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Colonial period to 1865 Study Guides

 

Quiz Study Guide: Enduring Vision, Chapter 7

Bill of Rights – The absence of a comprehensive bill of rights had led several delegates at Philadelphia to refuse to sign the Constitution and had been a major anti-federalist point of attack. In 1789 many citizens feared that federal courts would ride roughshod over local customs. In passing the Judiciary Act of 1789, Congress quieted popular apprehensions by establishing in each state a federal district court that operated according to local procedures. As the Constitution stipulated, the Supreme Court exercised final jurisdiction. Behind the movement for a bill of rights lay Americans’ long-standing fear that a strong central government would lead to tyranny. From the House of Representatives, James Madison played the leading role in drafting the ten amendments that became known as the bill of rights when ratified in December 1791.

 

First Amendment – The first amendment safeguarded the most fundamental freedoms of expression – religion, speech, press, and political activity.

Second Amendment – The second amendment ensured that each state could form its own militia. It sought to protect citizens from what Americans saw as the most sinister embodiment of tyranny: standing armies.

 

Fourth through Eighth Amendments – The fourth through eighth amendments limited the police powers of the states by guaranteeing fair treatment in legal and judicial proceedings.

Chisholm v. Georgia – In the case of Chisholm v. Georgia, (1793), the Supreme Court ruled that a nonresident could sue a state in federal court. In 1794 Congress decided that the Chisholm case had encroached too far on states’ authority and overturned the decision through a constitutional amendment.

Ratified in 1798, the eleventh amendment revised article III, section 2, so that private citizens could not undermine states’ financial autonomy by using federal courts to sue another state’s government in civil cases and claim money from that state’s treasury. By endorsing the eleventh amendment, Congress expressed its recognition that federal power could threaten vital local interest.

 

Alexander Hamilton – Washington’s reluctance to become involved with legislation enabled Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton to set domestic priorities. Hamilton’s financial policies had two goals: to strengthen the nation against foreign enemies and to Laissezn the threat of disunion. He focused on these policies because of the possibility of needing to finance a war (if we were thrust into one; Britain or Spain) and because he believed that Americans tended to think first of local loyalties and interest which could lead to the unions disintegration.

 

Report on the Public Credit – In January 1790 Congress received his (Alexander Hamilton) report on the public credit. It was listed $54 million in U.S. debt. Hamilton estimated that on top of the national de4bt, the states had debts of $25 million that the United States had promised to reimburse. Hamilton recommended that the federal government “fund” the national debt by raising $54 million in new securities. Hamilton exhorted the government to use the money earned by selling federal lands in the west to pay of the $12 million owed to Europeans, but suggested the remaining $42 million owed to Americans be made a permanent debt. If the government paid only the interest on its bonds, investors would hold them for long terms. A permanent debt, Hamilton believed, would tie the economic fortunes of the nation’s creditors to the government. Enactment of the Report on the Public Credit reversed the nation’s fiscal standing.

 

Bank of the United States – Now he (Alexander Hamilton) intended to direct that money (certificates) towards projects to diversify the national economy through a federally chartered bank. In his report on the National Bank in 1790 Hamilton proposed that the Bank of the United States raise $10 million through a public stock offering.

 

1794 Whiskey Rebellion – To augment national revenue, Hamilton had proposed an excise tax on domestically produced whiskey. He maintained that such a tax would not only distribute the expense of financing the national debt evenly but also improve the country’s morals by lowering liquor consumption. In a scene reminiscent of colonial protest against Britain, large-scale resistance erupted in July 1794. One hundred men attacked a U.S. marshal serving delinquent taxpayers with summonses to appear in court. Roving bands torched buildings, assaulted tax collectors, and raised a flag symbolizing and independent country that hey hoped to create from six western countries. The Whiskey Rebellion was a milestone in determining the limits of public opposition to federal policies. President Washington served notice that citizens could change the law only through constitutional procedures – by making their dissatisfaction known to their elected representatives and, if necessary, by electing new representatives.

 

Republican Party – A very different perspective on government and politics surfaced in urban areas and in the south, Republicanism. Republican ideology stressed the corruption inherent in a powerful government dominated by a few highly visible men.

Alien and Sedition Acts, 1798 – The Federalists insisted that the possibility of war with France demanded stringent legislation to protect national security. In 1798 the Federalists Congress passed four measures known collectively as the Alien and Sedition Acts. First, the Alien Enemies Act was designed to prevent wartime espionage or sabotage. Second, the Alien Friends Act authorized the President to expel foreign residents whose activities he considered dangerous. Third, the Naturalization Act increased the residency requirement for U.S. citizenship from five to fourteen years (the last five continuously in one state). Finally, the Sedition Act forbade an individual or group “to oppose any measure or measures of the United States.”

 

Market production – For centuries the family household had been the scene of virtually all economic production. After the American Revolution, this began to change in heavily settled regions of the Northeast. Enterprising merchants began catering to an emerging urban market. Merchants would supply materials to mother and daughters in farm households, returning in a few weeks to pay the women cash for their handiwork. This system was commonly used in the clothes and shoe industry.

 

Women and the Republic – Along with the growing importance of women’s economic roles, discussions of republicanism raised larger questions of women’s equality. Neither the Revolution nor republican state constitutions had substantially altered the legal position of white women. Throughout American life, social change and republican ideology combined to challenge traditional attitudes toward women’s rights. Women increasingly recognized the right of choosing her husband, had fewer children than their mothers and grandmothers, able to divorce, and educational opportunities. Women could indeed be virtuous wives and mothers, but the world outside their homes offered them few opportunities to apply their increasing rights.

 

Quiz Study Guide: Enduring Vision, Chapter 8

“Empire of liberty” – The President had long imagined that the inevitable expansion of a free and virtuous American people would create an “empire of liberity.” Marbury v. Madison – Marshall and the court ruled that Congress had exceeded its constitutional authority in writing the Judiciary Act of 1789. This decision was the first time that the court had overturned an act of Congress, an important step on the way to establishing the principle of judicial review.

 

Embargo Act of 1807 – By far the most controversial legislation of Jefferson’s presidency, the Embargo Act prohibited vessels from leaving American harbors for foreign ports. Jefferson defended the embargo as “peaceable coercion,” a way of forcing France and, especially, Britain to respect American neutrality.

 

Louisiana Purchase – Because Napoleon needed money for war he sold Louisiana to the U.S. for $15 million. This virtually doubled the area of the U.S. (size).

 

Lewis and Clark – Jefferson had planned an exploratory expedition and chose Lewis and Clark to head it. The purpose was to learn about Louisiana (our purchase) through the collection of scientific data. The expedition’s drawings of the geography of the region also led to more accurate maps and a heightened interest in the West.

 

Tecumseh – Believing that Indian lands were not the possession of individual tribes to negotiate away but collectively belonged to all the Indians, Tecumseh was a formidable opponent of white expansion.

 

War of 1812 - The war lasted for over two years, and while it ended much like it started; in stalemate; it was in fact a war that once and for all confirmed American Independence. The offensive actions of the United States failed in every attempt to capture Canada. On the other hand, the British army was successfully stopped when it attempted to capture Baltimore and New Orleans.

 

James Monroe – In the Presidential election of 1816, James Monroe, Madison’s hand picked successor and another Virginia republican, swept the nation over negligible Federalist opposition. Four years later he would receive every electoral vote but one. The Federalists were finished as a force in national politics.

 

“Era of Good Feelings” – As Republicans adopted positions they once had disdained, an “era of good feelings” dawned. Coined by a Boston newspaper editor, the term describes both of James Monroe’s presidential administrations. Compared to Jefferson and Madison, Monroe was neither brilliant, polished, nor wealthy, but he wanted to heal America’s political divisions, and he tried to avoid political controversies.

Treaty of Ghent – English and American commissioners met at Ghent, Belgium, in August 1814 to negotiate a peace. Although, neither Britain nor American had reached their primary goals this treaty brought an end to the war of 1812.

McCulloch v. Maryland – At issue was whether the state of Maryland had the power to tax a national corporation, specifically the Baltimore branch of the second Bank of the United States. Maryland’s attempt to tax the bank was deemed unconstitutional. In republican eyes, this decision stripped state governments of the power to impose will of their people on corporations and thus threatened liberty.

 

Missouri Compromise – Southerners charged that the north was conspiring to destroy the union and to end slavery and northerners accused southerners were conspiring to extend slavery. A series of Congressional agreements known as the Missouri Compromise resolved the crisis. To balance the number of slave states and free states, Congress in 1820 admitted Maine as a free state and Missouri as a slave state; to forestall a further crisis, it also prohibited slavery in the remainder of the Louisiana Purchase north of 36*30’, Missouri’s southern border.

 

Monroe Doctrine - The Monroe Doctrine, expressed in 1823, proclaimed the United States' opinion that European powers should no longer colonize the Americas or interfere with the affairs of sovereign nations located in the Americas, such as the United States of America, Mexico, and others. In return, the United States planned to stay neutral in wars between European powers and in wars between a European power and its colonies. However, if these latter type of wars were to occur in the Americas, the U.S. would view such action as hostile toward itself.

 

Quiz Study Guide Enduring Vision, Chapter 4

The Glorious Revolution – When William and Mary led a small army to England in November 1688, royal troops defected to them, and James II fled to France. This bloodless coup, the “Glorious Revolution,” created a “limited monarchy” as defined by England’s Bill of Rights of 1689. The monarchs promised to summon Parliament annually, to sign its bills, and to respect civil liberties. Neither the English nor Anglo-Americans would ever forget this vindication of limited representative government. The revolutionary events of 1688-1689 reestablished the colonies’ legislative government and ensured Protestant religious freedom. William and Mary allowed colonial elites to reassert local control and encouraged Americans to identify their interests with England, laying the foundation for an empire based on voluntary allegiance, not raw force.

 

Mercantilism – A set of political-economic assumptions known as mercantilism supplied the framework for the new imperial economies. The term refers to European policies that aimed at guaranteeing prosperity by making the European country (England, France, or Spain) as self-sufficient as possible – by eliminating its dependence on foreign suppliers, damaging its foreign competitors’ commerce, and increasing the national stock of gold and silver by selling more goods abroad than it bought.

 

The Navigation Acts – A series of Navigation Acts governing commerce between Britain and its colonies embodied mercantilism. In 1651 the English Parliament passed the first Navigation Act to exclude the Dutch from English trade. The Navigation Acts of 1660 and 1663 barred colonial merchants from exporting such commodities as sugar and tobacco to anywhere but England and from importing goods on non-English ships. Another major measure, the Molasses Act of 1733, sought to integrate Caribbean sugar growers into the imperial economy by slapping heavy import taxes on non-British imports. By 1750 a long series of Navigation Acts was affecting the colonial economy in four major ways. First, the laws limited imperial trade to British-owned ships whose crews were three-quarters British. This new shipping restriction helped Britain to become Europe’s foremost shipping nation. Second, the Navigation Acts barred the colonies’ export of “enumerated goods” unless they first passed through England or Scotland. Third, the navigation system encouraged economic diversification. Finally, the Navigation Acts made the colonies a protected market for low-priced consumer goods from Britain.

