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Laissez Faire Economics
government keep hands off business and according to some, help guide business along the path to profits -
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Post Civil War Southern Society
Sharecropping- A system in which black laborers rented plots of land and payed their white landlords in either a fixed rent or a share of their crop. Created a cycle of dept and depression for sharecropers.
Black Codes- laws made in 1865-66 enacted by Southern state legislatures to give whites power over blacks; these laws were overrideen by Congress when the powers of the Freedman's Bureau were widened and when the First Civil Rights Act (1866) in defense of African American rights. -
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Transcontinental Railroad
And government subsidies- The national government helped to finance transcontinental railroad construction in the late nineteenth century by providing railroad corporations with land grants. (May 10, 1869)
And effect on industry- allowed industry to develop in the West such as Cattle Ranching and Farming providing money for the United States economy. (May 10, 1869 and up). -
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Social Darwinism
stated that the rich were rich and the poor were poor due to natural selection in society. This was the basis of many people who promoted a laissez fairee style of economy. -
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Southern and Eastern European immigrants
A new wave of immigrants, from eastern and southern Europe, frightened Americans because of the emigrant's customs, different faiths, illiteracy, and poverty. They were often discriminated against. -
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Growth of Cites
And machine politics- increased amount of successful business men that attempted to create large monopolies and horde the wealth.
And sanitation- initially tremendous amount of waste strained sanitation systems. Caused an uproar that created a need to develop better sanitation policies,
And stratification of classes- had become more stratified into social classes and had less social mobility. -
Dawes Act
attempt to "americanize" the indians giving each tribe 160 acres; after 25 years this property would become theirs (if they were good little whites) and they would become an American citizen. -
Gospel Of Wealth
a book written by Carnegie that described the responsibility of the rich to be philanthropists. This softened the harshness of Social Darwinism as well as promoted the idea of philanthropy. -
Frederick Jackson Turner Frontier Thesis
American historian who said that humanity would continue to progress as long as there was new land to move into. The frontier provided a place for homeless and solved social problems. -
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Plessy v. Ferguson—Brown v. Board of Education
Supreme Court’s ruling of “separate but equal” was overturned by the Brown v. Board of Education
Supreme Court’s ruling of “separate but equal” was overturned by the Brown v. Board of Education -
Spanish American War
And Yellow Journalism- One of the causes of the Spanish-American War (1898) - this was when newspaper publishers like Hearst and Pulitzer sensationalized news events (like the sinking of the Maine) to anger American public towards Spain.
And Philippines- Philippine-American War: The conflict that arose when the US tried to annex this Pacific Island chain. -
Open Door Policy
A policy that asked powerful and influential countries to respect Chinese rights and promote fair trade with low tariffs. This policy was accepted by other countries and prevented any country from creating a monopoly on Chinese trade. -
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Titans of Industry
Horizontal and vertical integration- horizontal: combining a number of firms involved in the same enterprise into a single corporation
Vertical: taking over the business on which a company relies for its primary function (1890-1900) Sherman Anti-Trust Act-This act banned any formations that would restrict trade, not distinguishing between bad and good trusts.
And use against Unions- The act was a hamper on worker unions,
showed that the government was slowly moving away from laissez faire ideas -
Mellon Economic Policies
Andrew Mellon himself to working for reductions in taxes on corporate profit, personal incomes, and inheritances. -
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Progresivism
This movement sought to improve life in the industrial age by making moderate political changes and social improvements through governmental action. Wanted to limit the power of corporations, improve the democracy so it benefited the people, and strengthen justice.
Reforms-Temperance and prohibition- disapproval of alchohol Square Deal (T, Roosevelt); trust-busting (Sherman Anti-Trust); RR regulation (ICC and Hepburn Act); consumer protection (Pure Food and Drug act and Meat Inspecection Act) -
Ford/Model T/ assembly line
Henry Ford perfected a a system for manufacturing automobiles by means of the assembly line
This allowed for mass production of vehicles and increase of unskilled workers -
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World War II draft and difference from WW I draft
WW1- Selective Service Act of 1917- ensured all groups in the population would be called into service. Racial segregation applied to the army
WW2- Selective Service Act of 1940- first ever peacetime draft -
League of Nations
Terms- The Leauge would oversee world affairs and prevent future wars. Wilson needed approval from 2/3 of the senate for the Treaty of Versailles to be passed.
