Chapter 1

The Americas, Europe, and Africa Before 1492

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Summary

Great civilizations had risen and fallen in the Americas before the arrival of the Europeans. In North America, the complex Pueblo societies including the Mogollon, Hohokam, and Anasazi as well as the city at Cahokia had peaked and were largely memories. The Eastern Woodland peoples were thriving, but they were soon overwhelmed as the number of English, French, and Dutch settlers increased Mesoamerica and South America had also witnessed the rise and fall of cultures.

Key terms

chattel slavery

a system of servitude in which people are treated as personal property to be bought and sold

Black Death

two strains of the bubonic plague that simultaneously swept western Europe in the fourteenth century, causing the death of nearly half the population

chinampas

floating Aztec gardens consisting of a large barge woven from reeds, filled with dirt and floating on the water, allowing for irrigation

Crusades

a series of military expeditions made by Christian Europeans to recover the Holy Land from the Muslims in the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth centuries

feudal society

a social arrangement in which serfs and knights provided labor and military service to noble lords, receiving protection and land use in return

Koran

the sacred book of Islam, believed by Muslims to be the word of God, dictated to Muhammad through an angel, in the seventh century

quipu

an ancient Incan device for recording information, consisting of variously colored threads knotted in different ways

Inquisition

a campaign by the Catholic Church to root out heresy, especially among converted Jews and Muslims

Chapter 2

Early Globalization: The Atlantic World, 1492–1650

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Summary

Although Portugal opened the door to exploration of the Atlantic World, Spanish explorers quickly made inroads into the Americas. Spurred by Christopher Columbus’s glowing reports of the riches to be found in the New World, throngs of Spanish conquistadors set off to find and conquer new lands. They accomplished this through a combination of military strength and strategic alliances with native peoples. Spanish rulers Ferdinand and Isabella promoted the acquisition of these new lands in order to strengthen and glorify their own empire.

Key terms

Calvinism

a branch of Protestantism started by John Calvin, emphasizing human powerlessness before an omniscient God and stressing the idea of predestination

Hispaniola

the island in the Caribbean, present-day Haiti and Dominican Republic, where Columbus landed on his first voyage to the Americas and established a Spanish colony

mercantilism

the protectionist economic principle that nations should control trade with their colonies to ensure a favorable balance of trade

mourning wars

raids or wars that tribes waged in eastern North America in order to replace members lost to smallpox and other diseases

Puritans

a group of religious reformers in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries who wanted to “purify” the Church of England by ridding it of practices associated with the Catholic…

smallpox

a disease that Europeans accidentally brought to the New World, killing millions of Native Americans, who had no immunity to the disease

joint stock company

a business entity in which investors provide the capital and assume the risk in order to reap significant returns

commodification

the transformation of something—for example, an item of ritual significance—into a commodity with monetary value

Chapter 3

Creating New Social Orders: Colonial Societies, 1500–1700

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Summary

Augustine and Santa Fe, the Spanish never found the fabled mountains of gold they sought. They did find many native people to convert to Catholicism, but their zeal nearly cost them the colony of Santa Fe, which they lost for twelve years after the Pueblo Revolt. In truth, the grand dreams of wealth, conversion, and a social order based on Spanish control never came to pass as Spain envisioned them The French and Dutch established colonies in the northeastern part of North America: the Dutch in present-day New York, and the French in present-day Canada.

Key terms

indenture

a labor contract that promised young men, and sometimes women, money and land after they worked for a set period of years

Jesuits

members of the Society of Jesus, an elite Catholic religious order founded in the 1540s to spread Catholicism and to combat the spread of Protestantism

Middle Passage

the perilous, often deadly transatlantic crossing of ships carrying captured Africans from the African coast to the New World

patroonships

large tracts of land and governing rights granted to merchants by the Dutch West India Company in order to encourage colonization

Timucua

the native people of Florida, whom the Spanish displaced with the founding of St. Augustine, the first Spanish settlement in North America

headright system

a system in which parcels of land were granted to settlers who could pay their own way to Virginia

repartimiento

a Spanish colonial system requiring Native American towns to supply workers for the colonizers

maroon communities

groups of escaped enslaved people who resisted recapture and eked a living from the land

Chapter 4

Rule Britannia! The English Empire, 1660–1763

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Summary

In addition to wresting control of New York and New Jersey from the Dutch, Charles II established the Carolinas and Pennsylvania as proprietary colonies. The Restoration colonies also contributed to the rise in population in English America as many thousands of Europeans made their way to the colonies. Starting in 1651, England pursued mercantilist policies through a series of Navigation Acts designed to make the most of England’s overseas possessions. Nonetheless, without proper enforcement of Parliament’s acts and with nothing to prevent colonial traders from commanding their own fleets of ships, the Navigation Acts did not control trade as intended

Key terms

Restoration colonies

the colonies King Charles II established or supported during the Restoration (the Carolinas, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania)

Navigation Acts

a series of English mercantilist laws enacted between 1651 and 1696 in order to control trade with the colonies

proprietary colonies

colonies granted by the king to a trusted individual, family, or group

deism

an Enlightenment-era belief in the existence of a supreme being—specifically, a creator who does not intervene in the universe—representing a rejection of the belief in a…

Dominion of New England

James II’s consolidated New England colony, made up of all the colonies from New Haven to Massachusetts and later New York and New Jersey

Enlightenment

an eighteenth-century intellectual and cultural movement that emphasized reason and science over superstition, religion, and tradition

First Great Awakening

an eighteenth-century Protestant revival that emphasized individual, experiential faith over church doctrine and the close study of scripture

Freemasons

a fraternal society founded in the early eighteenth century that advocated Enlightenment principles of inquiry and tolerance

Chapter 5

Imperial Reforms and Colonial Protests, 1763-1774

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Summary

The British Empire had gained supremacy in North America with its victory over the French in 1763. Almost all of the North American territory east of the Mississippi fell under Great Britain’s control, and British leaders took this opportunity to try to create a more coherent and unified empire after decades of lax… Victory over the French had proved very costly, and the British government attempted to better regulate their expanded empire in North America. The initial steps the British took in 1763 and 1764 raised suspicions among some colonists about the intent of the home government.