 

Environmental Change – Eighteenth-century settlers cleared forest land in order to plant crops in its fertile soil. Removal of trees (deforestation) deprived large forest creatures of their natural habitat. Deforestation removed protection from winds and sun, producing warmer summers and harsher winters. By hastening the runoff of spring waters, deforestation led to heavier flooding and, where water could not escape, to larger swamps. Volatile temperatures and water levels rapidly reduced the number of fish in colonial streams and lakes. Deforestation also dried and hardened the soil; colonial crops had even more drastic effects.

 

Slavery – Tensions erupted in 1739 when a slave uprising known as the Stono Rebellion jolted South Carolina. Stealing guns and ammunition from a store at the Stono River Bridge, one hundred slaves headed for Florida crying “Liberty!” Within a day mounted militiamen surrounded the runaways. Whites expressed their fears in a new slave code stipulating constant surveillance for slaves. The code threatened masters with fines for not disciplining slaves and required legislative approval for manumission (the freeing of individual slaves). The Stono Rebellion thus accelerated South Carolina’s emergence as a racist and fear ridden society. Up until the Stono Rebellion slaves had limited autonomy, skilled urban slaves hired themselves out and kept part of their wages, one-tenth of Savannah’s slaves were living in rented rooms away from their owners, and city life afforded them freedom of association. Despite personal freedoms, they remained slaves and did not have the opportunities of their owners.

 

Wealth – For white colonial Americans, wealth defined status. Once wealthy, a man was expected to be responsible, dignified, and generous and to act as a community leader – to act like a gentleman. His wife was expected to be a skillful household manager and a refined, yet deferential hostess – a lady. Before 1700 class structure in the colonies was relatively invisible; the rural elite spent its resources on land, servants, and slaves instead of conspicuous luxuries. After 1720, however, the display of wealth became more ostentatious. The greatest gentry (richest 2%) built splendid estate homes and the lesser gentry (second-wealthiest 2-10%) lived in more modest fieldstone or wood-frame houses. The gentry also exhibited their wealth after 1720 by imitating European “refinements.” They wore costly English fashions, drove carriages, and bought expensive china, books, and furniture. They pursued a gracious life by studying foreign languages, learning formal dances, and cultivating polite manners. Horse racing replaced cockfighting as a preferred spectator sport. A few young colonial males received English educations.

 

John Peter Zenger – In 1735 New York became the site of a celebrated trial. Newspaper printer John Peter Zenger was charged with seditiously libeling the colony’s governor. Zenger’s acquittal on the charge broadened political discussion and participation beyond a small circle of elites. It also established truth as a defense against the charge of libel, opening the way toward greater freedom of the press in the future.

 

The Enlightenment – Eighteenth-century Anglo-America was probably the world most literate society. Ninety percent of New England’s adult white males and forty percent of its women could write well enough to sign documents. Ordinary Americans’ only had access to few books (almanac, psalter, and the bible). They inhabited a world of oral culture (conversations, debates, and sermons). However, member of the gentry lived in a world of print culture. Though costly, books and writing paper opened eighteenth-century European civilization to men and women of these classes who could read. Great advances in natural science seemed to explain the laws of nature, human intelligence appeared poised to triumph over ignorance and prejudice, and life itself would surely become more pleasant. For those with time to read and think, an age of optimism and progress had dawned: the Enlightenment.

 

John Locke – Just as Newton inspired scientific bent of Enlightenment intellectuals, the English philosopher John Locke’s Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690) led many to embrace “reasonable” or “rational” religion. Locke contended that ideas are not inborn but are acquired by investigation of, and reflection on, experience. Enlightenment intellectuals believed that the study of the harmony and order of nature provided the best argument for God, a rational Creator. A handful insisted that where the Bible conflicted with reason, one should follow reason.

 

The Great Awakening – Rationalist viewed the world as orderly and predictable. Many Americans, however, had neither worldly goods nor orderly and predictable lives. A diphtheria epidemic in 1737-1738 that killed every tenth child under sixteen from New

Hampshire to Pennsylvania starkly reminded the colonist how fragile life was and turned their thoughts to religion. A quickening of religious fervor in scattered places in the 1730s became passionate revivalism throughout Anglo-America in 1739. This “Great

Awakening” cut across lines of class, status, and education. Above all, the Great Awakening represented an unleashing of anxiety and longing among ordinary people living in a world of oral culture – anxiety about sin, longing for salvation. And it was the spoken word that brought the answers that they craved. But for all – colonial elites comfortable in the print world and commoners accustomed to the oral world – religion was primarily a matter of emotional commitment.

 

George Whitefield – Pulling the diverse threads of revival together was the arrival in1739 of the charismatic English cleric George Whitefield. On a tour through the colonies Whitefield inspired thousands, mainly young adults, to seek salvation. Within four years of Whitefield’s arrival, 20 percent of Connecticut colonist under age forty-five had been “saved” after listening to Whitefield.

 

Quiz Study Guide: Enduring Vision, Chapter 5

King George’s War – The Anglo-Spanish War had merged with one in Europe, the War of Austrian Succession (1739-1748), known as King George’s War to the colonists. In this conflict, four thousand New Englanders besieged the French fortress at Louisbourg, at the mouth of the St. Lawrence, and captured it for seven intense weeks of fighting. But the war was inconclusive and in 1748 Britain returned Louisbourg to the French under terms of the peace treaty ending the conflict. King George’s War did nothing to avert a showdown between Britain and France. This war was about a fight for dominance in North America by either Britain or France.

 

Seven Years’ War – The conflict from the King George’s War resumed in 1756 and ended in 1763. Known as the Seven Years’ War, it was a major turning point in both American and European history. This war was about a fight for dominance in North America by either Britain or France.

 

1763 Treaty of Paris - In the Treaty of Paris of 1763 France ceded all its territories on the North American mainland. Several thousand French colonists, scattered from Quebec to Louisiana, became British or Spanish citizens. Under the Treaty of Paris, Britain received all of the French lands east of the Mississippi; Spain acquired the port of New Orleans and all French lands west of the Mississippi.

 

Writs of Assistance – To halt trade with the enemy in the French West Indies during the Seven Years’ War, Britain had cracked down on colonial smuggling. In 1760 the royal governor of Massachusetts authorized the use of the writ of assistance to seize illegally imported goods. A general search warrant, the writ permitted customs officials to enter any ship or building where smuggled goods might be hidden.

 

Sugar Act (1764) – In 1764 Parliament passed the Sugar Act to offset part of Britain’s North American military expenses. The Sugar Act amended the Molasses Act of 1733, which constituted a 6 pence per gallon tariff on French-produced molasses.

 

Stamp Act (1765) – Revenues raised by the Sugar Act did little to ease Britain’s financial crisis. In March 1765, to force colonists to pay their share of imperial expenses, Parliament passed the Stamp Act. The law obliged Americans to purchase and use specially marked or stamped paper for newspapers, customs documents, wills, contracts, and other public legal documents. To the colonists, the Stamp Act demonstrated both Parliaments’ indifference to their interest and the shallowness of virtual representation.

 

Declaratory Act – In March 1766 Parliament revoked the Stamp Act. Simultaneously, however, Parliament passed the Declaratory Act, affirming Parliamentary power to legislate for the colonies “in all cases whatsoever.” This was devised to literally mean that the colonist were not exempt from any parliamentary statute.

 

“social contract” – Locke argued that in a state of nature, people enjoyed the “natural rights” of life, liberty, and property. To form governments to protect these rights, people entered into a “social contract.” A government that encroached on natural rights broke its contract with the people. To many colonial leaders, Locke’s concept of natural rights justifies opposition to Parliament’s arbitrary legislation.

 

Quartering Act – The Quartering Act of 1765 ordered colonial legislatures to pay for certain goods used by British soldiers stationed within their borders. The law aroused resentment because it constituted an indirect tax. Although it did not empower royal officials to collect money directly from the colonists, it obligated assemblies to raise revenue by whatever means they considered appropriate.

 

Townsend Duties – Discontent seethed among the landed gentry (because taxes had not been lowered from war time levels), whose members took advantage of their domination of the House of Commons to slash their own taxes in 1767. This cost the government and prompted Townsend to propose laws that would tax imports entering America and increase colonial customs revenues.

 

Boston Massacre – British authorities responded to violence directed at customs commissioners by dispatching 4,000 British troops to Boston in 1768. Bostonians’ resentment of British authority boiled over. Tension erupted at a guard post protecting the customs office. When soldiers tried to disperse the mob they responded with a barrage of flying objects. A soldier was knocked down and opened fire. Five people were killed. Only two soldiers were found guilty, but received light punishment.

 

Tea Act – The tea act eliminated all import duties on tea entering England and thus lowered the selling price to customers. It also permitted the company to sell tea directly to consumers rather than through wholesalers. The Act alarmed many Americans, who recognized that the revenues raised by the law would place royal governors’ purses beyond the reach of colonial assemblies.

 

Coercive Acts (a.k.a. the Intolerable Acts) – Four acts that were used to corrode liberties in Boston because Britain was mad that the colonist realized that the Tea Act would have oppressed them.

 

Quiz Study Guide: Enduring Vision, Chapter 6

Loyalists – Opposed the revolution, but still opposed parliamentary taxation. Opposed the Rebellion for independence.

 

George Washington – He was chosen to lead the continental army because he had military experience.

 

Daniel Shays – Was evolutionary war officer.

 

Shays’s Rebellion – Led 2,000 angry men in an attempt to shutdown the courts and prevent foreclosure and tax auctions.

 

James Madison – Although one of the Philadelphia Convention’s youngest delegates, Madison of Virginia was among its most politically astute. He played a central role in the Constitution’s adoption.

 

Virginia Plan – Called for national government, not a confederation of states and proportional representation in a bicameral legislation.

 

New Jersey Plan – Called for a unicameral legislation where each state had one vote and defined congressional laws and treaties as the “supreme law of the land.”

 

Proportional representation – representation based on the states population. “three-fifths compromise” – Northern state thought it was political unfair to let southern states count slaves as people for the purposes of representation. They compromised and allowed threefifths of all slaves to be counted.

 

“Federalism” – People who believed a balance between state and national governments existed in the Constitution.

 

Anti-federalists - People who didn’t believe a balance between state and national governments existed in the Constitution.

 

The Federalist Papers – A series of papers providing a glimpse of the framers’ intentions in their designing of the Constitution.

 

Quiz Study Guide: Enduring Vision, Chapter 9

Jedediah Smith - At the age of 22, Jedediah Smith signed on with the expedition of General William Ashley to travel to the Upper Missouri and trap beaver. A year later, he led another of Ashley's groups deep into the central Rockies where he rediscovered the forgotten South Pass, the key to the settlement of Oregon and California.

Cherokee Nation v. Georgia – Justice Marshall recognized the Cherokees as a “domestic dependent nation” with a legitimate claim to their lands in Georgia.

 

Railroads – Railroads competed with canals and gradually overtook them. They were faster, cheaper to build, and able to reach more places, railroad enjoyed obvious advantages over canals.

