History 212
Terms
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- Radical Reconstruction
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The wing of the republican party most hostile to slavery. Like Thaddeus Stevens, they were not behind Johnson (who was freeing confederate leaders and trying to get them back in power) and were barely behind Lincoln, they wanted African American freedom long before Lincoln drafted the emancipation proclamation. They wanted the south to be punished and to free slaves with basic rights. These people continued to protect interests of African Americans under Johnson; wanted to 1. Expand Freedman’s Bureau and 2. Pass Civil Rights Act designed to counteract black codes by granting citizens mandatory rights regardless of race— Johnson vetoed both bills. But Congress overrode the veto on the Civil Rights Act--- this shows how powerful these people were. This is an example of why Reconstruction became known as the Congressional Reconstruction- congress wielded more power than the president. This power helped ratify the Fourteenth Amendment was passed which:
a. Barred confederate leaders (slavery lovers) from ever holding public office
b. Gave congress the right to reduce representation of any state that did not give black people the right to vote
c. Any person born or naturalized in the U.S was by law an American citizen with ‘equal protection of the law’
The Military Reconstruction Act was also passed which laid out strict guidelines for southern states including organizing state conventions, writing new constitutions, protecting black voting rights, and pass 14th amendment. Although they were successful they didn’t do all they hoped like redistribute land to freed slaves, provide black people guaranteed education, forbid racial segregation, or call for absolute racial equality.
- Turner Thesis
- Racial superiority justified American expansion, and global imperialism was a way American had ‘won the west’. He argued in his essay that America’s frontier experience had played a key role in shaping America’s national character. As more of the nation’s lands became settled, there was talk of the need for a ‘new frontier’. He also wanted to develop manifest destiny because it’s natural to continue to explore and conquer. It would help economy because business leaders needed new materials and new markets, and religious leaders/missionaries wanted to explain Christianity; this plus the pressure/race for colonies by other countries drove America to want to expand.
- Yellow Journalism
- Type of writing that shows little dependence on fact or research and instead uses sensationalized headlines and storylines in order to sell more newspapers or magazines. This was especially seen during the Spanish-American War; newspapers editors like Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst published graphic descriptions of the atrocities committed by the Spanish in Cuba. These sensationalized stories brought about anti-Spanish feelings among Americans who didn’t really know the details of the issue. Before journalism was mostly sensationalized, but now they were doing it with dramatic stories about the fight for Cuba- because U.s sympathized with Cuba. The bombing of the Maine – America blamed Spain proclaiming ‘Remember the Maine to hell with Spain’- but really had no proof. McKinley called on congress to intervene.
- Fifteenth Amendment
- extended voting rights to all male citizens regardless of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. Grant was in office when this amendment was adopted, after barely winning the vote (and having majority of white folks voting for Grants opponent) Republicans in Congress saw their time with a republican president was limited so they went right ahead to pass this amendment.
- Social Darwinism
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The theory that “survival of the fittest†extended to the business realm: tycoons believed they were justified in their overbearing behavior because they had shown themselves to be the most successful competitors in an open market. It also had a racialist tinge providing intellectual justification for laws and social practices that kept African Americans, Indians, certain categories of immigrants, and women second-class citizens who were often denied the vote and a basic right of property ownership. This theory mainly applied to economics where people were considered poor because they were unwilling to work hard enough to do well. Successful self-made men embraced the belief; thus the working poor (who knew they had no control over their situation) had no one to turn to when they were in need except for political bosses. It was also a justification for imperialism as the ‘new frontier’ idea that America was unique and manifest destiny was framed as a uniquely divine right and obligation to spread American values. This theory plus Anglo-Saxon destiny, plus the need to spread Christianity. This brought discriminatory legislation, such as:
- Immigration Act of 1917- Asian and Middle East; literacy tests
- Immigration Act of 1921: 3% of nationality in 1910 census
- Johnson- Reed Immigration Act of 1924: 2% of nationality in 1890 census; radical
- 1924-1965 immigration was greatly reduced
- In re debs
- Eugene V. Debs led the American Railway Union and eventually the American Socialist Party which sought to help workers by replacing the nations capitalist system. a federal judge issued an injunction ordering the American Railway Union to stop a strike against the Pullman Company and sentenced the strike's leader, Eugene Debs, to six months in jail for violating the injunction. The government then put Debs on trial for conspiracy but dropped the case in mid-trial. The Supreme Court upheld Debs' sentence for contempt of court in a major confirmation of federal judges' power to enforce their orders.
- Haymarket Riot
- Union members were killed at a Carnegie Steel plant for clashing with police officers. These workers were demanding an 8 hour workday and went on strike against the McCormick Harvester Company of Chicago. The next day a rally was held in Chicago’s Haymarket Square to protest, when police tried to break it up somebody through dynamite at them which killed 7 officers. Police fired and 4 more were killed and hundreds were injured and shot as they fled. It was believed to be started by anarchist and created hysteria among the middle-class.
