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Period: 1491 to
Period 1/2
European colonization and imperialism, colonial governments and societies set up in North America -
1494
Treaty of Tordesillas
The Treaty of Tordesillas divided the lands in the western hemisphere into territories for Spain and for Portugal. Because these European powers had the first occupation of North and South America, their decisions to not have a large presence in North America had a large impact on the course of American history. -
Jamestown established
Jamestown was the first successful British colony in North America, founded by the Virginia Company. Due to famine and conflicts with local indigenous groups, the colony faced hardships until it came under the leadership of John Smith. The settlers in Jamestown farmed tobacco as a cash crop. -
House of Burgesses
The House of Burgesses was the first legislative body democratically elected by British colonists in North America. It was established in Virginia and the elected members helped set local policies. -
Mayflower compact
The Mayflower Compact was the first governing document in the United States created by the Puritans who settled the Plymouth colony. The way in which it bound the settlers together instead of just binding them to a monarch helped set foundations for future governing documents in the United States. -
Massachussetts Bay Colony Charter
The Massachusetts Bay Colony Charter was a document authorized by the English crown that allowed the Massachusetts Bay Company to establish a colony. This meant that Massachusetts was a charter colony instead of a royal colony, and the company didn’t have to remain in England. -
Bacon’s rebellion
Bacon’s rebellion took place in Virginia, due to issues facing the colonists that were not wealthy, and resentment towards the government, and Governor Berkely in Virginia. Poorer colonists moved west, led by Nathaniel Bacon, and faced conflict with Native Americans. The government tried to stop Bacon instead of helping him, resulting in Bacon rebelling against the government. -
Stono Uprising
The Stono uprising was a rebellion of enslaved people in South Carolina. They tried to escape South Carolina into Florida, which was controlled by the Spanish, in order to flee slavery, but they were stopped by the South Carolina militia. -
Navigation Acts Passed
The Navigation Acts were an attempt by the British Parliament to limit colonial trade and to uphold mercantilism to help the British economy. This angered the colonists, particularly merchants who helped create anti-British sentiments in the colonies. -
French and Indian War began
The French and Indian War was the North American part of the Seven Years War and began due to a territorial dispute over the Ohio River Valley. The resulting cost of this war led to greater taxation, a limitation on expansion, and colonial resentment. -
Proclamation of 1763
The Proclamation of 1763 was created after the French and Indian War, and it declared that colonists could not go into the territory west of the Appalachian mountains. This was an effort by England to reduce conflict with the indigenous people. However, colonists felt that this was limiting their rights and freedoms and this event is often cited as the marker of the end of salutary neglect in the colonies. -
Period: to
Period 3
Taxation, Buildup to revolution, Creation of the U.S. government -
Sugar Act/ Revenue Act
The Revenue Act of 1764, also called the Sugar Act, lowered an existing tax on sugar and molasses and increased the enforcement of the tax, which was previously relatively lax. This led to the establishment of admiralty courts that were deemed unfair by the colonists and helped spread the idea that the colonists should not have taxation without representation. -
Stamp Act/ Stamp Act Congress
The Stamp Act was a tax on paper and printed goods in the colonies. This tax led to the Stamp Act Congress, which was a meeting of representatives throughout the British colonies discussing how to protest the Stamp Act, which was the first organized attempt from the colonies to rebel against the British government. -
Townshend Acts
The Townshend Acts were taxes passed by the British parliament on lead, paper, glass, tea, and paint. This led to various protests and non-importation agreements on British goods, resulting in the Boston Massacre. -
Boston Massacre
During a confrontation between a mob of colonists and a group of British officers, the officers shot at the mob and killed five people. This event was called the Boston Massacre by the colonists, who spread the news rapidly, increasing the anti-British sentiment throughout the colonies. -
Intolerable Acts
The Intolerable Acts were passed in part to punish the Massachusetts colony after the Boston Tea Party, and it closed off the Boston harbor, gave more power to the royal governor, and included the Quartering Act for all of the colonies. This led to greater colonial unity and the First Continental Congress which convened to find a way that all of the colonies could tackle British tyranny. -
Lexington and Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord started off the American Revolutionary War with a colonial victory at Concord, Massachusetts Bay. The Intolerable Acts led to an increase of British officers in this area, which prompted an expansion of the local colonial militia and ultimately culminated in the battles of Lexington and Concord. -
