UNIT 7 (1890-1945)
Welcome to Unit 7 of APUSH! This unit covers the time period from 1890-1945! During this unit, we will be covering everything from the rise of Progressivism to the end of World War II. This unit will start with imperialism, yellow journalism, and the Spanish-American War before moving on to the rise of Progressivism and then the causes of World War I. Within World War I, we will talk about how it was won, what happened on the homefront, the result of the war, and its effects. We will then move on to the interwar period in which we will talk about culture, innovations, the economy, immigration, migration, and more before ending with the Great Depression and the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt, who brought the United States out of the Great Depression through his New Deal program. We will then talk about the rise of fascism, the causes of World War II, American neutrality, the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the war itself, and then how it ended with nuclear weapons.
Key People, Terms, and Events
People
Terms
Events
Imperialism: A policy of expanding a country’s political, economic, and military influence over another country through either diplomacy or by force
Yellow Journalism: A practice in which journalists would compete for the people’s attention by publishing increasingly shocking and sensational stories to get people to buy their papers. These papers favored attention and getting money rather than truth and responsible journalism. Exaggerated stories about what was happening in Cuba under Spanish rule led to the Spanish-American War
Progressives: People who all shared the belief that society could be improved through political action. They were made up of a lot of different people such as labor union leaders, church leaders, feminists, the working class, African Americans, and immigrants. They advocated for limiting the power of big businesses, stabilizing the economy, granting rights to workers, resolving conflicts between factory owners and labor groups, securing the franchise for women, stopping segregation, stopping the problem of alcohol, helping immigrants, and many more. Essentially, these were people that believed government intervention was necessary to improve society. Passed the Australian Ballot, the 16th to 19th Amendments, the initiative, the referendum, the recall, and was partially responsible for the establishment of direct primaries
World War I: A war caused by the death of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, fought between the Allies (Britain, Russia (dropped out in 1917), France, Italy (joined in 1915), United States (joined in 1917)) and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy (switched sides in 1915), Ottoman Empire (joined in 1915)), resulted in the Allies winning, the Treaty of Versailles, the rise of the Soviet Union and communism, and eventually the Great Depression along with the rise of Nazi Germany and fascist governments
Communism: An ideology advocating for the abolishment of social classes, the communal ownership of the means of production and distribution, the removal of private property, and equal payment to everyone, mainly started after the communist revolution in Russia during World War I
Great Depression: A period of economic turmoil and depression across the world caused by many things in the United States, including: Buying on margin, the stock market crash on Black Tuesday, overproduction of products and crops, unemployment, the Hawley-Smoot Tariff, retaliatory tariffs from other countries, failing banks, and a lack of government intervention. Ended as a result of FDR’s New Deal and World War II
New Deal: Under FDR, this was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations aimed to help the lives of Americans and relieve the effects of the Great Depression. He addressed three main categories of issues and these were: relief, recovery, and reform.
Democrats: Now, the Democrats were supported by black people, the working class, immigrants, and minorities, and supported federal power and equality due to FDR’s New Deal
Republicans: Now, the Republicans were people who were against heavy government intervention, were anti-immigrant, and supported rural interests
World War II: A war between the Allied Powers (Great Britain, France, Soviet Union, United States) and the Axis Powers (Germany, Italy, Japan) that started after the German invasion of Poland in September of 1939. Lasted until 1945 with the Allies winning and led to the use of the first atomic bombs, massive decolonization throughout the world, the creation of Soviet satellite states in eastern Europe, the splitting of Germany into west and east, the end of the Great Depression, and the establishment of the United States and Soviet Union as global superpowers
Total War: A war in which all parts of society, military and domestic, got involved in the fighting for all participating countries
Manhattan Project: A secret project during World War II in which the United States developed atomic bombs that had the destructive power equal to 15 kilotons of dynamite. These bombs were used in August of 1945 to bomb the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, both killing somewhere between 130,000 and 230,000 people, either instantly from the blast, or later from injuries, burns, and radiation poisoning. This led to Japan’s surrender and the end of World War II
Marshall Plan: A plan in which the United States would send twelve billion dollars to European nations to help them rebuild. The U.S. did this in order to help these nations recover economically and to get them to ally with the United States before they decided to try fixing their problems with communism. This worked and the United States was able to revive the economies of western Europe, ending the threat of communism there.
William Seward: Lincoln’s and then Johnson’s secretary of state, bought Alaska from Russia in 1867 for 7.2 million dollars. This purchase became known as Seward’s Folly because people believed that the territory was worthless and was just a frozen wasteland. But in 1898 though, gold was discovered in Alaska and many people began traveling to Alaska to mine for the precious metal.
Alfred Thayer Mahan: In 1890, he wrote “The Influence of Sea Power on History”, which argued that any country that got rich and powerful got that way because they had a strong navy. Because of that, he argued that the nation needed to develop a strong navy in order to have access to foreign markets. As a result, Congress approved the construction of a new fleet of ships and this fleet of ships allowed the nation to begin traveling to and taking over many islands in the Pacific and the Caribbean.
Frederick Taylor: In 1909, he published a book called Scientific Management with the goal of making factory work more efficient. Essentially, in this book, he argued that in order to save time and increase productivity in factories, factories should have a clear separation of tasks, use scientific methods to determine the best way of doing a job, and also have a strict hold over what their employees do and how they spend their time.
