regisjesuitstudyguides.files.wordpress.com · Web viewPlessey vs. Ferguson. Legalized segregation. “Separate but equal.” Not enforced: South Carolina in 1915 spent 12 times

Spring Semester Final Study Guide AP US History

Gilded Age: all the presidents are terrible and got very little done.

Edmund Ross: Radical Republican senator who voted against the impeachment of President Johnson thereby saving his presidency.

Ulysses S. Grant: Elected despite not receiving the majority of the white vote. Rise of terrorist groups (KKK) in order to undermine the federal governments. Grant sends federal troops to quell the KKK. He did experience incredible amounts of corruption and fraud from his subordinates. He trusted people who were too corrupt.

Indian Bureau: Secretary of War sells $24,000 worth of trinkets (U.S. property) to Native Americans and pockets the money.

Whiskey Ring: Tax on whiskey members stole the money that was gained from the tax. Credit Moblier: Stole millions of dollars from the American government

Rutherford B. Hayes: Elected into office through the Compromise of 1877.

Pendleton Act passed under James Garfield ridded the Untied States of the spoils system. Act stated that in order to obtain a government job, one must take a test.

Ways to prevent blacks from voting: Poll taxes Grandfather clause Literacy tests

o From 1896-1902, the number of blacks voting went from 130,000 to 1.3 thousand. 1% of the number of 1896 voters was voting in 1902.

Plessey vs. Ferguson Legalized segregation. “Separate but equal.”

o Not enforced: South Carolina in 1915 spent 12 times more on Whites than on Blacks.o North Carolina: 19 black students enrolled in high school in 1915.o Georgia: 310 black students in high school in 1915.o From 1882-1930, 2828 lynchings occurred in the South.o 1882-1930; Seventy Five percent of Blacks were sharecropping during this era. o Life expectancy is only 33. Forty-four percent were illiterate and only 30% by 1917.

Chapter 28 Progressive Roots

o Society can’t afford luxury of laissez faire policies anymore. Time to get rid of bloated trusts. Socialists from Europe gain strength and rise of feminism.

o Social gospel - brand of progressivism based on Christian teachings. Demanded better housing/living conditions.

Muckrakers - exposed evil by searching for scandalous exposures. Brought corruption of the Gilded Age to the public. Social evils were exposed --> slums, industrial accidents, subjugation of blacks. Sought to cleanse capitalism, not get rid of it.

Progressive Goals: Use state to curb monopoly power and improve the condition of the commoner in both labor and life.

o Massive efforts to clean the streets start in cities and bubble up to state level. The settlement home movement was crucial to the role of women.

Teddy Roosevelto 3 C’s: Control of corporations (Breaking Steel Trust - National Securities Corporation,

and the settlement of the Coal Strike - TR threatens to take over mines using Federal power), Consumer protection (Pure Food and Drug Act, Meat Inspection Act), and Conservation of natural resources (creation of National Parks).

Railroad companies attacked - break up “bad trusts” while keeping good ones. Goal was to “tame the trusts.”


o Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle prompts care for consumer. TR is also a full fledged conservationist. Roosevelt wanted to use natural resources intelligently, not stop altogether.

o Economic Reform: Easily re-elected in 1904. Financial panic comes in 1907. Financial world blames TR for “unsettling” industries with his liberal attacks in the power of big business. Sets stage for much needed economic reform - Federal Reserve Act of 1913.

o Roosevelt leaves office but passes torch to Taft. Plans are to continue TR’s policies.Socialist party receives surprising amount of votes.

o TR’s achievements: enlarged power of presidential office, shaped progressive movement, and showed AMericans they shared the world with other nations.

William Tafto Lesser political leader than TR. Dollar Diplomacy - pump surplus $ into foreign areas of

strategic concern for the US. Central America especially.o Trust busting - broke up Standard Oil and many other trusts. “Rule of Reason” says only

trusts who “unreasonably restrict trade” are bad - injures govt. ability to fight trusts.o Split of Republican Party: Taft didn't really lower tariffs (Payne Aldrich Bill), passed

setbacks to conservationist movement. Rift between Taft and TR grew.

Chapter 29 “Bull Moose Campaign”

o Woodrow Wilson nominated as Dem. candidate for 1912. Militant progressive. Ran under platform “New Freedom.” which included many reforms. Wilson - favors small enterprise, anti-trust, shunned social welfare. Won 41% of popular vote.

o TR is progressive candidate. Taft ran for Republicans. TR - female suffrage/social welfare.

Woodrow Wilsono Triple Wall of Privilege: Tariff, Banks, Trusts

Tariff - reduces tariff with Underwood Tariff --> reduced import fees while enacting graduated income taxes.

Banking - 1913 Federal Reserve Act: Set up 12 districts all w/ central bank and power to issue paper money.

Trusts - Clayton Anti-Trust Act: bolstered Sherman Anti-Trust Act, legalized strikes and peaceful picketing by labor unions.

Other - helped farmers: credit w/ low rates of interest. Established 8 hour work day.

o Foreign Policy Non aggressive: stopped “dollar diplomacy.” Mexico: violent revolt led to

threatening of American and heavy immigration to US. WIlson fed munitions to opposition - Pancho Villa - and didn't recognize new regime. Villa turned and killed two groups of Americans - 35 people. WIlson sends General Pershing to find Villa.

World War I: Wilson declares neutrality. American are primarily anti-Central powers, especially after Germany’s invasion of neutral Belgium. German U-boats sink multiple American ships, especially the Lusitania in 1915, raising tensions. Americans call for war but Wilson keeps them out of it. William Jennings Bryan retires as Secretary of State since he is a pacifist.

o 1916 Election Republicans - Charles Hughs. Democrats - Wilson. Wilson wins, but barely,

under slogan "He kept us out of the War.". Brings US into war in 1917.

Chapter 30 Causes of WWI

o Germany redeclares unlimited submarine warfare: justified using Sussex Pledge (which said that Germany will stop if US gets Britain to stop blockade on Germany).


Zimmerman note intercepted. To gain support for war, Wilson pegged it as a “Crusade for Democracy,” and also creates Committee on Public Information.

o Wilson’s Fourteen Points: idealistic goals for peace. Included... no more secret treaties, freedom of seas, removal of economic barriers between nations, reduction of armament burdens, independence for oppressed minority groups, and League of Nations.

o Wilson sought to install idealism to inspire America to fight: "Make the world safe for democracy."

Reasons we got involved: Declared war April 2, 1917o Unrestricted submarine warfareo Zimmerman noteo Russian revolution: war can now be pinned as a crusade for

democracy.o German mass killing of civilianso US could help in determining new boundaries of Europe.

America at Waro Espionage Act of 1917 shows American Paranoia. Punished those who aided enemy or

refused military duty. US is largely unprepared. War Industries Board is created to help. Labor cause slumped and blacks immigrated North (violence). Sedition Act punishes anyone who talks negatively of America.

o Suffrage of women achieved in 1920 b/c their help w/ the war effort. 19th amendment.o Wartime economy: Hoover leads Food Administration --> starts wave of self-sacrifice

and volunteerism for troops. Money raised using war bonds (2/3 of the war cost).o The Draft: US needs to send over troops, so a draft is reluctantly passed. No way to

“buy” out of it. Many are poorly trained. Most troops however are based on volunteerism. Blacks serve in segregated troops. Women allowed to enlist for the first time. Russians pull out of war after Bolsheviks seize power.

o Battles: Americans led by John Pershing: Meuse Argonne offensive cuts railroads in Germany and brings the war up to an armistice. On 11/11/1918, Germany surrenders --> prospect of endless American troops terrifies them, promise of Wilson's 14-points, and British Blockades.

