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Westward Expansion
Growth of railroads, Mining, Ranching and Cattle Industry Boom, Farming and Agricultural Innovation, Conflict with Native Americans -
Growth of railraods
Value of American manufacturing rose of $3 billion to $13 billion between 1869 and 1910. A so called "new economy" rose after the Civil War ended, spurred on in part by the increased and widespread production of railroads, which facilitated the distribution of raw goods and other products across the entirety of the United States. -
Mining
Nevada was discovered to have very rich silver deposits, which caused a rush of miners, and quickly industrialized the area, with Virginia City becoming the most important city in the South. -
Ranching and Cattle Industry Boom
Development of railroads made the cattle industry blossom into a profitable occupation, which inspired many people to participate in this new job. -
Farming and Agricultural Innovation
The exponential increase in ranchers resulted in a huge leap in agricultural technology. The invention of the plow is an example of such technology. -
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The Gilded Age
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Industrialization
America develops from a mostly agricultural society to a society based on manufacturing goods and services (developments of factories, more efficient production of clothing, textiles). -
Monopolies
When a company has little to no competition in its market, and develops such control over its domain that it can manipulate prices. Basically, domination over a particular business or trade. -
Conflict with Native Americans
American Indian Wars occured, Partly a fight for resources, and partly the American attempt to remove all Native Americans from certain areas. -
Andrew Carnegie
Led the expansion of the American steel industry -
Immigration
Immigrants composed mostly of people who were looking for employment. The industrial labor pool was made up of mainly immigrants. -
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US Imperialism
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Spanish American War
This war was a conflict between America and Spain (duh!) because of US intervention in the Cuban War of Independence. -
Annexation of Hawaii
America was interested in claiming lands beyond its current borders, but there were few such unclaimed lands remaining. Hawaii was one such unclaimed area, and the US quickly pounced on the opportunity to annex another region. -
Urbanization
Urbanization was spurred by industrialization. The huge increase of factory jobs in the cities forced many to move near their place of work, creating a massive increase in the relative concentration of people in said cities. -
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Progressive Era
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US Expansion Overseas
Mechanization and mass production lead to over production and under consumption, leaving corporations with one remaining option; sell their products and services overseas. -
Consumer Protection
Ensures that citizens are protected from unsafe products, fraud, deceptive advertising, and unfair business practices. -
Environmental Conservation
This was one of three parts of Roosevelt's Square Deal, aimed to manage resources more efficiently, reboot forests in America, protect more land. -
Teddy Roosevelt
Teddy Roosevelt's presidency had a large focus on foreign policy. -
Democratic Reforms
States began using primary elections to elect officials, to reduce the influence of large corporations on politics. -
Period: to
World War I
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Regulation of Monopolies
The creation of the antitrust law regulates the conduct and organization of business corporations generally to promote fair competition for the benefit of customers. -
Trench Warfare
A type of warfare in which opposing troops fight from trenches facing each other. The most prominent use of trench warfare was on the Western Front during WWI. -
Lusitania
British ocean liner, briefly the world's largest passenger ship. Torpedoed and sunk by a German U-boat. Shifted British public opinion on Germany, and helped Britain when they declared war two years later. -
Zimmerman Telegram
Issued by the German Foreign Office that proposed a military alliance between Germany and Mexico in the event of the US entering WWI against Germany. -
Woodrow Wilson
An advocate for democracy and world peace throughout WWI. -
Women's Suffrage: 19th Amendment
Granted women limited voting rights (in some places, not as limited), but the right to vote all the same. -
Prohibition
The legal act of prohibiting the production, sale, transportation, and consumption of alcohol. -
Period: to
The Roaring Twenties
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League of Nations
Intergovernmental organization as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the first world war. -
Prohibition
Nationally enforced banning of production, sale, consumption, and transportation of alcohol. This 18th amendment was created in hopes of lowering crimes and corruption, reduce social problems, lower taxes needed to support prisons and poorhouses, and improve health and hygiene in America. -
Jazz Age
Post WWI movement in which jazz music and dancing emerged, Although the era ended with the beginning of the Great Depression, jazz has survived throughout time up to the present day. -
Flappers
A fashionable young woman intent on enjoying herself and flouting conventional standards of behaviour. -
The 'new' KKK
Contributing to the Klan's growth was a post-war depression in agriculture, the migration of African Americans into northern cities, and a swelling of religious bigotry and nativism. Klan members considered themselves defenders of Prohibition, traditional morality, and true Americanism. -
Scopes Trial
Trial of a Tennessee schoolteacher for teaching Darwin's theory of evolution. -
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Great Depression
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Stock Market Craash
Market crash attributed mostly to low wages, the proliferation of debt, a struggling agricultural sector, and large bank loans that could not be liquidated. -
High Unemployment
