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Department Stores
These stores were goods that were organized into specific sections that allowed shoppers to find the item they are looking for easier. Fixed prices and money back guarantees attracted consumers into buying the goods more. Some just wanted to be there, not needing to buy anything -
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Transforming the West
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Western Settlement
Helped populate the West as the Homestead Act created free land. Settlers received 160 acres of land if it was to be "improved" for five years. Single women, landless farmers, and former slaves took advantage of this situation. The Morril Land Grant College Act funded new universities in sparsely populated areas (usually the West) through taxes on the sale of public land. -
Transcontinental Railroad
Union pacific and Central pacific are the two different corporations for the railroad as it helped to expand the nation. The central pacific was made to go east where as the union pacific was made to go the opposite direction, west. This also was used as an exploitation against the Chinese and Irish. -
Homestead Act
A settlement that opened to any American, including freed slaves to put in a claim for up to 160 acres of federal land. Nearly 15,000 homestead claims were official and eventually 1.6 million were to be approved. In total, 10% of the government obtained property for 420,000 square miles of territory. -
America as an Industrial Power
American industrialization was behind the Western Europeans but soon we became the world leader on raw goods. This was created as we had cheap labor with children and immigrants working. This was also the creation of new and different inventions like the telephone, light bulb, and the camera. -
Period: to
Becoming an Industrial Power
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Oil
This was another building block to leading America to the top as it was equivalent to steel. John D. Rockerfeller is the equivalent to Carnegie but in oil as he controlled 90% of the oil. He controlled the business through vertical integration and horizontal integration -
Period: to
Imperialism
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Cattle
Through an integration of Spanish cows and English cows, a creation called the long horn was made. They were made into burgers as they were popular for feasting. The cattle that was being sold in the North was sold for about $40 where as the cattle being sold in the South was sold for $4. -
Farmer's Alliance
Economic movement that was to benefit farmers. As the monopolies took over, the oil and steel industries were the number one industries, leaving farming off to the side. This caused crop failures, failing prices, poor marketing, and credit facilities. They start to fight back and want higher crop prices and winning the debate in 1890. -
Battle of Little Big Horn
As an attempt to remove the Sioux tribe, George Custer, the general of the american army, underestimates the amount of Natives there are. Soon the natives kills him but the media portrayed a different look on the story. They call Custer a hero and makes the Natives look like the enemy. -
Police Interference
Wages were low, causing a commotion of workers to get riled up and go on strike. Sometimes it was so low that they wouldn't be able to pay for living expenses. The police broke up the strikes that were happening on the street and arrested the leaders of those strikes. The end result of the strikes never got anywhere and ended up as a failed attempt. -
Race Issues (strikes)
Workers wanted better job conditions and better pay that they left their jobs to go on strike. This was supposed to cause the owners to have no workers to work in the companies as they were all absent. But after quitting, the bosses hired Chinese immigrants to take their place as well as African Americans. The previous workers soon came to the conclusion of regretting their choice. -
Beginnings of the Middle Class
The city started becoming more expensive but as skyscrapers, suburbs, became a bigger thing, along came the middle class. During this time, it was harder to spend money as they had very low job wages. This also lead to having an in between of the poor class and the rich. -
Period: to
The Gilded Age
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Steel
Steel was America's number one trading good as it was cheap. This was created through the Bessemer Process with Andrew Carnegie which creates a large amount of steel at a low price. As steel was so expensive it wasn't a resource that was needed. This was America's building block to the top. -
Mail Order Catalog
Richard W. Sears was in a competition with Alvah C. and in order to get ahead of him he saw that creating a catalog that showed what he had in store could possibly beat Alvah, he took the chance. It made himself look like he was in it for the poor people, this made them gain a trust with Sears. -
Social Gospel Movement
