History Test 2
Scopes Trial
1925 in tennessee, division between traditional values and modern, secular culture. John Scopes was a teacher arrested for violating a state law that prohibited the teaching of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. Trial reflected the tension between two definitions of freedom. Jury found Scopes guilty although it was overturned later on a technicality.
"Welfare Capitalism"
A more socially conscious kind of business leadership that paid more attention to the "human factor" in employment.
Roosevelt Corollary
Addition to the Monroe Doctrine that held that the US has the right to exercise "an international police power" in the western hemisphere. Could intervene militarily to prevent interference from European powers in the western hemisphere.
Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)
Amendment proposed to eliminate all legal distinctions "on account of sex." To supports of mothers' pensions and law limiting women's hours of labor the proposal was a step backward. Apart from the National Women's Party, every major female organization opposed the ERA.
Farmers' plight (rural depression)
American farming reached its peak during wwi. Thanks to mechanization and the increased use of fertilizer and insecticides, agricultural production continued to rise even when govt subsidies ended and world demand stagnated. As a result, farm incomes in the 1920s declined steadily and banks foreclosed tens of thousands of farms. Some 3 millions people migrated out of rural areas. Many went to southern cali.
16th Amendment to the Constitution (income tax)
Authorized congress to enact a graduated income tax. Provided a reliable and flexible source of revenue for a national state whose powers responsibilities, and expenditures were growing rapidly.
Glass-Steagall Act
Barred commercial banks from becoming involved in the buying and selling of stocks. Until its repeal in 1990s the law prevented many of the irresponsible practices that had contributed to the stock market crash.
Great Migration
Between 1910-1920 half a million blacks left the South. Carried with them a new vision of opportunity, or social and economic freedom. Looking for higher wages in northern factories than were available int he south, educating their children, escape from threat of lynching, and prospect of exercising the right to vote.
Lusitania
British passenger liner sunk by German U-boat, May 7, 1915, creating a diplomatic crisis and public outrage at the loss of 128 Americans (roughly 10% of total aboard); Germany agreed to pay reparations, and the US waited 2 more years to enter WW1. Outraged American public opinion and strengthened the hand of those who believed that the US must prepare for possible entry into the war.
Wilson's 14 Points
Clearest statement of American war aims and of vision of a new international order. Among the principles were self-determination for all nations, freedom of the seas, free trade, open diplomacy (end secret treaties), readjustment of colonial claims with colonized people given "equal weight" in deciding their futures and creation of a general association of nations to preserve the peace (which lead to the League of Nations after the war).
Immigration Act of 1924
Congress limited European immigration to 150,000 per year, distributed according to a series of national quotas that severely restricted the numbers from southern and eastern Europe. However to satisfy farmers in cali who needed mexican labor the law had no limits for the western hemisphere
Grand Coulee Dam
Construction of the dam in 1930s created thousands of jobs for the unemployed and produced abundant cheap power. The dam went into operation in 1941 and was the largest man-made structure in world history. Eventually produced 40% of the nations hydroelectric power. Dam construction caused the vanishing of salmon.
The "Court Fight"
FDR wanted to add new members to the supreme court to change the balance of power on a court that might invalidate his social security, Wagner act and other measures of the 2nd new deal. congress rejected plan but roosevelt accomplished his underlying purpose. the threat of court-packing inspired an about-face by key justices. the court had a new willingness to support economic regulation by both the federal govt and the states.
Federal Reserve System / Federal Trade Commission
Federal reserve consisted of 12 regional banks that were overseen by a central board appointed by the president and empowered to handle the issuance of currency, aid banks in danger of failing, and influence interest rates so as to promote economic growth. FTC investigated and prohibited unfair business activities such as price fixing and monopolistic practices. Reflected the remarkable expansion of the federal role in the economy during progressive era.
Triangle Shirtwaist fire
Fire broke out on March 25, 1911 in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. Those who tried to escaped discovered the stairwell had been locked (the owners way of discouraging theft and unauthorized bathroom breaks). When the fire department came the ladders only reached the 6th floor (the company occupied the top 3 floors of a 10 story building). After the first efforts to organize the city's workers accelerated, and the state legislature passed new factory inspection laws and fire safety codes.
