TD written expression American Part Flashcards
What was the Gilded Age, and why was it called that?
An era of rapid industrialization, widespread corruption, and massive wealth concentration (1870-1900). Named after Mark Twain’s novel, symbolizing social problems hidden by a “thin layer of gold.”
What was the role of railroads during the Gilded Age?
Railroads fueled industrial growth, connecting markets and enabling mass production and distribution.
Who was William Tweed, and why is he significant?
A corrupt New York politician satirized by Thomas Nast; Tweed symbolized the political corruption of the era.
What were the main guiding principles of the Progressive Era?
Morality and efficiency in government, business, and society.
Who were the “muckrakers”?
Progressive journalists who exposed corruption, poor working conditions, and societal issues through investigative reporting.
What were the key political reforms of the Progressive Era?
- Direct election of senators (17th Amendment, 1913)
- Secret ballots
- Introduction of referendums and primaries
What changes were introduced to improve working conditions?
- Abolishment of child labor
- Factory safety regulations after incidents like the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire (1911)
What were key social reforms during the Progressive Era?
- Anti-alcohol campaigns
- Creation of public services (food banks, youth shelters)
- Women’s suffrage (19th Amendment, 1920)
What were Theodore Roosevelt’s contributions to the Progressive Era?
- Meat Inspection Act & Pure Food and Drug Act (1906)
- Regulation of railroads and telephone services
- Coal Miners’ Strike (1902) mediation
What was the “separate but equal” doctrine?
A Supreme Court decision (Plessy v. Ferguson, 1896) that legitimized racial segregation under Jim Crow laws.
How did Woodrow Wilson further progressive reforms?
- Clayton Act (1914) to break up trusts
- Federal Reserve Act (1913) for banking reform
- Graduated income tax (16th Amendment, 1913)
What was the significance of the Springfield Race Riot of 1908?
Sparked the formation of the NAACP to combat racial violence and advocate for civil rights
Who was W.E.B. Dubois, and what did he achieve?
Founder of the NAACP (1909), he fought for civil rights and equality, edited The Crisis magazine, and led anti-lynching campaigns.
How did the Progressive Era address African Americans’ issues?
While progressives focused on white working-class issues, African Americans developed their own reform efforts, including schools, churches, and the NAACP.
What was the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire?
A 1911 fire in a Manhattan factory where 146 workers died, leading to significant labor and safety reforms.
What did the Sherman Antitrust Act (1890) aim to do?
Prevent monopolies and foster competition in business.
What was the Pendleton Act (1883)?
Legislation requiring government job applicants to be qualified, reducing corruption by political machines.
What is the 19th Amendment?
Ratified in 1920, it granted women the right to vote.
How did the Clayton Act (1914) differ from the Sherman Antitrust Act?
It strengthened antitrust laws and provided protections for labor unions.
How does the Black Lives Matter movement connect to historical civil rights struggles?
It addresses ongoing racial injustices, including police brutality, which traces back to systemic racism and segregation.
Who was Colin Kaepernick, and what role did he play in the movement?
A football player who protested police brutality by kneeling during the national anthem, sparking national discourse.
What followed WWI in the US, marking significant changes in lifestyle and culture?
The Roaring Twenties.
What were key features of the Roaring Twenties?
Unprecedented industrial growth, rising prosperity, modernity (skyscrapers, jazz, cars, telephones), and the birth of pop culture.
Why was the US better positioned economically after WWI compared to Europe?
The US entered WWI late (1917) and was geographically far from the conflict, allowing it to become a global financial center.
What symbolized American modernity in the 1920s?
Skyscrapers like the Rockefeller Center and Empire State Building.
What was “Fordism”?
Henry Ford’s system of mass production using assembly lines, drastically reducing product costs.
How did the motor industry influence other industries?
It boosted oil, concrete, steel, glass, rubber, and paint industries and transformed living patterns with suburban expansion.
What was the Fordney-McCumber Tariff (1922)?
A policy imposing high tariffs to protect American businesses, leading to economic surplus.
Which new technologies reshaped daily life in the 1920s?
Cars, telephones, cinemas, and radios.
What new cultural trends emerged in the 1920s?
