The Monroe Doctrine
 Issued during the Presidency of James Monroe, shortly after many nations in Latin
America declared independence from Spain and Portugal
 President James Monroe’s 1823 annual message to Congress contained the Monroe
Doctrine, which warned European powers not to interfere in the affairs of the
Western Hemisphere
 Europeans must stay out of the Americas; the Americas were closed to future
colonization
 The Monroe Doctrine declared that the United States would view European
interference in the Americas as a threat to the national interest of the United States
 The message of the doctrine though was clear: the Americas were closed – off-limits
to Europeans: Europeans had to stay out of the Americas
The Open Door Policy
 U.S. policy of promoting equal opportunity for international trade and commerce in
China
 As Europeans had gained control of parts of China with their spheres of interests,
the U.S.A. wanted to make sure that Americans could still trade with China
 Equal trading rights for all in China – an open door for trade
 The United States formulated the Open Door policy to prevent a European and
Japanese monopoly of Chinese trade and markets
 Let the door be open and let all nations trade with China – at least, according to this
policy
Theodore Roosevelt and the Panama Canal
 Theodore Roosevelt said, “I took the Canal and let Congress debate.”
 This quotation best demonstrates a Presidential action that achieved a foreign policy
objective
 Theodore Roosevelt’s objective was to reduce shipping times and shipping costs
from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific coast; a canal through the isthmus of Panama
would surely do that
 In fact, to ensure that the land for the Canal could be bought – Roosevelt supported
Panamanian independence
 Panama had once been a part of Columbia but when Columbia refused the sale of
the land (the price was too low), the Americans helped with Panamanian
independence, knowing that the newly independent nation of Panama would sell the
land to the U.S.
Causes of U.S. Imperialism
 Industrialization led to the construction of many factories and of course, factories
require raw materials or natural resources
 Industrialized nations in the 1800s wanted colonies – wanted conquered lands
(imperialism) – for with colonies came precious raw materials – with colonies came
the cotton for the cloth, the rubber for the tires
 And colonies provided additional places to sell manufactured goods or markets
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Involvement in the Spanish-American War, acquisition of Hawaii, and introduction
of the Open Door policy in China were actions taken by the United States to gain
overseas markets and sources of raw materials
U.S. imperialism was directly linked to industrialization and the desire for raw
materials
What President James Monroe and President Theodore Roosevelt Believed about Latin
America
 President James Monroe issued the Monroe Doctrine which stated that Europe
must stay out of the Americas – that the Western Hemisphere (the Americas) belong
to the Americans
 President Theodore Roosevelt believed in the Monroe Doctrine and added to it –
with his Roosevelt Corollary
 The Roosevelt Corollary stated that while Europe must stay out of the Americas, the
United States may militarily intervene in Latin America when debts needed to be
collected or stability needed to be restored
 The Roosevelt Corollary was part of President Theodore Roosevelt’s “Big Stick”
Policy
 Of course, Latin Americans did not like the Roosevelt Corollary as they thought of
it as U.S. paternalism – the U.S. acting like a father or authority over independent
peoples
 President James Monroe and President Theodore Roosevelt held the foreign policy
position that a special relationship should exist between the United States and the
nations of Latin America
The Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine
 The principle that the United States has the right to act as the “policeman of the
Western Hemisphere” and intervene in the internal affairs of Latin American
nations was established by the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine
 The Roosevelt Corollary was an addition to the Monroe Doctrine
 The Monroe Doctrine stated that Europe was to stay out of the Americas; the
Americas were closed for future colonization
 The Roosevelt Corollary added that while the Americas were closed to Europeans,
the United States could intervene in Latin America
 U.S. troops often militarily intervened in Latin American affairs
Why the United States Intervened in Latin America
 During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, United States intervention in Latin
America was motivated by the United States desire to protect its growing
investments in Latin America
 American businessmen invested heavily in Latin America
 American businessmen owned farms, railroads, and mines in Latin America
 To make sure that the investments and profits of American businessmen were
protected, the United States government frequently militarily intervened in Latin
America to prevent new governments from confiscating American property
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This intervention benefitted American businessmen but harmed Latin Americans as
they lacked self-determination; Latin Americans lacked the ability to determine
their own government and laws
The Annexation of Hawaii and the Philippines
 Imperialism occurs when a militarily stronger country conquers a weaker nation or
region
 Industrialization often led to imperialism as newly industrialized nations needed
raw materials for factories
 Annexation means to add a territory to a nation
 When the United States annexed or added Hawaii and the Philippines to its
territories, it was an example of imperialism
 Yes, imperialism is the United States policy most closely associated with the
annexation of Hawaii and the Philippines
Yellow Journalism and the Spanish American War
