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Native Americans - Lifestyle
The Native Americans typically were abundant, as hundreds of Native tribes still roamed the Northwest, and Southwest plains at this time. The introduction to the horse changed the range of plain Indians, giving them a advantage in battle, as well as means of travelling at a faster pace. However, there was increased conflict in between tribes, as well as issues with white settlers. Buffalo was a central point to the survival of the Indians that still existed. -
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Transforming the West
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The Homestead Act
The Homestead act established land for settlers to be eligible to receive 160 acres of land, under the condition that it was improved for at a minimum of 5 years. Several of the individuals to take advantage of this opportunity were landless farmers, former slaves, as well as an abundance of single woman. Along with this, if an individual had previously or currently taken up arms with the government, they were eligible for this land grant as well. -
Andrew Carnegie - Philanthropy
Andrew Carnegie was a scottish immigrant who grew up and was raised poor. However, his fate would change when he placed his determination into his hard work and would receive large bonuses for his efforts from his job. Carnegie would then use strategies he learned from his boss to invest money into the steel industry. Carnegie pushed production levels to a new low, which would give him the control over the steel industry. Carnegie believed in giving back to the community, due to his vast income. -
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Becoming an Industrial Power
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Cattle Drives
Cattle drives were the transportation of longhorns across the country, a breed mixed between Spanish and English cows. These Longhorns were popular on American dinner tables across the country. The average price was found to be about $40.00 per animal in the North, while it was a cheap price of $4.00 in the South. This drive began because no railroads went through Texas, so it was an extravagant business to transport Longhorns into North after being bred and raised in the South. -
Mail Order Catalogs
The mail order catalog was brought into the rural portions of the United States that lacked manners of getting to the city. One of these famous catalog's was the sears catalog. This catalog offered several means of getting rural live civilians to have access to products, as well as being able to allow the civilians to present their offers and requests in the catalog itself. This mainly blew up because of the majority of the nation living in rural areas at this time. -
Granges
Granges were the beginning roots of Unions, more specifically, proto-unions. The idea behind this was the ideal of Patrons of husbandry, a.k.a., granges. Farmers formed societies for solutions to agriculture problems, which involved lectures, newspapers, and experts. This movement had hundreds of thousands of members by 1870. This group becomes politically powerful, forming parties in 1873 after the economy stoops, thanks to soaring railroad prices. Granges disappear once the economy recovers. -
Psychology of Selling Products
One major turning point for several businesses was the use of psychology to advertise to specific audiences, so that the company would increase sales. The biggest form of this was companies hiring psychologist to analyze their stocks and figure out how to attract and appeal to the targeted audience. This usually led to the use of celebrities in commercials to promote products. Catchy phrases became common, as well as the rocketing prices of advertisements, which increased sales countered. -
Worker Strikes
Strikes began to take place in the monopolization period of industries, as the rights and conditions of workers were severely neglected, especially in the labor force. Workers would walk out of their jobs with everyone else, aiming to force their bosses for better pays. This would also cause police to routinely break up strikes, leading to the common arrest of strike leaders. However, in court case involving labor rights and employers, employers typically were ruled over laborers by judges. -
The Transcontinental Railroad - Promontory Point
The Transcontinental Railroad was aimed to be a transportation system, connecting both the east and west coasts of the United States. It was led by two corporations that would eventually lead to its monopolization, the Union Pacific, and Central Pacific. The middle point for this under construction was Promontory point, Utah. It officially opened May 10, 1869 -
Railroads
The railroads were built on numerous tracks, thus creating a new transportation network. Farmers sold products on the national market through this method, which also expanded the ranching and mining economy. Thanks to this network method, Many towns crossing the train tracks boomed into major cities, such as Denver, San Francisco, Portland, and Omaha. However, the major byproduct of this innovation were time zones. This allowed deliveries to arrive on time across the country. -
