2ND PART OF THE CULTURAL HISTORY OF THE US

Clara.roman@uab.cat

The Reconstruction Era 1865-1877:

Period of rebuilding the country and process of new governments and laws. This era
failed. Andre Johnson was the new president of the US. He was a democrat (supports the
South) Led the Reconstruction process. Clashed with the Republican Congress. 13 th, 14th
and 15th Amendments were approved in 1865-1870. The 13th Amendment abolished
slavery. The 14th Amendment gave citizenship to all people born in the US. The 15th
Amendment gave Black Americans the right to vote. Black codes: Black Codes restricted
black people's right to own property, conduct business, buy and lease land, and move
freely through public spaces. A central element of the Black Codes were vagrancy laws.
States criminalized men who were out of work, or who were not working at a job whites
recognized.

African Americans celebrated their newfound freedom. However, racism was still
everywhere, especially in the South. The South were determined to keep black people to
socially and economically where they belong. Because of enslaved Black people had been
foundation of the southern labor force, the southern legislatures naturally expected them
to continue to bring in the crops after war. Black coded made it illegal for Black people
to serve on juries, testify against whites or serve in the state militias.

President Andrew Johnson was lenient, so many southern states enacted a series of laws
to control the labor and behavior of former enslaved and other African Americans. All
land that had been confiscated by the Union Army and given to free black people to revert
it to its prewar owners. They also required Black sharecroppers to sign annual contracts
with landowners and if they refused, they would be arrested and convict leasing.
Sharecroppers were people who rented land from white owners and have a portion of
their income crops to the landowners as rent. The black coded really defined a form of
second-class citizenship that looked like a step back into slavery. They ensured to return
antebellum economic stability.

In 1865 was established of the Freedmen’s Bureau: On March 3, 1865, Congress passed
“An Act to establish a Bureau for the Relief of Freedmen and Refugees” to provide food,
shelter, clothing, medical services, and land to displaced Southerners, including newly
freed African Americans. Ensure their freedom and assist black people. Ran healthcare
facilities for the freedmen, public schools.

In 1866 was the Civil Rights Act: acknowledged the citizenship of everyone born in the
US regardless of the race. Native Americans were not included as they were considered
members of tribal sovereignties. President Johnson tried to veto the Act. Southern found
ways to prevent African Americans from voting. By 1870 all of the former Confederate
states had been re-admitted to the Union. Southern states had to uphold the abolition of
slavery, swear loyalty to the Union and pay off war debts. Their governments were given
freedom to rebuild themselves. For a short time, Black people gained a voice in
government for the 1st time in American history, winning elections to southern state
legislatures and even to the US Congress. Around 700 African American men served and
had 2 senators. The federal government made sure that the South respected the civil and
political rights of African Americans by stationing troops in the South.

Different reactionary forces, including the Ku Klux Klan would reverse the changes made
by the government. A violent backlash restored white supremacy in the South. The main
targets of these violent factions were African American but also white Republican.
Nathan Bedford founded the KKK, a white supremacist anti-Catholicism, antisemitism.
White supremacy gradually reasserted its hold on the South, the KKK was very popular.
There were a lot of lynching, killings by groups of people. Disenfranchisement, removing
black people’s right to vote, vote fraud, segregation laws.

Congress tried to stop the violent attacks from KKK. However, slowly support for the
Reconstruction diminished. Racism was still a potent force in both South and North, and
Republicans became more conservative and less egalitarian as the decade continued. Jim
Crow Laws→ Jim Crow laws were a collection of state and local statutes that
legalized racial segregation. Named after a Black minstrel show character, the
laws—which existed for about 100 years, from the post-Civil War era until
1968—were meant to marginalize African Americans by denying them the right
to vote, hold jobs, get an education or other opp ortunities. Those who attempted
to defy Jim Crow laws often faced arrest, fines, jail sentences, violence and
death.

In 1876, Presidential election. Samuel J. Tilden the Democrat and Rutherford

B Hayes the Republican. Electoral vote disputed in a few stat es. Hayes won the
elections but Democrats agreed to support him only under one condition : The
Compromise of 1877 marks the end of the Reconstruction, the Republicans
agreed to withdraw federal troops from the South in exchange for the
Democrat’s acceptance of the electoral victory of Hayes. The Democrats
promised to respect the civil and political rights of African Americans. Now
that the federal troops were gone, this promise was broken and the South
perpetuated segregation. After the Compromise of 1877 the South was
abandoned. Republicans would interfere in the Southern affairs; the South was
now free to deal with African Americans as they pleased. The reconstruction
era failed because the South was abandoned and black people would
continue to suffer as they did before, the start of segregation.
 THE GILDED AGE 1877-1900