Key terms

Boston Massacre

a confrontation between a crowd of Bostonians and British soldiers on March 5, 1770, which resulted in the deaths of five people, including Crispus Attucks, the first official…

Coercive Acts

four acts (Administration of Justice Act, Massachusetts Government Act, Port Act, Quartering Act) that Lord North passed to punish Massachusetts for destroying the tea and…

Massachusetts Circular

a letter penned by Son of Liberty Samuel Adams that laid out the unconstitutionality of taxation without representation and encouraged the other colonies to boycott British goods

no taxation without representation

the principle, first articulated in the Virginia Stamp Act Resolutions, that the colonists needed to be represented in Parliament if they were to be taxed

Proclamation Line

a line along the Appalachian Mountains, imposed by the Proclamation of 1763, west of which British colonists could not settle

Suffolk Resolves

a Massachusetts plan of resistance to the Intolerable Acts that formed the basis of the eventual plan adopted by the First Continental Congress for resisting the British…

Sons of Liberty

artisans, shopkeepers, and small-time merchants who opposed the Stamp Act and considered themselves British patriots

Committees of Correspondence

colonial extralegal shadow governments that convened to coordinate plans of resistance against the British

Chapter 6

America's War for Independence, 1775-1783

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Summary

In Massachusetts and other New England colonies, militias like the minutemen prepared for war by stockpiling weapons and ammunition. Until Parliament passed the Coercive Acts in 1774, most colonists still thought of themselves as proud subjects of the strong British Empire. However, the Coercive (or Intolerable) Acts, which Parliament enacted to punish Massachusetts for failing to pay for the destruction of the tea, convinced many colonists that Great Britain was indeed threatening to… After the first loss of life at the battles of Lexington and Concord in April 1775, skirmishes continued throughout the colonies.

Key terms

minutemen

colonial militias prepared to mobilize and fight the British with a minute’s notice

Dunmore’s Proclamation

the decree signed by Lord Dunmore, the royal governor of Virginia, which proclaimed that any enslaved or indentured servants who fought on the side of the British would be…

republicanism

a political philosophy that holds that states should be governed by representatives, not a monarch; as a social philosophy, republicanism required civic virtue of its citizens

thirteen colonies

the British colonies in North America that declared independence from Great Britain in 1776, which included Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, the province of…

popular sovereignty

the practice of allowing the citizens of a state or territory to decide issues based on the principle of majority rule

confiscation acts

state-wide acts that made it legal for state governments to seize Loyalists’ property

Continental currency

the paper currency that the Continental government printed to fund the Revolution

Yorktown

the Virginia port where British General Cornwallis surrendered to American forces

Chapter 7

Creating Republican Governments, 1776–1790

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Summary

The debate over how much democracy (majority rule) to incorporate in the governing of the new United States raised questions about who was best qualified to participate in government and have the right to vote. Abigail Adams and others pressed for greater rights for women, while the Pennsylvania Abolition Society and New York Manumission Society worked toward the abolition of slavery. The guiding principle of republicanism was that the people themselves would appoint or select the leaders who would represent them. Revolutionary leaders argued that property holders had the greatest stake in society and favored a republic that would limit political rights to property holders.

Key terms

majority rule

a fundamental principle of democracy, providing that the majority should have the power to make decisions binding upon the whole

manumission

the releasing of an enslaved person by his or her owner

democracy

a system of government in which the majority rules

Connecticut Compromise

also known as the Great Compromise, Roger Sherman’s proposal at the Constitutional Convention for a bicameral legislature, with the upper house having equal representation for…

conservative Whigs

the politically and economically elite revolutionary class that wanted to limit political participation to a few powerful families

coverture

the legal status of married women in the United States, which included complete legal and economic dependence on husbands

Federalists

those who supported the 1787 Constitution and a strong central government; these advocates of the new national government formed the ruling political party in the 1790s

three-fifths compromise

the agreement at the Constitutional Convention that three out of every five enslaved persons would be counted when determining a state's population for purposes of representation

Chapter 8

Growing Pains: The New Republic, 1790–1820

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Summary

While many of the Anti-Federalists’ fears were assuaged by the adoption of the Bill of Rights in 1791, the early 1790s nevertheless witnessed the rise of two political parties: the Federalists and the… Federalists and Democratic-Republicans interpreted the execution of the French monarch and the violent establishment of a French republic in very different ways. While they did not yet constitute distinct political parties, Federalists and Anti-Federalists, shortly after the Revolution, found themselves at odds over the Constitution and the power that it concentrated in the… These rival political factions began by defining themselves in relationship to Hamilton’s financial program, a debate that exposed contrasting views of the proper role of the federal government.

Key terms

Democratic-Republicans

advocates of limited government who were troubled by the expansive domestic policies of Washington’s administration and opposed the Federalists

Bill of Rights

the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution, which guarantee individual rights

Citizen Genêt affair

the controversy over the French representative who tried to involve the United States in France’s war against Great Britain

Marbury v. Madison

the landmark 1803 case establishing the Supreme Court’s powers of judicial review, specifically the power to review and possibly nullify actions of Congress and the president

the Terror

a period during the French Revolution characterized by extreme violence and the execution of numerous enemies of the revolutionary government, from 1793 through 1794

Revolution of 1800

the peaceful transfer of power from the Federalists to the Democratic-Republicans with the election of 1800

XYZ affair

the French attempt to extract a bribe from the United States during the Quasi-War of 1798-1800

Louisiana Purchase

the U.S. purchase of the large territory of Louisiana from France in 1803

Chapter 9

Industrial Transformation in the North, 1800–1850

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Summary

Industrialization led to radical changes in American life. New industrial towns, like Waltham, Lowell, and countless others, dotted the landscape of the Northeast. The mills provided many young women an opportunity to experience a new and liberating life, and these workers relished their new freedom. Workers also gained a greater appreciation of the value of their work and, in some instances, began to question the basic fairness of the new industrial order.