John Rockefeller
John Rockefeller was the Andrew Carnegie of the oil business. This meant that he did a lot of the same things that Carnegie did to get where he was. Rockefeller controlled approximately 90% of the domestic oil industry. Rockefeller moved from a horizontal integration of things, into a vertical integration, meaning he controlled how the oil was dispersed, as well as its pricing. He was the inventor of two important elements: Trusts & Holding companies. -
The Conflict of Killing the Buffalo
Buffalo's were a source of native life, not only as food, but also for their culture. The Native Americans used every single part of the buffalo, in contradiction to where white folk would kill them for sport. Due to the sport of buffalo hunting, they were pushed to near extinction. Natives revolted and signed treaties with western natives. These treaties protected hunting grounds for buffalo. -
Laissez Faire
Laissez Faire was one of the determining factors as to where the United States economy would be headed. Lassaiz Faire was the act of tge Government staying out of the private sphere and not interfering with the business of companies. This meant the market would take care of itself, but would later lead to the eventual case of monopolizations across the nation in primary companies, such as oil, railroads, and steel. -
The Phonograph
The phonograph was created by Thomas Edison, with the goal of advancing the telegraph and the telephone. However, in the process of doing so, he accidentally figured out how to record sound on tinfoil coated cylinders. This machine required two needles; one for playing, and one for rewinding. -
Political Machines - Boss tweed
With the decline of society with issues such as immigration, there was need for Large cities requiring new forms of political structure. This meant the mobilization of immigrants, allowing them to vote and take part in jobs and services. Ward Bosses would be created to back this structure. Starting with precinct captains, leading up to ward captains, and ending on district captains. However, one major political machine was Boss tweed. He ensured the loyalty of his members through promised jobs. -
Sheet Music
During the Gilded Age, sheet music began to hit a new popularity. This was thanks to the way of thinking back then, which meant that there was leisure time for hobby's to be given attention to. As a result, several individuals decided to look their focus into instruments and such, which required to the usage of sheet music. With sheet music, an individual was able to explore different styles of music, as well as being able to be mass copied so several consumers would be able to purchase. -
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The Gilded Age
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Immigration - Chinese
The immigration of Chinese folk led to the foreshadowing neglect by white folk in jobs. The white folk despised the Chinese, as they believed the Chinese only had one goal: to steal American jobs and achieve their own 'American Dream.' This would lead to the inevitable act by the government known as the "Chinese Exclusion Act." -
The Exodusters
The Exodusters were known as African Americans who were former slaves. Their intentions were to head westward, in search of better opportunities. Some African Americans were successful, however several of these individuals settled on badly infertile land, which led their financial situations into a lack of money. Due to this, several of these individuals relocate back to the South, where areas others who failed headed further westward. -
Tenements
Tenements were a result of rapid city growth, as well as city problems. Tenements were made up of multiple family dwellings per story of the building, typically being around 4-6. These buildings were poorly insulated, poorly lit, and very abundant with disease. Rents soared due to overpopulation within the cities. Evicted families would fall behind, which would later lead to a spike in criminal activity throughout the city. -
Gilded Age Crime
As a result of the rapid inflation of city growth, there was an immense spike of criminal activity to follow as there were no regulations to ensure the safety of citizens of these cities. Several activities that took part in this crime scandal were those such as prostitution among women seeking to get money for themselves or their families, young single men causing havoc as they did not have forms of income, as well as the factor of anonymity. -
Social Darwinism
Social Darwinism relates to the controversial theory at this time: Theory of Evolution. However, rather than scientific evidence to back up this movement, all ideals were build on the idea that the rich were the top of the human pyramid, with the poor being at the bottom. This was their form of "survival of the fittest." Darwinism was used to justify the way company boss' treated their employees. This ideology considered poor people to be unfit, which became known was Darwinist logic. -