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress convened after the battles of Lexington and Concord to figure out the plan for the rest of the Revolutionary War. George Washington was appointed as the leader of the Continental Army and the Continental Congress remained in place throughout the Revolutionary War and until the Articles of Confederation were established. -
Common sense
Common Sense was a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine that supported colonial independence and encouraged everyone in the colonies to unite and fight against Great Britain. This was essentially propaganda that garnered much more support for the American Revolution than there already was. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was a document that listed the various grievances that the Americans felt in regard to the actions of the British government, and declared the colonies as independent nations. -
Articles of Confederation ratified
The Articles of Confederation made up the first real Constitution that applied to all of the American states. The Articles did not have much real power over the states, however, since the government had no executive branch, no power to tax or regulate interstate trade, and difficult regulation for amending the articles and passing legislation, which ultimately led to unrest and rebellion. -
Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris in 1783 signaled the end of the Revolutionary War between Great Britain and the colonies. This treaty helped define the borders between the British controlled colonies and the American controlled colonies. -
Shays Rebellion
Daniel Shay and many other farmers who were in debt felt that the Massachusetts government was being unfair and corrupt, resulting in the Shays Rebellion, starting in 1786. This rebellion was a major factor in highlighting issues under the Articles of Confederation and helped push the states towards revising the Articles and ultimately creating the Constitution. -
Northwest Ordinance of 1787
The Northwest Ordinance set up regulation for how new states could be admitted into the Union, and it applied to the land in the Northwest Territory at the time. It created a framework for states to allow or ban slavery, and it was one of the few major successful legislations that were established under the Articles of Confederation. -
Constitutional Convention
Due to the failure of the Articles of Confederation to exert enough influence to effectively organize the colonies, delegates from each state met at the Constitutional Convention to revise the Articles and increase the power of the federal government. However, this convention ultimately resulted in a draft of the modern-day Constitution of the United States and the formation of the bicameral legislature that makes up Congress. -
Formation of the Bank of the U.S.
As a part of Alexander Hamilton’s economic plan, the Bank of the United States was established, which regulated all of America’s funds as a nation. A protective tariff and an excise tax on whiskey were also passed in the states in order to gain more funds for the Bank of the U.S. -
The Revolution of 1800
The Revolution of 1800 was the election between Democratic-Republican Thomas Jefferson and Federalist John Adams, which was won by Jefferson. This election led to a line of Democratic-Republican presidents in later elections. -
Period: to
Period 4 Part 1
Establishment of American policy, economic infrastructure -
Marbury v. Madison
Marbury v. Madison was a Supreme Court case involving John Marshall, the Federalist chief justice of the Supreme Court who wanted to expand the powers of the Supreme Court. This case established the power of judicial review for the Supreme Court, or the idea that the Supreme Court has the final say on constitutionality. -
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase was the transfer of land stretching from New Orleans to the Canadian border, from France to America under Thomas Jefferson’s presidency. This ended up doubling the size of the U.S. at the time, expanding the power of the federal government, and led to the increased discovery of flora and fauna through the resulting Lewis and Clark expedition. -
Macon’s Bill #2
Macon’s Bill #2 said that between England and France, the first country to repeal its trade restrictions and stop attacking American ships would not have the U.S. embargo on them. This bill pitted England and France against each other and, because France acted in the way that the bill stipulated, America and England had more conflict with one another, helping lead to the War of 1812. -
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a war between Great Britain, along with Canada, and the United States due to rising conflicts between the U.S. and Great Britain, impressment of U.S. soldiers, and War Hawks. This war led to the death of the Federalist Party, an increase in expansionist sentiments, and an increase in manufacturing. -
Clay’s American system
Henry Clay’s “American System” included a protective tariff to bolster American manufacturing, created the Second Bank of the United States, and infrastructure improvements. This was implemented after the issues arising from the War of 1812. -
Panic of 1819