A religious movement that wanted to unite salvation and work well with each other. They wanted everyone to believe in Jesus Christ as they believe it would solve the social issues. It was created to improve the conditions in the cities by the church groups. -
Assimilation
The Americans wanted to change the Natives lifestyle. Thus creating a white washing among the Natives called assimilation. They made the Natives get rid of their traditions to look more like the white man. Soon, realizing their cruel ways, the congress wanted to educate the Natives through boarding school. -
Monopolies
Through the invention of trusts and holding companies, trust bought multiple companies in the same industry through control of a board of trustees. People being to get mad and upset as they turn to the government in which the government decides to create the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. This act was a way to break up the monopolies. -
Immigrants
The Irish and Chinese were minimum wage workers as they had experienced racism. This especially happened when the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was established as it banished any future migration to the U.S. Some of these immigrants were also Swedish, Norwegian, and German. -
Nativism
People who wanted to "fix" immigration and wanted to put an end to it as well. The Americans hated the slums and strikes that were going on. They created the Chinese Exclusion Act, The American Protective Association (passed to get rid of immigrants). Literacy tests were given to make sure the immigrants were smart. -
Pendleton Act
A law that stated the federal employees couldn't be required to contribute to campaign funds or be get fired due to political reasoning. This made the Spoils System against the favors and created the Civil Service exam. This was passed by the Congress as this law created a Civil Service Commission. -
Great Upheaval of 1886
A work stoppage and labor protest touching every part of the nation. This occurred as a term to describe massive strikes and confrontation against the companies. Some of these riots were so violent, like the Haymarket Riot, where 7 police officers were killed by a bomb explosion. -
Haymarket Riot
A labor protest that soon became a deadly protest as someone threw a bomb causing the end of seven policemen's lives. There were also others that were injured as many people who were accused of being a participant of the protest were convicted. -
Killing of the Buffalo
Towards the Natives, the buffalo was a good source of for their life as it provided them food and clothing. In the killing of the buffalo, the natives used every part of the buffalo with purpose and believed in killing what they needed only. As Americans came to the country they killed thousands on end almost putting the buffalo to extinction. -
Ghost Dances
A dance made up by the Natives was created as a resistance to white rule. This was call the Ghost Dance Movement. It was supposed to wash away all the whites and give the natives the life that they had before. Dead spirits were also uplifted to protect them from the bullets of the white's guns. Feeling like this was a threat, 300 Sioux were killed while performing this, thus creating the Wounded Knee Massacre -
Anti-Trust Act
Many people were trying to be as successful as Carnegie or Rockefeller as Carnegie and Rockefeller created trusts. This gave them a higher profit as it allowed to have no competition whatsoever. Teddy Roosevelt passes the anti-trust act and later acquires the nickname "trust buster". -
Period: to
Progressive Era
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City Beautiful Movement
Renew the city to reduce/eliminate problems in the public's view. They created parks, boulevards, and public squares. There was a new architectural design as they wanted the area to look classier. This made all the cities want to rebuild their own. -
Depression of 1893
This depression was the worst depression in U.S. history as it lasted for four years. The Laissez -Faire capitalism was being questioned as hey needed a government to take action. This created bank failures, railroads, and other everyday businesses. This made all the businesses tank as well. -
Western Romanticism
People who have not been to the west but imagines it as an adventurous place with large land, mountains, rivers, and Indians. The stereotype was made through the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show. Showing cowboys, cattle drives, lassoing, and Indian fights, it created a base for future entertainment as well. -
Brooker T. Washington
An educator and reformer who preached about philosophy. He thought that jobs that included a skilled labor were the way to reach economic equality. He was basically saying to work harder not smarter. This caused many African Americans to dislike him, where as he was loved more by Whites. -
W.E.B. DuBois
Unlike Washington, DuBois was liked by African Americans but was hated by whites as he believed the American Americans should be given their rights as they deserve it and the rights shouldn't be earned. His idea of equality was through professional educated jobs. This is including politicians, leaders, and teachers. He also co-created the NAACP. -
