U.S. History and Government
Judicial Review
the power of a court to review the constitutionality of a statute or treaty, or to review an administrative regulation for consistency with either a statute, a treaty, or the Constitution itself
Jacob Riis and urban life
Riis experienced poverty and became a police reporter writing about the quality of life in the slums. He attempted to alleviate the bad living conditions of poor people by exposing their living conditions to the middle and upper classes
18th Amendment
established the prohibition of alcoholic beverages in the United States by declaring the production, transport and sale of (though not the consumption or private possession of) alcohol illegal
Unwritten Constitution
the ideas and processes that are accepted as a needed part of American government, regardless of the fact that they are not actually in the Constitution
Cotton gin
A machine for cleaning the seeds from cotton fibers, invented by Eli Whitney in 1793
Women's rights movement
A movement to secure legal, economic, and social equality for women, also called the feminist movement. It has its roots in the nineteenth-century women's movement, which sought, among other things, to secure property rights and suffrage for women
Checks and Balances
A system established by the Constitution where each branch of government has equal power, along with the ability to challenge the other branches in order to keep the balance
George H.W. Bush sending troops to Kuwait (1990-1991)
Bush organized an international military coalition to force Iraq out of Kuwait. After six weeks of bombing, the American-led "Operation Desert Storm" successfully rid Kuwait of the Iraqi invaders
Automobile
Changed pattern of American life. Replaced the railroad industry as key promoter of economic growth.
Cesar Chavez and migrant farm workers
Chavez became the best known Latino American civil rights activist, and was strongly promoted by the American labor movement, which was eager to enroll Hispanic members. His public-relations approach to unionism and aggressive but nonviolent tactics made the farm workers' struggle a moral cause with nationwide support
The Elderly
Congress passes the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) protecting individuals who are between 40 and 65 years of age from discrimination in employment. The Department of Labor has enforcement responsibility. Three years earlier, Congress had voted down an amendment to Title VII to include age discrimination as an unlawful employment practice
New inventions or technologies
During the Industrial Revolution, improvements in transportation, communication, and technology were so rapid and great that we call them a revolution but there was a new demand for sources of energy and fuel while factories and new forms of transportation brought pollution and some new dangers
Asian Americans
Ever since the first Asians arrived in America, there has been anti-Asian racism. This includes prejudice and acts of discrimination. For more than 200 years, Asian Americans have been denied equal rights, subjected to harassment and hostility, had their rights revoked and imprisoned for no justifiable reason, physically attacked, and murdered
Steam powered engine
Greatest technological breakthrough of the Industrial Revolution; coal-fired, produced seemingly limitless source of power, used to drive locomotives, oceangoing ships, and machinery.
President Eisenhower's decision to send troops to Little Rock, Arkansas
He placed the Arkansas National Guard under federal control and sent 1,000 U.S. Army paratroopers from the 101st Airborne Division to assist them in restoring order in Little Rock. The daring tactic worked and the African American students were enrolled without further violent disturbances
Andrew Carnegie and industrialization
His steel empire produced the raw materials that built the physical infrastructure of the United States. He was a catalyst in America's participation in the Industrial Revolution, as he produced the steel to make machinery and transportation possible throughout the nation
Native American Indians
In an effort to obtain much of North America as territory of the United States, a long series of wars and massacres forced displacements (including the well-known Trail of Tears), restriction of food rights, and the imposition of treaties
Lyndon Johnson sending combat troops to Vietnam (1965-1968)
In response to the Gulf of Tonkin Incident of August 2 and 4, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson, per the authority given to him by Congress in the subsequent Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, decided to escalate the Vietnam Conflict by sending U.S. ground troops to Vietnam
Growth of labor unions
Industrialization in America brought conflict and stress between businesses and the labor force as mechanized production begin to replace household manufacturing. In the 19th century, an effort to count the balance of power more evenly, the labor force began to form Labor Unions that would help them to bargain for better rights
Martin Luther King Jr. and civil rights
King wrote, spoke and organized nonviolent protests and mass demonstrations to draw attention to racial discrimination and to demand civil rights legislation to protect the rights of African-Americans
Development of the automobile
Motorized wagons soon replaced animal-drafted carriages, especially after automobiles became affordable for many people when the Ford Model T was introduced in 1908
George W. Bush sending troops to Iraq
President Bush certified to Congress that he had "determined that: (1) reliance by the United States on further diplomatic and other peaceful means alone will neither (A) adequately protect the national security of the United States against the continuing threat posed by Iraq nor (B) likely lead to enforcement of all relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions regarding Iraq; and (2) acting pursuant to the Constitution and Public Law 107-243 is consistent with the United States and other countries continuing to take the necessary actions against international terrorists and terrorist organizations, including those nations, organizations, or persons who planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001"
Monroe Doctrine (1823) and Roosevelt Corollary (1904)
President Theodore Roosevelt's assertive approach to Latin America and the Caribbean has often been characterized as the "Big Stick," and his policy came to be known as the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine
Woodrow Wilson Asking for a declaration of war (1917)
President Woodrow Wilson asked Congress to declare war against Germany, saying, "The world must be made safe for democracy."