The Panic of 1819 was an economic recession that marked the end of the Era of Good Feelings, due mostly to the over-speculation of Western lands. This also stopped the economic growth after the War of 1812 and led to more focus on urban poverty in the United States. -
McCulloch v. Maryland
This Supreme Court case debated the constitutionality of the Second Bank of the United States due to the fact that the government’s ability to create it wasn’t ensured in the Constitution. The Supreme Court ruled that the bank was constitutional by referencing the “necessary and proper” clause in the Constitution, which increased the power of the federal government. -
Missouri Compromise
To balance the number of slave states and free states in the United States, Congress admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state in the Missouri Compromise of 1820. This established the 36-30 line that set the idea that any future states north of the line would be free states and all states south of the line would be slave states. -
Monroe Doctrine
The Monroe Doctrine stipulated that if there was any further European colonization in the Western Hemisphere, the U.S. would view that as a threat. This was due to the U.S’s desire to act as a hegemon to the Western Hemisphere. -
Period: to
Period 4 Part 2
Common Man, Expansion, Reform movements -
Election of 1828
The Election of 1828 was an election in which Andrew Jackson won by twice the amount of votes as his opponent, John Quincy Adams, based on personality more than a platform. This election was run on an appeal to the “common man” which led to an increase in the average American having a place in politics. -
Tariff of Abominations
The Tariff of Abominations was a tariff of 45% on imports to the United States to help the manufacturing industry in the North. This had a negative effect on those in the South, who didn’t have the ability to manufacture and this also limited their trade with Great Britain, leading to the introduction of the idea of nullification presented by John Calhoun. -
Indian Removal Act
The Indian Removal Act of 1830 allowed for the relocation of the Native American tribes after white Americans in the Southeast United States wanted access to the land that was given to these tribes due to various treaties. This led to the removal of the Five Civilized Tribes from this region, including the removal of the Cherokee tribe in the Trail of Tears, where they had to march West in a journey that killed thousands. -
Nat Turner Rebellion
The Nat Turner Rebellion was an uprising of enslaved people in Virginia as one of the many forms of resistance against slavery. This led to the death of 60 white people and resulted in white Southerners imposing harsher rules on all enslaved people due to fear. -
The Whig Party forms
The Whig Party formed to oppose Andrew Jackson, and it was created as a coalition of different groups including supporters of the American System, states’ rights advocates, and industrialists. Once the Whig Party dissolved due to the issue of slavery, many Whigs joined the Republican Party. -
Specie Circular
Due to the speculation of land in the West, the Specie Circular reduced speculation by only allowing specie (gold and silver) to be traded for land. This led to a run on the banks as people traded greenbacks for gold and eventually resulted in the Panic of 1837. -
Panic of 1837
The Panic of 1837 was a recession that was caused by issues from Andrew Jackson’s presidency. Due to the transfer of funds from the Second Bank of the U.S. to smaller state banks combined with the Specie Circular, the banks collapsed and led to the Panic of 1837 that contributed to a fall in cotton prices. -
Election of 1844
The Election of 1844 was a presidential election between James Polk and Henry Clay, in which Polk won. Polk ran on a platform of expansionism, lowering the tariff, and reestablishing the independent treasury, leading to the Mexican War and the expansion of the United States. -
Period: to
Period 5
Regional tensions, Civil War, Progressive government -
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed after the end of the Mexican War, giving the Mexican Cession to the United States for about $18.5 million. This led to the expansion of the United States, and the United States becoming a hegemon in the Western Hemisphere. -
Seneca Falls Convention
The Seneca Falls Convention, led by Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, was a conference about women’s rights in which those who attended the conference created a Declaration of Rights and Sentiments that was based on the Declaration of Independence, anc called for women’s equality. This conference was part of a larger movement for women’s equality and female suffrage. -
Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was an attempt to compromise between free and slave states by including a stricter fugitive slave law, banning slave trade in Washington D.C, admitting California into the Union as a free state, and allowing popular sovereignty to decide the question of whether or not to have slavery in Utah and New Mexico. This led to a short-lived solution that eventually resulted in conflict over those who did and did not support slavery. -