 

Steamboats - Steamboats assumed a vital role along the Mississippi-Ohio river system. They were much faster than rafts.

 

Canals – Canals were used to connect river systems for the efficient transfer of goods.

 

Quiz Study Guide: Enduring Vision, Chapter 10

John Quincy Adams – Presidency riddled with controversy. Proposed federal support for internal improvements… Jeffersonians attacked as unconstitutional. Infuriated southerners by proposing to send American delegates to a conference of newly independent Latin nations which would have recognized Haiti (republic created by slave revolutionaries).

 

Andrew Jackson – As Adams’s popularity fell, Andrew Jackson’s rose. Was recognized as a national hero and southerners supported him as a slaveholder. Won the 1828 presidential election over Adams by a wide margin.

 

“Spoils system” – One of Jackson’s first Presidential moves was to institute a “rotation in office” – the removal of officeholders of the rival party. Jackson defended this move on the basis of democracy – everybody should have a chance to work in government.

 

“Nullification” – Calhoun assumed he was going to succeed Jackson in the Presidency (Jackson said he was only going to serve one term), but needed support in the south. To do this he opposed a tariff that southerners perceived as driving up the price of manufactured goods. He argued that not only was the 1828 tariff unconstitutional but that the states had the right to nullify that tariff within their borders. Citing Calhoun’s states’ right doctrine South Carolina nullified the tariff. Jackson despised nullification which created a rift between him and the vice president. Jackson offered a compromise that would lower the tariff, but allow him to collect tariffs with the use of arms if necessary.

 

Bank Veto – Jackson recognized the gap between the rich and poor. He believed the wealthy too often benefited by privileges granted by a corrupt legislature. He also distrusted banks – the Bank of the United States fell under Jackson’s hatred. He wanted to let the banks charter expire (had 20 years). Because of this the head of the bank petitioned congress seeking an early rechartering. Congress approved and Jackson vetoed the bill. This led to the dismantling of the Bank of the United States.

 

Second Great Awakening – A renewed interest in religion arose. Revivalists held camps that proclaimed the second coming of Jesus and that the time for repentance was now. This began the chastising of evil (fighting, drinking, etc.)

 

Charles Grandison Finney – Father of modern revivalism. He introduced novelties that increased interest in the revival of religion. Believed sin was a voluntary act. Finney’s ideas dominated evangelical Protestantism.

 

Temperance – The total abstinence of alcoholic beverages or the moderation of their use was supported by many because of the increased alcohol consumption during the nineteenth century. Many believed that this excessive alcohol consumption was responsible for crime and the neglect of families by men who spent money to buy alcohol.

 

Horace Mann – Reformers believed schools had to equip children for the emerging competitive and industrial society. Horace Mann became Massachusetts first secretary of the newly created Board of Education. He turned schools in to highly structured institutions to prepare children for industry.

 

American Colonization Society – This was the main anti-slavery organization of the early 1800s. It proposed gradual emancipation, compensation for slave owners when slaves became free, and the shipment to Africa of freed blacks. The growing cotton economy made this proposal impossible.

 

William Lloyd Garrison – A potent force in the anti-slavery movement. He launched a newspaper that spread a radical anti-slavery message. He demanded civil and legal equality for African-Americans.

 

Sarah and Angelina Grimke – The daughters of a South Carolina slaveholder that lectured on anti-slavery to both men and women at a time when it was thought to be indelicate for women to address male audiences. This practice was controversial.

 

Dorthea Dix – A Unitarian school teacher that advocated a better treatment of the insane. She encouraged legislatures to create separate insane asylums (they were held in prisons).

 

New Harmony – A mill owner built a community that improved workers’ living conditions and educational opportunities because he believed the problems were social not political. These communities were meant to create an alternative to competitive economy hoping that their success would inspire others.

 

Quiz Study Guide: Enduring Vision, Chapter 11

Cyrus McCormick – He developed the mechanical reaper. This reaper harvested grain seven times faster than traditional methods with half the labor force.

 

Samuel F.B. Morse – Morse transmitted the first telegraph message. The telegraph eliminated the constraints of time and place. Telegraph companies were formed and lines were strung with lightening speed.

 

Technology and prices – Technology improved life by lowering prices. However, laborers saw little increase in their wages.

 

Phrenology – Rested on the idea that the mind comprised of 37 organs that were localized in different parts of the brain. Phrenologists thought that the degree of each organ’s development determined skull shape, so that they could accurately analyze an individual’s character by examining the bumps and depressions of the skull.

 

P.T. Barnum – One of the founders of the penny press. Encouraged democratic entertainment – sold cheaply to anyone. Barnum helped to breakdown barriers between pastimes of husband and wife. “the American Renaissance” – The transportation revolution created a market for books – especially fiction which created economic movement. In response a philosophical movement – romanticism – evolved. Romantics emphasized emotion and inner feelings.

 

Transcendentalism - 19th-century movement of writers and philosophers in New England who were loosely bound together by adherence to an idealistic system of thought based on a belief in the essential unity of all creation, the innate goodness of man, and the supremacy of insight over logic and experience for the revelation of the deepest truths.

 

James Fenimore Cooper – trailblazer in the development of a national literature with distinctively American themes.

 

Ralph Waldo Emerson – Emerged as the most influential spokesman for those who sought a national literature and art. Called on American writers to break free of European standards.

 

Henry David Thoreau – Advocated Emerson’s beliefs, but didn’t just lecture on those beliefs… he did something about it – even if it meant going to jail.

 

Walt Whitman – Shattered existing poetic conventions with his work Leaves of Grass. Whitman composed in free verse, and his blunt, often lusty words assailed “delicacy.”

 

Quiz Study Guide: Enduring Vision, Chapter 12

“Yeoman” – Non-slave owning family farmers composed the largest single group of southern whites. Their goal was self-sufficiency with a modest profit.

 

The Pine Barrens – Independent whites “pine barrens” that squatted on land and put up crude cabins; cleared land and planted corn between tree stumps. Neither victimized or oppressed they chose to live in the Pine Barrens, but abolitionists used them as proof that slavery degraded whites.

 

Southern Industry – Slavery posed a major obstacle to southern industrialization. Slaveholders worried of excessive freedom in an industrial environment. But the chief brake was money not labor. To raise capital to build factories plantation owners would have to sell their slaves which they seldom did. Cash crops were proven, but the benefits of industrialization were doubtful.

 

Southern public education – Education lagged behind the north due to their agricultural nature (rather than manufacturing). For most whites, the only available schools were private. Agriculture was the main difference in not creating public schools.

 

Characteristics of slaves in 1700 – Typical slave was a man in his twenties, recently arrived from Africa or the Caribbean, who worked on an isolated small farm. Different slaves spoke different languages.

 

Characteristics of slaves in 1830 – Likely to be male or female, had been born in America, spoke English, and worked beside numerous other slaves on a plantation.

 

Slave families – Plantation owners encouraged slaves to marry. This was to discourage slaves from running away.

 

Free blacks – They likely lived in cities. Specialization allowed them to work. They formed their own fraternal orders and churches. Despite such successes, free blacks were still vulnerable in southern society.

 

Quiz Study Guide Enduring Vision, Chapter 2

Topics:

European motivations in Africa – They wanted gold from Africa because most European nations adopted god as the standard for their currencies.

Changes in European society between 1500 and 1700 – Economic enterprise and social change. Practices of charging interest on barrowed money and increasing prices in response to demand (capitalism – market economy). This was a change because traditionally reciprocity demanded sellers to charge a “just” price (that covered cost and allowed a profit), but barred him from taking advantage of buyers’ and barrowers’ misfortunes, or of shortages, to make “excessive” profits. Due to massive population growth there was more people competing for fewer jobs which threatened law and order. There was also change due to the rising importance of the nuclear family. The father, mother and children had specific roles. The father exercised supreme authority; the wife boar and reared children and assisted her husband in the unending labor of providing for the family’s subsistence. Children were laborers from a very young age. The family was the principal economic unit in European society, and the household the primary social organization. Those who lived outside a household were viewed with extreme suspicion and became easy targets for accusations of theft or even witchcraft.

 

Martin Luther – Martin Luther, a German friar, attacked the practice of indulgences. Fifteenth and sixteenth- century popes claimed the authority to dispense extra blessings, or “indulgences,” to repent sinners in return for “good works,” such as donating money to the church. Indulgences also promised time off from future punishment in purgatory. Given people’s anxieties over sin, indulgences were enormously popular. When the papacy tried to silence him, Luther broadened his criticism to include Mass, priest, and the pope. His revolt sparked Protest Reformation, which changed Christianity forever. Luther believed selling indulgences was evil, not only because it bilked people out of money but also because the church falsely assured people that they could earn salvation by doing good works. Luther believed that God alone chose whom to save and believers should trust God’s love, not priest and popes. This happened in 1517 and was known as the 95 Theses which attacked the venality of Rome. This made the individual the subject of God’s plan.

Atlantic world versus Mediterranean centered world – Merchants realized they could increase their profits by trading directly with Asia and Africa. Leading the shift to an Atlantic world was Portugal. Improved maritime technology (Arab sail = highly maneuverable ships, compass & astrolabe = calculate bearings at sea) permitted this European expansion. Emergence of both the trans-Atlantic slave trade and the colonization of new lands; these in turn would lead to a new Atlantic world.

 

Slavery – Slavery was established in the fifteenth century, as elsewhere. African grassland emperors and individual families depended on slave labor. However, first Arabs, and then Europeans turned African slavery into an international business. Europeans had used slaves since ancient Greece and Rome, but ominous changes to place in European slavery once the Portuguese began making voyages to Africa. Slavery became a high-volume business, slaves received exceptionally harsh treatment, and race became the explicit basis. Africans’ blackness and alien religion dehumanized them in European eyes.

 

Henry VIII – Henry VIII wanted a male heir for the throne. He petitioned the pope for a divorce because his wife, the queen (Catherine of Argon), was not producing male children. The pope denied the request. So, in 1533, he annulled his own marriage. Then in 1534 he proclaims the Church of England, makes himself the head of the church, and seizes vast tracts of the Catholic churches land. He basically said “screw you” to the church which was unheard of in those days (the church was the most powerful). This act leads to the reformation.

 

Reformation – The acts of disregard for the church by Henry VIII discredited the Catholic Church. This led to Protestantism becoming popular religion.

Exchanges between New World and Old World – Europeans brought disease to the New World, especially smallpox, which the Indians didn’t have resistance to these infections. Many Indians died in a short time frame. Europe and the Americas exchanged many goods from animals to crops native to their homeland. There was a great “racial mixing” in the Americas. Male Spaniards who immigrated to the New World fathered numerous children with African and Indian mothers.

 

Quiz Study Guide Enduring Vision, Chapter 3

encomienda system – On Hispaniola Native people were enslaved and created encomiendas, grants for both land and the labor of the Indians who lived on it.

 

John Winthrop – Wanted to build a “city upon a hill.” A godly community that would shame England into reforming the church.

 

Puritanism – Theological differences undermined Winthrops vision. Some Puritan ministers struggled to define orthodox practices – the “New England Way” – while others objected.

