US History Semester 2 Final Exam Study Guide

Define containment

A U.S. policy directed at controlling Soviet influence from spreading communism to other countries and stopping the expansion of communism.

Define Social Darwinism and "The Gospel of Wealth"

According to the ideas of Social Darwinism, wealthy individuals, who represented the fittest of humans, were destined to survive and succeed. In an 1889 article, "The Gospel of Wealth," Andrew Carnegie refined his ideas about wealth and Social Darwinism. He acknowledged his belief in a natural division between the wealthy and the poor, but Carnegie also believed the wealthy were duty-bound to share that wealth with society. His philanthropy, or desire to promote the welfare of others through financial support, set an example for business leaders. Throughout his life, Carnegie donated millions of dollars to many causes, including educational institutions, libraries, and theaters. Between 1883 and 1929 he funded 2,509 libraries worldwide, 1,689 of them in the United States.

Define Hull House and Jane Addams

Addam's also fought for such progressive causes as worker's rights, women's suffrage, or women's right to vote, and the regulation of tenements. She helped bring about the first juvenile law court. Jane Addam's founded Hull House in Chicago, one of the most famous settlement houses in the nation. In 1889, Jane Addams and her friend Ellen Starr leased a house, called Hull House after the man who had built it, in a poor, immigrant neighborhood of Chicago. Hull House would be Addam's home for the rest of her life. Addam's and her partner, Starr, moved into the house and immediately began renovating the space, creating programs to help the people in the neighborhood, and fundraising among wealthy Chicagoans to support their work. The Hull House (settlement house) was located in a neighborhood that, at the time, had one of the city's highest infant mortality rates. In response, Hull House residents researched this problem as well as others that affected people in their neighborhoods. Their findings, often published in sociology journals, provided evidence for activists lobbying for reforms. The Hull House provided a generous range of desperately needed services, including a kindergarten, day care, afternoon clubs for older children, classes and activities for adults, a playground, a library, and a boarding house for girls. Jane Addams crusaded for improvements throughout the city of Chicago as well as in her own neighborhood. She served on the city's board of education and, at one point, worked as the garbage inspector in the ward where Hull House was located. Addam's work at Hull House gained her respect and admiration from people throughout the country. However, when she took her activism onto the national scene, she was not afraid to take public stances she knew would make her deeply unpopular. She was opposed to war under any circumstance and spoke out against fighting in World War I, even after the United States had joined the war and most Americans strongly supported it. After the war, she continued to be critical of the military. She also supported labor unions and openly criticized elements of the American capitalist system. By the 1920s, J. Edgar Hoover, the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), was calling Jane Addams, "the most dangerous woman in America" the same description that had been applied to Mother Jones several years earlier by a U.S. attorney. Then came the stock market crash of 1929 and the beginning of the Great Depression, a time of poverty and struggle for many Americans. Once again, Addam's efforts on behalf of the poor came to the forefront. She rose in the national esteem at the same time she received international recognition. In 1931, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. She helped found the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the American Civil Liberties Unions (ACLU), and the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. After 122 years of service, Hull House closed in 2012. However, the site now houses a museum dedicated to continuing Addam's vision through research, education, and social engagement.

Define effects of the Vietnam War

After the decisive Battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954 and the victory of Ho Chi Minh's communist forces against the French in Southeast Asian country of Vietnam, a peace agreement negotiated in Geneva, Switzerland temporarily divided the country in half along the 17th parallel.

Define vertical and horizontal integration

Andrew Carnegie became the dominant figure in the steel industry. To build his empire, Carnegie adopted the strategy used by Gustavus Swift in the meatpacking industry: vertical integration, or the control of all phases of production from start to finish. Carnegie purchased the mines to gather raw materials, bought boats and railroads to transport materials, built and controlled the steel mills, and developed a sales force to sell his products. **By employing vertical integration, Carnegie maximized profits by not having to pay outside companies.** In dealing with his competition, Andrew Carnegie employed horizontal integration, which means he purchased other companies to reduce the number of competitors. Carnegie's use of horizontal integration allowed him to come close to achieving a monopoly on, or exclusive control over, the steel industry.

Define The Bonus Army

As the Depression worsened, economic distress triggered social protests, including one by war veterans. In 1931, a veterans organization passed a resolution demanding from Congress immediate payment of the cash bonus scheduled to be paid to World War I veterans in 1945. Veterans argued the early payment would not only help them but would also stimulate the economy. In December 1931, a bill authorizing this payment was introduced in the House. In May 1932, veterans began traveling to Washington, D.C., to show their support for this bill. 15,000 veterans calling themselves the Bonus Expeditionary Force, or the Bonus Army, had arrived in Washington to listen to Congress debate the bonus bill. While some slept in government buildings, most members of the Bonus Army camped out in makeshift tents and sheds on the banks of the Anacostia River. The Washington, D.C., police superintendent and the police captain in charge of Anacostia helped the veterans by providing food, medical care, and supplies for building their shacks. Hoover, on the other hand, ignored them. On June 17, the bill was rejected by the Senate. In July, Hoover administration urged the Bonus Army to leave Washington and even allocated $100,000 to pay the men's transportation costs home. But many stayed on, hoping for a change in government policy. On July 28, 1932, the secretary of war ordered the police to remove marchers from government buildings. Veterans resisted, and fighting broke out. When a police pistol went off, other officers began shooting, and soon two veterans laid dead. The president ordered the federal troops in Washington, commanded by Army Chief of Staff General Douglas MacArthur, to restore order. MacArthur took his men, armed with tanks and machine guns, across the Anacostia River into the Bonus Army's camp. His troops hurled tear gas canisters and burned tents and shacks as the veterans fled in terror. Documentary filmmakers captured the events, and moviegoers across the nation saw newsreels of MacArthur in full military dress directing the attack, cavalry soldiers charging veterans, and flames and smoke billowing (to rise or roll like waves) from the camp. By the next day, the camp was a ruin and all the veterans had left. Many Americans were shocked. "If the Army must be called out to make war on unarmed citizens," wrote one newspaper editor, "this is no longer America." The public outrage spelled trouble for Hoover as the 1932 presidential election approached.