- Dawes Severity Act
- federal law passes declaring lands held by tribes were to be divided among families and the Indians were not allowed to sell their lands because the government held these lands in trust for twenty-five years, after which individual Indians were to receive title to the land and become U.S citizens. Basically white folk weren’t happy with reservations because it obstructed routes of railroads and because the U.S had broken hundreds of treaties with Indian tribes and this was finally noticeable to the publics. This act was a part of Grant’s ‘peace plan’; they hoped this would alter the tribal nature of the Indians so they could become citizens in 25 years after they learned the ways of American citizens. This act did not help Indians establish farms and it eventually divided reservations into individual land plots. So the government divided up communal tribal lands, all land not for allotment was given to non-Indians. Indians lost 86 million acres, what remained in their possession was impossible to live off of, and they had hunting restrictions.
- Political Machine
- a political organization in which an authoritative boss or small group commands the support of supporters and businesses, who receive rewards for their efforts. The machine's power is based on the ability of the workers to get out the vote for their candidates on election day. Popular by William Tweed where politics was seen as an opportunity to get rich while providing favors to the urban underclass. Tweed had connections at Tammany Hall and was appointed to supervise rebuilding of Ney York infrastructure- they profited because he owned and had access to subcontractors and overcharged contractors and took the sums (George Washington Plunkitt). This appealed to recent immigrants who would provide politicians with votes in exchange for jobs and other services.
- Trusts
- to manage multiple firms through a small board of trustees, controlled all standard oil products and operations; in 1892 this was considered a Holding Company and asked to be broken up by the court. Holding Company-group of associates that controlled other firms but holding all stocks or majority of stocks of multiple companies. 1886- questions of breaking up monopolies.
- Homestead Act
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passes in 1862 that awarded 160 acres to settlers who occupied land in the West for the first five years. This lead to the creation of almost 400,000 farms, and is significant because it drove people West to industrialize the land, which lead to the birth of the West. These were efforts to keep immigrants and Indians at bay; many struggled to make a living of the new properties because of little rain, extreme weather conditions
-Migrants from east moved west, those who moved could afford to get up and travel.
- Homesteaders were people who took advantage of the Homestead Act to travel and receive land. Dozens of homesteaders abandoned their land and took off.
- The Great Plains had bad weather, wood necessary from homes and not much water. Turf houses were build that weren’t very supportive.
- Settlement House
- The first target of progressive reforms in the cities, with heavy populations in urban areas it became difficult to compensate for immediate growth in schools, sanitation, and cleaning. These were safe residences in poor neighborhoods where reformers could study local conditions and where residents could hold meetings and receive free health care. The Hull House, for example, founded by Jane Addams. Women were a part of these houses and lobbied for governments to pass legislation for safety laws to improve conditions surrounding tenements Fought for sanitation processes and closing red-light districts. Poor people took advantage; but they did seek to Americanize people and their cultures/heritage. Unfortunately these places were patronizing for immigrants thinking American people knew best; they also segregated settlement houses and would tear down bad areas thinking a new environment would help, but they never relocated families in bad areas. Idea was spread that instead of poverty and crime being used to define sin, it was now being used to define the environment.
- Plessy v Ferguson
- 1896 Supreme Court case that declared segregation laws as constitutional, claiming that as long as the accommodations were “separate by equal†it was legal to have separate facilities for black and white Americans. Homer Plessy was 1/8 black and purposely would try to challenge segregation laws like sitting in certain cars on trains; he hoped when he was arrested that the laws would challenge the ‘equal protection of the law’ part of the 14th Amendment. But instead ‘separate but equal’ was born, where it was legal to have separate facilities for blacks and whites. Significant because it promoted segregation and led to extreme discrimination issues.
- Manifest Destiny
- a phrase which invoked the idea of divine sanction for the territorial expansion of the United States. It was natural to conquer even if this meant crossing seas and continents. This was driven by 1.) The closing of the American frontier, economics, religious and moral reasons, geopolitics, and racial superiority. Howe argues that, "Nevertheless American imperialism did not represent an American consensus; it provoked bitter dissent within the national polity."[2] That is, most Democrats strongly supported THIS and most Whigs strongly opposed it. It was used by Democrats in the 1840s to justify the war with Mexico and it was also used to divide half of Oregon with Great Britain. But THIS always limped along because of its internal limitations and the issue of slavery, says historian Frederick Merk. It never became a national priority. THIS- what would become the continental United States, spreading from the east to the west. It was violent and environmentally unsafe- chasing out the natives and bison/buffalo; and laying down tracks and telegraph wire.