Election of 1896
William McKinley (republic) and William Jennings Bryan (democrat) argue against the efficiency of gold or silver. The democrats wanted to end the monopolies and the depression as people who didn't know too much about business were even against monopolies. This ended with William McKinley winning this election -
Territorial Acquisition
As a result of the Spanish-American war, the US gained territories like the Philippians,Puerto Rico, Guam, and Hawaii. This expanded the U.S more as Cuba and Puerto Rico were gateways to the Latin American markets. -
U.S.S Maine
The American ship, the U.S.S Maine explodes for an unknown reason in Havana Harbor. The media gets a hold of this story and blames the Spanish saying that it was a harbor mine. When what actually happened was terrible design that was made. American want to declare war against Spain, but negotiates with them and passes the Teller Amendment -
Phillippine-American war
After Spain lost due to the Spanish-American war, the U.S had gained more territories due to the territorial acquisition. The people in the Philippians didn't rebel against the U.S. at anytime till they wanted to be an independent country, but the U.S denied them. America wins -
Wizard of Oz
This movie was a symbolism of the social issues during that time. The main social issue was the silver and gold debate. They used Dorothy's shoes (originally silver) to symbolize that she was walking on gold (the yellow brick road). On the way she meets a scarecrow (farmer) to show a resource. The Tinman (industrial worker) is scared that he doesn't have a heart due to his work. Cowardly Lion (Jennings) as he was scared of populist. -
Child Labor
Children were forced to work long hours and would sometimes get injured from the machines as they were small enough to get things that were caught on the machines. This also lowered the amount of kids that go to school. They had to work in order to keep their family financially stable but it ruined their childhood, health, and education. Creating a new law and foundation called SCOTUS. -
Election of 1900
William McKinley runs for president with republicans again and has Theodore Roosevelt as his Vice President. William Jennings Bryan goes against him for the Democratic Party.The democrats were for sure winners but as they were rooting for the Spanish American war George Dewy made a mocker of himself. Though this happened McKinley was still stronger and won. -
China
Europe was involved with China as they had wanted to expand their economic trade. The open door policy granted where any trading in Asia was being made, the US would have a fair chance in acquiring it himself. The Dollar Diplomacy was made as answer from William Taft. Led to wanting the control of foreign areas -
Big Stick Policy
Theodore Roosevelt's policy that in which addressed the foreign policy. As he is known for the quote "speak softly and carry a big stick", it meant that he is ready to be at war at anytime if anyone was to violate the policy -
Roosevelt Corillary
The Roosevelt Corollary expanded the Monroe Doctrine declaring that the U.S would intervene in the Latin American affairs when necessary. Through the creation of Theodore Roosevelt, he wanted to prevent European interventions in Latin America due to its unpaid debts. -
Schlieffen Plan
This plan was from Germany as it was to defeat France and Russia. After declaring the war on Russia because of Austria-Hungary, the adoption of the plan caused Germany to declare war on France. This avoided French defenses as there was an invasion of Belgium. -
Henry Ford
He created an affordable car through the process called an assembly line. This helped things work quicker and more efficient as there were stages building each part. His rules for his workers had a deal and that was that the man has to live with family, no excessive drinking, and no gambling. Through this he revolutionized the auto industry and earned respect from his employees -
Muller v. Oregon
Women want equal voting rights and were being ignored by the political men in the congress. Soon there was a law that prohibited women from working more than 10 hours a day but curt mueller was charge for letting a worker, work more than 10 hours. She was fined for 10 dollars. This now regulates women's working hours -
Carrie A. Nation
A leader and activist for women. She was an old religious women that purposefully went to saloons with a bible in her hand and an ax in another as she was smashing the alcoholic beverages with the ax. She didn't agree with drink as it lead to domestic abuse and made women create a Temperance movement. -
Mexican Revolution
This ended the dictator ship and established a constitutional Republican government. This caused a revolution as many other things were needed like education and nationalism. This effected their economic recession as it was many caused by an economic unbalance. -
Election of 1912
Theodore Roosevelt runs for the Bull Moose Part, Woodrow Wilson runs for the Democratic party, and William H. Taft for Republican.Taft won due to a slip between him and Roosevelt as Roosevelt was initially a Republic buy went to Progressive as he lost the Republic election. -