Reason Senate defeated-Senate voted on it twice and was defeated twice. Congress was scared that it will pull us into another year, -
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1920s Literature
Lost generation-group of writers/authors who were disillusioned by the postwar era
Sinclair Lewis- wrote a series of novels (1st to win Noble prize for literature) -
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Labor Unions
Samuel Gompers; skilled workers only
AFL-Samuel Gompers; skilled workers only
CIO-John J. Lewis; broke away from AFL to organize unskilled workers
Wagner Act (1935) – guaranteed workers to collectively bargain
Taft Hartley Act
Immigrants-worked as factory workers; stile from American whites
Sherman Anti-Trust Act–trusts that build monopolies and refrain trade are illegal -
Naval Building limitations-Washington Conference
talked about naval disarmament, hoping to stabilize the size of U.S. navy relative to the size of other nations’. -
Scopes Trial and cultural conflict
Much publicized trial in Tennessee: it focused between religious fundamentalists (rural South) v. modernists (northern cities)
John Scopes (teacher) taught his kids about the theory of evolution and was convicted for it but later overturned.
Religion and public schools remain controversial and unresolved -
Kellogg Birand Pact
concluded the Washington Conference (1921)
outlawed war as an instrument of national policy.
proven ineffective because it allowed defensive wars and failed to take action against violators -
Herbert Hoover's Attitude toward Welfare and Handouts
Rugged Individualism – relied on private charities and local gov’t. he helped big businesses -
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Great Depression
Causes-Stock Market Crash (“Black Tuesday” – Oct. 29, 1929)
Lack of diversification – depended on a few basic industries.
Misdistribution of wealth – weakness in consumer demand = overproduction
Credit structure – farmers greatly in debt = couldn’t pay loans = small banks failed
Declining exports due to high tariffs, increasingly productive EU economy, and EU financial difficulties -
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1930s Isolationism
European debt issue-Supreme Court’s ruling of “separate but equal” was overturned by the Brown v. Board of Education
Causes-Supreme Court’s ruling of “separate but equal” was overturned by the Brown v. Board of Education
Consequences-Supreme Court’s ruling of “separate but equal” was overturned by the Brown v. Board of Education -
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Feanklin Delano Roosavelt
First 100 days legislation-
Neutrality Act of 1935 – prohibited all arms shipments and forbid U.S. citizens to travel to/from belligerent nations
Neutrality Act of 1936 – forbade extensions of loans to belligerents
Neutrality Act of 1937 – Cash and Carry
Differences with Hoover-FDR believed that federal gov’t should directly aid instead of rugged individualism
Court-packing-Court Packing – Adding younger justices that support ND
Good Neighbor Policy- FDR promises to help other W. hemisphere -
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Neutrality Acts
Neutrality Act of 1935 – prohibited all arms shipments and forbid U.S. citizens to travel to/from belligerent nations
Neutrality Act of 1936 – forbade extensions of loans to belligerents
Neutrality Act of 1937 – Cash and Carry -
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World War 2
Japanese Internment Camps- bombing of Pearl Harbor (December 7, 1941), internment was justified during wartime.
women in the workforce- women participation in business increased. Almost 5 million women entered the work force -
Poist World War 2 Attitude of Americans
Race Riots – Migration of AA to northern cities during the war increased racial tensions
Red Scare – growing fears of socialism and communism due to Russia. Palmer Raids: mass arrests of anarchists, Socialists, and labor agitators -
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Truman (part 1)
Fair Deal- national healthcare insurance, fed. aid to ed., public housing, farm program, and civil rights. Yet conservatives defeated most of the reforms. Due to Cold War
Republican Congress- chose Dewey but Truman’s campaign were more hands on and less cautious attacking republicans = Truman won
And Korean War-–(Kim Il Sung v. Pro western Syngman Rhee) MacArthur wanted to invade China directly = Truman recalled him -
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Truman (part 2)
Containment- prevent spread of communism
Cold War- long-term, patient but firm containment of Russia is the only way to defeat them.