 Yellow Journalism is to exaggerate the news or to sensationalize the news
 During the Spanish American War, yellow journalism was used frequently in
American newspapers
 Yellow journalists created support for the Spanish-American War by writing
articles about the sinking of the United States battleship Maine in Havana Harbor
 Spain was blamed for sinking the ship even before all of the facts of the ship’s
sinking were reviewed
 Indeed, Spain may not have been responsible but Americans concluded Spain was
guilty due to yellow journalism
Definition of Yellow Journalism
 Exaggerating the news or sensationalizing the news is yellow journalism
 News organizations were engaging in yellow journalism before the SpanishAmerican War when editors exaggerated events to build support for war
 Yellow Journalism is not about facts as much as about creating feelings in the
reader – anger or shock or surprise
 It is dangerous as it may lead to the false accusations of innocent people or parties
 Yellow Journalism was one cause of the Spanish-American War
Why the United States Wanted an Open Door Policy in China
 In the 1800s, many European nations gained spheres of influence in China
 A sphere of influence meant that a particular European nation controlled a port or
ports in China and controlled trade through those ports
 The United States did not gain a sphere of influence as in the 1800s, the country was
primarily dealing with the Civil War
 Thus, the United States wanted an Open Door Policy in China – it wanted any
nation desiring trade with China the right to trade with China
 The United States issued the Open Door policy (1899–1900) primarily to secure
equal trade opportunities in China
What Was Necessary to Change from the Indirect to the Direct Election of United States
Senators?
 The original Constitution did not allow for the direct election of Senators and only
an amendment can change the Constitution
 Passed by Congress May 13, 1912, and ratified April 8, 1913, the 17th amendment
modified the Constitution by allowing voters to cast direct votes for U.S. Senators
 Prior to its passage, Senators were chosen by state legislatures
 But thanks to the efforts of Populists and Progressives, the seventeenth amendment
was added to the U.S. Constitution allowing voters to elect Senators
 The 17th Amendment expanded democracy in the United States by allowing voters
to determine each state’s Senators for the U.S. Senate
The Purpose of Theodore Roosevelt’s Trustbusting Policies
 Trustbusting means to break up monopolies; it is anti-monopoly
 A main purpose of President Theodore Roosevelt’s trustbusting policies was to
encourage competition in business
 Monopolies are bad for consumers as a single seller dominates a market and
therefore prices tend to be high and quality inferior
 By busting up bad trusts or trusts that harm consumers, Teddy Roosevelt increased
competition in the United States
 By increasing competition, consumers benefitted through lower prices and better
quality goods
Muckrakers
 Muckrakers were writers during the Progressive era who exposed injustices and
corruption in American society and government
 Ida Tarbell was a muckraker; she wrote The History of Standard Oil about the
Rockefeller trust
 Upton Sinclair wrote The Jungle about the unsanitary and unsafe conditions in the
meatpacking industry
 Jacob Riis wrote How the Other Half Lives about poverty among “New Immigrants”
in the cities
 In the early 20th century, muckrakers were able to influence American society
mainly through their publication of articles and books
A Goal of Reformers during the Progressive Era
 A major goal of reformers during the Progressive Era was to correct the abuses of
big business
 Monopolists had a lot of power in American government; they could use their
wealth to support politicians and then let politicians create policies that benefited
monopolists
 Reformers wanted to create positive changes in society
 During the Progressive Era, reformers wanted to improve American government
and laws by expanding democracy and reducing corruption and the influence of big
business on government
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Reformers wanted to improve American society by eliminating corruption and
injustice
Interstate Commerce Act, the Sherman Antitrust Act, and the Clayton Antitrust Act
 The purpose of the Interstate Commerce Act (1887), the Sherman Antitrust Act
(1890), and the Clayton Antitrust Act (1914) was to eliminate unfair business
practices
 All of these acts were created by Congress to prevent monopolistic practices and
ensure fairness in markets
 Approved on February 4, 1887, the Interstate Commerce Act created an Interstate
Commerce Commission to oversee the conduct of the railroad industry – with this
act, the railroads became the first industry subject to Federal regulation
 Approved July 2, 1890, the Sherman Anti-Trust Act was the first Federal act that
outlawed monopolistic business practices
 The Clayton Antitrust Act supplemented existing laws against unlawful restraints
and monopolies, and for other purposes
The Federal Reserve System
 The Federal Reserve System is the central bank of the United States
 The United States Federal Reserve System was established to regulate the money
supply
 It was founded by Congress in 1913 to provide the nation with a safer, more flexible,
and more stable monetary and financial system
 Over the years, its role in banking and the economy has expanded
 The Federal Reserve System has three functions: monetary policy, supervision and
regulation, and financial services
The Meat Inspection Act
 The Meat Inspection Act was passed as a result of muckraking
 Thanks to Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, Congress passed this act to ensure the safety
of the nation’s meat supply
 It requires the inspection of meat and meat food products
 There must be an examination of animals before slaughtering and diseased animals
