U.S. History Top 100

1. U.S. History Top 100 What every student should know to pass the U.S. History EOC Goals 6,8-12

2. Goal 6: The emergence of the United States in World Affairs (1890-1914) The learner will analyze causes and effects of the United States emergence as a world power.

3. Alfred Mahan As Americans increased business overseas it became necessary to protect those investments. In order to protect those investments America built the "great white fleet" that had been requested by Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan.

4. Josiah Strong One of the leading proponents of imperialism was Minister Josiah Strong. Strong claimed that America as the leading nation in the world it was our destiny to acquire new lands. This idea sounds a lot like Manifest Destiny because it is the same idea.

5. Seward’s Folly, 1867 An eager expansionist, Seward was the energetic supporter of the Alaskan purchase and negotiator of the deal often called "Seward's Folly" because Alaska was not fit for settlement or farming.

6. Annexation of Hawaii, 1898 By the late 1800s, U.S. had exclusive use of Pearl Harbor. In July 1898, Congress made Hawaii a U.S. territory, for the use of the islands as naval ports.

7. Causes of Spanish-American War, 1898 An explosion from a mine in the Bay of Havana crippled the warship USSMaine. The U.S. blamed Spain for the incident and used it as an excuse to go to war with Spain.

8. Open Door Policy, 1899 Hay sent imperialist nations a note asking them to offer assurance that they would respect the principle of equal trade opportunities, specifically in the China market.

9. Roosevelt Corollary, 1904 U.S. would act as international policemen. An addition to the Monroe Doctrine.

10. Goal 8: The Great War and Its Aftermath (1914-1930) The learner will analyze United States involvement in World War I and the war’s influence on international affairs during the 1920s.

11. U.S. - Neutrality to Involvement • May 1915 – U-boats sank the Lusitania • Sept. 1915 – Germany promised not to sink unarmed ships • March 1916 – Germany sank the Sussex • May 1916 – Germany promised not to sink unarmed ships • Jan. 1917 – Zimmerman note was intercepted • Feb. 1917 – Germany resumed unrestricted submarine warfare • April 1917 – U.S. declared war on Germany

12. Russian Revolution, 1917 Instituted a Communist government lead by the Bolshevik party under Lenin. Lenin pulled Russia out of WWI.

13. Fourteen Points, 1918 Wilson's idea that he wanted included in the WWI peace treaty, including freedom of the seas and the League of Nations.

14. League of Nations, 1919 Devised by President Wilson, it comprised of delegates from many countries, the U.S. did not join. It was designed to be run by a council of the five largest countries. It also included a provision for a world court.

15. Eugene V. Debs Debs repeatedly ran for president as a socialist, he was imprisoned after he gave a speech protesting WWI in violation of the Sedition Act.

16. Schenck v. U.S., 1919 United States Supreme Court decision concerning the question of whether the defendant possessed a First Amendment right to free speech against the draft during World War I. During wartime, negative utterances tolerable in peacetime can be punished.

17. Sacco and Vanzetti • Sacco and Vanzetti were Italian immigrants charged with murdering a guard and robbing a shoe factory. • Convicted on circumstantial evidence, many believed they had been framed for the crime because of their anarchist and pro-union activities.

18. Goal 9: Prosperity and Depression (1919-1939) The learner will appraise the economic, social, and political changes of the decades of “The Twenties” and “The Thirties.”

19. Assembly Line Arrangement of equipment and workers in which work passes from operation to operation in a direct line until the product is assembled.

20. Impact of Mass Media • Radio • Marketing • Advertising • Jazz • Silent & “talkie” films • “The Jazz Singer” • “Fireside Chats”

21. Lost Generation Writer Gertrude Stein told Hemingway, "You are all a lost generation," referring to the many restless young writers who gathered in Paris after WW I. They thought the U.S. was materialistic and they criticized conformity.

22. Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes Hughes was a gifted writer who wrote humorous poems, stories, essays and poetry. Harlem was a center for black writers, musicians, and intellectuals.

23. Flappers, 1920’s Women started wearing short skirts and bobbed hair, and had more sexual freedom. They began to abandon traditional female roles and take jobs usually reserved for men.

24. Fundamentalism Movement or attitude stressing strict and literal adherence to a set of basic principles.

25. Scopes Trial, 1925 Prosecution of school teacher, John Scopes, for violation of a Tennessee law forbidding public schools from teaching about evolution. Scopes was convicted and fined $100, but the trial started a shift of public opinion away from Fundamentalism.