After Reconstruction, there was the Gilded Age. It was a period of urbanization,
expansion, becoming more powerful, connected and industrialization. Also, a
period of increasing inequality between the wealthy and the poor. First
Industrial Revolution was during the 1820-1850 and the second was in the 1870-
1900, a time of railroads, coal, steel, telephone, refrigeration, electrification,
mass production (faster and cheaper). There was an urban revolution to work in
industries. The urban population grew from 6 million people to 44 million
people. By 1920, the US was no longer a rural economy. Rise of the
metropolitan America, increase in social problems and inequality; widespread
poverty, political corruption, diseases due to factories, crowded housing, unsafe
working conditions and child labor. Division of labor into small tasks, no need
for skilled workers, people became disposable. Production became cheaper and
faster. Terrible working condition: low waged, long hours, unreliable jobs.

Medical science was improving: cures for infectious diseases (tuberculosis,

thyroid or diphtheria) The problems of how to feed, clothe, house and educate
people grew daily. Cities expanded vertically and horizontally to absorb the
new populations. The wealthy lived in luxurio us mansions. Cities were centers
of culture and community but also diseases, violence and poverty. The poor
lived in tenement houses, tiny rooms without windows or ventilation poor
sanitation.
By 1900, the richest 10% controlled about the 90% of the nation’s wealth.
Financial and industrial titans: Cornelius Vanderbilt, J.D. Rockefeller, Andrew
Carnegie, J.P. Morgan.

Charles Darwin: The Origin of Species in 1859 Evolving through natural

selection. Emergence of social Darwinism to justify and legiti mize these
inequalities that existed. Sociologist adapted and corrupted Darwin’s words, it
was an excuse for racism and capitalism. It inspired the eugenics movement
(practice that seeks to improve the genetic quality of the human population).

Social stratification: the wealthy did not acknowledge class discrimination as

the cause of poverty in general. The Republican Party dominated politics and
supported businesses. The government protected investors, economic titans and
capitalism. The US became the world’s leading manufacturing nation. Rise of
corporations, companies merged and gave way to monopolies: General Electric
and US Steel.

There was social unrest due to the rise of Capitalism. Rise of the Labor
Movement, unions were created to protect the rig hts of workers. Unions would
lobby for better salaries, less hours and better working conditions. Social
reformers also helped shed light on the terrible living conditions of many
people. Photography was used to portray the reality of the time. Jacob Riis was
a journalist and a photographer for the social reform. Urbanization,
industrialization and immigration contributed to the tremendous growth of
cities in the late 1800.

SUMMARY: Period of industrialization and urbanization. Social problems and

inequality, social Darwinism and eugenics, rise of corporations and capitalism, rise
of the labor movement, increase of poverty and richness, mass migration, regression
in terms of race/immigration.
IMMIGRATION:

Immigration to US before the Civil War.

Mainly of US was Germanic and Celtic origin from NW Europe. Thomas Paine said that
US was a nation of immigrants.

After the US Civil War

-Home immigration: former enslaved people travelled to the north in search of work for
better social conditions

-Foreign immigration: people from other countries coming to the US looking for a better
life. 1840 potato famine in Ireland and 1880 the new immigration wave from Italy,
Russia, Poland, Hungary, Mexicans, Greeks, Portuguese, Japanese, Filipinas, Syria,
Czechs.

The change mostly involved the feeling that typical immigrant had become less like US
citizens, other religions, cultures, origins, languages, costumes, it seemed exotic or
incomprehensible. They were pushed away. Immigrants were seen as Other and were
marginalized. Emergence of nativism: policy of favorizing the interests of native
inhabitants of a country against those of immigrants (white people). Harsh discrimination
and violence. Immigrants retreated into their own communities to preserve their culture
and language. In 1875 the federal government began a listing of banned groups: convicts,
sex workers, Chinese people, poor people, political radicals, illiterate people, mental
illness.

To cope with all the new arrivals, Congress funded the construction of Ellis Island:
reception center or immigrants on a small island in view of the Statue of Liberty. It opened
in 1892.

CHINESE IMMIGRATION: By 1880 -> 75,000 Chinese people in California ● Many Chinese
immigrants helped build the First Transcontinental Railroad (1863-1869) ● They had
been model railroad workers but many white workers resented Chinese immigrants as
they accepted lower wages. Chinese men began competing with white Americans for
jobs -> increase of antiChinese discrimination ● 1870s -> “anti-coolie* clubs”-> boycott
of Chinese-produced products; pushed for antiChinese laws *dated and offensive term
to refer to unskilled laborers from east Asia. When their labor was no longer needed,
President Chester Arthur signed the Chinese Exclusion Act (1882) ● The Act was
renewed annually until 1902 when it became permanent ● Finally removed in 1943
Immigration Act of 1917 ○ passed by Congress over President Wilson’s veto ○ required
a literacy test for immigrants and also barred all laborers from Asia

