The assassination of William McKinley: Republican president who supported big business and a fan of the gold standard and was assassinated in office. Was shot in the chest at the World’s Fair – changed the country because a lot of big business people wanted Roosevelt put in the Vice President position because it wasn’t really a big power position and couldn’t influence anything.
The Robber Barons and what they did: Most of them set up trusts to control certain areas of business and get rid of competition. They ended up giving money back to support public good.
The Jungle: A book – spoke about the meat industry and how it was corrupt. It stated that the meat production companies weren’t selling good products to the people of the US. The last novel to actually create social change – directly.
Why the Spanish American War was fought: to free Cuba – but main reason was imperialism, to expand land.
Wounded Knee: Last Indian stand. It was a massacre, someone misfired a gun and then the union slaughtered them .1924 all Native-born U.S Indians are granted American Citizenship. Victory for the Indians, many Indian leaders were captured or exiled. ‘Ghost Dance’ ghost shirts could stop white men’s bullets. Chiefs sitting bull’s tribes captured. 1954 some states still kept Indians from voting.
Custer’s Last Stand: Started over Indians being pushed off their reservation for gold. At the Big Horn River in Montana. Custer died and the chiefs of the tribe were arrested and killed. It made the U.S realize that they had to take care of the Indian problem. Most famous Indian battle. Sioux were the most powerful surviving tribes – from Western Minnesota.
Jim Crow: represented ‘black America’ – a derogatory term for black people.
Represents segregation.
Separate But Equal: Jim Crow
How the 14th Amendment was used to protect corporations: a civil rights amendment that granted rights to African Americans – protects investors, they thought corporations were people.
The Panama Canal: America started a Revolution in Columbia. It was started by the French, but we took it over after buying it from Panama.
Roosevelt and his “big stick”: it was Roosevelt saying he wanted to do what he wanted.
What lands did America get from winning the Spanish-American War? Cuba, Caribbean, Puerto Rico, Guam, Midway, Philippians.
How did this war make America an Imperial Country? We fought the war to expand, and we did just that outside our own country.
How did Theodore Roosevelt rise in politics? Assassination of McKinley. Became a hero. He formed the Progressive Party.
What was the first ‘talkie’? How did it change America? The first ‘talkie’ was a Jazz singer – Al Jolson. It changed America because it revolutionized entertainment.
Susan B. Anthony and Alice Paul? They fought for women’s rights and they were instrumental in getting women the right to vote.
How were stocks inflated? How did this cause the crash? People bought stocks from stockbrokers, who borrowed money from banks to pay for them. Then, people would panic and sell too early, before the stockbrokers could repay the banks. Because of this, the banks ran out of money quickly and prices rose, causing the stock market crash and the Great Depression.
What was Black Thursday and Black Tuesday? They were the beginning of the Great Depression and the stock market crash. Millions of stocks were sold on those days, and they are considered some of the worst days in American economic history.
What was Hoover’s view of government relief programs? He didn’t think they had a point. He thought the economy would just work itself out eventually and that the government should not get involved.
What was the bonus army? They were soldiers who wanted their bonuses from the war that the government had promised to them. They weren’t supposed to get the money for a few years, but they wanted it early. They, and their families, camped out in Washington DC protesting until they had to be removed by force.
What happened during the 100 days? The 100 days were FDR’s first 100 days in office. There were intense senate sessions where they kept passing bills to try and solve the Great Depression, all part of FDR’s “New Deal”. They also put organizations and programs in order to help the problem as well. Now, Presidents are judged on their first 100 days since FDR was able to accomplish so much in that time.
What was the WPA and what did it do? It was the Works Project Administration. It set out to create as many jobs as possible, as quickly as possible during the Great Depression.
What were Roosevelt’s fireside chats and why did they become important? Fireside Chats were when Roosevelt went on the radio and spoke to the American public about what was going on. It was important because it was one of the first times that people could actually sit down and listen to the President. They felt more connected to him, and like he was relatable. This is how FDR garnered much of his support.
What was lend-lease? Lend-Lease was the idea that America would "lend" tanks, warplanes, ships and other wartime supplies to countries they couldn't officially ally with because we were 'neutral'/ These suplies would be "returned in kind" after the war.
Discuss the battle of Britain: It was the first aerial attack on England by the German air force. This began the devastating air war over England. There were four months of German bombers pounding Longon and other strategic areas with bombs and other weaponry. There were heavy civilian and military losses to the British, but their air defense destroyed 1700 German planes. Because of their failure to control British airspace, the Nazis decided not to launch an invasion across the Channel.
What were some of the reasons isolationists wanted to stay out of the war? They were still feeling the effects of the Depression and memories of WWI, so they didn't think WWII would be worth it. They didn't want to get into other people's affairs at the possible loss of so many American lives.
Who were the Axis Powers? Germany, Japan, Italy
What were the aggressive actions of Germany and Italy before the start of WWII? Germany invaded Austria and took it over, Germany took Poland, they signed a neutrality pact with Russia, and they annexed Czechoslovakia. Italy overthrew the government that it had and invaded Albania, Greece, and Ethiopia.
What are the two views of Pearl Harbor? One is that we knew about it, yet underestimated the power of the Japanese soldiers and overestimated the power of our army. Another is that Roosevelt knew everything about the attack but let it happen to have an excuse to enter the war.
What does Japan cite as reasons to go to war? After the Japanese invaded French Indochina, FDR froze Japan's assets in the US which halted trade between the countries, and cut off Japan's oil supply.
What is the date of Pearl Harbor? December 7th, 1941.
What is the date of D-Day? June 6th, 1944.
What was the cost of World War II? More than 38 million lives were lost in WWII, both military and civilian. It was also the catalyst for the Cold War.
Did the U.S. have to drop Atomic weapons on Japan? List the various PROs and CONs to this argument. The pros, advocating the dropping of the bomb, thought that there was no other way to end the war. They believed that if we invaded Japan we would surely be slaughtered because of the Japanese style of war, the idea that Japanese people would go to any length to die with honor and kill the enemy. However, they believed that if we did not invade Japan, they would surely invade us. They thought that dropping the bomb was our last option, it was a final resort of sorts. On the con side, there are some theories out there. One is that Truman knew that the Japanese was about to surrender, so there was the option not to drop the bomb at all. Another con, of course, is the sheer amount of lives that were lost and the destruction that was caused. Both sides agree that the people who made the bomb and those who dropped it had no idea of the power it had. I don't know exactly what I believe, I just know that I think the ruthless slaughter of innocent civilians is wrong.
