USA Flashcards
Squanto
Algonquin: helped english settlers survive the winter by teaching them how to plant
Sacagawea
Soshone: Vital role in Lewis and Clark expedition
Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull
Let Sioux and Cheyenne troops in the Battle of Little Bighorn 1876
Chief Joseph
Leader of Pez Perce
Supported peaceful interaction with white settlers
Age of Exploration
Considered to have begun in early 15th century and continued into the 17th century.
Spurred by technological advances in mapmaking and Shipbuilding
Voyage of Christopher Columbus
Discovered the Americas on his journey in 1942 aboard the nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria
Navigation Acts
Enacted in 1651 banned foreign trade among British Colonies
French and Indian Wars
War between France and England in North America that led to heavy war time debt for England
Reasons for British Taxation on American Colonies
Need to pay off war debt
Need for funds to defend expanding empire
Need for funds to govern Britain’s colonies
Quartering Act 1765
Required colonists to provide accommodations and supplies for British troops.
Colonists prohibited from settling west of Appalachians
Sugar Act of 1764
Required taxes to be collected on molasses brought into the colonies
Right to search the homes of suspected truants
Stamp Act 1765
Taxed Printed materials
Townshend Acts of 1767
Taxed paper, paint, lead and tea that came to colonists
Boston Massacre
March 5 1770 5 protesters shot while protesting British Rule
Tea Act 1773
Allowed East India Company to sell tea at lower cost and directly to distributors. In Protest Boston Tea merchants carried out the Boston Tea Party
Coercive Acts 1774
Four Coercive Acts meant to punish Americans
Shut down Boston ports
Required local government officials to be appointed by governor
Required locals to provide lodging for British soldiers
First Continental Congress
Met September 5th 1774 demanded the Intolerable Acts be repealed and instituted trade embargo with Britain
Second Continental Congress
May 10, 1775 discussed how to wage war against Britain and declaring Independence rom Britain
Battle of Lexington and Concord
April 1775 First engagement of Revolutionary war
Battle of Bunker Hill
June 1775, Proved the colonists could stand against a professional British army
Trenton New Jersey
Washington crossed the Delaware on Christmas day
Battle of Saratoga
Surrender of John Burgoyne led to France joining war as allies of the US
Battle of Yorktown
October 19, 1781 General Cornwallis surrendered
Treaty of Paris
Signed September 3 1783
Britain recognized the USA as independent nation
Articles of Confederation
Precursor to Constitution
Prevented central government from gaining too much power
Weak alliance of states proved too ineffective
Virginia Plan
Representation in congress be based on population
New Jersey Plan
proposed that each state have equal representation
Great Compromise
The Connecticut Compromise creating a bicameral Congress with representation in the House based on population but senate equal
Three- Fifths Compromise
Determined Slaves should be counted as 3/5ths of aperson
Commerce Compromise
Congress received regulatory power over all trade
ability to collect tarriffs on exported goods
Allowed imprting slaves to continue for twenty years
Federalist
Proposed a Strong central government and a minimization of state rights
Anti Federalist
Argued against constitution as it gave too much power to central government
Alien and Sedition Acts
Made it illegal to speak in a hostile fashion against the existing government
President could deport anyone not a citizen suspected of treason
Marbury v. Madison
Case sent a precedent for Supreme court the right of judicial review
Ability to nullify laws found to be unconstitutional
McCulloch v. Maryland
Case regarding Second Bank of the US and taxation by the state of Maryland
Precedent given to the federal government to prevail
Indian Removal Act 1830
Gave American government a claim to land east of the Mississippi in exchange for land west of Mississippi
Tribal leaders forced into signing treaties
Treaty of new Echota
Was the precursor the Martin Van Buren enforcing relocation on Cherokee indians through Trail of Tears
Isolationism
US government no intent to establish colonies
No entangling alliances
Washington and Jefferson opposed to forming permanent alliances with other countries and becoming involved in internal issues
Nationalism
Positive patriotic feeling blossomed after War of 1812
