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Ind/Imm/Urb America
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Gold Rush
James Wilson Marshall was the first to find gold in the American River. Not long after, thousands of miners where along the river searching for gold. Most were hoping to strike it rich. About 40,000 miners were coming by sea to find the gold. -
Cattle Boom
Once the railroad was created, raising cattle on the Great Plains became profitable. This was known as the Cattle Boom, but it didnt last long. It was over by the 1880's. Overgrazing occured, destroying the grasses. This led to farmers fencing in their cattle. -
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Settling the West
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Homestead Act
Guranteed an adult citizen 160 acres of land for a minimal fee. The owners of the new land were expected to build on it and improve it. Not many farmers and laborers had the money to build on the land or buy the tools neccessary for it. The act failed. -
Transcontinental Railroad
The union pacific tracks joined the central pacific railroad. Leland Stanford, Collis P. Huntington, Charles Crocker, and Mark Hopkins were the inventors of this idea. They were known as the "Big Four'. This kind of railroad had been dreamed of as early as 1836 and discussed many times. -
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Progressivism
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Imperialism
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Ellis Island
Between the years of 1892 and 1954, immigrants were entering the United States through Ellis Island.They arrived by boat, some taking about 2 weeks to get there. Many steps were taken to make sure you were healthy enough to stay in America. If you didnt pass even one of the tests, you were sent back to your country. If you were sent back, your travel fees were payed for. -
Yellow Journalism
This was used to make boring stories more interesting, Journalists added in their own parts to make people want to read their stories. This became very popular, but created many problems with the newspaper. -
William Jennings Bryan
In the year 1896, Bryan stuggled to be a Democratic nominee. The White House had been held by the Deomocratic party for four years. They had been blamed for economic depression. This caused conflict for Bryan. -
Open Door Policy
Term used for the principle of equal trading rights in China. The United States did not want to compete for territory, but needed China for trading purposes. John Milton Hay negotiated with Britain, France, Germany, Russia, Italy, and Japan for equal and impartial trade with China. -
Labor Laws
Labor Laws were put in act to protect the workers. It put restrictions on the amout of hours a person could work and how much they could do. It also limited the age a child could work. No child was forced to work at ages that were deamed to young. This improved the safety and health of the workers in the factories. -
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal allows ships to pass through saving them about 8000 miles. Without this canal, ships would have to travel around South America. Creating this canal imporved trading. Many more people were willing to trade with the shorter commute. -
Muckrackers
This term was used for journalists who tried to write about politics. It comes from the word Muckrake. Theodore Roosevelt used that word in a speech. The muckrakers became very popular and tried to pass acts in their favor. Most of the acts failed and they didnt recieve much support. -
Meat Packing Act
The Meat Packing Act set regulations on the cleanliness of machines that came in contact with the meat. This act also put restictions on the chemicals used in the meat. Prior to this act there was said to have been rats in the meat. -
New Weapons
During WWI, new weapons were being made. This cost a great deal of money, but it was worth it. These new weapons helped in the war, and improved fighting skills. -
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WWI
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Red Cross
Membership to Red Cross jumped from 17,000 to over 20 million in 1918. After the war was over, red cross focused on service to verterans. They also improved on home care and nutrition. -
Treaty of Versailles
This treaty was signed by Germany and the allied powers at Versailles. It deprived Germany of some of its territory and its overseas possessons. Its army was limited to 100,000 men -
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1920's
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Flappers
Flappers were young girls who were rebellious against traditional 1920's standards. They wore their skirts above their knees which was unheard of. They went out to clubs at night and smoked. These were normally actions only done by men. These women also drank. They went above and beyond what a normal lady would do. -
Scopes Trial
John T. Scopes was tried for teaching Darwinism. He was a biology teacher at a public school. Scopes was convicted, but later realeased on technicallity, -
Herbert Hoover
Hoover was elected president in 1928. Not long after his election, the stock market crashed. In the position of power, Hoover could not overcome this economic destruction. He lost his relection in 1932. -
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Great Depression/New Deal
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Stock Market Crash
In the late 1920's, the stock market crashed. This led to the Great Depression because so many people had put almost all of their money into the market. This left everyone with slim to no money. If people dont have money, they cant buy anything which left companies with no profit. -
Buying on Margin
Buying on margin allowed people to buy things without actually having the money. This contributed to the great depression because once they had to pay for the items, no one had the money. This really crushed the economy because things were being sold without being paid for. -
Hooverville
A place where people were forced to live during the great depression. They didnt have enough money to pay for their home or any of the bills that came with it. They had to sell their house and everything in it just to get food and clothes. It was called Hooverville because they blamed Hoover for not fixing the problem. -
Franklin D. Roosevelt
FDR was the 32nd president. He greatly expanded the role of the federal government. He also created the New Deal which he hoped would counter the great depression. FDR was the main leader for the nation during WWII. -
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WWII
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Propaganda
Propaganda was a big contributed to the war. It got men to join the war and it also got people to support the war. Without propaganda, the war most likely wouldnt of done as well as it did. -
Carpooling
During the war, carpooling was ecouraged. It saved on gas, and the rubber from tires not being used was used in the war. Extra gas also was contributed in the war. If you didnt carpool, it was said you were "riding with Hitler". This was because if you didnt carpool you werent helping the war. -
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Cold War/Korean War/1950's
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Baby Boom
The baby boom was a period of time where men were returning from war and starting famalies. With all the men returning at the same time, many of their children were born at the same time. This went on for many years, If you were born during this time, you were known as a baby boomer. -
G.I Bill
Also known as the Servicemens Readjustment Act. This law stated that federal government had to pay for a part of a veterans tuition. Once this bill was passed, the percent of college students alomst doubled. -
Joseph McCarthy
McCarthy exploited the spector of Communist infiltration. He investigated several cases of communist moles instead of turning it over to the FBI. He made these trials into shows which made him a household name. -
Stalemate in Korea
After the first year of fighting, interest in winning was lost. The cost was too much and the risk of loosing men was too high. There was a truce called and war was altimately over. -
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JFK/LBJ/Civil Rights Movement
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George Wallace
Wallace entered the governor's race and recieved more than a quater million votes. This landed him in second place. He didnt accept the support of the KKK, which may have been the cause of his loss. -
Freedom Riders
Freedom riders were blacks and whites who traveled on busses throughout the south. They protested segregated facilities that were related to interstate travel. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
An American spy plane photographed missile sites being built in the Soviet Union. After many days of discussion, it was decided to blockade Cuba. This meant surrounding them with boats. This prevented any more military supplies from getting to Cuba. -
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Vietnam/Watergate
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Creation of Medicare
Medicare was being recieved by Americans in 1965. This only took place after President Lyndon B. Johnson signed legislation. The budget for medicare during this time was about 10 million dollars. -
My Lai Massacre
American soldiers brutally murder the My Lai citizens. They said they didnt know whether or not the people were part of the VC so they had to kill them. Some men realized what was happening and tried to help the citizens. Others went on killing like it was nothing. -
Lyndon B. Johnson
Johnson announced that he would not become a cannidate for another term as President. He wanted to devote all his time to finding peace in Vietnam. Being president didnt allow him the time to do what he thought was right. He needed as much time as possible to really have peace with Vietnam. -
Agent Orange
This was a chemical used by Americans to clear forests. This was later revealed to have caused health problems. This spread through the troops and even to some of their famalies.