US HISTORY FIRST SEMESTER TEST REVIEW

1. US HISTORY FIRST SEMESTER TEST REVIEW 2013

2. W.E.B Du Bois—NAACP • W.E.B. Du Bois founded NAACP • Founded February 12, 1909 • the nation's oldest, largest and most widely recognized grassroots–based civil rights organization.

3. Gilded Age • During the Gilded Age there was a noticeable increase in federal support for the growth of big business. • Dubbed The Gilded Age by Mark Twain in 1873, it was a time of unparalleled growth in technology. • Virtually everything we take for granted in our daily lives was an invention and/or convention of this fascinating time in America's history. • The captains of industry and commerce of The Gilded Age became wealthy beyond what most can imagine today.

4. New Technology Leads to Industrialization • The light bulb contributed to industrial growth in the US because it allowed production in the industries to continue into the night. • Factory owners of the late 19th century often hired children because they would work for low wages. • Industrialization during the late 1800s created low-wage, low-skill jobs that made employees easy to replace. This contributed to the development of organized labor (employees who are represented by a labor union). • Labor unions became popular as a way to fight against unhealthy working conditions, wage cuts, and long working hours.

5. American Innovators • Henry Ford revolutionized manufacturing by introducing the assembly line in his automobile industry • Mass-produced automobiles made travel more affordable for many people • The demand for products such as steel, rubber, and gasoline were stimulated in the 1920s by the automobile industry • Charles Lindbergh’s solo flight across the Atlantic symbolized American ingenuity, courage and ability

6. Vaccines Developed • 1796—Edward Jenner tested the hypothesis that infection with cowpox could protect a person from smallpox infection. • Louis Pasteur (December 27, 1822 – September 28, 1895) was a French chemist and microbiologist who is well known for his discoveries of the principles of vaccination. • remembered for his remarkable breakthroughs in the causes and preventions of diseases • created the first vaccines for rabies and anthrax • Other vaccines have been created to prevent the spread diseases such as polio, yellow fever, small pox, measles/mumps/rubella, influenza, chickenpox, and many more.

7. Growth of Cities • Immigration in the late 19th century contributed to overcrowding in the cities and housing shortages. • Many overcrowded slum communities developed. • The invention of electric elevators contributed to the growth of cities in the US by making the construction of taller buildings practical.

8. Political bosses/machines • Political bosses of the 19th century gained voter support by strengthening the political machines. • Machines would grant jobs and government building contracts to those that did favors for them. • Sometimes the favor was voting and party work in getting others to vote. • Immigrants were the primary targets of these political machines. • In the case of business, however, money was the key. • When the machine gave out a contract to have something built it was expected that they would get something back in return in the form of kickbacks. • The contract would then cost the city more then it needed to be. • In paying of the building and kickback the city would raise taxes. This was known as graft.

9. The Hull House • Hull house is located Near West Side of Chicago, Illinois in the US. • Founded by Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr in 1889 and it was used to house recently arrived European immigrants. • The purpose of the Hull House was to create an environment that offered educational and social opportunities for the working class citizens of the Chicago area.

10. Constitutional Amendments • 15th amendment • (1870) Granted African-American men the right to vote • 17th amendment • (1913—100 year anniversary was May 31st, 2013) • Provided for US senators to be elected directly by the people • 18th amendment (Prohibition) • (1920) Banned the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcoholic beverages in the United States and its possessions • Contrary to common belief, it did not prohibit the purchase or consumption of alcohol • Repealed by the 21st Amendment on December 5, 1933. • In the over 230 years of the U.S. Constitution, the 18th is the only Amendment ever to have been repealed. • Prohibition led to the growth of organized crime during the 1920s • 19th Amendment (women’s suffrage amendment) • (1920) Granted women the right to vote

11. Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle • Sinclair was considered a muckraker, or journalist who exposed corruption in government and business • Exposed 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. • Public pressure led to the passage of the Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 • Established the Bureau of Chemistry (in 1930 renamed as the Food and Drug Administration).

12. World War I • Reasons for US entry (SLUTZ) • Sussex Pledge- • After sinking the Sussex (killing 2 Americans), Germany issued a pledge that they would warn ships before firing on them. They later broke that promise. • Lusitania- • German U-boats sinks the Lusitania, killing 1,200 people (128 Americans) • Unrestricted submarine warfare- • Germany issues a warning that they will sink any ship in the no entry zone • Ties to Great Britain- • Cultural and economic ties to Great Britain (ancestry, language, commerce) • Zimmerman Note- • Note proposed that Mexico join the war with Germany and in return Mexico would regain its “lost territory in Texas, New Mexico and Arizona”. Intercepted by British Intelligence.

13. The Great Depression • 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. • It was the longest, most widespread, and deepest depression of the 20th century. • The depression originated in the U.S., after the fall in stock prices that began around September 4, 1929, and became worldwide news with the stock market crash of October 29, 1929 (known as Black Tuesday). • The Great Depression had devastating effects in countries rich and poor. • Personal income, tax revenue, profits and prices dropped, while international trade plunged by more than 50%. • Unemployment in the U.S. rose to 25%, and in some countries rose as high as 33%. • President FDR’s New Deal was a program designed to combat the effects of the Great Depression

14. The Dust Bowl • The Dust Bowl of the 1930s was caused by a drought and poor agricultural practices • aka the Dirty Thirties • The Dust Bowl forced tens of thousands of families to abandon their farms. • Many of these families, who were often known as "Okies" because so many of them came from Oklahoma, migrated to California and other states to find that the Great Depression had rendered economic conditions there little better than those they had left. • Author John Steinbeck wrote The Grapes of Wrath about such people.

15. Scopes Trial • A highly publicized trial in 1925 when John Thomas Scopes violated a Tennessee state law by teaching evolution in high school. • Mr. Scopes was prosecuted by William Jennings Bryan and defended by Clarence Darrow • Scopes was convicted and fined $100 but the verdict was later reversed. • It drew national attention because it reflected a basic conflict in society between "traditionalists" and "modernists." • William Jennings Bryan represented the traditionalists and Clarence Darrow represented the modernists.