City Reform - Education
With the major city reform movement, came education reforms dragging behind it. These changes would bring attention to schools in the society. It would demand for public school to be mandatory, as well as allowing immigrant children to attend. The goal for allowing immigrants into public schools was to "Americanize" them, a.k.a., white washing them and stripping them of their culture. The pledge of allegiance was created to conform to this ideal. -
Knights of Labor
The Knights of Labor were created to get rid of a competition based market, in trade for a cooperative format. This group was open to all workers. However, it was strictly secret to avoid sabotage by employers. This movement led to labor day being established as a national holiday. This group boycotted businesses, worked for an 8 hour work day, as well as equal pay for men & women. -
Chinese Exclusion Act
The Chinese Exclusion Act was implemented into the United States Government with the goal of protecting the jobs of Americans, more specifically white people. This exclusion act would ban the further immigration of the Chinese into the United States. This was because several white folk believed they were being restrained of their job opportunities, as discomfort with the idea of sharing an environment with these immigrants. -
The Pendleton Act
The Pendleton Act was placed into effect, so that federal government positions were not based on political affiliations and relationships, as well as connections, but rather was built on the idea of merit. This meant that the spoils system would be diminished, causing several of federal office chairs to be taken over by properly qualified individuals. -
Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show
Buffalo Bill was a former scout and buffalo hunter that started his own western show in the Eastern United States based off the romanticized face of the west. This show dealt with Indian Fights, cowboys and cattle drives, as well as lassoing and marksmanship. Many former cowboys, sharpshooters, and even Indians took part in this show. One of these famous members was Sitting Bull. This show would be the definition of the West for many Americans today. -
The American Federation of Labor
The American Federation of Labor took the position of the Knights of Labor, as an acting force to preserve the rights of workers. However, this group did not allow African Americans, women, or immigrants to join. It also did not allow unskilled labor. The mindset of this group was capitalism over cooperation. It had 1.6 million members by 1904. The disunity in labor hindered change until the early 20th century. -
The Great Migration
The Great Migration was a movement of African Americans heading northward, in search of better life opportunities. They fled the south because of Jim Crow. Approximately 300,000 thousand fled from the years 1890 and 1900. However, aside from finding moderately better conditions compared to the south, African Americans still faced discrimination in the North. -
Cuba's Independence
As Cuba was in a dispute with Spain over it's independence, it would call upon the United States to be it's savior and liberator from Spain. The first rebellion of Cuba had failed in the 1860 's. Concessions would increase autonomy. The U.S. was heavily interested in the Sugar Cane in Cuba. However, due to the economic depression in the U.S., Cuba had no buyers, hence it rebelled against it's government again by destroying sugar cane crops, besides the american ones. Spanish troops became ill. -
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Imperialism
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The Wizard of Oz
During the Gilded Age, there was several speculation that one of the first colored films to be created, The Wizard of Oz, was intended to antoganize the government the way it managed things in America. For instance, the originally silver slippers were intended to reflect free silver, as to which kept value against a banker. -
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The Progressive Era
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Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt is the youngest individual to have become president as of 2018. He was originally the Vice President to William McKinley, but McKinley was assassinated September, 1901. Roosevelt had am immense amount of energy throughout his presidential career, and was a big lecturer. Roosevelt was a very likable person thanks to his confidence. He believed the country was at a crossroads, so he set himself up as the mediator. -
The Election of 1896
The election of 1896 took place between democrat: William Jennings Bryan, and republican: William McKinley. McKinley believed in the gold standard for the economy of the United States. Bryan believed in a free silver form of economy in contrary to McKinley. With this being the major factor between the two, McKinley won the election with approximately 51% of the votes. -