Swing music, the Charleston dance, and flappers.
What role did Hollywood play during the Roaring Twenties?
It became a major industry, transitioning to sound films in the late 1920s.
What novel symbolizes the 1920s, and who wrote it?
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
What was a “speakeasy”?
An illegal bar where people consumed alcohol during Prohibition.
What did the 18th Amendment (1919) do?
Outlawed the manufacture, import, and sale of alcohol.
What were some unintended effects of Prohibition?
Rise in organized crime, corruption, and illegal bars (speakeasies).
Who was a notorious figure during Prohibition?
Al Capone, who profited from bootlegging.
What was the Red Scare (1919-1921)?
A fear of foreigners believed to plan a Soviet-style revolution, marking early Cold War sentiment.
What did the Immigration Act of 1924 do?
Restricted immigration from Eastern and Southern Europe.
Who were Sacco and Vanzetti?
Two Italian immigrants wrongfully executed for murder, highlighting anti-immigrant sentiment.
What was the Harlem Renaissance?
A cultural movement celebrating African-American creativity, part of the wider “New Negro Movement.”
What act granted Native Americans citizenship in 1924?
The Indian Citizenship Act.
Name two key figures of the Harlem Renaissance.
Langston Hughes (poet) and Louis Armstrong (jazz musician).
What was Langston Hughes’ criticism of the Harlem Renaissance?
It didn’t improve wages or materially change race relations for most black Americans.
What was Calvin Coolidge’s approach to governance?
Laissez-faire, tax cuts (Revenue Act 1924), and reduced government spending.
Why did Hughes call the Cotton Club a “Jim Crow club”?
It was segregated, with black performers and white patrons, perpetuating racial discrimination.
What were the causes of the Great Depression?
Declining demand, business debt, risky speculation, international troubles, and failed federal policies.
What was Herbert Hoover’s belief about poverty?
That it resulted from personal weakness and individual effort could overcome it.
What was “Black Thursday”?
October 24, 1929, when $10 billion was wiped out in stock value, leading to panic selling.
What was Herbert Hoover’s response to the crash?
He assured Americans the crisis would resolve itself, showing faith in market self-regulation.
What was the impact of the Great Depression on the gross national product (GNP) between 1929 and 1933?
The GNP was cut in half.
What did Herbert Hoover declare after his 1928 election win?
We in America today are nearer to the final triumph over poverty than ever before in the history of any land.”
How did Langston Hughes describe the Cotton Club?
A place where white patrons stared at black performers like “amusing animals at the zoo.”
What was the unemployment rate progression during Hoover’s presidency?
January 1930: 4 million unemployed → November 1930: 6 million → 1933: 13 million.
What novel depicts the plight of Dust Bowl farmers?
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck (1939).
What were some of Hoover’s attempts to combat the Great Depression?
Federal Public Works Projects, Federal Farm Board, Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act, Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC).
How many businesses shut down during the Great Depression?
100,000 businesses shut down.
What was the Dust Bowl?
An ecological crisis in the 1930s caused by new farming technologies that turned the ground to dust, affecting areas like Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas
Why were farmers particularly affected by the Great Depression?
They never benefited from the 1920s boom and were devastated by the Dust Bowl, leading to crop failures and land sales.
What were Hoovervilles?
Shantytowns built by homeless people during the Great Depression, named ironically after President Hoover.
What was the Bonus Army, and how did Hoover handle it?
Unemployed WWI veterans demanding cash bonuses; the army was sent to disperse them, leading to public outrage.
What were Roosevelt’s famous inaugural words?
“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
What was the significance of Roosevelt’s first 100 days?
Congress passed 15 major laws to tackle the Depression, including the Emergency Banking Relief Act.
What choice did voters face in the 1932 presidential election?
Limited federal intervention with Hoover or an expanded federal role with Roosevelt.
What did the National Industry Recovery Act (NIRA) do?
It promoted cooperation among businesses, introduced codes of fair competition, and allowed workers to organize.
What were Roosevelt’s Fireside Chats?
Radio addresses explaining government policies, which restored public confidence.
What was the purpose of the Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA)?
To control crop production and avoid overproduction, which increased farmers’ incomes by 50%.
