Spring Semester Final Study Guide
AP US History
Gilded Age: all the presidents are terrible and got very little done.
Edmund Ross: Radical Republican senator who voted against the impeachment of President Johnson
thereby saving his presidency.
Ulysses S. Grant: Elected despite not receiving the majority of the white vote. Rise of terrorist groups
(KKK) in order to undermine the federal governments. Grant sends federal troops to quell the KKK. He did
experience incredible amounts of corruption and fraud from his subordinates. He trusted people who were
too corrupt.
 Indian Bureau: Secretary of War sells $24,000 worth of trinkets (U.S. property) to Native
Americans and pockets the money.
 Whiskey Ring: Tax on whiskey  members stole the money that was gained from the tax.
 Credit Moblier: Stole millions of dollars from the American government
Rutherford B. Hayes: Elected into office through the Compromise of 1877.
Pendleton Act passed under James Garfield ridded the Untied States of the spoils system. Act stated that in
order to obtain a government job, one must take a test.
Ways to prevent blacks from voting:
 Poll taxes
 Grandfather clause
 Literacy tests
o From 1896-1902, the number of blacks voting went from 130,000 to 1.3 thousand. 1% of
the number of 1896 voters was voting in 1902.
Plessey vs. Ferguson
 Legalized segregation. “Separate but equal.”
o Not enforced: South Carolina in 1915 spent 12 times more on Whites than on Blacks.
o North Carolina: 19 black students enrolled in high school in 1915.
o Georgia: 310 black students in high school in 1915.
o From 1882-1930, 2828 lynchings occurred in the South.
o 1882-1930; Seventy Five percent of Blacks were sharecropping during this era.
o Life expectancy is only 33. Forty-four percent were illiterate and only 30% by 1917.
Chapter 28
 Progressive Roots
o Society can’t afford luxury of laissez faire policies anymore. Time to get rid of bloated
trusts. Socialists from Europe gain strength and rise of feminism.
o Social gospel - brand of progressivism based on Christian teachings. Demanded better
housing/living conditions.
 Muckrakers - exposed evil by searching for scandalous exposures. Brought corruption of the
Gilded Age to the public. Social evils were exposed --> slums, industrial accidents, subjugation of
blacks. Sought to cleanse capitalism, not get rid of it.
 Progressive Goals: Use state to curb monopoly power and improve the condition of the commoner
in both labor and life.
o Massive efforts to clean the streets start in cities and bubble up to state level. The
settlement home movement was crucial to the role of women.
 Teddy Roosevelt
o 3 C’s: Control of corporations (Breaking Steel Trust - National Securities Corporation,
and the settlement of the Coal Strike - TR threatens to take over mines using Federal
power), Consumer protection (Pure Food and Drug Act, Meat Inspection Act), and
Conservation of natural resources (creation of National Parks).
 Railroad companies attacked - break up “bad trusts” while keeping good ones.
Goal was to “tame the trusts.”
Spring Semester Final Study Guide
AP US History
Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle prompts care for consumer. TR is also a full fledged
conservationist. Roosevelt wanted to use natural resources intelligently, not stop
altogether.
o Economic Reform: Easily re-elected in 1904. Financial panic comes in 1907. Financial
world blames TR for “unsettling” industries with his liberal attacks in the power of big
business. Sets stage for much needed economic reform - Federal Reserve Act of 1913.
o Roosevelt leaves office but passes torch to Taft. Plans are to continue TR’s
policies.Socialist party receives surprising amount of votes.
o TR’s achievements: enlarged power of presidential office, shaped progressive movement,
and showed AMericans they shared the world with other nations.
William Taft
o Lesser political leader than TR. Dollar Diplomacy - pump surplus $ into foreign areas of
strategic concern for the US. Central America especially.
o Trust busting - broke up Standard Oil and many other trusts. “Rule of Reason” says only
trusts who “unreasonably restrict trade” are bad - injures govt. ability to fight trusts.
o Split of Republican Party: Taft didn't really lower tariffs (Payne Aldrich Bill), passed
setbacks to conservationist movement. Rift between Taft and TR grew.
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Chapter 29
 “Bull Moose Campaign”
o Woodrow Wilson nominated as Dem. candidate for 1912. Militant progressive. Ran
under platform “New Freedom.” which included many reforms. Wilson - favors small
enterprise, anti-trust, shunned social welfare. Won 41% of popular vote.
o TR is progressive candidate. Taft ran for Republicans. TR - female suffrage/social
welfare.
 Woodrow Wilson
o Triple Wall of Privilege: Tariff, Banks, Trusts
 Tariff - reduces tariff with Underwood Tariff --> reduced import fees while
enacting graduated income taxes.
 Banking - 1913 Federal Reserve Act: Set up 12 districts all w/ central bank and
power to issue paper money.
 Trusts - Clayton Anti-Trust Act: bolstered Sherman Anti-Trust Act, legalized
strikes and peaceful picketing by labor unions.
 Other - helped farmers: credit w/ low rates of interest. Established 8 hour work
day.
o Foreign Policy
 Non aggressive: stopped “dollar diplomacy.” Mexico: violent revolt led to
threatening of American and heavy immigration to US. WIlson fed munitions to
opposition - Pancho Villa - and didn't recognize new regime. Villa turned and
killed two groups of Americans - 35 people. WIlson sends General Pershing to
find Villa.
 World War I: Wilson declares neutrality. American are primarily anti-Central
powers, especially after Germany’s invasion of neutral Belgium. German Uboats sink multiple American ships, especially the Lusitania in 1915, raising
tensions. Americans call for war but Wilson keeps them out of it. William
Jennings Bryan retires as Secretary of State since he is a pacifist.
o 1916 Election
 Republicans - Charles Hughs. Democrats - Wilson. Wilson wins, but barely,
under slogan "He kept us out of the War.". Brings US into war in 1917.
Chapter 30
 Causes of WWI
o Germany redeclares unlimited submarine warfare: justified using Sussex Pledge (which
said that Germany will stop if US gets Britain to stop blockade on Germany).
Zimmerman note intercepted. To gain support for war, Wilson pegged it as a “Crusade
for Democracy,” and also creates Committee on Public Information.
Spring Semester Final Study Guide
Wilson’s Fourteen Points: idealistic goals for peace. Included... no more secret treaties,
freedom of seas, removal of economic barriers between nations, reduction of armament
burdens, independence for oppressed minority groups, and League of Nations.
o Wilson sought to install idealism to inspire America to fight: "Make the world safe for
democracy."
 Reasons we got involved: Declared war April 2, 1917
o Unrestricted submarine warfare
o Zimmerman note
o Russian revolution: war can now be pinned as a crusade for
democracy.
o German mass killing of civilians
o US could help in determining new boundaries of Europe.
America at War
o Espionage Act of 1917 shows American Paranoia. Punished those who aided enemy or
refused military duty. US is largely unprepared. War Industries Board is created to help.
Labor cause slumped and blacks immigrated North (violence). Sedition Act punishes
anyone who talks negatively of America.
o Suffrage of women achieved in 1920 b/c their help w/ the war effort. 19th amendment.
o Wartime economy: Hoover leads Food Administration --> starts wave of self-sacrifice
and volunteerism for troops. Money raised using war bonds (2/3 of the war cost).
o The Draft: US needs to send over troops, so a draft is reluctantly passed. No way to
“buy” out of it. Many are poorly trained. Most troops however are based on volunteerism.
Blacks serve in segregated troops. Women allowed to enlist for the first time. Russians
pull out of war after Bolsheviks seize power.
o Battles: Americans led by John Pershing: Meuse Argonne offensive cuts railroads in
Germany and brings the war up to an armistice. On 11/11/1918, Germany surrenders -->
prospect of endless American troops terrifies them, promise of Wilson's 14-points, and
British Blockades.