 

Massachusetts Bay - Every town of 50 or more households was to appoint one teacher from whom all children would receive instruction, and every town with 100 or more households was to maintain a grammar school capable of preparing students for university-level learning. This was New England first step towards public education.

 

Anne Hutchinson – Her ideas were the second threat to “the New England Way.” Her Ideas directly attacked the clergy’s authority to interpret and teach scripture.

 

House of Burgesses – (1619) The Virginia Company authorized the election of representatives/assembly called the House of Burgesses. This followed a long held English custom of representation. When Virginia reverted to a royal colony, James I abolished the assembly. Vigorous protest brought the assembly back in 1629. Colonist insisted on local self-government. The political structure of England’s colonies differed from all the other countries.

 

Lord Baltimore – Received a grant from the crown to colonize. He colonized Maryland. He wanted to make Maryland a refuge for England’s Catholics, who could neither worship in public nor hold political office and who had to pay tithes to the Anglican church.

 

the “manor” system – To make Maryland a haven Baltimore tried to install the old English manor system. In theory, a manor lord would employ a Catholic priest as chaplain and allow others to hear mass and to receive the sacraments on the manor. In practice, this arrangement never worked, for relatively few Catholics settled in Maryland, which was overwhelmingly Protestant from the beginning.

 

Indentured servitude – People who owed service to another person who paid their passage to the New World. These servants usually had contracts to serve from 5 to 7 years.

 

Carribean slavery – English started to raise sugarcane. This crop requires three times more workers than tobacco. This increased demand for slaves (African – black) because they could be worked harder and maintained cheaply.

 

rice – The Carolina’s cash crop.

 

1865 to Present Study Guides

Essays

1. How did work change in America during the Gilded Age? How did workers respond to these changes? Construct a scenario with specific examples (people, places, organizations, politics, etc…).

Work in the Gilded Age transitioned from individual production to specialized white collar jobs and “deskilled” blue collar jobs. Prior to the Gilded Age people were often selfemployed and were involved with their products from start to finish. For example, a shoemaker would do everything including attaining leather from the cow, cutting the pattern for the shoe, sewing the shoe together, and selling the shoe to the customer as well as all of the steps in between. This skilled shoe maker would also often take on apprentices which would learn the trade completely with the hope of one day going into business on his own. During the Gilded Age white collar jobs became more specialized which required higher education and “deskilled” blue collar jobs which were impersonal. Due to mechanization in the factory system workers usually only learned one part of the production process. This was also usually a monotonous task due to the use of scientific management for the purpose of increased efficiency. Workers became easily replaceable. During this time period workers increasingly lost control over their working environment, lost much of their sense of independence, and endured a growing gap between labor and management. All of these factors contributed to the changing perception of labor’s meaning and value. The biggest response the worker had to these changes was through the forming of unions. They felt meaningless and taken advantage of by their employer. Through the union organization the workers fought for many workplace reforms. While some labor unions advocated for different reforms than others some common reforms included an 8-hour work day and abolition of child labor. <Construct a scenario…>

 

Identification

• 13th – What? Declared that neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except for punishment of a crime, shall exist in the United States. Why? This was the first time for blacks to have some freedom even though racial inequality still was present.
• 14th – What? This was the first national effort to define citizenship. All persons born or naturalized were citizens of the U.S. and their state and were guaranteed equal protection and due process under the law. Why? This legislation was necessary to force the south to deal fairly with blacks.
• 15th – What? This amendment extended the vote to blacks. Why? Republicans believed that black male votes were the key to gaining control of the southern states.
• Black Codes – What? A series of stringent laws designed to restrict the economic opportunities of freedmen and to prevent former slaves from leaving plantations. Why? This kept blacks as close to the condition of slavery as possible.
• KKK – What? A secret society of white people designed to terrorize blacks and Republicans. Why? This was an attempt to frighten blacks and Republicans into not voting.
• Hayes/Tilden – What? Hayes was the Republican candidate and Tilden was the Democrat candidate in the election of 1876. Why? Both parties claimed victory in three southern states charging the other with fraud. This required a congressional committee to resolve which in the end consisted of a Republican majority. The Democrats threatened to filibuster after the decision went to the Republicans. This brought about the Compromise of 1877 which was where Republicans agreed to some Democrat conditions and the Democrats agreed to support Hayes as the victor.
• Transcontinental Railroad – What? A railroad system that linked the east and the west. Why? This allowed increased mobility for passengers and freight.
• Jay Gould – What? Jay Gould was one of the nation’s first big businessmen. He was a “robber baron” known for his cutthroat business dealings. Why? Gould and his partners monopolized much of the nations’ central and western railway lines. He used is monopoly to charge high prices.
• Thomas Edison – What? Thomas Edison was an independent inventor. Why? A host of new industries grew from his innovations.
• Alexander G. Bell – What? Bell patented the telephone and transmitted the first words over the wire in 1876. Why? This enabled transatlantic communication within hours rather than days.
• John D. Rockefeller – What? He controlled Standard Oil Company. Why? Developed the concept of the trusts and holding companies which allowed him to do business out-ofstate and exert greater control over his business.
• Andrew Carnegie – What? Carnegie was an owner of a steel business. Why? He used the concept of vertical integration to grow his business. He wrote the book “the Gospel of Wealth” which argued that concentration of wealth in the hands of a few would bring order and efficiency which would benefit everyone.
• Vertical Integration – What? Vertical integration is a business practice where you control all aspects of the industry from the production of raw materials to the sale to the customer. Why? This created industry reliance on a company. A company involved in vertical integration could manipulate price and supply.
• Horizontal Integration – What? Horizontal integration is when a company owns a controlling majority of one aspect of an industry (ex. Processing). Why? This also creates industry reliance on a company. A company could manipulate the supply of an industry because of their stranglehold over a crucial aspect of the industry.
• Trusts – What? A trust is an entity which allows trustees to hold, control, and manage businesses assets. Why? This allows the owner of the business to gain greater control. It centralizes the management and decision-making process which leads to greater flexibility.
• Frederick W. Taylor – What? An engineer that pioneered the concept of scientific management. Why? This resulted in the standardization of work practices. A worker would do one monotonous task rather than have an understanding of the complete process as he would have in the past.
• Scientific Management – What? A system that subdivides manufacturing into small task. Why? This allowed businesses to lower cost and increase profits.
• National Labor Union – What? An organization for the purpose of benefiting laborers. Why? The NLU supported many causes which were aimed at reforming the work environment. Their biggest demand was the fight for an eight-hour work day.
• Knights of Labor – What? This was a trade union that capitalized on the downfall of the national unions. Why? They admitted blacks and women into their organization. They demanded many labor reforms and emphasized cooperation between labor and management.
• Haymarket – What? Haymarket Square was a plaza near downtown Chicago. Why? The laborers met here to protest which ended in violence. A bomb was detonated and eight men were unjustly accused due to the outcry against anarchy. This incident broke the momentum for direct labor resistance for many years.
• Terence Powderly – What? He was the leader of the Knights of Labor. Why? He allowed blacks, immigrants, and women into his organization and demanded many work reforms while opposing strikes and encouraging labor and management agreements.
• Samuel Gompers – What? He was the founder of the American Federation of Labor. Why? Concentrated on winning concrete benefits for workers with the clear philosophy of gaining “more” for workers.
• AFL – What? A more conservative trade union focusing on tangible benefits rather than social agendas. Why? The AFL had some success, but workers were mainly concerned with getting and keeping jobs. Big business would use this fact to test the resolve of unions like the AFL.
• Homestead – What? This was a labor dispute a one of Carnegie’s steel plants. Why? This strike ended effective organizing in the steel industry for a half-century.
• Pullman – What? A strike in the result of the company reducing wages without reducing rent in the town where most of the workers lived. Why? The American Railway Union (ARU) assisted the Pullman workers creating a unified coalition.
• Eugene Debs – What? He was the leader of the locomotive firemen’s union. Why? He played a large role in the alliance between railway workers and the ARU making it the largest single union in the nation.
• Grange – What? A social group for farmers. Why? Amassed a huge membership and became a powerful activist force with there main fight over railroad transport fees.
• Greenbacks – What? Paper currency that is not backed by gold or silver. Why? The inflation of the money supply led to a steep increase in prices and reduced the public’s faith in government.
• Free Silver – What? An inflationary policy that would allow the use of silver for money. Why? Farmers wanted free silver to help with there economic desperation while businessmen wanted to maintain the gold standard.
• Mary Lease – What? One of the first female lawyers in Kansas. Why? An advocate for the farmers’ alliance wishing to expand the effort to include women, working people, and African-Americans. This movement expanded the opportunities available to women.
• William Jennings Bryan – What? A politician known for his powerful speaking ability and emphasis on morality. Why? He advocated free silver to help the oppressed people which led him to a presidential nomination. The election between Bryan and Cleveland was the first important election based on important issues since the Civil War.
• Social Darwinism – What? The concept that natural laws determine man’s social and economic behavior. Why? The argued that everyone had equal chance for survival and riches, but nature would determine who succeeds.
• Expansionism – What? The pursuit of economic expansion. Why? This increased interest in foreign policy and the search for new markets abroad.
• Meat Inspection Act (1906) – What? Legislation regulating the meat packing industry. Why? This led to more effective supervision of meat processing. Gave support to the expanded power of the federal government.
• Pure Food and Drug Act (1906) – What? Legislation focusing on the prohibition of selling adulterated food and medicines. Why? Provided a correct and complete list of ingredients. Gave support to the expanded power of the federal government.
• Lincoln Steffens – What? He was a muckraker journalist. Why? He described municipal corruption in several large eastern and Midwestern cities.
• Ida Tarbell – What? She was a muckraker journalist. Why? She described the unfair business practices of John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Trust.
• John Dewey – What? He was an educator and philosopher. Why? He advocated scientific reasoning to be applied to education. Denounced education through memorization and wished for education to give students practical knowledge that reflects life in society.
• Ballinger – What? He was a conversationalist and Secretary of Interior. Why? He advocated the careful use of natural resources. Was accused by Pinchot (a Preservationist) of depleting resources to wealthy businessmen.
• Pinchot – What? He was a preservationist and chief of the U.S. Forrest Service. Why? He was fired by Taft for insubordination after accusing Ballinger of depleting natural resources.
• New Nationalism – What? This was the political philosophy of TR during the campaign of 1912. Why? Argued that only a strong federal government could protect the public’s interest.
• New Freedom – What? This was the political philosophy of Wilson during the election of 1912. Why? Advocated against large concentrations of economic power. Wanted to emancipate the American economy from the power of the trusts.
• Federal Reserve Act (1913) – What? Created the nation’s first centralized banking system since the Second Bank of the United States. Why? Made it easier to increase or decrease the amount of money in circulation.
• Clayton Anti-trust Act (1914) – What? Legislation that amended the Sherman Antitrust Act. Why? It outlawed monopolistic practices by businesses. The only exemptions were for trade unions and agricultural organizations.
• W.E.B. Dubois – What? He was an African-American activist. Why? He believed that blacks should not wait until the whites came to their rescue. He based his hopes on the “talented tenth” of black leaders who would lead the struggle for civil rights.
• NAACP – What? An organization committed to ending racial segregation, guaranteeing equal education, and extending the franchise to all African-Americans. Why? Participated in many actions to advance the position of African-American people.