Define black soldiers during WWI and WWII

Black soldiers in WWI: African-American soldiers of the 369th Infantry from New York City, nicknamed the "Harlem Hellfighters," fought with the French and were the first Americans to receive the French Croix de Guerre (War Cross) for Gallantry. · Black soldiers fought bravely in World War I but still faced discrimination. · The Harlem Hellfighters was a regiment of New York National Guardsmen in WWI, they were set up to fail by their own government. They were humiliated, degraded, and eventually given to the French Army as a throw away. · They ended up coming home as one of the most decorated units in the entire U.S. Army. · Harlem Hellfighters were one of the most important regiments in American history WWI, they helped to establish to the entire world the power of black soldiers in the military. · It was very difficult during that time for African Americans to get into the United States military because there was this perception that African Americans would not do well in battle. · They had to overcome the prejudice of their own countrymen and yet also perform yet ably on the battlefield. · Like so many units of African American descent, when they go overseas, they're not sure what they are going to do. Are they going to fight as infantry? Or are they going to be stevedores (a man employed in loading and unloading ships) and load ships? Are they gonna be labor units and cut wood? And so they're unloading ships , building the trains, those types of support services and as you can imagine these men have been trained and they're willing to fight, they're ready to fight and this is stressful for them. · They were finally given to the French Army, which in a way, was an even greater insult because in the first World War when the United States entered, General Pershing, the commanding officer was very clear that American forces would not be fed piecemeal (done piece by piece, part at a time) into the French and British Army because the French and British wanted reinforcements and Pershing said absolutely not when Americans join this war, they will fight as an American force under the American flag led by an American general...except for the black guys, you can have them. · Henry Johnson is perhaps one of the most remarkable black military heroes in U.S. history and he found himself in no-man's land with private Needham Roberts manning a listening post. Needham Roberts here's click-click-click and he realizes somebody's cutting the wire, it's potentially a German raid and so Roberts is passing him grenades and the Germans actually do come across the lines. · Roberts is hurt and now Henry Johnson is left to defend their position and to stave off his attack and then he makes the mistake of jamming a French cartridge into his American gun, it no longer works and the Germans are on top of it. He then used the his rifle like a club and then he ended up fighting with a knife against the kaisers (German soldiers) best and turned them, he's wounded in the fray (to strain or upset, to make worn so that there are loose threads, especially at the edge), he struck for example, in the foot, it has a debilitating injury as a result and he fights them off he says for what seemed like an hour. · The Germans ran shrieking into the night all because of one man, Henry Johnson. It's not until the next morning that people realize all because of one man, Henry Johnson. It's not until the next morning that people realize what a tremendous act this was. They discover four bodies of dead German soldiers and they also realized from the equipment and other things that are left behind that as many as 30 may have been involved in this altercation. As soon as Henry Johnson drove off those Germans, the French awarded him with the quality care, a great honor. · Unfortunately, it took about 75 years for the U.S. Government to give Henry Johnson the Legion of Merit. Had he been white, he would have walked out of that war with the Medal of Honor. · What was so shocking was the United States government actually sent a memorandum to the French government essentially implementing Jim Crow, essentially saying don't give African Americans some notion that they are equals because white people don't want African Americans taking that notion back to the United States and demanding equality when they come back to the United States. · Henry Johnson is not awarded the Purple Heart, there's no notation in his military record of his injury and so he winds up not being able to work because of this injury and he doesn't get any kind of assistance from the Army or from the government and as a result, he ends up dying in 1929, penniless so it again shows the paradox here is this great story of valor and of courage on the part of the soldier and ultimately he comes back to a nation and they don't honor that sacrifice. · We tend to think we all know American history so well but the story of the Harlem Hellfighters should be one of the first stories told because it wasn't about killing other people, it was about being Americans and serving their country well, that was in the inclination of the Harlem Hellfighters. · When you are African American in 1917, democracy is armored democracy as a weapon and to fight for a war to make the world safe for democracy was something more than just some ethereal crusade for the Hellfighters. It had concrete results, they were fighting for the rights to be a citizen of the country that they were born in. Black soldiers in WWII: Men from minority groups did not fight with white soldiers. Instead, they were placed in segregated troops. Nevertheless, these troops made great sacrifices and demonstrated valor and distinction. The Tuskegee Airmen was a squadron of African-American pilots who trained in Tuskegee, Alabama, and shot down Nazi planes during an invasion in Italy in 1943.

Define Brown v. Board of Education

Civil Rights lawyer, Thurgood Marshall took on Brown v. Board of Education case which went to the Supreme Court and was won. The Brown v. Board of Education case centered on a Kansas law permitting cities to segregate their public schools. The case began with a team of six National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) lawyers - 5 black, one white who represented the Reverend Oliver Brown in suing the Topeka school board. The lawyers argued that Brown's 8-year-old daughter should not have to attend a segregated school 21 blocks from her home when a white public school was much closer. One of the lawyers' strategies was to present social science studies showing that segregated schools have a negative effect on the self-esteem of African-American children, especially that of girls. In an unanimous decision delivered on May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court ruled that the doctrine of "separate but equal" had no place in public education. Chief Justice Warren wrote, "Separate educational facilities are inherently [essentially] unequal." The court ordered the speedy integration of the nation's public schools. Because of the decision, the definition of equal rights included the equal opportunity for education and inspired a new generation of civil rights activists.

Define Roosevelt Corollary

Foreign policy declaration called the Roosevelt Corollary amended the Monroe Doctrine, a much earlier U.S. declaration the opposed European interference in the Americas. By President Roosevelt writing this declaration, when necessary, the United States would intervene in the affairs of Latin American nations. It came into play later as Roosevelt set out to build a canal in Central America.