26. Stock Market Crash, 1929 On October 24, 1929, panic selling occurred as investors realized the stock boom had been an over inflated bubble. Margin investors were being decimated as every stock holder tried to liquidate. Millionaire margin investors became bankrupt instantly, as the stock market crashed on October 28 and 29.

27. Dust Bowl, 1930s A series of catastrophic dust storms caused major ecological and agricultural damage to American prairie lands in the 1930s, caused by decades of inappropriate farming techniques.

28. Bonus Army, 1932 Facing the financial crisis of the Depression, WW I veterans asked Congress to pay their retirement bonuses early. Congress considered a bill, but it was not approved. Angry veterans marched on Washington, D.C., and Hoover called in the army.

29. Bank Failures During the first 10 months of 1930, 744 banks failed. In all, 9,000 banks failed during the decade of the 1930s. By 1933, depositors saw $140 billion disappear through bank failures.

30. Causes of Great Depression Much debt, stock prices spiraling up, over-production and under-consuming, the stock market crashed. Germany's default on reparations caused European bank failures, which spread to the U.S.

31. New Deal Agencies • Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) • Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) • Works Progress Administration (WPA) • Public Works Administration (PWA) • Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) • Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) • Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)

32. Long Term Effects of New Deal Programs • Expansion of the role of federal government • Government responsibility for the welfare of its citizens • Expanding government role in the economy • Deficit spending

33. Goal 10: World War II and the Beginning of the Cold War (1930s-1963) The learner will analyze United States involvement in World War II and the war’s influence on international affairs in following decades.

34. Lend-lease Act, 1941 Authorized the president to transfer, lend, or lease any article of defense equipment to any government whose defense was deemed vital to the defense of the U.S. Allowed the U.S. to send supplies and ammunition to the Allies.

35. Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941 Surprise attack by Japanese on U.S. Pacific Fleet harbored in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The U.S. declared war on Japan and Germany, entering World War II.

36. D-Day, June 6, 1944 Led by Eisenhower, over a million troops (the largest invasion force in history) stormed the beaches at Normandy and began the process of re-taking France. The turning point of World War II.

37. War Posters The radio, print, and film industries reminded Americans that they were in a struggle between dictatorship and democracy.

38. Rosie the Riveter Women found jobs, especially in heavy industry, that fell outside the traditional realm of women’s work.

39. Korematsu v. U.S., 1944 Upheld the U.S. government's decision to put Japanese-Americans in internment camps during World War II.

40. G.I. Bill, 1944 Servicemen's Readjustment Act, also called the G.I. Bill of Rights. Granted $13 billion in aid for former servicemen, ranging from educational grants to housing and other services to assist with the readjustment to society.

41. Marshall Plan, 1947 Introduced by Secretary of State George G. Marshall, he proposed massive economic aid to Europe to revitalize the European economies after WWII and help prevent the spread of Communism.

42. Korean War, 1950 On June 25, 1950, the Communist North invaded the Democratic South. The United Nations created an international army, lead by the U.S. to fight for the South and China joined the war on the side of North Korea. This was the first time the United Nations had intervened militarily.

43. Post-war Organizations United Nations, 1945 - Founded after WWII by victorious Allied Powers to intervene in conflicts between nations and avoid war. • NATO, 1949 - The member nations agreed to fight for each other if attacked. It is an international military force. • SEATO, 1954 - Alliance of non-Communist Asian nations modeled after NATO. Unlike NATO, it didn't establish a military force.

44. Containment, George F. Keenan A member of the State Department, he felt that the best way to keep Communism out of Europe was to confront the Russians wherever they tried to spread their power.

45. Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962 After discovering the Russians were building nuclear missile launch sites in Cuba, the U.S. announced a quarantine of Cuba. After six days of confrontation that almost led to nuclear war, Khrushchev agreed to dismantle the launch sites.

46. Goal 11: Recovery, Prosperity, and Turmoil (1945-1980) The learner will trace economic, political, and social developments and assess their significance for the lives of Americans during this time period.

47. McCarthyism, 1950-1953 Senator who began sensational campaign by asserting that the U.S. State Department had been infiltrated by Communists. He accused the Army of covering up foreign espionage. The Army-McCarthy Hearings made McCarthy look so foolish that further investigations were halted.

48. Domino Theory, 1957 It stated that if one country fell to Communism, it would undermine another and that one would fall, producing a domino effect.

49. Sputnik, 1957 The first artificial satellite sent into space, launched by the Soviets. US will react with creation of NASA

50. Brown v. Board of Education, 1954 The Supreme Court overruled Plessy v. Ferguson, declared that racially segregated facilities are inherently unequal and ordered all public schools desegregated.