History 2600 Spring 2009 Notes
Jan 8 2009
Major Themes of US history
Individualism and group identity
liberalism and capitalism
religious influences
destiny and optimism
reform and progress - formation of a more perfect union
violence and inequities.
When Columbus lands and “discovers” America in 1492 North America was
already a civilized land with an old and distinct culture.
Columbus and europe were motivated by the quest for gold and expanded trade
and the innovations of the renaissance.
Native americans migrated from siberia 15000-40000 years ago.
People of the southwest
Anasazi - means Ancient ones. migrated from the four corners area of the US
(Col, Utah, Arizona, NM) south to the banks of the rio grande. Had very
advanced and sophisticated village architecture and irrigated agricultural
practices.
The Anasazi and the Aohokam were very large tribes of non-nomadic
(sedentary) people who traded extensively together and had sophisticated
political systems.
People of the Eastern Woodlands
Mississippians - the first farmers in the US. the center of their culture was the city
Cahokia which means city of the sun. at its hight 20000 people lived in its walls
which made it roughly the same size as London. There was a large metropolitan
area around the city that allowed the mississippians to dominate the surrounding
areas. by the 1500’s mississippian culture had declined and the people had
broken up into smaller tribes and villages.
first encounters b/w the europeans and the indians lead to the decimation of
native populations.
b/c of european diseases large native tribes broke up into smaller ones for
survival. About 90% of the native population died to european diseases.
The Columbian Exchange - the accidental and intentional exchange of plants,
animals, people, and microbes b/w whites and natives
The Intro of horses and firearms radically changed how native groups travelled
and conducted warfare. likewise the intro of new world plants like potatoes and
tobacco forever changed european diet and habits.
Natives contracted small pox and typhoid among others and Europeans got
syphilis from the natives.
At contact there were an estimated 8 million natives in north america
about 1.88 million europeans moved to british north america b/w 1492 and 1820
spanish colonization focused on the discovery of gold and the conversion of
natives
by the 17th century europeans began to think about permanent settlements and
the expansion of their empires. this was made easier by the fact that so many
indians had died that they offered little resistance to european expansion.
b/w 1492 and 1808 b/w 8 and 10 million Africans were brought to the americas
as slaves 5-20% died in transit. 6% were brought to the American mainland
Slave culture changed and was eventually absorbed into American culture. food,
music and architecture.
Jan 13 2009
Puritan Theology
pilgrims - small sect of religious radicals
landed at Plymouth Rock Nov 1620
believed that the church of england was so corrupt that total separation both
physical and religious was the only hope for salvation
Mayflower compact - an agreement to set up a civil government. Celebrated as
the first system of self governance.
pilgrims were lead by William Bradford eventually the pilgrims were absorbed by
the puritans
puritans - protestants that wanted to purify the church of england. they were
Calvinists
majority didn’t want to separate from english society only wanted to reform it .
persecution lead to the migration of over 20 000 puritans to New England from
1630-1645
their first settlement was Salem Mass.
by 1640 settlement had progressed 75 miles inland
puritans believed in pre-destination the belief that before we were born God had
decided if we were to go to heaven or hell aka the covenant of Grace
in the puritan church a public conversion was required this conversion was a
statement of conversion to the congregation with reasons why you believed that
God had chosen you
Puritans believed that God took a direct and active role in peoples lives
Every Puritan adult male was required by law to attend church and to give money
to the church
The Mass Bay company was given Charter in 1629 and had the exclusive rights
to settle and trade in Mass. the first first settlers arrived in 1630
Gov. John Winthrop outlined his goals for the colony in his sermon A Model of
Christian Charity aka The New England Way. In it he suggested that New
England could be a still influence England by creating an ideal model. he said
that New England would become like a city on the hill and example for the rest of
the world.
virtually all of the first puritans were subsistence farmers. Each family was given
a land in the town for a house and garden and a plot of land outside of the Village
to farm. This lead to very tight-knit communities
freemen - males and members of the church who could vote for government
positions. they practiced direct democracy
the stability of the community rested on the stability of the family. Entire families
migrated to New England which meant that there was a fairly equal ratio of men
to women. This lead to the formation of more families.
continued family formation and high birth rate combined with a low death rate
and economic stability lead to successful communities.
challenges to settlement
puritan relationships with natives was strained as natives didn’t use the land as
puritans thought it should be used and they weren’t christians so puritans thought
that they could simply kick the natives off the land and take it for themselves.
eventually the natives rebelled in the King Philip war from 1675-1676. 2000
puritans and over 4000 natives died. at the end of the war organized resistance
to puritan settlement was extinguished.
1638 Anne Hutchinson was put on trial for heresy for questioning the authority of
prominent clergymen. she was banished to quell internal divisions.
Salem Witch trials 1692 a group of girls claimed to have been bewitched by a
group of older women. Old single women who had no one to fight for their rights
were targeted and the community went witch crazy. 20 people were executed.
the witch trials mark the end of Puritan society as a theocracy.
When English Puritans seized control of the english parliament the New England
puritans lost their mission
Puritan Children had different goals that their parents this lead to puritan society
to stray from its original goals
in 1670 there are 70000 people in New England and by the 18th C only 20% of
them are Puritans
Economic prosperity brought many different groups to the new world and the
yankee trader replaced the Puritan minister as the community leader.
Settling Chesapeake Bay
Virginia Company of London settled and formed Jamestown in 1607. Jamestown
was in a very bad location, on malaria swamps next to a river that when the tied
came in was full of undrinkable salt water and located in the territory of the
strongest native alliance on the eastern seaboard.
the men who went to Chesapeake with the stated goal of making money.
only 13 of the 67 men called themselves laborers and many of the men refused
to do any manual labor . no crops were planted in the first year as men searched
for gold. Only 38 survived the first winter.
When captain john Smith arrived the next year with the relief boats and the next
group of settlers he took control of the situation and instituted martial law. Again
the settlers didn’t plan ahead and after he left they went through the starving
winter of 1609 only 100 of the 500 settlers survived.
tobacco saved jamestown as it became massively popular in europe.
early settlement of Chesapeake
unbalanced sex ratios (1 woman to 6 men) limited family formation and there was
low birth rates in the community.
there was limited urbanization as people lived on their farm land often far apart
from another farm.
plantation owners controlled society
indentured servitude - made up the majority of british settlers and had to work for
5-7 years to pay off the passage.
African slaves arrived to work on tobacco plantations in 1619 and at first their
status was was similar to that of indentured servant. by 1680 the condition of
slavery was inheritable based on race.
Chesapeake settlers established the Church of England in America
the colony was granted royal status in 1624 and with it came a stable British
government. the plantation owners already had formed the house of Burgess and
government body elected from land owners.
the Powhatan confederacy was a powerful group of natives that resisted settler
demands.
Anglo-powhatan wars were an ongoing series of wars that by 1646 was wrapping
up the third one. when it ended it was clear that the settlers would win and
control the area.
Bacons rebellion 1676
a fall in tobacco prices lead to an economic depression that the settlers of
Chesapeake bay blamed on the natives.
Nathaniel Bacon was at first granted the right to wage war on all indians but Gov.
William Berkley reconsidered and forbade the war against indians. Bacon
reacted by attacking Berkley but he died and the rebellion petered out
resulted in the solidification of slavery. the use of blacks slaves over indentured
whites
jan 15 2009
NY, NJ, and Penn. are called the restoration colonies b/c they were formed after
the restoration of the english crown
they were proprietary colonies. that is the land was given to individuals or groups
as a reward for service to the crown.
these colonies embraced religious tolerance and self government
Proprietors promoted trade and liberal access to land
1664 NY, NJ founded. originally settled by the dutch and called New
Netherlands. It had a hodge-podge of settlers from all over europe. The Dutch
couldn’t maintain control over the area so when British warships sailed into NY
harbor the settler surrendered without a fight.
Pennsylvania - founded by william Penn
settled by quakers as a holy experiment and money making venture
quakers migrated as a family unit and migrations were highly controlled
Penn formed orderly cities and governments. his Frame of Government of 1682
outlined religious freedoms, civil liberties and elections of government (it was
ensured that quakers would dominate the government)
many persecuted sects moved to pennsylvania as it was a tolerant society
Penn had good relations with natives as he bought the land that europeans
would settle on from the natives
pennsylvania became the breadbasket of america and a major of center for
trade.
Penn’s sons converted to Anglicanism and the power of the quakers slowly
declined
The Carolinas - est in 1663
North Carolina was settled by virginians. It had no natural harbor and relied on
Virginia and SC for the import and export of goods
not very much tobacco was grown in NC as the geography wasn’t well suited for
it.
South Carolina was settled by Caribbean Sugar planters looking to start
plantations on the continent. they ended up growing rice instead as sugar
wouldn’t grow
they had an intensely hierarchical society and by 1720, 76% of residents were
slaves
Georgia was formed by a board of trustees headed by James Oglethorpe in 1732
and was the last of the original 13 colonies
it was created as a buffer b/w SC and Spanish Florida and as a refuge for
debtors
originally georgia banned slavery but that was repealed in 1750 and after that the
population exploded. Main crop was cotton.
spain claimed vast amounts of the South and Southwest seeking Gold and a
harvest of souls
they didn’t settle very much and by 1700 there were only 4000 spanish settlers
vs 250000 british settlers
France claimed northern territories and sought furs and fish. they relied on
cooperation with the native populations
the government allowed only good catholics to go to new france (1660 - 1000
settlers)
the French embraced mercantilism in the colony to bring wealth to france
European wars in the colonies
War of spanish succession 1702-03 Britain gained part of Nova Scotia which
lead to the french aggressively expanding in the interior and the gulf (New
Orleans)
War of Austrian Succession 1744-48. A series of raids and skirmishes along the
New france and Colonies boarder.
for 7 weeks a group of New English militia besieged and eventually captured Fort
Louisbourg. The British traded it back to the french for some Indian bases. this
really pissed the colonists off
Seven years war -1754-63. Lasts nine years in America. The french started
building a series of forts on the edge of the ohio river valley. Washington fights a
battle with the french but looses half his men
the British win by defeating the french on the battle of the Plains of Abraham
by the end of the seven years war America stayed part of the british empire b/c it
wanted to
the Navigation Acts - a series of acts that clamp down on trade to and from the
colonies. they become more and more mercantile and repressive on the colonies
jan 20 2009
the colonial population exploded in the 18th C and was increasingly diverse and
urbanized.
with the increase in pop came an increase in the demand for consumer goods
and services. This was the start of the consumer market economy in America
this lead to a growing trade network w/i the colonies and also to europe. roads,
bridges and canals are built to better move goods in-between the colonies
even the poorest of colonists are better off materially and nutritionally than poor
europeans. there was also greater class mobility
Tea drinking became an important ritual to show off your wealth
Craftsmen/artisans - owners of small family run workshops that were the most
important economic unit in America
Apprentices - young people sent to and artisan to learn a trade. they worked not
for wages but for food, shelter and an education for 4-7 years
journeymen - graduated apprentices
there was a growing gap b/w the rich and poor. it became harder for journeymen
to make enough money to set up their own shop.
wealthy colonists attempted to set themselves apart from normal colonists by
what they bought and what they owned
the refinement of america - the desire to replicate english culture
George Washington was a very wealthy landowner who tried to emulate a british
gentleman
courtesy book- small books instructing people how to be more refined
As a Gentleman Washington served in the army and also had local political
responsibilities
most english elite didn’t accept wealthy americans as elite men and that lead to
wealthy americans creating their own distinct elite culture.
American enlightenment theorists Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson
played a very important role in the enlightenment in american and and the
creation and constitution of america
Benjamin Franklin - many consider him to embody the enlightenment in America.
he was a scientist and inventor. he was the american ambassador to france
during the american revolution and was also a delegate to the constitution
convention
Thomas Jefferson - He was the author of the declaration of independence.
Jefferson was a Diest and president of the USA from 1801-1809
the evangelical movement
the great awakening - waves of religious revivals that swept across the colonies.
they combated ideas of the enlightenment such as dieism
Jonathan Edwards - from Mass. he and his followers believed that americans
had strayed to far from the teachings of Calvinism and that man was a sinner in
the hands of an angry God
those who embraced and took part in the great awakening were called the New
Lights
Baptists lead the evangelical movement in the south. They welcomed blacks into
the church and believed that all men were created equal
George Whitefield - one of the greatest preachers in the evangelical movement.
He was from England but travelled and preached in the US. some of his
meetings had over 30,000 people there. He used charisma and emotion to get
his message out
The enlightenment led to innovations in science, education and politics.
Evangelicalism led to changes in tradition and had a large impact on the
establishment of educational institutes in the US
Jan 22 2009
French and native allies have early successes in the 7 years war by using
guerilla tactics
William Pitt sent more troops to north america, replaced the english commander
and promised to pay colonists who served for the crown
britain wins an expensive victory in the 7 years war and the issue over who
should pay for it is one of the central issues of the struggle for american
independence
Albany congress 1754 - colonial leaders meet b/c they are concerned w/ the
chance of a union b/w the french and Iroquois . the Albany plan of the union is a
plan to unite the colonies for protection and defense. doesn’t happen as the
leaders are to suspicious of each other
Writs of Assistance - allowed customs officials to crack down on smugglers. was
done to lower trade b/w america and france. Americans were resentful of the
writs b/c they felt it was their right to trade with whoever they wanted
Proclamation of 1763 - prohibited colonists from settling west of the Appalachian
mountains. This was done to slow westward expansion so the Natives could be
dealt with. Americans saw this as an attempt by the British to stop and hinder the
settlers
Conflicts over taxation and representation
Sugar Act - a revenue raising measure to help pay for the 7 years war and the
cost of defense of the colonies. A tax on sugar that colonists objected to,
transfered smuggling cases from a local court to the British naval courts
Stamp act 1765 - required that colonists purchase specially stamped paper for
any publication. Colonists wanted representation in the British parliament at the
stamp act congress leaders of the 13 colonies came together to protest the
stamp act. in march 1766 parliament revoked the stamp act
Declaratory Act - confirmed the right of the british parliament to pass any act on
the colony
American objections to the quartering act unleashed a torrent of anti-American
feelings amongst the British. feeling that they didn’t want to pay their way w/i the
empire
Townshend Duties 1767 - duties on glass, tea and other luxury goods, further
sours British/American relations
Colonists boycotted British goods to force the repeal of the townshend duties. in
1770 all the townshend duties but tea were repealed.
Boston was a center of unrest in America and the British sent 2000 troops to
Boston to quell the unrest
the Boston Massacre of 1770 in which 5 Bostonians were killed by British troops.