 

Multiple Choice

- Reconstruction

Key Idea: Understanding reconstruction is CRUCIAL to understand RACE RELATIONS, POLITICS, and SOCIAL TRENDS of the 20th century. Reconstruction was supposed to resolve the Civil War and the debate over the rights of the former slaves – what it really did was postpone the problem for another generation. The failure of reconstruction had a profound impact on the history of modern America.

 

Aftermath:

The Civil War cost millions of lives and billions of dollars. The South’s economy was ruined – along with untold billons in personal property loss. The South after the Civil War was a desolate place – thowns had been gutted, plantations burned, fields neglected, bridges and railroads destroyed.

 

Sharecropping gave African Americans more control over their labor than did labor contracts. Sharecropping also contributed to the South’s dependence on one-crop agriculture and helped to perpetuate widespread rural poverty.

 

Wade-Davis Bill – Require 50 percent of white male citizens to declare their allegiance before a state could be readmitted to the Union. Only southerners who pledged that they had never voluntarily borne arms against the Union could vote or serve in the state constitutional conventions. The bill also required the state conventions to abolish slavery. “Rich man’s war, but a poor man’s fight” _ punish the rich (anyone with taxable assets over $20,000)

 

13th Amendment: The ratification of the Emancipation Proclamation. No slavery… PERIOD!

 

American government was divided over reconstruction, Congress hated Johnson … disarray lingered over years – south took advantage and former Confederates started to regain power… even attempts to reconstruct a system of slavery, but not use the word slavery (ex. Sharecropping).

 

During reconstruction, the freed people gave a high priority to the establishment of schools, often with the assistance of the Freedmen’s Bureau and northern missionary societies.

 

The south was in chaos while the north argued how to handle reconstruction.

 

Enact 14th and 15th amendments. 14th: no former confederates could rule, proportional representation, born or naturalized in the U.S., not pay the south’s war debt. 15th: voting rights.

 

African Americans of all ages eagerly pursued the opportunity freedom provided to gain an education.

 

Carpetbaggers – Northerners going to south to take advantage of economic hardship… open and take over business (southerners hated them).

 

Scalawags – Southerners who sympathized and/or supported the carpetbaggers.

 

KKK: A terrorist organization… another example of the south attempting to regain the “old system” during reconstruction. Members of the Ku Klux Klan devised ghoulish costumes to heighten the terror inspired by their acts.

 

System being reorganized to be stacked against freed slaves.

 

Freed slaves – mass migration to the west.

 

1876 Hays/Tildon presidential election: Hays (Moderate Republican) and Tildon (Moderate Democrat) close election (only 300,000 votes), win by electoral not popular, Republican and Democrats made a deal… Hays wins, but military reconstruction will be ended; deal was made because both claimed victory.

 

- The New West

The west is more than a region; it is an idea and the stage for the American origin myth.

 

Key Idea: West as a region with history vs. west as an idea and myth.

 

Frederick Jackson Turner – (Historian) Believed the west was a process… the west was the edge of civilization… as we moved further across the country – that became the new west.

 

Aridity – less than 7in. of rain a year… defining historical factor in the west – problem with farming, raising animals, etc. – settling in the west was very difficult.

 

Cowboy era – short (less than 20 years).

 

Pony Express – less than 2 years.

 

Kansas Emigrants:

The railroads provided would-be “sodbusters” with transportation to get to the land that was being opened for settlement.

The west we recognize is a 20th century myth by the federal government and those who lived there.

 

West – open virgin land up for grabs or ought to be. Urban region; the densest populated region. Never a blank slate as was depicted. The west was a conquest. Big business men ruled it was a place of industry, not cowboys.

 

People who come to the west – sodbusters, exodusters (African American), 60% of cowboys were African American.

 

Homestead Act of 1862 – Opened the west for private development. Get 160 acres of land if you farm it for five years, or you could buy it for $1.25 an acre.

 

Railroad Act of 1862 – Most impact on west for transportation. Allowed building of the transcontinental railroad. Linked the west to the east – politically, socially, economically, etc.

 

Transcontinental railroad – Union Pacific (West to East) General Pacific Express (East to West) – These were huge companies… also got land and money subsides. Made it possible to move without ever seeing your family again. The railroad built an industrial economy (steel, etc.). Chinese built (Chinese were willing to come because of push & pull factors; push – ex. Famine, pull – ex. Free land). 100,000’s of workers died on the job each year (experiment; never done before; extremely hard and dangerous work).

 

Gold rush – Entrapanuers were the one’s who really cashed in… they sold good to the gold searchers. Attempting to find gold was unlikely… needed to do it on a big scale with expensive machines to really make money.

 

1860-1900 Immigration (Guilded Age) – Mark Twain; “golden on the outside, but rotten on the inside.” Immigration, urbanization, and industrialization is why we are today. Immigration is the most misunderstood. Regions (west) were built by immigrants.

 

Why did the Chinese come to build the railroad? It offered them opportunity they could not find elsewhere.

 

We are dependant on immigrant labor.

 

After industrialization a new power structure emerged… the corporation. If corporations paid a livable wage, we wouldn’t need immigrant labor. –very common debate, even today-

 

Sand Creek Massacre (1864) – Government moved Native Americans according to their needs. Soldiers attacked Indian encampment – cut off hands of children, etc. – brought back limbs of victims to impress. Just for the purpose of extermination.

 

- Railroads Manufacturing

Key Idea: The industrial revolution changed virtually every aspect of American life and raised important questions.

 

Carnegie’s Gospel of Wealth - The Gospel of Wealth (1889), based on social Darwinism popularized by English writer Herbert Spenser who coined the phrase “survival of the fittest.”

 

Key argument: Human society part of a chain of evolution determined by nature and God, concentration of wealth is okay as long as wealthy practice philanthropy, federal government and larger society should not plan an active role in mitigating problems of industrial capitalism, Laissez fair and social Darwinism guide 25 years of federal administrations during critical period of change.

 

Laissez fair – “leave it alone”

 

Pre-industrial labor – workers move from producers to employees; white collar jobs become more specialized and require higher levels of education; blue collar jobs are increasingly impersonal and “deskilled”; workers increasingly lose control over their working environment; growing gap between labor and management; changing perceptions of labor’s meaning and value; workers lose much of their sense of independence.

 

Distribution of wealth – Late 1800s; richest 2% of Americans controlled more than 35% of the wealth (land, cash, industries, etc.); top 10% owned c.80% of the wealth; in other words, 90% of the people only controlled 15% of the wealth; what about the American dream?

 

Mechanization – Factory system and advent of interchangeable parts means that workers usually only learn one part of the process; deskilling and massive increase in immigration creates huge pool of labor; workers are easily replaceable; work environments during early industrialization are VERY dangerous.

 

Industrial work – Time clock world; Frederick Winslow Taylor; scientific management (Taylorism).

 

Organized labor – Great Railroad Strike of 1877; 1850s trade unions formed; 1866 National Labor Union formed – 8 hour day, Knights of Labor take over the NLU, 1870 Knights have 700,000+ members, open to all trades, anti-strike, abolish child labor, public ownership of utilities, cooperatively owned industries. 1886 after successful fight against railroads baron Jay Gould, Knights suffer setback. May 1886

 

Haymarket Square, Chicago – bomb kills police officer and police fire on crowd – generates fear of labor revolution that taints labor movement.

 

American Federation of Labor (AFL) founded in 1886 after Knights collapse. Unlike Knights AFL very restrictive trade union.

 

Homestead & Pullman strike – AFL pro-strike; Carnegie Homestead Steel Mill site of major strike July 1892; More important – Pullman strike of 1893; most notable strike in U.S. history, paralyzed the economies of 27 states, American railroads union founded by Eugene V. Debbs, supreme court case In re debs (1895), unions almost stamped out until 1930s – but not before rising awareness of the depth of class issues (Labor Day) and setting the stage for a very serious reconsideration of the role of the federal government as mediator between labor and capital.

 

Immigration – Urbanization/Progressivism

For its first 300 years, America was a country of farms and small urban areas. Between 1860- 1920, urban areas exploded in size and by the end of this period 90% of Americans lived in cities. How did this happen? What were the implications?

 

Immigration – America is a nation of immigrants; immigration was brisk throughout the 1800s – with a break during the Civil War; after the Civil War immigration picks up and then takes off at an unprecedented rate; immigrants start coming to America in large numbers from new regions of the world; the trend is so different that immigrants who came during the 1870-1920 period are known as “New Immigrants.”

 

Old Immigrants – Prior to the Civil War majority of immigrants came from Northern Europe, many were skilled, most were white/Protestants.; many had financial resources; exceptions were Irish & Chinese; Bottom line: It was assumed that they would assimilate quickly and easily into the American melting pot.

 

New Immigrants – Drawn to U.S. for the following; promise of limitless jobs and free land in the west; what made them new and different? – from eastern and southern Europe, Asia, all over; Catholics, Jews, Orthodox regions – very different; different languages and cultural traditions; often had very little or no financial resources – very poor; bottom line: fear that these folks could never assimilate – a “mongrelization” of America; creation of a permanent underclass of inferior workers who would drag the country down or spawn revolution.

 

Cities grow with immigration – New York, Boston, Chicago become havens for new immigrants.

 

Enclaves and politics – 1890 4 out of 5 New Yorkers were foreign born; New York had: twice as many Irish as Dublin, as many Germans as Hamburg, as many Italians as Naples.

 

Implications of immigration – Rise of industrial capitalism meant that there were plenty of jobs for all, usually, but good jobs?; what did it take to be a legal immigrant during this time?; Most entered through Ellis Island New York passing by the Statue of Liberty where if they stopped they would read Emma Lazarus’ poem to them; 40% of all Americans have a relative who passed through Ellis Island – 12 million through there alone; San Francisco main port of entry on the west coast

 

Do we want Immigrants? Why/Why not?

Nativism – Americans who saw new wave of immigrants as a threat to American way of life.

 

Can they be assimilated? Would they spawn a socialist revolution, etc?

The Age of Cities – Growth; Technology; Walking city – 30 minute zone, proximity; Modern city – crowding, class separation, suburbs.

Many city dwellers, especially immigrants, typically lived in tenements that were crowded and unsanitary.

 

Life in the new city – unbelievable density; Manhattan over 1.6 million people; lower east side 700,000 per square mile; tenements, crime, poverty, child labor, filth, fire, sewage, disease, pigs, heat, cold.

 

Politics – city governments became big and powerful; political boss/machine system rises to meet needs of city poor and skim huge profits; political machines became very powerful, in NYC, Boss Tweed is like a king awarding favors and dispensing street justice while reaping riches from city projects. How does this system work? – machine has hundreds of ward bosses responsible for little zones and ethnic groups; provide jobs, resolve local issues, garbage, fire in trade for votes (patronage); who benefits? – new immigrants, poor, labor; who doesn’t? – middle class, wealthy; Response – suburbanization, political reform.