Hope for Peaceo Wilson in 1918 goes to Europe of oversee peace negotiations. Issues: France/Britain want

to punish Germany. US calls for “Peace Without Victory.” Compromise: Britain/France get to punish, Wilson gets his League of Nations.

o Treaty of Versailles: didn’t contain most of 14 points, War Guilt Clause pins war on Germany and requires them to pay for it ($33 billion). No one is happy w/ the treaty. Wilson toured to gain US support of it in order to establish his LoN.

o Treaty did not pass in US. Article X binds US military assistance to other nations, this is very unpopular.

Impacts of WWIo Women

Played an increased role in the economy and volunteerism for the war effort (some worked in factories).

Gained Suffrage (1920, 19th Amendment)o Prohibition of Alcohol (18th Amendment, 1919)o Massive northern migration of African Americans; led to large scale race riots.o Increased Nativism: Emergency Quota Act of 1921.o Civil liberties suspended during war (Sedition/Espionage Acts).

National War Labor Board --> workers have a right to unionize.o Red Scare (1919); anti-Communist crusade.o Millions of men left to fight the war in Europe.o Volunteerism/Patriotism during the war.o US returns to isolation after the war.

Election of 1920


o Republican Warren G. Harding is elected with Calvin Coolidge as his VP. Defeated James Cox and FDR (Democrats).

o US’s continued isolationism sets stage for WWII.

Chapter 31 Foreign Issues

o Isolationism: Red Scare (1919-1920). Led by Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer (“Fighting Quaker”). Rounded up and arrested 6,000 communists.

o Reduction of free speech: illegal to even advocate Communist ideas. Nicola Socco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti convicted of murder and executed.

o After “New Immigration” flood, Congress passes Emergency Quota Act and then Immigration Act of 1924.

Domestic Occurrenceso KKK hits peak in 1920s with 5 million members.o Prohibition: 18th amendment (later Volstead Act). Especially popular in Midwest/South.

Never really enforced. Led to rise of gangs. Most infamous is “Scarface” Al Capone. Gang Wars of Chicago kill 500 but convictions are rare.

o Evolution began to take hold --> John T. Scopes. Automobile: new roads, gasoline boom, Am. standard of living rose greatly.

o Radio and television become a reality. Music, entertainment, politics, etc. o For the first time, more Americans live in cities than in rural areas. Margaret Sanger leads

National Women’s Party (NWP). Culturally: massive influx of authors. New vs. Old. Many new writers hailed from different backgrounds than the traditional Protestant New Englander.

o Frank Lloyd Wright: used concrete, glass, and steel to build stunning architecture.o Wall Street’s Bull Market allowed prosperities of the 1920s to set up the crash in the

1930s.

Chapter 32 Warren G. Harding

o Had corrupt cabinet. Was a poor overall leader. Under him, corporations expanded, anti-trust lass were not enforeced.

o Aftermath of the War: labor lost power, reduced Navy, Adjusted Compensation Act gives former soldiers money.

Disarmament: Five Power Naval Treaty (5:5:3 ratio), Four Power Treaty (keep status quo in Pacific), and Nine Power Treaty (kept Open Door in China). Kellogg-Briand Pact outlaws war and is signed by many nations.

To prevent flooding of American markets by European goods, Fordney-McCumber Tariff is passed. Rose tariff from 27% to 35%.

o Scandal: Teapot Dome --> Albert Fall leases Federal land for a bribe. Massive public reaction.

Calvin Coolidgeo Very Serious, traditional, and level headed. o Farmers: fall into poverty following the war. They look for help: McNary-Haugen Bill

keeps prices high for agriculture and has govt. but excess to sell it abroad. Helps farmers a little.

o 1924 election: Coolidge (Rep.) vs. La Follette (Rep.) vs. John Davis (Demo). Coolidge wins easily.

o Isolationism continued to reign. America stayed involved in Latin America --> growing resentment.

o German inflation is absurd. America demands Britain/France pay debts. These two force Germany to pay. Germany prints out mass amounts of paper money to pay back debts.


Dawes Plan: rescheduled German reparation payments and allowed further loans to Germany. Basically a circle of money, America - Germany - Britain/France - America. America never really got any money.

Herbert Hoovero Coolidge’s successor. Opposed by Alfred Smith - NY governor riddled with scandal.

Radio was an important medium in this election. Hoover triumphed in a landslide.o Agricultural Marketing Act: set up Federal Farm Board. Hawly Smoot Tariff raises tariff

to 60%. Tariff is hated.o Great Depression: Stock Market Crash (Black Tuesday) on October 29, 1929.

Overabundance of farming products. Capacity to produce outran capacity to consume. Droughts ravaged midwest in 1930. People turn bitter and turn on Hoover.

People live in shack towns called Hoovervilles. Hoover didn’t believe in govt. tampering in economy, and therefore didn’t do

much help. Finally decides to do something: Hoover Dam Project, Reconstruction Finance Corporation (govt.

lending bank). Veterans who haven’t been paid for WWI march on DC to demand their

bonuses. Hoover sends troops to intervene.o Since US has less money to control Latin America, relations between the two are much

better during Hoover’s presidency.

Chapter 33: The Great Depression and the New Deal, 1933-1939 Election of 1932

o FDR: democratic nominee. Polio stricken. Eleanor is his wife – most active First Lady ever. Had a clear advantage.

o Hoover: Republican nominee; not much vigor “It could have been worse” is essentially his campaign slogan.

Franklin Delano Roosevelto Three R’s: Relief, Recovery, and Reform These 3 comprised his “New Deal.”

Banking: Glass-Steagall Banking Reform Act: provided the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) with money to insure deposits up to $5000.

Took nation off the gold standard. Urged treasury to buy gold for paper money. Inflation = easier to pay debts.

CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps): employment for 3 million young men. AAA (Agricultural Adjustment Act) helps farmers pay their mortgages.

New Deal Commentators: Father Coughlin, Henry P. Long, Frances Townsend. WPA (Works Progress Administration): put $11 million for infrastructure 9

million jobs created. NRA (Nation Recovery Administration): most complex focused on

labor/manufacturing. Shut down by the Supreme Court. PWA (Public Works Administration): intended for industrial and unemployment

recovery. Dust Bowl migration west. Prohibition is repealed with the 21st amendment (need new ways to make

money). SEC: stock watchdog administrative agency. TVA (Tennessee Valley Administration): sought to discover how to produce

hydroelectric power effectively. Social Security: Biggest New Deal success. Hated by Republicans. Wagner Act: replaced the NRA; guaranteed rights of unions to organize and

collectively bargain with management. Labor wins: Fair Labor Standards Act – minimum wage/max hours – no child

labor. CIO – Congress for Industrial Organizations. Election of 1936

o Alfred M. Landen in crushed by Roosevelt 532 to 8. FDR’s Second Term


o Embraced the policies of John Maynard Keyes – stimulate economy by planned deficit spending.

Reorganization Act: Gave FDR limited powers for administrative reforms. Hatch Act: barred federal administrative officials from actively campaigning.

Did the New Deal Work?o Foes: condemned FDR’s “try anything” policies.o It would ultimately take WWII to lower unemployment.o FDR provided bold reform without revolution.