Key terms

labor theory of value

an economic theory holding that profits from the sale of the goods produced by workers should be equitably distributed to those workers

machine tools

machines that cut and shape metal to produce standardized, interchangeable parts for mechanical devices such as clocks or guns

putting-out system

a labor system whereby a merchant hired different families to perform specific tasks in a production process

deskilling

breaking an artisanal production process into smaller steps that unskilled workers can perform

Working Men’s Party

a political group that radically opposed what they viewed as the exploitation of workers

Cumberland Road

a national highway that provided thousands with a route from Maryland to Illinois

Erie Canal

a canal that connected the Hudson River to Lake Erie and markets in the West

land offices

sites where prospective landowners could buy public land from the government

Chapter 10

Jacksonian Democracy, 1820–1840

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Summary

The early 1800s saw an age of deference give way to universal manhood suffrage and a new type of political organization based on loyalty to the party. When Adams won through political negotiations in the House of Representatives, Jackson’s supporters derided the election as a “corrupt bargain.” The Tariff of 1828 further stirred southern sentiment, this time against… The Democratic-Republicans’ “corrupt bargain” that brought John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay to office in 1824 also helped to push them out of office in 1828. The election of 1824 was a fight among Democratic-Republicans that ended up pitting southerner Andrew Jackson against northerner John Quincy Adams.

Key terms

corrupt bargain

the term that Andrew Jackson’s supporters applied to John Quincy Adams’s 1824 election, which had occurred through the machinations of Henry Clay in the U.S. House of…

universal manhood suffrage

voting rights for all male adults

Trail of Tears

the route of the forced removal of the Cherokee and other tribes from the southeastern United States to the territory that is now Oklahoma

American System

the program of federally sponsored roads and canals, protective tariffs, and a national bank advocated by Henry Clay and enacted by President Adams

Five Civilized Tribes

the five tribes—Cherokee, Seminole, Creek, Choctaw, and Chickasaw—who had most thoroughly adopted Anglo-American culture; they also happened to be the tribes that were believed…

monster bank

the term Democratic opponents used to denounce the Second Bank of the United States as an emblem of special privilege and big government

rotation in office

originally, simply the system of having term limits on political appointments; in the Jackson era, this came to mean the replacement of officials with party loyalists

second party system

the system in which the Democratic and Whig Parties were the two main political parties after the decline of the Federalist and Democratic-Republican Parties

Chapter 11

A Nation on the Move: Westward Expansion, 1800–1860

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Summary

The Louisiana Purchase and the journey of Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery captured the imagination of many, who dedicated themselves to the economic exploitation of the western lands and the expansion of American… In 1803, Thomas Jefferson appointed Meriwether Lewis to organize an expedition into the Louisiana Territory to explore and map the area but also to find an all-water route from the Missouri River to the Pacific Coast. In the South, the Adams-Onís treaty legally secured Florida for the United States, though it did nothing to end the resistance of the Seminoles against American expansionists. At the same time, the treaty frustrated those Americans who considered Texas a part of the Louisiana Purchase.

Key terms

Corps of Discovery

the group led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark on the expedition to explore and map the territory acquired in the Louisiana Purchase

Liberty Party

a political party formed in 1840 by those who believed political measures were the best means by which abolition could be accomplished

Barnburners

northern Democrats loyal to Martin Van Buren who opposed the extension of slavery into the territories and broke away from the main party when it nominated a pro-popular…

Compromise of 1850

five separate laws passed by Congress in September 1850 to resolve issues stemming from the Mexican Cession and the sectional crisis

filibuster

a person who engages in an unofficial military operation intended to seize land from foreign countries or foment revolution there

Free-Soil Party

a political party that sought to exclude slavery from the western territories, leaving these areas open for settlement by White farmers and ensuring that White laborers would not…

Mexican Cession

the lands west of the Rio Grande ceded to the United States by Mexico in 1848, including California, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, and parts of Wyoming and Colorado

Missouri Compromise

an agreement reached in Congress in 1820 that allowed Missouri to enter the Union as a slave state, brought Maine into the Union as a free state, and prohibited slavery north of…

Chapter 12

Cotton is King: The Antebellum South, 1800–1860

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Summary

When the international slave trade was outlawed in 1808, the domestic slave trade exploded, providing economic opportunities for White people involved in many aspects of the trade and increasing the possibility of… Slave labor in the antebellum South generated great wealth for plantation owners. In the years before the Civil War, the South produced the bulk of the world’s supply of cotton. The Mississippi River Valley slave states became the epicenter of cotton production, an area of frantic economic activity where the landscape changed dramatically as land was transformed from pinewoods and swamps into…

Key terms

antebellum

a term meaning “before the war” and used to describe the decades before the American Civil War began in 1861

domestic slave trade

the trading of enslaved people within the borders of the United States

concurrent majority

a majority of a separate region (that would otherwise be in the minority of the nation) with the power to veto or disallow legislation put forward by a hostile majority

Ostend Manifesto

the secret diplomatic memo stating that if Spain refused to sell Cuba to the United States, the United States was justified in taking the island as a national security measure

cotton gin

a device, patented by Eli Whitney in 1794, that separated the seeds from raw cotton quickly and easily

paternalism

the premise that southern White slaveholders acted in the best interests of those they enslaved

second middle passage

the internal forced migration of enslaved people to the South and West in the United States

cash crop

a crop grown to be sold for profit instead of consumption by the farmer’s family

Chapter 13

Antebellum Idealism and Reform Impulses, 1820–1860

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Summary

Leaders of the Second Great Awakening like Charles G. This religious message dovetailed with the new economic possibilities created by the market and Industrial Revolution, making the Protestantism of the Second Great Awakening, with its emphasis on individual spiritual… Evangelical Protestantism pervaded American culture in the antebellum era and fueled a belief in the possibility of changing society for the better. Finney urged listeners to take charge of their own salvation.