Rich became richer and poor became poorer, with an uneven distribution of the nation's wealth, causing huge economic problems, which contributed to the Great Depression. -
Herbert Hoover
After America entered WWII, Hoover managed to avoid rationing in the US, yet still kept supplying enough food for the Allies. But his reign spiraled down the drain, until he was looked upon as a scapegoat for the Great Depression. -
Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal
3 Rs- Relief, Recovery, Reform. Relief for the poor, Recovery of the economy, Reform of the financial system. -
Period: to
World War II
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Adolf Hitler
Leader of the Nazi party, and the Fuhrer of Nazi Germany. -
Pearl Harbor
A surprise military attack on Pearl Harbor in the US territory of Hawaii by the Japanese Navy. -
Europe and the Pacific
After Pearl Harbor, Japan experienced a surge in military successes. The turning point in this war was with the American naval victory at the Battle of Midway. -
Holocaust
A genocide committed by Hitler's Nazi Regime, killing approximately 6 million Jews. -
Period: to
Cold War
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Atomic Bomb
America drops atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, during the final stages of WWII. Remain the only uses of nuclear forces during a war. -
Soviet Union
USSR was a Marxist-Leninist state on the Euroasian continent. -
Communism
A system of social organization in which all economic and social activity is controlled by a totalitarian state dominated by a single party. -
Containment
A military strategy to stop the expansion of an enemy, in this case, the communist party. -
Arms Race
US discovers that Russia has developed an atomic bomb, so the US started working on the H-bomb, and Russia followed. Over the next few decades, Russia and US armed themselves to the teeth with nuclear devices, and created the MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction) program in an attempt to prevent either from using the nukes on each other. -
Period: to
Civil Rights Movement
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Period: to
Vietnam War
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Martin Luther King, Jr
Leader of the African American Civil Rights Movement. -
Brown v. Board of Education
US Supreme Court declares segregated schools unconstitutional. -
Rosa Parks
African American Civil Rights activist, often referred to as "the first lady of civil rights" and "the mother of the freedom movement." -
Sputnik
Frist artificial Earth satellite -
Sit Ins
Non violent student sit ins (sitting at segregated counters) brought to attention the enormous problem of segregation. -
Part of the Cold War
Vietnam was one of the proxy wars of the Cold War. The USSR and US were at war with each other indirectly, because the wars weren't technically on Russian or American soil. -
US supported South Vietnam against communist North Vietnam
Self explanatory? US indirectly fighting the USSR by fighting the communist North Vietnam instead of taking the fighting to Russian soil. -
"I have a Dream"
A call for the end of racism in the US, a defining moment in the Civil Rights Movement. -
Lyndon B Johnson
Domino Theory in Vietnam, wanted to support South Vietnam without recreating the Korean War, eventually decided to leave behind the US' passive role in the Vietnam war, and got American soldiers involved. -
Space Race
Competition between the USSR and the US to get to space first. USSR got to space first, but the US got to the moon first. -
Espionage
Intelligence gathering on the opposing side's intentions, military plans, and technological advances. Prominence of the CIA and the KGB. -
Anti War Movement
A social movement opposing a governmental decision to start or continue an armed conflict. This type of movement can also be associated to Pacifism. -
Draft
US conducted two lotteries to figure out the order in which people would be drafted, for men born between 1944 and 1950. -
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Late 20th Century
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Oil Crisis
Two oil crises in the 1970s as a result of Arab oil embargos on the US. -
Inflation
A sustained increase in the general prices for goods and services. As inflation rises, each dollar you own is worth less. Inflation destabilizes the value of the dollar. -
Conservative Resurgence
Movement was aimed at reorientating the denomination (Southern Baptist) away from percieved liberal trajectory and toward an unambiguous affirmation of biblical inerrancy (so the Bible is without error or fault). -
Technological Revolution
The Digital Revolution entailed the transition from analog, mechanical and eletrical technology to digital technology. Often referred to as the Third Industrial Revolution, after the Agricultural Revolution and the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century. -
End of the Cold War
Gorbachev loosens communist policy in Russia, and the increased freedom inspired the people to stray even more from communist ideals, which caused the communist countries to fall one by one, with Gorbachev refusing to act against this change. -
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US in the 21st Century
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9/11 Terrorist Attacks
A series of 4 terrorist attacks on the US by al-Qaeda meant to target symbolic US landmarks (Washington DC, Twin Towers, Pentagon). -
War on Terror
Also known as the Global War on Terrorism, an international militar campaign that started after the 9/11 attack on the US. -
Hurricane Katrina
One of the five deadliest hurricanes in the history of the US. It caused severe destruction along the Gulf Coast from central Florida to Texas. -
2008 Economic Recession
Worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. It threatened the collapse of large financial institutions. The housing market suffered terribly, with huge numbers of foreclosures, evictions, and the rate of unemployment raised significantly. -
Election of Barack Obama
First African American president elected in the US, He gained almost 53% of the popular vote, and beat John McCain, the Republican nominee for president. -
Globalization
The process of integration and interaction among poeple, companies, and governments of different nations, driven by international trade, and aided by information technology.
