MAJOR THEMES/DATES: African-American History, 1619-1865I. From Servitude to Slavery in the Chesapeake Region, 1619-1690

A. Indentured Servants1. “headright” system allowed Chesapeake farmers to obtain both land and labor by importing workers from England2. English indentured servants were the chief source of agricultural labor in VA and MD before 1675; accounted for

75% of English immigrants in 17th centuryB. Bacon’s Rebellion, 1676

1. Exposed tensions between backcountry farmers and tidewater (coastal) gentry2. Prompted gentry (wealthy) to reevaluate their commitment to indentured servants = transition to slave labor

C. Beginning of Slavery1. Profitable tobacco cultivation required inexpensive labor2. Slave labor in VA & MD spread rapidly in end of 17th C as blacks displaced white indentured servants in the tobacco

fieldsII. Growth of Plantation Economies and Slave Societies, 1690-1754

A. The Slave Trade1. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the majority of Africans who survived the transatlantic passage ended up working on

plantations in Brazil and the Caribbean2. The fewest slaves were brought to British North America.

B. Slavery in the American Colonies1. Slavery was legally established in all 13 colonies by the early 1700s.2. Although enslaved, Africans maintained cultural practices brought from Africa.3. Tobacco was most important cash crop in the Chesapeake; rice in South Carolina.4. Factors responsible for the development of slavery in the Southern colonies included the following:

- The supply of indentured servants from England became insufficient in the late 17th C.- The spread of tobacco westward created demand for labor.- Few 17th/early18th C white colonists viewed slavery as immoral.

C. The Stono Rebellion, 17391. One of the earliest known acts of rebellion against slavery in America.2. Organized and led by slaves in SC, who tried unsuccessfully to flee to FL, where they hoped to gain their freedom.

III. Growth of Slavery and Free Black Communities, 1776-1815 A. The Declaration of Independence – did NOT call for the abolition of the slave tradeB. The Northwest Ordinance of 1787

1. Excluded slavery N of the Ohio River2. Was the first national document containing a prohibition of slavery

C. The Constitution1. As written in 1787, the Constitution explicitly guaranteed the legality of slavery in every state2. The 3/5 Compromise (agreement between the N and S states) said 3/5 of the population of slaves would be counted

for BOTH the distribution of taxes and apportionment of US House of Representatives (as population!)3. The 14th Amendment in 1868 invalidated the 3/5 Compromise by making every former slave a “whole person” and

citizen.D. The Haitian Slave Rebellion – 1790s rebellion led by Toussaint L’Ouverture increased fear of slave revolts in the SouthE. Free African-Americans – growth in this population was result of:

- Gradual emancipation laws of individual states- Manumission granted for Revolutionary War service- Manumission granted by slaveholders’ wills- Natural increase among free African Americans

IV. Planters and Slaves in the Antebellum South, 1816-1860 A. King Cotton: cotton becomes South’s most important cash crop because:

- Invention of cotton gin made is possible/profitable to harvest short-staple cotton- Rich new farmland in the deep South was opened to cultivation- Rise of textile manufacturing in England created enormous demand

B. Southern Society1. the majority of white adult males were small farmers rather than wealthy planters2. the majority of white families in antebellum South did not own slaves3. BUT a small minority of planters who owned 20+ slaves dominated politics of the South4. cost of slave labor rose sharply between 1800-1865

C. Slave Society1. despite forced separations, slaves maintained social networks among family and friends2. dramatic increase in South’s slave labor force was due to natural population increase

3. slaves, although not uniformly protected by Southern legal codes, were generally able to marry4. slave revolts were infrequent; most resisted by feigning illness and working slowly

V. Territorial Expansion and Slavery, 1820-1860 A. The Missouri Compromise of 1820

1. provisions included:- Maine would enter the Union as a free state- Missouri would enter the Union as a slave state- the remaining territory of the Louisiana Purchase above 36˚30’ would be closed to slavery

2. Consequences included:- number of N & S states remained same in the Senate- most of the La Purchase was closed to slavery- was a temporary solution to conflict over slavery

B. Texas1. the US resisted admitting Texas to the Union in 1836 and after because of fear that it would re-ignite the controversy

over slavery2. Texas joined the Union in 1845.

C. The Wilmot Proviso – specifically prohibited slavery in lands acquired from Mexico in the Mexican War; Congress DID NOT pass it, but it indicated troubles to come

D. The Compromise of 1850- California admitted to the Union as a free state- Slave trade (but not slavery itself) was abolished in Washington, DC- Territorial governments were created in New Mexico & Utah without immediate decision about slavery there- The Fugitive Slave Act enacted… required return of slaves from free states to slave states = very controversial

E. Kansas-Nebraska Act, 18541. Provisions:

- Nebraska Territory would be divided into two states (Kansas and Nebraska)- Status of slavery to be decided by popular sovereignty (settlers would have the right to decide whether to allow

slavery or not)2. Consequences:

- repealed the Missouri Compromise… heightened sectional tensions- end of the Whig Party- led to rise of Republican Party and Abraham Lincoln

F. The Dred Scott Decision, 18571. SCOTUS ruled that blacks were not citizens of the US2. ruling meant that national legislation (Congress) could not limit the spread of slavery into the territories3. if Congress could not prohibit slavery in territories, then decision also repealed the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 and

the Missouri Compromise of 1820G. Positions of the Republicans and Democrats on Slavery

1. Democratic Party was divided on the issues of expanding slavery into territories2. Republican Party opposed the extension of slavery into the territories, BUT said slavery should be protected in the

states where it already existedVI. Abolition and the Abolitionists, 1830-1860

A. The Second Great Awakening – religious spirit increased public awareness, moral outrage, and contributed to the growth of the abolitionist movement

B. American Colonization Society – goal was to return freed slaves to AfricaC. William Lloyd Garrison – demanded the “immediate and uncompensated emancipation of slaves”; publisher of The

Liberator newspaperD. Frederick Douglass – most prominent black abolitionist; autobiography in 1845 exposed Americans to the horrors of

slavery; also a proponent of equal rights for women and Native AmericansE. Harriet Beecher Stowe – author of bestselling Uncle Tom’s Cabin, which intensified Northern opposition to slavery

VII. Emancipation and the Role of African-Americans in the Civil War, 1861-1865 A. The Emancipation Proclamation

1. Lincoln refrained from taking action to emancipate slaves until the Civil War had been in progress for almost 2 years because he wanted to retain the loyalty of the border states

2. only freed the slaves in rebellious states; it DID NOT free slaves in the border states3. immediate effect was to strengthen the moral cause of the Union

B. African Americans at War – soldiers were paid less than white soldiers of equal rank

MAJOR THEMES/DATES: African-American History, 1865-present

I. Reconstruction and the New South, 1865-1896A. Reconstruction Amendments

1. 13th abolished slavery and involuntary servitude2. 14th has two major components:

- made former slaves citizens (invalidates Dred Scott decision)- says “no state shall deprive any person of life, liberty or property without due process of

law” OR deny equal protection of the laws to any person3. 15th provided suffrage for black males