American propaganda took the killing out of proportion.
the tea act lowered the price of tea to encourage colonists to buy tea. Bostonians
reply by throwing a shipload of tea into the harbor “Boston tea party”
the Coercive/Intolerable Acts - ordered the navy to close Boston harbor unless
the Bostonians paid for the tea they had dumped into the harbor. Also allowed
the governor of New England to seize any empty building to quarter troops
the Quebec act - gave freedom of religion to French Catholics and sweeping
power to the governor of Canada
the publication of common sense turns americans from resistors to
revolutionaries. Common sense sold over 100000 copies in 3 months as in 1 in
every 4-5 males bought a copy. it said that the empire and the monarchy were
corrupt
The Declaration of Independence - justification for the colonists actions to the
world and themselves said it was the Kings intent to create an absolutist tyranny
the first continental congress 1774 - an attempt to set up a unified colonist
government. issued a statement that they didn’t have to listen to the coercive
acts. they would also set up defenses in case of an attack
Olive Branch Petition - an oath of loyalty to the king and a set of 3 demand (seise
fire in Boston, repeal of coercive acts and a guarantee of civil rights
British didn’t listen to the olive branch petition as they got it and word of the first
battles at the same time. Britain declared that the colonies were in rebellion
minutemen - citizen militia meant to fight the British
april 19 1775 - 700 redcoats went to seize the militia’s arms in Concord they
fought a brief battle against 70 minutemen at Lexington. was the shot that rang
out around the world
w/i days 20,000 patriots besieged the British at Boston. At the Battles of Breed’s
Hill and Bunker Hill the british dislodged the siege but at great cost
by late 1776 the continental army (american) was in full retreat. over half of the
american troops were unfit for duty
Washington won the offensive battles of Trenton and Princeton
The Marquis de Lafayette joined Washington’s army. he promised that if the
Americans could show that if they could win some battles then the French would
help them. W/ the win at Saratoga, France recognizes American independence
and send troops
20% of the Americans were loyalist and were threatened w/ the confiscation of
their property
The British army turned loyalist and neutral against them when they looted their
property
Americans fought a war of attrition. they fought long enough that the British
thought it no longer worth it to fight and that is how they won.
october 19 1781 - british commander surrendered and Yorktown as the British
people demanded for peace
Jan 27 2009
colonies kept some colonial structures like self-government and property
requirements
new elements were inspired by the state constitutions and included ratification by
the people. the idea that a constitution must be clearly defined and written down
there were two fundamental principles of the articles of confederation - only
stakeholders (property owners) could govern and vote - and the founders were
republicans (believed in the rule of the wise) not democrats (mob rule) they didn’t
want any one group to become powerful enough to seize control
Articles of Confederation - passed by continental congress in 1777. it maintained
sovereignty of the states. formed a unicameral legislature in which each state
had one vote. there was no executive or judiciary branch.
the articles gave the government very little power. it lacked the ability to tax the
people or regulate interstate or international trade w/o the consent of the states.
b/c it was weak the gov couldn’t handle the challenges set on it. b/c of war debts
and devalued money they tried to impose taxes and import duties but the states
refused to allow this
Britain imposed strict trade regulations and this lead too an economic depression
in the USA.
the gov was able to impose the Northwest ordinance which provided for the
division and admission of new territories as a federal jurisdiction
Mass. imposed a new tax to pay off war debts. this started the Shays rebellion in
1786. US leaders thought this would encourage other rebellions and finally and
mobocracy and called for a solution
Philadelphia , may 1787, 55 delegates meet to write a constitution all 55 shared a
vision for a stronger central national government
Virginia Plan - a bicameral legislature with rep by pop in both houses. small
states opposed this
New Jersey Plan - a unicameral legislature with one vote per state. larger states
opposed this plan
The result was a compromise b/w the two plans. a bicameral legislature with the
upper house having two votes per state and the lower house having rep by pop
delegates gave these two houses power to impose direct taxation, regulate trade
and commerce. they also set up a clear set of checks and balances b/w the three
created branches
Slavery - 3/5 clause - 3/5 of slave pop were treated as property and could be
taxed and 3/5 could be counted towards state pop
congress was given control of the territories
the constitution was submitted to state delegations in each state for ratifications.
Pro-constitutionalists called themselves federalists and published many articles
in favour of ratification
Anti-federalists held deep suspicions of centralized power. they thought to few
people could have to much power. their reservations lead to the first 10
amendments - Bill of rights
on June 21 1788 the 9th state signed on and the constitution became law but
most votes were very narrow margins. Rhode island last state to sign in 1790
framers of the constitution made the workings of the government very difficult so
it could seize to much power. they also made it very difficult to change the
constitution and thus far there have been only 26 amendments
the constitution created the office of the President (but not the name that was
Washington) it mostly outlined how to get rid of a president
as first president Washington calmed many public fears of tyranny by limiting his
role. he mostly just followed the advice of congress. he was very afraid of dying
in office and thus only ran for two terms
again the constitution gives only vague outlines of the judiciary branch
congress established the federal courts in each state and the final authority of the
supreme court in 1789
the supreme court established itself as the interpreter of the constitution. in 1803
in Marbury vs Madison the court for the first time overturned an act of congress
as unconstitutional
there was no egalitarian movement after the revolution, wealth and class status
didn’t disappear
slaves were 20% of the pop but very very few were free and even those that
were had no guarantee of civil liberties
most people saw slavery as a necessary evil
native american also were excluded from citizen ship
women participated in political discussions but were not given a role in the
government. the role of women was to raise good sons.
in 1791 a tax was placed on Whiskey. grain farmers protested violently in 1794.
Washington marched with the militia and the rebels dispersed. this action set the
limits of public protest against federal policies
the american revolution wasn’t a social or economical revolution
Jan 29 2009
Alexander Hamilton - Washington’s Sec Tres. his vision was
strengthen the nation against foreign enemies and lessen internal threats of
disunion
development of America’s industrial strength
he argued that w/o self-sufficiency America would not survive
he issued the Report on the Public Credit in 1790
proposed that the national gov take over state debts
pay off foreign debt by selling western land
maintain other debt so that creditors would remain loyal to the nation
founded the national bank
report on manufactures - wanted to place high tariffs on imports to stimulate
domestic production. Congress rejected this
Jefferson was against Hamilton’s broad interpretation of the constitution and was
a member of the democratic-republicans
he favored a nation of small independent landholders (yeomen) as the future of
America. he believed that the national debt should be eliminated
the democratic republicans would go on to form a political party and this would
be the start of the party system in America
1794 there is clearly a party system in America. Republicans vs. Federalists and
the electorate was equally divided b/w the two. John Adams won the presidency
by only 3 electoral votes
in 1800 Jefferson is president it was called the revolution of 1800 for two reasons
it was the first ever peaceful transition of power w/o death
reversal of federalist policies was widely predicted but never really
happened
Jefferson reduced; taxes, the national debt and the size of the army. to him the
economy was more important that national defense
his most significant act was the Louisiana purchase in 1803. it doubled the size
of America for only 15 million dollars. Only wanted to buy the city of New Orleans
and Florida but Napoleon needed money more than land .
the Louis and Clark expedition was sent west to chart and explore the purchase.
they were they first men to travel to the pacific ocean and also the first to
discover that there were some mountains in the was of it.
Americans on the International Stage
Republicans were pro-French and Federalists were pro-British. In 1793 america
chose neutrality when Britain and france were at war
Britain seized american vessels to press British subjects into working for the navy
but sometimes they took american citizens as well.
Jay’s treaty of 1795 promised the with drawl of British troops from american soil
but the americans had to promise the british trade concessions in the Caribbean
the french seized and plundered 300 american ships when john adams won the
election.
Adams sent a peace delegation but the french foreign minister refused to meet
with them and would only set up a meeting b/w them and three unnamed people
and only if the US payed 12 million dollars. this came to be known as the XYZ
affair.
this started a quasi-war b/w the french and American as the US armed ships
captured 90 french privateers in the Caribbean. During this time the Americans
relied on british protection of shipping and increased the size of its standing army
Alien and Sedition acts - said that the President could evict any foreigner even
w/o proof. citizenship required 14 years of residence instead of 5. Sedition
against the government was illegal
Jefferson, Madison and Foreign Affairs
Orders in council - British act that intended to blockade ports of europe and
restrict american trade w/ france. France copied the orders
Both France and Britain seized american ships after they chose neutrality. but it
was the british seizers that were the most galling as they did it in sight of the
American coast. they also restarted the the impressing of Americans into the
British navy.
the embargo act - prohibited vessels from leaving American ports headed for
european ports. americans did this to avoid conflict. The embargo acts hurt the
americans the most.
The Nation Jefferson left to Madison was in Bad shape
the non-tolerance act allowed american ships to trade with everyone but Britain
and France
War of 1812
War Hawkes - believed britain was ruining america and wanted war
Madison sent a War message to Congress on June, 1 1812
American war aims were to end British land claims and imperial aggressions
the treaty of Ghent declared the status quo ante bellum
the battle of New Orleans - jan 8 1815 Andrew Jackson and American troops
defeat the british with only 13 casualties
the war of 1812 established the americans sense of national identity
the time after the war of 1812 came to be known as the era of Good feeling
during this time symbols of american nationalism emerged - The White House
and the Star spangled Banner
political parties for a short time disappeared John Quincy Adams is Monroe’s Sec
state
Monroe Doctrine
the USA would avoid involvement in european wars
no more european colonization of the Americas
any attempt at colonization would be construed as an unfriendly act
Feb 3 2009
Andrew Jackson - self made man after he was orphaned at 14. 1787 moved to
Nashville and grew rich land speculating. 1796 became first state representative
from tennessee
1816 becomes national hero for leading american troops in the battle of new
orleans
for jackson the personal was political and the political personal
jackson placed a high value on honor and wasn’t afraid to use violence to defend
it. He killed Charles Dickinson in a duel over his honor in 1806
Jackson looses the 1824 election to John Quincy Adams even though he won
the majority of the popular vote, he didn’t win enough electoral votes
1828 jackson elected president. His inauguration was a chaotic event as crowds
surged into the white house to see him. He was the no president.
His political program called for the elimination of the national bank and tariffs. he
didn’t want federal financing for internal infrastructure projects. he discouraged
political discussions on slavery and was pro-immigration and expansion
Jackson shifted america towards a greater democracy by gradual removal of
property requirements to vote, the intro of written ballots and the reduction of
appointed offices
the general pop became far more politicized during this time. the start of political
rallies
Europeans were struck by the sense of equality among the people and the lack
of deference to a social hierarchy. Upper and lower classes dress the same.
social life was democratized and this lead to legal and medicine professionals
being de-regulated, art and literature were also democratized.
Newspapers and magazines become more popular and widespread and people
are more influenced by them.
believed that all people could understand truth and beauty and thus art often
romanticized the frontier and was aimed more at the common public.
Authors like Hawthorn, E. A. Poe, Melville and James cooper help create an
distinctly american style of writing.
Jackson’s chief political rival was Henry Clay and he was the exact of Jackson in
his policies. great statesman and known as the great compromiser. he founds the
Whig political party
Nullification crisis - Jacksons belief in a strong national gov conflicted with states
rights
jackson was opposed by his own VP over the crisis
1828 congress passes tariffs which hurt the southern cotton ind. they protest the
tariff and Jackson although opposing the tariffs believes that the gov has the right
to impose any law or tariff it wants on the state.. he sees the anger and protests
as an affront to his honor
1832 - S.C. nullifies the tariff. Jackson really mad at this but congress intervenes
and makes a compromise
the tension and distrust coming out of this crisis are pointed to as one of the
founding reasons for the civil war
Bank Crisis - Jackson thought the national bank made the rich, richer at the
expense of the poor. he removed money from the national bank into banks
owned by those loyal to him and then revoked the banks charter
Indian Act - 1830 - forced all natives east of the Miss. river to move to land on the
west side of the river. was declared illegal by the supreme court but not enforced
and thus natives were forced to leave. trail of tears - the forced march of natives
from Ga. to modern day Ok. about 1/4 died on the way
1834 the return of the party system b/w Whigs and democrats
Martn Van Buren - Jacksons VP and successor as president. an advocate of the
2 party system as he viewed politics as a competition.
He lost the 1840 election in which 80% of eligible voters voted in. this election
hardened the lines b/w the parties and people began to identify themselves
politically by the party they supported.
Whigs
Democrats
supported by merchants and successful businessmen
supported by small
farmers and the less successful
supported by evangelical protestants supported by Catholics and non-church
goers
supported by multi-generation americas supported by immigrants
wanted to retain order and moral and cultural values wanted to be left alone.
didn’t want gov interference in lifestyle
both political parties found support in both the north and south of the nation
Feb 5 2009
America in the 19th C - triangulation b/w the market economy, domesticity and
horizontal mobility
the market economy - the north experiences a pop and transportation
infrastructure explosion in the 19th C
fr/ 1820-1850 the number of towns w/ 2500 citizens increases from 56 to 350.
cities grow very large New York has 800,000 citizens
Both waterways like the Erie Canal and railroads are extensively developed
during this period
Erie canal linked lake Erie and the Hudson river and thus New York city together.
it slashed transportation cost and the time it to transport goods in both directions
30,000 miles of tracks were laid by 1860 and steam technology powered both the
trains and the paddles boats making it possible the rapid transportation of goods,
people, and information. it also efficiently linked markets w/ manufactures
railways rapidly spurred the development of the Midwest. Chicago became a
large city after it became a hub of western rail systems. Chicago eventually
replaced New Orleans as the Commercial hub in the mid west.
early industrialization happened slowly and only on a small scale - 20% of pop
employed in ind w/ and avg of 8 workers per business
Many northerners eagerly embraced the development tech and the growth ind
Eli Whitney - a classic example of an american innovator. He brought the idea of
Interchangeable parts to America and invented the cotton gin
new england industrializes first and it is the textile ind that leads the way
textile mills in Lowell, Mass. employed 6000 workers 80% were women - most
were lower middle class, unmarried, farm girls b/w the ages of 15 and 30
women in the factories were closely supervised to ensure christian morals were
upheld
poorer women worked in service or did “outworking”
The Cult of Domesticity - men are superior in making money and governing the
world while women are superior homemakers and moral authorities of the home
it is a middle class ideal and it was coupled with the cult of true womanhood
women should be pious, pure, submissive, and domestic
only the middle class could live up to these ideals as women in the lower classes
had to work to help sustain the family
home and domesticity became political metaphors
Catherine Beecher - advocated scientific housekeeping. gave medical advice
and advice on child rearing in her books. she was the Martha Stewart of the 19th
C. She said women exercised their greatest power through their control of the
home
Horizontal mobility - 5 million immigrants arrived in america b/w 1815 and 1860.
most were German and irish and most stayed near the eastern seaboard. this
caused many people who had been living there to move west for more space.
people travelled westward as family units and attempted to maintain their social
standings in their new homes
people formed voluntary bonds and associations to form a sense of community
the second Great Awakening - was a religious revival in the North for the hearts
of common people. Movement advocated that anyone could go to heaven
Methodists were the most successful frontier denomination and relied on
traveling preachers that would for churches in towns
1820’s revivals spread across the nation but the strongest revival activity took
place in upstate New York and was known as the Burned over District
Charles g. Finney - preacher in Rochester NY and became known as the father
of modern revivalism. he targeted the new emerging business class. rejected
calvinism and advocated the voluntary act of the rejection of sin . put people in
charge of their own destiny which reflected peoples ambitions in the market
economy
Age of Reform
reform was spawned by americas drive to a more perfect union
Temperance - the total abstinence or the moderate use of alcohol.
Lyman Beecher spoke against the use of Alcohol (Catherine Beechers dad)
different groups such as the American Temperance society and the Womens
Christian temperance union sprang up all over the country
drinking was seen as a male problem and the temperance movement was aimed
at them
it moved from an individual choice of temperance to the demand for prohibition
Moral reform - addressed the irradiation of sexual sin and prostitution
Magdalen societies - attempted to train hookers into active members of society
moral reform societies targeted men and their lack of sexual control claiming that
it was leading to the moral degradation of America
Public school reform - encourages orderliness and thrift to students in school.
schools must educate students on how to succeed in the new market economy
Horace Mann was the leading advocate and wanted a uniform education system
with gradings and different classes and there to be cultural standards taught in
school
Public school system took root in the norther states
women’s rights - were the clearest critic of 19th C America and how it failed to
live up to it’s ideals.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott were two leading women in the
women’s rights movement
women couldn’t vote and married women couldn’t keep land, money or even
children at the time
Held a convention in Seneca Falls NY in 1848. 300 participants including some
men. Declaration of sentiments was deliberately modeled after the declaration of
independence. Conference passed many resolutions on women’s rights
suffrage was the most controversial and became the central issue of the
movement.
utopian communities - the most extreme example of the belief of human
perfectibility. the communities were to be escapes from the market economy
New Harmony - Founded by Robert Owen as was a planned community that was
to be a modle for all of america. it failed after only two years
The shakers in 1830 there were 6000 shakers in the US. they believed that the
end of the world was near and that Jesus would return as a Women. they
rejected consumerism and sex.
Most controversial community was the Oneida Community - founded by John
Noyes in NY. it was an economic success but fell apart when Noyes tried to
create a better community by deciding who who mate with who.
