The Gilded Age
Explain what the Gilded Age was and why it was called by this title.
massive economic growth, large influx of immigrants, wealth inequality; everything looks nice and shiny on the outside, however, the interior is rotting
Define initiative and referendum.
a proposed bill that can be created by individual citizens instead of lawmakers); referendum (vote on initiative
List the places that the US acquired as a result of winning the Spanish-American War.
Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Philippines
Describe and give three examples of how German-Americans were treated during World War I.
Americans with German surnames lost employment, schools stopped teaching German, boycott of German books and classical music, physical assaults
Describe flappers.
an independent young woman, fashionable (ankle-length dresses, bobbed hair, and accessories), symbol of female independence in the 1920s
Summarize the major causes of the Great Depression.
overreliance on credit, tariffs and war debts (lack of a foreign market), struggles with agriculture, wealth inequality
Explain why international time zones were created.
it was difficult to coordinate train routes because every city set their time to the position of the sun (time zones created to allow better coordination of trains)
List the four main goals of the Progressive Movement.
social reform (helping the poor), moral reform (Prohibition), economic and governmental reform, efficiency with time management
Explain what happened during the Great Migration.
movement of hundreds of thousands of African-Americans to the north in search of better-paying factory jobs and less discrimination
Explain the strategy for advertising consumer products that became popular during the 1920s.
greater use of psychology to sell products to the public (use this product to be young, beautiful, wealthy, etc.)
Describe how the Depression affected people in rural areas.
due to the Dust Bowl, many farms were destroyed, families migrated west looking for work
List and describe some of the push and pull factors that attracted immigrants to the US in the late 1800s.
Push: war, poverty, less job opportunities, natural disasters, hunger, lack of freedom
Pull: more job opportunities, social mobility, better (more convenient (lifestyle), religious freedom
Explain the goals of President Roosevelt’s Square Deal.
corporations-stop the abuses of corporations, trustbusting, and railroad kickbacks
consumers-protect them from dangerous and misleading products
conservation of the environment
Summarize the history of white settlement of Hawaii as well as their economic, political, and military interests.
Arrived as missionaries in early 1800s, established sugarcane plantations, by end of 19th century, white settlers outnumber natives 3 to 1, only landowners (mostly white) can vote, military coup to remove queen from power, annexed Hawaii
Explain what the Selective Service Act was.
randomly selecting men to go fight in World War I-aka “the draft”
Describe the economy of the 1920s focusing on the concept of superficial prosperity.
there was an economic “boom”, many people were buying consumer goods on credit, superficial prosperity refers to the idea that while the economy looked good on the surface, there were many problems hidden underneath (growing wealth inequality, overreliance on credit, struggles of agricultural sector)
Describe how the Depression affected people in the cities.
millions lost their jobs, homes, families, etc; people relied on bread lines and soup kitchens to keep from starving, lived in shantytowns (Hoovervilles), many men became hobos
Summarize the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad during the 1860s.
Central Pacific from Sacramento (Chinese workers), Union Pacific from Omaha (Irish and civil war veterans), meet at Promontory Point, Utah, dangerous work, many are killed during the construction
Explain what changes were made to society by the 16th , 17th, 18th, and 19th Amendments.
16th-federal income tax, 17th-direct election of US senators, 18th-Prohibition, 19th-suffrage for women (voting rights)
Explain what the Espionage and Sedition Acts permitted the government to do.
one could be fined or imprisoned for speech that was perceived as jeopardizing the war effort
Define Prohibition and explain its effect on society during the 1920s.
the ban on the manufacture, sale, and transport of alcohol; people go to speakeasies (secret clubs where they can drink alcohol), alcohol provided bootleggers who become rich establishing organized criminal empires
Summarize Herbert Hoover’s approach to ending the Depression.
Govt. intervention was unnecessary, believed laissez-faire economics, rugged individualism (Americans should try to solve problems individually), volunteerism (belief that businesses, banks, and individuals would help each other)
Describe the strategies that Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller used to become wealthy. Explain how they were perceived by the public as well as why the government did very little to regulate them.
Carnegie-vertical (buying all companies that play a role in a particular industry: raw materials, factories, transportation) and horizontal integration (buying out competitors)
Rockefeller-set prices very low to drive out competitors, then raised prices considerably after the competition was eliminated, trusts (demands other companies to merge their assets with his but he gets all decision-making authority)
Called robber barons due to their unethical business practices, exploitation of customers, and low wages for employees
Govt. does not interfere because industrialists are building generational wealth that will strengthen the country as a whole
List the economic and governmental goals of the Populists.
Economic-bimetallism (more money in circulation), graduated tax, federal loan
Governmental-direct election of US senators, end to secret ballots, single term for POTUS and VP, 8-hour workday
Explain the foreign policy of President Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson.
(Roosevelt) Big Stick Diplomacy-expresses willingness to use military force if necessary to keep European nations from intervening in Latin America
(Taft) Dollar Diplomacy-supporting loans of Latin American nations in order to weaken any influence that Europe could have in the Western Hemisphere, in return, the US gets revenue from infrastructure-related projects
(Wilson) Moral/Missionary Diplomacy-refusing to recognize or engage in diplomacy with Latin American nations with hostile, undemocratic govts.
Summarize the Scopes Trial as well as the differences that it revealed between rural areas and cities.
A biology teacher was arrested for teaching evolution, led to a famous trial, represented the conflict between conservative (rural) and progressive (urban) America;
rural-conservative, fundamentalists, little entertainment, lack of variety in population
cities-more progressive, more options, greater variety of activity, more diverse population
Summarize Franklin Roosevelt’s approach to ending the Depression.
Govt. intervention was necessary, oversaw a series of programs designed to stimulate the economy, provide relief, and regulate banking (The New Deal); provide public works jobs for unemployed young men, control crop production to raise their prices, insure banks
Explain the following terms: Red Scare, Palmer Raids, Quota System, Sacco and Vanzetti.
fear that Communism would spread throughout the US
govt. agencies could invade homes and offices of those believed to have left-wing politics without a warrant
limited maximum number of immigrants-established during the 1920s
Italian immigrants who were anarchists-accused of murder with very little evidence, they were convicted and executed