B. Sharecroppers1. majority of freedmen entered sharecropping arrangements with former masters and other

nearby planters2. sharecropping (and crop lien system) led to a cycle of debt and depression for Southern tenant

farmersC. Black Codes – intended to place limits on the socioeconomic opportunities & freedoms of black people;

forced black Americans to work under conditions that closely resembled slaveryD. Compromise of 1877

1. called for the removal of all federal troops from the South2. supported internal improvements in the South3. gave the South a “free hand” in race relations… white conservatives returned to power, lynchings

increased, and black voters were disenfranchisedE. Plessy v. Ferguson, 1896 – upheld segregated railroad facilities; created the “separate but equal” standard

for public facilities for African AmericansF. Disenfranchising Black Voters

Mechanisms to keep blacks from voting included:- literacy tests and poll taxes- grandfather clause exempted from these requirements anyone whose forbear had voted in

1860 (duh! Most slaves had not voted at that time!)- gerrymandering of electoral districts to support the Democratic Party

G. Booker T. Washington1. Atlanta Compromise speech (1895), he called on blacks to seek economic rather than political

rights2. stressed the importance of vocational education and economic self-help; urged blacks to avoid

political agitationII. Black Americans during the Progressive Era, 1897-1917

A. W.E.B. DuBois – emerged as the most influential advocate of full political, economic & social equality for all black Americans

1. founded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1909 (focused on using the courts to achieve equality and justice)

2. opposed Booker T. Washington’s programsB. The Progressives – were least concerned about ending racial segregation or fighting for civil rights lawsC. Ida B. Wells-Barnett – African American civil rights advocate (including for women) and principal public

opponent of lynching in the SouthD. Birth of a Nation & the KKK

1. KKK first emerged during Radical Reconstruction (1865-1877); was depicted as heroic and commendable in the epic film Birth of a Nation in 1915 (led to a resurgence of the KKK during the Progressive Era)

2. KKK favored white supremacy and immigration restrictionE. World War I

1. African Americans fought in strictly segregated units, usually under command of white officers2. first massive migration of black Americans from the South during & immediately after WWI

III. The 1920s

A. The Harlem Renaissance – outpouring of Black artistic and literary creativity that expressed pride in African American culture (key figures = Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Josephine Baker)

B. Marcus Garvey – committed to “return to Africa” for Black Americans; black pride, black economic development, black nationalism

IV. The Great DepressionA. The New Deal – although programs helped African Americans survive the Depression, they did not

directly confront racial segregation or injustice (no major action on civil rights)B. Shift in Voting Patterns – Blacks shifted from loyalty to Republican Party (because of Emancipation

Proclamation and the Reconstruction amendments) to the Democratic Party (the “New Deal coalition”)

C. Eleanor Roosevelt & the DAR - when the Daughters of the American Revolution barred Marian Anderson, a world-renowned

African-American singer, from performing in Washington, DC, Eleanor resigned from the DAR, bringing national attention to racial discrimination

V. World War II, 1941-1945A. Homefront

1. Black migration from the South to the North and West continued2. FDR issued an executive order forbidding discrimination in defense industries

B. The War – Black Americans continued to fight in segregated units (not integrated during WWII)VI. Modern Civil Rights Movement, 1945-present

A. President Harry S. Truman 1. issued an executive order to desegregate the armed forces in 19482. Dixiecrats walked out of the 1948 Democratic National Convention to demonstrate opposition to

Truman’s civil rights legislationB. Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 1954

1. SCOTUS ruled that segregation in public schools was a denial of the 14th amendment’s guarantee of equal protection of laws

2. directly contradicted the principle of “separate but equal” established by Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896

3. led to the NAACP continuing to base its lawsuits on the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment

C. President Eisenhower – sent federal troops to Little Rock’s Central High School to enforce court-ordered desegregation

D. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. – goal of peaceful integration of the races using nonviolent civil disobedience1. head of SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference)2. “Letter from Birmingham Jail” argued that citizens have a “moral responsibility to disobey just

laws”E. the Sit-In Movement – college students staged the first sit-ins in NC in 1960 to protest segregation in

public facilitiesF. Malcolm X – opposed MLK’s strategy of non-violenceG. Black Leaders who Favored Separatism

1. Marcus Garvey – Back to Africa Movement2. Elijah Muhammad and Stokely Carmichael – Black Power Movement3. Black Panthers – Huey Newton4. Black Muslims – Malcolm X

H. Black Power Movement – late 1960s, advocated that African Americans establish control of their economic and political life

I. Election of Barack Obama, 2008

MAJOR THEMES/DATES: Women’s HistoryI. Life in Colonial America, 1607-1789

A. Anne Hutchinson – challenged Puritan religious authorities in Massachusetts Bay; was banished because she challenged religious doctrine, gender roles and clerical roles – and said she had

revelations from God!B Legal Status of Colonial Women

1. usually lost control of their property when they married2. married women had no separate legal identity apart from their husband3. women could not hold political office, serve as clergy, vote, or serve as jurors4. single women and widows did have legal right to own property5. women serving as indentured servants had to remain unmarried until their period of service was

overC. The Chesapeake Colonies – scarcity of women (and high mortality rate in men) gave women a higher

status in the Chesapeake than that of women in the New England colonies

II. The Early Republic, 1789-1815A. Abigail Adams – early proponent of women’s rights, hoped that women would benefit from republican

ideals of equality and individual rights (“Remember the ladies” to husband John)B. The Cult of Domesticity/Republican Motherhood – refers to the idealization of women in their roles as

wives and mothers1. “Republican Motherhood” suggested that women would be responsible for rearing their children

to be virtuous citizens of the new Republic… by emphasizing family and religious values, women could have a positive moral influence on the American political character

III. Women in Antebellum America, 1815-1860A. The Lowell System – plan developed in early 19th C to promote and expand textile manufacturing

1. textile mills in Lowell, MA relied heavily on the labor of women and children2. during the 1820s and 1830s, the majority of these workers were young unmarried women from

rural New England who sought to earn money of their ownB. The Seneca Falls Convention, 1848 – organized and led by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott

1. Called for women’s rights in the following areas:- suffrage- right to retain property after marriage- equal educational opportunities- divorce and child custody rights

2. the “Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions” demanded greater rights for womenC. Characteristics of the Women’s Movement in the Antebellum Period

1. led by middle-class women and promoted legal and educational rights2. was closely linked with abolitionist and temperance movements-

IV. Reformers and Suffragettes, 1865-1920A. Jane Addams – founder of Hull House in Chicago (settlement houses)

1. settlement houses became centers of women’s activism and reform efforts to help the urban poor2. engaged in:

- teaching classes on cooking and dressmaking- publishing reports on deplorable housing conditions- offering literacy and language classes for immigrants- establishing day nurseries for working mothers

B. The Fight for Suffrage1. frontier life tended to promote the acceptance of greater equality for women2. the only states with complete women’s suffrage before 1900 were W of the Mississippi (WY in

1869)3. 19th Amendment in 1920 guaranteed women the right to vote

C. The Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) – led by Carry Nation; successfully convinced many women that they had a moral responsibility to improve society by working for prohibition