 

Cities and Progressivism – Boss politics spawns a very significant response from middle class known as Progressivism; if “Gospel of Wealth” and philanthropy are the upper class response to industrial revolution; labor unions are the working response; Progressivism is the middle class response.

 

Key Idea: Rejection of Social Darwinism mandatory, laissez-faire not possible post-industrial revolution.

 

Federal government must become mediator between capital and labor, citizens and corporations.

 

But how and to what degree?

Farmers don’t ever get respect – farming key element of American dream – basis for Jeffersonian democracy; like workers, farmers saw their lives and their economy change dramatically during the industrial revolution; what happen when railroads open vast areas to agricultural production?; what happen when local economics become national then international?; farmers never seem to benefit from industrial economic cycles no matter how hard they worked – for farmers the irony was: harder work, better efficiency, better product, better delivery equaled less pay and less status; like workers, they were angry and looking for change.

 

Populism – 1rst they formed Granges, social networks that became political (1874 2 million members); then alliances (1890) 2 major groups: Northwestern & Southern, also a “colored” alliance; they ran candidates for office and agitated for their reform philosophy; colorful characters like Mary Elizabeth Lease urged farmers to “raise less corn and more hell!”

 

People’s Party & Omaha Platform – (1892) People’s Party formed; they meet in Omaha to come up with a political platform that becomes known as the Omaha Platform – 2 parts – government reform and economic reform: Government – direct election of U.S. Senators, Initiative – voter initiated legislation, Referendum – Vote on legislation, Recall – throw out bad laws and bad politicians, secret ballot elections. Economic reform – free silver, public ownership of railroads, graduate income tax, federal price supports for commodities trade, 8 hour days (why would farmers want this – to gain support), 1892 Presidential election feature a Populist candidate: James B. Weaver, Populists won in states like Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Idaho, Alabama, four years later in election of 1896 – Reform is THE issue.

 

Election of 1900 – Election of 1900 one of the most significant in American history – very important issues – very clear decision to be made; Republicans – William McKinley no nonsense pro-business, laissez-faire candidate w/large war chest from industry; Democrats – William Jennings Bryan wins nomination after on of the best political speeches in history – Cross of Gold; Populists – also nominate Bryan because he supports much of their platform; So what?

 

1rst modern presidential election – sets the model for the next century; real debate about democracy and industrial capitalism; what happened? McKinley won, Populist Party was subsumed into Democrat party, but Omaha Platform moves from the fringe of American political thought to the center – setting the stage for the Progressives.

 

Progressivism – By 1900 Americans were committed to industrialism – but growing consensus about the need for some type of reform; but they had elected a president who was NOT a reformer but who had a VP who might be – Theodore Roosevelt; TR was from a prominent NY family – all the privileges of wealth and power, sickly child who becomes fitness fanatic, Harvard, western rancher, NYC police commissioner, Asst. Secretary of the Navy, Spanish-American War hero, and the VP.

 

The amazing Teddy – McKinley mysteriously gunned down in 1901 – TR become president – Republicans not happy; 1rst thing he says is that he will use the presidency as a “bully pulpit” and lead the nation into an era of reform; 1902 gets his chance with major mine worker strike in Pennsylvania coal fields; United Mine Workers vs. Big Railroads – TR worried about consequences for U.S. economy, he steps in and tells union that if they don’t go back to work he will send in the military to mine the coal; tells the railroad to sit down and give the union something; This sets 3 important precedents – 1) TR first president to become personally involved in labor dispute, 2) he sets up federal arbitration board – first of its kind – Feds as official mediators, 3) first president to even hint that unions had the right to exist.

 

Roosevelt – 1st president to do these types of things – trust busting.

 

Who was a Progressive? – Middle class, urban, educated, native-born, belief in democracy, belief in experts (often themselves), belief in federal government as a problem solver, rejection of social Darwinism.

 

The Spirit of Reform – Lots of evidence that reform was needed before the turn of the century, so why early 1900s?; partly because of TR’s leadership; mostly because of spirit of reform in middle class; new revelations emerging from newly expanded media; muckrakers – investigative journalists who worked to expose problems of industrial capitalism; Upton Sinclair, Ida Tarbell, Lincoln Steffens; Sinclair’s, The Jungle, particularly significant. Sinclair was a socialist who wrote about the Chicago meatpacking industry. A bleak tale of human suffering and unfairness, but most remembered as a chronicle of food preparation in the industrial age. Sinclair later said that “I aimed at their hearts, but hit them in the stomach.”

 

Socialists – denounced the abuses of capitalism, including child labor. Devoted to the interest of the working people.

 

The visible hand of the federal government – If you want to understand the support for expansion of federal power in the early 20th century, look at these 2 Acts: 1) The Meat Inspection Act (1906), 2) The Pure Food & Drug Act (1906). Makers of unregulated patent medicines advertised exorbitant results from using their products. The Pure Food & Drug Act of 1906 did not ban such products but tried to prevent manufacturers from making such unsubstantiated statements.

 

Goals of Progressivism – Unlike labor or Populists – Progressives not united under one clear agenda or platform; but they did share same general reform goals; political – social – moral – economic; political: response to urban “machine” system – the city manager system, initiative – referendum – recall, direct election of U.S. Senators, women suffrage (2nd longest reform movement in U.S. history behind abolition of slavery 1848-1920 – passage of the 19^th amendment); Social and Moral reforms – women played large role in these areas, educated women looking for socially responsible ways to use their education – field of social work evolves out of this time; Settlement House Movement – Jane Addams – Hull House, Immigrant services and educational reform, John Dewey – universal public education as a solution to class issue and immigration, key arguments – Sociologists, Anthropologists, Political Scientists, Historians all worked to show that culture and environment were more important to human development than heredity. Careful refutation of Social Darwinism.; Moral Agenda (Paternalism?) – many Progressives were concerned with a decline in American traditions and morality, they lobbied for a series of moral reforms – prohibition of alcohol (become law with 18th amendment. 1919 biggest experiment in legislated morality in U.S. History) Fears of foreign drinking culture, Anti-prostitution legislation, mandatory public education, urban anti-crime initiatives. Economic Reform – economic reform of the Progressives were aimed at the big corporations and giant public utilities, Roosevelt’s “trust busting” a prime example, fears that corporations were too powerful and undermining American democratic traditions.

 

- Progressivism & Environmental Conservation

Key Idea: TR 1st president to champion environmental protection. Rise of Progressive conservation represents a critical turning point in American culture.

 

2nd Key Point: Election of 1912 was a watershed event in the 20th century – remarkable consensus on reform – why right then?

 

Traditional views of the land – At the turn of the century there was a pervasive sense of chaos – disorder – brought on by rapid urbanization and industrialization; traditional perceptions of labor, time, space, society, democracy and the proper use and distribution of land and natural resources changed during this time; why might industrialization have changed perceptions of the natural world?; Industrialization radically accelerated use of natural resources and demonstrated that these resources were finite and exhaustible; thus another element of disorder was added to the list of Progressive concerns;

 

Key point: Progressive era reformers sought to control changes and combat the growing sense of chaos through political action, federal regulation, and scientific management; the environment became another focal point of Progressives.

 

From exploration to preservation – what was the traditional view of the natural world in American culture?; Euro-American Christian traditions: God put resources on the planet for human use; “improvement” was the best evidence of good land use; Puritan Calvinists tradition viewed the unimproved forest and wilderness as the home of the devil.

 

Changing opinions – During the mid-1800s these ideas about wilderness began to change; Transcendentalists became important voice for new view; Henry David Thoreau, Walden (1850s) and Ralph Waldo Emerson.

 

Federal Action – Yellowstone designated as first “National Park” in 1872 – one of the best ideas America ever had – Yosemite become state park around same time and then moves towards federal protection; Forest Reserve Act (1891) – results in the creation of over 13 million acres of National Forest; major changes in the late 1800s but no real National leadership yet.

 

Preservationism – By 1890s Americans were spending more time traveling to and recreating in wilderness areas and newly established parks and forest; John Muir emerges as the most eloquent voice for a philosophy that becomes known as PRESERVATIONISM – nature has intrinsic value – more than the sum of its parts – holistic philosophy; Muir advocates for the preservation of wilderness areas not because they were valuable in a material sense, but because of their spiritual value; Muir goes to Yosemite and helps found the Sierra Club in San Francisco (1892); Muir built on the legacy of the Transcendentalists and became a legendary champion of the wilderness ideal (becomes law in 1964 with Wilderness Act).

 

Convervationism (Wise – Use) – TR is the 1st American President to have a personal philosophy about environmental protection; he becomes the leading voice of the conservation movement; conservationalists advocated: wise use and scientific management of natural resources – perfectly in keeping with the spirit of Progressivism, they had a utilitarian view – resources were there to be used, but should never be wasted; TR was an avid outdoorsman – member of the Boone & Crocket Club; TR had seen first hand resource waste in his travel through the American west; he and many Progressives were deeply concerned about resource depletion and the prospects for a healthy future; Frederick Jackson Turner’s thesis had a strong influence on TR “we don’t have a frontier anymore” – what makes Americans what they are-

 

TR & Gifford Pinchot – Gifford Pinchot was Americas’ first professionally trained forester; he pioneered methods for scientific management of forest and other natural resources – wise use philosophy; Pinchot and TR were very good friends – TR appoints Pinchot as first Chief of the newly formed U.S. Forest Service.

 

Preservation vs. Conservation: It seems like the preservationists like Muir and the conservationists have everything in common – but key philosophical differences led to schism.

 

Muir, TR & Pinchot were friends at first…

 

1908 – TR hands Progressive torch to William Howard Taft; Taft (Republican) runs against William Jennings Bryan (Democrat); By 1908 both parties running on Progressive platforms; Taft has lots of good experience but none of the personality or style of TR – big (little) shoes to fill; after Taft wins TR is off to Africa on safari – J.P. Morgan said, “good luck to the lions.”

 

Taft’s record – Big Taft could not compare to TR as a president – but had an excellent record as a Progressive reformer; 8 hour day – mine safety, Man- Elleins Act which strengthens Interstate commerce regulation – expands federal power; works for passage of graduate federal income tax (16th amendment 1913); much more strenuous trust busting and regulation of big business and industry – alienates himself from business to much greater degree than TR had.

 

Ballinger – Pinchot Controversy and the Fall of Taft – during Taft’s administration – Pinchot has fight with Interior Secretary R.A. Ballinger (Pinchot’s boss); Ballinger thought that conservationalists were too powerful and worked to open public lands to private investments – coal and water in west and Alaska in particular; Pinchot is outraged and publically calls Ballinger’s deals scams and give-a-ways; What happens? Ballinger fires Pinchot. Why is this a big deal? Set up fight with the Republican party that leads to one of the weirdest and most important elections.

 

Fall Out – TR supporters back Pinchot and start advocating on his behalf – demand that Taft do something – Taft refuses; supporters start to attack Taft saying that he was undermining the Progressive legacy of TR “we elected him to carry out Roosevelt’s policies” and he is carrying him out “on a stretcher!”; Pinchot goes to Africa to find Teddy; Teddy comes home and starts touring the country – as if campaigning.

