VL Making of Modern America Flashcards
Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation was an edict issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1st, 1863 that declared all the enslaved people of the Confederate States free. There was a preliminary proclamation on September 17, 1862 that declared that all Confederate slaves would be freed if the seceded states did not return to the Union. Non returned and the Emancipation Proclamtion took effect, officially freeing all slaves.
Congressional Reconstruction
Also called “Radical Reconstruction”, it was a period of reconstruction during which the radical Republicans in the U.S. Congress seized control of reconstruction after the Civil War from Pres. Andrew Johnson. They passed the Reconstruction Acts of 1867-68 which sent federal troops into the South to establish the establishment of democratic state governments; split the former Confederacy into five military districts; and enforced legislations that guaranteed the civil rights of freed men.
Plessy v. Ferguson
Describes the 1896 U.S. Surpreme Court decision that upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation under the “separate but equal” doctrine. The case stemmed from an 1892 incident in which African American train passenger Homer Plessy refused to sit in a car for Black people. The Surpreme Court ruled that the law implied merely a legal distinction between black and white people which was not unconstitutional. Ferguson was the judge that Plessy filed his petition against. The case resulted in the enforcement of restrictive Jim Crow laws and separate accommodation becoming commonplace.
Frontier Thesis
The Frontier Thesis encompasses the arguments made by historian Frederick Turner in 1893, namely that a settler colonial exceptionalism, under the guise of American democracy, was formed by the appropriation of the American frontier a.k.a through westward expansion. His thesis follows along the idea of “Manifest Destiny”, which is the idea that white Americans were divinely ordained to settle the entire North American continent.
The Wounded Knee
The Wounded Knee Massacre of December 29th, 1890 was the slaughter of 150-300 Lakota Native Americans by U.S. Army troops in the area of Wounded Knee Creek, South Dakota. The massacre was the result of U.S. Army’s efforts to repress the Plain’s Native population.
American Federation of Labor
The American Federation of Labor (A.F. of L.) was a national federation of labor unions in the U.S. that continues today as he AFL-CIO. It was founded in Columbus, Ohio in 1886 by an alliance of craft unions eager to provide mutual support and dissapointed in the Knights of Labor. Samuel Gompers was the full-time president and was a major spokesperson for the Union movement. It concentrated on gaining the right to bargain collectively for wages, benefits, hours and working conditions.
Populism
The Populists were an agrarian-based political movement aimed at improving conditions for the country’s farmers and agrarian workers. The populist or people’s party was founded in 1891 by leader’s of the populist movement and through merging the Farmer’s Alliance, Greenback Party, and the Union Labor Party.
Ellis Island
Ellis Island is a historical site that opened in 1892 as an immigration station, a purpose which it served for more than 60 years. There were many immigrants from Europe, especially Ireland and Germany, but later also more from southern and eastern Europe. In order to keep up an Anglo-Saxon appearance the National Origins Act of 1924 was issued and led to a significant drop in immigration, specifically from Mexico, Japan and other “non-white” nations. The legislation, however, made it easier for northern Europeans to immigrate.
Woman’s Christian Temperance Union
The WCTU was founded in 1874 by Frances Willard and was one of the largest and most influential women’s groups of the 19th century. They campaigned for labour laws, prison reform and suffrage. After Willard’s death in 1898, the WCTU focussed less on feminist issues and more on prohibtion. Thus, the alcohol industry became one of their main opponents during the prohibition era.
The Spanish-American War
The Spanish-American war was a conflict carried out between Spain and Mexico in 1898, originating from Cuba’s struggle to free itself from Spanish colonial rule. It resulted in the end of Spanish colonial rule in the Americas and in the U.S purchasing the Philippines from Spain for 20million dollars. America had got involved in the conflict after a U.S. ship had exploded in Havana’s harbour. Foul play and Spanish involvement were suspected and the U.S. felt obliged to declare war on Spain. There was also a lot of sympathy for the Cubans as America had also once been under imperialist rule.
Anti-Imperialist League
On June 15th, 1898 the Anti-imperialist League was created to fight the U.S. annexation of the Philippines, citing reasons ranging from the economic, legal and moral perspective. There were several famous members, including Mark Twain, Samuel Gompers (the president of the AFL) and Andrew Carnegie. The group was unsuccessful as the Philippines were purchsed by the U.S. after the Spanish-American war in 1898 and the group slowly disbanded after the Treaty of Paris was signed.
Jane Addams
Jane Addams (1860-1936) was a social reformer and co-founder of Hull House, one of the first settlement houses in north America, where immigrants and underpriveliged people could receive childcare and practical as well as cultural education. She was a member of the NAACP and served as the president of the Women’s International League. She is also the first American woman to receive a Nobel prize.
NAACP
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People embodied the efforts of progressivism with regards to race relations. It was founded in 1909 after an increase in race riots throughout America and in an effort to ensure African-Americans their constitutional rights. Their founders included W.E.B. Du Bois, Ida Bell-Wells Barnett and Mary White Ovington. They helped pave the way for the end of the separate-but-equal doctrine.
American Expeditionary Force
The A.E.F. was a formation of the U.S. Army established in July of 1917 on the Western Front of World War I. British and French troops had been fighting Germany since 1914 and were in dire need of relief. However, it wasn’t certain that U.S. food and resources would arrive in time to prevent German victory. The A.E.F. arrived in time to prevent German victory and was able to reclaim large parts of French territory. By the end of the war the AEF were a world-wide renowned, combat-tested army.
Red Scare
The first Red Scare occured in the wake of World War I, specifically after the Russian Revolution of 1917. The Bolsheviks, led by Lenin, toppled the Romanov dynasty, leading to the rise of the communist party. This inspired international fear of Bolsheviks and anarchists. This fear was projected onto immigrants in the U.S., specifically Russian and German immigrants, who were thought as jeopardising the American way of life. This malcontent was only furthered after anarchist bombings in 1919, which targeted law officials and government buildings. A year later, in 1920 there were violent mass raids and deportations of suspected Bolsheviks, known as the Palmer raids.