Wilson's Presidency
He led America through Word War I as he cut taxes thus leading to the 16th amendment which are income taxes. He also changed the banking system as now the banks operated independently. For most of the war, he tried to stay neutral but later declared war on Germany as they destroyed our ships. -
Japanese Immigration
There has always been tensions between Japan and American as all the immigrants that come in, concerns the Americans. This is due to their fear of losing their job. There was racism and exclusion especially in the state of California as this happened more so in Woodrow Wilson's first term -
Panama Canal
Although the building of the canal started in 1500, there were problems with it. This had multiple issues where it gave some workers malaria by mosquitoes. Eventually the canal was left abandoned as the equipment was too hard to manage. The canal was proposed to work through a system of locks -
Archduke Franz Ferdinand
The Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary was assassinated by a Serbian nationalist. This was the beginning of World War I as Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. This made Russia declare war against Austria which made Germany allied with Austria. With the ally between Germany and Austria, Germany encouraged on an invasion of Bosnia. -
Weapons
Most soldiers had riffles but had to be cleaned as they acquired dirt from the trenches. The Riffles were commonly used by the allied powers and machine gun was also invented during this time. Tanks were ways to move the trenches as it was the most safe. Flamethrowers were used as well as Grenades. There was this yellow smoke that was deadly and made by the Germans it was called mustard gas. -
Trench Warfare
There was a "no man's land" term where the ground that was right in between the opposing armies was deadly. It only moved for a couple of miles throughout the entire war. The soldiers who were part of this battle suffered PTSD as this was called Shell Shock as it was thought to be the caused by being close to shells. -
Period: to
World War I
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RMS Lusitania
A ship that sank killing almost 1200 people, this included Americans, causing Americans to get angry. This led to the US declaring war against Germany. This was the US getting involved in the Great War as Germany thought that the Lusitania carried equipment to help the Europeans. -
Great Migration
Relocation of African Americans towards the North as slavery was finally abolished. In the south, Jim Crow was occurring, causing the African Americans to leave. They wanted better opportunities and a better life as they had to escape the aftermath of the war. African Americans created a new culture of their own as almost a million blacks had left the South -
Nature
Theodore Roosevelt loved nature so as part of the progressive era, the era included lots of nature. H wanted to reform nature and create more national parks, monuments, and animal sanctuaries. The public had a demand for the National Park System which ran the parks, monuments, and historical sites -
Russian Revolution
WWI had began making Russia at war with Germany. This led to the result of millions of Russians being killed or injured. The Russians were angry at Tsar Nicholas and protested against him. The people in Russia were in bad conditions and had to have Tsar overthrown. The overthrowning of Tsar was from the Bolshevik communist part. Vladimir Lenin, leader of the party, signed the peace treaty with Central powers -
Hysteria
People weren't allowed to say anything bad about the war in the United States. This was shown through the pass of the Sedition Act. The Espionage Act made it illegal to interfere with crime, spying, or obstruction of the war effort. Your first amendment was being suppressed. -
Spanish Flu
This flu killed between 50-100 million people. It was originated in Spain but when it spread, it affected 1/3 of the population. This had no cure as they didn't have the technology that we have today to cure the disease but World War I had a shortage of workers. -
League of Nations
Was to help stopped the war but no one really followed up on it. This idea was Woodrow Wilson but America wasn't a part of this as the four main aims were to encourage cooperation among the worlds countries to prevent any future wars. This was also to disarm the world countries and to improve the way of living -
Unions
Union membership and activities fell sharply in the face of economic prosperity, a lack of leadership within the movement, and anti-union sentiments from both employers and the government. It was to negotiate with the employers over wages, hours, benefits, and working conditions -
Leisure
People had more money and free time for leisure activities causing a result of new machinery and the economic boom. There were radio broadcasts, five cent movie theaters , and a craze for household electronics (like vacuums). -
The Lost Generation