Hope for Peace
o Wilson in 1918 goes to Europe of oversee peace negotiations. Issues: France/Britain want
to punish Germany. US calls for “Peace Without Victory.” Compromise: Britain/France
get to punish, Wilson gets his League of Nations.
o Treaty of Versailles: didn’t contain most of 14 points, War Guilt Clause pins war on
Germany and requires them to pay for it ($33 billion). No one is happy w/ the treaty.
Wilson toured to gain US support of it in order to establish his LoN.
o Treaty did not pass in US. Article X binds US military assistance to other nations, this is
very unpopular.
Impacts of WWI
o Women
 Played an increased role in the economy and volunteerism for the war effort
(some worked in factories).
 Gained Suffrage (1920, 19th Amendment)
o Prohibition of Alcohol (18th Amendment, 1919)
o Massive northern migration of African Americans; led to large scale race riots.
o Increased Nativism: Emergency Quota Act of 1921.
o Civil liberties suspended during war (Sedition/Espionage Acts).
 National War Labor Board --> workers have a right to unionize.
o Red Scare (1919); anti-Communist crusade.
o Millions of men left to fight the war in Europe.
o Volunteerism/Patriotism during the war.
o US returns to isolation after the war.
Election of 1920
o Republican Warren G. Harding is elected with Calvin Coolidge as his VP. Defeated
James Cox and FDR (Democrats).
o US’s continued isolationism sets stage for WWII.
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AP US History
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AP US History
Chapter 31
 Foreign Issues
o Isolationism: Red Scare (1919-1920). Led by Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer
(“Fighting Quaker”). Rounded up and arrested 6,000 communists.
o Reduction of free speech: illegal to even advocate Communist ideas. Nicola Socco and
Bartolomeo Vanzetti convicted of murder and executed.
o After “New Immigration” flood, Congress passes Emergency Quota Act and then
Immigration Act of 1924.
 Domestic Occurrences
o KKK hits peak in 1920s with 5 million members.
o Prohibition: 18th amendment (later Volstead Act). Especially popular in Midwest/South.
Never really enforced. Led to rise of gangs. Most infamous is “Scarface” Al Capone.
Gang Wars of Chicago kill 500 but convictions are rare.
o Evolution began to take hold --> John T. Scopes. Automobile: new roads, gasoline boom,
Am. standard of living rose greatly.
o Radio and television become a reality. Music, entertainment, politics, etc.
o For the first time, more Americans live in cities than in rural areas. Margaret Sanger leads
National Women’s Party (NWP). Culturally: massive influx of authors. New vs. Old.
Many new writers hailed from different backgrounds than the traditional Protestant New
Englander.
o Frank Lloyd Wright: used concrete, glass, and steel to build stunning architecture.
o Wall Street’s Bull Market allowed prosperities of the 1920s to set up the crash in the
1930s.
Chapter 32
 Warren G. Harding
o Had corrupt cabinet. Was a poor overall leader. Under him, corporations expanded, antitrust lass were not enforeced.
o Aftermath of the War: labor lost power, reduced Navy, Adjusted Compensation Act gives
former soldiers money.
 Disarmament: Five Power Naval Treaty (5:5:3 ratio), Four Power Treaty (keep
status quo in Pacific), and Nine Power Treaty (kept Open Door in China).
Kellogg-Briand Pact outlaws war and is signed by many nations.
 To prevent flooding of American markets by European goods, FordneyMcCumber Tariff is passed. Rose tariff from 27% to 35%.
o Scandal: Teapot Dome --> Albert Fall leases Federal land for a bribe. Massive public
reaction.
 Calvin Coolidge
o Very Serious, traditional, and level headed.
o Farmers: fall into poverty following the war. They look for help: McNary-Haugen Bill
keeps prices high for agriculture and has govt. but excess to sell it abroad. Helps farmers
a little.
o 1924 election: Coolidge (Rep.) vs. La Follette (Rep.) vs. John Davis (Demo). Coolidge
wins easily.
o Isolationism continued to reign. America stayed involved in Latin America --> growing
resentment.
o German inflation is absurd. America demands Britain/France pay debts. These two force
Germany to pay. Germany prints out mass amounts of paper money to pay back debts.
 Dawes Plan: rescheduled German reparation payments and allowed further loans
to Germany. Basically a circle of money, America - Germany - Britain/France America. America never really got any money.
 Herbert Hoover
o Coolidge’s successor. Opposed by Alfred Smith - NY governor riddled with scandal.
Radio was an important medium in this election. Hoover triumphed in a landslide.
o Agricultural Marketing Act: set up Federal Farm Board. Hawly Smoot Tariff raises tariff
to 60%. Tariff is hated.
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Great Depression: Stock Market Crash (Black Tuesday) on October 29, 1929.
Overabundance of farming products. Capacity to produce outran capacity to consume.
 Droughts ravaged midwest in 1930. People turn bitter and turn on Hoover.
People live in shack towns called Hoovervilles.
 Hoover didn’t believe in govt. tampering in economy, and therefore didn’t do
much help. Finally decides to do something:
 Hoover Dam Project, Reconstruction Finance Corporation (govt.
lending bank).
 Veterans who haven’t been paid for WWI march on DC to demand their
bonuses. Hoover sends troops to intervene.
Since US has less money to control Latin America, relations between the two are much
better during Hoover’s presidency.
Chapter 33: The Great Depression and the New Deal, 1933-1939
 Election of 1932
o FDR: democratic nominee. Polio stricken. Eleanor is his wife – most active First Lady
ever. Had a clear advantage.
o Hoover: Republican nominee; not much vigor  “It could have been worse” is
essentially his campaign slogan.
 Franklin Delano Roosevelt
o Three R’s: Relief, Recovery, and Reform  These 3 comprised his “New Deal.”
 Banking: Glass-Steagall Banking Reform Act: provided the FDIC (Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation) with money to insure deposits up to $5000.
 Took nation off the gold standard. Urged treasury to buy gold for paper
money. Inflation = easier to pay debts.
 CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps): employment for 3 million young men.
AAA (Agricultural Adjustment Act) helps farmers pay their mortgages.
 New Deal Commentators: Father Coughlin, Henry P. Long, Frances Townsend.
 WPA (Works Progress Administration): put $11 million for infrastructure  9
million jobs created.
 NRA (Nation Recovery Administration): most complex  focused on
labor/manufacturing. Shut down by the Supreme Court.
 PWA (Public Works Administration): intended for industrial and unemployment
recovery. Dust Bowl  migration west.
 Prohibition is repealed with the 21st amendment (need new ways to make
money).
 SEC: stock watchdog administrative agency.
 TVA (Tennessee Valley Administration): sought to discover how to produce
hydroelectric power effectively.
 Social Security: Biggest New Deal success. Hated by Republicans.
 Wagner Act: replaced the NRA; guaranteed rights of unions to organize and
collectively bargain with management.
 Labor wins: Fair Labor Standards Act – minimum wage/max hours – no child
labor. CIO – Congress for Industrial Organizations.
 Election of 1936
o Alfred M. Landen in crushed by Roosevelt 532 to 8.
 FDR’s Second Term
o Embraced the policies of John Maynard Keyes – stimulate economy by planned deficit
spending.
 Reorganization Act: Gave FDR limited powers for administrative reforms.
 Hatch Act: barred federal administrative officials from actively campaigning.
 Did the New Deal Work?
o Foes: condemned FDR’s “try anything” policies.
o It would ultimately take WWII to lower unemployment.
o FDR provided bold reform without revolution.
Spring Semester Final Study Guide
AP US History
Chapter 34: FDR and the Shadow of War, 1933-1941
 Pre WWI
o London Conference: gather nations to come up with solution for the Great Depression.