Define migration within the United States

From 1870-1920 20 million Europeans arrived in the United States. Before 1890 they came from Western and Northern Europe. After 1890 they came from Eastern Europe. They came because of religious persecution, and there was also a rising population in Europe. The population of Europe doubled between 1800 and 1900! They came for opportunity and lived in ethnic enclaves so they could speak their own languages, etc. Many of those who migrated west were inspired by the concept of manifest destiny, the belief that Americans were intended to settle all the land between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. During the Civil War, the U.S. government had tried to make it easier for farmers to migrate to the Great Plains by passing the Homestead Act in 1862. Europeans began pushing westward shortly after they established their first settlements along the eastern seaboard of North America. Many people migrated west along the same latitudes as they lived, moving to places with familiar weather and soil. For example, in the early 1800s, people from New York migrated to Michigan, while people from Virginia, migrated to Tennessee, and people from Kentucky migrated to Missouri. In the 1840s, the number of people moving west of the Mississippi River increased dramatically, forming one of the largest migrations in U.S. history. Between 1841 and 1866, up to a half million Americans migrated west of the Mississippi. Most of these migrants were young men in their teens and early adulthood. About 30% were women and children. While people from all over the United States moved west in the 1840s and 1850s, the largest number came from the South and the Midwest. While some migrants sailed to California and the Pacific Northwest, most traveled overland by wagon. The overland migrants followed trails marked by earlier trappers and fur traders who, to some degree, probably used even earlier trails made by Native Americans as well as migrating herds of animals. One of groups migrating west were the Mormons who moved from New York and established settlements in Ohio and Missouri. Forced to leave Ohio and Missouri, they gathered in Illnois. They eventually migrated west to find a remote and protected place such as the southern shore of the Great Salt Lake in Utah. In one of the largest internal migrations in the nation's history, more than 3 million "Dust Bowl refugees" in Oklahoma, Kansas, the Dakotas, Colorado, Texas, and New Mexico. African Americans had begun leaving the South for cities in the North around 1910, a mass movement known as the Great Migration. The outbreak of the war played a key role in this process. As immigration from Europe ended and white American factory workers enlisted, thousands of jobs opened up in industrial centers in northern cities. Between 1914 and 1920, more than 600,000 African Americans moved north. The Great Migration 1916-1930 was the movement of 2 million African Americans out of the Southern United States to the Midwest, Northeast, and West from 1910 to 1930. African Americans migrated to escape racism and to seek jobs in industrial cities. Because Mexican American migrant workers continuously moved from farm to farm, most migrant children only occasionally attended school, and some received no education at all. As President John F. Kennedy famously acknowledged in the title of his book he published as senator in 1959, the United States is "a nation of immigrants."

Define the "muckrakers," including specific examples and their motivations

Ida Tarbell and other investigative reporters became known as muckrakers, or journalists who expose misconduct by an organization or a person. Specific examples: -Beginning in 1902, journalist Ida Tarbell wrote a series of articles called, "The History of the Standard Oil Company" for McClure's Magazine. Tarbell spent nearly two years researching Standard Oil before writing her articles exposing Rockefeller's unethical practices. Her reporting had a profound influence on the public's opinion of corporations and trusts in general.

Define Plessy v. Ferguson

In 1896, Plessy v. Ferguson, the Supreme Court ruled that facilities for African Americans can be "separate but equal."

Define Containment and the Domino Theory

In 1946, George F. Kennan, a foreign service officer stationed at the U.S. embassy in Moscow, laid out the doctrine of containment policy (or control) of Soviet influence shaped American foreign policy until 1986. Its goal was to block Soviets from spreading communism to other countries. Under containment, the United States would focus on keeping communism from expanding. The policy of containment was based on fear that communism would spread. Western leaders reinforced this idea with the domino theory. They argued that just like rows of dominoes knocking each other down, communist countries, especially those in Asia, would 'knock over" their neighbors and make them communist as well. During the Cold War, some feared the domino theory might happen with countries: if one became communist, its neighbors might quickly follow. Presidents John Kennedy and President Lyndon Johnson continued to support President Eisenhower's domino theory, formulated in 1954 to explain the presence of the U.S. military in South Vietnam. President Eisenhower embraced President Harry Truman's containment policy to prevent the spread of communism throughout Asia. •How did the Truman Doctrine build upon the principles of containment? Truman Doctrine: President Truman's proposal that the United States provide economic and military aid to all countries threatened by a communist takeover. •How did the Marshall Plan build upon the principles of containment? The Marshall Plan: aka European Recovery Program was financial aid for the nations of Europe, including the Soviet Union, and helped to rebuild Britain, Germany, and France and restore economic confidence to many European nations and keep the peace.

Define interpretations of the West

In reponse to the census data, Frederick Jackson Turner developed a theory about the importance of the frontier. He presented his frontier theory in the paper, "The Significance of the Frontier in American History," which he delivered to the American Historical Association in 1893. Turner maintained that western settlement had shaped America's national identity. He portrayed the frontier as a place that encouraged individualism and the belief that a person's independence and self-reliance were important than the rules and concerns of society as whole. As each generation pushed farther west, it became more democratic and egalitarian, or equal. The people relied on themselves and their neighbors instead of institutions or government officials. For example, if a horse was stolen, the sheriff often gathered together a posse, or group of armed men formed to capture an outlaw. Note: Turner's frontier was solely one of white settlement and expansion. The legend of the Wild West started from dime novel writers of tall tales and wild adventures of adventure, hardship, and daring rescues. Buffalo Bill's Wild West show was touring the eastern states. This outdoor adventure featured mock shootouts, cowboys demonstrating their skills, buffalo, and other Wild West icons. And so was born the larger-than-life image of the West as a place of theatrical violence, with masked bandits stalking every bank and frequent shootouts between the good guys and the bad guys. Life in the real West was by no means boring, and the West did have its colorful characters. But the day-to-day reality was not nearly as exciting as the stories on the pages and screens. For example: two of the most popular "set" pieces from Westerns - the shootout between the sheriff and the villain in the town streets and the daring bank robbery - were extremely uncommon in real life. **Historians have studied crime statistics for several western towns in the late 1800s. Using the information, these researchers estimated that the Wild West was no more violent than cities and towns today. Historian Larry Schweikart concluded that fewer than a dozen bank robberies likely took place in the final decades of the 19th century. As for dramatic shootouts on Main Street, most of the life-altering disagreements in the West were over land, and people fought them out in court. In a book about the frontier, historian Patricia Nelson Limerick, commented, "The showdowns would occur in the land office or the courtroom; weapons would be deeds and lawsuits, not six-guns." The life of a cowboy, too, was not exactly as portrayed in the Westerns. On-screen cowboys were almost exclusively white, and they seemed to spend their days with pistols drawn. In reality, of the approximately 40,000 cowboys on the Great Plains, 30% or more were African American or Mexican. Several hundred were Native Americans. And the actual work of a cowboy? It was unromantic, poorly paid, and often revolved around the boredom of 14-hour days in the saddle herding cattle. The case of Wild Bill Hickok is a useful case study for examining how a real-life event was turned almost instantly into a Wild West legend. The tale begins with one of the few true instances of a quick-draw gun duel in the street. In 1865, James Butler Hickok, known as "Wild Bill," was a gambler and a drifter who made his temporary home in Springfield, Missouri. He got into a disagreement over a gambling debt with a man named Davis Tutt. It culminated (to reach its highest point or degree) on the evening of July 20, when both men drew their pistols and fired at each other in the town square. Tutt fell dead, with a bullet through the heart; Hickok was unharmed. Within a few months, Hickok was on his way to Wild West stardom. Colonel George Ward Nichols started the process with an article about the showdown for Harper's New Monthly Magazine. Nichol's account of the shootout was mostly factual, but he went on to tell his readers that Hickok had once fought off 10 attackers on his own and that he killed 100 men, among other fictions. The article was hugely popular and was soon followed by dime novels with titles such as Wild Bill, the Indian Slayer. Another example, Martha Jane Cannary was orphaned in 1867, soon after her family moved to Salt Lake City, Utah. The 12-year-old giel was uneducated and desperately poor, but she was tall, strong, and able to do the jobs that were mainly available to men. She acquired the name Calamity Jane. She met Wild Bill Hickok. 1In 1895, she joined Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West show as a horseback rider and sharpshooter, further expanding both her legend and her fan base. She was buried next to WIld Bill Hickok at Mount Moriah Cemetery in South Dakota. Why have the tall tales of the Wild West persisted for more than a century after the real American frontier began to fade from memory? Perhaps it is because the Old West embodies a spirit of toughness and independence that Americans admire. Perhaps, too, the legends recall a time when much of the country was untamed and new - to American settlers, at least. For the Native Americans of the West, many of the events of the frontier period are distinctly lacking in romance or nostalgia. Another figure in particular captured the imagination of Americans from all walks of life: Buffalo Bill Cody. William Cody was born on the prairie in 1846, and he worked as a messenger, livestock wrangler, gold prospector, and Pony Express rider delivering mail throughout the West. In 1867, he began hunting bison which many people at the time referred to as buffalo to feed railroad construction crews. He hunted and killed more than 4,000 buffalo within 17 months, but he actually earned his nickname by taking part in an 8-hour buffalo shooting match with another hunter named William. Cody also fought in numerous battles during the Native American conflicts. Cody became the larger-than-life protagonist, or main character, of a series of novels penned by E.Z.C. Judson. Besides Buffalo Bill himself, the indisputable star of the show was Annie Oakley, an excellent markswoman. Lakota leader Sitting Bull also joined Buffalo Bill's Wild West show which toured for 30 years.