 

New Nationalism/New Freedom/Bull Moose – By 1911 Taft and TR are in open conflict huge rift in Republican party leading up to presidential election of 1912; TR giving speeches about New Nationalism, based on writings of Herbert Croly, The Promise of American Life (1909) – U.S. should use “Hamiltonian means to achieve Jeffersonian ends”; i.e. use the power of an activists federal government to achieve democracy and equality – key political concept in 20^th century.

 

Wilson/Taft/TR/Debs – Election of 1912; Woodrow Wilson former president of Princeton and Governor of New Jersey runs as a Democrat advocating the “New Freedom” very similar to “New Nationalism and Progressive platforms”; Wilson wins – carries through federal income tax; signs Federal Reserve Act (1913); Federal Trade Commission (1914); Clayton Anti-trust Act; What about social agenda?; What about foreign policy?

 

Taft – Republican (3 mil)

TR – Progressive (4 mil)

Wilson – Democrat (6 mil)

Debs – Socialists (1 mil)

 

All share Progressive agenda, even Debs – he just wants to go much further. Remarkable moment of consensus in American politics – an all reform ticket.

 

So what? Role of federal government as moderator in industrial capitalism set. Roots of welfare state established. Federal power radically expanded setting up even bigger changes with FDR’s New Deal in 1930s.

 

Identification:

• Franz Ferdinand –He was the archduke of Austria. He was assassinated by a Serbian youth. His assassination shattered the delicate balance of power that maintained a fragile international peace in Europe. This was the pinnacle event that led to the beginning of WWI.
• Central Powers – An alliance system established by European diplomats. This consisted of Germany, Turkey, Italy, and Austria-Hungary. These nations promised protection to weaker European countries. It also served to protect their economic and colonial interest.
• Allied Powers – An alliance system established by European diplomats. This consisted of Great Britain, France , and Russia. These nations promised protection to weaker European countries. It also served to protect their economic and colonial interest.
• Sub Warfare – This was the use of submarines in acts of war. President Wilson warned Germany that America was neutral in the war, but Germany said that if you were in a war zone then you were not neutral. Sub-warfare
• Lusitania – This was a passenger ship. The Lusitania was off of the coast of Ireland when it was torpedoed by a German submarine. This resulted in the death of 120 Americans, to which the Germans offer no apology. This action is what bought America into the war.
• Zimmerman Telegram – He was the German Foreign Secretary. He sent an intercepted telegram to the Mexican Government. This pushed American closer to war. The telegram proposed a military alliance if the U.S. entered into war against the Central Powers. In return Germany promised Mexico the lost territory in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.
• Liberty Bonds – Bond issued by the federal government to the purchasing public. The war effort cost about $32 billion which was an astronomical sum during this time. Liberty bonds were an idea to help pay for the war without relying only on raising taxes. This effort was very successful and raised $23 billion.
• War Industries Board – A federal organization that controlled industry during WWI. The board streamlined industrial production by building “combinations” which were basically trust that were under strict federal control. They regulated the use, distribution, and production of goods. The idea was that without reorganization of the economy and sacrifice (rationing) by the people the soldiers would not be able to succeed “over there.”
• Committee for Public Information – This was a federal organization that helped to sell U.S. participation to the American public during WWI. They tried to achieve this through the use of marketing tools such as pamphlets, movies, and posters. This was important to raise support for the war and have a unified nation which would not undermine the countries efforts abroad.
• Schenck v. U.S. – Charles Schenck was the Secretary of the Socialist Party. He mailed out leaflets that urged conscription-aged men to resist the draft. The Supreme Court established, through the clear and present danger clause, that individual freedoms could be constrained if it posed a threat to national survival.
• 4-Minute Men – The 4-minute men were government officials that gave 4-minute speeches to the public to enhance support for the war effort. This was important to raise support for the war and have a unified nation which would not undermine the countries efforts abroad.
• Espionage and Sedition Acts – These Acts imposed heavy fines and imprisonment for persons who engaged in spying or sabotage and anyone who obstructed in the sale of war bonds. This was a result of the fear prevalent during this time and also to preserve the financing of the war.
• 1920s KKK – A new revived white supremacist group disguised as middle-class Protestants concerned about vice, crime, and decreased morality. In some states more than fifty percent of the members were women. This occurred because they supported women’s rights that were not prevalent at the time.
• Red Scare – Fear that a Russian communist revolution was afoot in the U.S. when bombs were set off simultaneously in eight American cities on May Day. The bombings unnerved Americans who lashed out at political enemies.
• Palmer – He was the Attorney General and an intended target of the Red Scare. He stepped forward to save America from communist’s revolution. He staged raids in twelve cities because he believed the U.S. was under serious threat of revolution.
• Sacco & Vanzetti – Italian immigrants that were falsely charged with murder. This was evidence of the decade’s intolerance of foreigners. They were sentenced to death after a grossly unjust trial. They deaths and funerals symbolize “justice crucified” to some.
• Clarence Darrow – He defended Scopes
• John Scopes – He was a part-time teacher that was chosen to challenge a law. The law was a Tennessee Bill that prohibited the teaching of Divine Creation. This was reaction to the publishing of Darwin’s book, Origin of Species.
• Fundamentalism – This was an idea that society should get back to the fundamentals of religion. This targeted morality. It led to issues such a prohibition.
• Consumerism – A concept that introduced the idea of consumer credit which was installment buying that made increased consumption possible. Consumption became a key indicator of economic growth. This fueled explosive economic growth during the 1920s. Progressive attitudes on efficiency faded as American became obsessed with material wealth that was measured by consumption. This current concept originated and became prevalent during the 1920s.
• Credit –Consumer credit was installment buying that made increased consumption possible. Consumption became a key indicator of economic growth. This fueled explosive economic growth during the 1920s. Progressive attitudes on efficiency faded as American became obsessed with material wealth that was measured by consumption. This current concept originated and became prevalent during the 1920s.
• Hoover – Herbert Hoover was a self made millionaire that was appointed to head the Food Administration and eventually ascended to the Presidency. His ideas helped to achieve economic reorganization during the war. Some ideas included “meatless Monday’s,” victory gardens, and rationing. These ideas were important because this was a time of war. They aided the idea of “total war” which enhanced our ability to provide resources that increase the chance of victory.
• Margin Buying – This is the concept of buying stock on credit. If you make money you keep the profits and if you loose money you pay for the loss. This was used during the 1920s to purchase stock that was unreasonably inflated. The use of margin buying caused many people to endure financial difficulty during the Great Depression.
• Hoovervilles – These were shanty towns populated by the poor and unemployed people as a result of the Great Depression. They were named after President Hoover because of his unpopular comments to the suffering people after the depression. Hoover made comments like “tighten your belts” and “good times are just around the corner” which were not well received. The public perceived Hoover’s efforts as “too little too late.”
• Bonus Army – A protest group of jobless and homeless veterans that were intolerant of the post depression economic situation. The government had promised these veterans a pension to finance their old age. They went to Washington D.C. to ask for their pensions early due to their desperate situation. They formed an “army-like” camp in view of legislators while they voted on the bill which passed the House, but got caught up in the Senate. Therefore, it was left to Hoover to decide. Hoover viewed these veterans as troublemakers and declined to support the bill. Hoover called in the real army to disperse of the group. This was the worst public relations decision in history. The people believed Hoover did not feel the pain of the people.
• Bank Holiday – This was FDR’s first order of business. The idea was to save the nation’s banks. During this time panicked investors were draining banks by withdrawing their life’s savings. Roosevelt declared a “bank holiday” which would close bank until a recovery bill could be pushed through Congress.
• “100 Days” – During the election of 1932 FDR claimed “give me 100 days and I promise you will see change.” Introduced “New Deal” programs aimed at restoring the economy. This gave the people the change they had longed for and the immediate action they wanted to see.
• Huey Long – He was a politician who was a critic of FDR’s New Deal programs. He advocated for the complete redistribution of wealth. Like a modern-day Robin Hood for depression victims. This program idea appealed to the poor, but gained resentment from the wealthy. He was one of the biggest opponents to the New Deal.
• Father Charles Coughlin – He was a radical right critic of FDR’s New Deal. He used the radio to advocate Fascism or something close to it. Coughlin blamed the depression on wealthy bankers and rallied his radio audience to support the New Deal. However, he turned against FDR calling him a “liar” and a tool for the moneyed elite.
• NRA – This was a New Deal program called the National Recovery Program. This was aimed at restoring industry achieving recovery during FDR’s first 100days.
• SEC – This was a New Deal program called the Securities Exchange Commission. This was set up to regulate the stock market and insure that there would never be another Black Tuesday. FDR placed Joe Kennedy to head the commission to help with acceptance.
• AAA – This was a New Deal program called the Agricultural Adjustment Act. This was setup to help desperate farmers and try to solve the problem of the farm economy in the industrial age. The AAA setup farm subsidies which were very controversial.
• CCC – This was a New Deal program called the Civilian Conservation Corps. This was a boot camp like organization that employed tens of thousands of young men to work on forest, improve trails, build cultural projects, and expand the national parks. They lived in camps usually in rural or mountain areas and got free room and board and a small wage. This was a remarkable program that left an incredible mark on the West and gave purpose and employment to otherwise unemployable urban men.
• WPA – This was a New Deal program called the Works Progress Administration. The program was run by one of FDR’s advisors and was one of the most innovative and was the largest New Deal program. It employed over 9 million people to work on projects as diverse as state guides and art to the Hoover damn. This program gave employment to skilled workers that normally are not of great public need.

 

Essays:

1. During WWI cases like Schenck v. U.S. raised questions about how a democracy could mobilize support for total-industrial war. How did Wilson mobilize support for his war effort? How did he and the Supreme Court justify restricting rights in wartime during WWI? What is your position on this controversial issue?

During WWI cases like Schenck v. U.S. raised serious questions about mobilizing support for total war. Schenck was the general secretary of the Socialist Party who was charged with obstructing the war effort in violation of the Espionage Act of 1917 for mailing leaflets to conscription age men urging them to resist the draft. This action directly undermined one of Wilson’s efforts to mobilize support for his war effort. Wilson’s effort, obviously, was the draft. To mobilize armed manpower, Wilson proposed a draft that would require between the ages of 20 and 30 to register. This case raised questions that some viewed as a threat to democracy itself. Many believed this charge was a direct violation to personal freedoms contained in the Bill of Rights, namely the First Amendment. Congress also passed the Lever Food and Fuel Control Act (1917) which authorized the President to regulate output, distribution, and price of food and control every product that was used in food production. This Act enabled Hoover to create organizations to mobilize support which would help regulate the economy for war. For example, the President appoints Herbert Hoover to the Food Administration and Hoover mobilized publicity campaigns like “Meatless Tuesdays” to support noncoercive rationing. Wilson also attempted to mobilize support through the labor force by establishing the Mediation Commission. This commission would made recommendations for improving labor-management relations. Wilson’s goal was to mold Americans into “one white-hot mass.” He attempted to achieve this through marketing. For example, one such effort was the four-minute men. The four-minute men who made appearances and gave four minute lecture to drum up support. The Supreme Court justified restricting rights in wartime during WWI citing the “clear and present danger” clause contained in the Constitution. The Supreme Court argued that this clause could constrain individual rights when their exercise posed a direct and unmistakable threat to national survival. My personal decision is split on this controversial issue. I believe certain rights of individual should be constrained if it is for the overall benefit of the collective. However, I believe this power is ripe for abuse which is disconcerting. If an individual action truly can hurt a nation’s chance of survival then it should be stopped by all means necessary, but if the circumstance is not of this dire nature then all individual freedoms should be strictly adhered to by those in power. I believe this because individual rights are useless if our nation is overrun, but paramount if a threat of that seriousness does not exist.

