US History First Semester Midterm Final Exam Review Guide

US History First Semester Midterm Final Exam Review Guide My final exam is on Friday, January 14. Directions: Use previous study guides, notes, and online-book. Complete a unit/section at a time and be sure to study the concepts for your final! Highlight things that you do not remember very well and focus on those. Unit 1: Reconstruction 1. What were the differences between the North and South that led to the Civil War? The north had a greater population than the south. The north also was balanced between industry and agriculture while the south was primarily focused on agriculture. The south had slaves and the north didn’t. The north was more wealthy. The north also had most of the nation’s railroad system. The northern agriculture focused on growing foods to feed large groups while the south focused on growing cotton. Most of the factories were also in the north. 2. What is Reconstruction? The time period after the Civil War (1865-1877) where the South rebuilt physically and politically 3. Lincoln’s Plan for Reconstruction Lincoln wanted to go easy towards the Southern states to try and quickly heal the US. Lincoln’s plan was known as the 10% plan. His plan was called the 10% plan because Lincoln’s plan required 10% of each southern state’s white citizens. These white citizens were needed to swear a loyalty oath to the US in order to gain back statehood. Sadly due to his assassination, his plan was never used. 4. Johnson’s Plan for Reconstruction In President Johnson’s plan, he put that he wanted no political rights for former rich white southern farmers. He also wanted Southern states to simply form new governments made up of non-slaveholding whites. His plan said secession was illegal therefore southern states didn’t need to be readmitted. Voters could then elect delegates to draft new state constitutions and establish state governments. Gave the whites in the South a free hand in regulating the transition from slavery to freedom and offered no role to blacks in the politics of the South. 5. Radical Republicans (Congress) Plan for Reconstruction This was the congressional plan for postwar recovery that imposed harsh standards on the Southern states. This plan was also known as the Radical Republicans Plan. This plan was led by Charles Sumner and Thaddeus Stevens. During this era, Congress passed three constitutional amendments that protected the rights of freedmen. They punished the former Confederate leaders by depriving them of the right to hold office. 6. What are black codes? Black codes were restrictive laws designed to limit the freedom of African Americans and ensure their availability as a cheap labor force after slavery was abolished during the Civil War. Though the Union victory had given some 4 million enslaved people their freedom, the question of freed blacks’ status in the postwar South was still very much unresolved. Under black codes, many states required Black people to sign yearly labor contracts; if they refused, they risked being arrested, fined, and forced into unpaid labor. Outrage over black codes helped undermine support for President Andrew Johnson and the Republican Party 7. What are Jim Crow laws? Jim Crow laws were any state or local laws that enforced or legalized racial segregation. These laws lasted for almost 100 years, from the post-Civil War era until around 1968, and their main the purpose was to legalize the marginalization of African Americans. 8. How did the South prevent blacks and poor whites from voting? There were 8 ways how the south prevented blacks and poor whites from voting. Those 8 ways are violence, literacy tests, property tests, grandfather clause, all-white primary elections, purges, former prisoners, and poll taxes. 9. What is sharecropping? Sharecropping, which is a form of tenant farming in which the landowner furnishes all the capital and most other inputs and the tenants contribute their labor. Depending on the arrangement, the landowner may provide the food, clothing, and medical expenses of the tenants and may have also supervised their work. 10. 13th Amendment The 13th Amendment was passed in late 1865. This amendment outlawed slavery in the US. 11. 14th Amendment In 1866, Congress passed the 14th Amendment which prevented state governments from denying “rights & privileges” to any US citizen which was supposed to protect the rights of blacks. In many ways, this Amendment was supposed to override anything the Supreme Court ruled in the Dred Scott decision. 12. 15th Amendment In 1870, the 15th amendment was passed and it said that states could not stop a person from voting due to race. It protected black voting rights and during the reconstruction years, many black people would vote with no problems. 13. What is the Reconstruction Act of 1867? The Reconstruction Act of 1867 outlined the terms for readmission to the representation of rebel states. The bill divided the former Confederate states, except for Tennessee, into five military districts. 