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Uncle Tom’s Cabin was a book published by Harriet Beecher Stowe, which portrayed the issue of slavery and depicted its terrible details. In the North, this led to more people understanding the inhumane nature of slavery and contributed to increased public opposition to slavery, eventually leading to the start of the Civil War. -
Gadsden Purchase
The Gadsden Purchase was a purchase of land from Mexico by the United States. This land contributed to the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad as well as adding to the widespread idea of Manifest Destiny. -
Formation of the Republican Party
After the Kansas-Nebraska Act, there were party divisions within the Free Soil and Whig parties, with many from those parties and Democrats opposing the Kansas-Nebraska Act joining the newly formed Republican Party that had an anti-slavery platform. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Kansas-Nebraska Act allowed for popular sovereignty in Kansas and Nebraska, which overturned the Missouri Compromise, and led to violent conflict between those differed on their view of slavery. This helped lead to the creation of the Republican Party. -
Missouri/Kansas Border Wars
After the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, those who supported and didn't support slavery moved to Kansas to have an influence on the vote on slavery. These two groups had violent conflicts, with an abolitionist named John Brown committing acts of murder that led to further violence. -
Dred Scott v. Sanford
The Dred Scott decision from the Dred Scott v. Sanford case declared that black people were not U.S. citizens and that enslaved people were property and it was unconstitutional to let an enslaved person go free. This ultimately led to the conclusion that the Missouri Compromise itself was unconstitutional. -
Panic of 1857
The Panic of 1857 was caused by overproduction and the over-expansion of the railroads, which ends up affecting the Northern industry rather than Southern agriculture. This gives the South confidence that they have a superior economic system. -
South Carolina Secession
Unrest in the South, particularly South Carolina, had been growing throughout the abolition movement and the various legislation regarding slavery that didn’t benefit the South. Ultimately, the election of Abraham Lincoln was the final straw that led to South Carolina seceding from the Union in 1860. -
Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation said that the enslaved peoples that were in states that were in rebellion were legally free, and allowed African Americans to fight in the Union Army. Although this didn’t have much immediate enforcement, this allowed enslaved people to free themselves and essentially made the war about slavery rather than unifying the nation. -
Appomattox Courthouse
The Appomattox Courthouse was the last battle of the Civil War, won by the Union after various battles and total war tactics such as Sherman’s March to the Sea. The Civil War was won by the Union due to their implementation of taxes and bonds to help fund the war, and the acceptance of federal power that remained after the nation unified. -
Period: to
Period 6
Labor Unions, Native American repression, minimal regulation of industries -
Congressional Reconstruction
Congressional Reconstruction was the period after the Union won the Civil War, in which progressive legislation was passed in Congress including the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and the 14th Amendment. This also required the Southern States to give African Americans the vote, addressed state debts and former Confederate leaders. -
Fetterman Massacre
The Fetterman Massacre was a raid by Native Americans on the U.S. Army which killed 81 military officials and civilians and led to George Armstrong Custer and his men seeking revenge on these natives. This led to the Battle of Little Bighorn in which 2500 Native Americans of different tribes led by Sitting Bull attacked Custer and his men, claiming victory. -
Military Reconstruction
Military Reconstruction happened along with Congressional Reconstruction, which consisted of the occupation of the South by Northern soldiers, with the division of the South into 5 military districts. This helped enforce the new legislation implemented by Congressional reconstruction. -
Knights of Labor
The Knights of Labor was a labor union composed of both skilled and unskilled workers, and one of the first major labor unions in the United States. This union was involved in the Haymarket Square Riot, where an attempt to highlight violence towards workers led to police violence and a connotation of violence with the Knights of Labor, contributing to its decline. -
Knights of Labor
The Knights of Labor was a labor union composed of both skilled and unskilled workers, and one of the first major labor unions in the United States. This union was involved in the Haymarket Square Riot, where an attempt to highlight violence towards workers led to police violence and a connotation of violence with the Knights of Labor, contributing to its decline. -
Panic of 1873
During the Panic of 1873, the federal government refused to allow banks to exchange paper currency for gold, which resulted in fewer banks collapsing during this recession. This helped contribute to the validity of paper money and led to the coinage of silver through the Bland Allison Act, rather than maintaining the gold standard. -
Compromise of 1877