Feb 10 2009
Northern progress was contrast by southern conservatism
mason-dixon line - a symbolic division b/w states that allowed slavery and those
that didn’t
Southerner’s believed that they represented reason and social stability and they
were disgusted w/ the actions and cultural changes happening in the north
radical southerner’s praised slavery and even suggested that poor whites would
be better off as slaves
the south remained intent on supporting clear class structures. they thought it
was the only way to preserve the social order
the southern economy was dependent on cash crops like Cotton, tobacco, rice,
and sugar. cotton was the dominant crop
the souths choice of an ag economy was a sound economic choice as it made
southerners millions and millions of dollars
short staple cotton grown in the US required huge amounts of labour and that is
why slavery was so persistent in the south.
The invention of the cotton gin saved the cotton ind in the US as it made possible
the efficient and easy separation of cotton fibers from the cotton seed.
southerner’s thought that cotton was the foundation of even the norths economy
and that the north should support slavery
only 25% of southern families owned slaves and only 1% of the pop were large
slave owners (over 100 slaves)
most slaveholder owned less than 5 slaves
most southerners didn’t own slaves and were yeomen farmers and farmed their
land with their families
Poor Whites lived in the back country and owned no land. they squatted and only
grew what food they needed to survive
anti-slavery pointed to the poor whites to prove that slavery degraded everyone
including whites
all southerner’s claimed to a code of honor but class dictated how their honor
was defended
wealthy planters had a strict code of honor in dealing with insults that often didn’t
include violence. only social equals code insult each other you couldn’t be
insulted by someone in a class below you.
poorer classes defended their honor w/ violence
elites blamed the poor whites for social problems in the south and had disdain for
them but still needed their votes to remain in power
The Big House - the home of the white master on a plantation and also an ideal
to which many people strived for. w/i the house everyone worked together
southern society was extremely patriarchal
the southern belle was a young women who was pure (sexual honor) and who’s
goal is to get married to a good and raise a family
proper behavior was extremely important for women and their reputation was
their most valued possession
belles became southern matrons who were women with children and married and
the maintain the home and manage the slaves.
as in the north only southern elites could live up to the ideals of the society
most southerners lived humble lives as they invest their extra income into more
land and slaves instead of luxury goods
many people relied on credit which lead to a cycle of debt and prosperity which
tempered luxury
women were the managers of the home and the slaves. they also had very high
birth rates
Southern expansionism leads americans to settle in texas which was part of
Mexico
mexico abolished slavery and closed its boarders to american settlers but this
had little effect on their settlement and by 1836 there were 30,000 americans,
5000 slaves and only 4000 mexicans in texas
texas gained its independence from mexico in 1836 and became the republic of
texas
The Mexican-American War 1846-48
in the spring of 1844 a bill of annexation was proposed to congress but
northerners fearing it was a land grab by the slave powers voted it down
in feb 1845 congress passed an annexation bill to annex texas the bill was
pushed forward by pres. James k Polk
July 4, 1845 Texans vote to accept annexation after Polk promises to move their
boarder south to the rio Grande
Polk wanted and got a war with Mexico so that he could annex california and the
american south-west
The treaty of Guadeloupe-Hidalgo was signed in feb 1848 and forced Mexico to
cede huge amounts of territory to the US.
both the North and the South thought of themselves as the true America and that
the other had deviated from the ideal
Feb 12, 2009
Slavery in America
european nations would grant control to certain companies in their african
colonies to monopolize the slave trade. Europeans recognized that there was
money to be made in slavery
slave “factories” - trading posts set up along the west coast of Africa that traded
european goods to african chiefs for slaves. largest number of slave came from
the golden coast along the bottom of the cape of africa.
about 11 million salves sent from africa. abut 44% sent to Brazil. only 5-6% of
slaves came to mainland north america
The middle passage - the shipment of slaves across the ocean to north and
south america. there were over 30,000 known voyages of slave ships. approx.
20% of slaves died in transit.
regulation stated that only 315 slaves were supposed to be on each ship but
there was as many as 800 slaves on some large slave ships.
international slave trade was outlawed by the US and Britain in 1808. Brazil didn’t
outlaw the slave trade until much later.
slaves were anglo-sized upon arrival to america.
Slavery had existed for millennia but only in 1660 was slavery defined by race
and as life long and inheritable.
europeans first based slavery on religious beliefs, but when africans started to
convert to Christianity they switched slavery to be based on skin color.
both the south and the north had an economic stake in the slave system.
It was assumed that all blacks were slaves and that only blacks could be slaves.
in the US south 40% of the pop were slaves.
the life of the avg slave changed from the 18th and 19th C
in 1700 the avg slave was usually a young man, born in africa working on a small
farm with their owner.
in 1830 the avg slave was born in the US and was either male or female. they
lived and worked on large plantations. by the civil war their were 4 million slaves
in the US
the task system - used in the cultivation of rice. used in the low country of south
carolina. Each slave was given a specific task based on gender, age and
abilities. based on what you could do in a days work. once your days work was
done then a slave could look after themselves. some whites feared this system
as they thought it gave to much freedom to slaves.
The gang system - used in the cultivation of cotton. slaves worked together in
gangs and were supervised by a gang driver. about 3/4 of slaves worked in the
gang system.
other slaves were used in non-agricultural forms of labor. some were used as
House Slaves, cooking and cleaning in the white plantations homes. others were
trained as skilled artisans or hired out to other plantations as hired-out slaves.
there were high rates of infant mortality among slave families but there were also
very high rates of reproduction so that families grew very large.
no southern state legally recognized marriage of slaves so a wife could be sold
separately from their husbands.
most slave owners encouraged family formation b/c it discouraged run-a-way’s,
lead to high reproduction and made the slave owner look good as he had
“civilized” his slaves
on large plantations slaves lived together on “the Street” - communal gathers of
slave cabins. Cabins were often 15 by 15 one room cabins.
owners provided materials to build the cabins but often only provided the bare
necessities of life
slaves lived mainly on rations of cornmeal and salt pork plus whatever they could
grow on their own. they received two sets of clothes a year.
the lack of the chance of improvement was a defining aspect of slavery
some whites provided religion for their slaves as they saw it as their social duty
and the christianization of blacks.
white preachers preached on obedience and respect. black preachers preached
(to blacks) on redemption and that slavery was wrong. black meetings were
secret and known as Brush Arbor.
music was an important part of slave culture. be it for work or religion or just for
entertainment.
masters thought that the singing of slaves meant that they were happy but this
was in fact the exact opposite.
slaves were abused from petty things like pinching all the way to whipping.
the psychological affects of slavery were more present than abuse itself
many slaves were more afraid of being sold than abused as it meant that they
would be cut off from their family and community.
whites lived with an underlying fear of slave rebellions and the destruction of their
white supreme society
Gabriel’s rebellion - Virginia 1800- leaders of the rebellion were betrayed before it
got started and were executed
Denmark Vesey - a slave who bought his freedom planned to attack charleston
again was betrayed by a slave
Nat Turner’s rebellion - the only rebellion in which whites died. Southampton VA
killed 60 whites in 48 hours before they were captured. He was unrepentant and
defiant until his death. he was a preacher and he believed that God had given
him a sign that it was time to rise up and free the black slaves
southern whited were determined to prevent up any further uprisings.
day-to-day resistance was far more common than large scale uprisings.
although few slaves made it north slaves did run away. they were usually young
men with no family connections.
most americans were not pro-slavery or anti-slavery but simply didn’t want to talk
about it.
colonizers wanted to get rid of slavery but wanted all blacks to be shipped back
to Africa most were extremely racist. Liberia was the idea of the American
Colonization Society. faced opposition from whites and even blacks born in
America
William Lloyd Garrison - author of The Liberator and wanted the immediate
Emancipation of slaves. Leading voice of immediate emancipation he called for
equal rights for blacks
Frederick Douglass - Leading black speaker for emancipation. tried to remind
people that in most of America he was not a man but property.
American Anti-Slavery society used political lobbying and social organization to
oppose slavery
Harriet Beecher Stowe’s, Uncle Tom’s Cabin - tried to show americans that
slavery was a nationwide problem not just a southern problem.
feb 24, 2009
territorial expansion and compromise. at the time there were 11 slave and 11 free
states.
the missouri compromise - 1820-21- seen as the starting point of the sectional
crisis. congress admitted missouri as a slave state and maine as a free state to
keep balance. forbade slavery in all land north of 36.30 degrees north. in the
short term both sides gained a little, south got another slave state but a large part
of the louisiana purchase couldn’t have slavery. Didn’t address land that was
gained in the Mexican-American war
Wilmot Proviso - 1846-slavery prohibited in all land gained through negotiations.
it was defeated, but it increased negotiations
started by David Wimot who supported the slave state of Texas but thought it
would be the only one. the proviso was defeated by congress. Southerners
claimed that slaves were property and that the constitution protected their
property and thus they could take them where they wanted. Northerners claimed
that congress had the authority and the precedent.
when gold was discovered in California it made a theoretical argument a very
real one.
the compromise of 1850 - california admitted as a free state. and the other two
territories (new mexico and Utah) were to be free or slave according to popular
sovereignty.
compromise was created by Henry Clay. it was an omnibus act that tried to cover
everything.
Slavery was allowed in the Capital but that no slaves could be bought or sold in
Washington DC
there was a new Fugitive Slave Law created
Steven Douglas takes over stewardship of the bill as Henry Clay was very old
and under his stewardship the compromise was passed.
the compromise didn’t really work. southerners were ambivalent in general.
northerners claimed victory in the admission of California as a free state
the new Fugitive slave act forbade fugitives to testify at trail and they didn’t get a
trail by jury. a person could say that is my slave and if the judge believed them
then a black was called a run away slave. act allowed judges to get $10 if they
returned a black to slavery and only $5 if they kept them free. This angered many
northerners.
some northerners violently reacted against the act. b/c of the mob retaliation the
president of the time was very adamant that the law be effectively enforced.
kansas -nebraska act, 1854 - declared the missouri compromise void, and
replaced it with the principle of popular sovereignty. even though both territories
were above the missouri compromise line.
it was an argument over the principle of slavery as it wasn’t very economically
viable in the two territories
Stephen douglas proposed a bill to create the nebraska territory. he wanted to do
this to build a railway to link the atlantic and the pacific. Southerners objected b/c
it was north of the missouri line and they wanted the railway to go through the
south. he compromised by voiding the missouri compromise and creating two
territories.
both abolitionists and slave holders moved to Kansas to to effect the vote.
People from missouri entered into Kansas forced people to vote. b/c of this the
kansas gov was always considered a fraud and they were pro-slavery.
in may 1856 the gov sent a posse to Lawrence to break up an abolitionists militia.
they didn’t kill anyone but they sacked the town. this resulted in tit for tat violence
that increased into war.
The Crimes against Kansas - a speech by Charles Sumner in congress in which
he centered out Sen. Andrew Butler of SC and his association with his Harlot
slavery
the next day Sumner was caned by Preston Brooks and badly injured Sumner
AKA Bleeding Sumner
John Brown’s Raid - he moved with a group to Harpers Ferry, VA he believed
that he was to purge the land with blood. he hoped his raid would cause all
slaves to revolt. They seized the armory in Harpers Ferry and then waited for the
slaves to revolt. never happened and they all ended up being killed.
his actions make him a martyr for the abolitionist cause. to both sides it was an
indication that violence was coming
Dred Scott decision - 1857 - a supreme court decision, in which Scott a slave
who had been moved to a free state, they had to decide if residency in a free
state make a slave free and did scott have the right to sue for freedom.
Chief justice Roger B Taney and 4 other justices were from slave states. They
ruled that as a slave Dred Scott or any black couldn’t sue for freedom in federal
court and couldn’t become citizens. “Blacks are so far inferior that blacks had no
right that whites had to respect”. they also decided that residence of a free state
didn’t make a slave free. they believed that the missouri compromise was
unconstitutional.
caused outrage in the north as they believe that southerners controlled the
nations courts
the Election of Lincoln is seen as the final straw that lead to the Civil war
Lincoln was elected as a Republican in 1860. republicans didn’t think that slavery
should be allowed into the territories. they wanted all new territories reserved for
free white laborers. Also had abolitionists.
Lincoln was a self made self educated man. he was against immediate abolition
but did want the extinction of slavery.
Lincoln won the 1860 election b/c the nation was so divided and there were 4
candidates. running against him were John Brekinridge (pro-slavery), Stephen
Douglas, and John Bell (tried to be the centrist candidate)
Lincoln won with 180 electoral votes and 44% of the pop vote. Douglas was the
only national candidate and won 33% pop vote but only 12 electoral votes.
Brekinridge carried all of the south. This represented a demographic shift as the
north was growing much faster than the south.
The South saw that when they put all their support behind one candidate they
couldn’t win b/c there weren’t enough people in the south and thus they would
never win and compromise was now out of the question.
feb 26, 2009
fire eaters - radical southerners who wanted independence for the south and
secession from the union. they felt the political structures of the nation were
against the south and that the south was a slave to the north. this perceived
subjugation to the north was intolerable.
dec 20 1860 - South Carolina secedes from the union. other states had
prolonged periods of debate over the issue but 6 other states quickly followed SC
the Confederate states of America were formed in Feb. 1861 and Jefferson Davis
was the President. They virtually replicated the US Constitution with the
difference that it guaranteed slavery and states right.
the upper southern states were more economically dependent on the north and
feared that a war would be fought on their land and thus didn’t join the
confederacy.
March 1861 lincoln takes office
Fort Sumter - the start of the American Civil War. on April 12 1861 Confederate
Forces began a bombardment of the Fort. Fort Sumter surrendered the next day
Lincoln had promised to hold, occupy, and posses all federal property in the
seceded state. When Lincoln tried to resupply Fort Sumter but the Confederates
would not allow it.
Lincoln proclaimed that the lower south was in a state of Insurrection and called
up 75,000 militia men to put down the insurrection. this action pushed states that
had been on the fence to a side. Some states split (West Virginia) and areas of
some southern states didn’t want to fight for the confederates.
many people in both the north and south leapt into the war for fear that the war
would be over before they could get a chance to fight.
Southerners believed that their superior manhood would whip the Yankees.
Northerners believed that their superior resources would scare the rebels into
surrender.
the first 2 years of the war were spent getting ready to fight a war as both size
had both been unprepared.
both central governments got more central power and this was a problem in the
Confederacy.
the demand for soldiers was so great that both sides had to Conscript. In the
south all white men between 18 and 35 had to serve but this was expanded to all
white men from 17-50 (1862). in the north all male citizens 20 to 45 faced the
draft but for $300 you could buy your way out of the draft (1863).
near the end of the war the south was so desperate for soldiers that there was a
debate to offer blacks freedom in return for their service.
the south also had difficulty getting supplies like food and clothing. by the end of
the war Lee’s army was on the verge of starvation
the North was better able to equip its troops but they had difficulties getting
enough soldiers as the battles were fought farther south so they didn’t see the
need to go off and fight.
despite their advantages northern victory was not a sure thing for much of the
war.
the south had the advantage of only having to hold the line whereas northern
troops had to advance deep into the south to win. Historians argue that the south
had superior military leadership.
Generals Stonewall Jackson, Jeb Stuart, and Robert E Lee are considered to be
some of the greatest strategists of the US while the north had difficulty finding
good military leadership.
the first goal of the Union was to protect Washington DC and to do this they
launched an attack on Richmond.
july 1861 - first battle Manassas (Bull Run) - first major battle of the civil war. the
Confederates routed the much larger union army. bolstered the south and
stopped the Union attacks
gen. George McClellan - thought that their defeat was caused by poor discipline
do he trained them endlessly. Lincoln didn’t like it and thought that he had a case
of the slows
Sept 1862 - the Battle of Antietam (Sharpsburg) bloodiest battle in American
History. a confederate attack was turned back but at huge costs to both sides.
Dec 1862 Battle Fredericksburg. lead by gen. Burnside. Union took the town but
the Confederates won the battle when union troops were forced to attack up a
steep hillside and were mowed down.