must be slaughtered separately and carcasses examined
 Meat products must also be labelled – consumers have a right to know what is
actually in a hot dog or other meat product
Jacob Riis
 Famous muckraker
 Wrote How the Other Half Lives about the poverty of the “New Immigrants” in the
cities
 In How the Other Half Lives, Jacob Riis described the living conditions of
 workers in urban slums
 A slum is a densely populated (lots of people), run-down, squalid (unsanitary and
dirty) part of a city
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Factory workers often lived in unsanitary and overcrowded slums
Women, Suffrage, and the Progressive Era
 The right to vote was a long-awaited goal of the women’s rights movement that was
achieved during the Progressive Era
 Suffrage means the right to vote
 Women had to wait for the Nineteenth Amendment to finally gain the right to vote
 Passed by Congress June 4, 1919, and ratified on August 18, 1920, the 19th
amendment granted women the right to vote
 Women had waited a long time (the Seneca Falls Conference – the first ever
women’s rights conference occurred in 1848 in New York)and had protested for
many decades to gain this right which was finally given after the First World War
as many women contributed to the war effort and helped win the war
Jane Addams
 During the Progressive Era, Jane Addams responded to urban conditions by
working to establish settlement houses that provided assistance to the poor
 Hull House was an important settlement house established by Jane Addams
 Hull House was a vital community center for poor immigrant workers in Chicago
 In 1889, Jane Addams and a friend, Ellen Gates Starr, rented a run-down mansion
that once had belonged to a man named Charles Hull – the house stood in one of
Chicago’s industrial areas
 Many European immigrants who had come to the U.S. seeking a better life, lived in
the neighborhood and lived in crowded, dirty tenements – most worked in nearby
factories, earning barely enough money to feed their families.
 Addams and Starr hoped that Hull House would bring some light into the lives of
the urban poor by providing day care facilities, English classes, and opportunities to
learn new skills
Theodore Roosevelt and Panamanian revolt, Russo-Japanese war, and Creation of
National Parks
 The Panamanian revolt, the Russo-Japanese war, and the creation of the national
parks system occurred during the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt
 Theodore Roosevelt was responsible for acquiring the land from Panama to build
the canal and instrumental in helping Panama gain independence from Colombia to
get the land for the canal which Columbia had refused – the price was too low
 Theodore Roosevelt was a conservationist and wanted to protect nature; he was
instrumental in the creation of the national parks
 The Treaty of Portsmouth formally ended the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05; the
negotiations took place in August in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and were
brokered in part by U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt – Roosevelt won a Nobel
Peace Prize for his involvement
The Sixteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
 The federal income tax was authorized by the 16th amendment in 1913
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Passed by Congress on July 2, 1909, and ratified February 3, 1913, the 16th
amendment established Congress’s right to impose a Federal income tax
The 16th amendment is an important amendment that allows the federal (United
States) government to levy (collect) an income tax from all Americans
Income tax allows for the federal government to keep an army, build roads and
bridges, enforce laws and carry out other important duties
The federal government realized in 1913 that in order for it to collect taxes
effectively, and not have to share that tax money with the states, federal income tax
was necessary
The “New Immigrants”
 In the late 19th century, the pattern of United States immigration changed in that
increasing numbers of immigrants came from eastern and southern Europe
 The “New Immigrants” were from Southern and Eastern Europe and were
predominantly Roman Catholic and Jewish
 They differed from the “Old Immigrants” in that the “Old Immigrants” were
predominantly from Great Britain – Northern Europe – and Protestants
 The “New Immigrants” faced discrimination and prejudice
 The “New Immigrants” were often factory workers living in urban slums
Gentlemen’s Agreement, Literacy tests, and the Quota System
 The Gentlemen’s Agreement, literacy tests, and the quota system were all attempts
by Congress to restrict immigration
 The Gentlemen’s Agreement was written between the United States and Japan in
1907-1908 and represented an effort by President Theodore Roosevelt to calm
growing tension between the two countries over the immigration of Japanese
workers
 Japan agreed not to issue passports to emigrants to the United States, except to
certain categories of business and professional men and in return, President
Theodore Roosevelt agreed to urge the city of San Francisco to rescind (cancel) an
order by which children of Japanese parents were segregated from white students in
the schools
 A provision of the Immigration Act was the literacy test imposed on immigrants
entering the country; those who were over the age of 16 and could read some
language must read 30 to 40 words to show they are capable of reading – this too
was meant to restrict immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe
 The Immigration Act of 1924 limited the number of immigrants allowed entry into
the United States through a national origins quota; the quota provided immigration
visas to two percent of the total number of people of each nationality in the United
States as of the 1890 national census and completely excluded immigrants from Asia
– these quotas were designed to decrease immigration from Southern and Eastern