Define US foreign policy after WWII

In the 1950s and 1960s, the U.S. government focused to a large extent on domestic policy, particularly on civil rights for African Americans. Foreign policy and events in Southeast Asia also claimed the attention of several presidents during this period, beginning with Dwight Eisenhower. Eisenhower embraced President Harry Truman's containment policy to prevent the spread of communism throughout Asia. Eisenhower believed that an anticommunist government had to be established in South Vietnam, which was considered a "third world" country. During the Cold War, a country that was not aligned with either the United States or the Soviet Union was called a third world country. The United States used the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) to justify its increasing involvement in Southeast Asia after the French conceded to the Vietnamese in 1956.

Define Executive Order 9066

Japanese Americans were classified as enemy aliens and interned. Public opinion had turned sharply against Japanese Americans after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Unlike the Italians and Germans who were interned, more than 60% of those with Japanese ancestry who were relocated to camps were Nisei (nee-SAY). Nisei are people born in the United States whose parents emigrated from Japan. The general population and the military believed Japanese Americans were a threat, even though the FBI did not consider them a danger. Military leaders feared the close proximity of Japanese American communities to American military bases and aircraft plants on the West Coast, and the public associated Japanese Americans with the actions of Japan's Armed Forces. In response to the perceived threat, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 in 1942, which authorized the relocation and internment of 110,000 Japanese Americans and "resident aliens" living within 60 miles of the West Coast and in parts of Arizona on grounds of national security. An executive order is a directive issued by a president that has the force of law. Nearly all Japanese Americans lived on the West Coast, in California, Washington, and Oregon. The order violated their constitutional and human rights. However, the Supreme Court, in a decision heavily criticized today, upheld its implementation in Korematsu v. United States, arguing that, "When under conditions of modern warfare our shores are threatened by hostile forces, the power to protect must be commensurate with [in proportion to] the threatened danger." The government removed Japanese Americans to internment camps in military zones, where they lived in prison-like surroundings surroundings until the war's end.

Define push and pull factors to immigration to the US

Like earlier groups of immigrants to the United States, southern and eastern European and Asian immigrants were motivated by several push-pull factors, or pressures that forced them from their home countries and drew them to a new one. The factors that pushed immigrants away from their home countries included a lack of economic opportunities, a shortage of farmland, too few educational opportunities, religious discrimination, and the threat of being drafted to fight in wars. For the Irish, the massive emigration that began with the Great Potato Famine of 1845-1849 stretched into the latter half of the century, as hunger and poverty continued to plague Ireland. The pull factors that drew immigrants to the United States included the hope for greater economic opportunity, plentiful farmland available for purchase at affordable prices, political and religious freedom, and the absence of war. Following the Civil War, rapid industrial growth created an unprecedented demand for labor. Industries across the country needed both skilled and unskilled workers. Communities established by previous groups of immigrants in cities such as Chicago and New York welcomed the newcomers. Push factors: Jim Crow Laws Push factor: Sharecropping Push factor: Lynching Push factor:Disenfranchisement

Define progressivism

Many Americans knew what was underneath the guided layer, and they believed that governments did not do enough to solve the problems that stemmed from urbanization. In the 1890s, individuals organized a number of different reform movements to address social problems. These reformers were mostly native-born, middle class, white, and Protestant. They believed that society was responsible for the common good of all its citizens and that social ills resulting from industrial growth and political corruption had to be addressed. Because one of the root values of these reformers was a belief in progress, the various reform movements became known as progressivism. Progressive reformers worked in many different capacities to achieve reforms. Some focused on improving urban living conditions. Some addressed the injustices of child labor, and others challenged big-city bosses and government corruption. While they may have focused on different issues, progressive reformers shared similar goals" addressing social problems such as poverty and exploitation, exposing corruption, reforming government, and expanding democracy. Progressive reforms continued during the presidencies of William Taft and Woodrow Wilson.

Define US foreign policy before WWI and WWII, including why the US entered both wars

Negotiate peacefully while flexing military strength.