War of 1812
Grew out of trade tensions between England and the US
Burning of the white house
Treaty of Ghent
Christmas Eve 1814 ended the war of 1812
Monroe Doctrine
Attempts by European powers to establish new colonies would be considered interference in American politcs
Lewis and Clark Expedition
Lewis and Clark headed an expedition to discover the land bought in the Louisiana purchase
Manifest Destiny
American destined by God to expand west, bringing as much of the North American continent to the US
Gadsen Purchase
1854 was the Second treaty of the Mexican-American War. Added California, Nevada, Utah and portions of New Mexico, Wyoming, Colorado and Arizona
Jacksonian Democracy
Shift in politics from favoring the wealthy to focusing on the common man. Favoring the
Patronage System
Laissez Fair Econoics
Relocation of Indian Tribes
Null and Void
South Carolina stated it could ignore or nullify any federal law it considered unconstitutional
Second Great Awakening
Occurred between 1800-1830 lead by evangelical leaders with a focus on
Personal Responsibility in response to injustice
Significant leaders in Women’s rights movement
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Ernestine Rose
Lucretia Mott
Susan B. Anthony
Seneca Falls
1848 was the first convention held by the National Women Suffrage Association which was dedicated to fighting for the right ot vote
Harriet Beecher Stow
Author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin which highlighted the issues of slavery and was a rallying point for northern abolistionists
American Colonization Society
Protestant churches aimed at returning black slaves to Africa
American Anti-Slavery Society
Led by William Lloyd Garrison was a major abolitionist supporter
Publisher of the Liberator
Female Anti-Slavery Society
Formed by Margaretta Forten was a womens society against the institution of slavery
Female Vigilant Society
Organization that raised funds to help the Underground Railroad
Missouri Compromise
Brought Maine into the union as a free state and Missouri as slave state
Remaining portion of Louisiana Purchase split on the 36 30 lines
Popular Sovereignty
Each individual state should decide whether to allow or permit slavery within its borders
Compromise of 1850
California admitted as free state
Slave trade in D.C. outlawed
Increase in efforts to capture escaped slaves
New Mexico/Uta decide whether to allow slavery or nah
Kansas-Nebraska Act
Allowed for popular sovereignty in Kansas and Nebraska
Slavery opponents argued the Missouri Compromise had already made slavery illegal
Dred Scott Decision
Dred Scott (a slave) had travelled to Minnesota a free state and abolitionists argued after his master died he was a free man Supreme Court stated Scott as a slave was not a citizen, and that Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional
Harper’s Ferry
Led by John Brown was an attack on Harper’s Ferry arsenal and intended to lead a slave revolt
Was captured and hanged
Northern Advantages in Civil War
Larger Population
Better transportation and finances
More raw materials
Southern Advantages in Civil War
Better trained military officers
More familiar with weapons
Defensive position
Well-defined goals
Emancipation Proclamation
Issued in 1862: it freed all slaves in the Confederate states
Battle of Bull Run
July 21, 1861.
First major land battle of the Civil War
Was a bloodbath where the Union was defeated
Set the course for a long war
Capture of Fort Henry
February 1862
Marked the Union’s first major victory
Gettysburg
July 1-3 1863
Turning point of the war
Largest casualties of the war
Overland Campaign
1864
Led a high casualty campaign that positioned the Union for victory
Sherman’s march to the Sea
May of 1864
William Tecumseh Sherman marched from Atlanta to Savannah destroying indiscriminately as he went
Lincoln’s Assassination
April 14, 1865
Shot by John Wilkes Booth while watching Our American Cousin
Thirteenth Amendment
December 18, 1865
Prohibited Slavery
Fourteenth Amendment
July 9, 1868
Overturned Dred Scott decision– guaranteeing rights of citizens
Fifteenth Amendment
February 3, 1870
No citizen denied the right to vote based on race, color, or previous status as a slave
Reconstruction Acts
1866
Put all confederate states under military rule
Aimed at assimilating Confederate states back into Union
Freedman’s Bureau
Formed to help freedmen and give assistance to whites in the South who needed basic necessities
Intended to help freed slaves become self sufficient