Emergency Quota Act of 1921 ○ first quota (limited amount of people) to be enforced
for all nationalities

WESTWARD EXPANSION

Westward expansion before the Civil War ○ economic opportunities -> farmers, miners,
railroad workers ○ government support ■ Pacific Railway Act (1862) -> construction of
railroad ■ Homestead Act (1862) -> lease of government lands ○ Manifest Destiny ->
belief in white supremacy

Westward expansion after the Civil War ○ Gold and silver rushes ○ Bison hunting ○ Land-
hunger

BISON HUNTING ● Millions of bison roamed the territories of the West ● Native
Americans in the area had thrived off of hunting them ● White Americans saw the
benefits in killing bison -> leather could be used in factories and in the clothing industry.
White people also hunted bison for sport ● 4 million bison were killed in 1871 – almost
went extinct ● The massacre of bison herds was also encouraged as a way to
exterminate the Sioux ● By eliminating their food source, they would become
dependent on the reservations and the US government ● Native Americans lost their
autonomy. Land-lust drove many people to the West ● Native American tribes were
forced off their lands, which were confiscated by the US ● The Homestead Act of 1862
encouraged migration by giving settlers 160 acres of land ● Justified by Manifest
Destiny. The government also passed the Dawes Act of 1887 ● It authorized the
government to confiscate and reorganize Native American lands and partition them
into small plots ● Those Native Americans who accepted a plot would be given US
citizenship ● Goal -> erase their traditions, culture and identity & foster individuality
rather than community

White Americans were interested in rich

land and natural resources, so they
relocated the Native Americans to
reservations ● The conditions in the
reservations were deplorable ○
malnutrition ○ poverty ○ slow economic
development
THE WOUNDED KNEE MASSACRE (1890) ● The Ghost Dance scared white settlers ●
1890: US troops entered Lakota Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota to disarm
them ● A misunderstanding occurred and a shot was fired which resulted in the troops
opening fire indiscriminately -> Wounded Knee Massacre. Hundreds of Lakota people
were killed ● Wounded Knee is considered to be the last great battle between whites
and Native people ● 20 US Army soldiers were awarded Medals of Honor ● Wounded
Knee marked the end of the Indian Wars. The Native tribes were finally subdued or
forced to surrender ● The Native population had once been in the millions before
colonization ● By 1900, there were less than 250,000 Native people living in the US.
1924: Indian Citizenship Act ● Native Americans granted dual legal status as US citizens
and as members of tribal nations subject to special treaty agreements with the US.

AMERICAN IMPERIALISM:

Late 19th c. -> European powers started seizing territories in Asia and Africa ● Colonies
would provide raw materials & the markets for the products made in the home country
● 1890s: the frontier was closed ● US wanted to continue expanding

Imperialism -> a policy of extending a country's power and influence through

colonization, use of military force, or other means. The US had been able to look
internally for all of the expansion it needed ● By the 1890s, this was no longer true ●
The country had now spanned the continent and was feeling confined for the first time
in its history. The US was beginning to look at itself as a force in the world for the first
time ● Strengthened by ○ strong belief in its political system ○ strong missionary
Christian background.

Causes of US expansion:
peer pressure ○ quest for new markets (capitalism -> problem of underconsumption at
home -> overseas interest) ○ wish to improve the Navy ○ deflect national strikes

The Alaska purchase 1867: US signs a treaty with Russia for the purchase of Alaska for
$7.2m ● Russia wanted to sell it because of: ○ difficulty of living there ○ apparent lack
of natural resources ○ fear that the UK would take it in case of war. The treaty enlarged
the United States by more than twice the size of Texas ● It also meant that Russia was
no longer in North America● The US could now control the Pacific northern rim

The Spanish-American War

pain had controlled Cuba since the 16th century ● 1895: rebels in the island were trying
to become independent from Spain ● The Spanish forced Cubans into camps to stop the
rebellion ● Thousands died due to unsanitary conditions, starvation and diseases

pain had controlled Cuba since the 16th century ● 1895: rebels in the island were trying
to become independent from Spain ● The Spanish forced Cubans into camps to stop the
rebellion ● Thousands died due to unsanitary conditions, starvation and diseases.

The government feared that if Cuba became independent without help, the Cubans
would keep the US out ● They also feared that the Black population of Cuba would seize
the power ● If they helped the Cubans, they could eventually control the island. During
the 1890s, journalism that sensationalized—and sometimes even invented—dramatic
events was a powerful force that helped propel the United States into war with Spain ●
Newspaper owners William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer started up what we
know as yellow journalism.
It all started with the destruction of the USS Maine ● February 1898 -> the battleship
was in Havana harbor as a symbol of American interest in Cuban events ● Destroyed by
an explosion -> it sank ● Around 266 men died ● No evidence was produced on the
cause of the explosión.