D. Women and the Progressive Reforms1. Dorothea Dix worked on behalf of the mentally ill (asylums)2. Ida B. Wells-Barnett brought attention to lynching3. other reforms included passing child labor laws at the state level and campaigns to limit the

working hours of women and childrenE. Women and the Workplace – during late 19th and early 20th C, majority of female workers were young

and unmarried, and worked as domestic servants, teachers or garment workers

V. Boom and Bust, 1920-1940A. Flappers – symbolized the new freedom by challenging traditional American attitudes about women

(short hair, smoking cigarettes, one-piece bathing suits, showing skin, drinking alcohol)… especially college coeds, office workers and store clerks (not the majority of Americans)

B. Women and the Workforce – while women in the workforce declined, those who did work did not receive equal pay and continued to face discrimination; most married women did not seek

work outside the homeC. Margaret Sanger – openly championed birth control for womenD. Decline of the Feminist Movement

VI. Women and the Workplace, 1941-1960A. World War II – widespread movement of women (including married women) into factory work; “Rosie

the Riveter”B. The 1950s – after WWII, women were encouraged to give up their jobs to devote themselves to being

wives and mothers (Dr. Spock, suburbs, TV moms)

VII. The Modern Women’s Rights MovementA. Betty Friedan – wrote The Feminine Mystique and first president of the National Organization for Women

(NOW was founded in 1966 to challenge sex discrimination in the workplace)B. Expansion of Women’s Rights since 1963

- Civil Rights Act of 1964- SCOTUS Roe v. Wade ruling- Affirmative action regulations

C. The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) – did NOT pass; Phyllis Schlafly led campaign to block ratification by the states

D. Female Presidential (and Vice Presidential) Candidates- Democrats nominated Geraldine Ferraro as VP in 1984; Shirley Chisholm (black woman) ran for

nomination in 1972; Hilary Clinton presidential nominee in 2016- Republicans nominated Sarah Palin as VP in 2008

MAJOR THEMES/DATES: Native Americans

I. Pre-Columbian SocietiesA. Arrival in North America – most scholars believe the first Native Americans arrived by traveling across a land

bridge connecting eastern Siberia & AlaskaB. Key Advances: math-based calendar, irrigation systems, domesticated crops (maize), multi-family dwellings,

large citiesC. Key Failures: did NOT develop wheeled vehicles, gunpowder or waterwheels

II. First European Contacts with Native AmericansA. Columbian Exchange refers to the exchange of plants and animals (corn, tomatoes, potatoes, horses, cows,

pigs) between the New World and Europe after the “discovery” of America in 1492; Old World diseases caused epidemics among Native Americans, severe population declines because lacked immunity

B. Similarities between Natives and First English Settlers – agricultural economies, villages, domesticated corn and vegetables, strong sense of spirituality

C. Differences between Natives and First English Settlers – conceptions of property (Natives had no concept of private property!)

D. Interaction between Natives and First English Settlers – the more Natives interacted with the English colonists, the more dependent they became on the fur trade; political and linguistic differences among Native Americans hindered united opposition to the English

E. The Iroquois Confederacy was the most important and powerful Native American alliance; lived in permanent settlements

III. Forced Removal of American Indians to the Trans-Mississippi WestA. Worcester v. Georgia (1831) – the Cherokees (unlike any other tribes) tried to mount a court challenge to the

removal order; the SCOTUS upheld the rights of the Cherokees to their tribal landsB. Andrew Jackson and the Cherokees – Jackson refused to recognize the Court’s decisionC. The Trail of Tears – Jackson’s policy resulted in the removal of the Cherokee to settlements across the

Mississippi River; the Trail of Tears refers to the relocation of Natives to Oklahoma (1/4 of the Cherokee people died)

IV. Government Policy Toward American Indians in the Second Half of the 19 th Century A. Decline of the Plains Indians resulted from slaughter of 70 million buffalo, spread of epidemic diseases, and

construction of the railroads; the publication of Century of Dishonor (1881) by Helen Hunt Jackson created more public awareness of the wrongs inflicted by the federal government on Native Americans

B. Dawes Act of 1887 was a misguided attempt to assimilate Native Americans into mainstream America by dissolving many tribes as legal entities, eliminating tribal ownership of land, and granting 160 acres to individual family heads.

- It ignored the reliance of traditional Indian culture on tribally-held land. - By 1900, Indians had lost 50% of the land they had held 20 years earlier.- The forced assimilation doctrine remained government policy for almost 50 years.- The Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 partially reversed the individualistic approach by

restoring the tribal basis of Indian life.C. The Ghost Dance was a sacred ritual expressing a vision that the buffalo would return and all elements of

White civilization would disappear. Fearing that the ceremony would trigger an uprising, the army attempted to stamp it out at the Battle of Wounded Knee (~200 Indian men, women & children were killed).

V. Contributions During WWIIA. Homefront – Native Americans volunteered to work in defense industries.B. Navajo Code Talkers -- ~400 Navajos served as Code Talkers in the Pacific Theater (because fewer than 30

non-Navajos understood the unwritten language); their primary job was to transmit vital battlefield information via telegraphs and radios

MAJOR THEMES/DATES: Migration and ImmigrationI. The Colonial Period

A. The Puritans – immigrated to New England in the 1630s (part of the Great English migration of ~70,000 people) because of desire to…

- escape political repressions- find new economic opportunities and to avoid recession in England- escape restrictions on their religious practices

B. Migration to Appalachia – the Proclamation of 1763 set a boundary across which colonists were not supposed to cross (to prevent costly conflicts with trans-Appalachian Indians)

- As American Indians were defeated, Scotch-Irish, German & English immigrants moved into Appalachia… motivated by low price and easy availability of land

II. Early 19 th Century: 1800-1850 A. The Irish were the largest # of immigrants during the first half of the 19th C; fled the potato famine, settled in

urban cities on East coast, worked on canal & RR projectsB. The Germans were second largest group, fleeing political turmoil in GermanyC. The Know-Nothing Party was first nativist political party, directed hostility to Catholic immigrants from

Ireland and Germany

III. Late 19 th and Early 20 th Century: 1880-1924 A. Exodusters were African-Americans who fled the violence of Reconstruction South in 1879-80, mostly went to

KansasB. New Immigrants – before 1880, most immigrants came from British Isles and Western Europe; beginning in

1880, new wave came from small towns and villages in S & E Europe (Italy, Russian, Poland, Austria- Hungary), settled primarily in large cities in NE and Midwest (very few went to the South)

C. Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was the first law to exclude a group because of ethnic background; prohibited the immigration of Chinese to the US; was strongly supported by working-class Americans;

reflected anti-immigration sentiment in CaliforniaD. Nativist Opposition based on to New Immigrants because of their different religions, different languages &

cultures, they were willing to work for lower wages than native-born workers, and they were not familiar with the American political system

E. The National Origins Act was to use quotas to restrict the flow of newcomers from S & E Europe; favored immigrants from N & W Europe; therefore decreased #s coming from Europe to the US in the

1920s (didn’t affect # of Mexicans or Puerto Ricans immigrating because they were not included in the restrictions from either 1921 or 1924 acts)

