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Carie A. Nation
Nation was born in 1846 and was a prohibitionist during the Progressive Era. She often destroyed bars with a hatchet to protest alcohol, and she was even arrested. -
Jane Addams
Addams was born in 1860 and was a social worker in the Progressive Era. She led the Hull House, which attempted to promote the welfare of people, especially those affected by poverty and discrimination. -
Exploitation in Sharecropping
Freedmen resorted to sharecropping for labor because they had experience in farming, and they needed to work in order to avoid imprisonment. As a attempt to revert back to the ways of slavery, many white land owners abused the system so blacks could never repay their debt for the use of land/tools and would remain bound to their land. With high competition for jobs in the impoverished South, as well as white capping, sharecropping and its exploitation seemed inevitable to African Americans. -
First Transcontinental Railroad
This construction of this railroad began in 1863 and began to connect America from shore to shore. This railroad, and future railroads, benefitted America in its economy by raising money from transporting people and goods and in society by allowing for a more efficient manner of passing along ideas. -
Sand Creek Massacre
White soldiers from Colorado attacked Native Americans, who were promised immunity if they lived on the land where they were slaughtered. Four hundred Native Americans were killed during this fight over the land that whites put the Native Americans on in the first place after continually pushing them farther west. -
Vagrancy Laws
Black Codes/Vagrancy laws forced freedmen to always have papers with proof of employment. Otherwise, freedmen could be fined/arrested and imprisoned, where they could once again be put into slavery in accordance with the 13th Amendment. These laws found ways around the Amendments, and the freedmen prisoners could even be sold to someone willing to pay the price. Slavery was abolished, but the methodology of slavery never evaporated from most white Southern mindsets. -
Election of 1868
Republican candidate Ulysses S. Grant won the election, which was largely a result of the newly enfranchised freedmen in the South. African Americans favored the Republican Party for their efforts in the black rights movement, but freedmen's power threatened some white people and Democrats, who did not want Reconstruction to continue on the Republican path. Much violence would arise from this newfound power in order to suppress African Americans and maintain white supremacy in politics. -
Panic of 1873
The Coinage Act of 1873 limited how much currency was available because gold became the standard, while silver was abandoned. The New York Stock Exchange feared the decrease in the average currency of the country, so it closed for ten days. Thus, thousands of businesses invested in this went bankrupt, creating national debt, unemployment, and panic -
Civil Rights Act of 1875
This act declared discrimination of race in public places illegal. However, it was deemed unconstitutional and was unable to serve its purpose. It had little to no effect of the Civil Rights movement because it could not be put into action. -
Whiskey Ring
The Whiskey Ring was a scandal under President Grant, and it involved an attempt of bribing the IRS to not pay the excise taxes on alcohol. The money gained from not paying taxes may have been used to re-elect Grant as President, although this is just a hypothesis. -
Great Railroad Strike
The Pennsylvania Railroad and other railroad companies began to cut the wages of its workers by ten percent. Still struggling to get back on their feet after the Panic of 1873, around 14000 workers blockaded the freight trains at Baltimore and West Virginia. -
Interstate Commerce Act
This act attempted to regulate the railroad and other companies so that they would not be able to utilize monopolistic tactics in achieving success, power, or influence. It established the Interstate Commerce Commission, which would deal with regulation, although it was unable to fully attack monopolies. -
The Sherman Anti Trust Act
This act gave the federal government the power to dissemble trusts that affected free trade or acted as monopolies. It designated this monopolistic behavior as illegal. It attempted to create a more equal playing field for smaller businesses who had to compete against the robber barons. -
The Influence of Sea Power upon History
Written by Alfred Thayer Mahan, this book inspired the US to follow great empires in the past, like Rome, in taking control over the seas to become the absolute power. US imperialistic efforts of acquiring naval bases at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii and Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, as well as the Panama Canal, brought this vision to life so that America could work its way to becoming the ultimate authority over the seas. -
Election of 1896
William McKinely, a Republican, and William Bryan, a former Populist and current Democrat, ran in the election. Bryan focused on implementing bimetallism as a cure for the economy and as help for American farmers. However, McKinely's platform was more well know, appealed to more people, and raised more money than Bryan's platform; thus, McKinely was victorious in the election. -
Annexation of Hawaii
In an attempt to push out American influence on Hawaii, Queen Liliuokalani attempted to empower the monarchy, but she was overthrown by Americans. A primary reason for annexing Hawaii was that missionaries and US citizens wanted cheaper sugar. With Hawaii as a US territory (in 1900), the US would save money on sugar because there would not be expensive tariffs on sugar that came from a territory of the US itself. Without the expense of tariffs, Hawaiian sugar could be cheaper for US citizens. -
Spanish American War
President McKinley went to Congress on this day to receive the permission to war with Spain. The USS Maine had exploded, and yellow journalism by primarily William R. Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer, as well as the DeLome Letter and administrative pressure, persuaded hesitant McKinley to fight against Spain. -
Battle of San Juan Hill