Chapter 34: FDR and the Shadow of War, 1933-1941 Pre WWI

o London Conference: gather nations to come up with solution for the Great Depression. The US doesn’t join, nothing is accomplished.

o Tydings McDuffie Act: Philippines would receive independence. Naval bases kept. FDR recognizes the Soviet Union.

o FDR announces the “Good Neighbor Policy” renouncing armed intervention in Latin America.

o State Hull – Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act; reversed high tariffs.o Dictatorships: Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini, Germany/Italy join in the Rome-Berlin Axis.

Japan is gaining strength. Mussolini attacks Ethiopia; League of Nations failed to take effective action.

o US declares Neutrality Acts of 1935-37. Fascist Francisco Franco rose while US stood by.

o Appeasing Germany/Japan Japan into China; FDR calls for a “Quarantine” of Japan. Urges to stay neutral

but morally against Fascists. Panay Incident: Japanese sink US gunboat Panay. Shows US determination to

stay neutral. Munich Conference: Allies agree to let Hitler have the Sudenland in

Czechoslovakia. WWII

o USSR and Germany sign nonaggression. 1939 – invades Poland. Americans pass 1939 Neutrality Acts. Fall of France sets US into rapid militarization and a draft.

o Battle of Britain: British Royal Air Force fights off Nazi troops. FDR sends destroyers to Britain.

o 1940 Election: FDR runs for and wins a 3rd term.o Lend-Lease Law: US can lend war materials if they get them back later.o 1941 – Hitler attacks Russia; lose due to the brutal winter.o Atlantic Charter Congress annuls Neutrality.o Pearl Harbor pulls US support toward the war.

Chapter 35: America in World War II, 1941-1945 World War II

o Causes Treaty of Versailles; ineffectiveness of the League of Nations. Kellogg-Briand Pact: Outlawed war as a tool of diplomacy. Japan invades Manchuria, 1931. Italy attacks Ethiopia in 1935. Roosevelt’s Quarantine Speech: urged democracies to economically quarantine

the aggressors. Neutrality Acts of 34, 35, 37: No trading to foreign countries involved in war.

Prohibited loans to the belligerents and no Americans were allowed to travel on foreign vessels.

Neutrality Act of 1939: Cash-and-carry. Banned involvement in Spanish Civil War. American declined to build its army.


o Axis: Germany, Italy, Japan, Hungary, and U.S.S.R. (until 1941).o Allied Powers: Britain, France, U.S., and U.S.S.R. (post 1941).

The Stormy Sixties John F. Kennedy

o Barely elected. Established the New Frontier. Passed the Alliance for Progress - $20 million to prop up democracies in Latin America. Also set up NASA and pushed the arts and sciences. Established the Peace Corps.

Vietnamo Ho Chi Minh is pro-US before World War II but a Communist after. o Vietcong: National Liberation Front; Communist guerillas.o Diem in charge of the South – a military coup removes him.o Gulf of Tonkin: 1964. By 1965, Operation Rolling Thunder is occuring (major bombing

of North Vietnam).o Vietnam splits the American public into “doves” and “hawks.”

The Stalemated Seventies Sources of Stagnation

o Economic flurry of the 50s and 60s result in 70s stagnation. Vietnam War and Great Society spending results in zero treasury funds. Allows Europeans to catch up.

Nixon Vietnamizes the Waro Urges Americans to cooperate: beings Vietnamization: 540,000 troops pulled out and war

is given back to Vietnam.o US is very split and troops angered. Nixon orders attack on Cambodia to stop Vietcong

who are traveling through, the lies about having done so. Nixon’s Détente

o Relaxxes tensions between, U.S., U.S.S.R., and China. Makes deal with the U.S.S.R. to sell $75 million worth of food.

Supreme Courto Earl Warren: Chief Justice

Gideon: All criminals are provided legal counsel, even if they can’t afford it. Escobedo/Miranda: the accused can remain silent. Engel v. Vitale: no required prayer of Bible in public schools.

Nixon’s Home Fronto Expanded many Great Society Programs. Set up massive environmental programs: EPA,

Clean Air Act.o Affirmative Action – preferential treatment for minorities?

1972 Electiono Nixon wins over George McGovern. Nixon wins in a landslide. It was discovered that the

US had bombed Cambodia just after the election. The Credibility gap was widened and the War Powers Act is passed.

Watergateo Massive scandal that resulted in massive amounts of resigning. Ultimately, Nixon himself

was forced to do so and Gerald Ford became President. Saturday Night Massacre: Archibald Cox (lead prosecutor) Is fired and attorney general/deputy generals resign also.

o Gerald Ford: not popular; amnesty to Nixon, amnesty to draft dodgers, was defeated in Vietnam.

Feminist Victories: Roe vs. Wade, attempted Equal Rights Amendment. 1976 Election

o Jimmy Carter beats Ford but barely. Quickly loses his initial popularity as the economy sinks. Cater was a champion for human rights but not a very good politician. Mediated the Camp David Accords.

Carter’s Foreign Affairs


o Massive inflation. Diagnosed problems as stemming from US dependence on oil. Carter stunned the nation with his tough talks, especially after Iran stops exporting oil.

The Resurgence of Communism 1980 Election

o Ronald Reagan wins and symbolizes a return to traditionalism. Reagan’s Economic Policies

o By the 1980s, public is sick of New Deal/Great Society costs. Initiates massive budget cuts $35 billion.

Vast majority of cuts fell on social programs, not on defense spending. “Reaganomics” is the policy of the era.

In the early 80s, nation falls into a recession. Income gap between the rich and the poor widens.

Renewing the Cold Waro Reagan renewed the Cold War – SDI (Strategic Defense Initiative) was proposed but

never built.o Reagan broke all arms-control regulations in 1983.o Reagan fought Communist rebels abroad Nicaragua, Lebanon, Grenada.

The Lowering of the Cold Waro Mikhail Gorbachev rises in Soviet Union – glasnost aims to introduce free speech and

political liberty.o All INF’s (nuclear missiles) are banned from Europe.

Iran Contra Issueo America agrees to sel arms to Iran in return for American hostages. This money is used to

aid Nicaraguan “contra” rebels. Violate ban on helping the contras as well as Reagan’s vow not to negotiate with

terrorists. Economics

o Reagan actually accumulated a $2 trillion debt – more than all his predecessors combined.

o Radical conservative movements emerged in the 80s to combat the liberalism of the 60s. George H. Bush

o Won the 1988 election. Berlin Wall comes down and the Soviet Union officially falls. First Persian Gulf War. Americans with Disabilities Act.

Chapter 23

Tweed Ring: A symbol of Gilded Age corruption, “Boss” Tweed and his deputies ran the New York City Democratic party in the 1860s and swindled $200 million from the city through bribery, graft, and vote-buying. Boss Tweed was eventually jailed for his crimes and died behind bars.

Credit Moblier Scandal: A construction company formed by owners of the Union Pacific railroad for the purpose of receiving government contracts to build at highly inflated prices and profits. Scandal occurred when journalists discovered that the Credit Moblier Company had bribed congressmen and even the VP in order to allow the ruse to continue.

Panic of 1873: Worldwide depression beginning in the US due to bank failures. Crisis intensified calls for inflationary measures such as the printing of more paper money and the unlimited coinage of silver. Conflicts over monetary policy affect politics in the last quarter of the nineteenth century.