A report by the Naval Court of Inquiry on the USS Maine destruction stated: “The court
has been unable to obtain evidence fixing the responsibility for the destruction of the
Maine upon any person or persons.” ● The American press, however, used that
uncertainty to their advantage and blamed Spain.

President William McKinley did not want war initially ● Soon him & the business
community saw that war was the only option if they wanted to: ○ get Spain out of Cuba
○ secure economic influence in Cuba ● More and more people supported going to war.

While the US government and businesses supported the war, labor unions and workers
were against it ● They opposed American expansionism ● Criticized the press for
covering the USS Maine deaths but not the thousands of lives lost to unsafe work
practices.

April 21, 1898: US declared war ● The war brought more employment and higher wages
● It also brought higher prices to pay for the costs of the war ● In the front, many soldiers
died from diseases and food poisoning rather than from fighting in battle. The US Army
was stronger than the Spanish one ● The war was fought in the Pacific and the Caribbean
● The US captured the Philippines (Spanish outpost) ● In 6 weeks, the US controlled
Cuba and the Philippines ● Spain grew tired of the war and surrendered in August ● US
victory.

Treaty of Paris (1898) ○ Spain agreed to ■ free Cuba ■ cede Puerto Rico and Guam to
the US ○ US agreed to ■ pay $20m. to Spain for the Philippines. The Filipinos were angry
● They had been allies of the US during the war ● They wanted independence, not
control from another imperial power ● They rebelled against the US -> Philippine-
American War (1899-1902). The US didn’t want to let the Philippines go because they
thought the country was not ready to govern itself ● Concept of “the white man’s
burden” (Rudyard Kipling) ● Increasing autonomy throughout the 20th century ● The
Philippines would become independent in 1946 under President Truman.
SUMMARY:

The Spanish-American War (1898) was a conflict between the United States and Spain
that ○ ended Spanish colonial rule in the Americas ○ resulted in U.S. acquisition of
territories in the western Pacific and Latin America (Philippines, Guam, Puerto Rico,
Cuba).

Consequences of the Spanish-American War: the consolidation of the US as a world

power ○ the end of Spain as a world power ○ another example of Manifest Destiny ○
control over the Caribbean & foothold in the Far East. Different attitudes towards the
Spanish-American War ○ some liked it -> it was the duty of the US to be an example to
the rest of the world ○ some did not like it -> irony that a former colony governed by a
distant country was now doing the same

"The White Man's Burden" (1899), by Rudyard Kipling, is a poem about

the Philippine–American War (1899–1902) that exhorts the United States to
assume colonial control of the Filipino people and their country. Kipling encouraged the
American annexation and colonization of the Philippine Islands, a Pacific Ocean
archipelago conquered in the three-month Spanish–American War (1898). The
imperialist interpretation of "The White Man's Burden" (1899) proposes that the white
race is morally obliged to civilise the non-white peoples of planet Earth, and to encourage
their progress (economic, social, and cultural) through colonialism. USA cannot give the
freedom to the Philippines because they will go back to their old primitive ways.
 THE 20TH CENTURY:
Theodore Roosevelt, not quite 43, became the youngest President in the Nation’s history.
He brought new excitement and power to the Presidency, as he vigorously led Congress
and the American public toward progressive reforms and a strong foreign policy. He took
the view that the President as a “steward of the people” should take whatever action
necessary for the public good unless expressly forbidden by law or the Constitution.”.
During the Spanish-American War, Roosevelt was lieutenant colonel of the Rough Rider
Regiment, which he led on a charge at the battle of San Juan. He was one of the most
conspicuous heroes of the war. He opposed corruption in politics and business.

He created the Square Deal: consumer protection, control of corporations, conservations

(protection of the environment)

Roosevelt steered the US more actively into world politics. 1903 helped Panama secede
from Colombia in order to facilitate the Panama Canal. Roosevelt decided to add to the
Monroe Doctrine. He proposes the Roosevelt’s Corollary: US would now intervene in
Latin America before the Europeans.

The Progresssive era 1890-1920:

Towards the end of the Gilded Age a new era started. Social progress increased after the
Civil War. Different people advocated for a reform: politicians (end corruption, protect
consumers, control businesses and corporations) conservationists (protect national parks
from exploitation), muckrakers (photographers, writers and journalist wanted to expose
corruption, unsanitary work practice and other social problems) and civil right activists
(more rights for women and children).