Key terms

Second Great Awakening

a revival of evangelical Protestantism in the early nineteenth century

millennialism

the belief that the Kingdom of God would be established on earth and that God would reign on earth for a thousand years characterized by harmony and Christian morality

Mormons

members of an American denomination of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that emphasized patriarchal leadership

Seneca Falls

the location of the first American conference on women’s rights and the signing of the “Declaration of Rights and Sentiments” in 1848

pietistic

the stressing of stressed transformative individual religious experience or piety over religious rituals and formality

transcendentalism

the belief that all people can attain an understanding of the world that transcends rational, sensory experience

temperance

a social movement encouraging moderation or self-restraint in the consumption of alcoholic beverages

moral suasion

an abolitionist technique of appealing to the consciences of the public, especially slaveholders

Chapter 14

Troubled Times: the Tumultuous 1850s

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Summary

The application of popular sovereignty to the organization of the Kansas and Nebraska territories ended the sectional truce that had prevailed since the Compromise of 1850. After several months of rancorous debate, Congress passed five laws—known collectively as the Compromise of 1850—that people on both sides of the divide hoped had solved the nation’s problems. Many Americans, both Black and White, flouted the Fugitive Slave Act by participating in the Underground Railroad, providing safe houses for freedom-seekers on the run from the South. The act also upended the second party system of Whigs and Democrats by inspiring the formation of the new Republican Party, committed to arresting the further spread of slavery.

Key terms

popular sovereignty

the principle of letting the people residing in a territory decide whether or not to permit slavery in that area based on majority rule

Underground Railroad

a network of free Black and northern White people who helped enslaved people escape bondage through a series of designated routes and safe houses

Compromise of 1850

five laws passed by Congress to resolve issues stemming from the Mexican Cession and the sectional crisis

Republican Party

an antislavery political party formed in 1854 in response to Stephen Douglas’s Kansas-Nebraska Act

Dred Scott v. Sandford

an 1857 case in which the Supreme Court ruled that Black people could not be citizens and Congress had no jurisdiction to impede the expansion of slavery

Free-Soil Party

a political party committed to ensuring that White laborers would not have to compete with unpaid enslaved people in newly acquired territories

Freeport Doctrine

a doctrine that emerged during the Lincoln-Douglas debates in which Douglas reaffirmed his commitment to popular sovereignty, including the right to halt the spread of slavery…

Harpers Ferry

the site of a federal arsenal in Virginia, where radical abolitionist John Brown staged an ill-fated effort to end slavery by instigating a mass uprising among enslaved people

Chapter 15

The Civil War, 1860–1865

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Summary

With the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter, the Civil War began Many in both the North and the South believed that a short, decisive confrontation in 1861 would settle the question of the Confederacy. The election of Abraham Lincoln to the presidency in 1860 proved to be a watershed event. While it did not cause the Civil War, it was the culmination of increasing tensions between the proslavery South and the antislavery North.

Key terms

Fort Sumter

a fort in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina, where the Union garrison came under siege by Confederate forces in an attack on April 12, 1861, beginning the Civil War

Confederacy

the new nation formed by the seceding southern states, also known as the Confederate States of America (CSA)

habeas corpus

the right of those arrested to be brought before a judge or court to determine whether there is cause to hold the prisoner

Crittenden Compromise

a compromise, suggested by Kentucky senator John Crittenden, that would restore the 36°30′ line from the Missouri Compromise and extend it to the Pacific Ocean, allowing slavery…

Emancipation Proclamation

signed on January 1, 1863, the document with which President Lincoln transformed the Civil War into a struggle to end slavery

total war

a state of war in which the government makes no distinction between military and civilian targets, and mobilizes all resources, extending its reach into all areas of citizens’…

Gettysburg Address

a speech by Abraham Lincoln dedicating the military cemetery at Gettysburg on November 19, 1863

Army of the West

the Union fighting force operating in Kentucky, Tennessee, and the Mississippi River Valley

Chapter 16

The Era of Reconstruction, 1865–1877

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Summary

Radical Republicans in Congress disagreed, however, and in the years ahead would put forth their own plan of Reconstruction By 1866, Johnson announced the end of Reconstruction. Though President Johnson declared Reconstruction complete less than a year after the Confederate surrender, members of Congress disagreed. President Lincoln worked to reach his goal of reunifying the nation quickly and proposed a lenient plan to reintegrate the Confederate states.

Key terms

Reconstruction

the twelve-year period after the Civil War in which the rebel Southern states were integrated back into the Union

Radical Republicans

northern Republicans who contested Lincoln’s treatment of Confederate states and proposed harsher punishments

carpetbagger

a term used for northerners working in the South during Reconstruction; it implied that these were opportunists who came south for economic or political gain

Compromise of 1877

the agreement between Republicans and Democrats, after the contested election of 1876, in which Rutherford B. Hayes was awarded the presidency in exchange for withdrawing the…

crop-lien system

a loan system in which store owners extended credit to farmers for the purchase of goods in exchange for a portion of their future crops

Freedmen’s Bureau

the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, which was created in 1865 to ease Black peoples’ transition from slavery to freedom

Ironclad Oath

an oath that the Wade-Davis Bill required a majority of voters and government officials in Confederate states to take; it involved swearing that they had never supported the…

ten percent plan

Lincoln’s Reconstruction plan, which required only 10 percent of the 1860 voters in Confederate states to take an oath of allegiance to the Union

Chapter 17

Go West Young Man! Westward Expansion, 1840-1900

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Summary

While a few bold settlers had moved westward before the middle of the nineteenth century, they were the exception, not the rule. The “great American desert,” as it was called, was considered a vast and empty place, unfit for civilized people. In the 1840s, however, this idea started to change, as potential settlers began to learn more from promoters and land developers of the economic opportunities that awaited them in the West, and Americans extolled the… Most settlers in this first wave were White Americans of means.