The US doesn’t join, nothing is accomplished.
o Tydings McDuffie Act: Philippines would receive independence. Naval bases kept. FDR
recognizes the Soviet Union.
o FDR announces the “Good Neighbor Policy” renouncing armed intervention in Latin
America.
o State Hull – Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act; reversed high tariffs.
o Dictatorships: Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini, Germany/Italy join in the Rome-Berlin Axis.
Japan is gaining strength.
 Mussolini attacks Ethiopia; League of Nations failed to take effective action.
o US declares Neutrality Acts of 1935-37. Fascist Francisco Franco rose while US stood
by.
o Appeasing Germany/Japan
 Japan into China; FDR calls for a “Quarantine” of Japan. Urges to stay neutral
but morally against Fascists.
 Panay Incident: Japanese sink US gunboat Panay. Shows US determination to
stay neutral.
 Munich Conference: Allies agree to let Hitler have the Sudenland in
Czechoslovakia.
 WWII
o USSR and Germany sign nonaggression. 1939 – invades Poland. Americans pass 1939
Neutrality Acts. Fall of France sets US into rapid militarization and a draft.
o Battle of Britain: British Royal Air Force fights off Nazi troops. FDR sends destroyers to
Britain.
o 1940 Election: FDR runs for and wins a 3 rd term.
o Lend-Lease Law: US can lend war materials if they get them back later.
o 1941 – Hitler attacks Russia; lose due to the brutal winter.
o Atlantic Charter  Congress annuls Neutrality.
o Pearl Harbor pulls US support toward the war.
Chapter 35: America in World War II, 1941-1945
 World War II
o Causes
 Treaty of Versailles; ineffectiveness of the League of Nations.
 Kellogg-Briand Pact: Outlawed war as a tool of diplomacy.
 Japan invades Manchuria, 1931. Italy attacks Ethiopia in 1935.
 Roosevelt’s Quarantine Speech: urged democracies to economically quarantine
the aggressors.
 Neutrality Acts of 34, 35, 37: No trading to foreign countries involved in war.
Prohibited loans to the belligerents and no Americans were allowed to travel on
foreign vessels.
 Neutrality Act of 1939: Cash-and-carry. Banned involvement in Spanish Civil
War. American declined to build its army.
o Axis: Germany, Italy, Japan, Hungary, and U.S.S.R. (until 1941).
o Allied Powers: Britain, France, U.S., and U.S.S.R. (post 1941).
The Stormy Sixties
 John F. Kennedy
o Barely elected. Established the New Frontier. Passed the Alliance for Progress - $20
million to prop up democracies in Latin America. Also set up NASA and pushed the arts
and sciences. Established the Peace Corps.
 Vietnam
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AP US History
Ho Chi Minh is pro-US before World War II but a Communist after.
Vietcong: National Liberation Front; Communist guerillas.
Diem in charge of the South – a military coup removes him.
Gulf of Tonkin: 1964. By 1965, Operation Rolling Thunder is occuring (major bombing
of North Vietnam).
Vietnam splits the American public into “doves” and “hawks.”
The Stalemated Seventies
 Sources of Stagnation
o Economic flurry of the 50s and 60s result in 70s stagnation. Vietnam War and Great
Society spending results in zero treasury funds. Allows Europeans to catch up.
 Nixon Vietnamizes the War
o Urges Americans to cooperate: beings Vietnamization: 540,000 troops pulled out and war
is given back to Vietnam.
o US is very split and troops angered. Nixon orders attack on Cambodia to stop Vietcong
who are traveling through, the lies about having done so.
 Nixon’s Détente
o Relaxxes tensions between, U.S., U.S.S.R., and China. Makes deal with the U.S.S.R. to
sell $75 million worth of food.
 Supreme Court
o Earl Warren: Chief Justice
 Gideon: All criminals are provided legal counsel, even if they can’t afford it.
 Escobedo/Miranda: the accused can remain silent.
 Engel v. Vitale: no required prayer of Bible in public schools.
 Nixon’s Home Front
o Expanded many Great Society Programs. Set up massive environmental programs: EPA,
Clean Air Act.
o Affirmative Action – preferential treatment for minorities?
 1972 Election
o Nixon wins over George McGovern. Nixon wins in a landslide. It was discovered that the
US had bombed Cambodia just after the election. The Credibility gap was widened and
the War Powers Act is passed.
 Watergate
o Massive scandal that resulted in massive amounts of resigning. Ultimately, Nixon himself
was forced to do so and Gerald Ford became President. Saturday Night Massacre:
Archibald Cox (lead prosecutor) Is fired and attorney general/deputy generals resign also.
o Gerald Ford: not popular; amnesty to Nixon, amnesty to draft dodgers, was defeated in
Vietnam.
 Feminist Victories: Roe vs. Wade, attempted Equal Rights Amendment.
 1976 Election
o Jimmy Carter beats Ford but barely. Quickly loses his initial popularity as the economy
sinks. Cater was a champion for human rights but not a very good politician. Mediated
the Camp David Accords.
 Carter’s Foreign Affairs
o Massive inflation. Diagnosed problems as stemming from US dependence on oil. Carter
stunned the nation with his tough talks, especially after Iran stops exporting oil.
The Resurgence of Communism
 1980 Election
o Ronald Reagan wins and symbolizes a return to traditionalism.
 Reagan’s Economic Policies
o By the 1980s, public is sick of New Deal/Great Society costs. Initiates massive budget
cuts  $35 billion.
 Vast majority of cuts fell on social programs, not on defense spending.
“Reaganomics” is the policy of the era.
Spring Semester Final Study Guide
AP US History
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In the early 80s, nation falls into a recession. Income gap between the rich and
the poor widens.
Renewing the Cold War
o Reagan renewed the Cold War – SDI (Strategic Defense Initiative) was proposed but
never built.
o Reagan broke all arms-control regulations in 1983.
o Reagan fought Communist rebels abroad  Nicaragua, Lebanon, Grenada.
The Lowering of the Cold War
o Mikhail Gorbachev rises in Soviet Union – glasnost aims to introduce free speech and
political liberty.
o All INF’s (nuclear missiles) are banned from Europe.
Iran Contra Issue
o America agrees to sel arms to Iran in return for American hostages. This money is used to
aid Nicaraguan “contra” rebels.
 Violate ban on helping the contras as well as Reagan’s vow not to negotiate with
terrorists.
Economics
o Reagan actually accumulated a $2 trillion debt – more than all his predecessors
combined.
o Radical conservative movements emerged in the 80s to combat the liberalism of the 60s.
George H. Bush
o Won the 1988 election. Berlin Wall comes down and the Soviet Union officially falls.
First Persian Gulf War. Americans with Disabilities Act.
Chapter 23
Tweed Ring: A symbol of Gilded Age corruption, “Boss” Tweed and his deputies ran the New York City
Democratic party in the 1860s and swindled $200 million from the city through bribery, graft, and votebuying. Boss Tweed was eventually jailed for his crimes and died behind bars.
Credit Moblier Scandal: A construction company formed by owners of the Union Pacific railroad for the
purpose of receiving government contracts to build at highly inflated prices and profits. Scandal occurred
when journalists discovered that the Credit Moblier Company had bribed congressmen and even the VP in
order to allow the ruse to continue.
Panic of 1873: Worldwide depression beginning in the US due to bank failures. Crisis intensified calls for
inflationary measures such as the printing of more paper money and the unlimited coinage of silver.
Conflicts over monetary policy affect politics in the last quarter of the nineteenth century.
Gilded Age: Tern given to period of 1865-1896 by Mark Twain, indicating both the fabulous wealth and
the wide-spread corruption of the era.