During the election of 1877 between Rutherford B. Hayes and Samuel J. Tilden, four states required a commission that decided who won in each state. The compromise as a result of this commission stipulated that Hayes would be President, military reconstruction would end, the South would get federal money to help fix the damage caused by the Civil War, and the Democratic Party was guaranteed a cabinet seat, which negated all the progress that had been gained by reconstruction. -
Great Railway Strikes of 1877
During the era of industrialization, issues such as individualism, immigration, technology, and a full labor market led to the need for unions to help gain more rights for workers, and strikes were often used as a method to try and secure these rights. The Great Railway Strikes of 1877 were the first major national strikes, which was met with government violence and marked the beginning of a trend of violence towards workers. -
Chinese Exclusion Act
The Chinese Exclusion Act was an act that did not allow any Chinese immigrants into the United States after its passage. This act was a part of a series of legislation that enacted nativist policies that limited immigration, supported by a coalition of Republicans, white supremacy groups, and working-class people. -
Wabash Case
The Wabash Case was a Supreme Court case that said that only the federal government can regulate interstate trade due to the commerce clause in the Constitution. This led to the need for the federal government to help regulate the unfairly high railroad rates because states could not regulate this. -
The American Federation of Labor
The American Federation of Labor was a labor union that was limited to skilled workers who were not easily replaced and enhanced the effectiveness of the union. The union fought for higher wages, fewer hours, and better conditions under the leadership of Samuel Gompers. -
Interstate Commerce Act
The Interstate Commerce Act created the Interstate Commerce Commission, which determined which railroad rates were fair due to the high prices caused by economic growth with a lack of regulation. However, this did not make much impact on rates because the commission was filled with railroad employees and there was a lack of enforcement of the costs. -
Dawes Severalty Act
The Dawes Severalty Act was a part of government attempts to suppress indigenous groups in the United States, including the banning of the Sun Dance, and military actions against natives. The Dawes Severalty Act itself divided up reservations into individual lands assigned to families and created boarding schools for the purpose of forced assimilation of native children. -
Sherman Antitrust Act
The Sherman Antitrust Act was intended to make monopolies illegal to let the federal government have the power to break up monopolies. These were initially used to break up labor unions and only used to break up big businesses after 1900. -
The Battle of Wounded Knee
The Battle of Wounded Knee was U.S. military action taken against those who continued to practice the Sun Dance as an expression of their culture and led to 200 kills as well as the end of large scale active native resistance in the United States. -
Homestead Strikes
The Homestead Strikes began after a decrease in wages at the Carnegie Steel factory, which became violent due to the involvement of Pinkerton guards, and ended after a supposed attempt on Henry Clay Frick’s life. This led to an increase of workday hours, cut in skilled and unskilled pay, and a delay in the overall progress of workers’ rights. -
Pullman Strikes
The Pullman Strikes took place in the town of Pullman, owned by the owner of the Pullman Car company, which employed those who lived in the town. The strikes themselves happened under the leadership of Eugene Debs after Pullman reduced wages and retained rent and food prices in the town, which led to a railroad company scheme that forced the federal government to end the strikes but laid the groundwork for future change. -
Delome letter
The DeLome letter was a letter written by Spanish officials that insulted President McKinley while tensions between the U.S. and Spain were rising during the war between Spain and Cuba. This was blown up by various newspapers in an example of yellow journalism, which was a method to report news in a more shocking and entertaining way to sell more newspapers, and helped contribute to the Spanish-American war. -
Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris of 1898 ended the Spanish-American War, leading to the U.S. gaining the territories of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines, Cuban independence that included the Platt Amendment which allowed for some U.S. interference and contributed to the need for the Panama Canal. -
Annexation of Hawaii
Hawaii was a sovereign nation with American plantation businesses who were affected by high tariffs and who staged a coup in order to illegally annex Hawaii into becoming part of the United States. This was a part of the U.S. falling into the Western culture of imperialism during this era. -
Period: to
Period 7 part 1
Labor reform, Spanish-American War, general and social reform, the buildup to World War I -
Hay/Pauncefote Treaty