Much of the fighting of the civil war took place in Virginia
The War on the Western Front went much better for the union in part b/c of the
leadership of Ulysses S Grant.
Grant preserved the Unions hold on Missouri and Kentucky
April 1862 - the Confederates launch a surprise attack at Shiloh but the Union
under Grant reorganized and defeated them. the attack at Shiloh emptied most of
the Confederate troops from New Orleans and the Union took the City.
Vicksburg - 6 week siege by the union. after Vicksburg fell the Union controlled
all of the mississippi river.
New Orleans was occupied by the Unions under Gen. Benjamin Butler. as did
much of the western front of the south. In New Orleans women insulted and
abused Union soldiers so much that general order #28 was ordered which
ordered that any women who insulted a union soldier they were to be treated as
prostitutes.
Gen. Sherman’s March to the sea went through the south over 400 miles and
destroyed $100 million worth of property. he called it his lesson of total war on
the south so that they would never want to make war again. As his troops
marched they destroyed anything that might help the confederates, rail lines,
arsenals, crops, etc.
Sherman blamed the war on the south and that is how he justifies his destruction
of the south.
when the war started many people the war was not about slavery but as it
progressed that is what it came to be know.
August 1861 Union passed the Confiscation act. Allowed all property that could
be used in the assistance of the Confederate army to be seized (including
slaves)
The emancipation proclamation - Jan 1, 1863 freed all slaves that were in area
controlled by the rebels. did this b/c the union couldn’t afford to loose the support
of slave states fighting for the union. this changed the scope of the war and made
it clear that the north would never stand for slavery
many blacks joined the Union to fight for their freedom and to gain the right of
citizenship. by the end of the war 186,000 blacks joined the Union army about
10% of the union army
The Battle hymn of the Republic” written by Julia Ward Howe became a rallying
cry for the Union troops and the emancipation of slaves.
- By late summer of 1863 the tied had shifted to the Union side
Gettysburg - july 1863 - furthest north southern troops ever advanced. 17
Confederate gens. died and Lee lost 1/3 of his army. this battle coincided with
the fall of Vicksburg and Chattanooga. marks the start to the Confederate retreat.
Grant was the Unions most successful and popular Gen. and he moved his army
to northern virginia to fight against Lee’s army. Grant wasn’t afraid to suffer
casualties to achieve a goal.
by sept 1864 union controlled the entire Shenandoah valley of Virginia and by
1865 the Southern Capital of Richmond.
Lee surrendered to Grant on April 9, 1865 at the Appomattox Courthouse
6 days later Lincoln was assassinated.
1 out of 5 soldiers who fought in the war had died and most people recognized
how close the nation had come to being ripped apart forever.
MIDTERM COMES TO HERE
Mar 5, 2009
- many people were confused at how the nation would be rejoined at the end of
the war when it became clear the north would win
Lincoln’s proclamation of amnesty and reconstruction - dec 1863 - allowed
states to rejoin the union if 10% of the pop swore allegiance to the union
and accepted emancipation
radical republican’s in july of 1864 passed a bill that set up a military gov in
each of the former state until 50% of the pop swore allegiance and then
apologized and accepted emancipation
to become a voter one had to take the Ironclad Oath - that they had never
willingly been part of the confederacy
Lincoln refused to sign the bill so upon his assassination there is no plan on what
to do
Johnson becomes President in april 1865 and announces presidential
reconstruction
his plan allowed everyone except military officers and social elites to take
the oath of allegiance to the union and get back all their property except
their slaves
it gave the south a feeling that they could do what they wanted.
Johnson did this while congress was out of session so when they came
back they were very mad. they didn’t allow southerner’s to take their seats
in Congress and started to change Johnson’s plan
Congressional reconstruction
Civil rights Act - march 1866 - guaranteed newly freed blacks the rights of
American citizenship. Johnson vetoed the bill
1867 presidential reconstruction is over
reconstruction act of 1867 - breaks the south up into 5 military sections.
voters which included black men - would vote on committee’s who
would form of a new constitution for each state. allows southerners to keep
property. most confederate states rejoin by 1868.
new state govs now included blacks and started ambitious reconstruction and
infrastructure projects
once all states were back in the union ex-confederates tried to retake
control through the democratic party and by intimidating blacks and others
into not voting for the republicans
ex-confederates were successful b/c congress itself becomes less
supportive of reconstruction.
the election of 1876 marks the end of the political reconstruction. b/w
Hayes(republican) and Tilden(democrat) very disputed election. Hayes claims
president by promising to remove all federal troops from the south.
Constitutional reconstruction
13th Amendment - 1865 - Prohibited Slavery in the US
14th Amendment - 1868 - went further than the 13th. former slaves
became citizens of the US and asserted that no state could prohibit anyone
from life, liberty or the pursuit of happiness without due process of law. all
people were given equal protection of the law
15th Amendment - 1870 - voting rights for former male slaves
in the short term these amendments were ignored but they represented
congresses best attempt to help the blacks
Special Field Order #15 - issued by Gen. Sherman in 1865 - set aside large
parts of land along the coast of US to be farmed out to blacks made free by
the emancipation proclamation.
the Freedmen’s Bureau - offered relief (food clothes medical) to slaves,
they built schools and helped them either find work or protect them in their
work.
the Bureau offered slaves there only protection against a society that was dead
set against their freedom
Marks of freedom of slaves
Family - the attempt to relocate family separated by the war moved
blacks all around the south. Families also tried to mirror the pattern of
domesticity. many slaves Finally got married
education - the bureau set up thousands of schools for both young
and old alike
Land Ownership - the ultimate mark of independence. in 1866 44
million acres of land set aside for Freedmen but it was poor land and
blacks couldn’t afford tools or seed they were unsuccessful. whites
opposed any attempt for blacks to control their own land
sharecropping - white landowners broke up their land into smaller sections
and rented these out to black families in a sharecropping system.
perpetuated the system of black dependence on an elite white landowner.
the interlude of virtue - a time at the beginning of reconstruction when blacks
were very optimistic on their prospects
Limits of Freedom
Ku Klux Klan formed in 1866 by Confederate Gen. N Bedford. they
terrorized blacks who tried to exercise their rights. Whites feared racial
amalgamation in the south and called for a system of segregation enforced
if need be by violence
Redemption - southerners attempting to redeem themselves and their honor
the solid south - term used to describe the south politically when they only
ever voted for the democrats.
Democrat governors re-wrote state constitutions and removed many black rights.
Means of limiting voters
violence
economic pressure - disallowed political meetings among
sharecroppers
Poll tax, property requirements, and literacy tests
“Grandfather” Clauses - waived any requirements who had an ancestor who
voted in 1860.
thus the 15th amendment was effectively ignored and blacks remained
disenfranchised for decades.
2/3s of the south’s wealth was destroyed in the war and almost 1/4 of the male
pop died in the war.
the loss for white southerners was devastating. stocks bonds and paper
money from the confederacy were useless. they had no rail system and
many major cities had been burned to the ground, 30% of livestock also
were killed in the war.
southerners called for a system of economical reform modeled after the north
Henry Grady a newspaper man in Atlanta coined the term the New South
Grady extolled southern assets of cheap labour and abundant natural resources
the south experienced a huge growth in Industry in the post civil war era in
Railroads - quadrupled miles of track
textiles ind - many textile mill owners moved their mills to the south to
take advantage of their cheap labour
steel coal and tobacco production increased
despite the success of a few poster child industrialists the south remained
extremely poor.
southern poverty remained a huge problem until WW2
many white southerners clung to the ideas of the Old south and this is a main
cause of the failure of the new south.
Lee’s Farewell address to his troops perpetuated the idea of The Lost
Cause as it tells them that the south didn’t loose but that the north
overwhelmed them with superior numbers and resources. thus they think
that once the south gets rich they can rise up again.
the slogan Fear God, Love the South, and Avenge Her spread across the south
the United Daughters of Confederacy - lobbied that the war b/w the states
should be taught from a southern viewpoint to southern children.
Mar 10, 2009
The gilded age - the title of a Mark Twain book that suggested that upper class
americans were only interested in making money. was seen as crass materialism
by the lower classes.
wealthy people spent massive amount of money on clothes, food and their
homes
the four hundred - was an exclusive social register of the richest and most
socially prominent Americans. that viewed themselves as the social
leading edge of the nation
The Astors and the Vanderbilts - two extremely powerful families that were
intense rivals
Robber Barons - the term given to wealthy americans by poorer people
who believed that the wealthy were robbing the poor to make their wealth
rise of big business factors
large coal deposits discovered in Penn, WV and Kentucky
innovative technologies - appeared more and more rapidly after the
civil war - telegraph and sowing machines.
development of large factories - took advantage of cheap labour from
immigrants
dropping price levels - goods were cheaper b/c the manufacturing
costs were lowering which meant that more people could buy goods
ruthless competition - price dropping was used to drive smaller
businesses out of the industry
a tight money supply - loans were hard to get and interests rate were
high - thus the wealthy could make massive amounts of money by loaning
out money and charging these high interests rates
the definition of big business changed after the civil war. before the civil
war 100 employees made a company a big business but by 1900 there were
mammoth companies with tens of thousands of employees.
Jay Gould - President, Union Pacific Railway. - innovated and standardized
the rail system, characterized by his dishonesty (called a perfect eel). he
was said to have shaped american business practices through his
ingenuity.
over 200,000 miles of track were laid after the civil war. extremely expensive to
build a rail system so stocks were sold in the company to finance construction
there was a system of illegal kickbacks and rate discrimination to attract
big business. to combat this congress set up the Interstate Commerce
Commission in 1887. But conservative courts often ruled in favour of big
business making the ICC ineffective
railroads were the largest business system in the world that was still incredibly
unstable
John D. Rockefeller formed Standard oil and was the model for big
business in the 19th C. It was founded in Cleveland in 1870. and went on to
control 90% of oil refining in the US.
He was a pious man who lived far below his wealth level. By the end of the Civil
War he was a moderately wealthy man and he leveraged his wealth to buy the
largest oil refinery in Cleveland and on this he built Standard oil.
he used his position in Cleveland to get rebates and Kickbacks from the
railroads. he used this position to pressure his competitors to sell to him. He soon
controlled business in Cleveland and then went on to the rest of the nations
companies
he used trusts and holding companies to secretly purchase oil refineries
and to get around laws that made it illegal for one company to control
another.
At first Rockefeller concentrated on horizontal integration and he began to
engage in vertical integration once he had amassed his wealth. His control
of the Industry became so great that it was difficult for anyone to do
business without him.
Rockefeller was vilified by those that fear big business. as he was the most
successful he was the most hated
Ida Tarbell wrote a series of articles b/w 1902-1905 for McClure’s Magazine that
thoroughly investigates Standard Oil and Rockefeller
the Sherman Anti-Trust act of 1890 - the first attempt to stop the
consolidation of business power. wasn’t effective.
Andrew Carnegie - grew up in dire poverty in Scotland before immigrating
to the US and forming the largest steel company in the world.
he gave away an estimated 300 million dollars before he died in 1918.
Carnegie wasn’t a benevolent employer - he was a shrewd businessman
and looked for ways to cut costs wherever he could. he viewed employee’s
as replaceable and often pitted them against each other.
Homestead Steel strike - 1892 - workers tried to organize a union. when a
strike became apparent Carnegie put Henry Clay Frick in charge and he
erected a massive fence around the plant and hired 300 Pinkerton
Mercenaries. the pinkerton men were to protect the strike breakers and be
company spies.
June 28 lockout begins
July 6 Frick tries to get more Pinkerton men into the plant and the strikers
attacked them in a very violent attack
b/c of the attacks the Gov of Penn sent in 8000 national guardsmen and
they protected and occupied the plant for 95 days.
this crushed the strikers and they returned to work to the same situation.
there were 37,000 strikes in the late 19th C and 7 million workers were
involved but most were unsuccessful
1877 - Wild-cat railroad strike started by a reduction of wages and in unity
workers across the nation went on strike. By the time Pres. Hayes calls out
the troops 100 people had died and much of the nations railroads were idle
1886 - Haymarket bombing - police shot 4 strikers from the the McCormick
Harvester Plant in Chicago. protesters threw a bomb killing 7 officers and
they fired into the crowds
1893 - Pullman Strike
Grover Cleveland cites strikers for restraining commerce and sends in the
troops. 13 people were killed and 53 wounded before the strike was
crushed
gov sided with interests of Business before interests of workers - a trend
that continued to the great depression.
there was a steady supply of immigrants that meant that business leaders didn’t
have to negotiate with labour as there was always someone else to fill a job
14 million immigrants arrive from Europe in the late 19th C
before 1880 most immigrants - Northern and Western Europe
After 1880 most immigrants from southern and eastern europe 80% of
new immigrants
500000 immigrants arrived in 1880 alone and 3/4 of them came to New York City
these immigrants were more foreign than previous immigrants and were often
very very poor.
the idea of the Land of opportunity was offset by Racist Ideas. Native born
americans expressed concern about the foreignness of the new immigrants.
Emma Lazarus wrote the New Colossus (carved on the base of the statue of
Liberty)
Congress tried and failed to limit immigration until 1924 with the National
Origins Act - restricted the number of immigrants to 2% of that national
origin in 1890. 1890 was chosen because the full wave new immigrants
hadn’t happened yet.
most new immigrants moved into urban areas and tried to live among like people
groups. Assimilation rates were fairly low
Many immigrants lived in overcrowded slums and tenements
in 1890 Jacob Riis wrote How the Other Half Lived - an expose on how the
poorest people in New York Lived. His intent was to create a call to action but still
blamed part of the poor peoples problems on themselves
Liberalism and Social Darwinism focused on the individual and blamed the
individual for poverty
if you were to weak to survive you would be destroyed. people saw poverty as a
result of laziness and weakness thus they focused on temperance and hard work
for poor people
the gospel of Success - through individual effort and self control one could
succeed
the social gospel looked for a social cause to poverty
believed that true Christianity was people working to help the poor and
lower class.
poverty was gradually becoming seen as a social problem not an individual
problem.
neighbourhood bars and saloons became popular as did Vaudeville Shows
- a set of acts and skits meant to amuse and distract poor people from their
problems. this was a way for poor’s to voice their frustrations
amusement parks such as Coney island were also built. they became
extremely popular
The middle class
one of the key stories of the late 19th C was the widening gap b/w upper and
lower class but more and more Americans were defining themselves as middle
class
middle class people became more and more materialistic, and still
continued the cult of domesticity and Separation of spheres of influence
along gender lines
there was an increase in consumption and homeownership.
the middle class defined their status by what they owned and lead to the
mass market economy and lead to the beginnings of advertising.
advertising expenditure grew exponentially in the late 19th C and early 20th C
the department store was developed and was built for and marketed to the
upper and middle classes. these stores lavished care and attention on their
customers.
Mar 12, 2009
the western frontier becomes important to Americans around the same time that
it is announced that the Frontier is closing and there is no more room for
settlement
Manifest Destiny - phrase introduced in 1839 - American settlers had a God
given right to move west across the nation. shaped the vision of Americans
of what the west was
Frederick Jackson Tuner - gave a speech that said that the frontier is gone
and with it the first phase of American history. he expressed fear on what
this would do to the american identity. the speech was called The
Significance of the Frontier in American History
Turner’s speech really romanticized the west and caused people to fear what
would become of America w/o its frontier do they preserved the frontier ideal
Theodore Roosevelt - preserved the idea of the old west and found new
frontiers for American expansion. moved from New York to a North Dakota
Dude ranch after his first wife died. his book Winning of the West - argued
that living in the West and surviving there makes a man a true man. it
represented what he thought the country had been like before cities,
factories and masses of immigrants.
Roosevelt and many Americans saw the west as what made them
Americans.
Myths and Images of the West
Cowboy Characteristics - a strong individualist, simple, virtuous, innocent
and untainted. this myth has been firmly embedded in the american
persona
this image was perpetuated by Dime novel Cowboys - Kit Carson, Wild Bill
Hickock and Calamity Jane. hero’s in the novel were often based around
real people. Many of the authors of these novels had never been off the
eastern seaboard or out of the cities.
in these books the West was seen as a dangerous wild and free place.