Compromise of 1877: Agreement resolving 1876 election and ending Reconstruction. In exchange for
Rutherford Hayes’ victory, he agreed to withdraw federal troops from the former Confederate states.
Sharecropping: Agricultural system emerged after the Civil war. Farmers rented land and residences from
plantation owners in exchange for giving him a “share” of the crop each year. Dominant form of southern
agriculture after the Civil War. Kept tenants in perpetual debt and tied them to the land.
Jim Crow: System of racial segregation in the South from the end of Reconstruction to the 1900s. Based on
idea of “separate but equal.” Sought to prevent racial mixing in public. An informal system, it was
generally perpetuated by custom, violence, and intimidation.
Spring Semester Final Study Guide
AP US History
Plessey v. Ferguson: 1896 Supreme Court case that upholds constitutionality of segregation laws as long as
they are “separate but equal.”
Chinese Exclusion Act: Legislation that prohibited further Chinese immigration to the US. First major legal
restriction on immigration in US history.
Pendleton Act: Congressional legislation that established the Civil Service Commission, which granted
federal government jobs on the basis of examinations instead of political patronage, thereby ending the
spoils system.
Homestead Strike: A strike at a Carnegie steel plant in Homestead, P.A. that ended in an armed battle
between strikers, armed detectives hired by Carnegie, and federal troops, which killed ten people and
wounded more than sixty. The strike was part of nationwide wave of labor unrest in the summer of 1892
that helped the Populists gain some support from industrial workers.
Grandfather Clause: Regulation established in many southern states in the 1890s that exempted from voting
requirements (such as poll taxes and literacy tests) anyone who could prove that their ancestors had been
able to vote in 1860. Guaranteed the right to vote to many whites while denying it to blacks.
Jay Gould: Notorious millionaire who concocted a plot to corner the gold market that would only work if
the treasury stopped selling gold and tried to work on President Grant through his brother-in-law but failed.
Represented corruption of the era.
Horace Greely: Liberal Republican Party candidate in 1872 who was fed up wit Grant’s corrupt
administration.
Rutherford B. Hayes: Generally unknown candidate for the Republican Party in 1876. Won after the
Compromise of 1877. Ended reconstruction.
James A. Garfield: In 1880, the Republicans nominated James A. Garfield, a man from Ohio who had
risen to the rank of major general in the Civil War.
Chester Arthur: Garfield’s VP who turned his shoulder on his biggest supporters and passed the Pendleton
Act.
Grover Cleveland: the first Democratic president since James Buchanan, and as a supporter of laissezfaire capitalism, he delighted business owners and bankers. President during 1893 depression.
William Jennings Bryan: Major advocator of “free silver”  called for the unlimited coinage of silver.
J.P. Morgan: Baled out the 1893 Depression. Big wig who merged with Carnegie’s steel company.
Chapter 24
Standard Oil Company: Rockefeller’s company (1870). Came to symbolize trusts and monopolies of the
Gilded Age. By 1877, it controlled 95% of oil refineries – one of the first multi-national companies. In
1911, the Supreme Court broke it up into several dozen smaller companies.
Social Darwinists: Believers in the idea that people gained wealth by “survival of the fittest.” Wealthy
simply won this process and therefore owed nothing to the poor. Extremists applied the theory to entire
nations and races.
Powderly: Led the Knights of Labor  second national labor organization, organized at first in secret.
Known for its efforts to organize all workers regardless of race or sex. Declined due to involvement in
violent strikes as well as internal splits.
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Haymarket Square: May Day Rally turned violent when someone threw a bomb killing several dozen.
Eight anarchists were arrested for being tied to the event although the evidence was weak. Symbolized the
end of the Knights of Labor.
Cornelius Vanderbilt: Headed the New York Central railroad; financed successful western railroads using
money from Eastern railroads.
Andrew Carnegie: Employed horizontal integrations; mind the iron, transported it, refined it, and turned it
into steel, thereby controlling all aspects of its manufacturing. Started off as a poor boy but worked his way
up.
John D. Rockefeller: Employed horizontal integration to form Standard Oil  Ruthless and merciless oil
company who crushed its weaker opponents.
Samuel Gompers: Founded the American Federation of Labor  a national federation of trade unions
including only skilled workers. Sought to negotiate with employers for better wages, hours, and conditions.
Coxey: Led a massive group of farmers followed by reporters to D.C. and called for a government public
works program to relieve unemployment and an issuance of $500 million in tender notes.
Pullman: Creator of Pullman Palace Cars – a company who created luxurious passenger cars for trains.
Chapter 25
Horatio Alger: Very popular “dime-novel” writer. His rags-to-riches books told of virtue and honesty
rewarded by success, wealth, and honor.
New Immigrants: Immigrants from Southern/Eastern Europe who formed a recognizable wave of
immigration form 1880-1924. They congregated into ethnically separated urban neighborhoods. Some antiimmigration campaigns formed while other Americans tried to assist in the assimilation process.
Settlement Houses: Houses in immigrant neighborhoods who provided housing, food, clothing, education,
childcare, and social connections. Run primarily by middle class white women. Jane Addams’s Hull House
in Chicago is the most popular.
Yellow Journalism: A scandal mongering practice of journalism emerging during the Gilded Age.
Expression now refers to journalism practiced with unethical and unprofessional standards.
NAWSA: National American Women’s Suffrage Association  founded in 1890 with the goal of getting
women the right to vote. Argued that the responsibility of women at home were crucial to the decision
making process of the public. NAWSA support of the WWI war effort helped them to achieve this goal in
the 19th amendment.
WCTU: Woman’s Christian Temperance Union  Advocated for prohibition. Used women’s supposedly
greater purity and morality as a rallying point.
World’s Columbian Exchange: World Fair held in Chicago as an opportunity to claim its place among the
world’s “civilized” societies. Honored art, architecture, and science. Saw as the high point of the “City
Beautiful Movement.”
Jane Addams: Founded the Chicago Hull House in 1889.
Spring Semester Final Study Guide
AP US History
Booker T. Washington: Founded the Tuskegee school in Alabama  focused on training young black men
how to achieve economic independence primarily through agricultural means. Pro-Segregation  believed
blacks had to be economically independent before they could be seen as equals – Accomodationist.
W.E.B. Du Bois: First black to receive a Ph.D. (and from Harvard). Fought for total social equality. Helped
to found the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored Peoples). The “talented 10%
(of African Americans) should gain total social, political, and economic equality now.”
Joseph Pulitzer: Writer of the New York World. Journalistic tycoon (yellow journalism).
William Randolph Hearst: Writer of San Francisco Examiner. Journalistic Tycoon (yellow journalism).
John Dewey: Education reformer. Very Prominent.
Mark Twain: Wrote many books (Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn). Very important to American Lit. Wrote purely
in the vernacular.
Carrie Chapman Carr: Led the new generation of Feminism (1900) that stressed the right of women to vote.
Chapter 26
Custer: U.S. general at the Battle of Little Bighorn. Died in Battle. Found gold in the Black Hills of South
Dakota.
Little Big Horn: A particularly blood example of white-native warfare in late 1800s during “Custer’s Last
Stand.” U.S. tried to compel natives to stay on the reservations but they wanted to prevent white goldseekers from settling. Native victory.
Battle of Wounded Knee: Battle between US. and Dakota Sioux. Tensions erupted over two issues: the
Sioux practice of the outlawed “Ghost Dance” and disputes over whether Sioux reservation land would be
broken up because of the Dawes Act. End of the Indian Wars.
Dawes Severalty Act: Act that broke up reservations and distributed lands to individual households.
Leftover land is sold so U.S. will have money to civilize the natives. 90 of the 130 million acres were sold.
If natives were good, they could be citizens in 25 years. Land was divided – gave 160 acres and farming
implements to each Indian. Lost tribal affiliations by splitting them up. Leftover land is sold.