Committee on Public Information
Flooded country with prowar propaganda using all available mediums. Claimed the war was being fought in "the great cause of freedom."
New Immigration
Immigration from southern and eastern Europe reached its peak during the Progressive era. Majority was from Italy, Russia, and the Austro-Hungarian empire. Was set in motion by industrial expansion and the decline of traditional agriculture. Ellis Island was the immigration hub the east and Angel Island was that of the west. Main reasons were the desire to share int he freedom and prosperity enjoyed by the people of the United States.
Charlotte Perkins Gilman's Women and Economics [document section]
Influenced a new generation of women aspiring to greater independence. Insisted that how people earned a living shaped their entire lives, and that therefore women must free themselves from the home to achieve genuine freedom.
League of Nations debate
Many american's feared that membership in the league would commit the united states to an open ended involvement in the affairs of other countries. majority of senators would have accepted the treaty with reservations ensuring that the obligation to assist league members against attack did not supersede the power of congress to declare war. wilson refused to negotiate. In nov 1919 and again in march 1920 the senate rejected the versailles treaty.
Prohibition
Movement inherited from the 19th century achieved national success during the war. Employers hoped it would create a more disciplined labor force. Urban reformers believed it would promote a more orderly city environment and undermine urban political machines, which used saloons to organize. In Dec 1917 Congress passed 18th amendment prohibiting the sale of intoxicating liquor. Was ratified in 1919 and went into effect in 1920.
Espionage Act of 1917
Prohibited spying and interfering with the draft and also "false statements" that might impede military success. Numerous newspapers and magazines were barred from mail.
Jane Addams / settlement houses
Prominent femal reformer. Founded Hull House which was devoted to improving the lives of the immigrant poor. Settlement house workers moved into poor neighborhoods, build kindergartens and playgrounds for children, established emploment bureaus and health clinics, and showed female victims of domestic abuse how to gail legal protection. Addams was typics of the Progressive era's "new women." Helped to shift the center of gravity of politics toward activist government. Late 19th century movement to offer a broad array of social services in urban immigrant neighborhoods; Chicago's Hull House was one of the hundreds that operated by the early 20th century
Americanization programs
Public and private groups of all kinds (educators, employers, labor leaders, social reformers, and public officials) took it upon themselves to americanize. Public schools paid great attention to americanizing immigrant children. The federal government demanded that immigrants demonstrate their unwavering devotion to the US.
Second Ku Klux Klan
Reborn in Atlanta in 1915 after the lynching of leo frank who was accused of killing a teen girl. The organization now sank deep rasoots in parts of the north and west. Klan insisted that american civilization was endangered by blacks and immigrants (especially jews and catholics) and all forces that endangered individual liberty (feminism, unions, immorality.
Red Scare
Short lived (1919-1920) but intense period of political intolerance inspired by the postwar strike wave and the social tensions and fears generated by the Russian Revolution. Dealt a devastating setback to radical and labor organizations of all kinds and kindled an intense identification of patriotic Americanism with support for the political and economic status quo.
War Industries Board
Run by financier Bernard Baruch, board planned production and allocation of war material, supervised purchasing and fixed prices, 1917-1919. Established standardized specifications for everything.
W.E.B. Du Bois
Scholar, poet, activist, founder of the NAACP and editor of magazine "The Crisis" was a prominent black leader of the first half of 20th century. Supported black participation in WWI but insisted black soldiers must join in the struggle for freedom at home.
Lawrence, Mass., strike of 1912
The city's huge woolen mills employed 32,000 men, women and children. In Jan 1912 state legislature enacted a 54 hour work week and employers reduced the pay of those that had been laboring longer hours. The workers spontaneously went on strike. In Feb strikers send children out of the city for the duration of the walkout. Socialist families in NYC agreed to take them in. The sight of the children, many pale and half starved, walking up 5th Avenue led to a wave of sympathy. The governor of Mass intervened and the strike was settled on the workers' terms.
Fordism
The economic system pioneered by Ford Motor Company based on high wages, mass production and, mass consumption. Brought the automobile within reach of ordinary Americans. The assembly line greatly reduced the time it took to produce each car.