Buffalo Bill Cody - a character featured in about 200 books. real person
who actually did have the experiences of the mythical west. His Wild West
show that mixed together the authentic and the romantic of the West. It
masked the reality of western settlement.
the myth of the west was adopted by Americans from California to Maine
most of the West was settled by families and people spent most of their time in
hard labour instead of hunting rustlers.
Eastern capital funded most of the large agricultural ventures and also the
railroad which made settlement of the west possible.
white settlers came to the west to make money, they travelled as families and
wanted land and there were liberal land grants to get free land
Homestead Act - offered 160 acres of free land for a $10 fee and a promise
to live on the land for 5 years, till the land and improve it in some way. this
was done to try and limit land speculation.
b/w 1869 and 1900 400,000 families made claims under the homestead act.
early years of settlement were grueling. first homes were often soddies and
many settlers found the environment to be extremely harsh. many settlers
couldn’t handle it and the transient rate was very high, those that stayed
felt a deep connection to the land.
These early settlers would embody the rugged individualism of settlers.
many settlers came west to get rich quick and then to return east with their
money.
The california gold rush in 1849 and the resulting gold rush would become
a pattern across America. Boom towns would grow into large industrial
cities.
Most miners in the west did not strike it rich but they kept chasing the dream of
making it big.
Oklahoma land rush - ties together the relentless drive for more land, the
boom and bust cycle, the removal of Indians and old civil war loyalties.
Oklahoma had been made into Indian territories but b/c they supported the
Confederate in 1889 congress transfered 2m million acres of land into the
public territories.
at Noon, April 22 1889 thousands of settlers rushed the territory to stake their
claims.
at first they are wildly successful but two generations later b/c of poor farming
practices most go bust.
Natives on the Frontier
Trans-Mississippi West - 36000 natives lived in the trans-mississippi west
the Plains Indians were the most involved with conflicts with european settlers.
The Sioux, Crow, Blackfoot and Cheyenne all shared in the experience of
interaction w/ whites
the destruction of the Great Buffalo herds killed the traditional economic systems
of the plains tribes.
Plains tribes were relocated to make room for white settlers and this was
the single largest change in native lifestyles
Natives were forced onto reservations and this created violent conflicts
and confrontations
many of the biggest battles of the West are associated with George Armstrong
Custer
he was a hero of the Civil war. his first major encounter happened in 1868
at the Washita Massacre, which was an attack on a Cheyenne town while
everyone was asleep which killed hundreds of people.
Custer and his troops were sent to the Black Hills to build a fort there even
though there was a treaty not to disturb the area. while they are there
surveying the Black Hills they found gold. Pres. Grant decreed that all
natives off the reservation must be put back on the reservation
Custer’s last Stand - june 25, 1876 Custer takes 600 troops to the Little Big Horn
River. the Natives under their Chiefs Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull destroy
Custer’s forces.
as a result american opinion against the Natives and they support the idea
that Natives must be relocated and no longer allowed to roam over the
nation
Board of Indian Commissioners - est 1869 intended to make reservation life
more “desirable”. they tried to convert natives to christianity and away
from their native lifestyles
some reformers wanted reservations broken up and end all recognition of tribal
affiliations basically assimilate all natives
Dawes Severalty act 1887 - forced natives to become farmers or
landowners and made them citizens (meaning that they had to pay taxes)
natives were now to be treated as individuals and not as tribes. each head
of family who accepted the law would get land to farm and graze but it was
held in trust. this land was taken from existing reservations with extra
lands sold to speculators
Massacre at Wounded Knee, SD - Dec 29 1890 gov troops kill about 300
Sioux who refused to break up their communities, and then dump the
bodies into mass graves.
The American Empire
the US started to build and empire in the late 19th C starting with Alaska in 1867
purchasing it from the Russians for 7.2 million
in 1893 Hawaii was annexed into the US
this growth of empire was motivated by the desire for
Power - too keep up with european powers Americans were convinced
that they needed an empire to maintain a balance in world powers. The US
needed a strong Navy to maintain power and thus needed refueling
stations around the globe. The Roosevelt Corollary, 1904 - basically a
revised version of the Monroe Doctrine as a result of threats by European
nations to invade Puerto Rico. announced that in some circumstances US
had the right to interfere in the western Hemisphere but European powers
did not
Moral - basically Race and Religion - Americans saw their part in the
world as the White man’s Burden. it is whites job to civilize and christianize
the globe
Economics and Money - probably the most important. America needed
markets for its goods. Many Americans saw China as the ideal place to
start their export markets. the gov of China was unable to stop foreign
intervention. Americans pushed for an “open door policy” asking other
european powers to open their ports to American goods. pushed for by Sec
State John Hay. He argued for Laissez-faire imperialism or an informal
empire. Under Pres. Taft Dollar Diplomacy was strived for. it put American
industrial expansion and trade as the most important part of american
foreign policy
Spanish American War - began over a crisis in Cuba - the sinking of the
Maine in 1898. Yellow Journalism fueled American support for the Cuban’s
and pushed the nation closer and closer to War.
TR and the Rough Riders - to TR a willingness to fight was a mark of manhood.
In Cuba TR lead the Rough Riders, a volunteer force, in the capture of San Juan
Hill
Admiral Dewey Steamed into Manila Bay and Destroyed the Spanish fleet.
Spanish gave America Puerto Rico Guam and the Philippines.
it was soon found to be harder to manage an empire than to conquer one.
Americans only left Cuba after the Platt Amendment was forced on the
Cuba. it severely restricted the rights of Cubans.
In the Philippines Emilio Aguinaldo lead a resistance against the American’s. He
drafted a democratic constitution but he failed to receive American support for it,
so he started fighting them.
it took the US 4 years to crush the Philippine independence movement at
the cost 4300 americans and 57,000 Philippine lives
most of the area’s of America’s new empire were governed by influenced
and not directly controlled.
Mar, 17 2009
the rise of populism
difficulties faced by farmers - farmers began to feel threatened as a major and
important part of american society as more people and importance moved to
urban areas
pests - grass hopper infestations wiped out midwest wheat crops
drought falling prices and raising transportations costs
and a tight money supply - helped people with money but meant that
farmers had to pay very high interest rates on borrowed money used to purchase
seed and equipment
the grange - at first it was a social and educational organization but
eventually morphed into co-ops used to ease economic burdens by
establishing co-op stores and elevators.
they protested against the unfair railroad rates.
eventually became a political organization that lobbied state laws. The
interstate Commerce commission was set up to investigate the inequalities
farmers faced.
the grange didn’t have enough capital to sustain its ventures but it was the
vanguard of the agrarian movement
The Farmers’ Alliance - advocated farmer co-ops and became a marketer of
farmers crops.
in 1889 Charles Macune successfully joined several regional farmers’
alliance into the National Farmers’ Alliance. because of its larger size it was
able to help farmers get out of the debt cycle. It had a counterpart called
the National colored farmers alliance although there were movements to
join the two movements to work towards common interests.
The great plains farmers formed the Northwestern alliance. they had been
plagued by droughts in the late 1880s and early 1890s.
farmers recognized the political potential of these farmers’ alliances
the Peoples party of the United States it was a populist backed party started by
the farmers alliances that started to win elections in the 1890s
the populist party platform
tariff reduction - tariffs were helping manufacturers but hurt farmers
called for a graduated income tax
public ownership of railroads
“Free Silver” the free and unlimited coinage of silver
election reform. they wanted the direct election of senators
the populist offered a critic of big business and they wanted economic
democracy. they framed their argument as a moral fight.
in the 1892 presidential election the populist candidate received over a
million votes. but the election revealed some of the weaknesses of the
party. they received no votes in the east or urban areas. voter fraud and
intimidation and racism were rampant in the south.
the election of 1896 and the demise of the populist party
during the depression of 1893 there was massive unemployment and grain
prices plummeted.
the call for free silver became a central issue for all parties in this climate. there
was a debate b/w free silver vs the gold standard. this debate obscures all other
populist platforms.
people believe that free silver would lead to rampant inflation and its proponents
said it would make money easier to borrow.
republicans were in favor of the gold standard and the democrats were for free
silver.
William Bryan - democratic candidate was strongly in favour of free silver
the populist decided to throw their support behind the democrats so as to
not to split the vote but the Republicans win the election and the party dies
away.
the Progressive era
trend towards professionalism, bureaucracy and efficiency that started in
and around the Civil war. the shift of professionalism was personified by
Clara Barton by systematizing an efficient way of getting medical supplies
to the army she also founded the Red Cross.
many social institutions became regulated by the gov and run by
professionals.
Jane Addams - the most famous woman in the US in early 20th C and was a first
generation female collage grad.
during a trip of europe she was inspired by a visit to a charity workers house in
the middle of the east London slums. it was part of the Settlement house
movement. aid workers lived with the people they were helping
Jane Addams bought a house in the slums in Chicago called Hull House.
the residents of Hull house investigated urban problems like truancy, infections
diseases, infant mortality, and poor sanitation. they also set up a number of
programs to help the poor the women were studying. things like day care, ESL
classes, public baths citizen prep classes and a public kitchen, community
theatre etc. etc. etc.
there were about 50 Settlement houses across the US in the early 20th C
much of the published research had a strong effect on public policy and hull
house alumni became leaders of public protection groups.
residents of Hull House have been criticized for not taking into account what the
poor wanted and for using their time at Hull House as an outlet for their own
ambitions and trying to assimilate their clients.
the progressive movement was a middle-class, urban movement but they
had no organized political movement. they were not a radical movement
they want to preserve and make capitalism work better.
the progressive ear is sometimes called the age of the expert Dr, lawyers and
engineers and become important powerful part of society and the progressives
supported them. they embraced efficiency
organizational progressives
Frederick Taylor - taylorism - used scientific management to make more
factories and business more efficient. time became extremely important.
Taylorism became the standard in manufacturing. business owners liked
taylorism and workers did not.
Government and progressivism
looked to gov involvement into society to make it better.
Roosevelt took a leading role in gov progressivism. he was president in 1801
he skillfully made the White house a center of many progressive movements and
ideas
he first focused his efforts on business reforms and consumer protection.
TR tried to balance and labor and their relationship. As he came from a
wealthy family he wasn’t intimidated by the captains of industry. TR
became knows as a Trust buster by breaking up large companies for the
public good
1904 the gov under TR direction broke up of the Northern Securities Co. and
then 40 other companies.
in 1906 the Hepburn Act was passed that gave more power to the ICC.
TR also tripled the size of National parks and wildlife preserves. he
advocated the efficient use of natural resources
his most important reforms came in the area of consumer protections.
muck rakers were journalists who exposed corporate wrong doings. TR put his
support behind many consumer reforms that are brought about by muckraking.
TR formed his own political party for the 1912 elections called the progressive
party called the bull moose party.
all he succeeded in doing was splitting the conservative vote and this let
Woodrow Wilson become president
Wilson was a southern democrat and a historian but he was also a progressive
his early reforms were reforms of gov control of economics and banking.
the Federal reserve act created the federal reserve and the 12 federal banks
across the nations
the federal trade commission act created the FTC which investigated trade
issues and unfair business actions.
clayton anti-trust act - filed anti-trust suits against over 100 companies
Keating-Owne Act - bared the interstate trade of goods made by children illegal
Wilson also made changes to the constitution
16th - national income tax
17th - election of senators
18th - prohibition
19th - women's suffrage
many of the reform movements of the progressive movement were social
reforms
progressives sought to ensure that govs had the power to create good schools,
parks, fire departments and many other public works - came to be know as the
city beautiful movement
Prohibition - progressives finally achieved a national prohibition of the production
and consumption of alcohol although it didn’t work
Women’s issues - progressives argued for women’s suffrage. Margaret
Sanger pushed for birth control. in 1916 she opened the first birth control
clinic in 1916. she published pamphlets on birth control but this was illegal.
her clinic was open only 9 days before police shut it down and in that time
over 400 women attempted to visit the clinic
Sangers campaign was aimed at poor immigrant women
progressives supported restrictive immigration policies as they believed
that it was these immigrants who were one of the causes of problems in the
US
progressives were often racists particularly in the south
progressives supported eugenics - the forced sterilization of social
undesirables and advocated that blacks and immigrants should also not
reproduce.
progressivism seeped into almost every aspect of American life and then
around the first world war it disappear.
Mar 19, 2009
american neutrality to the first world war - neutral in thought as well as action
Objection of Progressives - William jennings Bryan resigned as sec state in 1925.
and Jane Addams who formed the Women’s peace party
america was also a ethnically diverse nation with ties to Britain, germany
and Ireland.
when war broke out the americans remain neutral because of the ethnic
diversity of their own nation
reasons for entry into the war
U-Boat warfare - challenged the neutrality of the high seas. German u-boat
attacks on american shipping is seen as a cause for american entry to war
the Sinking of the Lusitania - a British passenger ship that was sunk by a
german u-boat. americans had been warned to not travel on British ships
but 1200 people and 120 americans die. Wilson demanded that Germans
end the unrestricted warfare on the high seas saying that if further attacks
happen america may enter the war.
Wilson broke diplomatic ties in Jan 1917 over the u-boat affair.
The Zimmerman Telegram. German foreign sec. sent a telegram to german
ambassador in mexico. proposes an military alliance b/w the mexicans and
the germans. America intercepted the telegram and published it in
newspapers. after this the US is clearly on the side of the British
Business Interests - The National Security League - a group of
industrialists who joined together to encourage preparedness for war. By
april 1917 american bankers lent 2.3 billion to the allies and only 27 million
to the central powers.
Wilson was a know Anglophil and it is thought was that he was only waiting for
an opportunity to convince the american people that it was the right thing to do.
Wilson wanted to join war to make the world a safer place for Democracy.
Wilson also realized that if the US wanted to be part of the peace process
they would have to be part of the war.
Wilson went to congress and asked them to declare war on April 2 1917.
America fielded their own distinct and separate force (American
Expeditionary force) that would work with the Allies but not for them was
lead by Gen. John J Pershing
America discovered that they were unprepared for war when they started. they
didn’t have enough men of ammunition.
The Selective Services Act passed in may 1917 - was a draft bill. 24 million
men registered to the draft and 3 million men were drafted although only 2
million were sent
men were encouraged to volunteer so they wouldn’t be branded as cowards.
the american economy accelerated the process of mass production and the
War Ind Board was made by the gov to help with the production of military
goods. nearly 5000 gov agencies were created to supervise the production
of military goods.
by march of 1918 american troops covered only 4.5 miles of the front but
by mid 1918 american troops proved a decisive advantage to the allied
forces. in may 1918 there were a million american troops on the ground
American forces took Cantingy, Belleau Wood and Chateau-Thierry. this were
huge morale boosts to the allied
the Argonne Offensive, fall of 1918 the largest offensive of the war and a
stunning although costly victory for the allies by the time it was over the
Germans were clearly in retreat.
propaganda - selling the war at home - propaganda was the chief weapon
used in forging of support and also the purchase of Liberty Bonds in the
US
Liberty Bonds raised 21 billion dollars for the war.
america became growingly anti-germanic and people who weren’t 100%
american were considered inferior. German named towns were renamed
and hamburgers and sauerkraut was removed from many menus.
controlling dissent at home - the gov itself was intolerant of any opposition to
american entrance to the war
the Espionage Act and Sedition Amendment were gov attempts to stamp
out opposition to the war. allowed the gov to arrest and imprison people for
either what they did OR what they said if the gov thought that you were
condemning the war.
Eugene Debs - leader of the American Socialists Party he was arrested and
sentenced to ten years in jail for a speech about how america joined the war for
economic reasons.