Homestead Act: Federal law giving settlers 160 acres for $30 if they lived on it and improved it. Helped
massively with westward expansion. Many were disappointed as land could be infertile or best land had
already been taken.
Populist Party Platform: Represented Westerners/Southerners who thought the U.S. economic policy
unfairly favored Eastern Businessmen over farmers. Called for granulated taxes, nationalization of
railroads, and unlimited coinage of silver.
Pullman Strike: 1894 railroad strike over reduced wages. President Cleveland sent troops to quell the strike.
Highlighted both divisions in labor and the government’s willingness to use troops to combat work
stoppages.
Frederick Jackson Turner: Wrote the influential Essay “The Significance of the Frontier in American
History.” Helped people realize that the frontier was essentially gone.
Helen Hunt Jackson: Wrote A Century of Dishonor and Ramona. These were massive in the materialization
of sympathy for the natives in the 1800s.
Spring Semester Final Study Guide
AP US History
Mary Elizabeth Lease: Major leader of the Populist movement. Spoke eloquently and attacked those who
hurt farmers.
William Jennings Bryant: Democratic Candidate in 1896. Gave the Cross of Gold Speech. Essentially a
mix of democratic and populist. Lost the election.
Cross of Gold: Speech by William Jennings Bryant at the 1896 Democratic Convention. Called for
unlimited coinage of silver.
Geranimo: Native American leader of the Apache tribes of Arizona tribes of Arizona and New Mexico.
Eventually surrendered and became farmers in Mexico.
Joseph Smith/Brigham Young: Major Mormon leaders.
Chief Joseph: Leader of the Nez Percé Indians who fought a long battle after the government tried to
reduce their reservation by 90%. Gave a famous speech as he surrendered.
Sitting Bull: Leader of the Natives at the Battle of Little Bighorn. Him and his troops decimated Custer’s
troops.
Chivington: Led a Native Massacre at Sandy Creek, Colorado. Murdered 400 Indians who were killed
while begging for mercy.
Chapter 27
Alfred T. Mahan: Wrote 1890s book The Influence of Sea Power Upon History. Helped start a naval arms
race among the great powers. Motivated U.S. to look to expanding overseas as its Navy increased in power.
Reasons for Imperialism: Rising exports, manufacturing capabilities, power, and wealth. Increased power
of the Navy.
Anti-Imperialist League: Diverse group founded to protest U.S. colonial oversight in the Philippines.
Largest lobbying organization on a U.S. foreign policy issue until the end of the 1800s. Declined after
Philippines were annexed and especially once hostilities between U.S. and Filipino nationalists broke out.
Maine: American Battleship sent to watch over Cuba in 1898. Blew up, killing 260 soldiers. Americans,
eager for war, blamed it on Spanish submarine mines. In actuality, the explosion was an accident resulting
from combustion in one of the ship’s internal coalbunkers.
Teller Amendment: A proviso to President McKinley’s war plans that proclaimed that when the U.S.
overthrew Spanish misrule, it would give Cuba its freedom. Amendment coincided with the “antiimperialist” designs of the initial war plans.
Rough Riders: Organized by Teddy Roosevelt, a colorful regimen of Cuban War volunteers. Roosevelt
used it for political advancement as a platforming point.
Foraker Act: Accorded Puerto Ricans a limited degree of popular government. First Congressional effort to
provide for governance of territories gained after the Spanish-American War. Served as a model for a
similar act in the Philippines (annexed in 1902).
Platt Amendment: Cuban amendment to its Constitution limiting Cuba’s treaty-making abilities, controlled
its debt, and gave US the ability to intervene militarily to “restore order” when it saw fit. US pressures
Cuba into including this amendment.
Insular Cases: Supreme Court cases resulting in the ruling that “the Constitution does not follow the flag.”
In other words, Puerto Ricans and Filipinos wouldn’t enjoy the same rights as all other Americans.
Spring Semester Final Study Guide
AP US History
Open Door Note/John Hay: Set of diplomatic letters in which Secretary of State John Hay urged the Great
powers (Russia, Germany, Britain) to respect Chinese rights and to allow competition within areas of
Chinese influence. Established the US “Open Door Policy” allowing the US into Chinese markets.
Roosevelt Corollary: Stipulated that the US would retain a right to intervene in the domestic affairs of Latin
American Nations in order to restore military and financial order. Policy of “preemptive intervention.”
Liliuokalani: Queen of Hawaii; opposed to the annexation of Hawaii which was achieved at the end of
Grover Cleveland’s presidency.
Butcher Wayler: Brutal Spanish General sent to crush rebellion in Cuba. Put many civilians into
concentration camps thereby setting the stage for US intervention.
Emilio Aguinaldo: Leader of a Filipino Insurgent group and in cahoots with American troops, overthrew
Spanish rule in the Philippines in 1898. Later led a revolt against the US after they didn’t receive freedom
following the Spanish American War.
Rough Riders/San Juan Hill: Spanish sent warships to Cuba, panicking Americans. The Rough Riders
rushed to Cuba and battled at El Coney and stormed up San Juan Hill.
Chapter 28 Vocabulary
Goals of Progressivism: Use the state to curb monopoly power and improve conditions of labor and life.
Led by middle class. Big names: TR, Taft, Wilson, Jane Addams, Robert Lafollette, John Dewey.
Florence Kelley: Major advocate for better working conditions in factories. Especially those of child labor.
Robert Lafollette: Governor of Wisconson: fought hard against monopolies and tried to shift power from
private business to the people.
*Jacob Riis: Published How the Other Half Lives; gained progressive support. Muckraker. Wrote of abuse
of the poor.
*Lincoln Steffens: Wrote a series of articles exposing the corrupt alliance between big business and
municipal governments. Shame of the Cities.
Social Gospel: Brand of Progressivism based on Christian teachings - better working/living conditions.
Muckrakers: Journalists who sought to unveil the corruption of th era. Scandals exposed, social evils
exposed.
Initiative (Put idea on ballot)/Referendum (Vote for initiative)/Recall (Challenge office): Brought
democracy “to the people” and away from the power to political machines.
Australian Ballot: allowed voters privacy when marking their ballots.
Pure Food and Drug Act: Law passed to inspect and regulate the labeling of foods/pharmaceuticals
intended for human consumption.
Meat Inspection Act: Congress passed to subject meat shipped over state lines to federal inspection.
Upton Sinclair: Wrote The Jungle which told of disgusting conditions in slaughterhouses/meat packing
plants. Mobilized public support for government action.
Conservation: conservation of natural resources.
Spring Semester Final Study Guide
AP US History
Square Deal: Control of corporations, consumer protection, conservation of natural resources. TR’s deal to
Americans.
Margaret Sanger: Birth control activist, helped legalize contraception in the US. Leader of the NWP.
Triangle Shirtwaist Fire: Blatantly disregarded fire code --> 146 workers died. Disobeyed the laws
regulating factories.
Ida Tarbell: Wrote a devastating expose against Standard Oil and its ruthlessness.
Amendment 16: Congress has power to lay and collect income taxes.
Amendment 17: Direct voting of senators.
Amendment 18: National prohibition.
Amendment 19: Women guaranteed right to vote.
Payne Aldrich Bill: Intended to lower tariffs. Eventually revised hard; ultimately retained high rates on
most imports.
How is TR a modern President? Conservationist, not idetified by a party - fought for what is right.
Represented the people, not a party. Used sheer force of his personality. Goes after JP Morgan (steel); not a
trust buster, but a trust regulator. Brings power to the people. Social welfare. Settled the Coal Strike.
Favoured labor over management. Foreign Policy: “Walk softly and carry a big stick.” Increase size of
Navy, created Panama Canal. Roosevelt Corollary.