IV. The Black MigrationA. Causes – Jim Crow laws in the South denied African-Americans their rights as citizens & forced them to

endure poverty & systematic discrimination; beginning with WWI, demand for labor attracted African- Americans to cities in the N & W; migration continued to N & W cities during WWII

V. Immigration from Mexico- During the Great Depression, many Mexicans returned to Mexico- Surge in immigration in 20th Century because relaxed quotas during the 1960s, a desire for economic &

employment opportunities, & desire to reunite with family who had immigrated earlier

VI. Population Shifts after WWIIA. From Cities to Suburbs in 1950s, mass migration of middle-income Americans from cities to suburbs was

facilitated by new interstate highway systemB. From Frostbelt to Sunbelt – beginning in 1970s, largest growth in states below 37th parallel (from Virginia to

California) = largest population gains in the S & W continuesC. From Latin America and Asia – Since 1980, significant increase in immigration from Latin America and Asia;

Hispanics are largest minority group, especially in SW

MAJOR THEMES/DATES: Labor Leaders, Organizations, Strikes & Legislation1. The Knights of Labor – led by Terence Powderly, the Knights grew rapidly (peaking at 730k members in 1886) because of…

- open-membership policy, industrialization of American economy, and growth of urban population- they welcomed unskilled and semi-skilled workers (including women, immigrants & African-Americans).- they were idealists who believed they could eliminate conflict between labor & management; their goal

was to create a cooperative society in which laborers, not capitalists, owned the industries in which they worked.- the Haymarket Square riot was unfairly blamed on the Knights – and resulted in the public associating

them with anarchists2. The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) – led by Mother Jones, Big Bill Haywood, and Eugene Debs. Like the KoL, the IWW strove to unite all laborers, including unskilled workers and African-Americans, who were excluded from craft unions.

- Unlike the KoL, the IWW (“Wobblies”) embraced the rhetoric of class conflict, and endorsed violent tactics.

- Membership never exceeded 150k, and the IWW collapsed during WWI.3. The American Federation of Labor (AFL) – led by Samuel Gompers; was an alliance of skilled workers; concentrated on higher wages, shorter hours, and better working conditions4. The Great Railroad Strike, 1877 was provoked by the B&O RR’s cutting wages for the second time in a year; remembered as the first strike in US history; paralyzed the nation’s commerce for 45 days; forced governors in 10 states to mobilize militia to re-open RR traffic5. Sherman Anti-Trust Act, 1890 forbade only unreasonable combinations or contracts in restraint of trade; it had little immediate impact on the regulation of large corporations; in the last decade of the 19th Century, the act was used primarily to curb labor unions.

- The act declared illegal “every contract, combination in the form of trust, or otherwise, or conspiracy in restraint of trade among several states.”

6. Homestead Strike, 1892 began as a dispute between Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers and the Carnegie Steel Company; the AA refused to accept pay cuts and went on strike in Homestead, Pennsylvania; ultimately, the strike culminated in a battle between strikers and private security guards hired by the company.7. Pullman Strike, 1894 – When the national economy fell into a depression, the Pullman Car Company cut wages while maintaining rents and prices in a company town of 12,000 workers – resulted in a strike that halted a substantial part of American railroad commerce. The strike ended when President Cleveland ordered federal troops to Chicago, ostensibly to protect RR-carried mail, but in reality, to crush the strike.8. The Anthracite Coal Strike of 1902 – by United Mine Workers of America in eastern Pennsylvania; was arbitrated with the active involvement of President Teddy Roosevelt; marked the first time the federal govt intervened in a labor dispute as a neutral arbitrator.9. The Wagner Act of 1935 (also known as the National Labor Relations Act) – ensured workers’ rights to organize and bargain collectively; passage of the act led to a dramatic increase in labor union membership.10. The Congress of Industrial Workers (CIO) – led by John Lewis; organized unskilled and semi-skilled factory workers in basic manufacturing industries like steel and automobiles11. The Split Between the AFL and the CIO – the American Federation of Labor split apart because they favored organizing workers according to their skills and trades; the CIO favored organizing all workers in a particular industry.12. Taft-Hartley Act, 1947 – primary purpose was to curb the power of labor unions; supporters of the act believed that:

- unions were abusing their power- widespread strikes would endanger the nation’s vital defense industries- some labor unions were infiltrated by Communists- employers were being coerced into hiring union workers

13. United Farm Workers were organized by Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta; union of farm workers

MAJOR THEMES/DATES: Trials and Supreme Court Cases

1. The Marshall Court, 1801-1835 - Chief Justice John Marshall’s court concentrated power in a strong central government- SCOTUS decisions tended to promote business enterprise- upheld the supremacy of federal legislation over state legislation

2. Marbury v. Madison , 1803 – established the principle of judicial review, which gave the SCOTUS the authority to declare acts of Congress unconstitutional

3. McCulloch v. Maryland, 1819 -- ruled that states could not levy taxes on the federal government and the creation of the Bank of the US (created by Hamilton) was within the power of Congress

4. Dartmouth College v. Woodward , 1819 – ruled that the Constitution protected contracts from state encroachments (safeguarded business enterprise from interference by state governments)

5. Gibbons v. Ogden , 1824 -- ruled that federal charters overruled state charters and that only the federal government had the right to control interstate commerce.

6. Worcester v. Georgia , 1831 – upheld the rights of Cherokee tribe, but President Andrew Jackson refused to recognize the Court’s decision; because of his refusal to enforce the Court’s decision, the case was followed by the removal of the Cherokees from Georgia

7. Prigg v. Pennsylvania, 1842 -- ruled that the return of runaway slaves was a federal responsibility; Northern states began passing personal liberty laws prohibiting the use of state resources in the capture and return of fugitive slaves

8. Commonwealth v. Hunt, 1842 -- Massachusetts became the first state to rule that trade union organizations and striking tactics were legal as long as their methods were honorable and peaceful

9. Dred Scott v. Sanford , 1857- African Americans were not citizens & had no rights (even to petition the courts)- slaves could not be taken from their masters, regardless of a territory’s “free” or “slave” status- ruled that national legislation could not limit the spread of slavery in the territories- invalidated the Northwest Ordinance and the 36°30’ line in the Missouri Compromise- later invalidated by the 14th Amendment

10. Wabash v. Illinois, 1886 -- ruled that because only the federal government could regulate interstate commerce, ONLY the federal government (not the states) could regulate railroads; led to Congress passing the Interstate Commerce Acts and establishing the Interstate Commerce Commission, the first federal regulatory agency

11. Plessy v. Ferguson, 1896 – involved the legality of segregated railroad cars in Louisiana; upheld and sanctioned segregation in “separate but equal” public facilities

12. Late 19th and Early 20th Century Cases – SCOTUS decisions strengthened the position of big business 13. Sacco and Vanzetti Trial, 1920s – illustrated the widespread fear of radicals and recent immigrants 14. John T. Scopes Trial, 1925 – over legality of a Tennessee law prohibiting the teaching of the theory of evolution

in the state’s public schools (Scopes, the biology teacher, was indicted); illustrates the cultural conflict in the 1920s between fundamentalism and modernism