Pure food and Drug act: The Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 was the first of a series
of significant consumer protection laws which was enacted by Congress in the 20th
century and led to the creation of the Food and Drug Administration. Its main purpose
was to ban foreign and interstate traffic in adulterated or mislabeled food and drug
products, and it directed the U.S. Bureau of Chemistry to inspect products and refer
offenders to prosecutors. It required that active ingredients be placed on the label of a
drug's packaging and that drugs could not fall below purity levels established by the
United States Pharmacopeia.

Goals: Labor protections. 8-hour day unions and work safety. Consumers protection, safe
and sanitary food. Controlling monopolies. Ending political corruption.
The progressives succeeded in slowing down some problems, but not all ● The Wilson
administration (1913-1921) was very progressive, but also very racist ○ the federal
government was very segregated ○ Wilson seemed to support the KKK

WORLD WAR I:
World War I broke out when Wilson was president ● June 28, 1914: the heir to the
throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Franz Ferdinand, is assassinated by a Serbian
who wanted independence ● Declaration of war between Austria-Hungary and Serbia ●
Alliances between different powers = war.

Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey (Ottoman Empire) and Bulgaria ●

Triple Entente (Allies): France, Britain and Russia; later, Japan and the US ● President
Wilson issued a neutrality proclamation ● BUT -> cultural, linguistic and economic ties
with Britain

German aggression was escalating ○ 1915: Sinking of the RMS Lusitania ○ 1917:
Zimmermann Telegram ○ 1917: Germans continued submarine warfare ● US finally
declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917 ● While some Americans opposed the war,
the majority supported it (patriotism, democracy, civic duty). 1915: Germans declared
the seas around Great Britain a warzone ● Submarine warfare.

Anti-German hysteria, fueled by propaganda-infused patriotism, resulted in open

hostility toward all things German and the persecution of German-Americans ● A wave
of anti-German culture spread over America ● Bach, Beethoven and Brahms were
banned from the local concert stage.

Wilson ran again in 1916 and proposed Progressive reforms (ending child labor, setting
a minimum wage, providing better protections for female workers…) ● Wilson’s second
term was dominated by WWI ● During his presidency, the 19th Amendment, granting
women the right to vote, was passed (1920).

April 1917: Congress passes resolution to go to war ● Reasons: ○ Submarine warfare

(Lusitania) ○ Zimmermann Telegram ○ Germany invaded Belgium ○ Importance of
democracy and American loans.

Most destructive conflict up to that point in history ● Advances in technology ●

Militarization and better weapons prolonged the war ● “war of attrition” -> wearing
each other down (trenches). ● January 8, 1918: Wilson delivered his Fourteen Points
Address to Congress. It was a plan to end WWI and ensure peace ● Wilson and his
consultants wanted to understand why wars happen and sought to propose solutions
to secure peace. He addressed territorial issues, global commerce, ways to maintain
peace and the right of countries to self-govern without interference from other
countries ● In the last point, he proposed an alliance between countries to ensure that
peace would last -> League of Nations (1920-1946). There was opposition to Wilson’s
program from members of Congress -> isolationism ● The Senate refused to ratify the
program ● The US would never join the League of Nations.

Germany finally surrendered in 1918 -> support for the war had decreased in many
countries, including Germany ● Germany’s allies pulled out of the war ● Germany’s
domestic situation was worsening (shortage of resources due to British blockade at sea)
● Armistice at 11am on November 11, 1918.

END OF WAR: 1919: Paris Peace Conference -> the Treaty of Versailles is negotiated ●
Creation of the League of Nations (1920-1946) ● Influence of Wilson’s Fourteen Points
● Some of the treaty’s terms were controversial -> “War Guilt Clause”. The War Guilt
Clause blamed Germany for the war and forced it to ○ pay $5 billion ○ make territorial
concessions ○ demilitarize ● This would eventually lead to the rise of nationalism in
Germany, the NSDAP and World War II.

Consequences of World War I in the US → increase of anti-immigration & racist

sentiments ○ conflict between supporters of Wilson and isolationists ○ role of women
during the war -> more advocacy for civil rights for women -> passage of the 19th
Amendment ○ end of the Progressive Era ○ “Lost Generation” -> younger generations
who had witnessed WWI were disillusioned and alienated

WHY WAS WOODROW A GOOD PRESIDENT: Woodrow Wilson created the League of
Nations after World War I (1914–18). He presided over ratification of the Nineteenth
Amendment, giving women the right to vote, and laws that prohibited child labour
and that mandated an eight-hour workday for railroad worker.

AMERICAN MODERNISM:
Modernism is a Western artistic movement from the late 19th c. and the first half of the
20th c. ● It arose as a response and reaction to the many changes that had been taking
place, such as ○ industrialization ○ armed conflicts, including WWI ○ the rise of
psychoanalysis. Artists wondered how to represent the enormous scale and horror of
the war -> period of experimentation ● Many writers felt that there weren’t enough
words to represent and transmit the experience of the war and industrialization. n other
mediums, artists also started expressing their thoughts in new ways ● Instead of
representing the real world as it is, they tried to focus on emotions, impressions or
meaning ● These works of art were more subjective.