This phrase refers specifically to ex-patriot writers who left the United States to take part in the literary culture of cities such as Paris and London during the 1920s. One of the people who were included in this group was F. Scott Fitzgerald. Some of the common themes that were written was decadence, gender roles and impotence, and idealized past. -
Harlem Renaissance
This was known as a golden age in African American culture, manifesting in literature, music, stage performance, and art. This was also a boom in writer, photographers, and musicians. An example of a writer from this time was Langston Hughes. He would work with both black and white New York publishing figures. Louis Armstrong was a famous jazz trombone artist. James Van Der Zee was a photographer in this time as well. -
Jazz
Artists such as King Oliver, Louis Armstrong, Kid Ory, and Duke Ellington define the future of jazz in the United States and abroad. In this time jazz was considered as a genre that would influence kids to challenge their parents' values and lifestyle. It created a cultural period and movement. -
Henry Cabot Lodge
a conservative republican who wanted to protect the sovereignty of the U.S by defeating the league of nations. He was also opposed to Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points as he wants to protect the U.S. interests. Insisting that type of behavior, he later made sure that the U.S wouldn't get into the League of Nations -
19th Amendment
This amendment allowed women to vote as the vote became a centerpiece of the women's rights movement. Susan B. Anthony (a women's equality activist) raised public awareness and lobbied the government to grant voting rights to women. -
Birth Control
Birth control was made by Margaret Sanger as she raised $150,000 for the project. She founded the American Birth Control League as she opened two clinics. Sanger was also convinced that society couldn't evolve unless people practiced family planning, especially among the poor. She worked to educate women about the reproductive process so they can choose when and whether or not to bear children. This was released at a time basic information about sex was considered as obscene. -
Tea Pot Dome Scandal
The secret leasing of federal oil reserves by the secretary of the interior, Albert Bacon Fall. Fall secretly granted to Harry F. Sinclar o the Mammoth Oil Company exclusive rights to the Teapot Dome reserves. He also granted similar rights to Edward L. Doheny of Pan American Petroleum Company for the Elk Hills and Buena Vista Hills reserves in California. This scandal had a little long term effect on the Republican Party once known. -
Scopes Monkey Trial
A high school teacher John Scopes was charged with violating Tennessee's law against teaching evolution instead of the divine creation of man. Clarence Darrow was the defender for Scopes where as William Jennings Bryan was the prosecutor. This case was widely spread to where everyone listened to the court case on the radio like it was a sports game. -
Hoover's Response
He believed that it was simply a temporary dip in the economy so he also increased taxes. This was called the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act. He believed in the laissez-faire as he called business leaders to the White House to urge them not to lay off workers or cut wages. He stated that "we aren't starving". -
Overproduction
As the supply seemed to in a higher demand the farmers' techniques improved. This also goes along with the factories as they had a higher demand of supplies. Eventually there were factories and farms that were producing more good than the people could afford to buy. As a result, the prices fell factories closed and workers were laid off. -
Great Depression in Germany
Due to the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was in a large debt after WWI as they were blamed for the entire war. This caused them to have a draining defeat as the were forced to pay for the reparations to France and Great Britain. -
Hoovervilles
A shanty town built during the Great Depression by the homeless in the US. It was named after Herbert Hoover as he was the one being widely blamed for the Depression. -
Period: to
The Great Depression
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Black Tuesday
The stock market crash of 1929 was the most devastating stock market crash. It panicked sellers when they traded nearly 16 million shares on the New York Stock Exchange and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 12%.The stock prices did not reach the same level until late 1954. -
Migration
Due to the dust bowl in Oklahoma being severely significant, the people who lived in this area migrated to California to get away from the natural disaster. They were called the Okies. A known photograph, Migrant Mother Photograph, was taken to show the migration people had to go through -
Tariffs
The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act was implemented by the U.S. legislation to raise import duties to protect American businesses and farmers. This added a considerable strain to the international economic climate of the Great Depression. -
Eleanor Roosevelt