15. Korematsu v. the United States, 1944 – when Japanese Americans living on the West Coast of the US were forced from their homes into detention camps (after Pearl Harbor attack) on the grounds that they were a potential threat to the security of the US, the SCOTUS ruled the relocation constitutional as a wartime necessity (NOW seen as a flagrant violation of civil liberties)

16. The Warren Court, 1953-1969 – the Court used its power in many controversial cases to establish rights for those accused of crimes, free speech, privacy

17. Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 1954- reversed Plessy standard of “separate but equal” by declaring racially segregated public schools inherently unequal- based on denial of equal protection of laws under the 14th Amendment- MOST IMPORTANT SCOTUS case on 20th C as it had widespread consequences for minority groups

18. Baker v. Carr, 1962 – established the principle of “one man, one vote” as the SCOTUS required congressional reapportionment of districts for some states (to protect minority votes)

19. Engel v. Vitale, 1962 -- ruled against an organized prayer (composed by the NY State Board of Regents) in public schools

20. Gideon v. Wainwright, 1963 -- ruled that legal counsel must be provided to anyone charged with a felony if they are unable to afford their own; extended in 1972 to include anyone charged with a misdemeanor

21. Griswold v. Connecticut, 1965 – struck down a state law prohibiting the use of contraceptives; proclaimed a “right to privacy” that soon provided the basis for decisions protecting women’s abortion rights

22. Miranda v. Arizona, 1966 – ruled that no confession can be admissible unless a suspect has been made aware of their rights and the suspect has waived them

23. Roe v. Wade, 1973 – upheld abortion rights for women based, in part, on the right to privacy established in the Griswold case

MAJOR THEMES/DATES: Major Legislative Acts1. Navigation Acts, 1651 – puts mercantilism into practice; colonial products that could be shipped only to England were listed; designed to subordinate the colonial economy to that of the mother country

2. Sugar Act, 1764 – first law passed by Parliament to raise revenue for the Britain; designed to tighten enforcement of British customs laws in America… following bitter protests from colonists, British officials lowered the duties

3. Stamp Act, 1765 – primary purpose was to raise revenue to support British troops stationed in America; raise the question of whether Parliament had the right to tax the colonies without their consent; repealed because colonial boycotts of English goods were hurting British merchants

- revealed that many colonists believed they were entitled to all the rights and privileges of British subjects- demonstrated that colonists were willing to use violence rather than legal means against the British- Britain maintained that the colonies had no right to independence from parliamentary authority

4. Coercive Acts, 1774 (also known as the Intolerable Acts) – British response to the Boston Tea Party; Parliament closed the port of Boston and drastically reduced self-government in the Massachusetts colony; also required quartering of troops in colonists’ barns and houses

5. Kansas-Nebraska Act, 1854 – repealed the Missouri Compromise of 1820 (added to sectional crisis); applied the principle of popular sovereignty to the territories and permitted the expansion of slavery beyond the Southern states; sparked the formation of the Republican Party

6. Homestead Act, 1862 – permitted any citizen or prospective citizen to claim 160 acres of public land and to purchase it for a small fee after living on it for 5 years; encouraged the settlement of the Western frontier

7. Chinese Exclusion Act, 1882 – first law to exclude a group from America because of ethnic background; prohibition of immigration from China was strongly supported by working-class Americans, especially in California

8. Dawes Act, 1877 – divided Native American tribal lands into individual holdings in order to assimilate American Indians into mainstream American culture; the act dissolved many tribes as legal entities, wiped out tribal ownership of land, and set up individual Indian family heads with 160 acres

9. Sherman Antitrust Act, 1890 – forbade unreasonable combinations or contracts in restraint of trade; had little immediate impact on the regulation of large corporations (in fact, at the end of the 19th C, it was used mostly to curb labor unions)

10. Pure Food and Drug Act, 1906 – Progressive era legislation prompted by Upton Sinclair’s novel The Jungle

11. Federal Reserve Act, 1913 – created a central Federal Reserve Board appointed by the president; established a national system of 12 district banks and made currency and credit more elastic

12. National Origins Act, 1924 – intended to restrict the immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe; established immigrant quotas

13. National Industrial Recovery Act, 1933 – sought to combat the Great Depression by fostering government-business cooperation; allowed businesses to regulate themselves… did not succeed

14. Neutrality Acts, 1930s – expressed the US commitment to isolationism (after WWI and before WWII)

15. Social Security Act, 1935 – part of New Deal reforms, the act created a federal pension system funded by taxes on a worker’s wages and equivalent contributions from employers

16. Wagner Act, 1935 (also known as the National Labor Relations Act) – ensured workers right to organize and bargain collectively; led to a rapid rise in labor union membership

17. Lend-Lease Act, 1941 – provided military supplies to the Allies; used primarily to help Great Britain and the USSR resist Nazi Germany

18. Taft-Hartley Act, 1947 – primary purpose was to curb the power of labor unions; fear that unions were abusing their powers and that widespread strikes would endanger national defense industries

19. Federal Highway Act, 1956 – created the Interstate Highway System for quick mobilization during the Cold War; played a key role in suburbanization

20. US Immigration and Nationality Act, 1965 – abolished the national origins quota system created in the 1920s

MAJOR THEMES/DATES: Key Works of Literature, Art and Music

Focus on why the work is important and what it illustrates about the time it was written!1. The Last of the Mohicans, 1757 – written by James Fennimore Cooper, who was the first American write to feature uniquely American

characters; created the first genuine heroes in American literature2. “Common Sense,” 1776 – Thomas Paine called for independence from Great Britain; opposed monarchy and strongly favored republican

government; offered a vigorous defense of republican principles and helped overcome the loyalty many still felt for the mother country3. The Federalist Papers, 1787 – written by Hamilton, Madison & Jay to support the ratification of the Constitution of 1787; asserted that a

large republic offered the best protection of minority rights through separation of powers and checks and balances4. The Liberator, 1831 – William Lloyd Garrison’s newspaper that called for the immediate emancipation of slaves5. Democracy in America, 1835 – French author Alexis de Tocqueville (after visiting the US) argued that American individualism arose as a

result of the absence of an aristocracy (more political and economic equality)6. The Hudson River School of Art, mid-1800s – group of artists who painted landscapes emphasizing American’s natural beauty

(nationalism!)7. McGuffey Readers, 1836 – used by 4/5 of all American school children, these were the best known and most widely used reading

instruction books in the 19th century; featured stories, poems and essays supporting patriotism and moral values8. “Civil Disobedience: On the Duty of Civil Disobedience,” 1849 – Henry David Thoreau expressed his opposition to the Mexican-American War,

arguing that individuals have a moral responsibility to oppose unjust laws and actions by government (influenced MLK’s philosophy)9. The Scarlet Letter, 1850 – Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel dealt with the legacy of Puritanism10. Leaves of Grass, 1855 – Walt Whitman’s poems featured the Romantic movement’s revolt against reason and embrace of nature11. Uncle Tom’s Cabin, 1852 – Harriet Beecher Stowe’s best-selling novel strengthened Northern opposition to slavery12. Walden, 1854 – Thoreau’s novel espoused transcendentalism (truth through inner reflection and exposure to nature) and the value of a life

of simplicity and contemplation13. Horatio Alger, Jr. stories, 1867-1899 – collection of ~270 dime novels that featured rags-to-riches stories describing how down-and-out

boys become rich and successful through hard work, honesty and a little luck (think Gilded Age)14. A Century of Dishonor, 1881 – Helen Hunt Jackson’s book aroused public awareness of the federal government’s long betrayal and cheating

of Native Americans15. The Influence of Sea Power upon History, 1890 – Captain Alfred Mahan argued that control of the sea was the key to world dominance;

influential in promoting the growth of US naval power during the late 19th C (beginnings of imperialism)16. How the Other Half Lives, 1890 – Jacob Riis journalism and photography of the poverty and despair experienced by immigrants living in