Chapter 29 Vocabulary
Woodrow Wilson: See notes above. Very Progressive. Triple Wall of Privilege.
John P. Pershing: General sent by Wilson to find and capture Pancho Villa. Later led American troops in
the Meuse-Argonne offensive in WWI.
Pancho Villa: Led opposition against Huerta’s regime in Mexico. Pursued by Pershing after killing
Americans.
Lusitania: Sank by German U-boat. Killed 128 Americans. Brought massive American support for war.
Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire
Allied Powers: France, Russia, Britain (later United States)
U-boats: German submarines.
Clayton Anti-Trust Act: Legalized peaceful protest by Unions. Bolstered Sherman Anti-Trust Act.
New Freedom: Platform of Woodrow Wilson and the Democrats in the 1912 election. Featured an array of
progressive reforms.
Louis Brandeis: Wrote Other People’s Money and How Bankers Use It. Showed issues w/ American
financies of the time. Was nominated into the Supreme Court - the first Jew ever.
US Neutrality in WWI: Wilson keeps US neutral until 1917.
Spring Semester Final Study Guide
AP US History
Chapter 30 Vocabulary
Zimmerman Note: From Germany to Mexico: proposed Alliance. Mexico can regain Texas, New Mexico,
and Arizona if Central Powers win and they join. Outraged America.
Fourteen Points: Set of idealistic goals for peace by Woodrow Wilson. See above for more.
Committee on Public Information: Led by George Creel. Created to “sell” the war to those opposed and to
drum up support.
Espionage Act: Showed paranoia of American people. Punished those assisting the enemy and those who
refuse to fight.
War Industries Board Industrial: Established to increase efficiency and discourage waste in war-related
industries.
Workers of the World (IWW): Radical union led by William D. Haywood. Persecuted by Americans. Seen
as threat to US during war.
Meuse Argonne Offensive: US offensive in WWI that led up to Armistice. Led by General Pershing.
League of Nations: Wilson’s prized idea: international group whose job would be to keep the peace and
settle world disputes.
Treaty of Versillas: Foced on Germany. Didn’t contain most of Wilson’s 14 points. Ended WWI and set
stage for Hitler’s rise of power.
George Creel: Headed the Comimittee on Public Information.
Eugene V. Debs: Anti-war socialist who is arrested and sent to prison through the Sedition and Espionage
Acts. Perceived as a threat to US during war. Had 6% of popular vote at his peak of popularity.
William (Big Bill) Haywood: Leader of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). Also arrested through
the Sedition and Espionage Acts.
Bernard Baruch: Led the War Industries Board Industrial.
Henry Cabot Lodge: Republican senator who led in fight against joining the League of Nations.
Espionage Act of 1917: Along with Sedition Act of 1918 showed American paranoia. Punished those hwo
aid enemy or bad-mouthed the U.S.
Schenck vs. US: Schenck was passing out pamphlets against the war and was prosecuted. Legal case that
ruled government can limit free speech if it provokes a “clear and present danger.” (Example: yelling
"Fire!" in a crowded movie theater, it would result in a clear and present danger, and therefore you can't say
it).
Chapter 31 Vocabulary
Red Scare: series of raids which captured and arrested 6,000 suspected Communists.
A Mitchell Palmer: Attorney General who led the Red Scare.
Sacco & Vanzetti: Convicted of murdering a Massachusetts paymaster and his guard. They are anarchists
and ultimately executed. Showed nervousness at such ideas during the time.
Spring Semester Final Study Guide
AP US History
Al Capone: Most infamous gangster. Valentine’s Day Massacre.
John T. Scopes: Charged with teaching evolution. Trial proved inconclusive --> showed rift between old
and new.
Frederick Taylor: American mechanical engineer - leader of the efficiency movement. Sought to improve
industrial efficiency.
Henry Ford: Perfected assembly line: Rouge River Plant was producing a finished automobile every 10
seconds. Developed the infant auto industry.
Charles Lindbergh: Became the first person to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. Became an American
hero.
Sigmund Freud: Founder of psychology. Said sexual repression is responsible for societal ills. Pleasure and
health demand gratification and liberation. Represented the idealism of the 20s.
Marcus Garvey: African American leader. Founder of the United Negro Improvement Association.
KKK in the 1920s: Pro-white Anglo Saxon Protestant. Anti-everything else. Peaked in the 1920s w/ 5
million members. Stopped by exposure of its money fraud.
Emergency Quota Act of 1921: Newcomers from Europe were restricted at any year to a quota of 3% of
people of that nationality who were living in the US in 1910.
F. Scott Fitzgerald Ernest: Wrote The Great Gatsby. Captured society of the “Jazz Age.”
Hemingway/Lost Generation: Author who wrote of the young people how were ruined by disillusionment
about WWI.
Prohibition: 18th amendment. Led to rise in gang activity. Never really enforced. Most popular in
Midwest/South.
Cultural Conflicts in the 1920s: Old vs. New. Scopes trial shows this. Radio/TV combat tradition family
values.
Immigration Act of 1924: Replaced Emergency Quota Act of 1921. Now 2% and basis is changed to 1890.
Sent across message “Out with the New Immigrants and in with the Old Immigrants.”
Chapter 32 Vocabulary
Kellogg-Briand Pact: Said all nations that sign no longer would use war as an offensive means (essentially
outlawed war).
Fordney McCumber Tariff: Rose tariff from 27% to 35% to prevent influx of goods into America after the
war.
Teapot Dome Scandal: Albert Fall leases Federal Land for a bribe. Major uproar following its reveal to the
public.
Hawley Smoot Tariff: Rose tariff to an unreal 60%. Passed under President Hoover.
Black Tuesday: October 29, 1929. Stock market crash that began the Great Depression.
Hoovervilles: Villages of shanties and ragged shacks that were inhabited by people had had lost their jobs.
Popped up all over the country. Showed public disdain of President Hoover for his lack of intervention.
Spring Semester Final Study Guide
AP US History
Reconstruction Finance Corporation: Government bank who loans out money during the Great Depression.
Bonus Army: Veterans who march on DC to demand compensation for their WWI service.
Warren Harding: US President after WIlson. Weak leader with corrupt cabinet. Dealt with aftermath of the
war.
Calvin Coolidge: Harding’s VP. Took over after his death. Calm, composed. Dealt with Harding’s
scandals. Isolationism.
Al Smith: Ran against Herbert Hoover. NY governor who was riddled with scandal.
5 Power, 4 Power, 9 Power Treaties: Disarmament Plans established by the US.
 5 Power Naval Treaty: 5:5:3 ratio of ships that could be held by US, Britain, and Japan,
respectively.
 4 Power: Bound Britain, France, US, and Japan to preserve the status quo in the Pacific.
 9 Power: Kept Open Door policy in China following the war.
Dawes Plan: Reschedules German reparitian payments and allowed American loans into Germany.
Essentially created a money circle. America - Germany - Britain/France - America.
Chapter 33 Vocabulary
New Deal: Economic/political policies of FDR. Aimed to solve the problems of the Depression by his three
R’s. Built on progressive style reforms to create a form of welfare state.
Wagner Act: replaced the NRA; guaranteed the rights of unions to organize and collectively bargain with
management.
AAA: Agricultural Adjustment Act: made available millions of dollars to help farmers meet their
mortgages. Paid farmers to reduce crops to eliminate the price-depressing surplus.
CCC: Civilian Conservation Corps: provided employment in fresh-air government camps for about 3
million men.
WPA: Works Progress Administration: put $11 million on thousands of public buildings, bridges, and
roads. Gave 9 million people jobs.
TVA: Tennessee Valley Administration: Sought to discover exactly how much money it took to produce
electricity and keep reasonable rates. Helped the 2.5 million poor citizens to improve their quality of life.