14. How did the Panic of 1873 contribute to the end of Reconstruction? The Panic of 1873, caused some major banks in the U.S. to fail and caused a 5-year economic depression. As a result, Reconstruction became less important to Republicans. It help lead to the end of reconstruction because it lead to the deal made between the democrats and Hayes. The deal was that the Democrats would support Hayes for President if Federal troops would be withdrawn from the south and Reconstruction would be ended for good. 15. Why is Rutherford B Hayes significant to the Reconstruction era? Hayes oversaw the end of Reconstruction, began the efforts that led to civil service reform, and attempted to reconcile the divisions left over from the Civil War. He fought in the Civil War, was wounded in action, and rose to the rank of brevet major general. 16. What happened in the South after Reconstruction ends? The end of Reconstruction was a staggered process, and the period of Republican control ended at different times in different states. With the Compromise of 1877, army intervention in the South ceased and Republican control collapsed in the last three state governments in the South. 17. What is the legacy of Reconstruction? The Abolition of Slavery, the Rise of Jim Crow. Occurring during the decade following the Civil War, Reconstruction saw the legal abolition of slavery, the establishment of equal protection under the law, and increased opportunities for Black men to vote and hold political office. Unit 2: Westward Expansion and Immigration 18. Define Manifest Destiny. Manifest Destiny was the expansion of US territory out west (called the frontier) and the movement of people from the east to the west. 19. What is the Homestead Act? The homestead act gave people free land. 20. What is assimilation? Which groups in unit 2 will this impact that most? The process whereby individuals or groups of differing ethnic heritage are absorbed into the dominant culture of a society. Immigrants and Native Americans. 21. What is the Dawes Act? The Dawes Act made Native American reservation lands able to be privately owned. This was important because it was a way in which to try and assimilate Native Americans fully into American culture. 22. Who were the Exodusters? The Exodusters moved west and were thousands of southern African-Americans who left the Jim Crow South for the Great Plains (mainly Kansas) which they heard was more open-minded. 23. What was the Populist Party? What were their main goals? Populism is a political movement that became the Populist Party and was started by farmers (mostly of the Great Plains) who fought for farmers’ economic rights especially in response to railroad companies that took advantage of many farmers by controlling land. Populists demanded currency inflation and they also wanted a more direct say in the government. 24. What is bimetallism? Bimetallism would occur if the government allowed silver and gold to be the backing for American money, instead of just gold. 25. What is the Transcontinental Railroad and why is it important? The Transcontinental Railroad (1867) went all the way across the country and connected the east and west coasts for the first time. 26. What is the melting pot theory? The Melting Pot Theory is where immigrants would forget their homeland culture and assimilate (the process where a minority group eventually adapts to the majority) to an American one. 27. What was the First Great Migration? A migration of African Americans from the southeast areas to more urban northern areas. 28. What is de facto segregation? During racial integration efforts in schools during the 1960s, de facto segregation was a term used to describe a situation in which legislation did not overtly segregate students by race, but nevertheless, school segregation continued. 29. If you were an Asian immigrant, which processing station would you enter? Angel Island. 30. If you were a European immigrant, which processing station would you enter? Ellis Island. 31. Define urbanization. A movement of people from more rural areas to more urban populated ones. Places they would go were like cities. 32. What is nativism? Nativism is the political policy of promoting the interests of native inhabitants against those of immigrants, including the support of immigration-restriction measures. Unit 3: Industrialization and Progressivism 33. Define the Gilded Age/Industrialization. The development of industries in a country or region on a wide scale. 34. What is laissez faire? How did the idea impact America during the Industrial Age? The government did not regulate businesses much (if any) and took an approach known as “laissez-faire” which means that the government left business alone and didn’t regulate it or give it rules to follow. 35. Why was immigration important for the Industrial Era? Immigrants were generally more willing to accept lower wages and inferior working conditions than native-born workers. It allowed us to use them as workers for a cheap price. 