Assembly line
Production method that breaks down a complex job into a series of smaller tasks
Margaret Sanger and reproductive rights
Sanger popularized the term birth control, opened the first birth control clinic in the United States, and established organizations that evolved into the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Sanger's efforts contributed to several judicial cases that helped legalize contraception in the United States
Electoral College
The Electoral College is a process, not a place. The founding fathers established it in the Constitution as a compromise between election of the President by a vote in Congress and election of the President by a popular vote of qualified citizens
Acquisition of the Philippines (1898)
The Philippines became a territory of the United States after the Spanish-American War. Under the December 10, 1898 Treaty of Paris, Spain ceded the islands to the United States for $20 million
Construction of the Panama Canal (early 1900s)
The U.S. formally took control of the canal property on May 4, 1904, inheriting from the French a depleted workforce and a vast jumble of buildings, infrastructure and equipment, much of it in poor condition. A U.S. government commission, the Isthmian Canal Commission (ICC), was established to oversee construction and was given control of the Panama Canal Zone, over which the United States exercised sovereignty
Harry Truman deciding to use the atomic bomb (1945)
The U.S., with Truman's approval, dropped an atomic bomb on the people of Hiroshima on Aug. 6 and one on Nagasaki on Aug. 9, 1945 in order to shorten the war, save American lives and get revenge on the Japanese
Henry Ford's use of the assembly line (1913)
The creation of the assembly line by Henry Ford at his Highland Park plant, introduced on December 1, 1913, revolutionized the automobile industry and the concept of manufacturing worldwide
Growth of monopolies
The era of Big Business began when entrepreneurs in search of profits consolidated their businesses into massive corporations, which were so large that they could force out competition and gain control of a market. Control of a market allowed a corporation to set prices for a product at whatever level it wanted. These corporations, and the businessmen who ran them, became exceedingly wealthy and powerful, often at the expense of many poor workers
Increased immigration
The ever increasing number of factories created an intense need for labor, convincing people in rural areas to move to the city, and drawing immigrants from Europe to the United States
Fall of the Berlin Wall (1989)
The fall was a relief for America who had been taken to the brink of nuclear war during the Cuban Missile Crisis
Increased urbanization
The increased number of jobs, along with technological innovations in transportation and housing construction, encouraged migration to cities. Development of railroads, streetcars, and trolleys in the 19th century enabled city boundaries to expand
Growth of reform movements
The labor movement in the United States grew out of the need to protect the common interest of workers. For those in the industrial sector, organized labor unions fought for better wages, reasonable hours and safer working conditions. The labor movement led efforts to stop child labor, give health benefits and provide aid to workers who were injured or retired
Women
Throughout most of history women generally have had fewer legal rights and career opportunities than men, like the right to vote
Upton Sinclair and consumer protection
Upton Sinclair wrote The Jungle to expose the appalling working conditions in the meat-packing industry. His description of diseased, rotten, and contaminated meat shocked the public and led to new federal food safety laws
Monroe Doctrine (1823)
a US foreign policy regarding Latin American countries in the early 19th century. It stated that further efforts by European nations to colonize land or interfere with states in North or South America would be viewed as acts of aggression, requiring U.S. intervention
17th Amendment
established direct election of United States Senators by popular vote
Schenck v U.S. (1919)
a United States Supreme Court decision concerning enforcement of the Espionage Act of 1917 during World War I. A unanimous Supreme Court, in a famous opinion by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., concluded that defendants who distributed leaflets to draft-age men, urging resistance to induction, could be convicted of an attempt to obstruct the draft, a criminal offense
Construction of the transcontinental railroad (1860s)
a contiguous network of railroad trackage[1] that crosses a continental land mass with terminals at different oceans or continental borders. Such networks can be via the tracks of either a single railroad, or over those owned or controlled by multiple railway companies along a continuous route
Harlem Renaissance (1920's)
a cultural movement that spanned the 1920s that included the new African-American cultural expressions across the urban areas in the Northeast and Midwest United States affected by the Great Migration (African American),[1] of which Harlem was the largest
New Jersey v TLO (1985)
a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States addressing the constitutionality of a search of a public high school student for contraband after she was caught smoking
Tinker v Des Moines (1969)
a decision by the United States Supreme Court that defined the constitutional rights of students in U.S. public schools
Washington's Declaration of Neutrality (1796)
a formal announcement issued by George Washington April 22, 1793, declaring the nation neutral in the conflict between France and Great Britain
Impeachment Process
a formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity, the outcome of which, depending on the country, may include the removal of that official from office as well as criminal or civil punishment
Korematsu v U.S. (1944)
a landmark United States Supreme Court case concerning the constitutionality of Executive Order 9066, which ordered Japanese Americans into internment camps during World War II regardless of citizenship
Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