Gilded Age: Tern given to period of 1865-1896 by Mark Twain, indicating both the fabulous wealth and the wide-spread corruption of the era.


Compromise of 1877: Agreement resolving 1876 election and ending Reconstruction. In exchange for Rutherford Hayes’ victory, he agreed to withdraw federal troops from the former Confederate states.

Sharecropping: Agricultural system emerged after the Civil war. Farmers rented land and residences from plantation owners in exchange for giving him a “share” of the crop each year. Dominant form of southern agriculture after the Civil War. Kept tenants in perpetual debt and tied them to the land.

Jim Crow: System of racial segregation in the South from the end of Reconstruction to the 1900s. Based on idea of “separate but equal.” Sought to prevent racial mixing in public. An informal system, it was generally perpetuated by custom, violence, and intimidation.

Plessey v. Ferguson: 1896 Supreme Court case that upholds constitutionality of segregation laws as long as they are “separate but equal.”

Chinese Exclusion Act: Legislation that prohibited further Chinese immigration to the US. First major legal restriction on immigration in US history.

Pendleton Act: Congressional legislation that established the Civil Service Commission, which granted federal government jobs on the basis of examinations instead of political patronage, thereby ending the spoils system.

Homestead Strike: A strike at a Carnegie steel plant in Homestead, P.A. that ended in an armed battle between strikers, armed detectives hired by Carnegie, and federal troops, which killed ten people and wounded more than sixty. The strike was part of nationwide wave of labor unrest in the summer of 1892 that helped the Populists gain some support from industrial workers.

Grandfather Clause: Regulation established in many southern states in the 1890s that exempted from voting requirements (such as poll taxes and literacy tests) anyone who could prove that their ancestors had been able to vote in 1860. Guaranteed the right to vote to many whites while denying it to blacks.

Jay Gould: Notorious millionaire who concocted a plot to corner the gold market that would only work if the treasury stopped selling gold and tried to work on President Grant through his brother-in-law but failed. Represented corruption of the era.

Horace Greely: Liberal Republican Party candidate in 1872 who was fed up wit Grant’s corrupt administration.

Rutherford B. Hayes: Generally unknown candidate for the Republican Party in 1876. Won after the Compromise of 1877. Ended reconstruction.

James A. Garfield: In 1880, the Republicans nominated James A. Garfield, a man from Ohio who had risen to the rank of major general in the Civil War.

Chester Arthur: Garfield’s VP who turned his shoulder on his biggest supporters and passed the Pendleton Act.

Grover Cleveland: the first Democratic president since James Buchanan, and as a supporter of laissez-faire capitalism, he delighted business owners and bankers. President during 1893 depression.

William Jennings Bryan: Major advocator of “free silver” called for the unlimited coinage of silver.

J.P. Morgan: Baled out the 1893 Depression. Big wig who merged with Carnegie’s steel company.

Chapter 24


Standard Oil Company: Rockefeller’s company (1870). Came to symbolize trusts and monopolies of the Gilded Age. By 1877, it controlled 95% of oil refineries – one of the first multi-national companies. In 1911, the Supreme Court broke it up into several dozen smaller companies.

Social Darwinists: Believers in the idea that people gained wealth by “survival of the fittest.” Wealthy simply won this process and therefore owed nothing to the poor. Extremists applied the theory to entire nations and races.

Powderly: Led the Knights of Labor second national labor organization, organized at first in secret. Known for its efforts to organize all workers regardless of race or sex. Declined due to involvement in violent strikes as well as internal splits.

Haymarket Square: May Day Rally turned violent when someone threw a bomb killing several dozen. Eight anarchists were arrested for being tied to the event although the evidence was weak. Symbolized the end of the Knights of Labor.

Cornelius Vanderbilt: Headed the New York Central railroad; financed successful western railroads using money from Eastern railroads.

Andrew Carnegie: Employed horizontal integrations; mind the iron, transported it, refined it, and turned it into steel, thereby controlling all aspects of its manufacturing. Started off as a poor boy but worked his way up.

John D. Rockefeller: Employed horizontal integration to form Standard Oil Ruthless and merciless oil company who crushed its weaker opponents.

Samuel Gompers: Founded the American Federation of Labor a national federation of trade unions including only skilled workers. Sought to negotiate with employers for better wages, hours, and conditions.

Coxey: Led a massive group of farmers followed by reporters to D.C. and called for a government public works program to relieve unemployment and an issuance of $500 million in tender notes.

Pullman: Creator of Pullman Palace Cars – a company who created luxurious passenger cars for trains.

Chapter 25

Horatio Alger: Very popular “dime-novel” writer. His rags-to-riches books told of virtue and honesty rewarded by success, wealth, and honor.

New Immigrants: Immigrants from Southern/Eastern Europe who formed a recognizable wave of immigration form 1880-1924. They congregated into ethnically separated urban neighborhoods. Some anti-immigration campaigns formed while other Americans tried to assist in the assimilation process.

Settlement Houses: Houses in immigrant neighborhoods who provided housing, food, clothing, education, childcare, and social connections. Run primarily by middle class white women. Jane Addams’s Hull House in Chicago is the most popular.

Yellow Journalism: A scandal mongering practice of journalism emerging during the Gilded Age. Expression now refers to journalism practiced with unethical and unprofessional standards.

NAWSA: National American Women’s Suffrage Association founded in 1890 with the goal of getting women the right to vote. Argued that the responsibility of women at home were crucial to the decision making process of the public. NAWSA support of the WWI war effort helped them to achieve this goal in the 19th amendment.


WCTU: Woman’s Christian Temperance Union Advocated for prohibition. Used women’s supposedly greater purity and morality as a rallying point.

World’s Columbian Exchange: World Fair held in Chicago as an opportunity to claim its place among the world’s “civilized” societies. Honored art, architecture, and science. Saw as the high point of the “City Beautiful Movement.”

Jane Addams: Founded the Chicago Hull House in 1889.

Booker T. Washington: Founded the Tuskegee school in Alabama focused on training young black men how to achieve economic independence primarily through agricultural means. Pro-Segregation believed blacks had to be economically independent before they could be seen as equals – Accomodationist.

W.E.B. Du Bois: First black to receive a Ph.D. (and from Harvard). Fought for total social equality. Helped to found the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored Peoples). The “talented 10% (of African Americans) should gain total social, political, and economic equality now.”

Joseph Pulitzer: Writer of the New York World. Journalistic tycoon (yellow journalism).

William Randolph Hearst: Writer of San Francisco Examiner. Journalistic Tycoon (yellow journalism).

John Dewey: Education reformer. Very Prominent.

Mark Twain: Wrote many books (Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn). Very important to American Lit. Wrote purely in the vernacular.

Carrie Chapman Carr: Led the new generation of Feminism (1900) that stressed the right of women to vote.

Chapter 26

Custer: U.S. general at the Battle of Little Bighorn. Died in Battle. Found gold in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

Little Big Horn: A particularly blood example of white-native warfare in late 1800s during “Custer’s Last Stand.” U.S. tried to compel natives to stay on the reservations but they wanted to prevent white gold-seekers from settling. Native victory.

Battle of Wounded Knee: Battle between US. and Dakota Sioux. Tensions erupted over two issues: the Sioux practice of the outlawed “Ghost Dance” and disputes over whether Sioux reservation land would be broken up because of the Dawes Act. End of the Indian Wars.