Define The New Deal

Roosevelt chose a social worker, Harry Hopkins, to help him manage the New Deal, a group of laws, agencies, and programs designed to combat the economic crisis. They coined the name of their plan from Theodore Roosevelt's Square Deal, and they hoped it would be as successful. To address the Great Depression, President Roosevelt enacted a series of domestic programs called The New Deal . (mural created by Charles Well under the New Deal's Works Progress Administration). The New Deal 1933-1940: -Document One: In President Franklin Roosevelt's first fireside chat (radio broadcast) to the nation, he outlined his plans to restore confidence in banks. He faced a daunting challenge: how to rally a downtrodden citizenry from the depths of economic despair. -Document Two: Some Americans were weary of FDR's plans to get the country back on its feet. Many wrote letters to members of Congress and to the president himself, warning of the dire threats that the New Deal and other Roosevelt policies posed to the American social, political, and economic system. -Document Three: Roy Wilkins was one of the civil rights movement's most important figures. He was the editor of The Crisis, the official publication of the NAACP, from 1934 to 1949. From the 1940s through the 1960s, he helped organize legal efforts to overturn "separate but equal" segregation in public schools, participated in marches and protests, and served as the executive director of the NAACP. The Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) was the New Deal's solution to declining farm incomes. Passed in 1933, the act limited the quantity of such staple crops as cotton, wheat, and corn that farmers could grow. It also paid farmers who voluntarily stopped growing crops on some of their land. The AAA was based on a theory called planned scarcity, in which the government lowers the supplies of certain products in order to create a high demand for them and raise their prices. The government also offered generous loans to farmers who stored their crop surpluses in government warehouses. Roosevelt funded the AAA by taxing businesses that processed farm goods, such as flour millers, cotton gin operators, and meatpackers. The plan worked. Within a year, more than 3 million farmers had signed individual contracts with the AAA. Farm incomes shot up almost 60% between 1932 and 1935. The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided jobs for the unemployed and also generated new orders for factories in the steel, glass, rubber, and cement industries. It worked differently from most other New Deal agencies because it helped individual contractors hire and pay their own workers, instead of having the federal government pay the employees' wages. Roosevelt selected his Secretary of the Interior, Harold Ickes, to run the agency. Roosevelt wanted to help all Americans through the Depression, including those who lived in rural areas. His New Deal featured programs designed to help poor farming families. Two major programs were in Tennessee and California. The Tennessee River drained land in seven states. The 4 million people who lived there were some of the country's poorest farmers. Their communities were isolated and lacked doctors, proper schools, electricity, and paved roads. In May 1933, Roosevelt established the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to construct dams and power plants along the river and its tributaries. Within a decade, 16 dams and hydroelectric plants operated along the river, providing thousands of jobs and bringing electrical power to residents. In California, the New Deal funded the Central Valley Project (CVP), a plan to irrigate the arid San Joaquin Valley, a portion of the state's vast Central Valley. Like the TVA, the CVP involved the construction of dams to create reservoirs for storing and delivering water.

List and define US wars after the Civil War

Spanish-American War of 1898: By the late 1800s, the United States was seeking to expand its territory, Spain was losing hold on its empire. Americans took a keen interest in events in Cuba. It lies 90 miles south of the tip of Florida. Another factor was economic interest; Cuba was an economically valuable neighbor of the United States because the United States accounted for 85% of Cuba's exports, while Spain was responsible for only 6%. WWI: aka The Great War: 1914-1920 WWII: 1941-1945: By transmitting messages in Choctaw, U.S. forces were able to orchestrate a successful surprise attack against the Germany army. The Navajo language could form the basis of a wartime code. In 1942, Navajo code was used by "Code Talkers." Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor triggered the U.S. entry into WWII. Americans in the military and at home contributed to the war effort during WWII. Korean War: The first major conflict of the Cold War broke out in Korea. On June 25, 1950, North Korean troops crossed the 38th parallel and invaded South Korea. U.S. Commander General Douglas MacArthur sent UN and U.S troops by sea to the port of Incheon, 150 miles behind North Korean lines. North Koreans fled back north across the 38th parallel. The United States and South Korea set their sights on controlling all of Korea. Then China stepped in and staged a massive attack across its border into Korea because they were not about to let their fellow communists in North Korea suffer a defeat. More than 300,000 Chinese troops overwhelmed American and South Korean forces. After several months of intense fighting, the retreating forces slowly pushed Chinese and North Koreans back up the peninsula and eventually back over the 38th parallel. Vietnam War: 1954-1975: The Unites States supported the anticommunist government that arose in South Vietnam, but the South Vietnamese leader proved to be a tyrant, Ngo Dinh Diem. Cold War: U.S. - Soviet conflict lasted from the late 1940s to 1991. It was termed the "cold war" because the United States and Soviet Union would never engage in open warfare against each other. Instead each country would try to weaken the other's influence around the world, and each country would take sides in a number of smaller wars. In the end, the Cold War would be a massive ideological and geopolitical struggle with consequences rippling across the globe.

Define Battle of Little Bighorn

The Battle of the Little Bighorn marked the worst defeat for the U.S. Army in the Native American wars against the Lakota often called the Sioux at Little Bighorn River in Montana. Few Native Americans liked being confined to a specific territory. But after the U.S. government promised the Lakota that miners and settlers would not encroach (intrude on someone's rights, territory, or time) on their territory, they reluctantly agreed to settle on a reservation in the Black Hills in present-day South Dakota. When gold was discovered in the Black Hills, however, Colonel George A. Custer allowed miners to cross into Lakota hunting territory, in violation of a new Fort Laramie Treaty drawn up in 1868. In 1874, the treaty was officially voided, and the commissioner of Indian affairs demanded that all Lakota leave the Black Hills by the end of January 1876. Sitting Bull, leader of the Lakota, refused to move, and troops arrived to force the relocation. Eventually, Sitting Bull, moved his band to a camp in the valley of the Little Bighorn River in Montana. There the Cheyenne, Lakota, and other Native Americans who had abandoned their reservations joined Sitting Bull in his fight. On June 25, 1876, Colonel Custer and his 7th Cavalry entered Sitting Bull's encampment on the Little Bighorn River. The roughly 2,000 Native American warriors were in an advantageous position. Custer had only about 200 men, but the U.S. troops attacked anyway. The warriors killed nearly all of them, including Colonel Custer, in the Battle of the Little Bighorn. After their victory, the Lakota did not go on the offensive, but the U.S. government did. Fighting continued for another five years, and the U.S. Army ultimately forced the Lakota to relinquish their hunting grounds and relocate to reservations. The United States seized the Black Hills.