Desire to break with established forms and subjects in art and literature ● Many
modernist writers rejected realistic representation and traditional formal expectations
● As poet Ezra Pound said, “Make it new” ● Artists experimented with narrative
techniques, images, symbols, and language in general.
THE EARLY WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE MOVEMENT:

Colonial period: women could not own property or keep their earnings. Women could not
vote, there are submitted to the authority of their husbands.

American Revolution: tax-supported schooling for girls. More egalitarianism, more

women involved in public debates, writing and seeking equal treatment. Boycotting of
British products. Republican motherhood → encouraged the education of women.
Women contributed to war effort on the Homefront. Still, they could not vote and were
subordinated to their husband.

19th century: more women are involved in reform movement. More schools for girls, more
women worked due to the Industrial Revolution. Cult of domesticity: women must be at
home. The Seneca Falls Convention wanted to achieve social and political rights for
women, it gave more people a purpose to keep fighting, it was the 1st women
convention. At the end of the century, many women were demanding the right to vote.
Some women tried to vote and were denied. There was an anti-suffrage movement. Senate
rejected women to vote. Anti-suffrage propaganda.

The Declaration of Sentiments parodies the Declaration of Independence.

1920: The 19th Amendment was ratified→ Passed by Congress June 4, 1919, and ratified
on August 18, 1920, the 19th amendment granted women the right to vote. The 19th
amendment legally guarantees American women the right to vote. Achieving this
milestone required a lengthy and difficult struggle—victory took decades of agitation and
protest.

THE 1920-1930:
THE ROARING 20’S:

The US tuned inwards: they close themselves. No diplomatic commitments to foreign

countries. No radical foreign ideas. Americanism/patriotism. The immigration gate firmly
shut its doors to certain foreigners.

A positive decade: new consumer products, technological improvement, movies,

concerts, theaters. Decade of prosperity, higher earnings allowed people to purchase more
goods, consumerism and credit. 19th amendment.

The automobile became more affordable, Henry Ford made cards affordable by using the
assembly line. He increased the salary, instated the 8-hour work day and paid white and
black the same.

Rise of advertising

Development of the airplane.

The Great Train Robbery was the first US action film, it influenced cinema. Hollywood
quickly becomes the movie capital in US. Jazz was the most popular genre.
Internal migration in the US. Standardization of tastes and language due to the
popularization of cinema hastened immigrants’ entry into the American mainstream.
Harlem in NYC was one of the largest black communities in the US. Vibrant African-
American creative culture known as the Harlem Renaissance.

NEGATIVE ASPECTS:

-After the Russian Revolution 1917 (rise of Soviet Union), many left-wingers in the US
became suspect. Fear of communism, organized labor and anarchism. Importance of
capitalism, anti-immigration sentiment, Americanism and a powerful central government.
Many people suspected of radical or communist was arrested and deported. Limit in
freedom of speech.

The Great Depression

Americanism→ patriotism and nativism (white Anglo Saxon protestants are the original
citizens)

Rise of the KKK and WASP

This was a myth, the US has always been a country of immigrants

Prohibition: ban on the manufacture, sale and import of alcohol. To end crime and
immorality. Domestic abuse. Maintain class discrimination. Rise of bootlegging (illegal
transportation and distillation of alcohol. They did not have the necessary resources to
enforce the Prohibition.

Al Capone. Enormous profits from illegal alcohol led to bribery of police and violent
gang wars, sex work, gambling, narcotics.

21st Amendment: prohibition of the 18th amendment.

THE GREAT DEPRESSION:

The foundation of America’s social structure trembled. There is no money, no jobs.
American values of industry and self-reliance would be weakened. Crash of the stock
market on the 29th October 1929. Shares were sold which had no value. Huge loss. 13
million people were unemployed.

Causes: overproduction by farms and factories. Europe had not recovered from the WWI.
No international trade. High taxes on foreign goods. Speculation. Weak banking system,
people could not pay back. No jobs available. 5000 banks collapsed. The life savings of
people were lost among their homes. Millions of Americans had to beg for food in the
streets. Farmers were also affected because of drought, there is no crops.

However, could not properly deal with the economic depression; however, he took several
measures to tackle it: more labor protections, financial aid for farmers and limited
activities of commercial banks.
Roosevelt the new president fought the Great Depression with his New Deal policy.
AMERICAN IDEALS: Liberty, freedom, equality, justice, individualism, opportunity,
the city upon the hill. The Great Depression challenged all these ideals. A lot of groups
are attempting to grant rights to women are black people.