Europe
The Goals of the Populist Party
 Free and unlimited coinage of silver and government ownership of railroads were
goals of the Populist Party
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A graduated income tax was another goal of the Populist Party
The Populist Party was the first political party that proposed these reforms – free
and unlimited coinage of silver, government ownership of railroads and a graduated
income tax – in its platform
Populists were a party founded to advocate for the rights of farmers
The People’s party, more commonly known as the Populist party, was organized in
St. Louis in 1892 to represent the common folk – especially farmers – against the
entrenched interests of railroads, bankers, processers, corporations, and the
politicians in league with such interests
Farmers and the Railroads
 Farmers dislike the railroad companies in that railroads charged higher prices for
shorter distances thereby harming farmers
 “Transportation being a means of exchange and a public necessity, the government
should own and operate the railroads in the interest of the people” (1892) – the
group that would show the greatest support for this idea would be western farmers
 Since railroads were essentially monopolies – as no other train track ran through a
town – prices could be too high and unjust
 Thus, farmers wanted the government to regulate or control pricing in the railroad
industry
 By regulating the railroads, farmers would not face pricing discrimination
Manifest Destiny and the Homestead Act
 The idea that the United States should stretch from the Atlantic to the Pacific – that
God had given all of that land to the United States
 The Homestead Act was a Federal Act granting free land to Americans willing to
move West onto the Great Plains – if within five years, settlers could make a
working farm – this Act encouraged westward expansion
 Yes, Manifest Destiny and the Homestead Act encouraged westward expansion
 The passage of the Homestead Act and the completion of the transcontinental
railroad helped to fulfill the United States commitment to manifest destiny
 By moving Americans west, Americans populated all the land from the Atlantic to
the Pacific
Booker T. Washington
 Booker T. Washington believed that the most immediate means for African
Americans to achieve equality was to expand their opportunities for vocational
education
 Booker T. Washington had been born into slavery and wrote an autobiography
titled Up From Slavery
 The foremost black educator, power broker, and institution builder of his time,
Booker T. Washington in 1881 founded the Tuskegee Institute, a school for African
Americans in Alabama devoted to industrial and moral education and to the
training of public school teachers
 Booker T. Washington believed economic advancement would lead to equality
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By improving economic status, the African American community would gain
political rights
Abraham Lincoln and a House Divided
 Abraham Lincoln once said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand…I do not
expect the Union to be dissolved; I do not expect the house to fall; but I do expect it
will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing, or all the other…”
 The “divided house” referred to in this speech was caused primarily by slavery
 The nation was divided by free states and slave states
 Lincoln gave this speech before the Civil War
 He believed that a country divided so greatly could not stand unless it resolved the
issue, resolved the difference
The Great Compromise
 Establishing the formula for representation in Congress was a problem solved by
the Great Compromise at the Constitutional Convention of 1787
 The Great Compromise was a compromise between “big” states with large
populations or lots of people and “small” states with fewer people
 The Great Compromise created a bicameral Congress – a Congress with two
Houses, a House of Representatives and a Senate
 The number of representatives each state is allotted is based on the number of
people in that state – thus, the taking of the census every ten years to determine each
state’s population
 In the Senate, however, every state receives two Senators
Marbury v. Madison
 An important Supreme Court case; established the principle of judicial review
 Judicial review is the Court’s ability to declare a law unconstitutional
 Chief Justice of the case was John Marshall
 Marshall strengthened the power of the Federal Government
 The significance of the Supreme Court case Marbury v. Madison is that the decision
established the power of judicial review
George Washington and Neutrality
 George Washington said, ““Our true policy is to steer clear of permanent
alliances…”
 President Washington made this statement to warn against United States
involvement in European military conflicts
 As the United States was a new nation, it could not afford to be drawn into costly
European conflicts
 The nation needed time to grow and thrive
 Thus, Washington encouraged neutrality – no alliances leading to wars
Nativism
 An anti-immigrant attitude
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Nativism in the late 19th century was motivated primarily by hostility toward
immigrant workers
The “New Immigrants” from Southern and Eastern Europe were culturally
different from the “Old Immigrants” – they were often Catholics and Jews and did
not speak English
The “New Immigrants” found employment in the newly industrialized cities and
worked in the factories; they often lived in tenements and slums, neglected parts of
the cities
The “Old Immigrants” feared that the “New Immigrants” would negatively change
the United States but the “New Immigrants” just wanted job opportunities and
better lives – they assimilated and became Americanized
Samuel Gompers, Terence Powderly, and Eugene Debs
 During the late 19th century, Samuel Gompers, Terence Powderly, and Eugene