Define the Chinese Exclusion Act and the "gentlemen's agreement"

The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was passed by Congress in order to prevent Chinese immigrants from working in the United States. The Chinese Exclusion Act became the nation's first federal immigration law. When the Chinese Exclusion Act expired in 1892, Congress enacted the Geary Act, which extended the restrictions of Chinese labor for an additional 10 years. When that act expired in 1902, Congress made the extension permanent. In fact, Congress did not finally repeal these exclusionary acts until the 1940s. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 had barred many Chinese immigrants from entering the country, the Gentlemen's Agreement of 1907 between the United States and Japan had a similar effect, though not quite as severe. This understanding between President Theodore Roosevelt and the Japanese government affirmed (to assert, to state as a fact) that the Japanese would grant passports for Japanese emigration to the United States only to educated businessmen and other professionals and their direct family members - not to peasants (farmers) or laborers. In exchange, Roosevelt agreed that the San Francisco School Board would stop separating Japanese schoolchildren from white students. Californian nativists had drummed up the need for the Gentlemen's Agreement out of fear that Japanese immigrants would ultimately control all the best farmland in the state. At the time, 1,000 Japanese immigrants were arriving in the state every month, and most of them were farmers. Like the Chinese, most Japanese arrived at Angel Island in San Francisco Bay. But thanks to the Gentlemen's Agreement, Japanese immigrants rarely had to stay on the island beyond a couple of days. In the end, both Roosevelt and the Japanese government stuck to their promises, but the agreement did nothing to end discrimination against the Japanese in the United States.

Define the Dawes Act of 1887

The Dawes Severalty Act of 1887 destroyed the reservation system by subdividing tribal lands into individual plots. -Congress passed the Dawes Severalty Act in 1887, which divided reservations into land allotments, or sections, of 160 acres. -Native Americans who received an allotment were expected to establish farms. -After 25 years, those who had successfully established a farm could become U.S. citizens. -Sponsors intended the law as a positive alternative to the reservation system. -However, the law allowed the public to purchase any unoccupied allotments. -In the end, the allotments only weakened Native American communities. Causes of the Dawes Act in 1887: 1. Efforts by the U.S. government to assimilate Native Americans to European culture. 2. To take away reservations for westward expansion. Effects of the Dawes Act in 1887: 1. Allows non-indigenous people to purchase any unoccupied allotments of best reservation land. 2. The Act stripped Native Americans of their national sovereignty and making them wards of the state. 3. U.S. government forced Native American children to attend "Indian Schools," where all efforts focused on eliminating their languages and cultures.

Define Homestead Act of 1862.

The Homestead Act of 1862 was passed by the U.S. government during the Civil War in order to make it easier for farmers to migrate to the Great Plains. The Homestead Act offered plots of land in the region to American citizens (who headed a family, man, woman, immigrant, or African American) to those intending to become American citizens. For a small filing fee of $18.00, each person was eligible for 160 free acres (60 hectares) as long as he or she lived on the land and cultivated it for five years. That may sound like a lot of land, but a settler had to purchase two or three times that acreage to grow enough crops for a reasonable profit. The Homestead Act of 1862 did not provide the money to go west, file a claim on the land, or purchase farming equipment. The Homestead Act recipients were individuals. The act permitted a farmer to purchase the land from the government at a reduced rate after only six months of residency. By the end of the 19th century, the U.S. government had distributed more than 80 million acres to Americans through the provisions of the Homestead Act. -The impacts of the Homestead Act on Black people made it possible to seek a life free from discrimination by establishing communities of their own after the Civil War. -On the Great Plains, many African Americans became farmers, and some even established towns of their own. -Many African American men worked as miners and cowboys. -By 1890, about 520,000 African Americans lived west of the Mississippi River.