Dawes Severalty Act: Act that broke up reservations and distributed lands to individual households. Leftover land is sold so U.S. will have money to civilize the natives. 90 of the 130 million acres were sold. If natives were good, they could be citizens in 25 years. Land was divided – gave 160 acres and farming implements to each Indian. Lost tribal affiliations by splitting them up. Leftover land is sold.

Homestead Act: Federal law giving settlers 160 acres for $30 if they lived on it and improved it. Helped massively with westward expansion. Many were disappointed as land could be infertile or best land had already been taken.

Populist Party Platform: Represented Westerners/Southerners who thought the U.S. economic policy unfairly favored Eastern Businessmen over farmers. Called for granulated taxes, nationalization of railroads, and unlimited coinage of silver.


Pullman Strike: 1894 railroad strike over reduced wages. President Cleveland sent troops to quell the strike. Highlighted both divisions in labor and the government’s willingness to use troops to combat work stoppages.

Frederick Jackson Turner: Wrote the influential Essay “The Significance of the Frontier in American History.” Helped people realize that the frontier was essentially gone.

Helen Hunt Jackson: Wrote A Century of Dishonor and Ramona. These were massive in the materialization of sympathy for the natives in the 1800s.

Mary Elizabeth Lease: Major leader of the Populist movement. Spoke eloquently and attacked those who hurt farmers.

William Jennings Bryant: Democratic Candidate in 1896. Gave the Cross of Gold Speech. Essentially a mix of democratic and populist. Lost the election.

Cross of Gold: Speech by William Jennings Bryant at the 1896 Democratic Convention. Called for unlimited coinage of silver.

Geranimo: Native American leader of the Apache tribes of Arizona tribes of Arizona and New Mexico. Eventually surrendered and became farmers in Mexico.

Joseph Smith/Brigham Young: Major Mormon leaders.

Chief Joseph: Leader of the Nez Percé Indians who fought a long battle after the government tried to reduce their reservation by 90%. Gave a famous speech as he surrendered.

Sitting Bull: Leader of the Natives at the Battle of Little Bighorn. Him and his troops decimated Custer’s troops.

Chivington: Led a Native Massacre at Sandy Creek, Colorado. Murdered 400 Indians who were killed while begging for mercy.

Chapter 27

Alfred T. Mahan: Wrote 1890s book The Influence of Sea Power Upon History. Helped start a naval arms race among the great powers. Motivated U.S. to look to expanding overseas as its Navy increased in power.

Reasons for Imperialism: Rising exports, manufacturing capabilities, power, and wealth. Increased power of the Navy.

Anti-Imperialist League: Diverse group founded to protest U.S. colonial oversight in the Philippines. Largest lobbying organization on a U.S. foreign policy issue until the end of the 1800s. Declined after Philippines were annexed and especially once hostilities between U.S. and Filipino nationalists broke out.

Maine: American Battleship sent to watch over Cuba in 1898. Blew up, killing 260 soldiers. Americans, eager for war, blamed it on Spanish submarine mines. In actuality, the explosion was an accident resulting from combustion in one of the ship’s internal coalbunkers.

Teller Amendment: A proviso to President McKinley’s war plans that proclaimed that when the U.S. overthrew Spanish misrule, it would give Cuba its freedom. Amendment coincided with the “anti-imperialist” designs of the initial war plans.

Rough Riders: Organized by Teddy Roosevelt, a colorful regimen of Cuban War volunteers. Roosevelt used it for political advancement as a platforming point.


Foraker Act: Accorded Puerto Ricans a limited degree of popular government. First Congressional effort to provide for governance of territories gained after the Spanish-American War. Served as a model for a similar act in the Philippines (annexed in 1902).

Platt Amendment: Cuban amendment to its Constitution limiting Cuba’s treaty-making abilities, controlled its debt, and gave US the ability to intervene militarily to “restore order” when it saw fit. US pressures Cuba into including this amendment.

Insular Cases: Supreme Court cases resulting in the ruling that “the Constitution does not follow the flag.” In other words, Puerto Ricans and Filipinos wouldn’t enjoy the same rights as all other Americans.

Open Door Note/John Hay: Set of diplomatic letters in which Secretary of State John Hay urged the Great powers (Russia, Germany, Britain) to respect Chinese rights and to allow competition within areas of Chinese influence. Established the US “Open Door Policy” allowing the US into Chinese markets.

Roosevelt Corollary: Stipulated that the US would retain a right to intervene in the domestic affairs of Latin American Nations in order to restore military and financial order. Policy of “preemptive intervention.”

Liliuokalani: Queen of Hawaii; opposed to the annexation of Hawaii which was achieved at the end of Grover Cleveland’s presidency.

Butcher Wayler: Brutal Spanish General sent to crush rebellion in Cuba. Put many civilians into concentration camps thereby setting the stage for US intervention.

Emilio Aguinaldo: Leader of a Filipino Insurgent group and in cahoots with American troops, overthrew Spanish rule in the Philippines in 1898. Later led a revolt against the US after they didn’t receive freedom following the Spanish American War.

Rough Riders/San Juan Hill: Spanish sent warships to Cuba, panicking Americans. The Rough Riders rushed to Cuba and battled at El Coney and stormed up San Juan Hill.

Chapter 28 Vocabulary

Goals of Progressivism: Use the state to curb monopoly power and improve conditions of labor and life. Led by middle class. Big names: TR, Taft, Wilson, Jane Addams, Robert Lafollette, John Dewey.

Florence Kelley: Major advocate for better working conditions in factories. Especially those of child labor.

Robert Lafollette: Governor of Wisconson: fought hard against monopolies and tried to shift power from private business to the people.

*Jacob Riis: Published How the Other Half Lives; gained progressive support. Muckraker. Wrote of abuse of the poor.

*Lincoln Steffens: Wrote a series of articles exposing the corrupt alliance between big business and municipal governments. Shame of the Cities.

Social Gospel: Brand of Progressivism based on Christian teachings - better working/living conditions.

Muckrakers: Journalists who sought to unveil the corruption of th era. Scandals exposed, social evils exposed.

Initiative (Put idea on ballot)/Referendum (Vote for initiative)/Recall (Challenge office): Brought democracy “to the people” and away from the power to political machines.

Australian Ballot: allowed voters privacy when marking their ballots.


Pure Food and Drug Act: Law passed to inspect and regulate the labeling of foods/pharmaceuticals intended for human consumption.

Meat Inspection Act: Congress passed to subject meat shipped over state lines to federal inspection.

Upton Sinclair: Wrote The Jungle which told of disgusting conditions in slaughterhouses/meat packing plants. Mobilized public support for government action.

Conservation: conservation of natural resources.

Square Deal: Control of corporations, consumer protection, conservation of natural resources. TR’s deal to Americans.

Margaret Sanger: Birth control activist, helped legalize contraception in the US. Leader of the NWP.

Triangle Shirtwaist Fire: Blatantly disregarded fire code --> 146 workers died. Disobeyed the laws regulating factories.

Ida Tarbell: Wrote a devastating expose against Standard Oil and its ruthlessness.

Amendment 16: Congress has power to lay and collect income taxes.

Amendment 17: Direct voting of senators.

Amendment 18: National prohibition.

Amendment 19: Women guaranteed right to vote.

Payne Aldrich Bill: Intended to lower tariffs. Eventually revised hard; ultimately retained high rates on most imports.