What was the Public Works Administration (PWA)?
A program funding large-scale infrastructure projects to provide employment and stimulate the economy.
What was the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act (“The Big Bill”)?
It provided $4 billion for public works, creating jobs and building infrastructure like roads and schools.
What was the significance of the Social Security Act (1935)?
It established a federal system for pensions, unemployment insurance, and aid for dependents and the disabled.
What was the long-term impact of the Social Security Act?
It saved millions from poverty and marked the beginning of the welfare state in the U.S.
How did the New Deal affect African Americans?
Although not the primary target, they benefited from schools, housing, and employment programs.
How does The Grapes of Wrath describe Californian reactions to Dust Bowl migrants?
Migrants faced hostility, xenophobia, and injustice, as locals saw them as a threat to jobs and property.
How does Steinbeck portray Hoovervilles?
As precarious, unsanitary shelters made of scrap materials, easily destroyed by rain
According to Roosevelt, what was the role of the federal government?
To tackle unemployment and ensure the economy worked for all, while maintaining private enterprise.
How did WWII impact the US society and economy?
It was a major turning point, mobilizing all sectors of the economy, ending the Great Depression, and forging a new relationship between citizens, the government, and the nation.
How did military production affect businesses?
Large corporations, like General Motors, received government contracts worth $175 billion between 1940–1944.
How did WWII affect employment?
16 million men joined the military, opening jobs for African Americans, women, Mexican Americans, and other marginalized groups.
What was the role of the War Production Board?
Established in 1942, it coordinated war efforts, prioritizing military production over civilian goods.
What was the US’s involvement timeline in WWII?
The US entered the war after the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, though preparation began earlier.
How many women entered the workforce during WWII?
Over 6 million women joined, increasing female employment by 57%, taking roles in munitions, transportation, and other male-dominated jobs.
What program brought Mexican laborers to the US during WWII?
The Bracero Program, hiring 200,000 Mexican farmworkers.
How was domestic propaganda used during WWII?
The Office of War Information (OWI) used posters, ads, and films to encourage unity, sacrifice, and patriotism.
What role did the National War Labor Board play?
It mediated disputes between businesses and unions to maintain productivity.
What was the Double V Campaign?
A movement led by African Americans advocating victory against fascism abroad and racism at home.
What role did cinema play during WWII?
It became a key source of information, with newsreels of the war shown before movies.
What was the Office of Price Administration (OPA)?
Established in 1942, it implemented nationwide rationing for items like coffee, sugar, and gasoline to support the war effort.
How were African Americans treated in the US military during WWII?
The military was segregated, relegating Black soldiers to labor roles and often subjecting them to harassment.
How did WWII advance civil rights activism?
NAACP membership grew from 50,000 in 1940 to 450,000 by 1946, laying groundwork for the civil rights movement.
What happened to Japanese Americans during WWII?
Over 110,000 were forcibly relocated to internment camps following Pearl Harbor under suspicion of disloyalty.
What was the Second Great Migration?
The movement of 700,000 African Americans from the South to Northern and Western cities for war jobs.
What was the Zoot Suit Riot?
A 1943 conflict in Los Angeles between Mexican American youths in zoot suits and white sailors, symbolizing racial tensions.
What was the Manhattan Project?
A secret program in Los Alamos, New Mexico, to develop the atomic bomb, involving American scientists and Jewish refugees.
How did universities contribute to WWII efforts?
They developed technologies like radar systems, essential for warfare.
What was the Alien Registration Act of 1940?
A law making it illegal to advocate overthrowing the US government, used to arrest suspected traitors, including Germans, Italians, and Japanese.
How did WWII lead to migration within the US?
30 million Americans moved to urban centers or army bases, straining resources but opening economic opportunities.
What was the war’s economic cost to the US?
$304 billion, funded through borrowing, increasing national debt from $49 billion (1941) to $259 billion (1945).
What were the Four Freedoms?
Roosevelt’s vision of freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from want, and freedom from fear, used to justify the war effort.
How did WWII shape America’s global position?
The US emerged as the world’s most powerful and prosperous nation, marking the start of its superpower status.