a landmark United States Supreme Court case in which the Court declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students to be unconstitutional. The decision overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896, which allowed state-sponsored segregation, insofar as it applied to public education
Mapp v Ohio (1961)
a landmark United States Supreme Court decision in the jurisprudence of the United States, upholding the constitutionality of state laws requiring racial segregation in public facilities under the doctrine of "separate but equal"
Plessy v Ferguson (1896)
a landmark United States Supreme Court decision in the jurisprudence of the United States, upholding the constitutionality of state laws requiring racial segregation in public facilities under the doctrine of "separate but equal"
Gideon v Wainwright (1963)
a landmark case in United States Supreme Court history where the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that state courts are required under the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to provide counsel in criminal cases to represent defendants who are unable to afford to pay their own attorneys
Dred Scott v Sandford (1857)
a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court held that African Americans, whether slave or free, could not be American citizens and therefore had no standing to sue in federal court,[2][3] and that the federal government had no power to regulate slavery in the federal territories acquired after the creation of the United States
Roe v. Wade (1973)
a landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court on the issue of abortion
Miranda v Arizona (1966)
a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that the Court held that both inculpatory and exculpatory statements made in response to interrogation by a defendant in police custody will be admissible at trial only if the prosecution can show that the defendant was informed of the right to consult with an attorney before and during questioning and of the right against self-incrimination prior to questioning by police, and that the defendant not only understood these rights, but voluntarily waived them
Abolitionist movement
a movement to end slavery, whether formal or informal. In Western European and America, abolitionism was a historical movement to end the African and Indian slave trade and set slaves free
Progressive movement
a period of social activism and political reform in the United States, that flourished from the 1890s to the 1920s.[1] One main goal of the Progressive movement was purification of government through direct democracy, as Progressives tried to eliminate corruption by exposing and undercutting political machines, bosses
Lyndon Johnson's Great Society (1960's)
a set of domestic political programs in the United States launched by U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964. Two main goals of the Great Society social reforms were the elimination of poverty and racial injustice
Great Depression (1929-1930's)
a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in 1930 and lasted until the late 1930s or middle 1940s.[1] It was the longest, deepest, and most widespread depression of the 20th century
Populist Party
a short-lived political party in the United States established in 1891 during the Populist movement (United States, 19th Century).Based among poor, white cotton farmers in the South (especially North Carolina, Alabama, and Texas) and hard-pressed wheat farmers in the plains states (especially Kansas and Nebraska), it represented a radical crusading form of agrarianism and hostility to banks, railroads, and elites generally
Richard Nixon improving relations with China (1972)
a significant shift in the Cold War balance, pitting the PRC with the U.S. against the Soviet Union. "Nixon going to China" has since become a metaphor for an unexpected or uncharacteristic action by a politician
Temperance movement
a social movement urging personal moderation in the consumption of alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements typically criticize excessive alcohol consumption, promote complete abstinence (teetotalism), or use its political influence to pressure the government to enact alcohol laws to regulate the availability of alcohol or even its complete prohibition
Television
a telecommunication system that transmits images of objects (stationary or moving) between distant points
Environment movement
a term that includes conservation and green politics, is a diverse scientific, social, and political movement for addressing environmental issues
Civil Rights movement
a worldwide series of political movements for equality before the law that peaked in the 1960s. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change through nonviolent forms of resistance
Patriot Act (2001)
an Act of Congress that was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001. The title of the act is a ten-letter backronym (USA PATRIOT) that stands for Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001
Articles of Confederation
an agreement among the 13 founding states that established the United States of America as a confederation of sovereign states and served as its first constitution
Great Compromise
an agreement that large and small states reached during the Constitutional Convention of 1787 that in part defined the legislative structure and representation that each state would have under the United States Constitution
Social Security Act (1935) and the aging of America
an attempt to limit what was seen as dangers in the modern American life, including old age, poverty, unemployment, and the burdens of widows and fatherless children. By signing this act on August 14, 1935, President Roosevelt became the first president to advocate federal assistance for the elderly
Computers
an electronic device that stores and processes large amounts of information and is able to perform complicated mathematical tasks
Palmer Raids/ Red Scare (1920s)
attempts by the United States Department of Justice to arrest and deport radical leftists, especially anarchists, from the United States
Frederick Douglass and slavery
became a leader of the abolitionist movement, gaining note for his dazzling oratory[4] and incisive antislavery writing. He stood as a living counter-example to slaveholders' arguments that slaves lacked the intellectual capacity to function as independent American citizens