Armistice was declared on Nov 11 1918, and america escaped relatively
unscathed (only about 112,000 casualties out of 7.2 million)
Wilson’s 14 points
self-determination in dividing territories
free navigation of the seas
lowered trade barriers
reduced armaments
openly negotiated treaties
the creation of the league of Nations
9 of Wilson’s point dealt with the breaking up of the Austria-Hungarian and
Ottoman empire and the self determination of people groups w/i them. the
other 5 dealt with his general world view.
allied leaders were cynical of Wilson. Wilson couldn’t negotiate his principles and
couldn’t compromise with other allied leaders
eventually the Treaty of Versailles was signed and it was very hard on
germany. it was not the peace that the thought that the germans thought
they would be getting when they surrendered as they thought they would
get Wilson’s peace
Wilson sees his creation of the league of nations as his greatest accomplishment
and he focused on it.
when Wilson introduced the treaty of V to Congress it was voted down.
Lead by Henry Lodge and the irreconcilables they argued that article 10 (mutual
defense) infringed on the congresses rights.
Lodge put in several amendments which he called “reservations” and then took
these to the public.
this was the beginning of the debate on what America’s position in the world
should be.
Essay
Argue a thesis - only one single thesis
after arguing this one single thesis through the essay should result in, at the end
of the essay the theses is proven or answered.
intro - should contain the thesis and a road map of where you are going.
argue the thesis in the body paragraphs
provide adequate evidence/citations to support your argument - 1 citation per
body paragraphs.
use direct quotations only when necessary; introduce your quotations; and mix
up your sources
use reliable sources
Mar 24, 2009
in 1924 Robert and Helen Lynd pioneered the use of social surveys in Muncie
Indiana.
they conducted a study of the social life and fabric in 1924 and compared it
to previous data from 1890. they found that the material goods people
owned had massively changed. they found that peoples leisure activities
had also changed significantly. The car was changing mobility and social
behaviour.
when “Middletown” was published in 1929 it became an instant best seller
The Red scare - anti-communist sentiment - spurred by the demand for
loyalty to the american war effort at home and the success of the russian
revolution abroad.
b/w 1919 and 1920 there was an increasingly hysterical anti-radical sentiment
known as the red scare. it was a reaction against the bolshevik revolution and the
100% americanism that was required during the war
the Attorney Gen. of the day lead an assault on all perceived radicals and
their thoughts and actions. to enforce this the justice department forms the
anti-subversive department headed by J Edgar hoover. he arrested
hundreds of suspected communists and deported many immigrant
russians,
the raids of january 20 1920 saw 6000 people were arrested all done w/o
warrants. they failed to find any real evidence lead to the disappearance of
the red scare although 500 non citizens were deported
although the red scare disappeared quickly the anti-radicalism sentiments of
americans remained.
political Conservatism - americans voted for a number of conservative republican
presidents in their strive for the reduction of reform.
Warren G Harding won an election on his phrase “the return to normalcy”
this was a clear sign of rejection of the progressive era. Harding promised
to do almost nothing.
Harding did have close ties to business, he dismantled gov control over ind
and increased tariffs.
Calvin Coolidge became Pres after Hardings death. he embraced old
fashioned yankee morality. Coolidge also supported business “the
business of america is business” he sees business as the foundation of
america. Coolidge reduced gov control over the economy even more.
Herbert Hoover became the third republican president of the decade.
social conservatism
many of the social policies of the day did encourage activism
the 1920 Census revealed that more people now lived in urban areas than in
rural areas. in response to this many people pushed for the protection of rural
social values
Prohibition - 18th Amendment in 1920 made the production and sale of alcohol
illegal
conservatives and progressives were very happy with prohibition
“drys” were often native born americans and protestants while the “wets” were
often immigrants and liberals.
by the late 20s alcohol consumption was higher than in 1920 and organized
crime controlled it. prohibition was repealed in 1933
Nativism - an anti immigrant sentiment
national origins Act of 1924 - codified the sentiments of anti-immigrants.
keeping america for americans. it set tight quotas for eastern european
immigrants and does not allow the immigration of asians.
Klu Klux Klan Revival - by the mid 20s, membership ranged from 2-5
million. the KKK of the 20s was treated as a social club and lacked much of
the secrecy of later KKK’s. they frequently have large social gatherings
the KKK became popular in many areas of the country. and many of these areas
were not in the south and had no black population
The revived clan is not just anti-black it is also anti-catholic, anti-jewish, and antiimmigrant. this appealed to the ill educated and deeply religious members.
the decline of the KKK started when the grand dragon of Indiana David
Stephenson raped a young women who later took poison to commit
Suicide and was jailed for manslaughter. he went on to expose the great
political web of the KKK.
Scopes “Monkey” trial
religious fundamentalists objected to the increasing teaching of evolution in
public schools and in 1925 it was made illegal in Tennessee.
this was challenged by John T Scopes and he was arrested as the ACLU which
told him to do this had hoped for.
Clarence Darrow was the defense lawyer and William Jennings Bryan was
the lawyer for the prosecution. While Bryan was considered backwards by
the national media Scopes was found guilty.
the roaring decade
america is set apart from europe b/c of their immense prosperity and
consumption in the 20s. the american economy grew quickly in the 20s
fueled by easy credit, mass production, electricity, and automobiles.
the success of mass production fueled corporate profits, the costs of living
remained stable and unemployment was low.
many average people had much more money to spend and leisure time.
easy credit lead to a borrowing and buying frenzy in america. part of this was b/c
there were so many new products to purchase.
by the mid 20s 60% of american homes had electricity.
the automobile changed the way people lived their lives car ownership
increased to the point where 60% of american families owned vehicles. it
allowed people to live farther away from their homes and travel farther in
their leisure time.
Advertising became big business during this time and appearance became more
important than thrift. advertisers promised social success if their products were
purchased. and social embarrassment if they were not.
advertisers connected the ownership of goods with social status as well as
religious experience.
Mass media also became important during this time. with the advent of the radio
and motion pictures a whole new medium for advertisers.
Hollywood’s influence
the movies shaped and changed what american culture was becoming.
sex appeal became extremely prevalent in motion pictures
Ballyhoo - a term used to describe the spirit of the 20s. it describes
the fads and fashions of the era. people got very excited about trivial
issues. it was related to the new mass media
upper and middle class youth of the 20s didn’t have to work and thus they used
their free time to become involved in many fads.
fads like Beauty pageants, Mah Jong (a chinese board game), crossword
puzzles, pole sitting and swallowing goldfish, Jazz and Charleston (a dance
fad)
sports became hugely popular during this time and baseball players like Babe
Ruth and Tye Cobb had huge fan bases. Boxing was also a massive sport and
200,000 watched the title fight
Charles Lindbergh became the golden boy of the era. he was the first man to fly
a solo flight across the atlantic in the Spirit of St Louis. He became so popular he
was said to represent the spirit of the 20s on a person.
The New Women - Co-eds and Flappers
an increasing number of women were going to college and then to the work
force.
Flappers were women who smoked, drank, and had pre-martial relations.
at this time it was assumed a women’s primary goal was getting married
and then taking care of the family from the home.
most of the freedom given to women were supposed to be in the freedom of
choice of what they could buy for their families.
for most people in the 20s even the fleeting expression of the youth culture
happened mostly in fiction than in reality. most people lived normal lives
and stuck to traditional values.
Mar 26, 2009
Causes of the Depression
Oct 24 1929 Black thursday - the stock market began to crash in only 5
days the stock market has utterly crashed and billions of dollars were lost.
the crash was spurred by easy credit, this easy credit lead to the value of
the stock markets almost tripled. people would borrow money to buy
stocks and the assumption was that when the stocks rose in value they
would be able to pay off the debts.
virtually everything people owned had been purchased on credit.
during the 20s there was a widening income gap b/w the rich and the poor but
the poor could still get easy credit.
another problem was the over production of goods by American industry.
the agricultural depression of the 20s also had an effect on the global
depression that resulted
internationally - european nations and citizens couldn’t pay back their
debts that resulted from WW1 while at the same time suffering from a trade
deficit with the US. thus they couldn’t or wouldn’t pay off their debts
in response to this the US raised tariffs which meant that european nations
would have an even harder time paying off their debts
scope of the depression - over 5000 banks failed and with them went
peoples savings and pensions disappeared.
GNP
1929 - 104 billion
1933 - 59 billion
unemployment
1929 - 3%
1933 - 25% - about 13 million unemployed
1933 5% of the nations farms went into receivership b/c they couldn’t pay
land taxes
many people who lost their jobs were the only people in the family who had a job
which meant that the family no longer had any income.
b/c people found themselves chronically unemployed raised the suicide rate and
seemed to shatter the american ideal that if you worked hard you would succeed
in life
Herbert Hoover was not the right man to be president for the situation.
Hoover advocated the idea of Voluntarism - pushing for local private
initiatives to end the the depression. he believed that economic order
couldn’t be restored by government intervention. this lead people to
believe that he didn’t see the scope of the problem and that his actions
were ineffective and insensitive.
he asked for business leaders to voluntarily maintain pay grades and
employment levels
he founded the Emergency Committee for employment in 1931 but still believed
that it was a local responsibility
cities and municipalities ran out of money and thus couldn’t afford to pay relief
payments
the Reconstruction Finance Corporation - founded in 1932 which made
loans to banks and large corporations buy July of 1932 they had handed
out 4 billion dollars to companies and state and city govs but by and large
this was seen as a failure.
The Bonus Army
1924 - vets of WW1 are given a bonus to be payed 20 years later. in 1931
congress received a request to be payed the bonus immediately.
10000 vets come to Washington and even though congress refuses to pay
the bonuses early they had no where else to go set up shanty towns in
Washington called Hoovervilles
on July 28, 1932 the army is called in to violently evict to vets and their
families from Hoovervilles. after which they burned it to the ground. this is
a PR disaster as it turns the nation fully against Hoover.
FDR - elected to the presidency in 1932 in the hope that he would bring new
ideas and solutions to the depression.
FDR’s struggle w/ polio helped him sympathize with the people of the
depression.
FDR’s Brain trust - his advisors and leaders in their fields. Harold Ickes
(rep), Henry Wallace (semi-socialist), Henry Morgenthau (fiscal
conservative), Frances Perkins
FDR himself was intellectually flexible. he would accept any solution that
he though would work no matter who it came from and what ideological
background it came from
Eleanor Roosevelt - probably FDR’s most important advisor. her activism
made sure that FDR was never labeled as insensitive. people treated her as
a personal friend which allowed the administration to get a feeling of what
the american people were going through. She travelled across the nation
almost non-stop. she was also an advocate for racial equality.
many have argued that although FDR was an astute politician it was Eleanor that
made it successful
The New Deal - during the election FDR really didn’t have an idea of how to
save the nation but that he would try bold, persistent experimentation. FDR
exuded confidence and hope and as a result FDR won 57% of the pop vote
and dems won both houses of congress.
FDR stressed that the only thing people had to fear was fear itself.
americans responded with a surge of support. FDR reassured the american
people that things were going to get better.
The first 100 days march 9 - june 16 1933 congress enacted more than a
dozen major bills
the Emergency Banking act - the main crisis facing the nation was the
banking crisis. this act increased gov reg of banks. FDR stressed
afterwards that banks were again safe
federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insured all deposits under 5000
federal securities act and the formation of the SEC to shore up the stock markets
Federal emergency relief act - 500 million to states and cities to pay relief to
unemployed
Civilian Conservation Corp - meant to employ jobless youth in federal make work
programs
the TVA - sought to revitalize the poorest area of the nation - created cheap
electricity, flood control, and recreation areas.
the two most important items of the first 100 days were the ag adjustment act
and national industrial recover act
AAA- reduced acreage being farmed to raise the value of food and produce
- total farm income increased 50% under this program. this program often
harmed tenant farmers and share croppers as their land was the land that
was taken out of production. drought also stricken the nations farms
the NIRA - tried to rekindle a sense of shared cooperation and goals. major
ind were granted immunity from anti-trust legislation so they would come
together to wouldn’t compete each other out of business. consumers were
encouraged to buy only from companies that were part of the program. it
also provided 3.3 billion for public works programs. 34,000 public projects
were completed under the public works administration.
the supreme court declared the new deal unconstitutional as it gave the pres
power that the congress should have.
the new deal was only partially successful. but people supported it b/c at least
someone was trying to help them.
the new deal coalition - different groups that came together to support the
democrats
Midwestern farmers - traditionally GOP supporters
Urban Immigrants - FDR appointed Catholics and Jews to important
positions for the first time
Unionized industrial workers
African Americans - FDR appointed over 100 blacks to policy
positions in his administration
Women. - Eleanor was important in winning women’s support
new deal dissent
from the right
the american liberty league - they believed that the new deal was a short
path the socialism
the US chamber of Commerce
from the left
Francis Townsend - he didn’t think that FDR went far enough. he advocated
for an old age pension. seniors would get 200 a month but that they had to spend
it all w/i 30 days.
Huey Long - former gov of Louisiana and very popular. became
senator of Louisiana in 1932. advocated the Share the Wealth program.
wanted 100% taxation of income over 1 million and expropriation of all
wealth over 5 million. this was to make every man a king as the gov would
use this money to buy every family a car, home, kids get college education
etc. he was assassinated before he had the chance to run for president
the second new deal - the economy was recovering but very very slowly. FDR
met these challenges with another new deal.
provided direct public relief with the Civil works administration that payed
out 1 billion to the unemployed in small work projects. everyone was
expected to work to get the relief money.
congress set up the works progress administration which was very similar
to the CWA put more than 8 million people to work and injected 11 billion
into the economy. completed a massive amount of work projects both
physical and intellectual.
the second new deal move the nation to the left and form the foundation of
the modern welfare state
the resettlement administration and rural electrification administration were aimed
to support poor rural farmers and workers
national labor relations act - protected unions and guaranteed collective
bargaining
the social security act of 1935 - established a mixed federal-state system of
welfare
old-age pension
survivors benefits
unemployment insurance
aid to dependent mothers and children
aid to those with disabilities
paid for by taxes to companies and deductions on workers checks. this
way no worker would every support the destruction of the program as they
had already paid into it.
the supreme court was also a challenge to FDR’s new deal. at least 4 hated
everything about FDR and the new deal
the court packing scheme forced the supreme to back down.
FDR believed he had saved capitalism but historians argue that he had move the
nation away from capitalism and towards the welfare state.
we will never know if FDR’s programs would have pulled the nation out of the
depression b/c WW2 came along.
Mar 31, 2009
Inter-war foreign policy
at the end of WW1 many americans wanted a return to isolationism.
Nye Committee - a senate committee that investigated why the US joined
the first world war. after they reported that greedy industrialists dragged
the states into the war 70% of americans were for isolation
Neutrality acts a series of laws passed by congress that were meant to
keep America neutral. it outlawed the sale of materials and weapons to
nations at war.
Isolationism
Americans believed that there geographic isolation would protect them from
world affairs.
leftists were afraid that involvement in world affairs would upset internal
affairs.
supports of isolation on the right were sympathetic to Fascist. Charles
Lindbergh and the Committee to Defend America First and they advocated that
america stay out of european affairs.
the calls for peace and neutrality weakened as Hitler rose in power
Preparedness - Oct 1938 - FDR asks congress for 300 million for military
appropriations. FDR told the army air corp to get ready to get 30000 new
aircraft a year.
1937 - FDR’s Quarantine speech - FDR spoke of a quarantine against
aggressive nations. people really didn’t follow the ideals of the Speech.
FDR had little choice in 1939 but to invoke neutrality when Britain and
France declared war. He didn’t ask for thought neutrality like Wilson did in
WW1. FDR feared an allied defeat would leave America alone.
1939 - Cash and Carry - Congress changed the neutrality act so that the US
could sell the Allies weapons from the states. they just had to pay cash and
come get them themselves.
sept 1940 - destroyers for bases - sending 50 battleships in exchange for leases
on British bases
the arsenal of democracy - FDR wanted the US to become the supplier for the
allies in the war.
Lend-lease act - america would lend the Allies weapons and supplies on a lease
basis.
the US navy started to escort Allied convoys across the north atlantic
which meant that the only thing Americans weren’t doing was fighting but
other than that neutrality was out.
