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The Gilded Age during the late 1800’s
Urbanization, rapid growth of cities: skyscrapers, transportation networks, population. Immigration- ‘new immigrants’ From 1870-1900, 30 million immigrants. Come from Eastern Europe, Italy, China, etc. often Catholic, Jewish, and had little experience with democracy. Willing to work for low wages. -
Incorporating the West
Transformation of Agriculture: Homestead Act of 1862. Government gives federal land to any person who lived and farmed the land for 5 years. Rapid population growth in the Midwest. Increased Agricultural production. Railroads. Pacific Railway Act of 1862. Government gives loans and land to railroad companies. Transcontinental railroad. Union Pacific- from Omaha to the West. Central Pacific-from San Francisco to the East. Meet at Promontory Point, Utah 1869. Railroads transformed the West. -
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Second Industrial Revolution
Made possible by abundant resources: iron, coal, water, copper, gold, oil, timber. Growth of Agriculture: wheat, corn, livestock. Capital: civil war profits, foreign investments. Labor: veterans; immigrants; freedmen. -
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War in the West
Westward expansion leads to forcible removal of Indians. 1867-1868 new territories creating Indian reservations for the Sioux. Sioux resistance led to the Battle of Little Bighorn. Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull defeat a force of US Cavalry led by George Custer. US Army then crushes Sioux resistance and forces them into reservations. -
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Growth of Industry
Oil. John D. Rockefeller founder and owner of Standard Oil Company in 1870. Pursued horizontal integration. By 1881, controlled 90% of oil refining. Andrew Carnegie creates the largest steel plant in the US which is necessary for railroads, plows, buildings, etc. Monopoly through vertical integration. -
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Nativist Backlash -Chinese exclusion act 1882.
Immigration Restriction League. Labor- Great Railroad Strike of 1877-first nationwide strike. Unions- knights of labor. 800,000 members in 1886. American Federation of Labor. Demands 8 hour work days- decent wages, better working conditions. Homestead Strike 1892. Pullman Strike 1894. Social Darwinism- ‘survival of the fittest’ Laissez Faire- ‘let it be’ Liberty of Contract- ‘freedom to sign or agree to contracts’ Jim Crow- Poll tax, literacy tests, lynching. Plessy vs. Ferguson (1896). -
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Muckrakers
journalists inspired by desire to reform politics and society by exposing corruption. Jacob Riis- How the Other Half Lives 1889. Lewis Hine. Upton Sinclair- The Jungle. Settlement Houses- Hull House, Chicago 1889. Eugene Debs- Socialist Party 1901. National Birth Control League 1915. Women's suffrage 19th Amendment. Prohibition 18th Amendment. -
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Progressivism
An attempt to reform society and politics with the goal of creating a good society. Believed that government could and should promote positive change. 1. New understanding of the purpose and function of government. 2. Changes in government politics and institutions. 3. Social/political agitation that produces changes. -
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Hawaii
American planters overthrow Hawaiian Monarchy (Queen Liliuokalani) in 1893. Annexed in 1898. -
Spanish American War
Cuba=Spanish Colony. US had economic interest in Cuba and sends ships to protect interests. USS Maine explodes in February. US declares war on Spain in April. US easily defeats Spain and acquires Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico. Filipino Rebellion (1898-1902) Rebellion against US control in the Philippines. Led by Emilio Aguinaldo. -
Panama Canal
began in 1903. Completed in 1914. Would have to sail around South America, could just cut through Panama -
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World War I
Assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand in 1914. Americans divided over war. German-Americans support Germany. Most Americans support Britain-France. Irish-AMericans don't support Britain. President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed American neutrality. Britain blockades Germany 1914-1918. German submarines sank the British liner Lusitania in May of 1915. US pursues a policy of ‘preparedness’ expansion of army and navy. -