Define Triangle Shirtwaist Factory

The Triangle Waist Company Factory Fire · On March 25, 1911, a fire broke out on the 8th floor of the Triangle Waist Company factory in the Asch building which spread to the 9th and 10th floors in New York City. · The Asch building had stairs and elevators located on the northeast and southwest corners but the northeast corner was almost instantly consumed with flames. · On the 8th and 9th floors, workers rushed for the stairway doors on the southwest side of the building but found them locked. · It was company policy to lock the doors during working hours to prevent workers from stealing supplies or taking unauthorized breaks. · On the 8th floor, one employee had a key, and most of the workers on that floor were able to escape. · Workers on the 10th floor managed to take the stairs up to the building's roof, from which they were rescued by a group of students at the neighboring New York University School of Law building, who placed ladders between the rooftops. · Factory owners Issac Harris and Max Blanck were able to escape the fire in this way. · But the workers on the 9th floor, there was no escape via the staircases. They were unable to unlock of force the doors open, so their only hopes for survival were the southwest elevators or the fire escape. · Elevator operators Joseph Zito and Gaspar Mortillalo saved as many people as they could, making several trips to the burning floors before conditions became unbearable. · Later, bodies of workers who tried to escape down the elevator shaft had fallen to their deaths were found piled on top of the elevators. A few people did survive down the elevator shaft by gripping the cables. One of them, Sam Levine, recalled, "I can remember getting to the sixth floor. While on my way down, as slow as I could let myself drop, the bodies of six girls went falling past me." · The metal fire escape ladder on the outside of the building was not sufficiently strong to support the weight of the fleeing crowd, and it was further weakened by the fierce heat of the fire. Some workers were able to descend the fire escape to the 6th floor before the fragile ladder crashed to the ground. · One survivor described the space between the rows as "narrow and blocked by chairs and baskets." on the 9th floor. · Other sources indicate that the stairs in the stairwells were 33 inches wide and the stairs of the fire escape were 17.5 inches wide. · On the ground, the New York City fire department was trying desperately to quell the blaze, but the department's ladders reached only as high as the 6th floor of the Asch Building. · Firefighters and onlookers watched helplessly as young women, trapped and in danger of burning to death, leapt from the factory windows. · Some firefighters tried to deploy safety nets to catch the falling workers, but all of those who jumped died on impact. Sylvia Kimeldorf, who had managed to escape by the stairs, remembered reaching the ground floor of the building and being held back by firefighters: "The bodies were falling all around us and they were afraid to let us go out because we would be killed by the falling bodies." · Within 40 minutes, all three floors (8th, 9th, and 10th) of the Triangle factory had been destroyed by the blaze, and 146 workers were dead. · Even seasoned police officers were appalled by the grim scene. "It's the worst thing I ever saw," one older officer told the New York Times that night. · Could the Triangle factory fire have been prevented, or could it at least have resulted in fewer fatalities? Angry New Yorkers and factory workers believed so. Outraged crowds took to the streets to protest dangerous factory working conditions. · On April 5, 1911, a mourning parade of more than 100,000 factory workers marched along one of New York City's main streets as 300,000 spectators turned out to witness the event. · Later that year (1911), the New York state legislature formed a commission, which included union leader Samuel Gompers, to investigate ways to prevent disastrous workplace fires in the future. · In 1912, the commission issued the first of a series of reports that resulted in numerous changes to health and safety laws in New York. · Buildings were required to have fire alarms, fire extinguishers, well-built fire escapes, and sprinkler systems on higher floors. In addition, it became illegal to lock fire exits during working hours or to block stairways. · Many of these laws were adopted in other states as well. · Future Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins had been in New York on March 25, 1911, and had watched the tragedy unfold with gruesome swiftness. "Something must be done," she said, encapsulating the country's mood. "We've got to turn this into some kind of victory, some kind of constructive action." · Do you think a workplace disaster like the Triangle factory fire could happen in the United States today? Why or why not? No, because Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has helped transform America's workplaces in ways that have significantly reduced workplace fatalities, injuries, and illnesses. They have continued to enforce standards and provide compliance assistance and training programs that help employers ensure all workers are safe on the job. Their priority is to make sure all workers, including the most vulnerable, have proper working conditions and safer workplaces, so they can go home to their families at the end of each day. · In addition to the locked stairway door, what difficulties did the workers face in trying to escape the fire? Insufficient fire escapes, blocked exits, and poor safety measures. There were no fire extinguishers, no well-built fire escapes, and no sprinkler systems on higher floors. The NYC department's ladders reached only as high as the 6th floor of the Asch Building. The 9th and 10th floor of the Triangle Factory did not have an employee who held a key. · In 1909, the Ladies Garment Workers Union had led a strike against New York clothing manufacturers. Their demands had included higher pay, shorter hours, and safer working conditions. · The owners of the Triangle Waist Company (sweatshop), Isaac Harris, and Max Blanck, resisted and instead, joined a group of manufacturers who fought back with dirty tactics such as oaying police officers to beat or intimidate the striking workers. The owners relented, offering their employees higher wages and shorter working hours, but refusing to allow them to unionize. Modern-Day Triangles · In the 21st century, factory disasters in China, India, and Bangladesh have served as disturbing modern-day reminders of the Triangle factory fire. Bangladesh had become a world leader in garment manufacturing. The country's more than 5,000 factories, staffed with a largely female workforce, produce clothing for major international brands. · In November 2012, more than 100 people died in a fire at the Tazreen Fashions factory outside Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. The problems in the Tazreen factory and other factories in Bangladesh resembled those in the Triangle Waist Company factory: insufficient fire escapes, blocked exits, and poor safety measures. · In April 2013, the Rana Plaza building, in Savar, which is northwest of Dhaka, collapsed. Rana Plaza had housed several garment factories. More than 1,100 workers were killed and 2,500 more injured in the catastrophe. The ensuing investigation revealed that the top four floors of the building had been built illegally, with no permits issued, and that the foundation was poorly constructed. · The disasters sparked a public outcry against the factory owners, the international brands that contracted the factories to make their garments, and the Bangladeshi government. · Activists demanded improved safety measures and working conditions in the country's garment factories. · The case of the Rana Plaza collapse resulted in criminal charges against the owners of the building and the factories housed inside. In addition to building code violations, charges in the case included murder. What is a Shirtwaist? · The shirtwaist was a style of blouse for women, featuring buttons down the front and modeled after men's shirts, popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. · The shirtwaist was produced in sweatshops by underpaid, mainly female workforce. · The shirtwaist was a symbol of social progress and women's growing empowerment. · The shirtwaist was practical and relatively comfortable, it came to symbolize the modern working woman who earned her own wages and was not fully dependent on a man to support her. · Women wearing shirtwaists as they demonstrated in the streets were the backbone of the women's movement around the turn of the 20th century. · The shirtwaist had a democratizing effect on fashion. Because the blouses were available in a range of prices, from 25 cents to 7 dollars, they were worn by women from every economic level, from salesclerks to wealthy socialites. · According to the Gimbel Brothers Illustrated 1915 Catalog, "the women of other lands occasionally wear a shirtwaist-the American woman occasionally wears something else. Her daily apparel is a smart tailored skirt and a neat blouse. Sewing Machines At Home and At Work · The sewing machine is arguably one of the most influential American inventions in both the industrial and domestic domains. · Before the sewing machine, garments were mostly stitched by women working at home. · In New York City, in 1850, around 5,000 women were employed hand-stitching shirts in their homes for very little pay. · Beginning in 1800s, industrial sewing machines allowed entrepreneurs to hire women to work in factories, turning out clothing much more quickly and cheaply. · Some sources touted the benefits of the new invention for "sewing girls," but as the Triangle story illustrates, the move from home to factory did not necessarily improve the situation for poor, immigrant working women. · In middle-class and wealthier homes, the sewing machine helped support the "cult of domesticity," the idea that a woman's home was her particular sphere of influence. · In the words of an 1860 New York Times article, the sewing machine had "stitched its way onward as an agent of domestic economy." · By acquiring a sewing machine and perhaps a sewing room, a woman proved that she could master relatively complex machinery and produce and mend clothing for the family. · Believers in the cult of domesticity conveniently overlooked the fact that the men in the home were usually in charge of the finances, and thus the decision to purchase a sewing machine. · What do you notice about the craftsmanship of this machine? The household sewing machine from around 1900 didn't run on electricity. The user "powered" it by turning the crank to make the needle move up and down. The Mink Brigade · When female garment workers went on strike in 1909, prior to the Triangle factory fire, they garnered unlikely allies in wealthy, prominent women. · Anne Morgan, daughter of powerful financier, J.P Morgan, had never needed to earn a living - much less toil at a sewing machine for 12 hours a day. Still, she and her friends were moved by the plight of the young immigrant sweatshop workers. Morgan recruited other upper-class women, including social activist Flora Dodge LaFollette, to come to the workers' defense. · The "mink brigade" as the women were mockingly called because of their extravagant furs, walked the picket lines, feeling less likely to be attacked due to their social statuses. The mink brigade also defended striking workers who had been arrested and paid their fines. · Women like Anne Morgan and Flora Dodge LaFollette engaged in other philanthropic projects and worked to advance women's rights. · In a statement in 1927, Morgan pictured a time when women, "will take their places besides men as partners, unafraid, useful, successful, and free." · To what extent do you think this vision has been realized in the 21st century? They established the Women's Trade Union League (WTUL) and worked on protective legislation for women as well as suffrage. In 1923, future first lady Elanor Roosevelt joined the WTUL.