Debs were leaders in the movement to improve working conditions
 Samuel Gompers was a union leader; he founded the American Federation of Labor
– a craft union of skilled workers
 Terence Powderly was a leader of the union known as the Knights of Labor
 Eugene Debs was a union leader of the Industrial Workers of the World
 Unions are organizations of workers that seek to improve working conditions,
wages, and hours
Where Most “New Immigrants” Lived
 The “new immigrants” who arrived in the United States from southern and eastern
Europe in the late 1800s and early 1900s lived in urban areas and most held lowpaying jobs
 They worked in factories – long hours, low wages, and unsafe working conditions
 They lived in tenements or run-down and often overcrowded apartment buildings
 They lived in slums or densely populated, run-down, squalid or dirty parts of cities
 They faced discrimination due to nativism or anti-immigrant attitudes
Andrew Jackson and Spoils System
 During the presidency of Andrew Jackson, the spoils system resulted in elected
officials rewarding their supporters with government jobs
 The Spoils System was a system whereby a newly elected official would reward his
supporters with government jobs
 The Spoils System hoped to bring more people into government in that with every
new election, a new group of workers would be hired for government service
 Of course, the Spoils System could also be corrupt – in that people get jobs because
of who they know rather than what they can do
 Today, the Spoils System is not used instead there is a civil service system where
government workers have to pass tests to be employed
Electoral College and Census
 Americans vote for electors – electors vote for the President
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Each state has a certain number of electors to vote for the President in the Electoral
College
A state’s number of electors is based on its number of representatives in the House
of Representatives and its two Senators
Thus, the census is really important as it records each state’s population every ten
year to determine how many representatives each state receives in the House of
Representatives and therefore the number of electors each state receives in the
Electoral College
Yes, population data from the census of 2000 was used to determine the number of
electoral college votes from each state
Importance of New Orleans and the Louisiana Purchase
 The United States purchased the Louisiana Territory from France
 Thanks to the Louisiana Purchase, the United States acquired full control of the
Mississippi River, the Great Plains, and the port of New Orleans
 The port of New Orleans was particularly important because it connected the
Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico
 Acquiring New Orleans as part of the Louisiana Purchase was considered important
to the development of the Mississippi and Ohio River valleys because the city served
as a port for American agricultural goods
 The port of New Orleans was good for trade
Erie Canal
 It connects the Hudson River in New York State to the Great Lakes
 Canals make transportation easier and connect important bodies of water
 The Hudson River flows all the way to New York City
 An immediate effect of the completion of the Erie Canal in 1825 that farmers could
more easily ship grain to eastern markets
 The Erie Canal was a valuable means of transportation – allowing farmers in the
Ohio River Valley to ship goods to New York City
Thomas Paine and Common Sense as well as a Criticism of Mercantilism
 Thomas Paine wrote the pamphlet – “Common Sense” – to encourage colonists to
fight for independence
 He wanted the colonists to declare independence as British mercantilism hurt the
colonists – what was good for the Mother Country was not good for the colonists
 In the pamphlet, Paine stated, “Our corn will fetch its price in any market…”
 According to mercantilism, a colony must trade with the Mother Country which
was good for the mother country but bad for the colony
 The colony did not need the mother country because it could sell its resources and
goods to any country, to any market – thus, declare independence – freedom has its
benefits
Reasons for Sectional Differences in the United States
 Sectional differences in the United States were often due to geographic differences
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Plantations arose in the South because of the South’s fertile soil and long growing
season
The geography of the North did not support a plantation economy and therefore did
not rely on slavery
Sectional differences developed in the United States largely because economic
conditions and interests in each region varied
These sectional differences eventually divided the nation in a Civil War
Abraham Lincoln’s Justification for the Civil War
 President Abraham Lincoln’s justification for the Civil War was that he, President
Lincoln, had taken an oath of office that required him to defend and preserve the
Union
 Yes, Lincoln promised to preserve the Union – to keep the Union united
 He also believed that the Union was a union of the people and not of the states
 Therefore, he did not believe that a state could legally seceded or withdraw from the
Union
 He wanted to preserve the Union – the Union of “We the People…”
Purpose of Literacy Tests for Voting in the South
 The main intent of the literacy test in the South after the Civil War was to prevent
African Americans from exercising a basic right
 The literacy test was used to deny African Americans their constitutional right to
vote
 As one African American noted, “[The registrar] brought a big old book out there,
and he gave me the sixteenth section of the constitution of Mississippi, . . . I could
copy it like it was in the book, but after I got through copying it, he told me to give a
reasonable interpretation and tell the meaning of the section I had copied. Well, I
flunked out.”
