Semester Test Blog

[7th Becky]

1. What are the main historic events that took place in 8th Grade US History that helped shape the United States up to 1877?
In 1492, Columbus discovered America when he was trying to find a faster route to China. This caused other explorers to come over to America and settle our country. Great Britain set up 13 colonies in America. The colonists thought that they weren’t treated fairly and revolted. The colonists won in 1783 and we became an independent country, the United States of America. We set up the constitution in 1787. It is the highest set of laws in America. It helped our country out by creating the congress, presidency, and how the government works. The civil war was between the North and the South over slavery in the 1860’s. The South thought that president Abraham Lincoln was going to abolish slavery, so they succeeded. The North won and shortly after the war, Lincoln was assassinated. Reconstruction took place after the Civil War and our country had to rebuild the South.

2. How did the US change during the late 1800's and early 1900's?
During this time period, settlers clashed with Native Americans. Native Americans had their land mostly out west, but settlers were looking to settle there. We had a few wars with Native Americans for land. There are positive and negative things about it, though. Positively, we gained land out west that we could settle. We could also use the lands for railroads. Negatively, we didn’t get along with the Native Americans, so this caused tension between settlers and Native Americans. The Industrial Revolution took off in the late 1800’s. There was plenty of natural resources to be used, cheap labor, iron and coal, steel being made easier, and drilling that helped. Bigger businesses came about during the Industrial Revolution because of these advances. Monopolies were also a big issue. Big businesses, such as Carnegie Steel and The Standard Oil Company, would buy out supplies for steel and oil so smaller businesses couldn’t get the supplies they needed. Eventually, smaller businesses would have to shut down, leaving only the big businesses.
Labor unions came about in the 1880’s. They were groups of workers that fought to get better pay and work benefits. At first labor unions weren’t successful, but eventually they helped bring about better wages, child labor laws, safer working conditions, and shorter shifts. Because of the increase in jobs and businesses, many immigrants wanted to come live in the United States. This caused Americans to be upset with immigrants because they would work for very little money and businesses liked that and would hire immigrants. Eventually, the United States had to put restrictions on immigration, such as the Chinese Exclusion Act.

3. What impact did the Progressives have on the United States?
The 16th amendment legalized a graduated federal income tax, which provided revenue by taxing individual earnings and corporate profits. The 17th amendment was the direct election of senators. The 18th amendment banned alcoholic beverages. Women got the right to vote with the 19th amendment. President Theodore Roosevelt came up with the Square Deal, broke up monopolies and trusts within big businesses, and set up national parks. The Hepburn Act eliminated free passes on railroads. Pure Food and Drug Act made it so companies had to put a label on what they were selling so customers knew what they were buying. The Meat Inspection Act made sure meat was inspected and was healthy before being sold. Keating Owen Act made goods made from children to not go past state lines. In 1912, the Republican Party was split because Taft was the Republican candidate but Roosevelt wanted to beat him. This split the vote and allowed Democratic Wilson to win. The federal Trade Commission Act of 1914 gave the power to investigate violations of regulatory statuses. Federal Reserve System was set up, and it’s the bankers’ bank.

4. How did the US deal with the world in the late 1800's and early 1900's?
Up until the late 1800’s, we were noninterventionists, isolationists and Passive and Reactive. This meant the we didn’t get involved in other countries during war. When we were involved in foreign affairs, we worked alone and didn’t have any allies. We didn’t go out and start anything, we would only react if something happened to us and only if absolutely necessary. Starting in the late 1800’s, our diplomacy changed. We became interventionists and imperialistic. This meant we were getting involved with other countries, especially in Central and South America. We were getting territories to become an empire. We started building up our military. The Monroe Doctrine forbade European influence in US and our territories. We went to war with Spain to gain control of Cuba.

5. What impact did World War I have on the United States? (chapter 11)
55,000 American troops were killed during World War I.
World War I cost the United States about 35.5 billion dollars.
The Treaty of Versailles required Germany to take full blame for the war. Germany had to give money and land to Allied Powers. The German military was reduced by 100,000 troops. The League of Nations was set up. Even though it was Wilson’s idea, the United States never joined it because the Republicans and Democrats weren’t able to compromise. After World War I, the U.S. wanted to “Return to Normalcy”. After World War I, the United States became a major world power. While men went to war, women had to provide for their families. They had to do a lot of the men’s jobs. This helped the women by proving they could handle men’s jobs and that they should be treated equally. Women were more respected more.

6. What positive and negative impact did the 1920's have on the United States?
There were many positive things that came about in the 1920’s. Women got the right to vote in August 1920. Jazz music became very popular during this time period. One of the many names of the 1920’s was the Jazz Age. Buying on credit, movies, and sports also became popular. Planes were starting to be used for more than just air mail. Very rich people could fly in planes to get somewhere. Planes weren’t as big as they are now, though. Henry Ford made cars cheaper. The Model T was very popular. Roads were also improved. Route 66 was a famous road. The typical fashion for men and women also changed. Men starting wearing more comfy clothes. Women wore shorter dresses and skirts and it was very popular to wear shoulder pads. Women also had shorter, bobbed hair. The Harlem Renaissance was very important for African Americans. This was when African Americans moved to Harlem and it was a rebirth of their culture. African Americans strived to become more equal. Prohibition led to people drinking illegally and there was a lot of violence. Gangs also came about during the 20’s. All major cities had gangs. Al Capone was a famous gangster for bootlegging. Russia became communist and Americans feared having communists in our country through immigration. Anti- Immigration acts were passed. The KKK was a group of Americans that mistreated African Americans and other minorities.