U.S.S. Maine Incident
The U.S.S. Maine was one of the steel ship powerhouses sent to Spain on a tour to reflect the navy power of the United States, hence why the United States sent one of it's biggest ships to fulfill this duty. However, the U.S.S. Maine was sent to Havana, and it was believed Spaniards had blown up the ship, which led to the Spanish american war. However, it was later discovered that the U.S.S. Maine had blown itself up due to poor locations of gun powder and heaters. -
Spanish American War in the Phillipines
Throughout the duration of the Spanish-American war, there were several key locations that the United States targeted to go for. One of these was the Philippines. More specifically, Manila bay. Admiral George Dewey was in charge of this assault to destroy the Spanish fleet in the area, and the American public felt like liberators. However, the Philippines fell in august 1898. -
Open Door Policy
The Open Door Policy was created to sustain an open market for other nations in China. This was a U.S. Sponsored agreement, which meant it was non-binding. It created the "Non-established" right to trade, with no duties (Taxes). However, this ended up with the Chinese adding collection product fees to trade with other nations. -
Picture Brides
The whole purpose of Picture brides was essentially to bring over women fro japan. This began with a catalog of single women offering their lives (monogamy) in exchange for their transportation to the United states. The ordeal was usually smooth, as women would come through immigration services, and check out because they had "Spouses" already residing in the United States. -
Big Stick Policy
The Big Stick Policy was president Roosevelt's method of controlling the Latin America's interactions with Europe, and vice versa. This meant that United States investment maintained dominance over the region. Europe reacted positively to this. On the other hand, if there was a debt to be traded over to Europe from Latin America, this policy would act as the "middle man", and give the money to Europe from Latin america through itself. -
The Russo-Jap War
The Russian - Japanese war had begun over the conflict of territory control on areas such as Korea. Russia had made a deal with Japan to use a peninsula known as the Liadong peninsula, as a means for its navy. Russia attempted to build its army from this peninsula, so that it would create tension between the two nations, so that Russia could go to war and claim this land for itself. -
Paper Sons
Paper sons were the result of a natural phenomenon; the earthquake. There was a mass earthquake in San Francisco, which resulted in the loss of thousands of identities of Chinese immigrants. Several Chinese immigrants migrated to the United States as a result of this, and became known as paper sons because identities were relied on merit, and not paper. This meant anyone could pretend someone was their child, just so they could remain in the United States. -
The Jungle
The "Jungle" was a book written by Upton Sinclair. The book was aimed to help the nation visualize what occurs in the meat plants of the country. It is about a struggling immigrant family, that lives in poverty and hefty working conditions. This reflected the reality of the United States. Things such as rotten meat, severed fingers, and fat feces are found in meat, which causes the government to create the Meat inspection act of 1906. -
Muller vs. Oregon
The beginning effect of this case was the need for women to want equal working rights. Muller went against a case with the state to the supreme court about states regulating women's working hours. Muller lost the case because he violated these working rights. The case also influenced other rights for women such as paid maternity leave, and such. -
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft was the secretary of war of Teddy Roosevelt, and although the two had tensions in their bond, Taft promised Roosevelt that he would not run for president in the next election. However, he does anyways and wins by defeating William Jennings Bryan. Taft's presidential career lasted from 1909 to 1913. -
Steel ships
The United States Navy had upgraded it's ships for the first time in history compared to other nations. This gave the United States Navy an advantage in ocean combat, as ships were not more difficult to sink, and could carry more weight, such as cargo or more crew. Henry Cabot Lodge advocated for the Navy to advance this upgrade. Our navy would come to be the 3rd most powerful navy in the 20th century, and one of the major units of the navy was the Great White Fleet. -
Henry Ford
Henry Ford revolutionized the auto industry. He reduced the cost by using methods such as the assembly line process to create the model T in larger amounts of number, at a portion of the cost. He standardized auto parts, improved machinery, produced more cars for less, and passed savings onto the consumers. Ford also passed benefits onto employers allowing workers to be paid at $5.00 a day for 8 hours. However, the workers had to meet specific requirements to be able to take $5.00 a day. -