The Hay/Pauncefote treaty overturned the Clayton Bulwer treaty, which said that the U.S. building a canal in South America had to be jointly with Britain, resulting in the U.S. being able to build the Panama Canal as a national project. However, this had to be negotiated into the Hay/Bunau-Varilla treaty that set in place the amount of land the U.S. got in Panama and established the payment to retain control over that land. -
Northern Securities Case
The Northern Securities Case was a ruling by the Supreme Court that ruled against the Great Northern railroad company and the Northern Pacific railroad company because they had created a monopoly. This was the first monopoly broken up by the U.S. government as a part of trust-busting during Theodore Roosevelt’s progressive era. -
Anthracite Coal Strike
The Anthracite Coal Strike was an arbitration between miners in Pennsylvania and the coal company they worked for, with the federal government as the arbiter. This led to a 10% pay increase and a 9 hour workday for these miners and was significant because, during this era, government typically sided with the business owners rather than helping workers gain benefits. -
Elkins Act
The Elkins Act made railroad rebates illegal since they favored bigger businesses and was unfair to smaller businesses and farmers who did not get the same advantages. This was an example of a trend of progressive policies for railroad companies, as shown by the Hepburn Act passed in 1906, which allowed the Interstate Commerce Commission to establish the maximum rates for railroads. -
U.S. Forest Service
The U.S. Forest Service was established under the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt, who was a conservationist, based on conservationist ideals. The U.S. Forest Service, headed by Gifford Pinchot, added lands to national forests and regulated how they could be used, setting in place a wave of the creation of government bodies, policies, and lands dedicated to conservationism. -
Pure Food and Drug Act
The Pure Food and Drug Act was passed as a result of the new public awareness of unclean conditions in which food items were produced, packaged, and distributed, and it stipulated that all food products had to have accurate labels that stated what was in the product. This was passed in the same year as the Meat Inspection Act, which required that all meat that crossed state lines would be federally inspected. -
Standard Oil Fine
The Standard Oil Fine was a $29 million penalty for the Standard Oil Company for violating several laws. Although the fine was reduced, this was an example of how regulation was increasing towards large corporations in this era, and the Standard Oil Company was eventually broken up by the Supreme Court. -
16th Amendment
The 16th Amendment created the federal income tax, which overturned the income tax for the Wilson-Gorman tariff and allowed Congress to then increase taxes on those that had a greater income. This was another part of the economic progressivism in the United States during this time. -
17th Amendment
The 17th Amendment established the direct democratic election of senators through popular vote, which allowed citizens to have more of a direct say in government and gave the average citizen more power in helping create changes that were more beneficial to them. -
Federal Reserve Act
The Federal Reserve Act created the central banking system of the United States, which regulated the amount of money in circulation, set the interest rate, and ultimately led to less corruption in the banking system while trying to prevent recessions and stabilize the economy. -
Adamson Act
The Adamson Act established an 8 hour workday for all railroad employees and was passed at the same time as the Federal Farm Loan Act, which gave low-interest loans to farmers, the Workers’ Comp. Act, which gave protections to federal workers if they were injured in their job, and the Keating-Owen Act, which banned the interstate sale of goods made with child labor. This legislation showed the progressivism of the government of this era through welfare legislation. -
U.S. entry into WWI
The U.S. entered WWI under the presidency of Woodrow Wilson, due to the building of conflicts with Germany through U-boat warfare, limiting of freedom to navigate which was an economic concern, the Zimmerman note, sinking of ships, and the power vacuum left by Russia which gave way to U.S. entry. Ultimately, this war helped mobilize the American industry, increased national debt, increased technology, and limited freedoms through propaganda, discrimination, and the Espionage and Sedition Acts. -
Period: to
Period 7 Part 2
Racial and Ethnic tensions, Economic Collapse, New Deal programs, Buildup and Entry into World War II -
Red Summer
Red Summer in 1919 was an example of violent race relations in America, in which white men beat a black man to death for accidentally entering the “whites only” section of a beach. Similar violent encounters happened in Tulsa in 1921, with both events being met with protests and subsequent police violence. -
American Legion
The American Legion was a veterans’ organization that advocated on behalf of veterans’ rights and pushed the federal government to establish the Veteran’s Administrations in 1921. When veterans tried to ask for early compensation as a result of the Great Depression through protests, Hoover dispersed them using the military which led to his downfall in public support. -
19th Amendment