W.E.B. DuBois: Led the Niagara Movement, an organization established to plan protests to secure rights for the black population
Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary: Assassinated in June of 1914, causing World War I
Mitchell Palmar: Attorney General; during the first Red Scare, he ordered the Palmar Raids, which was the mass arrest of socialists, radicals, union leaders, and more, leading to roughly 6,000 arrests and 500 deportations.
Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti: Italian immigrants and anarchists, executed by an electric chair. This was heavily controversial and many saw this as a case of xenophobia and nativism gone too far
Henry Ford: Opened his manufacturing plant in 1913 and began mass-producing automobiles. Created the assembly line and drove all of his other competitors out of business due to how quickly he was able to produce cars. This led to unskilled assembly line workers replacing skilled workers in the manufacturing industry
Marcus Garvey: Wanted African Americans to leave the United States altogether and return “back to Africa”. Garvey advocated for separatism and orchestrated the moving of many African Americans to Liberia in Africa. But controversially, the KKK also wanted this segregation and so Garvey often worked with them.
John Scopes: Teacher in Tennessee that taught Darwin’s Theory of Evolution despite it being illegal there at the time. As a result, he was arrested and this led to the Scopes Monkey Trial in which his conviction was overturned
Adolf Hitler: The leader of the Nazi Party in Germany, attacked Poland in 1939 which started World War II, caused the Holocaust, committed suicide in 1945 as Germany was losing the war
Joseph Stalin: Leader of the Soviet Union during World War II, met with Churchill and FDR in November of 1943 to plan the opening of a second front in Europe against Germany. Later, in February of 1945, he met them again in the Yalta Conference to plan out what was going to happen after the war ended. He installed communist governments in eastern European countries to act as a buffer zone between Russia and Germany in case Germany ever invaded again for a third time.
Winston Churchill: Prime Minister of Britain during World War II, met with Stalin and FDR in November of 1943 to plan the opening of a second front in Europe against Germany. Later, in February of 1945, he met them again in the Yalta Conference to plan out what was going to happen after the war ended. After the Soviet Union installed communist governments in eastern Europe, Churchill said that it was like an iron curtain had descended across the European continent.
1898: The Spanish-American War begins and leads to Cuba’s independence, the annexation of the Philippines, and the annexation of Guam and Puerto Rico
1914: Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary is assassinated, leading to World War I and by the end of 1914, the Triple Entente (Britain, Russia, and France) and the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire) are all at war with each other
1917: The Russian Revolution occurs, ending the Russian monarchy and establishing a communist government, while Germany sends the Zimmermann Telegram to Mexico, leading to the United States joining World War I on the Allies’ side
1918: World War I ends with the Treaty of Versailles and the Central Powers losing
1919: The First Red Scare occurs along with the Palmar Raids, in which Attorney General Mitchell Palmar orders the mass arrest of socialists, radicals, union leaders, and more, leading to roughly 6,000 arrests and 500 deportations
1920s: Automobiles and radios spread all across America, people begin to take on more and more loans, manufacturing and mass production greatly increases, the advertising industry grows dramatically, and the Harlem Renaissance begins
1920: The League of Nations is founded
1921: The Emergency Quota Act of 1921 is passed, limiting the number of allowed immigrants from a country to 3% of their population in 1910 annually
1929: The Great Depression begins and on October 29th, in Black Tuesday, the stock market crashes due to speculation and buying on margin
1933: Franklin D. Roosevelt becomes the 32nd President of the United States and begins his New Deal program to save the American economy
1939: The Great Depression ends for the United States and Hitler invades Poland, leading to World War II between the Allied Powers (Great Britain, France, Soviet Union) and the Axis Powers (Germany, Italy, Japan)
1941: Japanese planes bomb Pearl Harbor, leading to the United States joining World War II
1945: World War II ends with the use of the first atomic bombs and the United Nations is created to replace the League of Nations
Fast Summary
The period from 1898 to 1945 in American history was marked by major social, political, and economic changes, including the Progressive Era, World War I, the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression, and World War II.
The Progressive Era, which lasted from the late 19th to the mid-20th century, was a period of social, political, and economic reform aimed at addressing the challenges and problems of industrialization and urbanization. Progressives sought to regulate big business, improve working conditions, and protect consumers. They also pushed for political reform, including direct election of senators, women's suffrage, and the establishment of the Federal Reserve System.
In 1914, World War I broke out in Europe and lasted until 1918. The United States initially remained neutral, but eventually entered the war on the side of the Allies in 1917. The war had a profound impact on the country, leading to the growth of the federal government and the economy, as well as the redirection of resources to the war effort.
Following the war, the country experienced a period of economic prosperity and cultural change known as the Roaring Twenties. However, this era of prosperity was short-lived, as the stock market crash of 1929 and the subsequent Great Depression had a profound impact on the country. The Great Depression was a worldwide economic crisis that lasted from 1929 to the late 1930s and had devastating effects on the American economy, leading to high levels of unemployment, poverty, and homelessness.
In 1941, the United States entered World War II after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The country once again mobilized its resources for the war effort and played a major role in the defeat of the Axis powers. The war had a profound impact on American society and the economy, leading to the growth of government and the expansion of the middle class.