And Berlin Airlift- Soviets cut off all access from east to West Berlin. He, instead of retaliating or retreating, ordered U.S. planes to fly and drop supplies to West Berlin. -
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1950s
Suburbs- Levittowns by William J. Levitt: mass produced low produced family homes.
Baby boom- by William J. Levitt: mass produced low produced family homes.
Nuclear war scare-arms race between USSR and U.S. (Cuban Missile Crisis)
Rock and Roll-mix of AA rhythm and blues with white country music that propelled counterculture
Consumerism- postwar era = consumers had money to spend and used credit
And economic boom- due to high consumer demands, this lead to increase production. (based on credit) -
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Vietnam
Gulf of Tonkin- LBJ used a naval incident in Gulf of Tonkin to secure congressional authorization. Gulf of Tonkin Resolution = “blank check”
Nixon- was a “hawk” on the Vietnam war “peace with honor” and “law and order” -
McCarthyism
Joseph McCarthy – unsupported accusations about communist in gov’t to keep media focused on him
House of Un-American Attitudes (HUAC) held the highly publicized investigations -
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Civil Rights Movement
Sit-Ins- in universities (Greensboro, NC)
School desegregation- Ole Miss, Kent State, and UofAL = JFK sent troops to help desegregate
Martin Luther King Jr.- committed to nonviolent protests earned to support and respect of Blacks and Whites
March on Washington- (1963) – in support for Civil Rights Bill
Radical black leaders- Malcolm X, and Black Panthers -
Sputnick
USSR’s launched their very first satellites: Sputnik I&II. This became a huge embarrassment to U.S. after attempts to duplicate it failed -
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1960s
Vietnam– credibility gap between citizens and government valued antiwar sentiments to grow
Counter-culture– expressed by young people by hoe they dress, drug use, and communal living. Folk music like Bob Dylan and Joan Baez.
Women’s movement- the Feminine Mystique (encouraged middle-class women to seek fulfillment in professional careers). The National Organization for Women (NOW) adopted activist tactics. Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) wasn’t passed -
Cuban Missile Crisis
U.S. reconnaissance planes discovered that Soviets were exporting nuclear weapons to a sight in Cuba. JFK set up a naval blockade of Cuba = Khrushchev finally agreed to remove the missiles. -
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Lyndon Johnson
Great Society-Medicare (65+); Medicaid (poor and disabled); financial aid to schools; abolish quotas for immigration
Civil Rights- Civil Rights Acts of 1964 – made segregation illegal in all public facilities and gave fed MORE power to enforce school integration.
Civil Rights Acts of 1965 – Voting Rights Act, which ended literacy tests. -
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Republican Reconstruction
Terms- demanded harsher measures in the South, and more protection for the Freedmen, and more guarantees that the Confederate nationalism was totally eliminated.
Election of 1876- The reconstruction of the republicans ended up to voting for Hayes. He quickly announced plans for election reform and pledged his earnest desire to heal the rift between North and South. -
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Jimmy Carter (part 1)
Camp David Accords-The Camp David Accords were the peace accords signed by Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat to finally end the Israeli-Egyptian disputes. The achievement by Carter is considered his greatest achievement in office.
SALT II-(1979) (Second Strategic Arms Limitations Talks) Set limits on the numbers of weapons produced. -
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Jimmy Carter (part 2)
Iran Hostage Crisis- In November 1979, revolutionaries stormed the American embassy in Tehran and held 52 Americans hostage. The Carter administration tried unsuccessfully to negotiate for the hostages release. On January 20, 1981, the day Carter left office, Iran released the Americans, ending their 444 days in captivity. -
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Populism
Policies- improve farmers economic conditions; supported increasing the money supply with free and unlimited coinage of silver and gold
Why it failed- Western and southern farmers; increase in urban population led to higher prices for agricultural products; discovery of gold increased supply, easing access to credit;
And southern racism- racism prevented poor white and black farmers from working together
Farmer discontent—why?-disagreed on political strategies -
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Reagan
Economic reforms:
-Reaganomics -Reagan's economic plan
-cut spending on medicare, medicaid, food stamps, welfare
-tax cuts + defense spending increase = recession in 1982