Shell Shock
Shell shock was the direct result many of the soldiers were afflicted by in World War I, as the constant bombardment on both sides caused a PTSD like mental illness. However, due to the unpredictable behavior those experiencing shell shock were prone to be known for, they were removed from the field. Often shell shock soldiers were put on trial for the thought of cowardice behind the mental illness, and often executed or facing a sentence for military crimes such as desertion. -
No Mans Land
In World War I, no man's land often ranged from several hundred yards to in some cases less than 10 yards. Heavily defended by machine guns, mortars, artillery and riflemen on both sides, it was often riddled with barbed wire and rudimentary improvised land mines, as well as corpses and wounded soldiers who were not able to make it across the sea of bullets, explosions and flames. It was open to fire from the opposing trenches and hard going generally slowed down any attempted advance. -
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World War I
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Franz Ferdinand - Assassination
Franz Ferdinand was the archduke for Austria Hungary, and was on a visit to Sarajevo, Bosnia. As heir to the throne, and with Austria having control of Bosnia, a cult in Bosnia known as the “Black hand” plotted to assassinate the archduke as a means of beginning their formation with Serbia as one country. The duke’s carriage was bombed, but missed, inflicting soldiers. Ferdinand aimed to see the soldiers, but took a wrong turn and was assassinated in an alley way. -
Blacklists
During the american labor force history of 1915, came the creation of blacklists. These blacklists had the names of people who were fired for whatever dishonorable reason. This was essentially the LinkedIn back in the day, and as other employers would view this list, and if they saw the name of the applicant on there, the employer would almost always immediately decline their application. -
Alcohol
Alcohol during the progressive era was a very controversial topic. As men worked off their aggravation by drinking excessively, which led to abuse of women, the government formed a temperance act, which banned the consumption of alcohol. This was thanks to the 18th amendment which also banned the import of alcohol into the United States. -
The Schleiffen Plan
The Schleiffen Plan was original to Germany as a quick way of winning against France, as Hitler waited for Russia to advance to war. Germany was allied with Austria-Hungary, which made a push for the invasion of Bosnia. However, the Schleiffen Plan did not end up being what It was supposed to be, as it ended up being trashed as the war did not submit on two fronts, but rather grew around the region as alliances were made for each country. -
RMS Lusitania - Results
The RMS Lusitania may be better remembered as the beginning of the end of World War I. This is because it was one of the determining event that caused the United States of America to take part in World War I, against Germany. The RMS Lusitania was a British passenger ship that held American lives. It was sunk, which caused anger among Americans in the United States. This increased the tensions in the US heavily with Germany. -
The National Park System
The national park system was implemented in 1916. This was a big business conservation advocate. It was also created for the public demand of creation of the national park system. The national ark system runs all national parks, monuments, and historical sites. -
National monuments
Under the National Park system, there as an abundance of national monuments being protected by this system. Some of these monuments were the Devil's tower, El Morro, Montezuma Castle, the Chaco canyon, the petrified forest, and the cinder cone. Others were Lassen peak, Gila cliff dwellings, Tonto, Muir woods, and the grand canyon. -
The Zimmerman Telegram
The Zimmerman Telegram was a result of a German by the name of Arthur Zimmerman. The telegram was sent to Mexico as an attempt to create an ally of them, which included the Germans granting Mexico with definite social and economic increases, as well as land grants such as Texas, and New Mexico. However, the British intercept the telegram and inform the United States. President Wilson asks congress to initiate war, and so began the participation of the U.S. in WWI. -
The Spanish Flu
The Spanish Flu has a standing reputation for being known to have killed more individuals than World War I did itself, standing with casualties at a window of 20-40 million individuals. It is known was one of the most terrifying epidemics to date. Several of the soldiers in Europe, including American soldiers, were afflicted with the disease and several more died of the illness rather than in battle. -
President Wilson's 14 Points