Presidential Reconstruction
Driven by Andrew Johnson’s policies
Lenient on the South and allowed discrimination of blacks
Congressional Reconstruction
Provided wider range of civil rights for blacks and greater control over southern government
Marked by military control of south
Redemption
Confederate states readmitted to the Union
Troops leaving the south in 1877
Radical Republicans
Wished to treat the South harshly following the war
All black men the right to vote
Moderate Republicans
Only black men who were literate and who served as Union troops to vote
Black Codes
Proposed to control freed slaves
Not be allowed to bear arms, assemble, serve on juries or testify against whites
Schools segregated
Unemployed blacks arrested and forced to work
Civil Rights Bill
Countered the Black Codes
Wider rights for blacks
Led to Andrew Johnson being impeached
Scalawags
Southern whites who aligned with Freedmen to take over local governments
Carpetbaggers
Northerners who travelled to the South for
Make money/acquire political power
Transcontinental Railroad
Improved transportation across the nation
Naturalization Act
1870
Put limits on U.S. citizenship, allowing full citizenship only to whites and those of african descent
Chinese Exclusion Act
1882
Limits on Chinese immigration
Immigration Act of 1882
Taxed immigrants to pay administration fees
Emergency Quota Act
Johnson Quota Act
Limited the number of immigrants allowed into the country
Department of Agriculture
Founded in 1862
working for interests of farmers and ranchers
Morrill Land-Grant Acts
1862
Allowed land-grant colleges
Hatch Act of 1887
Worked in conjunction with land-grand colleges
Helped bring agricultural experimental stations into picture
Smith Lever Act
1914
Coop programs that helped educate people about food, home economics, community development and agriculture
Alexander Graham bell
Inventor of the telephone
Orville and Wilbur Wright
Inventor of the airplane
Richard Gatling
Inventor of the machine gun
Walter Hunt, Elias Howe and Issac Singer
Inventor of the sewing machine
Nikola Tesla
Inventor of the alternating current
George Eastman
Inventor of the camera
Thomas Edison
Inventor of the lightbulb, motion pictures and phonograph
Samual Morse
Inventor of the telegraph
Charles Goodyear
Inventor of vulcanized rubber
Cyrus McCormick
Inventor of the reaper
Gilded Age
Time period from post Civil War to beginning of WW1
Changing from Agricultural based economy to industrial
Cities grew rapidly and large number of immigrants arrived
Populist Party
Joined by the farmers alliance and Knights of Labors and upset at the economic state of the country. Increasing the voice of the common man
Platform included
National Currency
Income Tax
Government ownership of railroads, telegraph/telephone systems
Secret ballot for voting
Immigration restriction
Term limits for Presidents and Vice Presidents
Homestead Strike
1892
Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers struck against Carnegie Steel Company
Pullman Strike
1864
Led by Eugene Debs, employees struck agains Pullman Palace Car Co. after their wages were cut by 28%
Children’s Crusade
Led by Mary Harris Jones was a crusade to protest child lbor
Panic of 1893
Economic Criss that affected most the globe
Led to bankruptcies with railroads going under and factory unemployment rising to 25%
Progressive Era
Period following 1890s that advocated in favor of
Workers protection
Measures against corruption
Science could improve society
Muckrackers
Aggressive investigative journalists who brought to light scandals, corruption other worngs
Ida Tarbell
Journalist who exposed the Standard Oil Trust
Jacob Riis
Photographer who helped improve the lot of the poor in New York
Lincoln Steffens
Worked to expose political corruption
Upton Sinclair
Author of “The Jungle” that led to reforms in the meat packing industry
Sixteenth Amendment
1913
Established a graduated income tax
Seventeenth Amendment
1913
Allowed direct election of Senators
Eighteenth Amendment
1919
Prohibited the sale, production and importation of alcohol
Nineteenth Amendment
1920
gave women the right to vote
Federal Trade Commission
formed in order to enforce antitrust measures and ensure companies operated fairly
Controlling monopolies
Sherman Act and Clayton Antitrust Act
Set guidelines for competition among corporations and set to eliminate trusts
Dawes Act of 1887
Ordered assimilation of Native Americans rather than separation
Spanish-American War
1898- 1902
Was a war between the U.S. and Spain over Cuba.