Key terms

Americanization

the policy aimed at assimilating Native Americans into a middle class, Protestant version of the American way of life through boarding schools for Native American children and…

bonanza farms

large farms owned by speculators who hired laborers to work the land; these large farms allowed their owners to benefit from economies of scale and prosper, but they did nothing…

California Gold Rush

the period between 1848 and 1849 when prospectors found large strikes of gold in California, leading others to rush in and follow suit; this period led to a cycle of boom and…

Fence Cutting War

this armed conflict between cowboys moving cattle along the trail and ranchers who wished to keep the best grazing lands for themselves occurred in Clay County, Texas, between…

las Gorras Blancas

the Spanish name for White Caps, the rebel group of Hispanic Americans who fought back against the appropriation of Hispanic land by White people; for a period in 1889-1890, they…

Manifest Destiny

the phrase, coined by journalist John O’Sullivan, which came to stand for the idea that White Americans had a calling and a duty to seize and settle the American West with…

Sand Creek Massacre

a militia raid led by Colonel Chivington on a Cheyenne and Arapaho peoples camp in Colorado, flying both the American flag and the white flag of surrender; over one hundred men…

sod house

a frontier home constructed of dirt held together by thick-rooted prairie grass that was prevalent in the Midwest; sod, cut into large rectangles, was stacked to make the walls…

Chapter 18

Industrialization and the Rise of Big Business, 1870-1900

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Summary

Inventors in the late nineteenth century flooded the market with new technological advances. Encouraged by Great Britain’s Industrial Revolution, and eager for economic development in the wake of the Civil War, business investors sought the latest ideas upon which they could capitalize, both to transform the… These inventions were a key piece of the massive shift towards industrialization that followed. For both families and businesses, these inventions eventually represented a fundamental change in their way of life.

Key terms

Haymarket affair

the rally and subsequent riot in which several policemen were killed when a bomb was thrown at a peaceful workers rights rally in Chicago in 1886

holding company

a central corporate entity that controls the operations of multiple companies by holding the majority of stock for each enterprise

Molly Maguires

a secret organization made up of Pennsylvania coal miners, named for the famous Irish patriot, which worked through a series of scare tactics to bring the plight of the miners to…

robber baron

a negative term for the big businessmen who made their fortunes in the massive railroad boom of the late nineteenth century

scientific management

mechanical engineer Fredrick Taylor’s management style, also called “stop-watch management,” which divided manufacturing tasks into short, repetitive segments and encouraged…

social Darwinism

Herbert Spencer’s theory, based upon Charles Darwin’s scientific theory, which held that society developed much like plant or animal life through a process of evolution in which…

trust

a legal arrangement where a small group of trustees have legal ownership of a business that they operate for the benefit of other investors

vertical integration

a method of growth where a company acquires other companies that include all aspects of a product’s lifecycle from the creation of the raw materials through the production…

Chapter 19

The Growing Pains of Urbanization, 1870-1900

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Summary

Churches, civic organizations, and the secular settlement house movement all sought to provide some relief to the urban working class, but conditions remained brutal for many new city dwellers Urbanization spread rapidly in the mid-nineteenth century due to a confluence of factors. New technologies, such as electricity and steam engines, transformed factory work, allowing factories to move closer to urban centers and away from the rivers that had previously been vital sources of both water power… The growth of factories—as well as innovations such as electric lighting, which allowed them to run at all hours of the day and night—created a massive need for workers, who poured in from both rural areas of the…

Key terms

settlement house movement

an early progressive reform movement, largely spearheaded by women, which sought to offer services such as childcare and free healthcare to help the working poor

City Beautiful

a movement begun by Daniel Burnham and Fredrick Law Olmsted, who believed that cities should be built with three core tenets in mind: the inclusion of parks within city limits…

Great Migration

the name for the large wave of African Americans who left the South after the Civil War, mostly moving to cities in the Northeast and Upper Midwest

instrumentalism

a theory promoted by John Dewey, who believed that education was key to the search for the truth about ideals and institutions

machine politics

the process by which citizens of a city used their local ward alderman to work the “machine” of local politics to meet local needs within a neighborhood

naturalism

a theory of realism that states that the laws of nature and the natural world were the only relevant laws governing humanity

pragmatism

a doctrine supported by philosopher William James, which held that Americans needed to experiment and find the truth behind underlying institutions, religions, and ideas in…

realism

a collection of theories and ideas that sought to understand the underlying changes in the United States during the late nineteenth century

Chapter 20

Politics in the Gilded Age, 1870-1900

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Summary

All told, from 1872 through 1892, Gilded Age politics were little more than political showmanship. In the years following the Civil War, American politics were disjointed, corrupt, and, at the federal level, largely ineffective in terms of addressing the challenges that Americans faced. Local and regional politics, and the bosses who ran the political machines, dominated through systematic graft and bribery. Americans around the country recognized that solutions to the mounting problems they faced would not come from Washington, DC, but from their local political leaders.

Key terms

Gilded Age

the period in American history during which materialism, a quest for personal gain, and corruption dominated both politics and society

bloody shirt campaign

the strategy of Republican candidates to stress the sacrifices that the nation had to endure in its Civil War against Democratic southern secessionists

Coxey’s Army

an 1894 protest, led by businessman Jacob Coxey, to advocate for public works jobs for the unemployed by marching on Washington, DC

Farmers’ Alliance

a national conglomeration of different regional farmers’ alliances that joined together in 1890 with the goal of furthering farmers’ concerns in politics

Half-Breeds

the group of Republicans led by James G. Blaine, named because they supported some measure of civil service reform and were thus considered to be only “half Republican”

Mugwumps

a portion of the Republican Party that broke away from the Stalwart-versus-Half-Breed debate due to disgust with their candidate’s corruption

Populist Party

a political party formed in 1890 that sought to represent the rights of primarily farmers but eventually all workers in regional and federal elections

subtreasury plan

a plan that called for storing crops in government warehouses for a brief period of time, during which the federal government would provide loans to farmers worth 80 percent of…

Chapter 21

Leading the Way: The Progressive Movement, 1890-1920

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Summary

In its first decade, the Progressive Era was a grassroots effort that ushered in reforms at state and local levels. At the beginning of the twentieth century, however, Progressive endeavors captured the attention of the federal government. The challenges of the late nineteenth century were manifold: fast-growing cities that were ill-equipped to house the working poor, hands-off politicians shackled into impotence by their system of political favors, and… The muckraking journalists of the era published books and articles highlighting the social inequities of the day and extolling everyday Americans to help find solutions.