FDR himself had strong feelings on the issue and let it be known that he would
hold hands with the devil to defeat Hitler. he just needed to get the American
people on his side.
the road to Pearl Harbor
the american relationship w/ the Japanese had been tense for a long time.
there was discrimination against Japanese immigrants in the US. they
weren’t allowed to become citizens and were segregated. the Japanese saw
this as an insult on their honor.
when the Japanese invaded China this brought the two nations two odds.
the Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere was the Japanese empire.
the US used economics pressure against Japan. the US didn’t sell steel,
and fuel to the Japanese. FDR froze all Japanese assets and embargoed all
trade with Japan when the Japanese joined the Axis powers
on dec 7, 1941 in 3 hours more than 2000 americans dies and millions of
dollars of was destroyed at the attack on Pearl Harbor.
dec 8 US declares war on Japan and then on the 11th Hitler declared war
on the US bringing the US fully into the war.
Mobilization
Selective Service Act, 1940 - first peace time draft in US History and it
greatly increased military spending
by december 1941 there were only 1.6 million men in the US armed forces and
war production was just 15% of american industrial output.
w/i a week of Pearl Harbor the War Powers Act was passed which gave the
president unprecedented power
the Joint Chiefs of staff was created to coordinate the different wings of the
armed forces and the OSS was formed to gather intelligence. FDR was
committed to changing the American economy from a consumer economy to a
war economy
the US became the worlds greatest arms manufacturers. defense spending
grew 10 times to 36% of the GDP. spending went to 98 billion a year up
from 9 billion.
the war resulted in a massive industrial boom the america and recreated the
middle class.
the progress of war - europe
american involvement in WW2 was much greater than in WW1. it was
american involvement both economic and militarily that won the war.
Operation Torch - American forces under Eisenhower invade North Africa
and push east across north africa. they defeated 263000 troops.
Invasion of Italy - the invasion into the “soft underbelly of europe”
43-44 - Allies win the naval battle and air battle and begin their massive
bombing raids against Germany
July 6 44 D-Day operation overlord. V-E day was may 8 1945.
War in the Pacific
Battle of Midway - june 1942 - marked the end of Japanese advancement in the
South Pacific.
Guadalcanal and the Marianas - these islands became important bases for
american bombers. by fall of 1944 the Japanese Navy was decimated but
still the japanese continued to fight.
On the Home Front
War production board - directed war support in America, distributed war
contracts and materials
war manpower commission - supervised the mobilization of men and
women in the military and factories/agriculture. unemployment dropped
massively. there was intense rationing.
the Office of War info - meant to sell the message of rationing to the public. it
explained the war to people and gain popular support. they depicted it as a moral
battle. the enemy had to be destroyed not just defeated.
FDR’s four freedoms - freedom of speech, religion, want, and fear. these
what FDR said America was fighting for. this war was a fight against
autocracy and subjugation.
Japanese Internment
executive order 9066 feb, 1942 - the internment of 112000 Japanese
Americans - 2/3 of which were native born americans. all japanese
americans were moved off the west coast. they were forced to sell their
homes and properties and had to live in camps for the duration of the war.
In Hawaii there wasn’t internment even thought there were more Japanese
people there. they were (mostly) interned in the American Southwest.
women at war
during WW2 about 19 million women were employed 1/3 of the work force
and represented an essential part of war production.
the gov called on women to release able bodied men to fight by getting a war job.
need prompted heavy industry’s to hire women for the first time.
women’s work was a major factor of the production of the war industry. the
gov still emphasized that women’s work was only temporary and that when
the war ended they should go back to their homes. this didn’t happen
though.
post war women’s jobs were mostly part-time and “pink collar” jobs
the second wave of feminism had it’s roots in women’s role in war production
african-americans at war
2 million blacks worked in war industries. they still faced discrimination in
the factories and other jobs.
blacks served in both theaters but were still segregated.
black leaders saw that the gov needed their support in the war so they
started the double V campaign over the Nazi’s and racism
executive order 8802 - prohibited discriminatory practices against blacks.
blacks like women found that they were pushed out of their jobs after the war
ended.
Congress for Racial Equality was formed during the war and fought for civil
liberties for blacks
Returning soldiers
most soldiers viewed the war as a transformative part of their lives. they had
fought and died with men of different race, religion and nationality.
the Servicemen’s readjustment act - GI Bill- several million service men got
a high school education and using gov loans they were able to purchase
homes and such.
Negotiations for Peace
- americans wanted the total destruction of their enemies and the creation of
peaceful world. But Britain wanted to retain its imperial position and a balance of
power in europe. Russia wanted a permanently weakened Germany and a buffer
zone to protect themselves
the big three - FDR, Churchill and Stalin - called for the unconditional surrender
of Germany. At Yalta Stalin agreed to the temporary partitioning of germany and
the establishment of the United Nations in return for the Britain and the US
recognizing Poland as part of Russia
End of the war w/ Japan
FDR died on Apr 12, 1945 - he was replaced by Harry Truman.
Truman attended the Potsdam Conference from mid july to early august. Truman
had a deep distrust of Stalin and the Soviets and this affected his dealing at the
Conference. the allies couldn’t really agree on anything other than the demilitarization of Germany.
the Manhattan Project - started in 1939 it resulted in the first a-bomb and
had employed 120,000 people and cost 2 billion dollars and yet was still
extremely secret.
Truman decides to drop the A-bomb on Japan b/c he was informed an invasion
of Japan could cost over a million lives.
august 6. ‘45 - Hiroshima bombed three days later Nagasaki was bombed
and on the 14th of August the Emperor of Japan surrendered.
April 2, 2009
post war germany was divided into 4 occupation zones. the zones were
supposed to be only temporary. England and the US joined their zones and the
French later joined as well. Russians refused to include their zone and began to
communize their zone.
june 20 1948 - Russian cut off all allied rail and highway traffic to Berlin. the
US responded with the Massive air supply. This blockade marked the clear
division of europe.
the blockade showed that this would be a political, ideological and military
division.
Russia began cutting off their satellites from western european influence
resulting in Kennan’s Long telegram explaining the fanatical ideological split b/w
Russia and the US.
Churchill called this division the Iron Curtain adding that Western Europe would
not be safe by ignoring the Russian problem are by trying to appease it. the only
thing Russians understand only strength.
The Truman Doctrine - in March of 1947 Truman gave a speech to Congress
calling for aid to Greece and Turkey and in it he outlines the American
policy of containing Soviet expansion and influence. Truman described
global politics as a competition and it was americas obligation to aid free
people anywhere in the world. this transformed the US into the Globes
police man against the Soviets.
the Soviet bloc consisted of Poland, Bulgaria, Albania, Romania, Hungary and
Czechoslovakia. these nations would join together to for the Warsaw Pact which
was a mirror organization of NATO.
NATO was the first time that the US had entered into a Peace time military
alliance.
the Domino theory dominated US policy to contain Communism. it was the
fear that if one nation fell to Communism the nations around it could fall as
well.
This theory lead to American actions in Asia, south america, europe and the
middle east.
the fall of China shocked the nation and it was assumed that they had “lost”
China
in April 1950 - NSC-68 a military report that outlined the Russian military
readiness and size. it called for the military budget to be quadrupled and a
large standing army to be created. this was the Military Industrial Complex.
Korea was divided along the 38th Parallel b/w the US and Russia at the end
of WW2. Korea was the first place where the cold war became hot.
in June 1950 communists swept to power in 1950. the north wanted a completely
communists Korea and the south wanted a completely democratic Korea.
the domino theory dominated the US policy in Korea
the UN sent a “police action” force to Korea but the US sent over half the
troops
July 1953 - armistice was signed with no real winner or peace treaty.
The Fall of french Indochina happened in may 1954 and was divided along the
17th parallel. this division was done by the french. the north was communist and
the south was democratic. by this time the US was already to pay 75% of the
French expenses
Ngo Dinh Diem was set up by the US as premier of south
there was supposed to be an election to unify the nation but the American's
figured that the communists would have won so they blocked the election
Military advisors were sent to Vietnam to protect the south from the communists.
by 1963 American’s believed that the only way to succeed was to support a
coup against Diem but despite this communist support continued to grow
in the south.
in 1964 - the Vietnam became a full blown war. air strikes began in feb and
in august the Gulf of Tonkin resolutions - congress passed the resolution
giving the President to take whatever means necessary to end aggression.
operation rolling thunder 800 tons of bombs were dropped every day on
north vietnam this failed so he sent more combat troops to Vietnam
almost 500000 troops by the end of 1967
the Tet offensive - jan 31 1968 - over 100 south towns and military bases
attacked by the north. it was at that time that it was suggested for the first
time that the war was un-winnable.
the Smith Act 1940 - made it a crime to advocate the overthrow or destruction of
the gov by force. this act was used against communists in the cold war
the Federal employee loyalty program - meant to ensure the loyalty of all
gov workers. over 300 people were fired for being disloyal and 3000 people
were encouraged to resign.
the house un-american activities committee wherever they might exist and
Hollywood became a target of HUAC.
Ethel and Julius Rosenberg - were arrested and accused as soviet spies on
the confession of a British spy. they were convicted and executed.
Sen. Joseph McCarthy - in feb 1950 the accused the state department of
harboring communists. his name would go on to become synonymous with
the paranoia and hunt for communists. his bold assertions gave him a
national following.
Eisenhower hated McCarthy but he let him continue in the hope he would destroy
himself which he did.
McCarthy relished the power he got from his committee. the ArmyMcCarthy hearings, in 1954 were nationally televised and people saw how
rude and paranoid he was.
- John K. Galbraith - wrote the Affluent Society in 1958 - he labeled the 1950s the
affluent society that made the 1950s seem like the fulfillment of the American
dream
people finally had money to spend and
60% of families were home owners
87% of families were car owners
the growth of automobile industry lead to the development of the Suburbs as
people could now afford to commute
people flocked to the suburbs if they were white and middle class.
in 1959 the Kitchen Debates - Nixon and Krushchev debated their respective
economies about which was better.
pop grew from 151 million to 180 million in the late 50s and almost all of
these were american born children. in 1957 a baby was born in the US
every 6 seconds. by 1960 1/3 of the pop was under 14 years of age.
togetherness was a term meant to celebrate family life in the suburbs.
during this time there was increasing domesticity and church attendance. church
attendance swelled to 63% of the pop.
there was increasing conformity across the nation. religion provided a
sense of community not increased connections with God.
fears of imminent nuclear annihilation or exclusion from society were prevalent
during this time
many American’s built bomb shelters to protect themselves from nuclear bombs.
many intellectuals were against the conformity that was sweeping across
America they believed that American’s were sacrificing their individuality
for consumer goods.
many critics underlined the problem of the massive amount of debt that was
being accumulated. also 1/5 of the pop still lived below the poverty line.
racism and segregations were prevalent and as people who had the money
to move out of the cities to the Suburbs did so and took their businesses
with them so the cities lost their tax bases to provide support to the poor
that lived in the cities.
people saw rock and roll and the james dean culture as dissent to the conformity
that was the norm in America.
rebel without a cause was a very tame kind of rebellion
the Beats scorned consumerism and conformity. they romanticized unconformity
and spontaneity.
April 7, 2009
prior to the civil war there wasn’t segregation as the difference b/w slaves and
freemen was enough
the segregation of public places eventually went on to segregate almost all areas
of life. the laws that legalize this segregation became known as the Jim Crow
laws
segregation was about whites having control over blacks access to public
areas and resources
in Plessy vs. Ferguson 1896 - the 14th amendment had already been
overturned. ruled that racial segregation was legal as long as both races
had the same opportunities. “Separate but equal”
although early segregation was mainly in the south there wasn’t an outcry over
segregation in the North.
the lynching rope was the ultimate enforcer of white supremacy. 1880-1890
about 100 lynchings per year 1900-1920 about 75 lynchings a year
lynching was often brought about by alleged attacks on a white woman
even if it was only a stray look.
lynchings were not a secret event, large crowds would come to a lynching
and watch as the victims were mutilated and then hung and often burned.
Booker T Washington was the best known African American in the late 1800s
and early 1900s. he was born a slave. after his emancipation he gained an
education and eventually organized a vocational school in Tuskegee Indiana.
he argued that if blacks got practical skills they would slowly advance to equality.
in his Atlanta compromise speech he argued that once blacks showed their
economic worth they would become equal and until that happened they
had to appease those in power.
Washington was admired by whites and even gained an invitation to the white
house.
Washington publicly encouraged gradualism but secretly worked with
more radical groups. Gradualism seemed unrealistic to many blacks
W.E.B. Du Bois - 1868-1963 - first black to get a degree from harvard
his book the Souls of Black Folk said the problem of the 29th century would be
the color question
Du Bois demanded full access to the same educational and vocational
opportunities as white. he rejected Washington's gradualism
in 1905 the Niagara Movement was formed and that would later go on to
become the NAACP
they called for the full political equality for blacks and the ending of segregation in
all forms. they had 6000 members in 1914
he still aimed to achieve equality w/i american society
Marcus Garvey was the main advocate for separatism in the US and he had
an immense following.
many poor urban based blacks followed Garvey and joined his Universal Negro
Improvement Association
he urged economic solidarity and formed black owned co-ops
he urged blacks to return to Motherland Africa
Garvey was convicted for fraud and was deported to Jamaica. his
movement collapsed but it showed the power of blacks and their culture
The Harlem Renaissance - most blacks in Harlem didn’t have well paying jobs
but some of the immigrants had fantastic talents and it is out of this the Jazz age
is born
Langston hughes - transformed the souther tradition of blacks into a nation
wide literary movement that touched the entire nation.
Brown vs. Board of education (1954) - argued by a black lawyer Thurgood
Marshall and he made the case that segregated schools damaged black
children and the Supreme court under Chief Justice Earl Warren
overturned the Plessy v Ferguson and called for segregated schools to be
closed with all deliberate speed.
this provoked an extreme reaction by the states in the deep south. white citizens
councils were set up to protect segregated schools and they were supported by
state politicians
Orval Faubus organized the state national guard of Arkansas to prevent
blacks from getting into an integrated school. Eisenhower nationalizes the
state militia and patrols the school. Many states simply just suspend all
public schools rather than comply with de-segregation
Montgomery Bus Boycott - Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a
white man on the bus she was arrested for it. blacks organized a year long
bus boycott. the activists took their case to the courts and won.
This movement shattered the myth that blacks liked segregation and it also
gave the civil right movement a new leader named Martin Luther King Jr.
his speech making skills inspired blacks and touched white sentiments
as a leader he preached non-violence and advocated passive resistance.
august of 1963 the civil rights movement staged a massive march on
Washington DC over 250000 people went to the Mall and King gave his
famous I Have A Dream Speech.
the Sit-in at Greensboro NC on feb 1 1960 was a great example of passive
resistance. 4 students went and sat at a white only dinner. by april some
70,000 black students were targeting white only areas
Freedom rides - went through the deep south and meant to dramatize the
violation of segregation of interstate transportation. these freedom rides were
attacked by white crowds and in some cases the buses were even burned.
King organized a series of Marches and sit in in Birmingham Ala to show the
radical violence of white supremacists and they didn’t disappoint
the Civil rights act of 1964 and the voting rights act of 1965 finally enact the
legal rights given to blacks over 100 years before
ordinary people often young people had a great influence on the passage of the
two acts.
the Student nonviolent coordinating committee teamed up with CORE and
they organized the freedom summer project of 1964. they went to
Mississippi to help Blacks register to vote. they were attacked and even
some were killed but it showed the length that people would go to to bring
about change.
the March from Selma to Montgomery was broken up by violent attacks by police
and other whites. these attacks raised support for the voting rights act
Malcolm X - a member of the nation of Islam which insisted blacks practice
self subsistence and self help. he urged blacks to separate themselves
from white. he said they had to seize their freedom by any means
necessary and that they would have to use armed resistance.