Define Explosion of the U.S.S. Maine

The explosion of the U.S.S. Maine was a dramatic event that changed the course of American involvement. The United States had sent a battleship, the U.S.S. Maine, to Havana, Cuba, to protect American citizens and property there. On February 15, 1898, the ship exploded in the Havana harbor, killing more than 250 men, or about two-thirds of the crew. Modern research suggests that naturally occurring chemical reactions in one of the ship's coal bunkers caused the explosion. At the time, however, a naval board of inquiry, along with the American public, blamed Spain. In an article entitled, "Naval Officers Think the Maine was Destroyed by a Spanish Mine," the New York Journal and Advertiser led Americans to believe that the U.S.S. Maine was deliberately blown up. Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Theodore Roosevelt says he is convinced that the destruction of the Maine in Havana Harbor was not an accident. The Journal offers a reward of $50,000 for exclusive evidence that will convict the person, persons or government criminally responsible for the [destruction] of the American battleship and the death of 258 of its crew. The suspicion that the Maine was deliberately blown up grows stronger every hour. Not a single fact to the contrary has been produced.

Define the Sand Creek Massacre.

The militiamen led by Colonel John Chivington, commander of a group of volunteer militiamen, swept into the Sand Creek camp after Indian warriors left to hunt. 150 unarmed women, children, and elderly men were killed. The Cheyenne and Arapaho camped on Sand Creek were assured by Major Anthony that they would be under the protection of Fort Lyon during the winter and their young warriors could go east toward the Smoky Hill to hunt buffalo until he secured permission from the Army to issue the Indians winter rations. Native Americans were supposed to be safe on their reservations, but that was not always the case. In 1864, the governor of the Colorado territory told the Cheyenne living there to gather near Fort Lyon on Sand Creek. The governor promised the Native Americans protection from the battles raging in the region. - Cheyenne Chief Black Kettle, had his people set up camp along the creek. To show that the Cheyenne were friendly, he flew an American flag. · Others in the village raised white flags, indicating their desire to communicate. · Ignoring theses signs of peace (flying the American and white flags), Colonel John Chivington, commander of a group of volunteer militiamen, swept into the camp after the able-bodied men had left to hunt. The militiamen slaughtered at least 150 unarmed women, children, and elderly men in the Sand Creek Massacre. In retaliation, the Cheyenne, Lakota, and Arapaho living in the territory conducted raids on unsuspecting settlers.

Define the US immigration system—how it worked, how migrants were counted and processed, etc.

Until the early 1870s, most immigrants to the United States were from northern and western Europe. But between 1890 and 1920, immigrants began to arrive from southern and eastern European countries such as Italy, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Russia, and Czechoslovakia. Unlike many of their predecessors, few of these new immigrants were Protestant Christians, but instead largely Catholic, Jewish, and Orthodox. They also typically did not speak English. Although seeking a better life, just as those who arrived before them, they were often treated with prejudice. Beginning in 1892, most of the European immigrants who arrived on the East Coast were processed through the immigration station at Ellis Island in New York Harbor. Before it opened, immigrants had arrived at a facility called Castle Garden in Lower Manhattan. Between 1855 and 1890, officials processed 8 million immigrants at the castle Garden location, but the facility was no longer large enough to manage the large numbers of new immigrants. Ellis Island became the site of a new and more comprehensive immigration processing facility. Once they arrived at Ellis Island, immigrants faced a series of examinations that generally took anywhere from three to seven hours. They answered questions about how they were going to support themselves in the United States and received medical exams to ensure they were free of contagious diseases. Aid workers and social workers also provided immigrants with other needs, such as clothing, counseling, or even money. Immigrants who were found to have a contagious disease or deemed unable to support themselves could be barred entry and sent back to their home countries. About 2% of immigrants met this fate. By the time Ellis Island stopped functioning as an immigration center in 1924, more than 12 million immigrants had passed through its doors. One experience shared by immigrants entering the United States through Ellis Island was seeing the Statue of Liberty as they arrived in New York Harbor. Unveiled on a wet and foggy day on October 28, 1886, with President Grover Cleveland in attendance, the statue was greeted with great celebration. The copper figure was designed and constructed as a gift from France, and the pedestal was built by the United States. Holding the torch of freedom in her upraised hand, "Lady Liberty" came to symbolize the welcoming spirit of the United States. Emma Lazarus's poem "The New Colossus" was etched into a plaque at the base of the statue in 1903, reinforcing a message of inclusion: "From her beacon-hand/Glows world-wide welcome." On the West coast, immigrants arrived at Angel Island, a facility in San Francisco Bay that processed immigrants during the early 20th century. Unlike the mainly European immigrants who arrived at Ellis Island, those who arrived at Angel Island came from Asia, primarily China and Japan. Other Asian immigrants included Filipinos, Hindus, and Sikhs. The Angel Island facility opened in 1910 not only to process immigrants but also to control the number of Chinese immigrants allowed into the country. Many native-born Americans harbored prejudices toward Chinese immigrants and believed Chinese laborers, who often worked for low wages, took jobs away from American workers. Anti-Chinese sentiment (a mental attitude produced by one's feelings about something, an opinion) had intensified in the 1870s when unemployment ran especially high. In 1882, Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act to prevent Chinese immigrants from working in the United States. Although states had already passed their own versions of immigration laws, the Chinese Exclusion Act became the nation's first federal immigration law. Immigration from Asia continued despite laws created to suppress it. Those who came for purposes other than work could still seek admission to the United States. However, they had to prove they were not laborers by providing certification from the Chinese government. Because the act included such a wide definition of who qualified as a laborer, proving their occupation was difficult for immigrants. As a result, the act severely limited Chinese immigration for 10 years. Officials turned away more than 5% of Chinese immigrants who tried to enter the country - far more than 2% of European immigrants turned away from Ellis Island. Even the Chinese people already living in the United States had to obtain certification to reenter the country if they traveled outside the United States and wanted to return. When the Chinese Exclusion Act expired in 1892, Congress enacted the Geary Act, which extended the restrictions on Chinese labor for an additional 10 years. When that act expired in 1902, Congress made the extension permanent. In fact, Congress did not finally repeal these exclusionary acts until the 1940s. Chinese immigrants denied admission and detained at Angel Island could appeal, but they often had to endure difficult conditions while waiting to hear the results. The wait could last weeks, months, or in some cases more than a year, and prospective immigrants had to submit to lengthy interrogations about their families and villages in China. To pass the time and express their feelings while waiting, some detainees carved poems in the walls. Facilities on Angel Island were often crowded, and some featured barbed wire and armed guards to prevent people from escaping. The island seemed more like a prison than an immigration center. Also contributing to the diversity of the United States in the early 20th century was the openness of its southwestern borders. People crossed freely between the United States and Mexico. But the migration process could be difficult for new arrivals to the United States, and the struggle did not end there. Once admitted to the country, immigrants frequently faced prejudice and poverty as they settled into their new homes.