and ultimately led to it sinking. The ship was a target because the Germans suspected that the U.S and Britain were trading weapons, which they ended up being correct in. The sinking killed 1200 people, many included American passengers and was one of the reasons that made the U.S. join the war -
Zimmerman Telegram
In 1917, Mexico received a telegram from Germany offering to be allies during WWI and also promised them that they would recover the territories they lost to the U.S. The message was intercepted by the British. When President Wilson was informed of the message, he declared war on Germany the next day, which made the U.S. now part of the world war -
Spanish Flu
In 1918, the world was greatly affected by a flu strain that killed 20 to 40 million people. This virus was said to be brought to the U.S. by returning soldiers who fought in WWI, which then spread like wildfire all across the globe. Surprisingly, the influenza pandemic killed more people during WWI than the actual war did. -
14 Points
President Woodrow Wilson proposed the Fourteen Points to have peace among the nations as long as possible. Some of the points included "freedom of the seas, freedom of trade, end secret agreements" and " reducing the use of arms" -
British Blockade
During the war, Britain and Germany blockaded each other, restricting good from entering or leaving the country. The German population was greatly affected causing many to starve to death. It also affected U.S. by restricting our trade with Britain, and they were our biggest trade partner. -
18th Amendment
The 18th Amendment's purpose was to ban the selling and drinking of alcohol. The amendment was unsuccessful since people still found ways to illegally sell and drink alcohol, which made it more expensive, thus leading to gangsters making a lot of money. It was later repealed by the 21st amendment -
Al Capone
Al Capone was one of the most famous gangsters during the 1920s. he made his money mostly from illegally selling alcohol. he was responsible for many violent acts, but was never convicted of them. Instead, he was sent to jail for tax evasion. -
KKK targets
The white supremacy group the Ku Klux Klans targets were not just African Americans. In fact, they also targeted Jews, Catholics, immigrants, and feminist no matter the color of their skin -
Marcus Garvey
Marcus Garvey was a Jamaican immigrant leader during the 1920s. He was know to be heavily influenced by Booker T. Washingtons economic equality for black people and dressed in military agalia. He also founded the UNIA to help black people, similar to the NAACP. However, the UNIA later dissolved once Garvey was convicted of mail fraud and deported back to Jamaica -
Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance was a movement done by African American people who were celebrating their culture. This mostly took place in Harlem, New York. This renaissance appreciated art, music (specifically jazz), dance, writing, that all came from the African American culture. -
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The Roaring 20's
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Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles brought WWI to an end. Th treaty stated that Germany was responsible for the damages they caused by the war and caused them to lose territory as well -
19th Amendment
After many years of fighting for equal voting rights, the 19th amendment extended voting rights to women -
Margaret Sanger
Margaret Sanger was a social reformer who educated women in sex and advocated the benefits of birth control. Although there were many against her beliefs about birth control, she still strongly advocated for it to help women -
Scopes Monkey Trial
John Scopes was accused of teaching evolution instead of christian fundamentals at a Tennessee school, when teaching evolution was against the law. In the end, Scopes only punishment was to pay a fine of $100, -
Charles Lindbergh
Charles Lindbergh became famous for being the first pilot to complete a transatlantic flight non stop without radio or with anyone else with him. He flew from New York to Paris in 33 and a half hours on his plane he named "The Spirit of St. Louis". -
Kellogg- Briand Back
62 nations signed a pact in Paris that declared it illegal to start a war. The Kellogg- Briand Pact or Pact of Paris was used to prevent another world war, however it was not effective from doing its job -
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The Great Depression
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Valentines Day Massacre
on February 14, 1929, Al Capone sent men dressed as police officers to raid a garage that one of Capones rivals was running. The impostor cops had the men line up and pretended to check them, only to shoot and kill them. -
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Hoover was president during The Great Depression. He was very to himself, a humanitarian, and a very poor public speaker. Although the country was going through a very difficult time economically, Hoover believed that it would fix itself and that the government should not intervene in it. -
Black Tuesday
Black Tuesday was the name given to the day that stock market prices crashed, causing businesses and people to lose everything, thus beginning the great depression -
Hoover Flag