Social Security: Greatest victory for New Dealers – created pension and insurance for old aged, blind,
handicapped, and other dependents by taxing employees and employers. Attacked bitterly by Republicans.
SEC: Securities and Exchange Commission: designed as a stock watchdog agency – operate more as
trading marts and less like casinos.
FDR’s Court Packing Plan: Attempts to gain power in Supreme Court. He would add a member for ever
existing one over 70 years of age. Congress votes it down (they don’t want to lose power).
John Maynard Keyes: British economist. His policies were employed by FDR.
Frances Perkins: First ever female cabinet member; Secretary of Labor.
Spring Semester Final Study Guide
AP US History
Father Coughlin: Catholic priest who spoke out in opposition to the New Deal on the radio.
Dr. Townsend: gained support of ~ 5 million senior citizens  each would receive $200 monthly.
Mathematically ludicrous.
Huey Long: popular for his share the wealth program. Proposed each family would receive $5000 from the
rich. Also mathematically ridiculous.
Dust Bowl/Grapes of Wrath: Drought winds create the Dustbowl in the middle of the US. Forced many
farmers to migrate west. Inspired John Steinbeck to write The Grapes of Wrath.
Hundred Days Congress: Filled with more legislative activity than ever before – first 100 days of FDR’s
term.
FDR’s First Inaugural: “There is nothing to fear but fear itself.”
Chapter 34 Vocabulary
Good Neighbor Policy: FDR renounced armed intervention in Latin America. Great success and improved
the image of US in Latin American eyes.
Neutrality Acts of 1935, 1936, and 1937: Stated that when the president proclaims the existence of a
foreign war, certain restrictions go into effect automatically; (1) No American can legally sail on a
belligerent ship, (2) no one can sell or transport munitions to a belligerent, and (3) no one can make loans
to a belligerent.
Neutrality Act of 1939: Europeans can buy war materials, only on a “cash-and-carry” basis. Europeans
must provide their own ships and must pay in cash. Since Britain/France own the seas, they get the
supplies.
Quarantine Speech: FDR’s verbal chastisement of Japan for invading China. Called for a “quarantine” of
Japan and other aggressors.
Lend-Lease Bill: Armed ships that the US lends to nations that need them would be returned when they
were no longer needed. Basically abandoned the neutrality policy.
Atlantic Charter: similar to Wilson’s 14-points. (1) No territorial changes contrary to the rights to the
people living there will occur and (2) affirmed the right of people to choose their leaders as well as called
for the (3) disarmament and a new League of Nations.
Pearl Harbor: Japanese attack on Hawaiian Naval Base. Sparked massive U.S. call for war.
Panay Incident: Japanese sink US war boat Panay. They apologize and the US doesn’t enter the war. Shows
US determination to stay neutral.
Chapter 35 Vocabulary
Midway: Decisive Allied Victory under Admiral Chester Nimitz. Ships never even saw each other –
aircraft carriers.
Okinawa: Japanese Island that US kept base on.
Nagasaki/Hiroshima: Two major cities in Japan that were leveled by American uses of the atomic bomb.
Battle of Britain: German attempt to beat Britain. Massive air raids. Britain holds strong and isn’t defeated.
Spring Semester Final Study Guide
AP US History
El Alamein: British defeat of German troops in Egypt, dangerously close to their Suez Canal.
D-Day: Massive invasion by Allied Forces of French Normandy. Led by Dwight Eisenhower.
Battle of the Bulge: Hitler’s last-ditch attempt to regain his victories. Failure. Allied victory.
Korematsu vs. US Executive Order 9066: Supreme Court case upholding constitutionality of internment
camps.
WAACS/WAVES/SPARS: Women’s armed forces division (Army, Navy, Coast Guard).
Bracero Program: Brought Mexican workers to America as resident workers since so many Americans
were drafted.
CORE: Congress of Racial Equality. Gained power (along with the NAACP). Used war as rallying cry for
racial equality.
Navajo Code Talkers: Navajo Indians who relayed military orders in their own language. Code was never
broken.
Potsdam Conference: Big 3 meet in Germany to negotiate the end of the war (Truman).
Yalta Conference: Big 3 meet to discuss the reorganization of post-war Europe.
Manhattan Project: Project to create nuclear weapons.
Douglas McArthur: Major Allied general who re-took the Philippines from Japan.
Chester Nimitz: Led Allies at Midpoint.
Dwight Eisenhower: Coordinated and executed the secret “underbelly” attack on German forces through
North Africa. Leader of the D-Day invasion.
Harry Truman: Chosen as FDR’s 4th term VP and became President after FDR’s death.
How the US mobilized for war: War Production Board  massive military orders pull US out of
Depression. Farmers roll out more food. Essential goods are rationed. Labor unions agree to not strike,
draft, Bracero Program.
A Phillip Randolph: Labor organizer who threatens a march on Washington if segregation is not ended and
if levels of equality are not increased.
Chapter 36 Vocabulary
Inchon: decisive UN victory in the Korean War.
Taft Hartley Act: outlawed “closed” shops, made unions liable for damages they cause, and required union
leaders to take non-Communist oaths.
GI Bill of Rights: Allowed all servicemen to have free education when they return home.
Sunbelt: 15 state region in the South that drastically increased in population.
Levittown: Levitt brothers suburban project – built and sold many homes that looked almost identical.
“Little Boxes.”
Spring Semester Final Study Guide
AP US History
Baby Boom: Soldiers return from war and marry their sweethearts  baby boom.
Cold War: Political “stare-down” between USSR and US.
Nuremberg War Crimes Trials: Charged 22 people who were vital in perpetuating the Holocaust.
Berlin Airlift: After USSR blockades Berlin, hoping to starve out the Allied powers, the organie and airlift
to bring in food for Berlin.
George Kennan/Containment: Firm containment of Soviet expansion would halt Communist power.
Truman Doctrine: containment policy; put $400 million toward helping Greece and Turkey from falling to
Communism.
Marshall Plan: Secretary of State John Marshall, with Truman, pass plan to send $12.5 billion to aid in
European recovery in order to prevent spread of Communism.
NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization – 13 nation pact stating that attack on one is attack on all.
USSR responds with Warsaw Act.
House Un-American Activities: Creates an Un-American Activities to battle Communism. Investigated
“subversion.”
Fair Deal: Truman’s running promise during the 1948 election – improved housing, higher minimum wage,
full employment, better farm prices, Social Security expansion.
NSC-68: National Security Council Memorandum Number 68  called for government military spending
to be quadrupled in anticipation of the Korean War.
Korean War: Democratic South vs. Communist North. US springs into action to help the South  38th
parallel border is drawn.
Benjamin Spock: Wrote a book on Baby and Child Care. Was immensely popular.
Joseph Stalin: Leader of USSR in post WWII era. Took over Poland after agreeing not to.
George Marshall: Came up with Marshall Plan. Truman’s Secretary of State.
Rosenbergs: Tried and executed for selling nuclear secrets to the Russians.
Alger Hiss: Tried under the Committee on Un-American Activities by Richard Nixon.
Brinkmanship: pushing dangerous events to the bring of disaster in order to achieve most advantageous
outcome.
Domino Theory: If one place falls to Communism, those around it will do so as well.
Chapter 37 Vocabulary
Khrushchev: U-2 incident; US tries to fly a U-2 spy plane over the USSR but it is shot down – tightened
tensions that had been falling.
Planned obsolescence: Purposefully designed a product with a limited useful life so that it will break and
people will have to but a new one.
Spring Semester Final Study Guide
AP US History
Organization Man: William H. Whyte, Jr. Fought against the new consumerism of the 1950s.
McCarthyism: Major anti-communist sentiments started by Joseph McCarthy.
Jonas Salk: Developed the first inactive polio vaccine.