New York City (Progressives)17. “The Significance of the Frontier in American History,” 1893 – Frederick Jackson Turner argues that the development of American

individualism and democracy was shaped by the frontier experience and the promise of economic opportunity by owning land (closing of the Western frontier)

18. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, 1900 – Frank Baum’s political commentary on free silver and the plight of American farmers19. The Ashcan School of Art, early 1900s – artists focused on depicting urban scenes such as crowded tenements and boisterous barrooms20. The Jungle, 1906 – Upton Sinclair’s novel exposed the appalling conditions in the Chicago meatpacking industry (muckraking); helped bring

about passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act of 190621. Lost Generation of the 1920s – F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway and others were called the Lost Generation because they were

disillusioned with American society during the 1920s (after devastation of WWI); criticized middle-class conformity and materialism22. Harlem Renaissance, 1920s – key writers included Langston Hughes & Zora Neale Hurston– all celebrated pride in African American culture23. Jazz – black musicians created new sound that was especially popular among the youth because it symbolized a desire to break with

tradition24. The Grapes of Wrath, 1939 – John Steinbeck’s novel describes the plight of “Okies” forced to leave Dust-Bowl stricken Oklahoma in a futile

attempt to find work in California25. The Organization Man, 1956 – W.H. Whyte’s novel criticized the homogenous culture of the 1950s, especially the belief that economic

growth would solve all problems26. On the Road, 1957 – Jack Kerouac’s novel expressed the alienation and disillusionment of the Beat Generation (Beatniks); rejected middle-

class conformity and materialism27. Rock and Roll, 1950s – inspired and strongly influenced by Black musical traditions, especially rhythm and blues; key musicians included

Little Richard, Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley28. Silent Spring, 1962 – Rachel Carson’s work protested the contamination of the air, land and water with chemical insecticides; played a key

role in sparking the environmental movement in the US29. The Other America, 1962 – Michael Harrington’s influential report on poverty in American played an important role in awakening JFK’s

interest in the poor, and paved the way for LBJ’s War on Poverty30. “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” 1963 – Dr. Martin Luther King argued that civil disobedience is a justified response to unjust laws

MAJOR THEMES/DATES: Rebellions

1. King Phillip’s War – in 1675, Indian Chief Metacom (called King Phillip by the English) was defeated in the last serious Indian challenge to white settlement in New England; however, it managed to slow the westward march of English settlement for several decades to follow

2. Bacon’s Rebellion – in 1676 Nathaniel Bacon led over 1,000 Virginia frontiersmen (many were former indentured servants) against Governor William Berkeley and the colonial government at Jamestown for denying political rights and failing to provide assistance against the Indians. After burning Jamestown, the rebellion collapsed, and lordly planters began to look toward African slaves for labor rather than risk the unruliness of former indentured servants.

3. Pontiac’s Rebellion – in 1763, short after the French and Indian War, Chief Pontiac, recognizing his tribe’s precarious situation now that the French had been defeated, led a campaign to drive the British out of the Ohio River Valley. Two thousand settlers and British soldiers were killed before the British could crush the uprising (one general distributed blankets to the Indians infected with smallpox)

4. The Paxton Boys – in 1763 a band from western Pennsylvania known as the Paxton boys descended on Philadelphia with demands for relief from colonial (not British) taxes and for money to help them defend themselves against Indians. The colonial government made concessions to them … precedent of taking up arms against government was once again established.

5. The Regulators – in 1771 a small-scale civil war broke out in North Carolina; The Regulators were farmers in the Carolina upcountry who organized opposition to the high taxes imposed by the colonial government. When the assembly failed to address their grievances, they armed themselves and began resisting tax collections by force. A militia eventually suppressed them and grievances against the British government began to overshadow complaints against the North Carolina colonial government.

6. Shay’s Rebellion – one of many incident in the 1780’s that mobs of distressed farmers rioted in New England; Daniel Shay led an effort in Massachusetts to resist tax collection and stop foreclosures of property at courthouses; a private militia was formed to suppress the uprising signaling to many, particularly the economic elite, that the Articles of Confederation was too weak and a new constitution was needed

7. Whiskey Rebellion – in 1794 when farmers in Pennsylvania unhappy with Hamilton’s tax on whiskey began to interrupt tax collection and tar and feather tax collectors, President Washington led 15,000 troops against the rebellion which quickly collapsed; demonstrated the strength of the new national government (contrast to Shay’s Rebellion)

8. Coxey’s Army – in response to the hardships of the Panic of 1863, a Populist named Jacob Coxey led 500 unemployed men in protest at the nation’s capitol; they demanded inflation of the currency and a massive public works program to create jobs, but Congress failed to respond; along with violent strikes, this gave many middle class Americans reason to grow increasingly concerned about labor radicalism and social unrest

9. Bonus Army – also known as the Bonus Expeditionary Force, over 20,000 World War I veterans marched on Washington DC 1932 demanding early payment on their bonuses; the subsequent denial of the bonus and the forced removal of the veterans using military troops was the final blow to President Hoover’s reputation

MAJOR THEMES/DATES: Land Acquisition1. Appalachians to Mississippi -- The French ceded this area to the British by the Treaty of Paris in 1763 at the end of the French and Indian War. The British then ceded it to the United States in the Treaty of Paris in 1783 at the end of the American Revolution.

2. The Old Northwest -- These “western” lands between the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers were turned over by the former colonies to the new national government as a condition for the ratification of the Articles of Confederation. The Northwest Ordinances of 1787 banned slavery in the territory and established a system by which territories become states.

3. Louisiana Purchase (1803) -- In 1803, Thomas Jefferson purchased the vast territory, which nearly doubled the size of the United States, from France despite his concerns that he lacked the constitutional authority to do so. The Lewis and Clark Expedition mapped the region and acquired information about its land, peoples, and resources.

4. Florida (1818) -- On the pretext that hostile Indians and fugitive slaves were using Florida as a refuge, Andrew Jackson secured permission to pursue them into Spanish Florida. In 1818, he exceeded his instructions when he seized two Spanish posts and deposed the Spanish governor. With Secretary of State John Q. Adam’s support, a treaty was negotiated in which Spain ceded Florida to the United States in exchange for America’s abandonment of claims in Texas.

5. Texas (1845) -- Texas won its independence from Mexico in 1836, but concern for the sectional balance between slave and free states delayed its admission to the US until 1845 after the election of expansionist proponent James K. Polk to the presidency.