How is TR a modern President? Conservationist, not idetified by a party - fought for what is right. Represented the people, not a party. Used sheer force of his personality. Goes after JP Morgan (steel); not a trust buster, but a trust regulator. Brings power to the people. Social welfare. Settled the Coal Strike. Favoured labor over management. Foreign Policy: “Walk softly and carry a big stick.” Increase size of Navy, created Panama Canal. Roosevelt Corollary.


Woodrow Wilson: See notes above. Very Progressive. Triple Wall of Privilege.

John P. Pershing: General sent by Wilson to find and capture Pancho Villa. Later led American troops in the Meuse-Argonne offensive in WWI.

Pancho Villa: Led opposition against Huerta’s regime in Mexico. Pursued by Pershing after killing Americans.

Lusitania: Sank by German U-boat. Killed 128 Americans. Brought massive American support for war.

Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire

Allied Powers: France, Russia, Britain (later United States)

U-boats: German submarines.


Clayton Anti-Trust Act: Legalized peaceful protest by Unions. Bolstered Sherman Anti-Trust Act.

New Freedom: Platform of Woodrow Wilson and the Democrats in the 1912 election. Featured an array of progressive reforms.

Louis Brandeis: Wrote Other People’s Money and How Bankers Use It. Showed issues w/ American financies of the time. Was nominated into the Supreme Court - the first Jew ever.

US Neutrality in WWI: Wilson keeps US neutral until 1917.


Zimmerman Note: From Germany to Mexico: proposed Alliance. Mexico can regain Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona if Central Powers win and they join. Outraged America.

Fourteen Points: Set of idealistic goals for peace by Woodrow Wilson. See above for more.

Committee on Public Information: Led by George Creel. Created to “sell” the war to those opposed and to drum up support.

Espionage Act: Showed paranoia of American people. Punished those assisting the enemy and those who refuse to fight.

War Industries Board Industrial: Established to increase efficiency and discourage waste in war-related industries.

Workers of the World (IWW): Radical union led by William D. Haywood. Persecuted by Americans. Seen as threat to US during war.

Meuse Argonne Offensive: US offensive in WWI that led up to Armistice. Led by General Pershing.

League of Nations: Wilson’s prized idea: international group whose job would be to keep the peace and settle world disputes.

Treaty of Versillas: Foced on Germany. Didn’t contain most of Wilson’s 14 points. Ended WWI and set stage for Hitler’s rise of power.

George Creel: Headed the Comimittee on Public Information.

Eugene V. Debs: Anti-war socialist who is arrested and sent to prison through the Sedition and Espionage Acts. Perceived as a threat to US during war. Had 6% of popular vote at his peak of popularity.

William (Big Bill) Haywood: Leader of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). Also arrested through the Sedition and Espionage Acts.

Bernard Baruch: Led the War Industries Board Industrial.

Henry Cabot Lodge: Republican senator who led in fight against joining the League of Nations.

Espionage Act of 1917: Along with Sedition Act of 1918 showed American paranoia. Punished those hwo aid enemy or bad-mouthed the U.S.

Schenck vs. US: Schenck was passing out pamphlets against the war and was prosecuted. Legal case that ruled government can limit free speech if it provokes a “clear and present danger.” (Example: yelling "Fire!" in a crowded movie theater, it would result in a clear and present danger, and therefore you can't say it).



Red Scare: series of raids which captured and arrested 6,000 suspected Communists.

A Mitchell Palmer: Attorney General who led the Red Scare.

Sacco & Vanzetti: Convicted of murdering a Massachusetts paymaster and his guard. They are anarchists and ultimately executed. Showed nervousness at such ideas during the time.

Al Capone: Most infamous gangster. Valentine’s Day Massacre.

John T. Scopes: Charged with teaching evolution. Trial proved inconclusive --> showed rift between old and new.

Frederick Taylor: American mechanical engineer - leader of the efficiency movement. Sought to improve industrial efficiency.

Henry Ford: Perfected assembly line: Rouge River Plant was producing a finished automobile every 10 seconds. Developed the infant auto industry.

Charles Lindbergh: Became the first person to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. Became an American hero.

Sigmund Freud: Founder of psychology. Said sexual repression is responsible for societal ills. Pleasure and health demand gratification and liberation. Represented the idealism of the 20s.

Marcus Garvey: African American leader. Founder of the United Negro Improvement Association.

KKK in the 1920s: Pro-white Anglo Saxon Protestant. Anti-everything else. Peaked in the 1920s w/ 5 million members. Stopped by exposure of its money fraud.

Emergency Quota Act of 1921: Newcomers from Europe were restricted at any year to a quota of 3% of people of that nationality who were living in the US in 1910.

F. Scott Fitzgerald Ernest: Wrote The Great Gatsby. Captured society of the “Jazz Age.”

Hemingway/Lost Generation: Author who wrote of the young people how were ruined by disillusionment about WWI.

Prohibition: 18th amendment. Led to rise in gang activity. Never really enforced. Most popular in Midwest/South.

Cultural Conflicts in the 1920s: Old vs. New. Scopes trial shows this. Radio/TV combat tradition family values.

Immigration Act of 1924: Replaced Emergency Quota Act of 1921. Now 2% and basis is changed to 1890. Sent across message “Out with the New Immigrants and in with the Old Immigrants.”


Kellogg-Briand Pact: Said all nations that sign no longer would use war as an offensive means (essentially outlawed war).

Fordney McCumber Tariff: Rose tariff from 27% to 35% to prevent influx of goods into America after the war.


Teapot Dome Scandal: Albert Fall leases Federal Land for a bribe. Major uproar following its reveal to the public.

Hawley Smoot Tariff: Rose tariff to an unreal 60%. Passed under President Hoover.

Black Tuesday: October 29, 1929. Stock market crash that began the Great Depression.

Hoovervilles: Villages of shanties and ragged shacks that were inhabited by people had had lost their jobs. Popped up all over the country. Showed public disdain of President Hoover for his lack of intervention.

Reconstruction Finance Corporation: Government bank who loans out money during the Great Depression.

Bonus Army: Veterans who march on DC to demand compensation for their WWI service.

Warren Harding: US President after WIlson. Weak leader with corrupt cabinet. Dealt with aftermath of the war.

Calvin Coolidge: Harding’s VP. Took over after his death. Calm, composed. Dealt with Harding’s scandals. Isolationism.

Al Smith: Ran against Herbert Hoover. NY governor who was riddled with scandal.

5 Power, 4 Power, 9 Power Treaties: Disarmament Plans established by the US. 5 Power Naval Treaty: 5:5:3 ratio of ships that could be held by US, Britain, and Japan,

respectively. 4 Power: Bound Britain, France, US, and Japan to preserve the status quo in the Pacific. 9 Power: Kept Open Door policy in China following the war.

Dawes Plan: Reschedules German reparitian payments and allowed American loans into Germany. Essentially created a money circle. America - Germany - Britain/France - America.


New Deal: Economic/political policies of FDR. Aimed to solve the problems of the Depression by his three R’s. Built on progressive style reforms to create a form of welfare state.

Wagner Act: replaced the NRA; guaranteed the rights of unions to organize and collectively bargain with management.

AAA: Agricultural Adjustment Act: made available millions of dollars to help farmers meet their mortgages. Paid farmers to reduce crops to eliminate the price-depressing surplus.

CCC: Civilian Conservation Corps: provided employment in fresh-air government camps for about 3 million men.

WPA: Works Progress Administration: put $11 million on thousands of public buildings, bridges, and roads. Gave 9 million people jobs.