Elvis: Major singer of 1950s-1970s. Sexually more open and liberal.
Economics of the 1950s: Explosion of the electronics field. Massive consumer culture  “White collar”
outnumber “blue color” for the first time.
Federal Highway Act of 1956: Built 42,000 miles of interstate freeways – connecting the U.S.
Eisenhower: Won the 1952 election easily with Nixon as his VP. Fought to end the Korean War and did so.
Election was the first with TV as a major medium.
John Foster Dulles: Secretary of State under Eisenhower; “roll=back” theory  containment isn’t enough,
must push back and liberate the people under Communism.
Mutually Assured Destruction: No one will fire off a nuclear bomb at another because they will get just as
many sent back at them.
Suez Crisis: Britain, France, Israel attack Egypt thinking that the US will supply them with oil. The US
does not, and Britain, France, and Israel are forced to pull back.
Ganal Abdel Nassar: Leader of Egypt during the Suez Crisis.
Nikita Khrushchev: Eisenhower tried to thaw the Cold War with him, but Khrushchev rejected it (Geneva
Conference).
OPEC: Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Iran, and Venezuela.
Battle of Dien Bien Phu: First major confrontation of French Union and Vietnamese Communist groups.
Checkers Speech: Delivered by Richard Nixon (Eisenhower’s VP) after being caught in a scandal.
Touching speech – he is forgiven and stays on as VP.
Civil Rights Movement: MLK’s Philosophy: non-violence, use of sit-ins and other non-violent means to
inducing change.
Rosa Parks: Civil rights activist – refused to give up her seat on the bus for the white person.
SCLC: African American Civil Rights organization. Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
MLK’s Letter from Birmingham Jail: MLK is arrested – religious leaders send him letters saying to stop
but he responds by saying that he will not stop.
SNCC: Southern Non-violent Coordinating Committee; gave focus and force to the Civil Rights
Movement.
March of Washington: “I have a dream speech.” – Black march on D.C. and MLK’s speech.
Chapter 38 Vocabulary
Spring Semester Final Study Guide
AP US History
Kennedy’s First Inaugural: Very stirring: “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do
for your country.”
New Frontier Legislation: Kennedy’s social program.
Berlin Wall: Wall the separated East (Communist) and West Germany.
Bay of Pigs Incident: U.S. aided invasion of Cuba by rebels. Total disaster, the revolt failed. Castro pushed
more toward Communist Camp.
Cuban Missile Crisis: USSR sends nukes to Cuba, they point them at us, we say to get rid of them: 13 day
stand off.
Peaceful Coexistence: Communism and Capitalism can “peacefully coexist.” Ideology adopted by sovietinfluenced “communist states.”
Freedom Riders: Chartered buses to tour South and end segregation. Drew more attention to segregation in
the South.
Kennedy Assassination 11/22/62: JFK is killed while touring Dallas, TX.
Warren Commission: Established to find out who killed Kennedy. Conclusion  Lee Harvey Oswald.
23rd Amendment: Gives residents of D.C. the right to vote for representatives in the electoral college.
24th Amendment: Eliminated poll taxes.
25th Amendment: Officially established order of succession should a president die in office.
LBJ’s War On Poverty/Great Social Agenda: Larges reform agenda since the New Deal. Money to
students, establishment of Medicare and Medicaid, Immigration/Nationality Act of 1965, Head Start.
Civil Rights Act of 1964: Banned all racial discrimination in private facilities open to the public.
LBJ’s Big Four Reforms: Aid to education, medical care for elderly/poor, immigration reform, new voting
rights bill.
Black Power Leaders: Malcolm X; fought to achieve Civil Rights through violent means.
Vietnam “Quagmire”: Communist Ho Chi Minh is threatening a communist revolution  JFK sends more
troops and they die often. Protests to get us out are massive.
Election of 1968: Nixon wins the election after LBJ announces that he will not run again.
26th Amendment: 18 is the voting age.
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution: Essentially gave LBJ a blank check to fight in Vietnam.
Chapter 39 Vocabulary
Draft Deferments: Exemption for college students from being drafted. Put the weight of Vietnam on the
poor.
Treatment of Soldiers: Soldiers are treated terribly in and out of combat. Brutal fighting conditions, they
are hated back home.
Spring Semester Final Study Guide
AP US History
Vietnamization: Nixon’s plan to give the war back to Vietnam. Pulls out a large chunk of US troops.
Henry Kissinger: Sent to China to encourage better relations – success. Nixon’s national security advisor.
My Lai Massacre: U.S. soldiers slaughter women and children in the village My Lai. Shows U.S. troops’
frustration with the war.
Pentagon Papers: Documents about the Vietnam War leaked by Danial Ellsberg. They exposed the deceit
used by Kennedy and LBJ’s administration. Created the “credibility gap.”
War Powers Act: stated that the president must report use of US troops to Congress within 48 hours as well
as set a 60 day limit on those activities.
Silent Majority: Americans who supported the war but did so quietly.
Christmas Bombings: Massive air raids on North Vietnam ordered by Nixon. Ordered after the war was
supposed to be dwindling down.
Détente: relaxed tensions. Occurred with USSR.
Nixon’s visit to the USSR & China: used to establish détente between nations.
Rachael Carson: Wrote Silent Spring, a piece that exposed the disastrous effects of pesticides (DDT).
Roe vs. Wade: controversial Supreme Court case legalizing abortion (Warren Burger is Chief Justice).
SALT II: Carter’s attempt to ease tensions with the USSR. Not ratified.
Smoking Gun Tapes: The “last tape” that proved Nixon’s had prior knowledge of Watergate. Resulted in
his resignation.
Earl Warren: Chief Justice of Supreme Court. Very liberal and make several landmark decisions.
Stagnation: persistent high inflation coupled with high unemployment and stagnant demand in a country’s
economy.
Gerald Ford: After Nixon’s first VP resigned, Nixon called for Ford to be the new VP. Since Nixon had to
resign, Ford became President.
Jimmy Carter: Won the 1976 election over Gerald Ford.
Camp David Accords: Mediated by Carter. Israel will withdraw from territory gained the the 1967 war, and
Egypt will respect Israel’s territories in return.
Leonid Brezhnev: Soviet Premier who formed SALT II with Carter.
Iran Hostage Situation: militants take hostage US embassy in Tehran. Dragged on for most of Carter’s
term.
Chapter 40
Election of 1980: Edward Kennedy vs. Ronald Reagan. Reagan won in a landslide signaling shift back to
traditionalism.
Spring Semester Final Study Guide
AP US History
“Reaganomics”: policies favorable to businesses. Lower individual taxes, almost eliminating federal estate
taxes, created tax-free saving plans for small investors.
Glasnost and Gorbachev: Soviet’s plan to Westernize. Glasnost: “openness. Shifting toward free-speech
and press as well as toward a free-market economy.
The Iran-Contra Affair: Reagan agrees to sell arms to Iran in return for hostages. This money is funneled
into helping the Contra-rebels in Nicaragua, something that was strictly prohibited.
Conservative appointments to the Supreme Court: Reagan appoints many conservative judges. Antiabortion and anti-affirmative action.
Election of 1988: George H Bush wins the election.
Bush-Gorbachev Summits: Summits to negotiate and declare an end to the Cold War.
First Persian Gulf War: Iraq invades Kuwait, US invades Iraq to liberate Kuwait. Also known as Operation
Desert Storm. Battle against Sadam Hussein.
End of the Cold War/Collapse of the Soviet Union: Soviet Union is disintegrated into the Commonwealth
of Independent States.
Americans with Disabilities Act: Landmark law (George H.) that banned discrimination against citizens
with disabilities.
27th Amendment: Stated that Congressional pay raises would not go into effect until after another
Congressional election had taken place.