36. What is a robber baron? A person who has become rich through ruthless and unscrupulous business practices. 37. Who monopolized the oil industry? John D. Rockefeller. 38. Who monopolized the steel industry? Andrew Carnegie. 39. Who monopolized the railroad industry? Gould. 40. Describe working conditions during the Gilded Age. Working conditions were very bad. They faced harsh working conditions such as long hours, low pay, and health risks. Children and women worked in factories and generally received lower pay than men. 41. What were the goals of labor unions? The labor movement led efforts to stop child labor, give health benefits and provide aid to workers who were injured or retired. 42. What was the Pendleton Civil Service Act? Based government employee’s promotions to federal positions on what they knew about their job and not on who they knew. 43. Who was Upton Sinclair? Why was he significant? Upton Sinclair wrote a book entitled The Jungle, about the meat-packing industry and it showed the public that they were eating meat that did not pass any quality/cleanliness tests. 44. What areas of society did Progressive reformers want to change? Many activists joined efforts to reform local government, public education, medicine, finance, insurance, industry, railroads, churches, and many other areas. 45. Name acts and legislation under Wilson’s New Freedom. Wilson’s New Freedom wanted to continue progressive ideas and during his tenure, the following were created: Revenue Act of 1913, 16th Amendment, 17th Amendment, Federal Reserve System, Federal Trade Commission, Clayton Act, and the 19th Amendment. 46. What is the Square Deal? The square deal stopped the practice of sending in troops to break up worker strikes and instead sent in experts to help solve the problem peacefully, used the Sherman Antitrust Act (1890) to Break up many business monopolies so that competition would be allowed to exist and to prevent price gouging, and helped create the National Park System which helped conserve special environmental places. 47. Who was nicknamed the “trust-busting” president? Theodore Roosevelt. 48. What was the Sherman Antitrust Act? It broke up many business monopolies so that competition would be allowed to exist and to prevent price gouging. 49. Compare and contrast the Gilded Age and Progressive Era. The Progressive Era allowed the United States to develop greater on a social, political, and constitutional level, while the Gilded Age increased the economy. 50. What happened in the Election of 1912? Roosevelt, the leader of the Bull Moose Party, wanted to continue progressivism and in the Election of 1912, Roosevelt ran against Woodrow Wilson (the Democrat) and Taft (the Republican) which Wilson won the election because of the Republican Party split. 51. 16th Amendment Was the first national income tax and passed to tax the incomes of the wealthy to make up for the government's lost revenue from lower tariffs. 52. 17th Amendment Allowed the people to finally elect their Senators directly. 53. 18th Amendment The Gov’t passed the 18th Amendment in 1919 which began Prohibition. 54. 19th Amendment Gave women the right to vote. Unit 4: Imperialism and WWI 55. What is imperialism? When a nation extends its authority over another nation that is politically, economically, or militarily weaker to gain some benefit from it. 56. What was Seward’s Folly? In 1867, William Seward, the Secretary of State, purchased Alaska from the nation of Russia. At the time it was considered by many Americans to be a waste of money on land that was too remote and too cold. This was known as Seward’s Folly. 57. In order to become a successful empire, what did Mahan and Roosevelt believe was needed? A modern navy fleet, Naval bases on Caribbean islands in the Atlantic, Naval bases on Pacific islands, and a canal in Central America. 58. Define yellow journalism. Journalism that is based upon sensationalism and crude exaggeration. 59. Why is the explosion of the USS Maine significant? On February 15, 1898, an explosion of unknown origin sank the battleship U.S.S. Maine in the Havana, Cuba harbor, killing 266 of the 354 crew members. The sinking of the USS Maine incited United States' passions against Spain, eventually leading to a naval blockade of Cuba and a declaration of war. 60. How did Hawaii become part of the United States? In 1898, the Spanish-American War broke out, and the strategic use of the naval base at Pearl Harbor during the war convinced Congress to approve formal annexation. Two years later, Hawaii was organized into a formal U.S. territory and in 1959 entered the United States as the 50th state. 61. What is the Open Door Policy? A policy proposed by the US in 1899, under which ALL nations would have equal opportunities to trade in China. 62. What is moral diplomacy? A foreign policy that would encourage human rights and the development of "constitutional liberty" in the world. military force. 63. What is dollar diplomacy? Taft's extension of Big Stick Diplomacy. 