She was the ears, eyes, and legs of FDR. Roosevelt created the modern first lady as she was more active in her position. Although many men didn't agree with her actions as they believed she was "wild", she became an advocate for expanded roles for women in the work place. Roosevelt also helped the civil rights of African Americans. -
Election of 1932
Democrat, Franklin D. Roosevelt defeated Republican Pres. Herbert Hoover. He won by 472 electoral votes to 59. The people wanted a president that would take them out of the Great Depression as Hoover was the man many Americans held personally responsible for their misery. Franklin was always happy as he felt that if he showed his sadness, he would lose. Franklin also had polio but concealed it as he felt that it looked weak. -
20th Amendment
An amendment that simply sets the dates at which federal government elected offices end. It also defines who succeeds the president if the president dies. This was through the inauguration of Roosevelt and Vice President John Nance Garner. It was nicknamed the Lame Duck Amendment and moved the inauguration date. -
Wagner Act
A bill signed by President Franklin Roosevelt. It established the National Labor Relations Board and addressed relations between unions and employers in the private sector. They wanted to guarantee employees “the right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations -
Capture of France
German tanks had broken through the main fronts along the Somme River and the fortified Maginot Line, moving ever closer to their goal, Paris. The British vigorously encouraged France to resist at all costs. The new British prime minister, Churchill, even flew to Paris himself to offer his personal encouragement. At the same time, though, the British government denied French requests for military assistance, wanting to conserve strength for Britain’s own defense in the near future. -
Period: to
World War II
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Winston Churchill
British politician, military officer and writer who served as the prime minister of Great Britain from 1940 to 1945 and from 1951 to 1955.Churchill helped lead a successful Allied strategy with the U.S. and Soviet Union during World War II to defeat the Axis powers and craft post-war peace. Elected prime minister again in 1951, he introduced key domestic reforms. -
Battle of Moscow
A military campaign that consisted of two periods of strategically significant fighting on a 600 km sector of the Eastern Front during World War II. This war was fought between the Russians and the Germans as the Russians had inflicted a severe defeat against the Germans. -
Navy
The Royal Navy was still the strongest navy in the world, with the largest number of warships built and with naval bases across the globe. This totaled over 15 battle ships and battle cruisers, 7 aircraft carriers, 66 cruisers, 164 destroyers, and 66 submarines. This was during WWII. -
American-Soviet Relations
This was a great degree of cooperation and was essential to securing the defeat of Nazi Germany. Roosevelt never lost sight of the fact that Nazi Germany was posed as the greatest threat to the world. After the war they became rivals as there was a communist and western capitalist distrust among each other. -
Pearl Harbor
A surprise attack by Japanese forces, where hundreds of Japanese fighter planes descended on the base. They managed to destroy or damage nearly 20 American naval vessels, including eight enormous battleships, and over 300 airplanes. More than 2400 civilians and soldiers were killed and 1000 were injured. President FDR then asked Congress to declare war against Japan. -
Executive Order 9066
An order to authorize exclusion among Japanese Americans. Roosevelt justified the order as he said the Japanese Americans were a threat to national security on the grounds of military order. Within days the military removed all Japanese Americans and Japanese from the West Coast. -
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Led the massive invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe that began on D-Day. He won a convincing victory over Democrat Adlai Stevenson and would serve two terms in the White House. Eisenhower strengthened Social Security, created the massive new Interstate Highway System -
The United Nations
A replacement for the League of Nations. An international organization to maintain international peace and security among the nations. The five permanent members are the U.S.S.R., France, the United Kingdom, and the United States as they had a unique ability to veto resolutions. They created a complex in New York City as their official headquarters. -
18th Amendment
The manufacture, transportation, import, export, and sale of alcoholic beverages were restricted or illegal. It was supposed to lower crime and corruption, reduce social problems, lower taxes needed to support prisons and poorhouses, and improve health and hygiene in America. Instead, Alcohol became more dangerous to consume; organized crime blossomed; courts and prisons systems became overloaded; and endemic corruption of police and public officials occurred.