The progressive era 1900

Woodrow Wilson and World War I 1910

The 1920: roaring 20s, consumerism, Harlem renaissance, 19th amendment, prohibition

The Great Depression 1930

Roosevelt New Deal was a series of federal legislative policies enacted in 1930 to help
economically workers, regulate corporations and improve the state of economy. Social
Security Act, regulation of wages, working hours and child labor.

The US recover from the Great Depression

FDR tried to improve the lives of Native Americans: Indian New Deal. Respect their
traditions, improve conditions of reservations

SEGREGATION:

Jim Crow is a term that refers to the state and local laws that discriminated against Black
people and Legalized racial segregation. Jim Crow was a stereotypical caricature and
extreme racist to ridicule African descent. Essentially, the ruling dictated people and color
and white people could be separated as long as they had equal accommodations, however
in practice that was not true. They could not vote, segregation in education, renting a
house, looking for jobs and transport.

The separate but equal doctrine was quickly extended to cover many areas of public life.
Black people had access to inferior facilities. Educational segregation in the US.

ROSA PARKS:

Rosa Parks was arrested in 1955 for not giving up her bus seat to a white person. Parks
was a moden citizen and her action sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott. These events
were hugely influential in the rise of the Civil Rights Movement during the 50’s and 60’s.
Black people demanded the end of segregation.

During the Jim Crow era other minorities were also segregated: Chinese, Japanese,
Filipinos, Latin-Americans (specially Mexico)
 WORLD WAR II:
Largest and bloodiest conflict in human history

Axis→ Germany Italy and Japan

Allies→ France GB China and Soviet Union

Two major theatres: Europe and Pacific

In Asia, Japan was interested in having more power and military control. They started
occupying China and island in the Pacific.

In Europe Hitler and his party NSDAP were becoming more militaristic. They made and
alliance with Mussolini. They took over Austria, Poland and Czechoslovakia. Pact of non-
aggression between Germany and USSR.

Germany invades Poland in 1939, WW2 starts. GB and France declared war on Germany.

1940: France falls to Germany. Germany and Italy start invading.

1941: Fighting in North Africa to get control of the Suez Canal. In the Pacific Japan and
the US conflict to control the islands.

American tried to turn their backs on the world’s problems. FDR wanted to fight
depression. They isolate from the rest of the world. FDR was focused on Latin American
and wanted to improve the US’ relations with the southern countries.

US could no longer ignore what was happening despite the initial neutrality. Lend-Lease
Program: military help to the allied countries. Allies leased military bases to the US. The
US had not yet entered the war, but it was indirectly helping the Allies and the Axis would
face the US due to their assistance to the Allies. US was not neutral no more. Hitler
recognized the lend-lease as an unofficial declaration of war.

Japan and the US were interested in Pacific control. The US started an oil embargo of
Japan. Japan did not have a lot of resources so it wanted more control to get resources.
Japan attacks Pearl Harbor to damage the US fleet and retaliates for the oil embargo. The
US opinion changes from non-intervention to join the war. US declares war on Japan.
Axis declares war on the US. US declares war on Axis.

WW2 sped the assimilation of many ethnic groups into the US. Concerns that
Japanese- Americans would threaten national security. Public hysteria and racism.
Were forced into internment camps in remote areas. Many had to sell their homes and
businesses. The US citizens do not question patriotism, they are blind-folded to
follow and believe in a society where the status quo will not be mistrusted.

Women who participated in the war were usually known as Riverters. Images were
associated with the concept like Rosie the Riveter and women empowerment.
African American Women joined the workforce. Many white women did not want
to work with them. Native- American were nurses, Latinas worked as linguists.
More than 6 million women took up jobs. Many kept on working when the war was
over, beginning of revolution in the roles of women in the US. Southern Black People
migrated to northern cities. Mexicans worked as farmers. Over half million Latinos
served in WWII, they were not segregated in separate units like African-Americans.
American fought for freedom and democracy where in their country, the irony is
present of how all the minorities have been suffering. The war was fought for
democracy but segregation continued in the US where minorities where fighting for
their rights and a better life, there is no equality, no right to vote, they are not
considered as a citizen. US is not the land of opportunity, liberty and freedom.
Minorities had to fight for the double V: victory against the enemy and in their own
country. There is no city upon the hill that God has told them, opportunity just for
some people,

In 1942-1943 the Allies start winning, Italy surrenders, Soviets push the Axis powers to
retreat back to Germany.