Feminism / Margaret Sanger
The movement for full equality for women, in political, social, and personal life. Sanger placed the issue of birth control at the heart of the new feminism. Began a column on sex education, "What Every Girl Should Now," for The Call. Opened a clinic in a neighborhood in Brooklyn and distributed contraceptive device to poor jewish and italian women which she was sentenced to a month in jail for.
Muller v. Oregon
Upheld the constitutionality of an Oregon law setting maximum working hours for women. Solidified the view of women workers as weak, dependent, and incapable of enjoying the same economic rights as men.
The "Scottsboro Boys"
a case that revolved around 9 young black men arrested for the rape of 2 white women in Alabama in 193. despite the weakness of evidence and that one of accusers recanted authorities three times put them on trial and three times won convictions. supreme court decisions overturned the first two verdicts and established legal principles that greatly expanded the definition of civil liberties- that defendants have a constitutional right to effective legal representation, and that states cannot systematically exclude blacks from juries. court allowed the 3rd conviction which led to prison sentences for 5 of the boys.
Agricultural Adjustment Act
authorized the federal government to try to raise farm prices by setting production quotas for major crops and paying farmers not to plant more. succeeded in raising farm prices and incomes. not all farmers benefited. benefits flowed to property owning famers, ignoring the large numbers who worked on land owned by others. the policy of paying farmers not to grow crops led to the eviction of thousands of poor tenants and sharecroppers.
Tennessee Valley Authority
built a series of dams to prevent floods and deforestation along the Tennessee river and to provide cheap electric power for homes and factories in a seven-state region where many families still lives in isolated log cabins. the tva but the federal government in the business of selling electricity in competition with private companies
Huey Long
driven by intense ambition and the desire to help uplift the state's common people, Long won as governor in 1928 and in 1930 took a seat in the US senate. dominated every branch of govt and used his dictarorial power to build roads, schools, and hospitals to increase the tax burden on Louisiana's oil companies. in 1934 launched the share our wealth movement with the slogan every man a king. called for the confiscation of most of the wealth of the richest americans in order to finance a grant of $5000 and a guaranteed job and annual income for all citizens. son of a defeated political rival assassinated him in 1935.
Social Security Act, 1935
embodied roosevelt's conviction that the national govt had a responsibility to ensure the material well-being of ordinary american. created a system of unemployment insurance, old age pensions, and aid to the disabled, elderly poor, and families with dependent children. original bill envisioned a national system of health insurance but was shot down by the american medical assoc. represented a dramatic departure from the traditional functions of govt, from whether the govt should intervene to how the govt should intervene. also govt assumed responsibility to guarantee americans a living wage a protect them against economic and personal misfortune.
Indian Reorganization Act (1934)
ended the policy of diving indian lands into small plots from individual families and selling off the rest. federal authorities once again recognized indians' rights to govern their own affairs.
Election of 1928
hoover ran against smith who was the first catholic to be nominated by a major party. hoover won by a landslide but smith's campaign laid a foundation for the democratic coalition of the 1930s.
Keynesian Economics
insisted that large scale government spending was necessary to sustain purchasing power and stimulate economic activity during downturns. such spending should take place even at the cost of a budget deficit.
Congress of Industrial Organization (CIO)
it aimed to secure economic freedom and industrial democracy for american workers-a fair share in the wealth produced by their labor, and a voice in determining the conditions under which they worked.
Harlem Renaissance
the rejection of established stereotypes and a search for black values to put in their place. Writings during the time contained a strong element of protest. 1920s literacy and artistic movement centered in New york city's harlem neighborhood; writers langston hughes, jean toomer, zora neale hurston, and countee cullen were among those active
"Black Tuesday" (stock market crash)
the say the stock market crashed. as panic selling set in more than 10 billion in market value vanished in 5 hours.
National Recovery Administration (NRA)
worked with groups of business leaders to establish industry codes that set standards for output, prices, and working conditions. large companies dominated the code-writing process and used the nra to drive up prices, limit production, lay off workers and divide markets among themselves at the expense of smaller competitors. nra prouduced neither economic recovery nor peace between employers and workers.