TVA: Tennessee Valley Administration: Sought to discover exactly how much money it took to produce electricity and keep reasonable rates. Helped the 2.5 million poor citizens to improve their quality of life.

Social Security: Greatest victory for New Dealers – created pension and insurance for old aged, blind, handicapped, and other dependents by taxing employees and employers. Attacked bitterly by Republicans.


SEC: Securities and Exchange Commission: designed as a stock watchdog agency – operate more as trading marts and less like casinos.

FDR’s Court Packing Plan: Attempts to gain power in Supreme Court. He would add a member for ever existing one over 70 years of age. Congress votes it down (they don’t want to lose power).

John Maynard Keyes: British economist. His policies were employed by FDR.

Frances Perkins: First ever female cabinet member; Secretary of Labor.

Father Coughlin: Catholic priest who spoke out in opposition to the New Deal on the radio.

Dr. Townsend: gained support of ~ 5 million senior citizens each would receive $200 monthly. Mathematically ludicrous.

Huey Long: popular for his share the wealth program. Proposed each family would receive $5000 from the rich. Also mathematically ridiculous.

Dust Bowl/Grapes of Wrath: Drought winds create the Dustbowl in the middle of the US. Forced many farmers to migrate west. Inspired John Steinbeck to write The Grapes of Wrath.

Hundred Days Congress: Filled with more legislative activity than ever before – first 100 days of FDR’s term.

FDR’s First Inaugural: “There is nothing to fear but fear itself.”


Good Neighbor Policy: FDR renounced armed intervention in Latin America. Great success and improved the image of US in Latin American eyes.

Neutrality Acts of 1935, 1936, and 1937: Stated that when the president proclaims the existence of a foreign war, certain restrictions go into effect automatically; (1) No American can legally sail on a belligerent ship, (2) no one can sell or transport munitions to a belligerent, and (3) no one can make loans to a belligerent.

Neutrality Act of 1939: Europeans can buy war materials, only on a “cash-and-carry” basis. Europeans must provide their own ships and must pay in cash. Since Britain/France own the seas, they get the supplies.

Quarantine Speech: FDR’s verbal chastisement of Japan for invading China. Called for a “quarantine” of Japan and other aggressors.

Lend-Lease Bill: Armed ships that the US lends to nations that need them would be returned when they were no longer needed. Basically abandoned the neutrality policy.

Atlantic Charter: similar to Wilson’s 14-points. (1) No territorial changes contrary to the rights to the people living there will occur and (2) affirmed the right of people to choose their leaders as well as called for the (3) disarmament and a new League of Nations.

Pearl Harbor: Japanese attack on Hawaiian Naval Base. Sparked massive U.S. call for war.

Panay Incident: Japanese sink US war boat Panay. They apologize and the US doesn’t enter the war. Shows US determination to stay neutral.



Midway: Decisive Allied Victory under Admiral Chester Nimitz. Ships never even saw each other – aircraft carriers.

Okinawa: Japanese Island that US kept base on.

Nagasaki/Hiroshima: Two major cities in Japan that were leveled by American uses of the atomic bomb.

Battle of Britain: German attempt to beat Britain. Massive air raids. Britain holds strong and isn’t defeated.

El Alamein: British defeat of German troops in Egypt, dangerously close to their Suez Canal.

D-Day: Massive invasion by Allied Forces of French Normandy. Led by Dwight Eisenhower.

Battle of the Bulge: Hitler’s last-ditch attempt to regain his victories. Failure. Allied victory.

Korematsu vs. US Executive Order 9066: Supreme Court case upholding constitutionality of internment camps.

WAACS/WAVES/SPARS: Women’s armed forces division (Army, Navy, Coast Guard).

Bracero Program: Brought Mexican workers to America as resident workers since so many Americans were drafted.

CORE: Congress of Racial Equality. Gained power (along with the NAACP). Used war as rallying cry for racial equality.

Navajo Code Talkers: Navajo Indians who relayed military orders in their own language. Code was never broken.

Potsdam Conference: Big 3 meet in Germany to negotiate the end of the war (Truman).

Yalta Conference: Big 3 meet to discuss the reorganization of post-war Europe.

Manhattan Project: Project to create nuclear weapons.

Douglas McArthur: Major Allied general who re-took the Philippines from Japan.

Chester Nimitz: Led Allies at Midpoint.

Dwight Eisenhower: Coordinated and executed the secret “underbelly” attack on German forces through North Africa. Leader of the D-Day invasion.

Harry Truman: Chosen as FDR’s 4th term VP and became President after FDR’s death.

How the US mobilized for war: War Production Board massive military orders pull US out of Depression. Farmers roll out more food. Essential goods are rationed. Labor unions agree to not strike, draft, Bracero Program.

A Phillip Randolph: Labor organizer who threatens a march on Washington if segregation is not ended and if levels of equality are not increased.


Inchon: decisive UN victory in the Korean War.


Taft Hartley Act: outlawed “closed” shops, made unions liable for damages they cause, and required union leaders to take non-Communist oaths.

GI Bill of Rights: Allowed all servicemen to have free education when they return home.

Sunbelt: 15 state region in the South that drastically increased in population.

Levittown: Levitt brothers suburban project – built and sold many homes that looked almost identical. “Little Boxes.”

Baby Boom: Soldiers return from war and marry their sweethearts baby boom.

Cold War: Political “stare-down” between USSR and US.

Nuremberg War Crimes Trials: Charged 22 people who were vital in perpetuating the Holocaust.

Berlin Airlift: After USSR blockades Berlin, hoping to starve out the Allied powers, the organie and airlift to bring in food for Berlin.

George Kennan/Containment: Firm containment of Soviet expansion would halt Communist power.

Truman Doctrine: containment policy; put $400 million toward helping Greece and Turkey from falling to Communism.

Marshall Plan: Secretary of State John Marshall, with Truman, pass plan to send $12.5 billion to aid in European recovery in order to prevent spread of Communism.

NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization – 13 nation pact stating that attack on one is attack on all. USSR responds with Warsaw Act.

House Un-American Activities: Creates an Un-American Activities to battle Communism. Investigated “subversion.”

Fair Deal: Truman’s running promise during the 1948 election – improved housing, higher minimum wage, full employment, better farm prices, Social Security expansion.

NSC-68: National Security Council Memorandum Number 68 called for government military spending to be quadrupled in anticipation of the Korean War.

Korean War: Democratic South vs. Communist North. US springs into action to help the South 38th parallel border is drawn.

Benjamin Spock: Wrote a book on Baby and Child Care. Was immensely popular.

Joseph Stalin: Leader of USSR in post WWII era. Took over Poland after agreeing not to.

George Marshall: Came up with Marshall Plan. Truman’s Secretary of State.

Rosenbergs: Tried and executed for selling nuclear secrets to the Russians.

Alger Hiss: Tried under the Committee on Un-American Activities by Richard Nixon.

Brinkmanship: pushing dangerous events to the bring of disaster in order to achieve most advantageous outcome.

Domino Theory: If one place falls to Communism, those around it will do so as well.



Khrushchev: U-2 incident; US tries to fly a U-2 spy plane over the USSR but it is shot down – tightened tensions that had been falling.

Planned obsolescence: Purposefully designed a product with a limited useful life so that it will break and people will have to but a new one.

Organization Man: William H. Whyte, Jr. Fought against the new consumerism of the 1950s.

McCarthyism: Major anti-communist sentiments started by Joseph McCarthy.