Zimmerman Telegram
British Spies intercept the Zimmerman Telegram in February. A message sent by German foreign Minister Arthur Zimmermann asking Mexico to join in a war against the US. US declares war against Germany in April 1917. -
The war at home
Selective Service Act 1917. New federal agencies regulated industry. Distribution of raw materials. Price of manufactured goods. Railroad and Food Administration. -
Prohibition
Many prominent brewers were German Americans (Anheuser-Busch). Drinking became unpatriotic. Sedition Act 1918. Became a crime to speak or print statements criticizing to the form of government. Treaty of Versailles ended fighting on 11/11/1918. -
The Roaring 1920’s
Economic prosperity, optimism. Economic boom, automobile was the backbone of economic growth. Ford Motor Company- Henry Ford. Assembly line. Cars transform America. Technology. Consumer goods: vacuums, washers, refrigerators. Mass Media: Radio and Movies. Celebrity Culture. Makeup and Birth control. -
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Origins of WWII
Rise of Fascism in Europe. Benito Mussolini, Italian Dictator-1922. Adolf Hitler, German Dictator-1933. -
Scopes Trial
Tennessee passed a law banning the teaching of evolution in public schools. John Scopes was charged with breaking the law. Clarence Darrow defends him, William Jennings Bryan serves as the prosecutor. Scopes is convicted and fined. -
The Great Depression
Black Tuesday, October 29, 1929. Stock market crashes creating financial panic. 5,000 banks close (1930-1932) -
Election of 1932
Franklin Delano Roosevelt wins election of 1932 promising ‘New Deal’. Emergency Banking Act 1933. Provided immediate federal assistance to banks by guaranteeing deposits. Glass-Steagall Banking Act 1933. Creates the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Securities Exchange Act 1934. Creates an agency to oversee the stock market. Relief for the Unemployed. CWA, Civilian Conservation Corps, Tennessee Valley Authority. National Industrial Recovery Act 1933 PWA. Social Security Act 1935. -
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The Dust Bowl
50 dust storms a year. Caused by changing climate and human activity. 3.5 million people abandon farms. Herbert Hoover puts structural reforms in place designed to bolster economy. Emergence Relief and Construction Act 1932. Construction of projects that will pay for themselves (Hoover Dam). 25% unemployment rates leads to individuals living in shantytowns called ‘Hoovervilles’ -
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WWII
September 1938 Hitler’s annexation of Sudetenland. Munich Conference 1938. September 1, 1939 Germany invades Poland. Lend-Lease Act of 1941. Attack on Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941. Stalingrad 1942, North Africa 1942-1943, D-Day June 6, 1944. Battle of Midway June 1942. August 1945, Hiroshima and Nagasaki. -
Origins of the Cold War
Potsdam Conference 1945. Differing views of a post-war world. Iron Curtain Speech by Churchill in 1946 saying a new conflict had begun. The Marshall Plan 1947. $13 billion foreign aid campaign to help rebuild Europe. Berlin Airlift 1948, Soviets blockaded West Berlin, US airlifts supplies. -
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Postwar America
Economic Booms: GI Bill. Baby boom 1946-1964. Housing Boom: Interstate Highway Act of 1956, suburbanization. -
Creation of NATO
Soviets create an atomic bomb, Communist Revolution in China. -
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Korean War
Communist North Korea invades US supported South Korea. Stalemate around the 38th parallel in 1953. -
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American Culture in the 1950's
Growth of the Middle Class. 90% of homes had a TV by 1960. Role of Women, Segregated Landscape, Civic Religion. -
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The Civil Rights Movement
Civil Rights Act of 1964-Prohibited racial discrimination in employment, hospitals, schools, and private and public accommodations. Thurgood Marshall and the NAACP. Montgomery Bus Boycott- 1955. Little Rock Nine- 1957. March on Washington-Martin Luther King Jr. gives ‘I have a Dream Speech.’ -
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Berlin Wall
Concrete wall dividing East and West Berlin, Germany. Stopped people from leaving the East side into the West. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
Soviets placed missiles in Cuba. John F. Kennedy avoided conflict and Khrushchev removed the missiles in return for US to not invade Cuba