Was intiated with the loss of the USS Maine
Big Stick Diplomacy
Roosevelt’s policy to justify expanded involvement foreign affairs
Led to an increase in the U.S. navy
Dollar Diplomacy
Policy created by William Howard Taft
Describes American efforts to influence Latin America and East Asia through economic rather than military means
Needed to protect Panama Canal for economic interests
Woodrow Wilson’s International Diplomacy
Liberalization and view that democracy would lead to worldwide stability.
Maintaining a strong military
Promoting democracy
Expanding International trade to boost ecnomy
Wilson’s 14 Points
Were Wilson’s proposed points on how to create a peace settlement to end WW1
National Origins Act of 1924
Placed limitations on immigrations.
Number of immigrants allowed into the U.s. was based on the population of each nationality of immigrants who were living in the US
Red Scare
Caused by the increased visibility of International Workers of the World and Socialist party
Attempted to organize strikes
Resulted in fear of bolshevism
Universal Negro Improvement Association
Headed by Marcus Garvey
Organization focused on building black nationalism
NAACP
Helped prevent racial segregation from becoming federal law
Fought lynchings
Helped black soldiers in WW1 become officers
American Civil Liberties Union
Founded in 1920
Goals were to protect immigrants and other citrizens who were threatened with prosecution for their political beliefs and support labor unions
Anti-Defamation League
Formed in 1913
Formed to prevent anti-Semetic behavior and practices
New Deal
Legislature aimed at providing jobs, wages and relief to numerous workers
Relief: Creation of jobs
Recovery: Stimulate the economy through National Recovery Administration
Reform: Pass legislation to prevent future similar economic crashes
Glass-Steagall Act
Separated investment from the business of banking
Securities Exchange Commision
SEC
Helped regulate Wall Street investment practices
Wagner Act
Provided worker and union rights to improve relations between employees and employers
Social Security Act of 1935
provided pensions as well as unemployment insurance
Davis-Bacon Act
1931
Provided fair compensation for contractors and subcontractors
Walsh-Healey Act
1936
Established a minimum wage, child labor laws, safety standards and overtime pay
Civilian Conservation Corps
(CCC)
Provided jobs in the forestry service
Agricultural Adjustment Administration
(AAA)
Increased agricultural income by adjusting both production and prices
Tennessee Valley Authority
TVA
Organized projects to build dams in the Tennessee River for Flood control and production of electricity
Public Works Administration & Civil Works Administration
PWA & CWA
initiated over 34K projects, providing employment
Works Progress Administration
WPA
helped unemployed persons secure employment on government work projects
Interventionist
Approach by Roosevelt to war in Europe
Supplying of all required war materials
Isolationists
Believed US should not provide any aid to the Allies
Roosevelt leading the US into a war with favoring other nations
Yalta Conference
February 1945
Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill meet to discuss post war treatment of Europe
Potsdam Conference
Was the formalizing of the Yalta Conference Basic Provisions: Divided Germany/Berlin into four zones Demilitarization of Germany Poland remaining under Soviet control Outlawing Nazi Party Trials for Nazi leaders Relocation of numerous German citizens USS joined UN Establishment of UN security council
Post War Japan
US occupation aimed at removing Japan’s military and making country a democracy.
Creation of a constitution
Trying of war criminals
No longer allowed to declare war
442nd Regimental Combat Team
Japanese Americans fighting in Europe for the US.
Most highly decorated unit per member in US History
93% casualty rate
Tuskegee Airmen
First Black americans allowed to fly for the military
Flew over 15,000 missions and were highly decorated
Navajo Code talkers
Navajo who used their traditional language to transmit info about allied forces
Because it’s a language and not a code Axis powers never able to crack it
Harry S. Truman
Initiated the fair deal
Expanding social security, providing public housing, and made Fair Employment practices Act permanent
Korean War
1950-1953
North Korea sending communist troops into South Korea to reunite countries
UN action led to cross national military action
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Worked on minimizing tensions during Cold War
Negotiated peace treaty with USSR after Stalin died
Enforced desegregation
Formation of NASA and Department of Health, Education and Welfare
John F. Kennedy
Instituted economic programs that led to a period of continuous expansion in US
Alliance for Progress and Peace Corps
New Civil Rights legislation
Drafted plans to attack poverty and its causes
Cuban Missile Crisis
1962
Krushchev decided to send nuclear missiles to Cuba
US naval blockade and negotiations led to the removal of missiles from Cuba and American
Lyndon B. Johnson
Assumed presidency after Kennedy’s assassination
Saw America as a “Great Society”
Enacted legislation to fight disease and poverty, renew urban areas, support education and environmental conservation
Civil Rights Movement
1950s
Aimed at tackling the rising inequality among African Americans
Demanding equal rights through non violent opposition
Malcolm X
Became black a Muslim and supported Black nationalism
Stokely Carmichael
Inventor of the term “Black Power” head of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
Believed in Black culture and Black Pride
Adam Clayton Powell
Chairman of the Coordinating Committee for Employment
led rent strikes, bus boycotts
Jesse Jackson
Selected as to head the Chicago Operations Breadbasket in 1966 by Martin Luther King Jr.