Jonas Salk: Developed the first inactive polio vaccine.

Elvis: Major singer of 1950s-1970s. Sexually more open and liberal.

Economics of the 1950s: Explosion of the electronics field. Massive consumer culture “White collar” outnumber “blue color” for the first time.

Federal Highway Act of 1956: Built 42,000 miles of interstate freeways – connecting the U.S.

Eisenhower: Won the 1952 election easily with Nixon as his VP. Fought to end the Korean War and did so. Election was the first with TV as a major medium.

John Foster Dulles: Secretary of State under Eisenhower; “roll=back” theory containment isn’t enough, must push back and liberate the people under Communism.

Mutually Assured Destruction: No one will fire off a nuclear bomb at another because they will get just as many sent back at them.

Suez Crisis: Britain, France, Israel attack Egypt thinking that the US will supply them with oil. The US does not, and Britain, France, and Israel are forced to pull back.

Ganal Abdel Nassar: Leader of Egypt during the Suez Crisis.

Nikita Khrushchev: Eisenhower tried to thaw the Cold War with him, but Khrushchev rejected it (Geneva Conference).

OPEC: Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Iran, and Venezuela.

Battle of Dien Bien Phu: First major confrontation of French Union and Vietnamese Communist groups.

Checkers Speech: Delivered by Richard Nixon (Eisenhower’s VP) after being caught in a scandal. Touching speech – he is forgiven and stays on as VP.

Civil Rights Movement: MLK’s Philosophy: non-violence, use of sit-ins and other non-violent means to inducing change.

Rosa Parks: Civil rights activist – refused to give up her seat on the bus for the white person.

SCLC: African American Civil Rights organization. Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

MLK’s Letter from Birmingham Jail: MLK is arrested – religious leaders send him letters saying to stop but he responds by saying that he will not stop.


SNCC: Southern Non-violent Coordinating Committee; gave focus and force to the Civil Rights Movement.

March of Washington: “I have a dream speech.” – Black march on D.C. and MLK’s speech.


Kennedy’s First Inaugural: Very stirring: “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.”

New Frontier Legislation: Kennedy’s social program.

Berlin Wall: Wall the separated East (Communist) and West Germany.

Bay of Pigs Incident: U.S. aided invasion of Cuba by rebels. Total disaster, the revolt failed. Castro pushed more toward Communist Camp.

Cuban Missile Crisis: USSR sends nukes to Cuba, they point them at us, we say to get rid of them: 13 day stand off.

Peaceful Coexistence: Communism and Capitalism can “peacefully coexist.” Ideology adopted by soviet-influenced “communist states.”

Freedom Riders: Chartered buses to tour South and end segregation. Drew more attention to segregation in the South.

Kennedy Assassination 11/22/62: JFK is killed while touring Dallas, TX.

Warren Commission: Established to find out who killed Kennedy. Conclusion Lee Harvey Oswald.

23rd Amendment: Gives residents of D.C. the right to vote for representatives in the electoral college.

24th Amendment: Eliminated poll taxes.

25th Amendment: Officially established order of succession should a president die in office.

LBJ’s War On Poverty/Great Social Agenda: Larges reform agenda since the New Deal. Money to students, establishment of Medicare and Medicaid, Immigration/Nationality Act of 1965, Head Start.

Civil Rights Act of 1964: Banned all racial discrimination in private facilities open to the public.

LBJ’s Big Four Reforms: Aid to education, medical care for elderly/poor, immigration reform, new voting rights bill.

Black Power Leaders: Malcolm X; fought to achieve Civil Rights through violent means.

Vietnam “Quagmire”: Communist Ho Chi Minh is threatening a communist revolution JFK sends more troops and they die often. Protests to get us out are massive.

Election of 1968: Nixon wins the election after LBJ announces that he will not run again.

26th Amendment: 18 is the voting age.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution: Essentially gave LBJ a blank check to fight in Vietnam.



Draft Deferments: Exemption for college students from being drafted. Put the weight of Vietnam on the poor.

Treatment of Soldiers: Soldiers are treated terribly in and out of combat. Brutal fighting conditions, they are hated back home.

Vietnamization: Nixon’s plan to give the war back to Vietnam. Pulls out a large chunk of US troops.

Henry Kissinger: Sent to China to encourage better relations – success. Nixon’s national security advisor.

My Lai Massacre: U.S. soldiers slaughter women and children in the village My Lai. Shows U.S. troops’ frustration with the war.

Pentagon Papers: Documents about the Vietnam War leaked by Danial Ellsberg. They exposed the deceit used by Kennedy and LBJ’s administration. Created the “credibility gap.”

War Powers Act: stated that the president must report use of US troops to Congress within 48 hours as well as set a 60 day limit on those activities.

Silent Majority: Americans who supported the war but did so quietly.

Christmas Bombings: Massive air raids on North Vietnam ordered by Nixon. Ordered after the war was supposed to be dwindling down.

Détente: relaxed tensions. Occurred with USSR.

Nixon’s visit to the USSR & China: used to establish détente between nations.

Rachael Carson: Wrote Silent Spring, a piece that exposed the disastrous effects of pesticides (DDT).

Roe vs. Wade: controversial Supreme Court case legalizing abortion (Warren Burger is Chief Justice).

SALT II: Carter’s attempt to ease tensions with the USSR. Not ratified.

Smoking Gun Tapes: The “last tape” that proved Nixon’s had prior knowledge of Watergate. Resulted in his resignation.

Earl Warren: Chief Justice of Supreme Court. Very liberal and make several landmark decisions.

Stagnation: persistent high inflation coupled with high unemployment and stagnant demand in a country’s economy.

Gerald Ford: After Nixon’s first VP resigned, Nixon called for Ford to be the new VP. Since Nixon had to resign, Ford became President.

Jimmy Carter: Won the 1976 election over Gerald Ford.

Camp David Accords: Mediated by Carter. Israel will withdraw from territory gained the the 1967 war, and Egypt will respect Israel’s territories in return.

Leonid Brezhnev: Soviet Premier who formed SALT II with Carter.


Iran Hostage Situation: militants take hostage US embassy in Tehran. Dragged on for most of Carter’s term.

Chapter 40

Election of 1980: Edward Kennedy vs. Ronald Reagan. Reagan won in a landslide signaling shift back to traditionalism.

“Reaganomics”: policies favorable to businesses. Lower individual taxes, almost eliminating federal estate taxes, created tax-free saving plans for small investors.

Glasnost and Gorbachev: Soviet’s plan to Westernize. Glasnost: “openness. Shifting toward free-speech and press as well as toward a free-market economy.

The Iran-Contra Affair: Reagan agrees to sell arms to Iran in return for hostages. This money is funneled into helping the Contra-rebels in Nicaragua, something that was strictly prohibited.

Conservative appointments to the Supreme Court: Reagan appoints many conservative judges. Anti-abortion and anti-affirmative action.

Election of 1988: George H Bush wins the election.

Bush-Gorbachev Summits: Summits to negotiate and declare an end to the Cold War.

First Persian Gulf War: Iraq invades Kuwait, US invades Iraq to liberate Kuwait. Also known as Operation Desert Storm. Battle against Sadam Hussein.

End of the Cold War/Collapse of the Soviet Union: Soviet Union is disintegrated into the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Americans with Disabilities Act: Landmark law (George H.) that banned discrimination against citizens with disabilities.

27th Amendment: Stated that Congressional pay raises would not go into effect until after another Congressional election had taken place.