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Civil War and Reconstruction
War over states' rights to secede and emancipation; union preserved; voting rights for African Americans -
Gilded Age
Immigration, industrialization, urbanization. Big business, railroads, organized labor, machine politics -
Progressive Era
Reform-urban problems; temperance; government and business corruption; women's right to vote -
American Imperialism
America becomes a world power, gains overseas colonies -
WWI
European conflict challenges U.S. policy of neutrality; Allied victory intended to make the world safe for democracy -
Great Depression
World trade declines, banks fail, high unemployment, urban and rural poverty; New Deal expands role of federal government -
WWII
Dictators threaten world peace on 2 fronts-Europe and Pacific; mobilizes U.S. economy and industry; U.S. helps win war and becomes a world leader -
Cold War
Tension and competition between U.S. and Communist USSR; threat of nuclear war; McCarthyism (1950s) -
Civil Rights Movement
Nonviolent protest-voting rights, desegregation; federal support vs. states' resistance; Black Power movement and urban riots -
Era of Social Change
Women, Latinos, and Native Americans seek equality; Hippie counterculture; "do your own thing"