A person who would have an empty pocket turned inside out during the depression, it would be known as a "Hoover Flag", symbolizing that they didn't have any money -
The Dust Bowl
The south was known to be very dry, causing massive dust storms. This region would be known as "The Dust Storm". Massive amount of topsoil would be blown to the point where it would bury houses and cities and were caused by poor farming techniques that held the soil in place. These dust storms would cause the loss of many crops and animals. -
Hoovervilles
"Hoovervilles" were communities of very poor people during the depression during Hoovers presidency. These people had no houses, food, or jobs and would live in poor conditions. They blamed Hoover for these conditions -
Fireside Chats
Every week, F.D.R would get on the radio and reassure the people of the U.S. that everything would be okay and conditions would improve, which would comfort the population affected by the depression. -
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was a German dictator and leader of the Nazi party and was also Chancellor of Germany. He wanted Germans to be superior and anyone who got in the way of that to be killed, as he explained in his book "Mein Kampf", which led to the killings of the holocaust. -
Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt was F.D.R's wife who was considered the "eyes, ears" of her husband. She was very genuine and was heavily involved in her husbands presidency. She was very outspoken, promoted women to be in politics, and advocated for equal rights for everyone, even African Americans -
The Holocaust
The Holocaust was the name given to the genocide of Jews, however it also included other groups thought to be inferior to Nazis led by Adolf Hitler. Although it is exactly unknown how many deaths it caused,it was responsible for the deaths of over 6 million Jews, but also millions of other civilians, prisoners, handicapped, etc. -
Franklin D. Roosevelt
F.D.R. was 5th cousin of Theodore Roosevelt and 32nd president of the United States. Unlike Hoover, he did everything possible to uplift the depression by introducing many new reform plans. He was known to be very likable and charismatic, even with his polio disability -
21st Amendment
The 21st amendment repealed the 18th amendment, making alcohol legal now and established the legal drinking age we have to this day. Legalizing alcohol would better crime and money would be legally made it wouldn't be as corrupt, plus more money would be made since taxes were placed on alcohol -
"Migrant Mother" Photo
One of the most iconic photos that symbolized the Great Depression was a photo taken by Dorothy Lange. This photo showed a mother with her 2 children living in what looked like poor conditions. The mother was a woman named Florence Thompson, who was an "okie" or an Oklahoman immigrant -
The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz is believed to represent many of the corrupt problem during the the Gilded Age. for example, Dorothy's (original) silver shoes represented silver coinage, the yellow brick road was the gold standard, the cowardly lion was said to represent William Jennings Bryan, etc. -
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World War II
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Auschwitz
Auschwitz was the largest and most known concentration camp located in Poland. It was a system, all used for labor and to kill massive amounts of Jews all at once. The total number of people who were killed in Auschwitz were about 1.1-1.5 million people. -
Navajo Code Talkers
In order to transmit messages without having the Japanese understand them, the Marines would recruit bilingual Navajo speakers, known as the Navajo Code Talkers, in order to communicate. It was the only code language that was never broken throughout the entire war. -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor was a U.S. naval base that was attacked by Japanese Air forces. The attack ruined the base, killed over 2,403 people and was the cause for President Franklin D. Roosevelt to declare war on Japan -
Bataan Death March
After the Japanese victory at the Battle of Bataan, 76,000 American and Filipino soldiers surrendered and were captured by the Japanese. They were then forced to march 85 mile path in 6 days to their prison camps and endured harsh conditions such as no food and water, getting beat, shot, and sometimes beheaded. -
D-Day
The Battle of Normandy, also known as D-Day led by Dwight D. Eisenhower, was the turning point of the war. Over 156,000 American, British, and Canadian forces landed on Normandy, battling German forces resulting in the re-liberation of all northern France. -
F.D.R. Dies
While in the living room getting his portrait painted, Roosevelt started feeling pain caused by a brain hemorrhage. When a doctor there tried to revive him, he sadly died on April 12, 1945 at 3:35 in Warm Springs, Georgia, leaving vice president Harry Truman responsible to deal with the war. -
Little Boy bomb
"Little Boy" was the name used for the first atomic bomb that was dropped on the city of Hiroshima. The Enola Gay was responsible for carrying and dropping it, making it known for ending the second World War -
Fat Man Bomb
Fat Man was the name of the second atomic bomb that the U.S. dropped on the city of Nagasaki. It was dropped and carried on the B-29 Bockscar, killing around 263,000 people