Went on to organize boycotts and other actions
Montgomery Bus Boycott
1955
Followed Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat to a white man
381 boycott ensued protesting segregation on public buses
Desegregation of Little Rock
1957
Following Supreme Court decision of Brown vs. Board of Education
Governor brought in national guard to prevent black students from desegregating
Birmingham Campaign
Protesters organized sit ins and an organized variety actions
Protesters arrested and jailed
Brown vs Board of Education
1954
Supreme Court declared that “separate but equal” accommodations and services we unconstitutional
Civil Rights Act of 1964
declared discrimination illegal in employment, education or public accommodation
Voting Rights Act of 1965
ended various activities mostly in the South, to bar blacks from exercising their voting rights.. these included poll taxes and literacy tests
Marshall Plan
sent aid to war-torn Europe after WWII, preventing spread of communism
Containment
Proposed by George F. Kennan
Containment focused on containing the spread of Soviet Communism
Truman Doctrine
US would provide both economic and military support to any country threatened by Soviet takeover
National Security Act
1947
Department of Defense, the Central Intelligence Agency and National Security Council
NATO
North Atlantic Treaty Organization founded by 1949
Agreement between US and western European countries that and mutual defense
Warsaw Pact
Soviet Response to NATO with Bulgaria, East Germany, Poland, Romania, etc
Migrant and Refugee Assistance Act
1962
Helped assist refugees in need
Immigration Act of 1965
Ended quotas based on nation of origin
Immigration Reform and Control Act
1986
Prohibited the hiring of illegal immigrants, but also granted amnesty to about three million illegals already in the country
Richard Nixon’s Presidency
Vietnam War comes to an end Improved diplomatic relations between US & China, US and USSR EPA Compulsory Draft ended Legalized abortion in Roe v. Wade Watergate
Gerald Ford’s Presidency
Appointed to Vice president after Spiro Agnew (Nixon’s Vice President) resigned after tax evasion charges
Negotiations to limit nuclear arms
Struggled to deal with inflation, economic downturn and energy shortages
Carter Administration
Elected in 1976
Faced Budget deficits, high unemployment and continued inflation
Panama Canal Treaties
Camp David Accords (peace treaty between Israel and Egypt)
SALT
Iran Hostage Crisis
Ronal Reagan
Reaganomics and trickle down economics Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 Appointed first female Supreme Court judge (Sandra Day O'Connor) Massive increase in national debt Reduction of nuclear weapons Loss of Space Shuttle Challenger Iran-Contra Scandal Deregulation of savings/loan industry
George H.W. Bush
Fall of the Berlin Wall and Germany’s unification
Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega captured and tried for drug charges
Dissolution of Soviet Union
Gulf War or Operation Desert Storm
Tiananmen Square Massacre in Beijing, China
Ruby Ridge
WWW
William Clinton
Family and Medical Leave Act Don't Ask Don't Tell NAFTA Defense of Marriage Act Oslo Accords Siege at Waco Texas Troops sent to Haiti, Bosnia, and Somalia to assist with domestic problems
George W. Bush
9/11/01
Initiated War in Iraq
Economic melt down of mortage industry and increase in price of oil
Obama
Economic Bailout Package Improvements in women's rights Moves to broaden gay rights Health Care reform legislation Reinforcement for war in Afghanistan