Key terms

Atlanta Compromise

Booker T. Washington’s speech, given at the Atlanta Exposition in 1895, where he urged African Americans to work hard and get along with others in their White communities, so as…

direct primary

a political reform that allowed for the nomination of candidates through a direct vote by party members, rather than by the choice of delegates at conventions; in the South, this…

muckrakers

investigative journalists and authors who wrote about social ills, from child labor to the corrupt business practices of big businesses, and urged the public to take action

NAACP

the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, a civil rights organization formed in 1909 by an interracial coalition including W. E. B. Du Bois and Florence…

New Freedom

Woodrow Wilson’s campaign platform for the 1912 election that called for a small federal government to protect public interests from the evils associated with bad businesses

New Nationalism

Theodore Roosevelt’s 1912 campaign platform, which called for a powerful federal government to protect the American public

Niagara Movement

a campaign led by W. E. B. Du Bois and other prominent African American reformers that departed from Booker T. Washington's model of accommodation and advocated for a…

Progressive Party

a political party started by Roosevelt and other Progressive Republicans who were unhappy with Taft and wanted Roosevelt to run for a nonconsecutive third term in 1912

Chapter 22

Age of Empire: American Foreign Policy, 1890-1914

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Summary

In the last decades of the nineteenth century, after the Civil War, the United States pivoted from a profoundly isolationist approach to a distinct zeal for American expansion. The nation’s earlier isolationism originated from the deep scars left by the Civil War and its need to recover both economically and mentally from that event. But as the industrial revolution changed the way the country worked and the American West reached its farthest point, American attitudes toward foreign expansion shifted. Businesses sought new markets to export their factory-built goods, oil, and tobacco products, as well as generous trade agreements to secure access to raw materials.

Key terms

Frontier Thesis

an idea proposed by Fredrick Jackson Turner, which stated that the encounter of European traditions and a native wilderness was integral to the development of American democracy…

Open Door notes

the circular notes sent by Secretary of State Hay claiming that there should be “open doors” in China, allowing all countries equal and total access to all markets, ports, and…

Roosevelt Corollary

a statement by Theodore Roosevelt that the United States would use military force to act as an international police power and correct any chronic wrongdoing by any Latin American…

sphere of influence

the goal of foreign countries such as Japan, Russia, France, and Germany to carve out an area of the Chinese market that they could exploit through tariff and transportation…

Anti-Imperialist League

a group of diverse and prominent Americans who banded together in 1898 to protest the idea of American empire building

dollar diplomacy

Taft’s foreign policy, which involved using American economic power to push for favorable foreign policies

Seward’s Folly

the pejorative name given by the press to Secretary of State Seward’s acquisition of Alaska in 1867

yellow journalism

sensationalist newspapers who sought to manufacture news stories in order to sell more papers

Chapter 23

Americans and the Great War, 1914-1919

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Summary

After his 1916 reelection, however, the free trade associated with neutrality proved impossible to secure against the total war strategies of the belligerents, particularly Germany’s submarine warfare. President Wilson had no desire to embroil the United States in the bloody and lengthy war that was devastating Europe. His foreign policy, through his first term and his campaign for reelection, focused on keeping the United States out of the war and involving the country in international affairs only when there was a moral imperative… Ethnic ties to Europe meant that much of the general public was more than happy to remain neutral.

Key terms

neutrality

Woodrow Wilson’s policy of maintaining commercial ties with all belligerents and insisting on open markets throughout Europe during World War I

clear and present danger

the expression used by Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes in the case of Schenck v. United States to characterize public dissent during wartime, akin to shouting “fire!”…

Fourteen Points

Woodrow Wilson’s postwar peace plan, which called for openness in all matters of diplomacy, including free trade, freedom of the seas, and an end to secret treaties and…

Harlem Hellfighters

a nickname for the decorated, all-Black 369th Infantry, which served on the frontlines of France for six months, longer than any other American unit

League of Nations

Woodrow Wilson’s idea for a group of countries that would promote a new world order and territorial integrity through open discussions, rather than intimidation and war

liberty bonds

the name for the war bonds that the U.S. government sold, and strongly encouraged Americans to buy, as a way of raising money for the war effort

prohibition

the campaign for a ban on the sale and manufacturing of alcoholic beverages, which came to fruition during the war, bolstered by anti-German sentiment and a call to preserve…

Red Scare

the term used to describe the fear that Americans felt about the possibility of a Bolshevik revolution in the United States; fear over Communist infiltrators led Americans to…

Chapter 24

The Jazz Age: Redefining the Nation, 1919-1929

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Summary

For many middle-class Americans, the 1920s was a decade of unprecedented prosperity. Rising earnings generated more disposable income for the consumption of entertainment, leisure, and consumer goods. This new wealth coincided with and fueled technological innovations, resulting in the booming popularity of entertainments like movies, sports, and radio programs. Henry Ford’s advances in assembly-line efficiency created a truly affordable automobile, making car ownership a possibility for many Americans.

Key terms

Hollywood

a small town north of Los Angeles, California, whose reliable sunshine and cheaper production costs attracted filmmakers and producers starting in the 1910s; by the 1920s…

Model T

the first car produced by the Ford Motor Company that took advantage of the economies of scale provided by assembly-line production and was therefore affordable to a large…

Negro nationalism

the notion that African Americans had a distinct and separate national heritage that should inspire pride and a sense of community

Scopes Monkey Trial

the 1925 trial of John Scopes for teaching evolution in a public school; the trial highlighted the conflict between rural traditionalists and modern urbanites

Second Ku Klux Klan

unlike the secret terror group of the Reconstruction Era, the Second Ku Klux Klan was a nationwide movement that expressed racism, nativism, anti-Semitism, and anti-Catholicism

bootlegging

a nineteenth-century term for the illegal transport of alcoholic beverages that became popular during prohibition

Lost Generation

a group of writers who came of age during World War I and expressed their disillusionment with the era

moving assembly line

a manufacturing process that allowed workers to stay in one place as the work came to them

Chapter 25

Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? The Great Depression, 1929-1932

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Summary

The prosperous decade leading up to the stock market crash of 1929, with easy access to credit and a culture that encouraged speculation and risk-taking, put into place the conditions for the country’s fall. The stock market, which had been growing for years, began to decline in the summer and early fall of 1929, precipitating a panic that led to a massive stock sell-off in late October. In one month, the market lost close to 40 percent of its value. Although only a small percentage of Americans had invested in the stock market, the crash affected everyone.