Civil War Amendments (13, 14, 15)
designed to ensure equality for recently emancipated slaves
Interstate Highway Act (1956)
enacted on June 29, 1956, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the bill into law. With an original authorization of 25 billion dollars for the construction of 41,000 miles (66,000 km) of the Interstate Highway System supposedly over a 10-year period, it was the largest public works project in American history through that time
Passage of the 18th Amendment
established the prohibition of alcoholic beverages in the United States by declaring the production, transport and sale of (though not the consumption or private possession of) alcohol illegal while organized crime increased in power, and corruption extended among law enforcement officials
Espionage and Sedition Acts (1917-1918)
extended the Espionage Act of 1917 to cover a broader range of offenses, notably speech and the expression of opinion that cast the government or the war effort in a negative light or interfered with the sale of government bonds
Bill Gates and the software industry
founder, technology advisor and board member of Microsoft Corporation, the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential
Alien and Sedition Act (1798)
four bills that were passed by the Federalists in the 5th United States Congress and signed into law by President John Adams in 1798 in the aftermath of the French Revolution and during an undeclared naval war with France, later known as the Quasi-War
Henry Ford and the automobile industry
he produced an automobile that was within the economic reach of the average American. While other manufacturers were content to target a market of the well-to-do, Ford developed a design and a method of manufacture that
Passage of the War Powers Act (1973)
is a federal law intended to check the president's power to commit the United States to an armed conflict without the consent of Congress
Nuclear power
nuclear energy regarded as a source of electricity for the power grid (for civilian use)
The Disabled
problems faced by people with disabilities, such as unemployment and lack of education, were inevitable consequences of the physical or mental limitations imposed by the disability itself
19th Amendment
prohibits any United States citizen from being denied the right to vote on the basis of sex
Passage of the 19th Amendment
prohibits any United States citizen from being denied the right to vote on the basis of sex
24th Amendment
prohibits both Congress and the states from conditioning the right to vote in federal elections on payment of a poll tax or other types of tax
1st Amendment
prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to peaceably assemble or prohibiting the petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances
26th Amendment
prohibits the states and the federal government from denying the right of US citizens, eighteen years of age or older, to vote on account of age
African Americans
segregation, racial discrimination and expressions of white supremacy all took place, as did anti-black violence such as lynching and race riots
22nd Amendment
sets a term limit for election to the office of President of the United States
Homestead Act (1862)
several United States federal laws that gave an applicant ownership of land, typically called a "homestead", at little or no cost
Lincoln restricts Habeus Corpus (1863)
suspended the writ of habeas corpus in the first year of the Civil War, responding to riots and local militia actions in the border states by allowing the indefinite detention of "disloyal persons" without trial. Habeas corpus, which literally means "you have the body," is a constitutional mandate requiring the government to give prisoners access to the courts
Louisiana Purchase (1803)
the acquisition by the United States of America in 1803 of 828,000 square miles of France's claim to the territory of Louisiana
End of Reconstruction and beginning of Jim Crow/Black Codes (1877)
the civil rights that blacks had been promised during Reconstruction crumbled under white rule in the south. The plight of southern Blacks was forgotten in the north as they were segregated and condemned to live in poverty with little hope
Federalism
the evolving relationship between U.S. state governments and the federal government of the United States when the power shifted from the states to national government after the end of the Civil War
McCarthyism/Red Scare (1950s)
the practice of making accusations of disloyalty, subversion, or treason without proper regard for evidence. The term has its origins in the period in the United States known as the Second Red Scare, lasting roughly from 1950 to 1956 and characterized by heightened political repression against communists, as well as a fear campaign spreading paranoia of their influence on American institutions and espionage by Soviet agents
Women's suffrage movement
the right of women to vote and to stand for electoral office. National and international organizations formed to coordinate efforts to gain voting rights, especially the International Woman Suffrage Alliance (1904), and also worked for equal civil rights for women
Declaration of Independence (1776)
the usual name of a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies, then at war with Great Britain, regarded themselves as 13 newly independent sovereign states, and no longer a part of the British Empire
Hispanic Americans
the victims of racist stereotyping in an unbroken string of images and portrayals that began with the battle over Mexican land in the Southwest as America expanded during the frontier era
Elastic Cause/Implied Powers
those powers authorized by a document (from the Constitution) which, while not stated, seem to be implied by powers expressly stated. When George Washington asked Alexander Hamilton to defend the constitutionality of the First Bank of the United States against the protests[1] of Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Attorney General Edmund Randolph, Hamilton produced what has now become the classic statement for implied powers
John F. Kennedy quarantining Cuba (1962)
to prevent the Soviets from bringing in more military supplies