6. Oregon (1846) -- After a period of joint occupation with Britain, Oregon settlers and other expansionists sought to annex the region (“Fifty-Four Forty or Fight!”). Ultimately, in 1846, the US compromised with Great Britain and settled the northern boundary of Oregon at the 49th parallel.

7. Mexican Cession (1848) -- Expansionist President James K. Polk maneuvered the US into the Mexican-American War in 1848. With the US victory and the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Mexico ceded the entire American southwest, including coveted California, to the US. Its acquisition triggered a debate resulting in the Compromise of 1850 that allowed California to be admitted as a free state, but introduced the device of popular sovereignty into the other areas of the Mexican cession lands.

8. Gadsen Purchase (1853) -- Supporters of a southern route for the proposed transcontinental railroad arranged for the US to purchase territory slightly south of the Mexican border for $10 million.

9. Alaska (1867) -- Secretary of State William Seward, an ardent expansionist, signed a treaty with Russia for the $7.2 million purchase of Alaska. Most Americans, preoccupied with Reconstruction, considered this “Seward’s Folly” – wasteful and unnecessary.

10. Puerto Rico, Guam, Philippines (1898) -- As a result of the US victory in the Spanish-American War and a US payment of $20 million, Spain ceded these colonies to the United States. Puerto Rico remains an American territory.

11. Panama Canal Zone (1903) -- When the Columbians refused to allow the US to build and lease a canal through the isthmus, “Big Stick” President Theodore Roosevelt used the US navy to support a Panamanian revolt against Columbia. The US then paid the original French company building the canal $40 million and the new nation of Panama $10 for the right to build and control the canal in perpetuity. President Jimmy Carter eventually returned the ownership and control of the Panama Canal to the Panamanian government.

MAJOR THEMES/DATES: Key Elections

1800 – bitter fight that pitted Republican Jefferson against Federalist John Adams; considered a “Revolution” because it resulted in a peaceful transition of power from one political party to another (a first in history)

1824 – “Corrupt Bargain” -- Andrew Jackson’s supporters asserted that Henry Clay maneuvered the Congress to elect John Q. Adams in exchange for being named Secretary of State; ended the “Era of Good Feelings” and resulted in the founding of the Democratic Party that still exists today

1860 – election of Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln triggered the secession of the southern states and the coming of the Civil War

1876 – disputed election that led to a compromise between Republicans and Democrats; Rep. Rutherford B. Hayes became president in exchange for the withdrawal of federal troops from the defeated South; with the withdrawal of troops, Reconstruction reforms weren’t enforced, Reconstruction ended, and the former slaves found themselves disenfranchised under the Jim Crow Laws and in a cycle of poverty

1896 – William Jennings Bryan, the Democratic and Populist candidate, challenged William McKinley, the Republican candidate; McKinley’s victory determined that big business would be the dominant economic activity and have the backing of the government

1912 – battle of the 3 Progressive presidents and their forms of progressivism (Republican Taft, Progressive/Bull Moose Roosevelt, and Democrat Wilson)

1932 – election at the height of the Great Depression; FDR’s election marked a shift in the government’s role in the economy, from a “laissez-faire” role to one of Keynesian economics and providing safety nets for the people

1948 – surprise election of Truman showed the public’s concern over the Cold War tensions (Berlin Airlift)

1960 – election of the first Catholic president, JFK; was also the first election that really showed the power of television

1980 – reemergence of conservatism and the New Right with the election of Ronald Reagan after decades of “liberal” policies

2008 – Barack Obama is the first African-American elected president in US history

MAJOR THEMES/DATES: Key Political PartiesFederalist – Supporters of Alexander Hamilton’s economic plan (tariffs, excise tax on whiskey, national bank, increasing national debt to build nation’s credit), loose interpretation of the Constitution (“necessary and proper clause”), Great Britain, and a strong national government; dominated government in the 1790s, but then quickly disappeared except for the lasting impact on the judiciary because of Chief Justice John Marshall

Democratic-Republicans (“Republicans”) – supporters of Thomas Jefferson and his opposition to the national bank; supported strict interpretation of the Constitution (10th Amendment), agrarian society, and France; became the only political party from 1816-1824 (“The Era of Good Feelings”); eventually became the National Republicans and became much like the Federalists of the earlier era

* Democratic – founded by supporters of Andrew Jackson in response to the “Corrupt Bargain” of 1824; Andrew Jackson’s supporters asserted that Henry Clay maneuvered the Congress to elect John Q. Adams in exchange for being named Secretary of State; Jacksonian Democracy refers to the general extension of democracy; although it stressed equality, it was also pro-slavery and anti-Indian; will be the party of the white South after the Civil War, but will experience a realignment during the Great Depression (FDR’s New Deal brings support of the lower classes and minorities)

Whigs – unusual group of people united in their hatred of Andrew Jackson; Great Triumvirate of Henry Clay, John C. Calhoun, and Daniel Webster

Free Soil – third party opposed to the extension of slavery into the western territories

Know Nothing – anti-immigrant third party

* Republican – founded in response to the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854 that introduced popular sovereignty into the western territories; absorbed the Free Soil Party and the abolitionists; became the party of the North/Union, winning the Civil War, and leading Reconstruction

Greenback- third party that supported inflationary currency to help debtors

Populist – primarily farmers (and western miners) in the 1890s who demanded the government be more responsive to their interests by curbing the power of the trusts and inflating the currency (“free silver”); climaxed in 1896 when they joined with the Democrats to elect William Jennings Bryan

Bull Moose – when Republican president Teddy Roosevelt grew frustrated with his successor’s (Taft’s) actions, he decided to run for president again in 1912 ; his supporters formed the Progressive Party (aka Bull Moose Party)

Dixiecrat – Southern Democrats established during the election of 1948; opposed the Democratic Party’s support of the emerging Civil Rights Movement

MAJOR THEMES/DATES: Foreign Policy in Latin America

I. The Monroe Doctrine A. Principles of the Monroe Doctrine

- American continents are no longer open to European colonization- the US will regard European interference in the political affairs of the Western Hemisphere as

hostile behavior- the US will protect republican institutions of government in the W Hemisphere- the US will not interfere in internal affairs of European nations- US lacked the military power to enforce the Monroe Doctrine

II. The Spanish-American War – caused by the sinking of the USS Maine in Havana harbor; sensationalist stories of “yellow journalism” newspapers played a significant role in arousing public support to liberate Cuba from Spain and avenge the sinking of the Maine

A. Territorial Acquisitions – Spain relinquished Guam, Puerto Rico, Cuba and the Philippines to the USB. Debate over Annexing the Philippines

- the Anti-Imperialism League opposed annexation, saying it violated America’s commitment to self-determination and anti-colonialism

- supporters of annexation argued that America had a moral responsibility to “civilize” the islands (and that the Philippines could become a valuable trading partner)

IIL The Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine – President Teddy Roosevelt worried that several Latin American nations would default on debts owed to European banks, that would then provoke European military intervention; TR issued the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine to forestall European intervention

- Asserted America’s right to intervene in the affairs of Central America and the Caribbean- Created the US as a police power in Central and South America (TR, Taft & Wilson all send

troops to Cuba, Panama, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, Mexico & Haiti)