Key terms

speculation

the practice of investing in risky financial opportunities in the hopes of a fast payout due to market fluctuations

American individualism

the belief, strongly held by Herbert Hoover and others, that hard work and individual effort, absent government interference, comprised the formula for success in the U.S

bank run

the withdrawal by a large number of individuals or investors of money from a bank due to fears of the bank’s instability, with the ironic effect of increasing the bank’s…

Black Tuesday

October 29, 1929, when a mass panic caused a crash in the stock market and stockholders divested over sixteen million shares, causing the overall value of the stock market to…

Bonus Army

a group of World War I veterans and affiliated groups who marched to Washington in 1932 to demand their war bonuses early, only to be refused and forcibly removed by the U.S. Army

Clark Memorandum

Hoover’s repudiation of the Roosevelt Corollary that justified American military intervention in Latin American affairs; this memorandum improved relations with America’s…

Dust Bowl

the area in the middle of the country that had been badly overfarmed in the 1920s and suffered from a terrible drought that coincided with the Great Depression; the name came…

Scottsboro Boys

a reference to the infamous trial in Scottsboro, Alabama in 1931, where nine African American boys were falsely accused of raping two White women and sentenced to death; the…

Chapter 26

Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal, 1932-1941

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Summary

During the four-month interregnum, however, Americans continued to endure President Hoover’s failed policies, which led the winter of 1932-1933 to be the worst of the Depression, with unemployment rising to record levels Franklin Roosevelt was a wealthy, well-educated, and popular politician whose history of polio made him a more sympathetic figure to the public. He did not share any specifics of his plan to bring the country out of the Great Depression, but his attitude of optimism and possibility contrasted strongly with Hoover’s defeated misery. The 1932 election was never really in question, and Roosevelt won in a landslide.

Key terms

interregnum

the period between the election and the inauguration of a new president; when economic conditions worsened significantly during the four-month lag between Roosevelt’s win and his…

Brains Trust

an unofficial advisory cabinet to President Franklin Roosevelt, originally gathered while he was governor of New York, to present possible solutions to the nations’ problems…

Civilian Conservation Corps

a public program for unemployed young men from relief families who were put to work on conservation and land management projects around the country

Social Security

a series of programs designed to help the population’s most vulnerable—the unemployed, those over age sixty-five, unwed mothers, and the disabled—through various pension…

Supreme Court Packing Plan

Roosevelt’s plan, after being reelected, to pack the Supreme Court with an additional six justices, one for every justice over seventy who refused to step down

Tennessee Valley Authority

a federal agency tasked with the job of planning and developing the area through flood control, reforestation, and hydroelectric power projects

Works Progress Administration

a program run by Harry Hopkins that provided jobs for over eight million Americans from its inception to its closure in 1943

Chapter 27

Fighting the Good Fight in World War II, 1941-1945

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Summary

But as the Great Depression hit Europe, several new leaders rose to power under the new political ideologies of Fascism and Nazism. Mussolini in Italy and Hitler in Germany were both proponents of Fascism, using dictatorial rule to achieve national unity. America sought, at the end of the First World War, to create new international relationships that would make such wars impossible in the future. Still, the United States remained focused on the economic challenges of its own Great Depression.

Key terms

Fascism

a political ideology that places a heightened focus on national unity, through dictatorial rule, and militarism

appeasement

the policy of giving in to threats and aggression in the hopes that the aggressor will be satisfied and make no more demands

Big Three

the nickname given to the leaders of the three major Allied nations: Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt, and Joseph Stalin

D-day

June 6, 1944, the date of the invasion of Normandy, France, by British, Canadian, and American forces, which opened a second front in Europe

Executive Order 9066

the order given by President Roosevelt to relocate and detain people of Japanese ancestry, including those who were American citizens

internment

the forced incarceration of the West Coast Japanese and Japanese American population into ten relocation centers for the greater part of World War II

Double V campaign

a campaign by African Americans to win victory over the enemy overseas and victory over racism at home

conscientious objectors

those who, for religious or philosophical reasons, refuse to serve in the armed forces

Chapter 28

Post-War Prosperity and Cold War Fears, 1945-1960

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Summary

The GI Bill eased many veterans’ return by providing them with unemployment compensation, low-interest loans, and money to further their education; however, African American, Mexican American, and gay veterans were… President Harry Truman attempted to extend Roosevelt’s New Deal with his own Fair Deal, which had the goal of improving wages, housing, and healthcare, and protecting the rights of African Americans. The Cold War heated up as both the United States and Soviet Union struggled for world dominance. Servicemen and women returned to civilian life, and all hoped the prosperity of the war years would continue.

Key terms

Cold War

the prolonged period of tension between the United States and the Soviet Union, based on ideological conflicts and competition for military, economic, social, and technological…

GI Bill

a program that gave substantial benefits to those who served in World War II

Fair Deal

President Harry Truman’s program of economic and social reform

states’ rights

the political belief that states possess authority beyond federal law, which is usually seen as the supreme law of the land, and thus can act in opposition to federal law

domino theory

the theory that if Communism made inroads in one nation, surrounding nations would also succumb one by one, like a chain of dominos toppling one another

Iron Curtain

a term coined by Winston Churchill to refer to portions of Eastern Europe that the Soviet Union had incorporated into its sphere of influence and that no longer were free to…

massive retaliation

a defense strategy, sometimes called “mutually assured destruction” or MAD, adopted by Eisenhower that called for launching a large-scale nuclear attack on the Soviet Union in…

military-industrial complex

the matrix of relationships between officials in the Defense Department and executives in the defense industry who all benefited from increases in defense spending