This battle was a major victory for the US, as San Juan Hill was a pivotal point to have. Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders greatly contributed to this battle because the US's troops were not at prime numbers after the civil war, and they effectively charged the Spanish. This feat earned the Rough Riders respect and recognition as war heroes for America. -
Insular Cases
With American acquisition of Puerto Rico, Cuba, Guam, and the Philippines in the Spanish War, the Supreme Court ruled that Constitutional rights did not apply to Philippines or Puerto Rico. This justified the Foraker Act (Puerto Rico w/o pop. gov.) and failure to recognize Philippine independence, resulting in the Philippine Insurrection. -
Panama Canal Beginning
Panama was under the control of the Colombian government, and the US wanted to purchase land for a canal. Colombia rejected the US offer, but led by Bunau-Varilla, Panamanians revolted against Colombia to promote the prosperity that would result from a canal in their land. Building began in 1904 and was completed in 1914; however, many workers died during this period from malaria and work-related injuries. The Panama Canal cut down sea travel time, helping American imperialistic conquest. -
Roosevelt Corollary
This was Theodore Roosevelt's addition to the Monroe Doctrine that stated that the US had "preventative intervention". Therefore, the US would intervene in the domestic affairs of nations in the West to ensure they were acting in line with US law and obligations and were stable. -
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
The unsafe work environment at the factory caught fire, and the workers, who were primarily women and girls, were trapped inside. Around 150 workers died from the fire or failed attempts of fleeing from the site. -
Sussex Pledge
Germany's incessant use of U-boats (unrestricted warfare) instigated war entrance of the US, from the sinking of British passenger boat Lusitania (w/ 128 Americans and weapons) to the Arabic to the Sussex. This pledge said Germany wouldn't sink unarmed ships w/o warning as long as the US stopped Ally trade blockade. Neither side complied. -
Bolshevik Revolution
Led by Vladimir Lenin and the "Bolsheviks", the Russian people overthrew the tsar regime (Tsar Nicholas II), which instituted a new regime that drew Russia out of WWI for it being a capitalist war since Russia was communist. This allowed Germans who were fighting for Russia to contribute to German efforts against France in the war. -
Silent Sentinels
With momentum from the war, the National Women's Party led by Alice Paul protested outside the White House, demanding that women's suffrage be passed as an amendment in order that America could really say it was protecting democracy. The NWP thought US could not claim to be fighting for democracy if not all people in America could experience said liberties. -
Schenck v. US
In response to Charles Schneck protesting against the draft in WWI by handing out leaflets telling men to resist conscription, the Supreme Court ruled that the First Amendment (focused on freedom of speech) could be restricted if the case involved a "clear and present danger". Schneck violated the Sedition and Espionage Acts by going against US policy that was an attempt to preserve the livelihood of Americans at home by fighting for democracy abroad. -
Volstead Act
The act gave the government legal authority to act on the 18th Amendment, which involved Prohibition of intoxicating substance. Specifically, distribution and manufacture of alcohol would now be a crime. However, this only led to gang related (Al Capone) and overall illegal distribution of alcohol because it was still in wide demand. -
Mass Consumption and Advertising
Industrial advancements as a result of less focus on the production of weapons for warfare, the discovery of new oil fields, and scientific management (Frederick Taylor (ex.division of labor)) helped produce products quicker and more efficiently. The "Gatsby" lifestyle emerged and material wealth designated success. Bruce Barton created advertising, which transformed radio and the future of business (ex. Geico). -
Reemergence of KKK
Isolationism garnered nativism in America, which often leads to racism. The KKK faded after Reconstruction until now, but with the rising population and kindled racist beliefs among families, the Southern KKK members grew. Additionally, some Northerners understood the KKK cause of protecting white opportunities after the Great Migration, where many African Americans fled North to avoid Jim Crow laws. -
Emergency Quota Act
Isolationism after the war contributed to the sense that immigrants were potentially anarchists who did not benefit America. This act limited European immigrants so that only 3% of the number of already American immigrants of a particular nationality could enter the US. It played to the new ideal of "America first". -
Manchurian Incident
A Japanese railroad exploded in Manchuria, which was a province of China. The Japanese blamed China in order to justify invasion into Manchuria by the Japanese Imperial Army and form Manchukuo. This event resembles the US reaction to the explosion of the USS Maine. -
Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
This was a neutrality pact between Germany in the Soviet Union, with the purpose of both nations being able to divide Poland instead of competing for it as separate parties. Although Hitler broke this pact, it was a smart idea for both parties while it lasted because it preventing having more opposition in the war for the short period of time in order to focus on seizure of Poland. -
Pearl Harbor
Japan attacked Pearl Harbor as a result of US embargoes war materials for Japan, which were deemed as a declaration of war. Japan attacked the US to gain time for strengthening itself by conquests and fortification, almost as a distraction to America after its inevitable entrance into WW2. Pearl Harbor was specifically targeted because it was a large American naval base, with battle ships and aircraft carriers, and was close to Japan. -
GI Bill
This bill provided honorably discharged veterans with benefits after the war, allowing for a smooth transition back into daily life in America, such by providing a grace period of unemployment with support from the government for one year and postsecondary education. It benefited the economy because veterans could more easily purchase homes, spiking the construction industry, and it supported businessmen/farmers who could contribute to America.