The 19th Amendment recognized the right of all citizens, including women, to vote. This was a major event in the time of increasing roles in society for women and some increase in gender equality, including the increased number of women in the workforce, more access to contraceptives, an increase in divorce rates due to women’s ability to make their own income, and the prevalence of flappers, who defied gender norms and expectations. -
Emergency Immigration Quota Act/Johnson Act
The Emergency Immigration Quota Act was used to limit immigration to the United States by using the 1910 census to determine how to set the quota for how many people from each country could immigrate. This was passed before the National Origins Act, which then used the 1890 census to limit immigration from Eastern and Southern Europe, and from Asia. -
Scopes Trial
The Scopes Trial was a case that discussed the validity of the theory of evolution, and the ability of teachers to teach about evolution, resulting in the teacher being found guilty. This not only depicted the beginning of culture clashes in the early 20th century but also had an effect on how religious values took precedence in the classroom rather than factual education. -
Black Tuesday
Black Tuesday was the day of the stock market crash, which was the final point after a buildup of economic instability that led to the Great Depression. Chronic depression in farming and mining industries, the lack of diversification in industries, over-speculation in the stock market, tariffs, and the Dust Bowl all led to the Great Depression after Black Tuesday. -
Hawley-Smoot Tariff
The Hawley-Smoot Tariff was the highest tariff in American history, at about 60%, under the presidency of Herbert Hoover, leading to other nations retaliating and negatively affecting an already unstable economy. This tariff, along with Hoover’s support of trickle-down economics and lack of significant action, led to his massive unpopularity and the subsequent support of Franklin Roosevelt. -
Lausanne Conference
The Lausanne Conference in Switzerland was a meeting between France, Britain, and Germany, where the total debt of Germany to the Allied nations was lowered if the Allied countries could cancel their own debts to the United States, which the United States refused. The debt Germany owed to the Allies not only led to economic instability but also helped contribute to resentment and anger that grew before World War II. -
Reconstruction Finance Corporation
The Reconstruction Finance Corporation was a policy enacted under the presidency of Herbert Hoover in which money was given to maintain big businesses rather than helping the public and those who were unemployed. This was designed to give indirect help to the public and enforced the ideas of rugged individualism and trickle-down finances to the public. -
National Industrial Recovery Act
The National Industrial Recovery Act created the National Recovery Administration, which was a voluntary New Deal program that tried to get workers and businesses to work together and established minimum wages and maximum hours, and labor unions. Although many people did not participate, this set the progressive shift of government into action, helping lead to more effective New Deal Programs to help labor such as the Wagner Act, and the Fair Labor Standards Act. -
21st Amendment
The 21st Amendment essentially nullified the 18th Amendment by declaring Prohibition unconstitutional, as a way to raise government revenue during the Great Depression, and passed along with the Beer and Wine revenue act. This was one of the ways in which Franklin Roosevelt used federal power to a greater extent than Herbert Hoover to help alleviate the issues during the Great Depression. -
Agricultural Adjustment Act
The Agricultural Adjustment Act was passed under Franklin Roosevelt, in order to address the issue of crop overproduction that made the Great Depression worse for farmers. Although this was declared unconstitutional, the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act was passed to help farmers and help with conservation efforts. -
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration was a massive program that helped give jobs to many people including writers and artists, which stimulated the economy and led to the construction of roads and infrastructure, artistic works, and helped benefit the Depression-era society. This program also included African-Americans, helping show social as well as economic progressivism in the government of the time. -
Lend-Lease Act
The Lend-Lease Act essentially gave supplies and ships to Great Britain to fight the Axis Powers, especially Germany, due to the U.S.’s opposition towards Germany but the desire to stay relatively neutral by not joining the conflict. This was criticized by those who were isolationists or didn’t support the cost to the United States by giving away supplies, but this continued and helped set the stage for U.S. entry into the war. -
U.S. Enters WWII
The United States entered World War II after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, and the United States declared war on Japan. This declaration of war ended the various social programs and replaced them with war manufacturing, stimulated the economy, and led to discrimination and limitation of liberties, especially for ethnic minorities such as Japanese Americans.