IV. Dollar Diplomacy – President Taft was primarily driven by US economic and strategic concerns in the region

V. The Good Neighbor Policy – the US sought greater cooperation with Latin American nations, primarily to fight against fascism; FDR formally renounced US armed intervention in Latin America; the US also participated in reciprocal trade agreements with nations in Latin America

VI. Kennedy and Cuba A. Bay of Pigs – JFK inherited a CIA-backed scheme to topple Fidel Castro from power by invading Cuba

with anti-Communist exiles; when the invasion failed, JFK refused to rescue the insurgents (forcing them to surrender)

- damaged US credibility- pushed Castro to an even closer alliance with the USSR- Soviet Khrushchev responded by secretly sending nuclear missiles to Cuba

B. The Cuban Missile Crisis – was precipitated by the discovery of Soviet missile sites in Cuba; 6-day standoff resulted in Soviet withdrawal of missiles from Cuba AND US withdrawal of missiles from Turkey

MAJOR THEMES/DATES: Foreign Policy (Treaties, Policies & Events)Treaty of Paris 1763 – ended the French & Indian War; France ceded all its territory in North America to Britain

Treaty of Paris 1783 – ended the American Revolution; Britain recognized US independence and ceded land between Great Lakes, Mississippi River, and Florida

Jay Treaty 1794 - the British agreed to remove its forts from US soil; failure of Jay to resolve other infringements on American shipping rights outraged Republicans and worsened relations between the anti-British Republicans and Federalists

Pinckney Treaty 1795 – Spain agreed to allow the US access to the Mississippi River and port of New Orleans

Treaty of Ghent 1814 – ended War of 1812; basically an armistice as it stopped the fighting and agreed to restore conquered territories; none of the other issues that caused the war were resolved

Treaty of 1818 (Rush-Bagot Treaty) – the US and Great Britain agreed to a ten-year joint occupation of Oregon and agreed to set the boundary between British Canada and the US at the 49th parallel; another treaty in 1846 gave the US Oregon north to the 49th //

Adams-On í s (Florida Purchase Treaty of 1819 ) – Spain ceded Florida to the US; in exchange, the US gave up its claims to Texas

Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo 1849– ended the Mexican American War; Mexico ceded what is now the American Southwest

Treaty of Paris 1899 – ended the Spanish-American War; Spain ceded Guam and Puerto Rico, and the US paid Spain $20 million for the Philippines

Treaty of Versailles 1919 – peace terms to end World War I; it created the League of Nations (though US didn’t join) and harshly punished Germany, paving the way for World War II

1978 Treaty with Panama – negotiated by Jimmy Carter to return control of the Panama Canal to the Panamanians

Camp David Accords – peace treaty between Egypt and Israel negotiated by Jimmy Carter in which Egypt became the first Arab nation to recognize Israel’s legitimacy

Washington’s Farewell Address – Washington warned against the dangers of foreign entanglements

XYZ Affair – the French demanded that American diplomats submit a bribe in order to engage in diplomatic relations; outraged the anti-French Federalists

Embargo Act 1807 – called “peaceable coercion” by Jefferson; the withholding of American goods in an attempt to pressure France and Great Britain to stop interfering with American shipping; policy failed and was economically devastating, particularly to the Northeast section of the country; the policy was revised with the Non-Intercourse Act in 1808, but ultimately war with Britain was not avoided in 1812

Open Door Policy 1899 – US called for all nations to respect fair competition in China, not monopolize it

Big Stick Diplomacy – Teddy Roosevelt’s dependence on military strength to influence other nations

Dollar Diplomacy – Taft’s emphasis on using American investments to influence other nations

Fourteen Points – speech in which Woodrow Wilson outlined a plan for future world peace (open agreements, free trade, self-determination, and a League of Nations) upon the end of the WWI

Dawes Plan – banking arrangement in which US banks issued new loans to Germany after WWI, so that it could make war reparation payments to France and Britain, which could in turn, repay their WWI debts to the US; its failure worsened the Great Depression

Kellogg-Briand Pact – first signed in 1928, it reflected international cooperation tendencies, with eventually 62 countries agreed to “outlaw” war (unless for defense); created a false sense of security since its enforcement was impossible

Neutrality Acts – legislation enacted in 1936 and 1937 prohibiting Americans from selling military goods to any warring nations and establishing that non-military goods would be on a cash-and-carry basis only

Lend-Lease Act of 1940 – with Britain on the verge of collapse and out of money to purchase war materials, Congress enacted this legislation allowing for the loan or lease of military goods to the Allies

Atlantic Charter – agreement between FDR and Britain’s Prime Minister Winston Churchill in which the leaders agreed that only an unconditional defeat of Hitler would be acceptable

Containment Policy – shaped by George Kennan and first articulated by President Truman (the Truman Doctrine), this established the US commitment to stop the spread of communism that prevailed for over 40 years

Marshall Plan – post-WWII effort to rebuild Western Europe, and therefore, forestall the spread of communism there; the US gave $ billions to western European nations; considered successful

NATO – post-WWII military alliance among the US and western European nations to protect themselves from communist aggression; agreed that an attack on one would be considered an attack on all; communist eastern Europe responded by forming its own military alliance (Warsaw Pact)

Détente – Nixon’s efforts to ease hostility and tensions with the Soviet powers

MAJOR THEMES/DATES: Scandals

Peggy Eaton Affair (1830’s) -- arose following the refusal of VP John C. Calhoun and his wife to socialize with Peggy Eaton, the wife of another cabinet member, because they alleged that their relationship stemmed from an extramarital affair. President Andrew Jackson, still sensitive about the treatment of his wife prior to her death, and Martin Van Buren were outraged with the Calhouns. This led to a falling out between Jackson and Calhoun, and the emergence of Martin Van Buren as Jackson’s closest advisor.

Credit Mobilier (1872) -- rocked the administration of President Ulysses S. Grant; Grant’s vice president was found guilty, along with other congressmen, of accepting bribes from the Credit Mobilier railroad construction company in order to ignore how they had greatly inflated what they charged the federal government to build a railroad line

Whiskey Ring (1874-1875) -- another Grant administration scandal in which his personal secretary was linked to falsifying records in order to rob the US Treasury of millions of dollars in excise-tax revenues

Tweed Ring (1871) -- New York City machine boss William “Boss” Tweed used bribery, graft, and fraudulent elections to steal as much as $200 million from the city; in 1871, the New York Times published damning evidence and Tweed was subsequently prosecuted and jailed.

Teapot Dome (1921) -- occurred during Harding’s administration and involved one member of Harding’s administration accepting a $100,000 bribe in exchange for leasing naval oil reserves to two wealthy oilmen

Watergate (1974) -- Nixon became the only president to resign the office when his campaign was linked to the burglary of the Democratic National Headquarters in D.C. and he was accused of ordering a cover-up

Iran-Contra (1980s) -- During Reagan’s administration, arms had been secretly sold to Iran making Reagan’s words about never dealing with terrorists seem hollow. Upon investigation, the profits generated by the sales were being directed to the Contra rebels in Nicaragua after Congress had voted against any such aid.