In the speech, Wilson directly addressed what he perceived as the causes for the world war by calling for the abolition of secret treaties, a reduction in armaments, an adjustment in colonial claims in the interests of both native peoples and colonists, and freedom of the seas. Wilson also made proposals that would ensure world peace in the future. Wilson’s 14 Points were designed to undermine the Central Powers’ will to continue and to inspire the Allies to victory. -
End of WWI - #'s Dead
The United States intervention in the war caused a shift in weights across the allies. Because of the United States, the allies and U.S. were able to win the war due to Germany becoming overwhelmed of the opponents it was facing. The lives lost go as follow:
~ Over 116,500 (Over the course of 6 months) American Soldiers
~ Approximately 722K British Soldiers
~ 1.3 Million French troopers
~ 1.8 Million Germans -
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles resented the Germans by holding them responsible for the beginning of World War I, although it was truly started by the Serbians (Black Hand). Accordingly, it was signed on the anniversary of Archduke Franz Ferdinand's assassination. it crippled the German economy, and caused them to pay reparations for the war. It also claimed that Germany could not build an army, as well as it had to give up its colonies, and took full responsibility for the war. -
1920's - Cars
Cars were a new trend during the 1920's, which was created as a cleaner form of traveling, as horses had to take breaks, as well as left feces remains along their voyage. One popular form of this vehicle was the Model T. Cars became more affordable due to the assembly line process. However, this fact alone did not stop several individuals from paying their cars off with credit, as sometimes the car itself was 100% of poor peoples pay wages. -
Working Life
During an individual's duration in their working force, the United States government established a requirement for standard worker safety, allowing of unions, no guarantees after WWI. On the other hand, it did allow for an advantage to workers, such as benefits like sick leave, stock ownership, along with pensions or retirement becoming a big thing. Adding to this, medical insurance became offered, along with paid vacation. -
Susan B. Anthony
Susan B. Anthony was a heavily involved women's right's movement member. She is well known and famous for her acts in women's suffrage. Anthony traveled extensively in support of women's suffrage, giving as many as 75 to 100 speeches per year and working on many state campaigns. She worked internationally for women's rights, playing a key role in creating the International Council of Women, which is still active today. -
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The 1920's
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Social Darwinism
Darwinism is the idea based of Charles Darwin's naturalist ideology that organisms big and small develop through minimalist acts that increase their chances to breed, survive, and become mentally & physically stronger throughout their lifetime. However, this social trend was the idea that all bad things such as poverty and weakness were simply inherited through bad genes, which would later lead to eugenics, a form of modifying human life through the study of their genetics. -
The Lost Generation
Lost Generation, a group of American writers who came of age during World War I and established their literary reputations in the 1920's. The generation was “lost” in the sense that its inherited values were no longer relevant in the postwar world and because of its spiritual alienation from a United States that, basking under Pres. Warren G. Harding’s “back to normalcy” policy, seemed to its members to be hopelessly provincial, materialistic, and emotionally barren. -
Louis Armstrong
During the 1920's, Louis Armstrong was a profound trumpet player, better known for his dirty play style that involved lots of tongue rolls throughout the intonation of his playing. Additionally, he was also a great singer, due to the depth of his voice colliding single handedly with the smoothness of his songs. -
Eugenics
Eugenics was widely accepted in the U.S. academic community. By 1928, there were 376 separate university courses in some of the United States' leading schools, enrolling more than 20,000 students, which included eugenics in the curriculum. However, it had scientific detractors, though most of these focused more on what they considered the crude methodology of eugenicists, and the characterization of almost every human characteristic as being hereditary, rather than the idea of eugenics itself. -
The Teapot Dome Scandal
During the Teapot Dome Scandal, for the first time in history, a presidential cabinet member was found convicted of a crime. More specifically, Albert B. Fall. He was the secretary of interior for President Warren G. Herring, and was found guilty of accepting bribes while holding an office position. This bribe was for oil properties in Wyoming. -
Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington was a trumpet, piano, and composer. He would be part of the Harlem Renaissance simply by doing what he loved most; playing his music. He created a band that would range itself from 1923 to the untimely death of Duke Ellington. Ellington's music was known mainly for exotic-sounding trombone growls and wah-wahs, high-squealing trumpets, and sultry saxophone blues licks of the band members. -
Charles Lindbergh
Charles Lindbergh was known as the first pilot to cross the Atlantic ocean in an airplane bound to Paris. His plane was known as the Spirit of St. Louis. He flew nonstop from New York City to Paris (3,610 miles), equipped with only a rubber raft, flashlight, water, sandwiches, and a wicker chair. He did not have a radio throughout the duration of his flight. Thanks to him, airplanes became more popular and increasingly numerous. -
Overproduction
A main cause of the Great Depression was overproduction. Factories and farms were producing more goods than the people could afford to buy. As a result, prices fell, factories closed and workers were laid off. Prices for farm products also fell, as a result, farmers could not pay off bank loans and many lost their farms due to foreclosure. -
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Hoover was the face of the Great Depression, as he was very limited to his speech to the public. He was introverted, which meant that he did not like speaking out to the country. He was a humanitarian (Helped people through World War I). However, he had limited government beliefs, which meant that he would not directly intervene what was to come; the Great Depression. He believed the economy would simply fix itself, rather than the government assisting. -
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The Great Depression
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Reconstruction Finance Corporation
The Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) was a government corporation in the United States between 1932 and 1957 that provided financial support to state and local governments and made loans to banks, railroads, mortgage associations, and other businesses. Its purpose was to boost the country’s confidence and help banks resume daily functions after the start of the Great Depression. The RFC became more prominent under the New Deal and continued to operate through World War II. -
The Election of 1932
The election of 1932 involved President Hoover running for his second term as president with the republican party, whilst his opponent, the Democratic pick, Franklin D. Roosevelt was a strongly favored candidate for the country. Since much of the blame fell on Hoover for the great depression occurring, it was no better timing for FDR, as he won by a landslide by just not being President Hoover himself. -
Hitler - Fuhrer
Hitler used the title Führer und Reichskanzler ("Leader and Chancellor"), highlighting the positions he already held in party and government, though in popular reception, the element Führer was increasingly understood not just in reference to the Nazi party but also in reference to the German people and the German state. Soldiers had to swear allegiance to Hitler as "Führer des deutschen Reiches und Volkes" (Leader of the German Realm and People). -
Federal Emergency Relief Administration
The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) was the new name given by the Roosevelt Administration to the Emergency Relief Administration (ERA) which President Franklin Delano Roosevelt had created in 1933. FERA was established as a result of the Federal Emergency Relief Act and was replaced in 1935 by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). It gave out supplies, and allowed for states to handle direct relief after 1935. -
The Third Reich
The Nazi rise to power brought an end to the Wiemar Republic, a parliamentary democracy established in Germany after World War I. Following the appointment of Adolf Hitler as chancellor on January 30, 1933, the Nazi state (also referred to as the Third Reich) quickly became a regime in which Germans enjoyed no guaranteed basic rights. -
The 20th Amendment
The Twentieth Amendment of the United States Constitution moved the beginning and ending of the terms of the president and vice president from March 4 to January 20, and of members of Congress from March 4 to January 3. It also has provisions that determine what is to be done when there is no president-elect. The Twentieth Amendment was adopted on January 23, 1933. -
The Holocaust
As Nazi tyranny spread across Europe, the Germans and their collaborators persecuted and murdered millions of other people. Between two and three million Soviet prisoners of war were murdered or died of starvation, disease, neglect, or maltreatment. The Germans targeted the non-Jewish Polish intelligentsia for killing, and deported millions of Polish and Soviet civilians for forced labor in Germany or in occupied Poland, where these individuals worked and often died under deplorable conditions. -
The 21st Amendment
The Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution repealed the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which had mandated nationwide Prohibition on alcohol on January 16, 1919. The Twenty-first Amendment was ratified on December 5, 1933. It is unique among the 27 amendments of the U.S. Constitution for being the only one to repeal a prior amendment and to have been ratified by state ratifying conventions. -
The Dust Bowl
he Dust Bowl was a period of severe dust storms that greatly damaged the ecology and agriculture of the American and Canadian prairies during the 1930s; severe drought and a failure to apply dryland farming methods to prevent wind erosion (the Aeolian processes) caused the phenomenon. The drought came in three waves, 1934, but some regions of the high plains experienced drought conditions for as many as eight years. -
Social Security
This Act provided for unemployment insurance, old-age insurance, and means-tested welfare programs. The Great Depression was clearly a catalyst for the Social Security Act of 1935, and some of its provisions, notably the means-tested programs—were intended to offer immediate relief to families. However, the precursor to today's Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance, or Social Security, program—were not designed specifically to deal with the economic crisis of that era. -
Fiat Currency
Fiat money is a currency without intrinsic value that has been established as money, often by government regulation. Fiat money does not have use value, and has value only because a government maintains its value, or because parties engaging in exchange agree on its value. It was introduced as an alternative to commodity money and representative money. -
U.S. Neutrality - The Great Depression
To a much greater degree than in the earlier cases, the changes set in motion by the Great Depression and World War II had their origins outside the United States—a reminder of the increasing interdependence among nations that was such a salient feature of the twentieth century. The Great Depression was a worldwide catastrophe whose causes and consequences alike were global in character. Along with the Depression, it eventually produced the even greater catastrophe of World War II. -
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World War II
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Invasion of Poland - Beginning WW2
On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. The Polish army was defeated within weeks of the invasion. From East Prussia and Germany in the north and Silesia and Slovakia in the south, German units, with more than 2,000 tanks and over 1,000 planes, broke through Polish defenses along the border and advanced on Warsaw in a massive encirclement attack. -
Europe - Dunkirk
The Battle of Dunkirk was a military operation that took place in Dunkirk, France, during the Second World War. The battle was fought between the Allies and Nazi Germany. As part of the Battle of France on the Western Front, the Battle of Dunkirk was the defense and evacuation to Britain of British and other Allied forces in Europe from 26 May to 4 June 1940. -
Tehran Conference
The Tehran Conference was a strategy meeting of Joseph Stalin, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Winston Churchill from 28 November to 1 December 1943. It was the first of the World War II conferences of the "Big Three" Allied leaders (the Soviet Union, the United States, and the United Kingdom). Although the three leaders arrived with differing objectives, the main outcome of the Tehran Conference was the Western Allies' commitment to open a second front against Nazi Germany. -
D-Day
D-Day was the largest seaborne invasion in history. The operation began the liberation of German-occupied northwestern Europe from Nazi control, and laid the foundations of the Allied victory on the Western Front. In the months leading up to the invasion, the Allies conducted a substantial military deception, code named Operation Bodyguard, to mislead the Germans as to the date and location of the main Allied landings. -
The Yalta Conference
The Yalta Conference was the wartime meeting from February 4 to 11, 1945 between the heads of government of the US, the UK, and the Soviet Union. The delegations were headed by Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin, respectively. The British wanted to maintain their empire, the Soviets wished to obtain more land and to strengthen conquests, and the Americans wanted to insure the Soviet's entry into the Pacific war and discuss postwar settlement. -
VE Day
05/08/1945, Great Britain and the United States celebrate Victory in Europe Day. Cities in both nations, as well as formerly occupied cities in Western Europe, put out flags and banners, rejoicing in the defeat of the Nazi war machine: In Prague, Germans surrendered to their Soviet antagonists, after the latter had lost more than 8,000 soldiers, and the Germans considerably more; in Copenhagen and Oslo; at Karlshorst, near Berlin, the German surrender was realized in a final cease-fire.