Malcolm was assassinated but his movement carried on.
the Urban Riots caused thousands of people injured and hundreds dead along
with millions of dollars of damages. for militant activists this was the only way to
be heard
in 1966 CORE and SNCC began to preach separatism and the Black
Panther Movement urged black people to use violence to seize power.
Martin Luther King JR was assassinated on april 4, 1968 by James Earl Ray in
Memphis Tenn. As the news spread black ghettos sprang up into riots in 125
cities.
after King’s death the civil rights movement moved to the affirmative action
area but eventually faded out in the conservative backlash of the 1970s.
April 9, 2009
JFK - personified youth, vigor, energy and self-confidence in America in
the 60s. He was a war hero, charming, handsome and very wealthy. The
Kennedy family embodied many things that the average American family
strived for.
his presidency has been called Camelot - linking it back to King Arthur’s court. It
was JFK’s imagery that helped him win the presidency
Kennedy’s campaign theme was the New Frontier and it built on the
foundation of youth and hope. it called for reform at home and victory
abroad. His campaign was very popular with the youth of the nation.
Many middle age and middle class voters thought they were doing fine with the
policies of 50s and didn’t want change.
many voters were suspicious b/c Kennedy was a Catholic and his father had a
shady reputation
the televised debate showed Kennedy as a young confident vibrant leader
and this was juxtaposed by Nixon who was pale and sweating. this debate
is thought to be the turning point of the election.
Kennedy won the presidency with only .2% of the vote and yet he is associated
with the 60s as if he won a landslide.
Kennedy’s inaugural address spoke of the torch being passed to a new
generation and said “ask not what your country can do for you but what you can
do for your country”
Kennedy increased defense spending and reduced taxes. his new frontier
party was doomed by conservatives in his own party and the republicans.
he didn’t really welcome the campaign for civil rights it was only through the
pressure of the movement that forced him to speak out against the violence
against Blacks.
through his words he pushed for a new moral acceptance of colored people but
was unable to get anything done about civil rights in congress
Kennedy was a determined Cold Warrior. he was a staunch defender of
freedom and the survival of democracy
he feared the Missile Gap and thus increase defense spending by 20% to
increase the size of the military.
in 1961 he created the peace corp - which sent young volunteers to more
than 40 nations to give aid to poorer third world nations
1961 - Kennedy approved the CIA plan that called for the landing of 1500 Cuban
exiles on the Bay of Pigs in Cuba which was intended to create a general
uprising and overthrow Castro. it was a disaster. Kennedy refused to provide air
cover and those that landed in Cuba we either massacred of captured.
afterwards he apologized but didn’t back off from hist stance on Cuba
The Cuban Missile Crisis - arial photos showed that Soviets had started to
build a Missile base on Cuba. Kennedy responded by demanding that the
Missiles be removed and announced a “quarantine” of Cuba basically a
naval blockade. he also threatened that if the soviets didn’t remove their
missiles that the American’s would.
Kennedy played brinkmanship and Kruschev backed down promising to
remove the missiles from Cuba if the American’s promised no to invade
Cuba.
the crisis faded away with a relatively limited confrontation and after this crisis a
hotline was installed in Washington and Moscow and in the summer of 1963 the
limited test ban treaty was signed - it limited the use of undersea and
atmospheric testing of Nuclear weapons.
Kennedy was assassinated on Nov 22, 1963 by Lee Harvey Oswald.
His assassination came to represent youth and hope unfulfilled. Most
American’s watched the events that surrounded the assassination and
were shocked and paralyzed the nation.
Lyndon B Johnson - took over as president after Kennedy was assassinated and
was always seen as standing in the shadow of Kennedy
he was a very good politician that was able to convince his opponents to come
around to his view
Johnson had a very productive early administration. He started a war on
Poverty. he passed the greatest reform legislation of american History what
came to be know as the Great Society - he set up medicare as well as
medicaid. He expanded the welfare state of the New Deal . the economic
opportunity act spent nearly 3 billion creating jobs and helping the poorer
people in the US.
His administration was committed to community action programs - allowed
members of poorer communities to help plan the programs that they would
take part in. it was unsustainable in the long run.
Vietnam eventually came to overshadow Johnson’s policy as he was
forced to choose b/w gun’s and butter
Johnson felt that he couldn’t leave Vietnam or he would be blamed for losing it to
communism.
Student movement
1962 - Port Huron Manifesto - lead by the students for a democratic society.
this document offered a broad based critic of american society. the SDS
envisioned a non-violent youth movement to create a participatory
democracy. they believed that this would end militarism and racism and
materialism
the Berkeley Free Speech movement - students and prof’s argued that
there should be free speech on the campus. the arrests on the campus
spread the movement to other campuses around the nation
the SDS organized draft card burning, disrupted ROTC classes and encouraged
draft dodging.
nearly 1/2 million came to Central Park to protest the Vietnam war
1969 - the March against death was the culmination of the nation wide protests
and student movement
Anti-war movement
march 1965 university of Michigan had a “teach-in” which raised questions of
american involvement in Vietnam
by 66 there were large scale anti-war demonstrations across the nation
protestors argued that
americans were meddling in a Vietnamese civil war
the massive bombing were destroying an underdeveloped nation
war was being fought by the poor, and the under class
the war had too high of financial and moral costs
anger over the war drew many people in to the counter culture of the
Hippies and the Flower Children
they “dropped out” of society. the mantra of the movement was Turn on, tune in
and drop out
they changed the way people dress and the styles people war. they
experimented with sex and drugs and encouraged people to do their own thing
400,000 people came to the Woodstock music festival and called it the age of
Aquarius
inspired by the civil rights movement and the youth movements caused other
movements to rise up.
61 representatives of 90 tribes gathered to call for more rights for natives. more
militant natives called for Red Power and created AIM the american indian
movement. they established armed patrols
Gay Americans and Mexican Americans and seniors formed the Grey Panthers
also rose up during the time. although they failed they raised the cultural pride of
these groups.
the largest protest movement out of the 60s was Second Wave Feminism.
women started changing their views on what role women had in society.
a presidential report outlined that women had far less chance of promotion and
were payed less for the same work.
women in the civil rights movement were shocked to find that they were second
class people in the movement itself
the Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan - wrote about the suburban
domesticity as the Velvet ghetto she called for many women to find their
own identity not one created for them
NOW the national organization of women was formed in 66 to raise awareness
about women’s rights
by 1970 there had been radical changes - they could get their own library card
and credit card. they also began to agitate for equal pay for equal work
1973 Roe v. Wade - made it legal to get abortions in the first 3 months of
pregnancy - this was a major icon for second wave feminism.
Jan 31, 1968 - the Tet Offensive - the north Vietnamese army launched a
surprise offensive and it was covered by Walter Cronkite and people began
to think that the war was un-winnable even though it was a military victory
for the US.
in 1968 people began to think that the very fabric of American society was
coming apart.
in the wake of Tet Johnson’s approval rating dropped to 35% and b/c of
this Johnson announced that he would start a de-escalation in Vietnam and
more shockingly that we would not run for re-election
1968 was also a year of assassinations and they rocked the nation. on april
4 Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. On June 6 Robert F. Kennedy
was assassinated in California. He was running for the democratic
nomination for president and was surging in popularity. he was called the
last of the great believable' s
one comment from the time was “Every good man we get, they Kill” this
disillusionment turned people away from social reform to more self interest.
April at Columbia University in NYC a violent protest broke out and it was
the worst of all the protests across America. a group of protestors
occupied the administration buildings and kidnapped a dean. it was broken
up by police with a shocking amount of violence.
the democratic national convention in Chicago was the climax of the
violence of 1968. in August Hubert Humphrey was named the candidate but
there were massive protests outside. the mayor of Chicago ordered the
protests broken up with force and what American’s saw on the TV shocked
them.
people saw 1968 as the virtual death of ideals and lead to a shift to the right
on American Policies.
April 14, 2009
the beginning of the conservative ascendancy started in the 1964 election
when conservative Barry Goldwater lost to Lyndon Johnson. Goldwater wanted
the end to social security and was an ultra-conservative. he was too conservative
for the average American’s
in the election of 1968 there were three candidates
Hubert Humphery Dem. - associated with the disorder of 1968
Richard Nixon - promised to bring Law and order to the nations.
criticized the liberal supreme court for supporting criminals over law
abiding citizens. the first civil right of every american was the right to
freedom. He capitalized on discontent with the democrats and blamed them
for many of the problems America was facing.
George Wallace - Indep - he puts Nixon’s conservatism to shame he was so
conservative. he was the ex-governor of Alabama. his campaign drew on the
revulsion of student radicalism. he promised to keep peace on the streets even if
it took the army. Wallace got 14% of the pop vote.
Nixon won the pop vote by only .7% of the vote and dems still controlled
the congress. The people of America were pushing all political parties to
the right during this time.
Richard Nixon - navy vet, first elected to congress in 1946 and he worked for
HUAC he became a Senator in 1950 and was Eisenhower’s VP before he lost to
Kennedy. As president he monitored his behaviour to make sure it was politically
acceptability. he was suspicious and fearful throughout his terms in office.
he hated the eastern liberal establishment.
Environmental Protection Agency (1970) - set laws limiting pesticides and
protected endangered species and limited amount of pollution.
Affirmative Action - angered many conservatives. it was a race concuss hiring
program that was expanded under NIxon
Family Assistance Plan - a plan to overhaul the welfare system and proposed an
guaranteed salary level. it dies in the senate as liberals and conservatives
couldn’t agree. this saves Nixon’s conservatism
The silent Majority - those who lived in the suburbs and saw the gov as
wasteful and disliked those campaigning and reacting violently. Nixon said
they wanted stability at home.
Nixon took a tough stance on crime, drug use and radicalism. He despised
student protestors and used the full force of the government to limit their
ability to protests. he bent the laws to achieve his goals.
Kent State - april 30 1970 - Nixon announces the invasion of Cambodia.
Students at Kent State started a protests with a renewed hatred and on May
3 the National Guardsmen were ordered to the Kent State Campus. 3000
Guardsmen arrived in full battle gear and with armored vehicles. the next
day there was a peaceful protests. Campus police announced that the
protests was to be dispersed. the guardsmen advanced on the protestors
and fired on the group 4 students died and 11 were wounded
this was the worst outbreak of violence but it wasn’t the only outbreak. Protests
against Nixon, the war and violence came together and more than 400 colleges
shut down.
many American’s thought that students were getting what they deserved. many
blamed students for the social chaos in America. after Kent state and the ensuing
protests student, protests largely came to an end.
Nixon really wanted to be remembered as an international statesmen. He thought
of himself as an expert on Realpolitik.
Nixon sought to ease the superpower conflict and slow the arms race.
Nixon Doctrine - he redefined the US’s role in the 3rd world as a helpful
partner instead of an active defender. It reflected the war weariness of both
the nation and the army. the army reported as 100’s of cases of enlisted
men killing their own officers.
Vietnam and a Peace with honor - Nixon pursued three courses
Vietnamization - replacing American troops with south vietnamese troops.
Nixon with drew many many troops from the war
Kissinger was sent to secret negotiations for peace.
Increased bombing - it didn’t disrupt supply lines instead the ground war
spread to Cambodia and Laos which were also being bombed.
South Vietnam refused the secret agreements and so the Paris agreement of Jan
1970 ended only fighting b/w America and the North Vietnamese.
58,000 americans died and hundreds of thousands were injured. 15 billion had
been spent on the war and yet the US still lost Vietnam to Communism.
Nixon improved American relations with both China and the Soviet Union.
in 1969 a widening gulf b/w the PRC and the USSR allowed Nixon to play the
two nations off against each other.
June 1971 Kissinger secretly travelled to China to normalize relations with the
nation and a month later Nixon himself went to China. this visit signaled the end
of 20 years of open hostility
Nixon travelled to Moscow and signed the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty
(SALT 1). this moved both nations to what they hoped was a peaceful coexistence.
Nixon’s re-election in 1972 seemed certain. George McGoven (the dem)
candidate was unpopular at the time.
the Committee to Re-elect the President - willing to do anything and
everything to re-elect Nixon. they went so far as wire tapping the
Democratic headquarters.
when the wire-tappers were caught a white house coverup was started. the CIA
was ordered to halt the FBI investigation of the break ins.
Nixon won a massive victory but after the election questions about the
Watergate break in a Special congressional investigation was started to
investigate the president
Nixon’s VP was forced to resign over a separate incident and Nixon had to resign
on aug. 9 1974 to avoid impeachment.
Years of Malaise - Gerald Ford
people had lost faith in the idea of the presidency. the US was in a cycle of
humiliation and was buffeted by problems beyond their control.
This generation was called the me generation as they looked after themselves
first.
Stagflation - high unemployment with high inflation and little economic growth.
the Oil Crisis from Oct 1973 -May 1974 which caused an oil shortage and gas
crisis. the serious inflation problem was made worse by high oil prices and the
attempts to curb inflation resulted in a recession
Jimmy Carter - got rid of the trappings of the presidency and down played
the formality of the presidency.
he was unsuccessful as a president.
the Iran Hostage Crisis - a revolution in Iran overthrew the Shaw and the new
leader the Ayatollah Khomeini preached against the great satan.
in nov 1979 - 52 americans were taken hostage from the American Embassy in
Tehran.
the hostages remained captive for 444 days they were released on jan 20
1981 the day that Reagan took office.
Ronald Reagan - had been a movie actor before he became governor of
California in 1966. he was anti-communist. the back lash against social
disorder propelled Reagan into politics.
Reagan had a unique ability to speak to the people and he recognized the
importance of acting like a president and instilling hope and confidence in the
nation.
he promised the people of the US a new direction or as he put it “Morning in
America”
Reagan supported traditional values and embraced the ideology of the New
Right - a social conservatism. millions of americans called for the
restoration of traditional values and Reagan became their spokesperson.
Reaganomics - Reagan cut taxes by 25% in 3 years and he practiced
supply-side economics. by giving tax cuts and breaks to business and the
wealthy and this would then trickle down to the poor and lower
unemployment.
Reagan cut the school lunch programs, student loans, job training and transit
systems. this cut gov spending and reduced gov involvement in everyday life.
under Reagan debt increased from 834 billion to 2.3 trillion and interest on
the debt meant that 7% of the economy was used just to pay off the yield.
Reagan was re-elected in 1984 on his message of Hope.
fighting the evil empire - Reagan’s popularity is directly linked to his
involvement in international affairs. Reagan increased anti-soviet rhetoric
Reagan thought that the US had grown weak and he launched the largest
peacetime military buildup ever. the defense budget increased to 300 billion and
thousands of missiles were deployed in Western Europe.
The Strategic Defense Initiative - star wars - a space based missile
interception system that was hugely expensive and has been debated on
whether it would ever work.
Glasnost - Reagan argued that this was a result of his hard line in his first term.
Reagan met with Gorbachev from 85-88 and Reagan is credited with winning the
cold war.
the teflon president - in El Salvador the US supported a ruthless dictator to stamp
out communism. in Nicaragua Reagan accused the Sandinista were supporting
the communists so the CIA helped the Contras. when American’s found out
about this they were unhappy b/c they thought it would lead to another vietnam.
congress passed a law making it illegal to support the Contras but the aid still
flowed to the Contras secretly in the Iran Contra Affair.
Lt Col. Oliver North and the US gov sold arms to the radical Iran gov and then
the millions in profits had been funneled to the Contras
Reagan was absolved of the affair but was severally criticized, Oliver North was
convicted but the charges were later dropped on a technicality.
Reagan’s success lay in his ability to articulate the hopes and fears of a nation.
April 16, 2009
major themes in American History since the Civil War
involvement in International Affairs
consumerism
individualism - cowboys, frontiersman, hippies
liberalism v. conservatism
capitalism
religion
destiny and optimism
reformism and progress
violence
inequities
these are the main themes but there isn’t one central issue just as there isn’t only
one American viewpoint.
there are two essay questions a matching section and an identify and state the
importance of section.
the small essay question is worth 10% and the question is “Which president is
the most important in american history and why?” should only be one or two
paragraphs and fairly specific
-