 

ID Terms:

Civil Rights:

• NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People)–
  • ID: The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was an organization, during the mid-1900s, which strived for the advancement of the colored race in a number of ways including legal assaults to existing segregation laws.
  • Significance: The NAACP was an integral part of the uprising of colored people after World War II (WWII). Colored people were unsatisfied with the fact that they made a major contribution, at home and abroad, in the name of freedom, but still endured racial injustices at home. The NAACP was responsible for challenging current legal tenets and organizing protest in the name of racial equality. The challenge of this disenfranchisement struck fear into the white South.
• SNCC (Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee)–
  • ID: The Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was a group of younger, more aggressive activist for the civil rights of colored people during the 1960s.
  • Significance: SNCC organized sit-ins which represented an important change in the strategy of civil rights protesters. It revealed the growing impatience of younger blacks frustrated with the slow pace of change. They were convinced that these more aggressive tactics could force the federal government to take bolder action in correcting existing wrongs. The sit-ins underscored the decentralized, grass-roots approach of the civil rights movement.
• Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) –
  • ID: Plessy v. Ferguson was a court case in the late 1890s (1896) that established the separate but equal doctrine.
  • Significance: Plessy was an important case because the trial ended with the decision that made railroad companies provide separate but equal accommodations for the colored and white races. This is significant because legislatures were then free to create legislation that made separate but equal policies legal, which led to the creation of segregated schools, water fountains, restaurants, transport systems, etc.
• Brown v. Board of Education (1954) –
  • ID: Brown v. Board of Education was a court case during the 1950s that challenged the separate but equal doctrine and ruled that segregation in public schools was illegal.
  • Significance: This decision opened legislators to enact legislation reversing the separate but equal doctrine in other areas of life. It did so by upholding the rights of demonstrators to protest, disallowing poll taxes in elections, and holding interracial marriage to be constitutional. Brown led the way for the desegregation of everything.
• Martin Luther King Jr. –
  • ID: Martin Luther King, Jr. was an influential civil rights advocate during the 1960s.
  • Significance: King originally approached civil activism through dramatic confrontation, but would shift to community organizing in an effort to build class-based, grass-roots alliance among the poor. King argued that American can not resolve its racial problems without addressing the issue of class.
• “Militant Non-violence” –
  • ID: Militant non-violence was a civil rights tactic suggested by Martin Luther King, Jr. during the 1960s.
  • Significance: This civil rights strategy was used in conjunction with the slower legal strategy. It aimed at using the power of non-violent resistance and redemptive suffering in an effort to win the “heart and conscience” in an effort to secure racial freedom.
• Mississippi Freedom Summer –
  • ID: Mississippi freedom summer was a massive effort, during the 1960s (1964) to register colored voters in Mississippi because of dissatisfaction with the racial stance of the local government.
  • Significance: In Mississippi, some counties had more colored people than white and they were aware that they would have no power until they elected the people that governed them. In addition, colored activists recruited white university students (children of lawyers, senators, etc.) in an effort to make their parents notice the movement.
• Freedom Riders –
  • ID: During the early 1960s freedom riders attempted to use mass transit to challenge the non-enforcement of laws in the South.
  • Significance: The freedom riders used mass transit headed for the South to provoke southern authorities to arrest them which was unconstitutional. This was an attempt to get the Justice Department to enforce the law of the land. This eventually led to the Interstate Commerce Commission banning segregation in interstate terminals.

 

Vietnam:

• Dien Bien Phu –
  • ID: Dien Bien Phu was a remote jungle fortress in which the French were surrounded by Communist in the mid-1950s (1954).
  • Significance: Eisenhower feared that if Vietnam fell to Communists the rest of Asia would follow. Because of this fear he aided the French in an attempt to secure Vietnam. At Dien Bien Phu the French became surrounded by Communists. The French pleaded for American intervention to rescue their troops. America refused their request which resulted in French surrender. This led to further Communist control over Vietnam.
• Ho Chi Minh –
  • ID: Ho Chi Minh was a Communist that attempted to end French colonial rule in Indochina durin the 1950s.
  • Significance: American foreign policy became concerned that Communist victory over Indochina would result in a Communist Southeast Asia which would tilt the balance of global power. America decided to supply military aid to the French which marked America’s first involvement into the Vietnam dilemma.
• Vietminh –
  • ID: The Vietminh were Communist in Northern Vietnam.
  • Significance: The North was controlled by the Vietminh. This was a fact that America had knowledge of, but they neglected to take Northern Vietnam. Instead America focused its efforts on Southern Vietnam which aided in the loss for America.
• Vietcong –
  • ID: The Vietcong were Southern Vietnamese Communists.
  • Significance: America focused on fighting the Vietcong. This presented a huge problem because Southern Vietnam was mixed with loyal American supporters. American forces were unable to distinguish between Communist and loyalist which resulted in clouding the objective of the fight.
• Ngo Dinh Diem –
  • ID: Ngo Dinh Diem was the person that America backed as the leader of the Republic of South Vietnam.
  • Significance: Diem turned out to be a bad choice to support as leader. He had less than 25% support in South Vietnam and 0% support in the North. He turned out to be somewhat of a tyrant whose administration was plagued with scandal and graft. This further complicated America’s involvement in Vietnam.

 

Modern Politics:

• Plain Folks Liberalism –
  • ID: Plain folks liberalism was the running platform for Jimmy Carter in the 1970s giving great appeal, leading to his election, after the Watergate sandal.
  • Significance: This was an attempt to clean up the mess of the recession that the previous president had left behind. Unemployment was as high as 9% and millions of Americans longed for government relief.
• Energy Crisis –
  • ID: The energy crisis of the 1970s was founded in a dramatic increase in oil prices, due to political turmoil in the Middle East, which American industry relied on.
  • Significance: The energy crisis exploded inflation to nearly 10%. This was on of the huge economic troubles that the American economy faced during this time period.
• Regan New Conservatism –
  • ID: New conservatism was the platform Regan ran under during the 1980s which led to his presidency.
  • Significance: This policy was to focus on the religious and big government dimensions of the country. This led to the intertwining of religion with politics. Regan also argued that government was not the solution, but the problem for Americans. His distrust for large government was partly responsible for his election. Ironically, government grew 3 times greater under his presidency than any other presidency.
• Family Values –
  • ID: Family values were a determination, during the 1980s, that the social problems of America were directly related to the decline of the traditional family.
  • Significance: Family values policy attacked things like divorce, abortion, and homosexuality. This was an attempt to regain social control over the population which created a fight against good (family values) and evil (social liberalism).
• Moral Majority –
  • ID: The moral majority was a group founded by Rev. Jerry Falwell in the late 1970s. It aimed to promote morality in public life.
  • Significance: The moral majority backed conservatives who supported things like prayer in school and the teaching of Creationism. It grew to over 4 million members and opposed legislation like the Equal Rights Amendment and abortion.
• Gulf of Tonkin Resolution –
  • ID: In the mid-1960s (1964) U.S. destroyer ships were under attack by the North Vietnamese in the Tonkin Gulf. This resolution allowed the president to use whatever mean necessary to prevent further aggression. Significance: The resolution provided the legislative foundation for the Vietnam War. The president kept tight control at first. This control over the bombing became quite liberal in the near future. This only tested the resolve of the North Vietnamese.
• Tet –
  • ID: In the late-1960s (1968) Communist launched an offensive during the lunar New Year called Tet in Vietnam.
  • Significance: The Tet offensive was considered a failed attempt by the North Vietnamese. However, due to the television coverage it caused many people to question that we were winning the war. This was a great blow to presidential creditability and to the war effort.
• Chicago 1968 –
  • ID: In Chicago during 1968 there was a riot as a result to Martin Luther King, Jr assassination.
  • Significance: Chicago was being destroyed and the police had orders to “shoot to kill.” This spread to Washington and for the first time since the Civil War soldiers guarded the steps to the Capital. JFK was the only national leader recognized during this time of unrest. Due to this broad base of support it led to his presidency.
• “The World is Watching” –
  • ID: This term was a result of the television coverage during the 1960s of the mistreatment of civil rights advocates.
  • Significance: The mass media coverage showed police dogs attacking children, cops beating young people, etc. This TV coverage turned the tide of national opinion which led to demands for the president to take action.
• Cambodia –
  • ID: Cambodia, during the early 1970s, led to the end of American involvement in Vietnam.
  • Significance: After the war there were deep scars as a result of all of the causalities. This had a huge impact on America’s foreign policy. The U.S. entered Vietnam with self-confidence, but left doubting itself and its power.

 

Watergate:

• Pentagon Papers –
  • ID: The Pentagon Paper were a secret Defense Department study of American decision making in Vietnam before 1967 that were published by the New York Times.
  • Significance: The Pentagon Papers showed that Kennedy and Johnson had consistently misled the public about their intentions in Vietnam. This increased the countries divide and the distrust of government regarding Vietnam.
• CREEP (Committee for Reelection of the President) –
  • ID: During the early 1970s, the Committee to Re-elect the President (CREEP) was involved in misdealing in an effort to secure the president’s re-election.
  • Significance: A member of CREEP, James McCord, was apprehended during the break-in at the Watergate complex. His apprehension and later confession linked the break-in to high officials in the White House. Congress reacted by creating a committee to investigate the incident which led to the uncovering many misdealing by high officials including the president.
• G. Gordon Liddy –
  • ID: Liddy was a member of CREEP, in particular, the head of The Plumbers during the early 1970s.
  • Significance: The plumber unit was responsible for the break-in at the Watergate complex and Ellsberg’s psychiatrist office. They also were advised to “plug leaks” of sensitive information and harass enemies of the Nixon administration. The efforts of the plumbers were the undoing of the administration as they were uncovered by Congress.
• Daniel Ellsberg –
  • ID: Daniel Ellsberg was a former Pentagon Official prior to the early 1970s.
  • Significance: He was the one who leaked the Pentagon Papers to the press. The Pentagon Papers showed that Kennedy and Johnson had consistently misled the public about their intentions in Vietnam. This increased the countries divide and the distrust of government regarding Vietnam.
• Watergate cover-up –
  • ID: John Dean, the president’s attorney, told the congressional committee that the president had known about the Watergate affair in late 1972 and offered a 245-page testimony in detail of this fact.
  • Significance: This testimony led to the President’s resignation which dealt a huge blow to American politics.