Chapter 29

Contesting Futures: America in the 1960s

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Summary

However, Johnson’s insistence on maintaining American commitments in Vietnam, a policy begun by his predecessors, hurt both his ability to realize his vision of the Great Society and his support among the American people The arrival of the Kennedys in the White House seemed to signal a new age of youth, optimism, and confidence. Kennedy spoke of a “new frontier” and promoted the expansion of programs to aid the poor, protect African Americans’ right to vote, and improve African Americans’ employment and education opportunities. For the most part, however, Kennedy focused on foreign policy and countering the threat of Communism—especially in Cuba, where he successfully defused the Cuban Missile Crisis, and in Vietnam, to which he sent advisors…

Key terms

Great Society

Lyndon Johnson’s plan to eliminate poverty and racial injustice in the United States and to improve the lives of all Americans

Black Power

a political ideology encouraging African Americans to create their own institutions and develop their own economic resources independent of White people

Black Pride

a cultural movement among African Americans to encourage pride in their African heritage and to substitute African and African American art forms, behaviors, and cultural…

Black separatism

an ideology that called upon African Americans to reject integration with the White community and, in some cases, to physically separate themselves from White people in order to…

counterinsurgency

a new military strategy under the Kennedy administration to suppress nationalist independence movements and rebel groups in the developing world

flexible response

a military strategy that allows for the possibility of responding to threats in a variety of ways, including counterinsurgency, conventional war, and nuclear strikes

Port Huron Statement

the political manifesto of Students for a Democratic Society that called for social reform, nonviolent protest, and greater participation in the democratic process by ordinary…

war on poverty

Lyndon Johnson’s plan to end poverty in the United States through the extension of federal benefits, job training programs, and funding for community development

Chapter 30

Political Storms at Home and Abroad, 1968-1980

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Summary

In the late 1960s and 1970s, Native Americans, LGBTQ people, and women organized to change discriminatory laws and pursue government support for their interests, a strategy known as identity politics. Others, disenchanted with the status quo, distanced themselves from White, middle-class America by forming their own countercultures centered on a desire for peace, the rejection of material goods and traditional… He made substantial progress in foreign policy, however, establishing diplomatic relations with China for the first time since the Communist Revolution and entering into a policy of détente with the Soviet Union These groups, whose aims and tactics posed a challenge to the existing state of affairs, often met with hostility from individuals, local officials, and the U.S.

Key terms

identity politics

political movements or actions intended to further the interests of a particular group membership, based on culture, race, ethnicity, religion, sex, gender, or sexual orientation

counterculture

a culture that develops in opposition to the dominant culture of a society

détente

the relaxation of tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union

silent majority

a majority whose political will is usually not heard—in this case, northern, White, blue-collar voters

Carter Doctrine

Jimmy Carter’s declaration that efforts to interfere with American interests in the Middle East would be considered an act of aggression and be met with force if necessary

Deep Throat

the anonymous source, later revealed to be associate director of the FBI Mark Felt, who supplied reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein with information about White House…

Dixiecrats

conservative southern Democrats who opposed integration and the other goals of the African American civil rights movement

executive privilege

the right of the U.S. president to refuse subpoenas requiring him to disclose private communications on the grounds that this might interfere with the functioning of the…

Chapter 31

From Cold War to Culture Wars, 1980-2000

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Summary

Implementing a series of economic policies dubbed “Reaganomics,” the president sought to stimulate the economy while shrinking the size of the federal government and providing relief for the nation’s wealthiest… After decades of liberalism and social reform, Ronald Reagan changed the face of American politics by riding a groundswell of conservatism into the White House. Reagan’s superior rhetorical skills enabled him to gain widespread support for his plans for the nation. During his two terms in office, he cut spending on social programs, while increasing spending on defense.

Key terms

Reaganomics

Ronald Reagan’s economic policy, which suggested that lowering taxes on the upper income brackets would stimulate investment and economic growth

AIDS

(Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) an immune deficiency disorder caused by HIV, and formally the third stage of HIV infection; people with AIDS have a high viral load and are…

HIV

(Human Immunodecificiency Virus) is a virus that attacks the cells that help the body fight infection; it can cause a range of illnesses and has been responsible for millions of…

Contract with America

a list of eight specific legislative reforms or initiatives that Republicans representatives promised to enact if they gained a majority in Congress in the 1994 midterm elections

New Right

a loose coalition of American conservatives, consisting primarily of wealthy businesspeople and evangelical Christians, which developed in response to social changes of the 1960s…

Operation Desert Storm

the U.S. name of the war waged from January to April 1991, by coalition forces against Iraq in reaction to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in August 1990

START

a treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union that limited the number of nuclear warheads, ballistic missiles, and strategic bombers held by both sides

Vietnam Syndrome

reluctance on the part of American politicians to actively engage U.S. forces in a foreign war for fear of suffering a humiliating defeat

Chapter 32

The Challenges of the Twenty-First Century

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Summary

Bush’s first term in office began with al-Qaeda’s deadly attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. Shortly thereafter, the United States found itself at war with Afghanistan, which was accused of harboring the 9/11 mastermind, Osama bin Laden, and his followers. Claiming that Iraq’s president Saddam Hussein was building weapons of mass destruction, perhaps with the intent of attacking the United States, the president sent U.S. Thousands were killed, and many of the men captured by the United States were imprisoned and sometimes tortured for information.

Key terms

al-Qaeda

a militant Islamist group originally founded by Osama bin Laden

charter schools

elementary and secondary schools that, although funded by taxpayer money, are allowed to operate independently from some rules and regulations governing public schools

subprime mortgage

a type of mortgage offered to borrowers with lower credit ratings; subprime loans feature interest rates that are higher (often adjustable) than conventional mortgages to…

Bush Doctrine

the belief that the United States has the right to protect itself from terrorist acts by engaging in pre-emptive wars or ousting hostile governments in favor of friendly…

civil unions

a civil status offered to gay and lesbian couples with the goal of securing the main privileges of marriage without granting them equal status in marriage

Great Recession

the economic recession that began in 2008, following the collapse of the housing boom, and was driven by risky and misleading subprime mortgages and a deregulated bond market

Kyoto Protocol

an international agreement establishing regulations designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by the world’s industrialized nations

WMDs

weapons of mass destruction; a class of weapons capable of inflicting massive casualties and physical destruction, such as nuclear bombs or biological and chemical weapons