- Margaret Sanger
- an iconic figure for reproductive rights movement; American birth control activist, sex educator, and nurse. Sanger popularized the term birth control, opened the first birth control clinic in the United States, and established Planned Parenthood. Her efforts contributed to the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case which legalized contraception in the United States. In 1916, she opened the first birth control clinic in the United States, which led to her arrest for distributing information on contraception. Her subsequent trial and appeal generated enormous support for her cause. She felt that in order for women to have a more equal footing in society and to lead healthier lives, they needed to be able to determine when to bear children. She also wanted to prevent back-alley abortions, which were dangerous and usually illegal at that time. She lived in tenants in New York and witnesses lack of information for women with pregnancies The fear of birth control came from 3 instances: 1) fear of race suicide, 2) conservative Christianity, 3) cult of true womanhood
- Treaty of Versailles
- signed on June 28, 1919, was the peace settlement between Germany and the Allied Powers that officially ended World War I. However, the conditions in the treaty were so punitive upon Germany that many believe the treaty laid the groundwork for the eventual rise of Nazis in Germany and the eruption of World War II. The details of the treaty had been debated and finalized at the Paris Peace Conference, which opened on January 18, 1919 - just over two months after the fighting on the Western Front ended. Although many diplomats from the Allied Powers participated, Germany was not invited to the conference. The "big three" who were the most influential in the debates were Prime Minister David Lloyd George of the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau of France, and President Woodrow Wilson of the United States. The most controversial aspects of the Versailles Treaty were that Germany was to take full responsibility for the damage caused during World War I (known as the "war guilt" clause, Article 231), the major land concessions forced upon Germany (including the loss of all her colonies), the limitation of the German army to 100,000 men, and the extremely large sum in reparations Germany was to pay to the Allied Powers. The terms of the treaty were so seemingly hostile to Germany that German Chancellor resigned rather than sign it. However, Germany realized they had to sign it for they no longer had any military power left to resist.
- Bull Moose Party
- Also known as the Progressive Party of 1912-nicknamed the Bull Moose Party from a quote by Theodore Roosevelt. In 1912, Roosevelt was unhappy with Taft's time in office and put his own name forward to become the Republican Party's nominee again. Roosevelt's progressive beliefs, the platform of the party called for major reforms including women's suffrage, social welfare assistance for women and children, farm relief, revisions in banking, health insurance in industries, and worker's compensation. The party also wanted an easier method to amend the constitution. In 1912, voters could choose between William Howard Taft who was the incumbent Republican president, Roosevelt who had previously been the Republican president or Woodrow Wilson, the Democratic candidate. Roosevelt shared many of the progressive policies of Wilson yet his core support came from Republicans who defected from the party. Taft and Roosevelt came away with a combined popular vote of 50%; the Bull Moose Party split the Republican vote so Wilson won.
- Know-Nothing Party
- Also known as the American Party, U.S. political party that flourished in the 1850s. THIS party was an outgrowth of the strong anti-immigrant and especially anti-Roman Catholic sentiment that started to manifest itself during the 1840s. A rising tide of immigrants, primarily Germans in the Midwest and Irish in the East, seemed to pose a threat to the economic and political security of native-born Protestant Americans. As its membership and importance grew in the 1850s, the group slowly shed its clandestine character and took the official name American Party. As a national political entity, it called for restrictions on immigration, the exclusion of the foreign-born from voting or holding public office in the United States, and for a 21-year residency requirement for citizenship- It was successful in passing the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854. Caught in the sectional strife disrupting all national institutions, the American Party fell apart after 1856. Antislavery believers who were a part of THIS party joined the Republican Party, while Southern members flocked to the proslavery banner still held aloft by the Democratic Party.
- Sedition Act
- A set of amendments to the espionage act. The espionage act fined and jailed anyone who protested the war draft or war effort—this was later broadened and extended into THIS act making it illegal to say anything “disloyal†about American government, the flag, or the armed forces. This effort was shown in people taking German things and making them American- liberty cabbage instead of sauerkraut. And changing German street signs, firing people who spoke German etc. Many spoke out against this like Eugene Debs and Jane Addams.
- Roosevelt Corollary
- In the early 1900s Roosevelt grew concerned that a crisis between Venezuela and its creditors could spark an invasion of that nation by European powers. THIS THING was issued December 1904 stated that the United States would intervene as a last resort to ensure that other nations in the Western Hemisphere fulfilled their obligations to international creditors, and did not violate the rights of the United States or invite "foreign aggression to the detriment of the entire body of American nations." As the corollary worked out in practice, the United States increasingly used military force to restore internal stability to nations in the region. Roosevelt declared that the United States might "exercise international police power in 'flagrant cases of such wrongdoing or impotence.'" Over the long term the corollary had little to do with relations between the Western Hemisphere and Europe, but it did serve as justification for U.S. intervention in Cuba, Nicaragua, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic.
- Johnson-Reed Immigration Act
- This was issued in 1924 limited the number of immigrants allowed entry into the United States through a national origins quota. The quota provided immigration visas to two percent of the total number of people of each nationality in the United States as of the 1890 national census. It completely excluded immigrants from Asia. Earlier: The National Origins Act restricted the number of immigrants permitted to enter the U.S based on figured from the end of the 19th century.