 The failure of Reconstruction is evident in the denial of rights that African
Americans experienced in the American South
 Poll taxes, literacy tests, and grandfather clauses prevented African Americans from
voting in the American South
Poll Taxes and Grandfather Clauses
 A poll tax is a tax on voting – it was used in the American South to prevent African
Americans from voting
 A grandfather clause basically stated that if a man’s ancestors had voted before the
Civil War, he could vote and did not have to take the literacy test or pay the poll tax
 Of course, the only individuals who could vote before the Civil War were white
men; therefore African American men after the Civil War were prevented from
voting with poll taxes and grandfather clauses
 Poll taxes and grandfather clauses were devices used to deny African Americans the
right to vote
 Today, poll taxes and grandfather clauses are illegal
Plessy v. Ferguson
 An important Supreme Court case
 Ruled that segregation in the South was constitutional
 Stated that “separate but equal” was legal
 Of course, this was a travesty of justice – this was a grave injustice – because
separate facilities were never equal and segregation had harmful effects on
individuals
 The Jim Crow laws, upheld by the Supreme Court in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896),
provided for separate public facilities based on race
 This ruling was reversed in the 1950s – Brown v. the Board of Education ruled
segregation in public schools illegal
Reason for Impeachment of President Andrew Johnson
 The underlying reason for the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson was a
power struggle with Congress over Reconstruction
 President Andrew Johnson had a different plan for Reconstruction than the Radical
Republicans
 The Radical Republicans wanted to punish Confederate officers and provide full
legal rights of African American men
 Johnson wanted a lenient plan for Reconstruction that would have forgiven many
Confederates and not thoroughly changed the South
 As a result of this division, Johnson was impeached but he was not found guilty and
stayed President
W.E.B. DuBois
 A significant African American scholar
 Wanted full equal rights for African Americans
 W.E.B. Du Bois believed that African Americans should attempt to gain equality in
the United States by demanding full and immediate participation in American
society
 The Reconstruction Amendments – 13th (abolishing slavery), 14th (equality for all
male citizens), and 15th (voting rights for all male citizens) – had been added to the
Constitution and therefore were the rights of African American men
 There was no need to wait for equality – equality was now!
Impact of Homestead Act and Mass Killing of Buffalo on Plains Indians
 The Homestead Act gave free land to Americans willing to move West and make a
working farm in five years
 This government action encouraged westward expansion
 As Americans settled the Great Plains, they killed the buffalo and forever changed
the ways of the Plains Indians
 Without the buffalo, the Plains Indians could not survive
 The Homestead Act, the mass killing of buffalo, and the completion of the
transcontinental railroad are most closely associated with the decline of the Plains
Indians – westward expansion destroyed the Native American Indians
System of Checks and Balances
 To avoid having too much power concentrated in one branch of government, the
framers of the Constitution established the system of checks and balances
 American government is divided into three branches: an executive branch,
legislative branch, and judicial branch
 Each branch has different powers, different responsibilities
 And each branch can check or limit the power of the other branches to ensure that
one branch does not have too much power
 Thus, the President can veto a bill of Congress or the Supreme Court can declare a
law of Congress unconstitutional – by limiting power, tyranny is prevented.