1944 Goal of the US: get close to mainland Japan, take the Philippines back to prevent
Japan from taking resources and debilitate Japan

1945: Allies occupy major parts of Germany, Mussolini executed, Soviets take over
Berlin, Hitler commits suicide, Roosevelt dies. May 8th victory in Europe. WWII is not
over, Japanese does not surrender. The Us was developing nuclear weapons thanks to the
Manhattan Project. Truman focuses on developing nuclear weapons. August US drops
the atomic bomb in Hiroshima, the city was destroyed in seconds, 140.000 died instantly,
the second bomb was dropped at Nagasaki 3 days after. Japan surrendered in August.
Truman supported an internationalist foreign policy and joined the UN to set terms to
secure peace in the future, becoming world’s leaders.

American forced hundreds of thousands of casualties. The US mainland was virtually

untouched, the American key to success was more and better: more men, more weapons,
more machines, more technology more money so no enemy could match their power. The
war invigorated the economy and helped the country to recover from the Great
Depression.

THE COLD WAR:

The US and the Soviet Union had fought on the same side against a common enemy,
Nazi Germany ● Once WWII was over, tensions between the two powers slowly
increased ● The two superpowers had strong economic and political differences
(capitalism vs. communism)

The West condemned the Soviet Union and Stalin for having established a dictatorship
after having fought against Hitler during WWII ● 1947 -> Truman Doctrine -> foreign
policy intended to help countries against communist threat ● Goal -> prevent
communist expansion ● Beginning of the Cold War.
It proved the US was no longer interested in isolationism ● Now, the US wants to control
foreign affairs ● 1948 -> Marshall Plan ○ Sought to prevent the spread of communism
by financially aiding those countries in Europe most affected by World War II

The Cold War was essentially a competition between the Soviet Union and the US in
every area ● During the 1950s, NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration)
was created after the Soviets had launched the Sputnik into space in 1957 -> space race
● The US feared that the USSR was more advanced. The US began an arms race with the
Soviet Union ● Both the US and the USSR were developing their own weapons, and
advancements in technology allowed for more powerful military armaments ● The US
feared that the USSR was more advanced, so worked harder, but they had always had
the upper hand

1948 -> US joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ● International
organization that opposed communism ● If one of the countries of the organization was
attacked, the others would help. ● Many of the foreign conflicts in which the US got
involved during the 60s, 70s and 80s were part of the Cold War ● The Cold War ended
in 1991 primarily because of the fall of communism in eastern Europe, role of Reagan
and Gorbachev, soviet economic weakness and defeat of Soviet Union in Afghanistan.

1950:

After World War II, the US experienced a considerable economic boom → period of
prosperity ○ Advancements in technology → new consumer goods ○ Time of
consumerism ○ Unprecedented number of births → “baby boom” generation

Many families moved to the suburbs ● Suburban homes were on the outskirts of the
cities, were cheaper to build, and therefore cheaper to live in ● Even though suburbia
seemed to represent the ideal American family life, many people felt isolated and
alienated from society -> the suburbs did not have a vibrant culture and life, as opposed
to the cities

The 1950s also experienced a rise in anti-communist sentiment ● The Second Red Scare
took place ● It was commonly known as McCarthyism, after Senator Joseph McCarthy,
who fervently supported the cause ● It was an era of ferocious political represión

Thousands of people were fired from their jobs, arrested, and discriminated against ●
The majority of these people were not even communists ● Influenced by the Cold War
● Fear of espionage from the Soviet Union

The Civil Rights Movement gained momentum as more and more activists fought to
end segregation ● More people joined the fight after the Supreme Court case Brown v.
Board of Education (1954) ● Martin Luther King, Jr. rose as a prominent figure who
would become an important leader in the 1960s
 1960:

John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) ● 35th US President, Democrat ● Ran against Richard

Nixon ● Served from 1961 to 1963 ● The youngest president ever elected, he inspired
high expectations especially among the young ● His administration’s programs were
known as the “New Frontier: We stand today on the edge of a New Frontier—the
frontier of the 1960s, the frontier of unknown opportunities and perils, the frontier of
unfilled hopes and unfilled threats. ... Beyond that frontier are uncharted areas of
science and space, unsolved problems of peace and war, unconquered problems of
ignorance and prejudice, unanswered questions of poverty and surplus.”

JFK promoted a multibillion-dollar project to land an American on the moon ● $24b.

later in 1969, two American astronauts landed on the moon ● Neil Armstrong and Buzz
Aldrin were the first people to ever walk on the moon.

Spring of 1963: Martin Luther King, Jr. launched a campaign against discrimination in
Birmingham, Alabama – the most segregated city in the US ● Black people were nearly
half the city’s population but fewer than 15% of the city’s voters. March on Washington
(1963) in support of the proposed civil rights legislation ● It was one of the largest civil
rights rallies ever ● It was heavily covered by the press, which made more people join
the fight to end discrimination ● Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his famous speech

November 22, 1963: Kennedy was assassinated by a concealed gunman ● JFK was
acclaimed more for the ideals he had expressed and the spirit he had kindled than for
any concrete goals he had achieved