64. What is the Roosevelt Corollary? The Roosevelt Corollary was a United States foreign policy established by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1904. 65. Name the Central Powers. Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire. 66. Name the Triple Entente (Allies). England, France, and the United States. 67. What was the spark that caused WWI? World War I had five key causes (represented by the acronym MANIA): Militarism - European nations built strong navies and stockpiled weapons to make them stronger than their enemy. Alliances - hostilities led to European countries signing treaties promising to protect one another. Nationalism - people who shared a common language or culture were willing to go to war to protect their nation. Imperialism - European countries were competing to spread their empires to Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Assassination - Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife were shot in Bosnia in 1914, triggering a war between the two alliances. 68. How did Americans feel about getting involved in the war when it started in Europe? On August 4, as World War I erupted across Europe, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed America's neutrality, stating the nation “must be neutral in fact as well as in name during these days that are to try men's souls.” With no vital interests at stake, many Americans supported this position. 69. Explain trench warfare. A type of combat in which opposing troops fight from trenches facing each other. 70. What is the Sussex Pledge? Fearing the American entry into the war, Germany tried to appease the United States by issuing on May 4, 1916, the Sussex pledge, which promised a change in Germany's naval warfare policy. 71. What is the Zimmerman Note? The Zimmermann Telegram was a secret diplomatic communication issued from the German Foreign Office in January 1917 that proposed a military alliance between Germany and Mexico if the United States entered World War I against Germany. 72. What is the Selective Service Act? On May 18, 1917, Congress passed the Selective Service Act, which authorized the Federal Government to temporarily expand the military through conscription. The act eventually required all men between the ages of 21 to 45 to register for military service. 73. What are war bonds? War bonds are debt securities issued by a government to finance military operations and other expenditures in times of war. 74. What was the purpose of the War Industries Board? The War Industries Board existed from July 1917 to December 1918 to coordinate and channel production in the United States by setting priorities, fixing prices, and standardizing products to support the war efforts of the United States and its allies. 75. What was the purpose of the Committee for Public Information? The Committee on Public Information, also known as the CPI or the Creel Committee, was an independent agency of the government of the United States under the Wilson administration created to influence public opinion to support the US in World War I, in particular, the US home front. 76. List the propaganda objectives. 1) Recruitment of soldiers, either through a draft or voluntary enlistment, 2) Financing the war effort through the sale of war bonds (loans from citizens to the government) or new taxes, 3) Eliminating dissent and unifying the country behind the war effort, 4) Conservation of resources (such as food, oil, and steel) necessary to wage war, 5) Participation in home-front organizations to support the war effort. 77. What did Wilson’s 14 Points include? The 14 points included proposals to ensure world peace in the future: open agreements, arms reductions, freedom of the seas, free trade, and self-determination for oppressed minorities. 78. What were the conditions of the Treaty of Versailles? The Treaty of Versailles related to establishing the conditions of peace with Germany. 79. Why wasn’t the Treaty of Versailles ratified (approved) by Congress? Many Americans felt that the Treaty was unfair to Germany. They were concerned that belonging to the League would drag the USA into international disputes that were not their concern. In the end, Congress rejected the Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations. 80. When does WWI end? What did we call that day before it became Veteran’s Day? November 11, 1918. Armistice Day was the name of the day before it became Veterans Day in 1954. 81. 21st Amendment 82. Why was prohibition hard to enforce? 83. What new technology changed American society in the 1920s? 84. What is the Red Scare? 85. Define Communism. 86. Describe the Republican Presidents tenure in office during the 1920s. 87. Warren Harding 88. Calvin Coolidge 89. Herbert Hoover 90. Who is Charles Lindbergh? 91. What was the Scopes Trial? 92. Explain the re-emergence of the KKK in the 1920s. 93. What is the Great Migration? 94. What are installment plans? 95. Describe the Civil Rights Movement during the 1920s. 96. Who was Marcus Garvey and why was he significant? 97. What is the Harlem Renaissance?